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Unknown flower


Yesterday, it's windy. Today, it has been cloudy since the morning. And now I have rain. Junior high school students in field trip get into Kurase store and buy raincoat. It seems better to be in the cafe. Greens I can see from the terrace are wet. A shop keeper lady in the neighboring souvenir shop seems bored with no customer.

The rain stops. I take my bike. The rain can restart at any time. I can't go so far. My 'around the island cycle tour' is getting into 3rd round and losing a big surprise now. Suddenly I hear the vocals and sound of accordion in the local house. So I look into the front yard of the house. Ladies in traditional dress are singing and dancing. Many guests sit around them and clap their hands. 'Oh! this must be a traditional ceremony. I'm very lucky to come across' A big accent in my monotony.

I see it from the behind of crowds in the beginning. Then the dancing ladies beckon me to the front row. An guest makes space for me. After talk in the language I don't know, dance and music start again. Next to me, another lady is knitting a clothes. I get the best position for photographing. As I photograph them, I feel something wrong. The audience never looks like a families nor relatives neither. They look like tourists.

So I ask to an audience next to me. "If you are tourists?" "Yeah, we come from Finland" Ah gosh, this is a tourist attraction. The music stop. And MC start talking in Finnish, I guess. All the audience look at me and laugh. "Unexpectedly, we got a guest from Asia today" She said so, I suppose. Once again accordions and chorus start. And now the tourist around me are stepping forward and dancing with the music. I don't know it's Finnish dance or the Estonian. Somebody told me the culture and language of both countries are very close. Although it's a tourist attraction, I'm happy to see they really enjoyed it.



My three day stay in Kihnu Island is almost ending. I return the bike at the port and overlook the sea. I see a ferry is coming. That's the ferry I'll take. A lady in formal Kihnu dress, wine red hat and striped skirt, stands on the wharf. The exact same picture I saw from the ferry deck when I got to Kihnu 3 days ago. She is standing by welcome new visitors to guide. Then she has final check with sightseeing track driver.
She finds me and asks. "Ah, now you leave the island?" Maybe I met her somewhere, although I don't recognize her because she puts the sunglass on. Did I pass by on the bike. Or is she a MC of the tourist attraction which I saw yesterday. Anyway I answer "Yes, I'm leaving"

Showing me the book titled 'Wild flowers in Estonia' and flowers and she says "The name of this flower aren't referred on the book. I'll ask to a man on the foot of lighthouse. Did you see him down there? He is a specialist of Kihnu Island. If you have a question about the island, ask him" Oh, the barefoot guy in short pants isn't a hustler. If I got up on the lighthouse with him, I could get tips about the island. I missed it.
It's funny, like a real roll playing game. "If you wanna get tips about this world, then meet the man at the foot of lighthouse!" If this is a game, it's easy. Move the main character with controller. However this is real world. To meet the key person, I gotta ride bike for 6km on unpaved road.

I ask the madam to photograph her. "Yeah, but not for my hand. Coz it's not so beautiful" She answers. "I think it's beautiful" She frown. Expression from shy, I believe. I like the communications in taking picture. Portrait is a product from conversation.
Then she face to the ferry which is now docked, and waits for opening the gate with the truck driver.



Jul. 2016



Today's piece
" Her role " Kihnu Island, Estonia 2016




fumikatz osada photographie