The collection of the Sheltozero Veps Ethnographic Museum named after Rurik Petrovich Lonin includes an ancient horn, an instrument that the shepherd used mainly to give signals.
The horn’s signals were carried over long distances. With the help of a horn, the shepherd gathered the flock — in the morning and in the evening, for daytime milking and to the watering hole. The sound of the horn made the animals walk in a certain direction. The horn also sounded in case of danger. For each command there was a tune. The peasants believed that with the help of a horn, the shepherd communicated with the leshy, the owner of the forest, with whom, according to the beliefs of the Veps, he made a deal before the start of summer grazing. The deal granted the help of the leshy in herding cattle in exchange for the gifts.
In the harsh climate of Karelia, shepherding was not just a seasonal activity, but also art. In the absence of meadow pastures and because of the value of each animal in the farm, grazing the herd required the shepherd to be skillful and even to master some magical techniques. The village hired a shepherd for the whole summer for a fee and housing. The Veps tried to find a “stranger” for this position — a non-local from another village. Preference was given to strong young men versed in magic: it was believed that such a shepherd could protect the herd from wild forest animals and the evil eye. The shepherd made a shepherd’s pipe (torvi) or a birch bark horn (liru) in two versions: one for daily grazing, the other for performing various rituals (such as the first “release”, herding the cattle into the pasture, treatment of sick cattle, etc.). No one except the shepherd himself was allowed to touch the shepherd’s horn, much less play on it.
