Sarni past in the NW forest in - tradition and change from the Stone Age up to historical times

Hilkka Oksala Raittipellontie 2 b 7, F/-95900 , Finland

Abstract Keywords: prehistory, early history, modern history, forest assimila- In this article, the prehistoric hunter-fisher cul- Lapps, Sarni, oral tradition, cultural ture is considered as a significant factor in the tion. regional and local development of the forest Lapp culture throughout centuries and millen- nia. The research area Forest Lapps are present in the oral tradition the current as well as in the scarce written documents that The following discussion concerns valley of concern the northernmost area of the historical municipality of Kolari in the eastern and the great parish of , surrounded by the Sarni the Muonionjoki and Tornionjoki rivers s to the south of villages in Tornio~,, Lapland and Lapland regions nearby (Fig. I). It lie since the mid-Jo century. In the area of the the officially declared Sarni area of present-day of Enontekio present Kolari municipality, the main difference Finland, i.e., the southern border between the early farmers and the Lapps has municipality. the been the specific relation between people and Historical documentation concerning in this reindeer among the latter group. This is observ- indigenous Sarni people is very scarce has not ables ince the late Iron Age, and it holds for both area. The research of historical sources the case both wild and tamed reindeer. deserved as much attention as it is eastern However, contacts with the farmer-.fisher- to the west, in , and in the more cf. Tegen- hunters have had a strong impact on the indig- areas in Kemi Lapland (Manker 1968; northernmost enous Lapp culture because ofpartly contradict- gren 1952). Also the history of the the subject of ing interests in the exploitation ofthe wilderness. Finnish Lapland has recently been ; Korpi- Here I give a chronological framework of the several studies ( e.g. Aikio 1985; 1992 2006; 2008 prehistory and history of the forest Lapps of the jaakko 1989; Lehtola 1996; Enbuske documents eastern valley of the Muonionjoki river, pointing and many others). The lack of written of the to reasons for their absence in the written local is no doubt one reason why the Sarni past interest local past. area in question does not seem to or regional historians in the eastern valley of the Tornionjoki and Muonionjoki rivers.

144 RECENT PERSPECTIVES ON SAMI ARCHAEOLOGY ISKOS 17 SAMI PAST IN THE NW FOREST LAPLAND IN FINLAND

Fig. 1.

The study area is on the eastern side of the rivers Tornionjoki and Muonionjoki in the area of the question mark on the map. Tornio town is at the mouth of the river. On the Swedish side, the striped area is today reckoned as Sarni (Werbart 2002 and cited sources) by many archaeologists. The numbers 1-28 are administrative borders the Sarni villages ( siidas) since the mid-16 century in the area that was historically inhabited by the Sarni (Aikio 1985: 72).

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My focus is on the less known past of the region in the distant past and until the th western forest Lapps. The prehistory and early beginning of the 20 century? history of this indigenous people can be reached What happened to Lapp groups in the on the basis of documented oral tradition in this course of time? Why and how did they area. The connection between the concepts Lapp disappear and where did they go? and Sarni is discussed from some viewpoints, The starting point is the municipality survey but the article does not aim at the definition of that I conducted in 1997- 2000 with a multi-pe- these concepts on a general level. riod approach. I also used place-names and oral There has not been much discussion of what tradition as criteria in looking for archaeologi- were the actual reasons for the penetration of the cal sites. Naturally the archaeological material administrative border of the post-medieval great that had been collected earlier was taken into parish ofTomio up to the north. In 1553, Sarni account. On this basis I made a few test excava- villages were established in the present Sarni tions and took some radiocarbon samples (see area and the Sarni families were made taxpayers below). there (see Fig. 1b)(cf. Vahtola 1980; 1982; 1991 : I expect to see various relationships between 258- 259; Julku 1991). In 1584, the administra- the local prehistoric culture and the chronologi- tive border of Tomio was defined by an autho- cally later Sarni culture as known by the name rized decision to run in Sonkamuotka between Lapp in the traditional sources. For understand- present-day and Enontekio. ing the origins of this forest Lapp culture in particular, I reflect upon some ethno-historical The hypothesis and main questions sources on hunting-fishing cultures north of the Arctic Circle and their relevance to the circum- My main hypothesis is that the persistent basis stances in the focus area. of livelihood has been reflected in local tradi- tion since the Stone Age. In order to provide a The Mesolithic: the first inhabitants sufficient amount of general background infor- on the Ancylus shore mation, I start this discussion from the hunting- fishing culture - the fundament of subsistence It has been my attempt to recognize the old- through the past 10 000 years. est traces of cultural activity in my study area. I ask whether medieval and post-medieval The main questions concern the location of the cultural phenomena have their roots in local or earliest occupational sites, the chronology, the regional prehistory and how such continuities features of the material culture, and the direc- can be recognized. Naturally, the critical attitude tions of arrival of pioneering inhabitants. These must be kept in mind and one should not, for questions are essential for understanding the example, assess the potential cultural sequences later, somewhat more readily apparent phase of self-evidently as genetic. the prehistoric inhabitation, the North Bothnian In short: Stone Age. What was the relationship of the Lapps In the earliest times, the environmental pre- in my research area to their neighboring conditions were presumably determined by the groups? retreating glacier, and later by the differences • What kinds of characteristic features between the circumstances on the Ancylus were there in the Lapp culture of this shoreline versus inland. These factors affected

