Liepaja town folklore friends group
Saknes

Concert of pensioners of 5 cities, Kuldiga, 4 June 1998

      Name: Saknes
          meaning: roots
          recommended transcription in English: Saknes
          approximate pronunciation in English: Saknes
          Listen pronunciation in AU format (12 Kb)

      Created: March 1977
      Location: Liepaja, Kurland
      Leader: Oskars Kupe
      Number of participants: 20, of them by age:
          younger than 14 years: 2
          from 25 to 44 years: 1
          from 45 to 64 years: 6
          older than 64 years: 11
      and by gender:
          males: 1
          females: 19
      Forms of activity: sing
      Musical instruments: used for rhythm: devil drum, stub drum, steel triangle, threestisk, washboard, sticks.

Symbolism:     Emblem was created by our participant Gunta Atiķe, who has for many years worked as designer.     Idea of the emblem: people are singing - under the Sun - about their national spiritual heritage, about their hopes of prosperous life, at the same time not forgetting roots, which give them force and energy.

      Description: In 1976 in the Liepaja House of teachers under the initiative of Marta Štolcmane a club of veterans of pedagogics was created. Inside this club in 1977 Marta Štolcmane organized a folklore group. Since 1988 the group is managed by Oskars Kupe.
    Motto of the group - to bear the traditional spiritual values to the people. Saknes participates in many events of Liepaja cultural life. In 1997 the group has participated in 25 measures, 11 of them - at schools and preschool establishments.
    For the repertoir is responsible the musical leader Zenta Bite. We perform songs of the vicinities of Liepaja (except Nica, Rucava, Barta and Otanki). Mostly those are songs unknown to wide layers of population. The group not only sings songs, but also tells legends, asks riddles etc.
    Inner life of the group is co-ordinated and active: we mark by celebration holidays of each participant and we do not forget about each other in a day of trouble. Till now we maintain close relations with our first leader Marta Štolcmane.

With Marta Štolcmane, 25 May 1997

      Sound sample: Jūras meita sagšas auda (Sea's daughter shawls woved) (1998)
One couplet in AU format (330 Kb)
Full song in MP3 format (256 Kb)

      Address:
          in Latvian: Oskars Kupe, Fr.Brīvzemnieka 22-2, Liepāja, LV-3401, Latvija
          in English: Oskars Kupe, Fr.Brivzemnieka 22-2, Liepaja, LV-3401, Latvia
      Phone: (+371) 34-24598

      Date of presenting the information: 22 August 1998