Journal: Latvia Midsummer 2019
Originally shared on Facebook and Instagram. June 20 - July 2, 2019. Written by Maija Danilova West.
May 19, 2019
Next month, my daughter and I are heading on a trip to spend time with family and visit heritage sites in Latvia, where my mother is from. The more I learn about my mother's culture, the more I feel something dislodge within me, that helps me understand who I am a bit more and the people and land that I come from. I hope with our trip, that we will be able to find out more about our lineage and the traditions of this family line.
My name, Maija, is the name of the Latvia Goddess of Hearth and Home. My aunt shares the same name. When I was younger, and those of you who knew me then can confirm this, I had no interest in anything hearth nor home. I was a bit of a transient with a cropped head of hair and having a family was the furthest from my mind.
Now, my name seems to be becoming my calling. That it is my obligation to maintain my family's cultural traditions, even as I found myself being raised in and living in the US, far from my ancestors. And, that it is my obligation to speak to the complexities of "blood memory" or our genetic inheritance of coming from a people who are both capable of causing harm and also of being harmed. So, I am sharing here with you, for anyone who is interested, a bit about my mother's people.
Latvians have consistently lived in the same territory for many millennia. The Latvians are an ancient Baltic people, who, along with their fellow Baltic nationalities, speak what are considered to be among the most archaic Indo-European languages (i.e. they are among the languages most similar to the original proto-Indo-European language, from which most of Europe's languages and many of India's languages are descended). Latvia has been occupied much of the last century, and had an especially difficult go during WWII, via both German and Russian occupations. This terrible time led my mother's family to flee to the US.
In 1990, Latvia restored its independence, and in 1991, during the Soviet coup, it reaffirmed this declaration.
By law there are two indigenous nationalities in Latvia. These are the Latvians, and a tiny ethnic minority, named the Livonians. The Livonians are a Finno-Ugric people, which means that they and their language are related to that of the Finns and Estonians.
The Latvian government established a special cultural region for them, in their historic home, in the northwest part of Latvia. This region is called "Livod Randa," or the "Livonian Coast [or Shore]" in Livonian.
Currently, the Livonians are still trying to establish certain systems, so that they might be able to save their language and culture. Their language is in dire need of revival.
*I am sharing some photos of Latvians doing their thing, from the website linked here. I hope I can learn more about the celebrations and traditions and hopefully, more detail about they symbolism of the dress and holidays that are still celebrated today.
**I am also linking to the Latvian Song and Dance Festival, an UNESCO Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity event that occurs every five years in Riga, Latvia, the next one taking place in 2023.
The songs, celebrating pride for Latvia – a country not only rich in heritage but with a troubled past where unity and freedom of expression has been broken many times over. Choir singing has always been seen as part of the National Awakening. Since 1873, the Celebrations were part of nonviolent resistance at all times.
Thank you for your interest as I learn more about my heritage. :)
6/20/19 — Riga
We have arrived in Latvia! This trip has been decades in the making- equal parts mother/daughter bonding, family visits, heritage exploration and adventure. I will be sharing more of our trip in the days to come, and specifically the dill and potato challenge. 🥒🥔 #latvianslovepotatoes #getready
6/20/19 — Riga
Yesterday, we went to the Riga cemetery to pay our respects to our family. Along the way, we discovered these special monuments honoring those who have passed. Two of these were at the location of a Latvian president and a foreign minister’s resting place. How the leaders of a country choose to honor their life speaks volumes to me. #latvian #latvija🇱🇻 #matriarch
6/20/19 — Riga
Yesterday was a full day. We went to the Occupation Museum, visited our family at the cemetery and then took a cleansing bath in the Baltic Sea. There were so many lessons learned from yesterday’s trip back in time, but the biggest one is the fierce and ever yearning need for independence and autonomy. My great grandfather Aleksandrs Danilovs fought and died for Latvian independence 100 years ago. Independence was achieved but was heartbreakingly short lived- just over 20 years. The brotherhood memorial in the second photo reflects the many men’s lives lost during this Independence War that bought 20 years of freedom. Then another fifty years of Soviet occupation including the unspeakable tragedies of WWII, including mass executions, deportations, forced labor camps, forced land removals and the near complete extermination of all but 2000 Jewish citizens. The allies stood by and failed to acknowledge Latvian sovereignty after WWII, resulting in so many more years of loss of land and culture. My family fled to the US as refugees. Then, in 1989, when I was 14, the same age Eva is now, the Baltic Way movement resulted in over two million Latvians, Lithuanians and Estonians holding hands to form a human chain across their countries as a symbol of independence and solidarity. Two short years later, as the USSR crumbled, Latvia + the other Baltics finally obtained independence again. We were finally able to connect with our family in Latvia and they were able to travel to see us. The continued symbol of independence during this time was Latvians wearing the traditional clothing of Latvia and carrying bundles of oak and linden branches, and the continued song festivals, singing old heritage songs. It has only been thirty years since the Baltic Way, and it feels as though the country is still trying to find its way through the healing. Healing is remembering. And a special thank you to @anima_california for teaching me how to properly honor my great grand father’s memorial. #healing #latvija🇱🇻 #remembrance #balticway #brivibaspiemineklis #dainas
6/20/19 — Jurmala
The cleansing Baltic Sea. We have been so cared for on this voyage by my lovely cousin Māris, his wife, Līva and their son Lorens. #balticsea #latvija🇱🇻
6/21/19 — Riga
The Latvian monument of freedom. Designed by Kārlis Zāle and funded through public donations in 1935, the monument survived a fifty year occupation to emerge as a rallying point for mass pro-independence demonstrations in the late 1980’s.
