100 stories from the hiking route

1999 – dance competition of the dance Kaerajaan begins in Võnnu

Information

Topic

Village life and society work

Coordinates

Long-Lat WGS 84

Latitude: 58.282320

Longitude: 27.051122

L-EST 97

x: 6464249.2
y: 678929.6

Location

Ähijärve-Aegviidu Hiking route

Surely, every Estonian knows how to dance the Kaerajaan. According to the legend written down by F. Tuglas, cottager Piitre Matson lived in shabby shack by the road between Ahja Manor and Kärsa Village. He was called Kaera-Keiser because he always sowed oats (“kaer” in Estonian) around his shack. He also had many children whose names were always accompanied by the word “kaera”. Thus, one of his sons, a young blonde boy who was a favourite among women, was called Kaera-Jaan.
Once, when the manor girls were bathing after laundry day, Kaera-Jaan and Kolli-Juhan hid themselves behind some large barrels in the laundry room in order to spy on the girls. The manor girls were amused by that and thus the song and dance were born. It is also said that the lyrics of the song and the pouncing around angered the legendary womaniser so much that he decided to move out of Võnnu Parish!
Võnnu declared itself the rural municipality of Kaerajaan, as according to the legend, the dance originates from Võnnu Parish. Võnnu’s Kaera-Jaan is a major folk dance celebration where groups from all over Estonia compete in dancing Kaerajaan and a large folk dance concert is held, in which every group is judged by a competent jury.
Every year, a dance leader is chosen for the event Kaera-Jaan, who plants a rowan, the tree of love and light, on the Kaera-Jaan Avenue in Võnnu. The first relay of dancing Kaerajaan was held in 2010 upon the initiation of the Võnnu Community Centre.