Jurkalne parish ethnographical ensemble
Maģie suiti

      Name: Maģie suiti
          meaning: small Suiti (Suiti - catholic Latvian population of a part of Kuldiga and Ventspils districts)
          recommended transcription in English: Magie suiti
          approximate pronunciation in English: Maje suiti
          Listen pronunciation in AU format (15 Kb)

      Created: October 1939
      Location: Jurkalne parish, Ventspils distr., Kurland
      Leader: Austra Čepeļevska
      Number of participants: 26, of them by age:
          younger than 14 years: 8
          from 14 to 24 years: 5
          from 25 to 44 years: 2
          from 45 to 64 years: 2
          older than 64 years: 8
      and by gender:
          males: 4
          females: 22
      Forms of activity: sing, play music, dance, play roundelays
      Musical instruments: squeeze box, rhythm instruments.

      Description: The Ensemble has been created in October 1939. One of its first activists was a narrator of Suiti songs Marija Lāce (1915-1997). From the beginning in repertoir there have been basically wedding and chaffing songs. Later ensemble began to sing the household ritual songs - from birth up until burial.
    The ensemble has prepared some thematic programs: about sea, about work, about calendar rites.
    Performances of ensemble with pleasure are listened not only by local inhabitants, but also by visitants - tourists, sightseers, reposing.
    The ensemble is closely collaborating with folklore collectives from nearby parishes - Uzava, Varve, Piltene. We co-operate with Suiti ensembles from the Kuldiga district (Alsunga, Gudenieki) too.
    In 1992 under wing of the ensemble is created children-youth group, which perform apart and along with the adult group.

      Address:
          in Latvian: Austra Čepeļevska, Kuldīgas 23-39, Ventspils, LV-3600, Latvija
          in English: Austra Cepelevska, Kuldigas 23-39, Ventspils, LV-3600, Latvia
      Phone: (+371) 36-22859

      Date of presenting the information: 28 July 1998