The Oldest Settled People Of Northern Europe. Who Are They?

Setos are an indigenous Finnic peoples and linguistic minority that have historically lived in the borderlands between modern day Estonia and Russia. The ancestral homes of many Setos can be found to the south of Lake Peipus, in the Setomaa region. After 1991 however, this territory was divided between the newly independent Estonia (Põlva and Võro counties) and the north-western sections of the Russian Federation (Pechorsky District of Pskov Oblast). Accounts suggest that the number of Seto people around the world is approximately 15,000.
South-East Estonia at the coasts of lake Pihkva there live a special people - the Setus. The land of Setus (in Estonian Setumaa and in Setu called Setomaa) is thought to be the most far-away place in Estonia and the Setus are also different from the so-called average Estonians. There are about 10 000 Setus. They speak Setu language, which differs from the standard Estonian like for example Norwegian differs from Swedish.
#setos #indigenouspeople #setomaa #finnougric
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[@freebozkurt9277]

So if these Finnic people ALWAYS lived in this area, where did their common ancestors with Hungarians lived? Maybe they never lived in the Urals and those Finn-Ugric groups who today live in the Urals and beyond just migrated there? (which is obvious as those lands were uninhabitable during the glacials).

[@javel114]

The riverlands of Volga have been traced to be where Estonians and Finn's are from, being also the origin of these people, northern Volga valley was habitable, ofcourse the uralics did not live in the mountains, atleast before Slavs took over.

[@blkgardner]

The Uralic migrations happened relatively late. The Uralic speakers weren't in Estonia until the 14th century BC, and they Sami (Lapplanders) didn't reach their present day distribution until the 5th century AD. Older anthropologists made the mistake of assuming "primitive" = old, and so assumed that the Finnic speakers had always been there. The argument against the Uralic migration being extremely ancient is that Uralic is identifiable as a language family. If the various Uralic languages have always been there, the languages would have diverged to the point they would be thought of as language isolates that might/probably be distantly related, like the Khoisan (Bushmen) languages of south Africa, or the Paleo-Siberian languages of Eastern Siberia.

[@lianefehrle9921]

This way of life was separated by war and religion. Governments should not take land away from families that has them for generations. Cultures need to be preserved.

[@ranvijaykumarsingh4732]

@@lianefehrle9921 the same is happening with us in our country. The govt has taken all land from us and has given all land to othe people.

[@S0-102]

You actually think Russia will work with Estonia on this? Setos have no problems in Estonia

[@Rikard_A]

You mean Russian should not steal land.

[@lullaby218]

@@Rikard_A You mean NATO should stop being a marx|st muppet.

[@benpearson49]

No culture can remain stagnant. All that begins, must end.

[@joalexsg9741]

Thank you for helping to give voice to these ancient cultures which do need to be preserved, excellent channel.🙏🙏🙏

[@reneeolo3814]

I'm Seto and Estonian it's nice to see my relatives who still live in our homelands and speak the language getting this kind of representation. However, the AI narration horrifically butchers all of the Seto words and names. Subtitles would've been far preferable, let us hear the language. I'd also like to point out that while Setos (and Võro) are a distinct group in Estonia, they're closely genetically and linguistically related to Estonians, far more than they are to the Slavic populations in Pskov Oblast, who migrated to the region rather recently. Present-day Estonia, Karelia, St. Petersburg, and Pskov were all the lands of Finno-Ugric tribes including Seto, Võro, Votic peoples, Ingrians, Karelians, Livonians, Estonians, Veps, and others.