146 SAMI PAST IN THE NW FOREST LAPLAND IN FINLAND

the choice of possible and suitable areas for the In my opinion, some stone implements may hunting of reindeer, ringed seal, and elk as well have been high-quality tools in the past, al- as for fishing (Ukkonen 2001). How rapidly though they now have a worn-out appearance. did the landscape change after deglaciation and For example, the impact of immense mire envi- when did the first pioneering groups actually oc- ronments should be recognized as a factor that cupy the ice-free zone? causes erosion of artifacts. Changes in climatic The area of the present Kolari municipality acidity, aridity, temperature, light circumstances, belongs to the region that was deglaciated as the and chemical and physical attributes are impor- last area of the present Finnish territory, by 7900 tant formation processes that strongly affect how cal BC (Johansson & Kujansuu 2005 : 151- 157; the cultural activity of several millennia ago is Reimer et al. 2004: 1053- 1054). Thus the prob- seen by today's researchers. Traces of fire should lem of the first occupation must be considered be taken into account, too. at the regional and local level, but not as com- In Kolari the earliest typologically identi- pletely separate from the Mesolithic prehistory fiable tools can be connected to Suomusjarvi of Finland and Lapland in general. types. Interestingly enough, they are found on Today Kolari can be reckoned to represent elevations that lie below the coastline of the An- a transitional area between the forest zone and cylus maximum. This does not exclude the pos- mountainous lands. The landscape is strongly sibility that the first groups really arrived from characterized by large peat lands, i.e., remains the south. They may have settled on the shore of the ancient Ancylus shore (Saamisto 2005: and occupied higher areas later. 170- 171 ). The landscape analysis shows where On the other hand, at least some of the single the first settlements or camp sites should be hearths that have been found on the Ancylus searched for. The densest occurrences of sites of shores might represent population that may have Stone Age character are found 1) in the inland come from the north, NW, or NE, following the water systems of the first supra-aquatic main- drainage outlets. On these sites, only domestic land, 2) near the steep and solid shores and 3) on raw materials have been identified so far. The some ancient islands of the great Ancylus Lake same can be said for all the rest of the Stone Age (Oksala 2006). sites in Kolari. In other words, these groups do So far the results of my fieldwork are con- not represent any faraway contacts or immigra- troversial. The sites that I expected to date to the tion from distant regions. Instead they seem to Stone Age are much younger ( e.g. Oksala 2000a; have been familiar with the local circumstances 2002; 2004). and prerequisites for hunting, fishing, and gath- However, it is important to take into con- ering there (Oksala 2006: l 02). sideration all potential evidence of Stone Age settlement. A bias is caused by the researchers The North Bothnian Stone Age culture themselves due to the rough appearance of the local material culture. As a consequence, some The so-called North Bothnian Stone Age culture of the implements are not "objectively" recog- is connected especially with the Litorina shore nized as culturally produced at all. For example, line relatively far to the south of Kolari, e.g. in certain artifacts that are collected during field where the sites date to the Neolithic. surveys have been left out of the official lists of finds (Oksala 2008).

