FMT in partnership with The Global Institute For Tomorrow (GIFT) brings you Covid-19 “healers” from Latvia.
The National Costume Centre ‘Senā Klēts’ (Old Granary) was planning to host a massive Parade of National Costumes on May 4th to commemorate Latvia’s independence from the Soviet Union, yet the Covid-19 pandemic forced a change in plans.
The Parade had become an annual celebration, where anyone owning a national costume would be invited to take part in a procession through the city of Riga.
Yet the National Costume Centre, alongside the Latvian National Centre for Culture and the Society decided that the parade needed to take place. If people couldn’t gather in person, they would have to gather virtually.
All Latvians were invited to dress in their national costumes — as they would have normally — and pose in front of their home or along their neighbourhood.
They would post these images on social media with the hashtag #tautastērpugājiens (national costume parade).
The Centre was greeted with thousands of joyful and creative pictures showing people holding hands, singing, dancing, or simply holding each other, proudly expressing their love for each other and pride in their nation.
Founded in 1991, the Center protects and preserves the rich cultural heritage of Latvian national costumes kept for future generations, by honouring craftsmen and investing much time and effort in promoting the correct production and appropriate wearing of Latvian national costumes. It houses the largest Latvian national costume exhibition in the world, a collection created under the guidance of ethnographer Maruta Grasmane.
‘The Other Hundred Healers’ is an initiative by the non-profit organisation GIFT. The 240-page, full-colour, hardcover book can be purchased here at US$40 per copy for a minimum order of 20 copies.