The inscription „Tēvzemei un brīvībai” means ‘For Fatherland and Freedom”. The sculptural reliefs at its base depict important moments in Latvia’s history, while the woman at the top symbolizes Latvia’s freedom and sovereignty. She holds aloft three stars indicative of the three historical districts of Latvia. #brivibaspiemineklis #latvija🇱🇻 #latvija
6/21/19 — Riga
Ligo! Happy solstice everyone! ☀️
6/21/19 — Langstini
On our way from Riga to the solstice celebrations in Turaida, we stopped by the family lake house. The land the house is on reminded me so much of the mountains where I grew up. Lilacs, poppies and daisies are everywhere. green grass. quiet lakes. Tall trees. I continue to be struck by this persistent feeling of longing combined with nostalgia. How is it that I can feel both? The paradoxes are everywhere. In the same way that this motherland continues to lose its Latvian heritage population, she also shows me how to preserve and celebrate it. #latvija #latvija🇱🇻 #langstini
6/21/19 — Turaida
Our solstice celebration in Latvia was so much more than I could have imagined! We had the incredible honor of getting to celebrate with local Latvians at one of the most sacred sites in Latvia. We danced, sang, walked through the flowers, ate cheese, sat at the fire, and watched women and men and children make their head crowns from flowers and trees foraged on site. I haven’t fully processed it all, but I am left today feeling so humbled by this gift. There were many moments leading up to this trip that I questioned if my vision of the Latvian people was pure fantasy. If the practices of my ancestors had been preserved or not, through the many years of challenges and modernization and occupation, it felt like it couldn’t possibly be. But it has been. It is living and breathing and available to all of us. I owe a deep gratitude to my mother, @westwood_yaya for keeping the hope of this moment alive, for all of these 44 years of my life, and through her 68 years since fleeing Latvia. How did she do this, you might ask? She did it lovingly and assertively and consistently. She did it by plying us with Latvian treats she baked, through her homemade rye bread baked every month, through hosting solstice celebrations twice a year for decades. Through finding others who wanted to celebrate the same. She did it by making sure to place Latvian items in my hand as I got married, and by placing my grandmother’s amber necklace on my neck to help me remember. I remember. Now I am sure I will not forget. And neither will Eva. #vasaras #turaida #ligo #solstice #mothersanddaughters #latvija
6/22/19 — Turaida
The MCs for last night’s events. Oak leaves represent masculinity. Flowers,sweet grass and linden, for the feminine. #lindentree #oak #ligo #turaida
6/24/19 — Aloja
On our way to celebrate Janis day with family in the country. On the Baltic Sea, stopping to visit family along the way, some of the family homes, my auntie and her sons, and of course, warming Latvian pierogs over the solstice fire. #ligo #aloja #latvija
6/25/19 — Aloja
Latvian country fun in Aloja, in a very old ATV. Eva refused, noting that we were very far from the nearest hospital. It should come as no surprise to any friend of mine that I love a good off road race. Apparently, it is genetic. All of these Latvian cousins do dangerous activities for fun on a regular basis. 😄 #adulting #Aloja
6/26/19 — Sigulda
Okay. People. I have only one thing to say about yesterday’s adventure with Eva. If you are going to do your first ever ropes course in another country, take the time to READ the MF signs they post in English at the bottom of the course, and LISTEN even if you don’t understand, when large, muscular Latvian men are shouting urgently at you as you start a course from which there is no going back. 😱 #15meters #tarzanpark #speka8 #teenageboyscried #piedzīvojumuparkstarzāns
6/27/19 — Cesis
We just wrapped up three days in the medieval town of Cēsis including a little time with another auntie, Gunta. This town is filled with and surrounded by parks. At dinner with my auntie and her friends, who kindly translated, we compared our two countries. Their jaws literally dropped when I shared about our employment laws related to sick and family leave. They shared their challenges with the oldest generation as they lost much of their finances during the various currency fluctuations following their 1991 independence. The younger generations seem to be fairing much better. We are adjusting here now and getting our travel legs beneath us. Next, we will train and borrow a car and head to the western part of Latvia, where the two hundred or so surviving members of the Liv Indigenous population live. #livs #livonian #latvija #cēsis
