Anna Morottaja & Tallari

Livđe is the traditional Inari Sámi way of singing, which differs in its language and expression from the better-known northern Sámi joik. And just like the Inari Sámi language, livđe tradition almost died in the 20th century.

At the beginning of the 21st century, old livđes were found from archives. Especially livđes from Anna Morottaja’s great-aunt, Anna Briitta Mattus, were found in the archives. Anna Morottaja began to devote herself to them and as a result of her work, she published the first livđe album in history in 2022.
In Livđe, a portrait of a person or sometimes an animal is drawn with sound rather than through a verbal story. “For me, the feeling is in the center of livđe. Learning the family’s livđe has built a connection with people I have never met,” Anna Morottaja describes.

The concerts program consists mainly of the livđes of Anna Briitta Mattus and the background stories of the people who are the subjects of these livđes.
Traditionally, livđe is unaccompanied, but Tallari’s members’ extensive instrument expertise and well-thought-out arrangements support the traditional expression wonderfully.

Kuobžâ-Piäká Ánná, Anna Morottaja, is an Inari Sámi musician. Se livđes, joiks and sings. In addition to making music, she fishes, picks berries, does handicrafts, cuts wood and teaches the Inari Sámi language. A frugal and nature-respecting life is important to her.

Starting from the cradle of spelman music in Kaustinen, the folk music group Tallari has been keeping the flame of Finnish roots music alive for 35 years, bringing back to life the treasures of the archives and creating new ones.