Tornedalians

Tornedalians (; ; ) are an ethnic minority native to the Torne Valley (Meänmaa) region in northern Sweden and Finland. Tornedalians may refer to themselves using several different terms, though most commonly as Tornedalians, Kvens or Lantalaiset. Tornedalians were officially recognized as a distinct national minority in Sweden in 2000. In Finland, Tornedalians are generally considered a regional subgroup of Finns.

Etymologies

The English word Tornedalian derives from the Swedish name for the Torne Valley, Tornedalen. The Swedish word Tornedalen in turn derives from the archaic Finnic word tornio meaning spear and the Swedish word dal which means valley.

Tornedalians use several different terms to refer to themselves. Lantalaiset (sl. Lantalainen; lit. "fertiliser/settled people") typically live in the further inland areas of Swedish and Finnish Lapland, known as Lannanmaa by Lantalaiset. The parts of Sweden inhabited by Lantalaiset largely correspond to the area known in Swedish as Malmfälten.

The term Kven has a disputed etymology. It appears for the first time in Ohthere of Hålogaland's 9th century accounts of northern Europe and is used mostly in Norwegian and Icelandic sources to refer to Tornedalians. The term is also very common in the Karesuando (Karesuanto) area. While the term lappfinne has fallen out of use, the term byfinne is still used.

Terms such as meänmaalaiset (lit. people of our land), meikäläiset (lit. people like us) and Kven (kvääni/kveeni) are used natively to refer to Tornedalians as a whole. Ultimately, there is no internal consensus on the use of any one term. In a historical context the terms Finn and Finnish are sometimes still used.

These different terms/groups are not necessarily exclusive, and some may identify with multiple.

Language

Meänkieli, or Tornedalian, is the language or dialect spoken by Tornedalians. While Meänkieli is recognised in Sweden as one of the country's five minority languages, its status as an independent language is sometimes disputed due to its high mutual intelligibility with Finnish. It belongs to the Uralic language family.

History

Early History: 800–1323

Finnic populations first began settling in the northern reaches of the Bay of Bothnia during the Viking Age, which previously would have likely been solely inhabited by the Sámi. the first certain evidence of Finnic populations in the Torne valley comes from the 1000s. Local toponomy indicates early Finnic populations in the area were made up of Tavastians and Karelians. These may have formed the ancient Kvens, which are often considered ancestors of today's Tornedalians and Kvens, though the connection between the ancient Kvens and modern Tornedalians and Kvens has been disputed.left|thumb|[[Birkarls trading as depicted on the Carta Marina (1539)]]

Early Interactions with Sweden: 1300–1500

In 1323, in the aftermath of the Treaty of Nöteborg, the government of King Magnus Eriksson of Sweden decreed that all land from Hälsingland to the Ule River would be free for settlement and that all those who did would be exempt from taxes until 1340. Only five years later in 1328 a legal hearing was held in Tälje as the birkarls, local Tornedalian tradesmen and representatives, disputed the right of the Hälsings (Swedes) to colonise the area. While the case was ruled in the favour of the birkarls and Sámi, and again re-confirmed in 1358 by king Erik Magnusson, Swedish expansion northwards would nonetheless encroach on Tornedalian lands.

Gustav Vasa would play a pivotal role in the decline of the Birkarls doubling the tithes owed to the crown in 1528, beginning to tax their homesteads in 1543 and in 1554 he revoked their right to collect taxes, instead assigning the duty to agents of the crown.

In the mid 1500s the local birkarl-chieftain and the king's local bailif, called Olof Anundsson by the Swedes, would repeatedly be accused of misconduct for refusing to visit church, deriding the authority of God and the Church, and mocking God's word.

Modern Era: 1809–today

Following the Treaty of Fredrikshamn between Sweden and Russia in 1809, all Swedish lands east of the Torne, Muonio and Könkämä rivers were ceded to Russia as the Grand Duchy of Finland. The split region continued to be culturally homogenous, so the border had little immediate impact on people's everyday lives. In time however the border would have a notable linguistic and cultural impact. Today Finnish Tornedalians typically do not consider their speech a separate language despite many speaking what otherwise could be considered Meänkieli.thumb|The Torne valleyDuring the 1800s Tornedalians became the targets of extensive so-called "racial biology" and Swedification policies, and many Tornedalian and Sámi graves were plundered at the behest of priests. Lars Levi Læstadius himself participated in the process of plundering graves.

1886 saw the introduction of the first Swedish Reindeer Herding Act, which prohibited non-Sámi from herding reindeer. The law likewise restricted the rights of non-members of Samebyar to winter pastures, hunting, and fishing. Tornedalians thus had to 'lease' their own reindeer to vested Sámi herders. This state of affairs has largely been repeated in the Reindeer Herding Acts of 1898, 1928 and 1971. No outright ban was ever instituted in Finland, but those who spoke the language were discriminated against. After the 1902 Norrbotten famine, "work cabins" were established in Norrbotten in the fashion of boarding schools with the stated goal of providing food, lodging and education to children from the sparsely populated region. Here, teachers would work to forcefully assimilate Tornedalian children; abuse was rampant. In the early to mid 1900's, Herman Lundborg from the State Institute for Racial Biology performed skull measurements on Tornedalians in 1913, which continued into the 1950s. The ban on speaking Meänkieli in school was revoked by the Riksdag in 1957. At Furunäset Hospital and Asylum (1893-1987) in Piteå, Tornedalian women were sterilised, were forced to have abortions, and were subjected to other invasive surgeries.