6/28/19 — Talsi
On my walk this morning, back to our “hotel” after grabbing coffee in town. Talsi is very quiet, in the Kurzeme region, on the edge of the Livonia region, which we head into today. #talsi #latvija
6/29/19 — Kolka
We are in Livonian country! First stop was at the Livonian Community House, that just opened three months ago. The Livonians are one of several Indigenous groups of Latvia. The Livonians have a distinct language, and their own citizenship status. I had the amazing pleasure of meeting with Ilze Iesalniece-Brunkinga, who is Livonian and provides cultural information at this House. She is an incredible source of information and is one of many who are committed to keeping their language alive and spoken. The house has many maps and booklets on this rich cultural region. @libiesusaietanams @healing_reconciliation_in #livs #livones #kolka #healing #reconciliation #indigenous #lībieši #līvi #līvõd
6/29/19 — Kolka
Livonian mittens from @libiesusaietanams Kolka Livonian Community House. 🌿🌲#indigenous #kolka #latvija #healing #reconciliation #lībieši #līvi #līvõd
6/29/19 — Kolkasrags
Our amazing accommodations in Kolka. With the stunning and adventurous Eva. This stop proved to be exactly the restorative pause needed. We spent over five hours in this lovely hut, staring at the sea, until after midnight. The world may be tumbling and turning but the sea is the sea. Nature is our birthright. She needs us and we need her. The nostalgia here is so powerful. #kolkasrags #saulesmājas #glamping #tiniesthouse
6/30/19 — Marzirbe
Today, we drove down the Livonian coast, past the fourteen surviving fishing villages of the Livs and explored the old Soviet military base. At the fishing boat cemetery, I paused to pay my respects. The US/USSR Cold War had a significant impact on these Indigenous fishing communities. The Soviets set up a secret military base in the Lībieši region, and then laid down significant restrictions on the Livs’ ability to fish. The Soviets thought that the Lībieši would use the boats to escape to Sweden. Maybe, but they also needed to eat. Being at this site just made me sob. I continue to be brought to my knees by all the ways our actions can cause unknown collateral damage for others. The contrast between this quiet spot in the woods and the abandoned military base was extreme. And dude, Eva and I scared the crap out of ourselves in those buildings. #livs #lībieši #līvi #ussr #coldwar #itsabandoned #mazirbe #irbenes
6/30/19 — Kuldīga
Our last night in the country side was spent in Kuldīga, known for having the “widest waterfall in all of Latvia.” (Correction- Europe) Yes, Latvia may be limited on elevation, but she has no shortage of green. It felt lovely to take a dip in these waters. #kuldiga #latvija #ventasrumba
7/2/19 — Mezaparks, Riga
Our last two days in Latvia were spent back in the capital of Riga. We had a chance to spend time with my grandmother’s side of the family. My grandmother died when I was 12, and my memories of her are strong but limited. She loved me unconditionally and was always giving me treats. I have always wanted to connect with her side of the family, partly out of that youthful longing and also because the photos I had of my auntie Dzintra Kangere, who is quite glamorous (I have posted a pic of her before, in her traditional folk outfit). Her daughter, who carries the same name, hosted us along with her husband. My other auntie Māra was so sweet. Spending time with this family was a pure delight. Lots of love and intimacy was immediately felt. And, the soft cheeks! I could not have remembered this part of my grandmother’s love, until I had a chance to experience it again. Being pulled into the soft cheeks of these women over and over just filled me up. You can only imagine the love they showered on Eva. These women gave us so much. And, my delightful cousins, Kaspars and Kristaps(pictured) were kind enough to drive us and provide translation. We are so thankful to all of them for helping us wrap up our Latvian voyage with such care. #dzintra #riga #editedanilovs #edite
7/2/19 — Riga Airport
Goodbye, for now, Latvija. Such an amazing trip with Eva 💕💕 #latvija
Last updated: 6/16/2025
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