The event, the "Ehe Eesti Disainilaat" (design fair) was held in the month of veebruar. EHE is a beautiful, albeit slightly elusive word. Most people would say it means jewel. And they're right. Jewellery is usually spoken of in the plural (ehted). But in this case we're not talking about bling. If the ad reads "Eesti ehe", it would mean Estonian jewel(s), but ehe Eesti = genuine(ly) Estonia(n). Describing gems or jewels as pure or genuine (EHEDAD), is how they got their name. Ehe kuld = real gold; ehedad ehted = genuine jewels. The word for a gemstone, the ultimate ehe is kalliskivi, vääriskivi (precious stone) or briljant.
If you act "ehedalt", you are being sincere. Ehe loodus is unspoiled nature. The opposite of ehe is fake (võlts, ersats). As for the high-heeled pastlad – they do exist. They are the brainchild of Swedish-born Estonian designer Liina Viira, who specializes in ethno-inspired knitwear. Her models have been known to prance about in high-heeled pastlad, some of which extend up the leg like leather leggings. Fashion design award winner Liina now has her own shop in Tallinn's Old Town. "Naiiv" is located at Pikk 33 (www.naiiv.eu).
Want to name your daughter something sterling, untarnished and bona fide? How about Ehe? Estonian girls names are Eha (twilight), Ele, Hele and Ere (bright); so why not Ehe-Kulla or Hõbe (silver) Ehe?
It turns out there are 6 girls/women named Ehe in Eesti. According to name statistics from the Estonian Population Registry (state portal www.eesti.ee) 2796 women are named Eha, 567 Hele, 290 Ele, 108 Ere, 95 Kulla and less than 5 are named Hõbe. But they're out there… A 3-month old named Hõbe-Teele shimmered in the media limelight last week. She visited President Ilves along with her mother Triin Vahisalu, who was congratulated for winning a prestigious L'Oréal-UNESCO "Women in Science" fellowship.
Riina Kindlam,
Tallinn
