Jānis Rātminders—Teacher,
Poet, Translator
(December 8,
1812—October 8, 1880)
My
friends, if these songs of mine
Should
meet with your approval,
Then
I’ll dare to go on singing,
And
tell more of Juris:
What
a man he’s become
And
what good he’s done.
Then
I’ll write down a second chapter,
Which
will be superior to this.
In
my spare time I’ll happily seek
To
gather more verses and sing even better.
This
my mind is set on night and day,
To
give my brothers what they need.
God,
let me experience
From
my countrymen this joy:
That,
both near and far,
Their
liking for book-reading should increase.
Then
the people’s ignorance will end,
And
whoever writes will rejoice.
Stāstu
dziemas (Story Songs)
Riga,
1850
For Janis
Ratminders, there was no greater joy than sharing his faith in God and love of
learning with his fellow Latvians and his poetry exuded both of those
qualities. But he was the product of
three worlds and his daughter Augusta—our great grandmother—would depart for
yet another when she left her family for a new life in America.
Janis was
brought up on the Zeikari farmstead just north of the village of Vecpiebalga, some 130 kilometers east of Riga.
The farmstead sits on the windward side of a knoll that is the height of
land to the west of Alauksts Lake.
A short walk on the driveway down to the main road (P30) from
Vecpiebalga to Cesis to the north, affords a panoramic view of the lake with
the iconic white birch rimming its shore.
To the west, the rivelet which becomes the Gauja River—the longest
entirely in Latvia—winds through the fields from its source in Kaive, then
north and east and again north and finally west on its meandering route to the
Baltic Sea.
The 19th
century Latvian landscape Janis was born into was not yet Latvia, but a part of the Russian Empire
since the end of the Northern War which relinquished Swedish control of the
eastern Baltic littoral in the 1720s.
And yet the countryside was populated by Latvians and Germans. As the Latvian novelist Matiss Kaudzites
once noted, in these days the terms Latvian and German were equivalent to
peasant and landowner, as the dominance of the latter established centuries
before continued through the 19th century. At times the German presence was oppressive,
but the influence of Swedish kings and Moravian brethren, along with the German
Lutheran church, resulted in an increase in the literacy rate among Latvians. Literacy and refined culture were the domains
of Germans and most education was conducted in German.
Janis Ratminders
(Johann Rathminder in the German-language church records) was the third of four
sons of Andzs and Marie Rathminder to reach adulthood—one sister did as
well—and the second so named after an older sibling who died in infancy. The family lost 2 infant daughters, as well. Janis and Andzs
were popular names in the Vidzeme countryside—Janis’s paternal grandfather was
also Janis and his oldest brother was Andzs.
Though he was influenced by all his family, it was his brother Andzs who
has the most lasting and profound impact on his life. Andzs, 7 years older than Janis, was intelligent
and multi-talented and when a teaching position became available at the local
parish school, Andzs was chosen at the age of 18. He would become a legend in Latvian education
as he continued in the role for 63 years, one the longest and far-reaching in
history. So it would be Andzs who would
teach his younger brother Janis and mentor him in his own teaching career for
years to come.
After completing his training under his brother’s tutelage, Janis sought further experience in Riga, the commercial and cultural center of the eastern Baltic region. Before long he secured a position teaching in the manor of Sasumuižā (Zasulauks) on the Pardaugava area of Riga across the Daugava River from the city center. By 1837, he secured a position at the St. John’s parish in the old city, and he would continue there until the year of his death—over 42 years. Longevity was but one of his accomplishments as he took a prominent role in the literary movement in the Latvian language and what became known as the "National Awakening,” which brought Latvian language, culture and literature onto firm footing alongside German and Russian influences. To say Janis was a member of the Latvian intelligentsia of the mid-19th century would be accurate, but fall short of describing his overall contribution to the national movement.
His literary connections most certainly were enhanced by his association with Pastor Hermans Treijs, the St. John’s parish leader, who himself was a prolific writer. Treijs had began in 1832 to publish a weekly newspaper "Tas Latviesu Lauzu Draugs” (Friend of the Latvian People) and continued its publication to at least 1846. Once Janis began work in the parish school, he also became a regular contributor to the publication with stories and poetry written under his own byline and with pseudonyms of JR and 49. Examples of his work dating back to 1840 are on file in the National Library of Latvia, including “Good work, bad salary” and “Christmas message to students” in 1842, collaborations with Ansis Leitans on “Songs for Ludwig Schulz” and Pastor Hermans Treijs's “Christmas Greetings” in 1844 and “Poems for Karl Hieronymus Schirren” in 1847. This collaboration would represent the beginning of a life-long friendship with Leitans which would further his writing career.