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Greenstone is the raw material most com- The number of the so-called picks of Ro- monly used for identification of the North Both- vaniemi type is notable. Concluding from the nian Stone Age culture in general. It was techni- environmental context, this tool was used for the cally suitable for making tools, and the specific hunting ofringed seal. greenish color may have given it some more In Kolari, the North Bothnian tools are abstract functions or values, too. High-quality rougher and made of local materials in a slightly sources were available, for example, in the pres- different way than the classical, more trimmed ent municipalities of , , and types, for example, in Pello or to the Kittila. south. Very good examples of this difference On the basis of the greenstone artifact finds were found recently (Fig 2). The elevation of from the slopes of the river Tornionjoki in Pello their find context is exactly on the Anculys max- and Ylitornio, the following conclusions can be imum shoreline. Both picks have a rough sur- drawn (Oksala 1995): face. The smoothened edge of the bigger tool is Greenstone was used already in the Meso- the consequence of use and wearing. lithic Stone Age and the necessary technology It is interesting to compare the find places of was known in this area. However, this raw mate- the local Rovaniemi picks and a few tools that rial became more abundant in the Neolithic. have apparent connections to the region of the eponymous site of Suomusjarvi, wh ich is locat-

Fig. 2. Two picks (respective lengths 27 .5 cm and 32 .5 cm) of the North Both- nian Stone Age tradition were found on a Mesolithic shore elevation by the Mannajarvi lake in Kolari . Photo of the finds in situ : Hilkka Oksala 2006.

148 SAMI PAST IN THE NW FOREST LAPLAND IN FINLAND

ed on the present southern coast of Finland. On mythic, religious natural landscape in the basis of the shore levels, for example, in the relation to the cultural remnants valleys of the rivers Tornionjoki and Muonion- In Kolari the earliest dated written document joki, it seems possible that local greenstone was is from 1553 and concerns fishing rights at cer- used for the production of tools of North Both- tain lakes for some farmers from Pello. nian type earlier than the beginning of connec- tions with the Suomusjarvi culture. Sites and their age Some typical greenstone implements have also been found along the main shores of the In the municipality ofKolari, there are 140 listed Muonionjoki river in Kolari. This gives the im- sites that have an obvious or possible connection pression that the tools were imported when peo- with the prehistory or history of the Lapps (Ok- ple were moving along the large water systems. sala 2000 b; 2004): In the north, for example in Muonio, the 37 sites have both evidence of Lapp tra- typical/classical, more refined North Bothnian dition from historical times and Stone tools are somewhat more common than in Kolari, Age finds; in spite of the long distance to the Litorina sea approximately 50 sites (fences for shore. It is obvious that in the inland regions, gathering or milking the reindeer (Fig. the Rovaniemi pick was used for other purposes 3), hunting pit systems, "Lapp fields" than on the seal coast. (ancient market places?), bottoms and hearths of huts, conservation pits, grave- The multidisciplinary sources yards, sacred trees), including place- names of Sarni origin, have been used The variation in prehistoric material is large in by Lapps in historical times; Kolari (e.g. Oksala 2004). There are concentra- 53 places are connected with the Lapps tions of burnt or heated hearth or cooking stones, by oral tradition only (sheds standing single hearth structures, dwelling depressions, on poles, court stones, sacred waters and hunting pits. The material of stone artifacts (saivo ), hoards, pines on which Lapp is usually rough and of local origin, and the ap- names and years have been carved, etc.) plied technology is simple. It is relatively typical After the field survey, I conducted test excava- that burnt bone is scarce in the archaeological tions at eight sites that were assumed to date to material, and so is quartz. Prehistoric pottery is the Stone Age. The sites were chosen on the ba- missing almost completely. sis of survey observations: stone tools and scat- At first sight, the cultural remnants of prehis- ter, hearth structures, and dwelling depressions. toric types do not express any linkages to eth- In one of the cases, at Pello Kentanniemi by the nic groups that could be identified in historical lake Rattosjarvi, there was clear oral pre-infor- documents. This is why it is crucial to take into mation that the site had been used for fishing by consideration the whole relatively rich heritage the Lapps (Oksala 2000b: 7). dealing with the Lapps in the former great parish Samples were taken. From each site one ra- ofTornio (Vahtola 1991). This includes: diocarbon sample was chosen for analysis. Sur- oral narratives prisingly enough, the results disperse between place-names and family names the Early Roman Tron Age and the Middle Ages. Neither Mesolithic nor Neolithic dates were ob- tained.

