Estonia Cover

Estonia Cover
Special Post Marke ; 17.10.1995 Tallin

17.10.1995 Finno-Ugri Peoples

The six - stamp miniature sheet commemorates the Finno- ugric family of peoples, of which the Estonians are one. Finno-ugri languages are spoken by 23 million people in scattered communities from Scandinavia in the West to Siberia in the East and Danubian plains in the South. They are considered to be descending from Proto - Uralic, represented by a stylized reindeer on the lower margin of the sheet. Groups within the family and individual languages are represented by the branches resp. prongs of the reindeer´s antlers. The background in each stamp is formed by an ethnographic object characteristic of the group. Moving clockwise from the lower left-hand corner of the sheet, the stamps are devoted to the following language groups (actually, their parent languages) and languages: Proto - Baltic - Finnic; Estonian, Vote, Finnish, Liv, Ingrian, Karelian, Veps. Background: Karelian writing on birchbark (13th c. spell against thunder). Saami: Saami (Lapp). Background: Drawings on a Saami shaman´s drum (Copenhagen National Museum). Proto - Volga: Mordvin, Mari. Background: Duck - shaped brooch from the Kama area (1st millennium - beginning of 2nd millennium of our era). Proto - Permic: Udmurt, Komi. Background: Duck - feet necklase pendant (2nd - 1st millennium B.C.). Proto - Ugric: Hungarian, Mansi, Khanty. Background: Khanty band ornament (bird image in side view). Proto - Samoyedic: Nenets, Enets, Nganasan, Selkup, Kamassin. Background: Bronze amulet (bear image in the sacrificial position).