Talkoot
Encyclopedia
Talkoot is a Finnish expression for a gathering of friends and neighbors to accomplish a task, similar to a bee
or a barn raising
in English.
A talkoot is a Finnish custom
involving a group of people gathering to work together unpaid, for instance to build or repair something. The word is borrowed
into Finland-Swedish
as talko, but is unknown to most Swedes
. It is the cultural equivalent of common work in a village community, although adapted to the conditions of Finland
, where traditionally most families lived in isolated farms, often miles away from the nearest village.
A talkoot is by definition voluntary, and the work is unpaid. The voluntary nature might be imaginary, due to social pressure, especially in small communities; and one's honor and reputation may be severely damaged if one doesn't show up — or proves to be a poor worker.
The task of the talkoot may be something that is a common concern, i.e. for the good of the group, or it may be to help someone with a task that exceeds his or her own capacity. For instance, elderly neighbors or relatives can need help if their house or garden is damaged by storm, or siblings can agree to arrange a party for a parent's special birthday as a talkoot. One of the most common urban forms is to help friends move. The institution bears considerable similarity to barn raising
but is more general in application.
Typically, club houses, landings, churches and parish halls can be repaired through a talkoot, or environmental tasks for the neighborhood are undertaken. The parents of a pre-school may gather to improve the playground, or the tenants of a tenement house may arrange a talkoot to put their garden in order for the summer or winter. The talkoo institution works less well in greater towns and in larger clubs, where only the very most solidarity-minded may show up.
Someone who can't contribute with the actual work may contribute food for the talkoot party, or act as a baby-sitter. When a talkoot is for the benefit of an individual, he or she is the host of the talkoot party, obliged to offer food and drinks according to capacity, sauna after the work is also often expected. Parsimoniousness here may result in a person being persecuted for the rest of his or her life. In "talkoot" undertaken for a club or other joint venture, participants often expect to be fed in similar manner by the club.
An example of such a talkoot is the digitalkoot project of the Finnish libraries. http://www.digitalkoot.fi/en/splash
Or the cleaning up of the whole country from trash. http://www.suomipuhtaaksi.fi/
Bee (gathering)
A bee, as used in quilting bee, working bee or spelling bee, is an expression used together with another word to describe a gathering of peers to accomplish a task or to hold a competition. Especially in the past, the tasks were often major jobs, such as clearing a field of timber or raising a...
or a barn raising
Barn raising
A barn raising is an event during which community men come together to assemble a barn for one or more of its households, with the support of women. The event was particularly common in 18th- and 19th-century rural North America. In the past, a barn was often the first, largest, and most costly...
in English.
A talkoot is a Finnish custom
Tradition
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...
involving a group of people gathering to work together unpaid, for instance to build or repair something. The word is borrowed
Loanword
A loanword is a word borrowed from a donor language and incorporated into a recipient language. By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept where the meaning or idiom is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself. The word loanword is itself a calque of the German Lehnwort,...
into Finland-Swedish
Finland-Swedish
Finland Swedish is a general term for the closely related cluster of dialects of Swedish spoken in Finland by Swedish-speaking Finns as their mother tongue...
as talko, but is unknown to most Swedes
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. It is the cultural equivalent of common work in a village community, although adapted to the conditions of Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, where traditionally most families lived in isolated farms, often miles away from the nearest village.
A talkoot is by definition voluntary, and the work is unpaid. The voluntary nature might be imaginary, due to social pressure, especially in small communities; and one's honor and reputation may be severely damaged if one doesn't show up — or proves to be a poor worker.
The task of the talkoot may be something that is a common concern, i.e. for the good of the group, or it may be to help someone with a task that exceeds his or her own capacity. For instance, elderly neighbors or relatives can need help if their house or garden is damaged by storm, or siblings can agree to arrange a party for a parent's special birthday as a talkoot. One of the most common urban forms is to help friends move. The institution bears considerable similarity to barn raising
Barn raising
A barn raising is an event during which community men come together to assemble a barn for one or more of its households, with the support of women. The event was particularly common in 18th- and 19th-century rural North America. In the past, a barn was often the first, largest, and most costly...
but is more general in application.
Typically, club houses, landings, churches and parish halls can be repaired through a talkoot, or environmental tasks for the neighborhood are undertaken. The parents of a pre-school may gather to improve the playground, or the tenants of a tenement house may arrange a talkoot to put their garden in order for the summer or winter. The talkoo institution works less well in greater towns and in larger clubs, where only the very most solidarity-minded may show up.
Someone who can't contribute with the actual work may contribute food for the talkoot party, or act as a baby-sitter. When a talkoot is for the benefit of an individual, he or she is the host of the talkoot party, obliged to offer food and drinks according to capacity, sauna after the work is also often expected. Parsimoniousness here may result in a person being persecuted for the rest of his or her life. In "talkoot" undertaken for a club or other joint venture, participants often expect to be fed in similar manner by the club.
An example of such a talkoot is the digitalkoot project of the Finnish libraries. http://www.digitalkoot.fi/en/splash
Or the cleaning up of the whole country from trash. http://www.suomipuhtaaksi.fi/
See also
- Barn raisingBarn raisingA barn raising is an event during which community men come together to assemble a barn for one or more of its households, with the support of women. The event was particularly common in 18th- and 19th-century rural North America. In the past, a barn was often the first, largest, and most costly...
- CharretteCharretteA charrette , is often Anglicized to charette and sometimes called a design charrette. It consists of an intense period of design activity.-Charrettes in general:...
- Turkish word imeceImece"Imece" is a special name given for a Turkish tradition, which is a village-scale collaboration on an individual’s work or need of human power. For example, if a couple is getting married villagers participate in the overall organization of the ceremony including but not limited to preparation of...
has "the same" meaning. - Estonian word talgud has the same meaning.
- Norwegian word dugnadDugnadDugnad is a Norwegian term for voluntary work done together with other people. In a tradition similar to that of barn raising, community members meet to help an individual, or club members meet to build a clubhouse or get necessary jobs done for a family in need. Participation in a dugnad is often...
has a similar meaning. - Hungarian word kalákaKalákaKaláka is a folk music group formed in Budapest, Hungary on November 26, 1969. The founding members are Dániel Gryllus, Vilmos Gryllus, István Mikó and Balázs Radványi. Later Mikó was replaced by Péter Dabasi who in turn was replaced by Péter Huzella and later by Gábor Becze. Tamás Kobzos Kiss was...
has a similar meaning. - Cherokee word GadugiGadugiGadugi is a term used in the Cherokee language which means "working together" or "cooperative labor" within a community.Historically, the word referred to a labor gang, of men and/or women, working together for projects such as harvesting crops or tending to gardens of elderly or infirm tribal...
has a similar meaning. - Polish word tłoka has a similar meaning.