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Tradition connected with Lapps as the indigenous population Continuity can be assessed by asking in what ways the same cultural feature can be recognized Certain phenomena re- [ aim at the scientific justification of using local on different time levels. stable aspects deter- knowledge as evidence for the prehistory of the main unchanged. Are such and at what rate do area in focus. Despite its qualitative character, I mined by the environment them? think that fishing and hunting tradition provides human choices affect is dictated by nature. essential parallels that shed light on prehistoric External continuity not necessarily exclude phenomena in a s imilar environment. Change and continuity do group may I am aware of the fact that this approach can each other. For example, a newcomer in order to apply be accused of being a " lappologist" perspective. bring different technologies of the new dwelling It can be judged as an instrumental view offered them to local raw materials , their customs partly by an outsider who may cause a danger of re- area. But at the same time , partial change awakening some old disagreements between continue as before. Accordingly may intermingle at the local communities ( cf. Hansen & Olsen 2006; and partial continuity 2006). People may Kitti 2006; Halinen 2005: 96- 102). ideological level ( cf. Winkler remain the same. According to my experience, some laymen change but the circumstances applying learnt skills who acted as informants consider the first indig- Here we may speak about or environments enous inhabitants of their home area as "others" in various new circumstances , natural features. in relation to "met/mean" 'us' . Even professional that have their permanent historians have treated the whole period prior to th as a subcategory of the I 6 -century farmer colonization as relatively Tradition can be seen is cultural inheritance uninteresting local history. In short, there seems continuity. Tradition a restricted area. The to be certain avoidance of the indigenous past through learning within environmental cir- and its significance is denied. [n the concluding limitations set by the local the basis of experi- chapter of this article, I return to the reasons for cumstances are known on enculturation within a this attitude. ence. Tradition ensures community. It creates the background for deep Theoretical concepts mental identity and supports permanence of values, "a collective memory". This frequently new cultural ele- Parallels between prehistory and early historical leads to resistance towards 2006). times must be drawn with the aid of theoretical ments and change (cf. O'Neil concepts. as accep- Change is a temporal phenomenon. It is Integration may be understood traits, i.e., innovations. expressed through environmental, social, and tance of new cultural because the ex- cultural factors, such as diffusions of material There may be initial resistance preserved in the soci- culture and ideologies, migrations of groups of isting equilibrium is to be of novelties may people, and innovations and inventions within ety. However, the integration challenging. Integra- local societies. Friction and violence may oc- also happen without any between different so- cur in connection with processes of change ( cf. tion takes place in contacts conformity of O'Neil 2006). cieties and promotes the cultural the partners (modified from Kuran & Sandholm 2006; O' Neil 2006).

150 SAMI PAST IN THE NW FOREST LAPLAND IN FINLAND

Fig. 3. Archaic reindeer fences do not originally belong to the farming culture. Photo of remains in Simpsukursu, northern Kolari: Hilkka Oksala 2004.

