Big Heart, Strong Hands is the story of the women on the Estonian islands Kihnu and Manija in the Baltic Sea. Geographically isolated, over centuries a strong sense of community spirit and a steadfast attachment to their ancestor's customs has developed. Often viewed as the last matriarchal society in Europe, the older women here take care of almost everything on land as their husbands travel the seas.
Gjelstad has photographed the daily lives and activities of the women, their clothing, bedrooms, kitchens and farmhouses as well as the surrounding landscape - even a ceremony in a deceased person's kitchen only three hours after she had passed away. She has also interviewed the women about their lives, struggles and losses and their thoughts on the future. We learn of the development of this unique society, the harsh conditions it endured over many decades as part of the Soviet Union, as well as its culture and folk dressing customs. These are the hushed voices of culture bearers who need to be heard, for this is a small society rapidly moving towards western standards, and where traditional culture and identity is inevitably slipping away.
Big Heart, Strong Hands
Category: Photographer Monographs & Art Books
Reviews: star
star
star
star
star
Author: Anne Helene Gjelstad
Publisher: Dewi Lewis Publishing
Publication Date:
2020
Print Length: 265 pages
Language: English
Price: paid
paid
paid
Books From the Same Publisher
Martin Parr: The Last Resort: 40 Years On
Mar 2026 - Dewi Lewis Publishing & Martin Parr Foundation
Martin Parr
Berris Conolly: Field Trips: Travels in Britain 1976–1993
Feb 2026 - Dewi Lewis Publishing
Berris Conolly
expand_circle_rightLatest Books in This Category
Grim Glory: Lee Miller's Britain at War
Dec 2026 — Lee Miller Archives Publishing
starstarstarstarstar
John Baer: The Extraordinary Ordinary: A Memoir in Photographs, 1945–1954
Sep 2026 — John Baer Archive