During the 1970s and 80s a Tornedalian movement would form. In 1981 The National Association of Swedish Tornedalians (STR-T) would form and in 1992 the first Meänkieli dictionary was written.

In 2000, a new law went into effect recognising the Tornedalians as an official national minority and Meänkieli as an official minority language. A truth and reconciliation commission on historical discrimination against the population was appointed in 2020, and made its final report on 15 May 2023.

In 2024 the remains of 23 Tornedalian and Sámi people (6 of which children) previously buried at Akamella cemetery, near Muodoslompolo, were repatriated. The remains, which had been plundered in 1878, are the first remains of Tornedalian people to be repatriated.

Religion and beliefs

thumb|236x236px|Cross commemorating the old church of Särkilaksi (Särkilax), first raised in the late 1400s, which was destroyed during the ice discharge of 1615.

Christianity first gained a foothold in the region in the 1400s. By the 1600s it had come to be the dominant religion displacing earlier pagan beliefs. Many pagan beliefs would continue throughout the christianisation and afterwards. Jopmel/Jobmel was a key figure in Tornedalian beliefs, along with figures such as Hiisi, Perhana, Veen neiti, Jatuni, and others. According to traditional beliefs, a saivo is a special kind of holy "double-bottomed" lake which can act as a portal to the land of the dead. The jänkkäsilmä (lit. 'eye of the bog') was a similarly holy feature in nature, which could likewise transport a person to the other life or through time. During the 1600s and 1700s when Christianity became dominant in Torne Valley the noita largely lost his importance as a religious figure and became primarily a keeper of traditional medical knowledge. When he died in 1861, took up the mantle as spiritual leader of the movement. After his death in 1899 the movement splintered, though Læstadianism remains an important part of much of Tornedalian society.

During the 1930s, the Korpela Movement gripped Torne Valley. It taught that God would soon make a crystal bridge to Palestine where a utopia would be established. The movement was much more lenient with the consumption of alcohol and extramarital sexual relations. It became popular with lantalaiset. The movement's heyday came to an end in 1939/1940 when the last of its preachers were jailed but its beliefs have had a lasting impact in Torne Valley.

Liikutukset is an important practice of Tornedalian/Kven Læstadianism. The word roughly translates as 'movements' and involves moving about in a state of religious ecstasy often involving hopping, clapping, dancing, shouting praise, singing and similar activities. though it is unclear what part of the total Tornedalian population this number represents.

Traditional clothing

thumb|299x299px|After [[Christmas service in Tornio, 1820s.]]

Traditional men's clothing was distinguished by the so-called långkolt (Swedish for "long gákti") along with a sort of blue or black hat typically adorned with red seams, often called a kairalakki. During winter the peski might be used over the långkolt. Blue and red were the most common colours but also black, yellow, grey and green featured commonly. What in Swedish is called a näbbsko (beak-shoe) is the traditional footwear used by Tornedalians. They are typically made of reindeer or cow hide. Winter shoes are known as nutukka, while summer shoes are known as paulakengät or vuotakengät. Historically, wealthier Lantalaiset sometimes wore Sámi silver belts. The men's dress seems to have never caught on. Silver and tin are commonly used in jewelry.

In 1944, despite the existing ban on Meänkieli, William Snell (1895-1980) wrote the first book in the language titled Kamaripirtiltä: muisteluksia Tornion murtheela. In 1947 he would go on to write Tornionlaakson laulu (Swedish: Tornedalssången; English: Torne Valley song) which today is considered almost a "national anthem" of sorts among Tornedalians. The work of William Snell preceded the cultural renaissance of the 1980s and would become very influential.

Bengt Pohjanen is one of the most prolific Tornedalian authors. In 1985 he wrote Lyykeri (English: Luger) the first novel in Meänkieli and has since written books, dramas, screenplays, songs and opera. He is trilingual in his writing.

The novel Popular Music from Vittula (2000) by the Tornedalian author Mikael Niemi became very popular both in Sweden and in Finland. It is composed of colourful stories of everyday life in the Tornedalian town of Pajala. The novel has been adapted for several stage productions, and as a film in 2004.

The first feature length movie in Meänkieli premiered in 2025. Titled Liikheitä in Meänkieli (English: Raptures; ; ), it follows the rise and fall of the Korpela movement. It is directed by and based on Bengt Pohjanen's book Dagning; Röd!.

Flag

thumb|Sámi, Tornedalian and Kven flags during the [[Akamella repatriation ceremony.]]

The flag is a horizontal tricolour of yellow, white and blue. The flag was designed in 2007 by the organisation Meänmaa Tinkerit. The design references a quote credited to a Tornedalian woman as the border was being drawn: "The summer-blue sky, you cannot cut in two; Nor the white winter field can you part; And neither can you divide the clear yellow sun! That which you cannot cut in twain shall forever remain." or alternatively "You may gladly draw a line in the earth, but the air, sun and land - that you can never cut in two." The Nordic cross is not present on the flag as "No crusaders have we ever been". The flag initially faced some criticism as it was seen by some as a nationalist symbol.

Lantalaiset and Kvens typically use the Kven flag instead, designed in 2009 by Bengt Johansson-Kyrö. The Kven flag day is March 16th.