爱沙尼亚东南部的塞托人每年将一个村庄变成象征性王国一天，以此维护其数个世纪的文化遗产和语言。[1]这一传统自1994年开始举办，通过选举新的社区代表和展开传统文化活动来巩固民族认同。[1]
塞托语言目前处于脆弱状态，约25000人能够使用这门语言，但仅有数千人在日常生活中使用。[1]Setomaa地区的人口不足3000人。[1]该地区著名的leelo歌唱传统已被列入联合国教科文组织非物质文化遗产名录，历史超过1000年。[1]
在最近举办的活动中，民间服装制作者Ingrit Kala被选举为新当选的Ülemsootska（社区代表）。[1]23岁的Maria Grünberg表示："我们想要展示这对所有人都是有意义的。"[1]苏联解体后，该民族在俄罗斯一侧仅有不足200人留下，这次年度庆典也为被分割的社区成员提供了团聚的机会。[1]
Estonia's Seto community, an ethnic minority inhabiting the country's southeastern region, annually transforms a local village into a symbolic kingdom for a day to safeguard their centuries-old cultural heritage and language [1]. The Kingdom Day celebration, which began in 1994, brings together members of the Seto people to participate in traditional cultural activities and elect a new community representative known as Ülemsootska [1]. This year's newly elected representative is Ingrit Kala, a folk costume maker [1].
The Seto language faces an uncertain future, with approximately 25,000 people able to speak it, though only thousands use it in daily life [1]. The Setomaa region, where this cultural preservation effort takes place, is home to fewer than 3,000 residents [1]. The annual Kingdom Day festival features traditional dress displays and performances of leelo singing, a vocal tradition with over 1,000 years of history that has been recognized by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage [1]. According to 23-year-old Maria Grünberg, a participant in the festivities, "We want to show that this is for everyone" [1].
The Seto community's preservation efforts carry particular significance given their historical fragmentation. Following the Soviet Union's collapse, fewer than 200 Seto people remained on the Russian side of the border, leaving the Estonian portion of the population as the primary custodian of this distinct cultural tradition [1].