[@CreativeHuckleBerry]

Wish it was subtitles so you could hear the dialects, i love dialects and words. Myself Speak an Finn-Swedish dialect that you can only find in Ostrobothnia-Finland. I live in a small village called Kimo that belongs to the municipality Oravais, where Sweden lost Finland to the Russia Empire in the Battle of Oravais. Back in 2011 Oravais merged with the municipality of Vörå. Do you know what "Võro" means in Estonia? I find it interesting that there is such a name there in Estonia and a similar here in Ostrobothnia-Finland. The name in Finland goes back to around year 1300 where the name is documented in books, but nobody knows exactly what it means. We have a dialect name similar to Seto aswell, "Seto päärona" which is a dialect word from the swedish name "Sättpotatis" wich basicly means in English "Seed Potato". The Seed potato are potatos that has been in the cellar over winter and is used for planting. Our dialect is very mixed and has Swedish,Finnish and a mix of both words, and also some Old Germanic like: Ein Stein "One Stone", each District/Village has their own words for things, but the more close you get to Helsinki the less of the Old Dialects you hear, it becomes more High Finnish/High Swedish there, that we learn in school.

[@kimrocksthetrees]

Yes, the narration was horrible. The worst I have ever heard on YT. What a shame. ☹️

[@Boyar300AV]

Slavic population is Pskov lives since Novgorod.

[@arcticpolyglots]

Do you know any Seto speakers who would be willing to record a video speaking about their lives in Seto as I would speak Estonian back?

[@hirdbarding3399]

@@Boyar300AV which is relatively recent migration, comparing to 14 century BC, you know?

[@LumiSisuSusi]

I wish that the speakers were not spoken over. Just add subtitles.

[@Zyra19]

I think subtitles would be good because not everyone can hear, but also not everyone would be able to read them. A spot where the translation is said after the speaker specifically so that their own voices get to be heard would be nice tho

[@InYourNetwork]

I prefer it this way because I like to watch documentaries as I clean and cook. I can't always just stare at the screen and read subtitles.

[@CreativeHuckleBerry]

Yes, subtitles would be better to hear the dialects.

[@traviswadezinn]

Very good presentation of the history. I've been along the checkpoint featured and did a work stay at a farm there in Estonia, a welcoming region.

[@awibs57]

Very interesting information and very interesting series you have on less known people. Please consider hiring a professional narrator. (A human with a degree in acting and voice over experience, not AI) Having less stilted narration would be the difference that would really push this channel over, because the content is great and the interview is great, but it's really hard to listen to because the voice work is so distracting and doesn't match the quality of the rest of the material. Please know I'm only making this suggestion because I want to see your channel blow up. It's really important information you're covering and I'm glad you exist.

[@gregb6469]

Professional narrators cost money.

[@zazhou]

The Setos should use technology and record their language for posterity and the benefit of future generations.

[@alicelund147]

In what way are they "oldest"?

[@LarsPallesen]

Yeah, that seems to be a claim he just pulled out of his ... hat.

[@ttiwaz4398]

I guess that refers to uralic (finno-ugric) speaking people in Baltic sea area. There were several other finnic tribes aswell in the area of Estonia, Latvia and Karelia (including the modern day Russia city area St. Petersburg). According to archaelogy finds people in the area belonged to comb ceramic culture (4200 - 2000 BCE) but it's impossible to say which language they spoke in ancient time If that matters for you.

[@alicelund147]

@@ttiwaz4398 No he is very specific about what people and the exact location. Quote: "The ancestral homes of many Setos can be found to the south of Lake Peipus, in the Setomaa region".

[@tatianayegovtseva9737]

@@ttiwaz4398 In Russia reside a lot of finno-ugric tribes. Actually Russia is country of origin of finno-ugric tribes. RE: URAL mountains...

[@PunkDogCreations]

*BC​@@ttiwaz4398

[@historyouuu3495]

Finns also used savusauna. Here is still many of them. I been in those many times.

[@tatianayegovtseva9737]

The same in Russia. Most often in Russian villages people build sauna/ bania first and then they build house...

[@historyouuu3495]

@@tatianayegovtseva9737 Just like Finns always done in old days ;)

[@jameswells554]

The Scythians were known to use smoke baths as well; in particular it seems they preferred to burn hemp flowers and seeds. Smoke baths, and sweat lodges are also used in Native American cultures for the same purpose of Spiritual and physical cleansing as part of ceremonies and rituals.