Acculturation "happens to an entire culture record or by combining previous aspects in new when alien traits diffuse in a large scale and sub- ways. Such a process resembles integration (see stantially replace traditional cultural patterns" above). It is "the exchange of cultural features". (this and the following quotations from O' Neil There may be destruction, survival, domina- 2006: 2). It is a combination of approximately tion, resistance, modification, assimilation, in- simultaneous changes in several aspects of the tegration, or adaptation. This is likely to be the traditional culture of an indigenous population case if the contacts between different groups are or a minority, e.g. language, clothing, etc. Accul- long-term and take place through firsthand com- turation is due to heavy pressure from the side of munication. "Either of both groups of original a dominant society that may enforce it by educa- patterns may be changed a bit, but the groups tion, for example. It may lead to the total loss of remain distinct overall." In this case, changes traditions, but not necessarily. can be both voluntary and forced. Accordingly, Sometimes the result may be milder: "the continuums can be due to deliberately maintain- modification of the culture of a group or in- ing original features or they can be the result of dividual as a result of contact with a different less goal-oriented processes. culture". The culture under pressure would re- act by adding some new traits in their cultural

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Assimilation is the final stage in the process are considered, I rely on Itkonen ( 1984 1: 16- 26, of change in cultural communication. Accultura- 158- 173) and Vahtola (1980). tion proceeds into the damage of the recipient culture. Often the losing partner is an indigenous Stone Age and Early Metal Age population or minority. We say that the ancient culture is "replaced" by a dominant culture. As- The first users of stone tools and makers of the similation may be the consequence of the active earliest hunting pits arrived soon after the de- merging of one community into another, and it glacjation, i.e., approximately 10 000 years ago. can lead to mental crisis among the assimilat- They were apparently hunters of wild reindeer. ing group. Usually the superior and dictating The hunting of ringed seal and fishing became counterpart has no roots in the area in question important in the Ancylus phase. Since then, the or is younger than the way of life under pres- local economy developed towards the taming sure there. Seen from the outside, the weaken- of reindeer as well. The significance of big and ing society makes voluntary choices that simply small forest game increased, as well as that of benefit change. But means for assimilation may fishing in lakes and rivers. include mental or physical violence from the This millennia-long development can be seen side of the stronger player. Historical examples as the background of linguistic Samification. I include Americanization, Hellenization in the support the assumption that both the early tam- ancient Mediterranean area, and the Finniciza- ing of reindeer and the linguistic formation date tion, i.e., the dominance of Finnish culture and back to the time when the first metals appeared administration, in the North among the indig- in the North around 1900 BC (Carpelan 2004; enous Sarni (cf. e.g. Asp 1966). Oksala 2006: 100). The close relationship be- tween humans and reindeer became an essential Discontinuity may concern one or several difference between the local forest Sarni culture features in a culture or environment at one time. and more southern cultures. In the archaeological material, we see this as the lack of certain artifact types in a given chrono- The Viking Age (ea. 800 - 1050 AD) logical period in relation to earlier material cul- tures of the area. An observation that points to The Kven- I Kainu - people inhabited the north- discontinuity always calls for explanation. Sug- ern shores of the Gulf ofBothnia probably before th gested hypotheses may be change, integration, the 9 century AD In the lower valley of the riv- acculturation, or assimilation. er Tornionjoki, they were the first farmers. The first contacts between the Kvens and the Lapps Chronology of the early indigenous may date to the Viking Age or somewhat ear- population in Kolari lier (Vahtola 1980; 1991: 212-217; Julku 1986: 129- 133). We can ask if indigenous groups ex- In the following, I give a hypothetical overview perienced the need to defend or hide themselves of the chronology of the local Lapp culture in due to the potential threat that a form of contact my research area. The selected literature is between the groups could be violent. based on archives, notes oftravelers in historical times, and oral tradition. As far as place-names