A collection of his pieces written for “Tas Latviesu Lauzu Draugs,” including “Pretzels from Father” and “Grandfather’s Life,” became the basis for his publication in 1850 of “Stāstu dziesmas”(Story Songs), a book of poetic stories centered on a young Latvian lad named Juris. The stories take the form of parables which emphasize the virtues of hard work, education and faith, leading to an honorable life. While some historians mark the date of the first Latvian-language publication of poetry by a Latvian as that of Juris Alunans’ “Dziesminas” (Poetry) in 1856 but Janis was clearly 6 years ahead of Alunans. Between 1850 and 1870 the percentage of such publications in the region went from single digits to 50 percent as the new generation of educated Latvians followed the lead of Ratminders and Alunans. A biography of Janis Ratminders after his death by J. R. Kalniuks suggests that “Stāstu dziesmas” was widely read and admired, though it has been largely forgotten today.
The publication of Alunans’ work and the establishment of the Latvian language newspaper “Mājas Viesis” (The House-Guest) by Janis Ratminders’ good friend and collaborator Ansis Leitans in 1856 marked the beginning of the first Latvian National Awakening which extended into the 1880s. Janis was a significant contributor to Mājas Viesis, along with fellow teachers Juris Caunitis, Mikelis Ciritis and Janis Katkins. Mājas Viesis was authorized by the new Tsar of Russia, Alexander II and became the first Latvian newspaper founded by Latvians and edited by Latvians. It evoked a sense of pride and excitement in the Latvian identity.
Soon after the founding of Mājas Viesis, a succeeding generation of “New Latvians” came on the scene, having all been educated at Dorpat (Tartu) University and given the opportunity to publish their writings in the new weekly paper. Now legendary figures such as Krisjanis Valdemars, Juris Alunans, Krisjanis Barons and Atis Kronwalds met regularly to discuss political, cultural and literary issues that were of interest to ethnic Latvians. This group was a reflection of an earlier regular gathering of intelligentsia including Janis Ratminders, Ansis Leitans and others, often at Janis’s home, in the late 1830s and into the 1840s. While this early group met often, its progress was blunted by Tsar Nicholas I who felt threatened by a number of national movements in the Empire and directed local representatives to limit its meetings. Over the long term these intrepid Latvians influenced the next wave of the national movement.
The name Latvia (Latvija) became commonly used by 1862 and in the late 1860s the seeds of a new organization which became known as the Riga Latvian Association were sown. Janis, though not as active as in his younger days, was involved in the formation of this organization and wrote lyrics for a song, "Kas mūsu spēks, / Kas mūsu pūles" (In our power, In our efforts), with music by Juliujs Purats, which was dedicated to the Association at its founding in 1868. By 1873, with the first National Song Festival, the Association was a well established body in support of Latvian Nationalism.
In September 1846, Janis married Maria Louise Jacobsohn, daughter of Adam and Maria Magdalena Jacobsohn who were long-time members of the St. John’s parish. Janis and Maria had 10 children over a period of 16 years. Our great, grandmother Augusta Dorothea Rathminder was the third and was named for a descendent of Gotthard Friedrich Stender, an 18th century Latvian grammarian and lexicographer. Although Janis was active among Latvian language intellectuals, he also shared the trait of many of those, in that he was immersed in German language and culture of the day as well. Augusta was more influenced by the German side of the house, as evidenced by her love of German romance novels, chiefly among them “Ingo” by Gustav Freytag, the source of our grandfather’s given name as well as that of his sister Freida. To his death my father always referred to her as his ‘German’ grandmother.
Janis kept in close contact with his brother Andzs until his death in 1880. An interesting anecdote surrounding their relationship revolved around the hiring of the great Latvian nationalist orator Atis Kronwalds as a teacher in Vecpiebalga. Andzs knew of Kronvalds stature in the national movement, but wanted to be assured that this great young voice of Latvia was a well-rounded individual, versed in history, philosophy, the arts and religion, so he consulted with his best resource in Riga, his brother Janis. On Janis’s recommendation Kronvalds was hired and served in the Vecpiebalga parish school until his untimely death at the relatively young age of 37 in 1875.
Janis retired to new home on Slokas iela (Woodcock Street) in Agenkalns area, not far from Zasulauks manor where he first worked on his arrival in Riga. He is buried in the Martina Cemetary across the street from his home. He never returned to live in Vecpiebalga, and some speculation surrounds the possibility that his heart was broken by a childhood sweetheart. Still he expressed his fondness for home in one of his best-known poems, Rītu nebūšu vairs mājās (Tomorrow, I’ll Be Home No Longer):
Tomorrow
I’ll be home no longer
The
moment of parting is near.
My
legs already walk the path
My
thoughts remain right here.
Climbing
the hill over yonder
I’ll
gaze back into the dale.
I’ll
look down upon the place
Where
my joy once set sail.
Then
with my heart saddened
I’ll
continue to walk the line.
My
beloved, though not beside me,
I’ll
hold forever in my mind.
But
when the cold winter ends
A
wondrous spring will be revived.
Then
I can go forth again
And
my legs will gladly oblige.
Then
I’ll happily return
To
where love sings its song.
I’ll
begin a joyous new life,
And
my sorrows will be gone.
And
then on Midsummer’s Eve
I’ll
adorn your door with birch leaves.
I’ll
pick flowers for you, my beloved
Through
all the hills and valleys.