[@historyouuu3495]

@@jameswells554 Yes

[@keza3250]

The presenter talks like the Baltics were always part of the Russian empire but were independent from Russia for hundreds of years before the Russian empire invaded an took over the baltics and the same for keralia annexed by the Russian empire Russia has caused the extinction of many northern European people's

[@tatyanaishchenko3456]

Каких например?

[@Mrs_Valentine_Is_Cooking_Pasta]

@@tatyanaishchenko3456 really...😑Tuva and Buryat, hunter-gatherer communities such as the Khanty and Mansi, reindeer herders such as the Sakha and Chuckhi, and the Yupik whale hunters of the Bering Sea.....you want me to go on? Today, native communities still face large-scale destruction of their environments by the Russian mining, petroleum, and logging industries. Profits derived from the destruction of Siberia rarely, if ever, trickle down to Native communities. Indigenous civil society groups have come under attack from the Russian government. They are perceived as a foreign threat. Most recently, the Russian government suspended the leading indigenous organization RAIPON (Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North) for six months, accusing the organization of being in violation of Russian law. Few, if any, human rights organizations have ever advocated for recognition of the destruction of Indigenous Siberians as genocide. These crimes seem to be lost and or overshadowed by the other heinous acts of mass murder and extermination that occurred in the Soviet Union (i.e the Ukrainian Holodomor, Stalin’s purges, etc). NOW SIT THE F DOWN!!

[@tatianayegovtseva9737]

Actually Russia was extended to Baltic lands after Russia defeated Sweden and that used to be Swedish lands at the time. It is NOT invasion by any means. Sweden LOST few wars! Too bad for Sweden... Baltic states has never existed before 1918 and then in 1940 the parliaments of newly made states have voted to return to Soviet Russia/ USSR.

[@keza3250]

@@tatianayegovtseva9737 nobody wanted Russian rule in the baltics an the Baltic was historically prussian an swedish territory not Russian, Russia is the trash bin of Europe Free keralia Free volgagrad Free baltics Free rigastade The disintegration of the Russian federation is inevitable

[@tatianayegovtseva9737]

What invasion? According to the Treaty signed on September 10, 1721 ( THREE HUNDREDS YEARS AGO!) , Sweden renounced Livonia, Estonia, Ingria and the so-called Old Finland - the Karelian Isthmus with the city of Vyborg and the northern coast of Lake Ladoga - in favor of Russia FOREVER. Russia also paid a significant amount for some convenient areas - PURCHASED some land at Baltic coast from Sweden.

[@realhawaii5o]

I live in Estonia and I've visited Setomaa and really enjoyed it. It was really sad to see the families divided by the border that shouldn't be there. The Soviet Union redrew the internationally recognised border when it annexed parts of Petserimaa to the Russian SFSR. Hopefully, at some point, the land is returned to Estonia.

[@Vort317545]

As a Cultural Anthropologist and Latvian-American. My heart really goes out to the Seto. Their traditional culture is not too different than us Latvians. I truly hope the Estonian Government does everything in their power to preserve as much as Seto culture as possible. When these ancient cultures disappear. What's left? McDonald's on every corner.

[@sechernbiw3321]

You would think it would be possible to work out a deal where they have a special ID that lets them cross the border back and forth if they can show ancestry and photos of where they grew up and who their parents were, since it is only about 200 people living on the Russian side. It might be harder on the Estonian side since there are about 12,000 people, but still you would think it could be done.

[@tatianayegovtseva9737]

Russians also live at both side of the boarder...

[@bethbartlett5692]

Picturesque, like a child's storybook. I wish them well and an interest in carrying forth their traditions, while continuing to evolve and move forward. ✨💛✨ Tennessee, USA Irish American (Basque Origin)

[@shobudski6776]

Evolve?? Like how Ireland is doing now?