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th Th e Middle Ages (from the 13 century AD I was convinced of this when in two cases the onwards radiocarbon analysis gave late dates instead of Neolithic ones as l had assumed (see above). The th th In the 13 century, the so called Pirkka-men site Pitkajiirvenmaa in Kolari dates to the 11 - (Sw. birkarlar) began to visit the North annually. 12'h centuries, and the site Jokijarvi in Muonio th th They had a background as farmers themselves. was in use from the 13 to 15 centuries. At first they were supported by the Swedish Both of these sites show indications of winter Crown in their role as tax collectors and mer- residence. There are remains of strong walls of chants in northern areas (Vahtola 1982; 1991: oval or round-cornered rectangular huts, and the 218- 224). hearths in the centre have heavily burnt stones. Furs were common tax parcels to be collect- Such constructions could well be from the Stone ed from farmers in the North. In the valley of Age, but they are also typical conic or rectangu- the river Tornionjoki, it followed that privately lar forms of (Lapp) huts. These northern sites can owned hunting and fishing areas spread further be compared with parallel cases with respective and further away from agricultural villages. This dating in the lower valley of the river Tomion- caused pressure on the local people to increase joki. On the basis of excavations, we know, for the area of exploitation, and it was reasonable to example, that iron was used in the more southern transport goods from northern Norway as well. area (Kostet 1978; Koivunen 1991 : 135- 149; A growing number of reindeer was needed Makivuoti 1988), while this raw material was for moving the cargo. At the same time, innova- nearly lacking in the area of the Muonionjoki tions connected with the fanning culture spread water system. north of the Arctic Circle. According to some historians, this meant the birth of the concession Life in the North as described by Glaus Magnus herding of reindeer among the forest Lapps west of the river Ounasjoki (Kortesalmi 1977; 2003; The description of Scricfinia by Olaus Magnus 2008: 63- 136; cf. Wallerstrom 2000). They be- in 1518- 1519 is likely to concern forest areas came servants and drivers for their authorities. just by the Arctic Circle (printed in Finnish The system included intensive herding of rein- 1973). Olaus Magnus describes skiing, the hand- deer for meat production and milking of small bow as the main hunting weapon carried by men reindeer herds. and women equally, hunters of wild reindeer, By the 1430s, the southern border of Lapland exchange of fish and furs between local people was located north of Pello (Julku 1975). Beyond and the Pirkka-men at permanent market places, this border, the rights to the use of lands and as well as the power of the latter in relation to waters were still recognized as belonging to the indigenous communities. Lapps (Vahtola 1982: 126- 127). The influence Olaus Magnus sees the life of the people in of the Catholic church spread to the northern the great forests as peaceful and innocent. He forests by 1480 at the latest. That was when the praises the great abundance of game and fowl , Siirkilahti Chapel was built in Overtomea/Yli- and handicrafts of fur, hides, and feather prod- tornio (e.g. Vahtola 1991 : 322- 329). ucts are described. He also states that fishing In a few cases, we find evidence of Iron Age/ was even more important than hunting. The best Medieval settlement in the same environments source of nutrition was the pike, and the amount where Stone Age land use could be expected. of salmon was great, too. Fish was caught by

