Who Gave the Mulks their Name - Estonians or Latvians? Oral Tradition and History

The tourism industry uses the Latvian origin of the ethnonym Mulk to attract Latvians to Mulgimaa (Mulgimā; the land of Mulks). Historically, the area covered five parishes in Pärnu (Pernau) and Viljandi (Fellin) Counties. For decades, Estonians have also been actively promoting this hypothesis among Latvians. In 2016, the President of Estonia, Toomas Henrik Ilves, referred to it in Odita Krenberga’s documentary Tomass no Muļķu zemes.¹ In tourist information as well as in Latvian media, different versions circulate.² For example, Estonians who grew flax and sold it in Riga were called fools by Latvians whom they met as they did not understand each other’s language. The Estonians, proudly thinking that this word had a good meaning, gave this name to their land. According to another version, Latvians called their neighbours so because they tried to grow grain on infertile soil. This article explores the etymology of the ethnonym Mulk (GEN Mulgi, pl. Mulgid). The term ‘ethnonym’ denotes both an ethnos as well as categories smaller than an ethnos, the so-called sub-ethnos, or a member of it. Paul Dickson has coined the term ‘demonym’ that identifies residents or natives of a particular place and is derived from the name of the place.³ Majority of demonyms are direct derivatives of place names, but derisive designations or those that metaphorically express origin from some particular place can also be categorised as demonyms. A designation connected to origin and background can have attributes of both ethnonyms and demonyms. When they denote a group of people, both ethnonyms and demonyms are common nouns and not proper names. Especially when the designation is still informal or is too derisive to be formal, it can be still perceived as a possible nickname for a member of a group. Two hypotheses about the birth of the ethnonym Mulk exist in Estonia. One of them links it to the farm name Mulgi in the parish of Halliste (Hallist) in Southern Estonia and the other claims that it is of Latvian origin. Phonetic similarity between the words mulk [mul^jk]⁴ and muļķis is evident but there is hardly any evidence to prove the Latvian origin of the ethnonym Mulk. The systematic treatment of the topic reveals that earlier authors have not read each other’s works. By tracing the emergence and use of the ethnonym Mulk, we explore its social, historical and cultural context. The article draws on contemporary fiction, polemics in media, memoirs and other forms of oral tradition, as well as sources on migration. Firstly, we review the two hypotheses about the birth of the ethnonym Mul’k and the kinds of evidence and arguments that have been used to support them. Thereafter, we explore the extent to which the oral tradition about its birth is supported by historical facts. We also offer an explanation of how the proper name Mulgi could have developed into a common name Mulk from a linguistic point of view. Finally, we look at whether there is any reference in Latvian folklore and Latvian language press to lend support to the idea that Latvians called Estonians muļķi and discuss examples of names that Estonians were called.