The Finnish Literature Society Returns Historic Kantele to Lithuania
Reactions count: 0
The Finnish Literature Society (SKS) has returned a historically significant kanklės (kantele; a Finnish zither) to Lithuania. Originally brought to Finland from A. R. Niemi’s folklore collecting expeditions, the instrument has been preserved in SKS’s archival collections since 1910. It was officially received by the President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, at a ceremony held at SKS on 2 September 2025, as part of the President’s working visit to Finland.
Aukusti Robert Niemi (1869–1931), one of the foremost collectors and researchers of Lithuanian folklore, donated the kantele to SKS on 2 November 1910. The archival record notes:
“§16. Dr. A. R. Niemi donated to the Society’s collections an old Lithuanian kantele, describing its use in its homeland of Lithuania.”
Although the kantele has belonged to SKS for more than a century, it remains a part of Lithuania’s national cultural heritage. Niemi’s contribution to Lithuanian folklore studies is of lasting significance. Among the materials preserved in the SKS archives are his unique recordings on 86 phonograph wax cylinders.
The Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore (Lietuvių literatūros ir tautosakos institutas) is currently preparing an extensive digital publication of Niemi’s collected materials. This project will also make the phonograph recordings held by SKS freely accessible online.
In connection with this publication, the Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore and the Embassy of Lithuania in Finland will organize a series of events in autumn 2025 to celebrate A. R. Niemi’s legacy. SKS is contributing to these celebrations by returning the historic kantele back to Lithuania. The instrument, handed over to President Gitanas Nausėda on 2 September 2025, will become part of the collections of the Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore.
President Gitanas Nausėda emphasized the cultural importance of this gesture:
“The research and legacy of the distinguished Finnish folklorist and philosopher Aukusti Robert Niemi form an important part of Lithuania’s folklore and cultural heritage. A particularly important part of this legacy consists of the first recorded Lithuanian folk sutartinės (multipart songs), which have survived to this day and are now included in UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
It is deeply meaningful that a unique artifact from A. R. Niemi’s legacy—the Lithuanian kanklės, which he brought back from his expedition in Lithuania and which has been preserved in the Finnish Literature Society—will, after more than a hundred years, return to Lithuania and be made accessible to the public. We thank the Finnish people for this exceptional gift, which embodies not only the close historical and cultural ties between Lithuania and Finland, but also symbolizes the friendship of our two countries and people.”
Kati Mikkola, Secretary General of SKS, expressed the Society’s delight at the collaboration:
“At SKS we are very pleased that the old Lithuanian recordings preserved in our archives will soon be openly available online, published and contextualized by our Lithuanian partners. This will make them easily accessible not only to Lithuanians but to audiences everywhere. At the same time, we rejoice that the old kanklės – purchased by A. R. Niemi in 1910 in Lithuania and donated to SKS – now returns home to Lithuania after more than a century.”
Additional information