[@bernadettecrawford3656]

Wonderful history and traditions

[@alejandroto3094]

Сето должны говорить на своем языке, не позволяйте своему языку умереть.

[@tantuce]

They are told otherwise on the Russian side

[@Evang-ir8fu]

​@@tantuce How?

[@karphin1]

So wonderful to see and hear people joyfully singing a lot, and dancing. Old traditions. Also love the colourful costumes. A shame they’ve been separated , Estonia, Siberia, and the border area of Estonia and Russia.

[@RazaAli-l3h]

Are we aren’t loosing history day by day ??? These people are beautiful ! Better than all of us ….

[@topi531]

Just call them Finnic, its needless to use the whole Finno-Ugric term. They are not ugric

[@AK-wd6bg]

The same way they connected Finno- Ugric together, same they did it with Slavo-Baltic. Both are just the theories with no proof whatsoever.

[@Zyra19]

That song sent chills through me, a sound that came from the soul Edit: No wonder, music tying a distancing people together is maybe the most human thing I've seen

[@paulbennett772]

This exemplifies the results of allowing politicians to draw borders.

[@silverchesnov5247]

You're right. The US should return all land to the Native Americans. Australia must go back to the aborigines

[@maciejzniebuszewa8077]

They became victims of the bipolar world.

[@martinkoitmae6655]

This is the result of Russian ethnic cleansing.

[@tantuce]

It was put quite interestingly about the people actually exhiled during and after the WW2, that they were relocated. We know what that relocation means - forced under a gunpoint into cattle carriages to be taken to Gulags in Siberia. And monolingual Russian army people settled in their homes in Pechori instead.

[@bernadettecrawford3656]

How interesting lovely people thank you beautiful

[@colinvannurden3090]

The Sami or Lapps must be right up there as far as age

[@angelina6543]

Where is proof

[@asdrubalanibal6853]

The Sami culture is nomadic, so they would be “right up there” in some other subject.

[@tessjuel]

Yes, 3000 years is nothing in Northern Europe. The ancestors to the Samí people have lived here for at least 4,500 years . The Norse/Danish/Swedish/Norwegians for at least 5,000 years.

[@marianarkun6656]

Intresting ❤

[@manicurejoanna]

Beautiful culture ❤😊

[@ajkumar6013]

such nice people and families....now separated by modernity

[@chrisleblanc581]

This is what happens when you Russify a people who want to maintain their own cultural identity. They run from the culture trying to exterminate them.

[@johndewey6358]

What a fascinating history. Has Estonian government tried settling its people from Siberia and elswhere within Estonia? It would be a shame to lose the language, culture and traditions.

[@enckidoofalling2883]

I want to try that pie

[@finolaomurchu8217]

The Setos people ✨️☘️

[@margaretswoma4951]

❤❤❤❤

[@lianefehrle9921]

I wish I had one of those white coats

[@Pillarguri]

Sheep wool finest

[@tantuce]

Buy it then

[@paul6925]

Estonia is just going to have to expand their border and reunite these poor folks

[@palianshow]

such an interesting program, sadly the voices of the speakers... and the background music makes it unpleasant to listen to. shame.

[@evandawson4862]

Connection to the land seems to be a problem everywhere

[@sorchaOtwo]

Great documentary! I would suggest that when you sho maps that the words you place on the map occur at the same time as you mention them. It would help in stories such as these with foreign sounding names to a portion of the audience. Just a thought ; )

[@science-channel]

Great suggestion!

[@ShayMacShay]

🏆

[@RazaAli-l3h]

Sad but beautiful !!! May be world is changing…???

[@aumelb]

World is always changing.

[@Gizathecat2]

A great documentary ruined by a BAD AI translation! I

[@sonmercury2497]

in Finland we also have savu(smoke) sauna.

[@oldfarmshow]

👍👍

[@Eglisé_Kungu_Bengeza]

How cute 😊

[@larrywave]

Smoke sauna is not really anything special they used to be very common in Finland also

[@samaval9920]

Many peoples in Europe & every continent has divided peoples-- other such Europeans include Hungarians, Basques,etc.

[@polha4966]

their style of clothing and especially the headware looks like the kalasha one aka iranic/aryan

[@minaolenella869]

the circle around head was worn by unmarried women all around Estonia too.

[@polha4966]

@@minaolenella869 google tajik women traditionnal headware, and kalasha headware it s the same. Also greek pontian women wore a circle round sort of hat on the head. I think it s an eastern european thing

[@minaolenella869]

@@polha4966 I don't think so. Estonia is finno ugric. And Slavic nations, especially Russia, does not have the circle. More likely it is just a common design element.

[@polha4966]

@@minaolenella869 they speak a finno ugric language but they are by blood mixted with europeans mainly eastern europeans thus they copy their style. The original huns from where the hongarians came, were asians from mongolia. The same were the finns -asians looking like chinese. These nations migrated or rather invaded europe and mixted with the local eastern european population and with the aryan population of central asia on their way here. Mainly they were abducting women european/aryan women. This is known from the life of attila the hun which you can google and learn yourself. He was killed by a germanic woman he abducted and was about to rape. So the women of the huns and finns were eastern european/aryan thus these women traditionnaly wear a round head ware

[@minaolenella869]

@@polha4966 your history is all messed up. Estonian and Finnish are genetically proven to live here thousands of years before there were eastern Europeans in that area. And thousands of years before huns. Learn your history before you make things up.

[@jma00a1]

So, a lot like the Lapplanders.

[@manicurejoanna]

Should they separate and join Estonia? Hold a referendum

[@Dionysus784]

seto kaiba

[@MrChristianDT]

If they go extinct, who will protect the neighboring Mokubas?

[@jimmyryan5880]

This is what Russia does

[@BorderGuardJaegerFinlandia]

Then we have all these stupid people that claims that Ukraine is full of Nazis. A president that's Jew is not possible in a Nazi state, first of all. But this shows that Russia and Soviet Union was as bad as the Nazis. They killed a lot of people with Finnish origin in Soviet Union, after WW2, because Stalin could not trust any Finn, because he wasn't able to conquer it all. The Russians admitted (in the 1990:s before Putler came to power) that Stalins plan was to move all Finnish people from Finland to Siberia, where they got some "new" land where to live and to put these Russians on that land instead, because they was people he could trust. That's exactly what Nazism is and have always been about... They are the modern Nazis today.

[@emilpopovic6167]

Actually, when Estonia was independent between the world wars, the authorities adopted a policy of Estonification that was a disaster for the Setos within Estonia. Actually, the Russian minorities today have a great deal of cultural independence, something that was not always present during the USSR.

[@asdrubalanibal6853]

Would be informative to see some similar documentary about the Setos in Estonia to see how they are doing.

[@joalexsg9741]

@@emilpopovic6167 I know a documentary about the Udmurt activist who commited suicide exactly because of the oppressive Russfication of his culture! Sorry but what you said doesn't tally with the facts.

[@emilpopovic6167]

@@joalexsg9741 and my friend, who is a doctor in Norway, worked for a while in the north of the country told us how she several times got young patients that were Sami, that had attempted suicide by slitting their arms. Not across but alongside the arm. The suicidal rate amongst Sami people in Scandinavia is considerably higher than for non-Sami people. What do you think is the reason for that? As far as I know, minorities today in Russia have good cultural rights. About the assimilation into the majority's culture, that's a global problem. Do you think the situation in the USA is better? How many young Native Americans do you think speak their language at a good level? How many young Sami in Scandinavia speak their language at a good level?

[@dl3472]

Oldest? Yeah sure buddy

[@martinkoitmae6655]

Ethnic cleansing by Russia once again

[@tatianayegovtseva9737]

Just learn first how many ethnic tribes reside in Russia. In Russia ethnic minority even did not served during the wars - it is how far ethnic tribes were PRESERVED. You must have cognitive difficulties if you say "ethnic cleansing" about Russia. Russia is in fact origin of finno-ugric people and uralic group of languages ( RE: URAL Mountains in the middle of Russia)

[@tantuce]

​@@tatianayegovtseva9737 ah, it's you again with your lies. The video stated only about 100 people of setu people in Russia speak the setu language. The mixed families's children speak only Russian there. Are you talking about cognitive dissonance, lol? 😂

[@tatianayegovtseva9737]

@@tantuce That is because of OFFICIAL DOCUMENTED ESTONIAN ethnic cleansing between 1918 and 1940

[@tatianayegovtseva9737]

@@tantuce Where is my lies? And to not tell people what language to speak...

[@jamesvandemark2086]

Setos, not Sami? Something new!

[@spiralpython1989]

Seto are not Sami! Very different peoples.

[@EngineerErik]

Definitely not the oldest settled people of northern Europe. Scandinavians have been settled for longer at least as far north.

[@JohnChristenNizzaDiCorsi]

Not true as Scandinavian language is far newer than Scandinavian DNA therefore the cultural heritage really only goes back to the Iron Age. Hardly Indigenous. Definitely an ancient culture.

[@EngineerErik]

@@JohnChristenNizzaDiCorsi Of course Scandinavians are indigenous to Scandinavia even though language has changed a lot, especially the last few generations. But this is not a serious channel. Just listen to the video "One Of The Least Known Nations Of Europe. Who Are They?", where they say "4000 years ago, the glacier retreated and the Karelian Isthmus appeared."

[@JohnChristenNizzaDiCorsi]

@@EngineerErik Nordic Scandinavians aren't Indigenous to Scandinavia, except for people who are mixed race Nordic-Saami.

[@JohnChristenNizzaDiCorsi]

@@EngineerErik I'm not saying they're not from there or that they didn't found those countries and cultures. But Indigenous has an important meaning

[@historyouuu3495]

@@JohnChristenNizzaDiCorsi Total BS. Finno- Ugric much longer in north Europe, today's Russia etc... Longer than germanic and slavic...

[@Nitojaful]

Paljon rakkautta ja siunasta Suomesta 🇫🇮🙏💙🤍

[@user-yr5nv2gv7m]

why are they called setos if they were chudes? the two sound nothing alike... or is it someone tryin to finnwash chudes just like some try potin too, u literally couldnt spell it out better that chudes were prly turkoid khazar fur traders/poachers...

[@tantuce]

Because they aren't chudes. Simple

[@FinneousFogg-ix6vr]

They don't look very old, probably they are in their 20's!!!

[@turblijura]

And we do not kill each other as semites. Religion is not athing to kill human.

[@uhadme]

Rituals of writing rites, using letters to let. Your fabrications mean nothing. How many unknown parchments remain? Leap to conclusions, you know all the forgotten and unknown, fill in my blanks.

[@ArnavSharma-bj4ct]

Lol what😂😂. How are uralics older than the indo europeans. You are just making things up bro

[@kimrocksthetrees]

Horrible narration. This was very difficult to listen to. Not the Seto, just the AI narrator. I hate AI more than words can say.

[@benpearson49]

Oldest is an interesting claim. Can you back that up? The Greeks have been living in Greece for a long time, and the Finns even longer in Finland. The Odyssey was written down in 800's BC, but it was part of a oral tradition much older than that. Granted ancient history is hard to prove. Historians in ancient times lied too much, and there are big gaps in what records we do have.

[@rafaelsanz3441]

A border is a protection . The border between Russia and Estonia is obviously a protection of Estonia.😊

[@voldemarvaglaots6690]

Actually there is no border agreement between Russia end Estonia.

[@PedroGlez-t3n]

They look mongolian , they probably settled into the area with the golden hord or if earlier with Hunnian hords .

[@colinchampollion4420]

they Asiatic peoples

[@Melons-vg8dq]

They lived in frozen squalor and violence before missionaries came from Rome.