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nets, torches, hooks, and wooden traps, as well the present border between the municipalities as in water pits. The catch was conserved in of Muonio and Enontekio (Vahtola 1991: 221 , many ways, and fish was considered as a cur- 257- 258). This must have meant that the indig- rency unit. enous non-farmer population was put into a kind Traveling by boats, on skis, and with the of outlaw situation in their homeland, surround- help ofreindeer is described, too. Olaus Magnus ed by the new borders of the Tornio parish. stresses the role of Tornio as the central market For example the first farmer in Kolari used place and as the export harbor to Europe (Ger- the newly legitimized opportunity already dur- many). ing the same decade. According to local knowl- Reindeer were very important in the North. edge, he came from Savo, i.e., a district where The tamed reindeer were closely herded for fear slash-and-burn cultivation was practiced and of wolves, while some reindeer were wild. We charcoal was burned for iron production. He oc- read that people owned herds of I Oto as many cupied the Yllas island of the river Muonionjoki as 500 animals. The reindeer were milked as by violence. The indigenous people who were well as butchered for meat, bone, skin, etc. The driven away are called Lapps in oral heritage use of reindeer as track animals was common, (Vahtola I 991 : 227; 1982; Paulaharju 1962: 12). and especially traders, i.e., the Kainu-men and Today the island is known as Kolarinsaari. th th Pirkka-men transported their cargoes in sledges The notes of writers between the 16 and 19 (pulks). centuries already describe the Lapps as inventors of the reindeer economy (Tornaeus 1900; Par- Administrative and economic changes in the tin 1968; Olaus Magnus 1973). The slash-and- ,.Jh lo century burn agriculture caused erosion of the old forest pastures of the reindeer, and game also became During Gustav Vasa's reign, the rights for the scarcer. This must have meant that the indig- use of certain wilderness areas and lakes in Ko- enous Lapps as forest hunter-fisher-herders had lari were guaranteed in writing to some farmers to move either deeper into the forests or to the from Pello (Lundholm 1991: 282- 283). It seems northern mountains according to the government that this old tradition of wilderness use by the policies. A further threat was iron manufacture, farmers at least partly prevented the formation of which was started in Konglinen on the western strong indigenous winter village communities side of the confluence of the rivers Tornionjoki Instead, Lapp/Sarni villages were established as and Muonionjoki (Pajala) in the mid-i 7'h cen- tax units in the neighboring area of Lapp/Sarni tury (cf. Vahtola 1982: 182). villages. The Pirkka taxation was forbidden and the King's officials took tax collecting into their Linguistic, religious, and economic own hands. From this time on, we can observe a integration and acculturation in the th th trend towards a certain reservation policy in the 17 - 20 centuries Lapp/Sarni villages. The character of taxation in Kolari and Muonio is an interesting matter for Sarni dialect(s) future study. In 1584, a border was officially drawn be- What kind of connections are there between the tween the Lapp/Sam, villages and the Lutheran Lapps of early historical times and Sarni iden- parish of Tornio. It ran in Sonkamuotka, 1.e., tity? According to my knowledge, there is no

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documentation of the language spoken by the In such an atmosphere the Sarni language th Lapps precisely in the Kolari area in the 16 cen- soon fell out of use. There is evidence from the th tury or earlier. But place-names do carry traces 18 century that the Sarni dialect of Tomio was of words of ancient Sarni dialects. The vocab- already heavily mixed with Finnish (see Portin ulary in question is connected with an archaic 1968: 130; Slunga 1993 : 300- 301). But at the wilderness culture, i.e., the natural environment same time, the merchants of Tornio still de- and exploitation by hunting, for example. Such pended on reindeer and their herders. "Tracks" names are abundant all over the present Lapland (raitio) were necessary for the traffic between (see Oksala 2006; cf. Vahtola 1980). In addition, the Gulf of Bothnia and northern Norway (cf . we can presume that certain family names have Mantyla 1993: 203). a Sarni background in Kolari. We know that there have been three old Cultural change: an example from Kurtakko Sarni dialect groups in the surroundings of my village research area: l) Tornio Sarni (Fig 1: 11 and 12) in the northwest, 2) Kemi/Kittila Sarni (today In the 1920s, a full portrait of a Lapp/Sarni com- distinct) (Fig. 1: 22) in the east, and 3) North munity was written down by Samuli Paulaharju Sarni in Enontekio (Fig . 1: 14 and 20) (cf. It- (1962: 10) in the village ofKurtakko in Kolari. konen 1984 I: 161; Virrankoski 1973: 733- 734; This picture was completed in 1997 by Mr Jonne Laakso 2006). It is obvious that the indigenous Vanha who lived on the oldest farm of the vi l- tongue in Kolari resembled one of these. From lage (Oksala 2004: 35). The explanation for the the documented local history of colonization name of the lake and the village is given as fol- and settlement, we know that Finnish did not be- lows: the Lapps were settled by the lake with 11 come the main language before the 17' century. their animals. They milked the reindeer at the Accordingly, place names of Finnish origin can- mire of Teuravuoma. The milk was dried in the not be very old in these regions. crops of capercaillies (Tetrao urogallus) and it was kept in a shed on an island. This dry milk Old religions and Christianity was called kurtta; thus Kurtakko 'place where kurtta is' derives from a Sarni dialect. The Catholic Church never obtained a s trong At first the Kurtakkojarvi lake was used for position in my research area. But in 1606, the fishing by farmer-fishers from Pello side by side municipalities of Kolari and Muonio were con- with the Lapps. But in the 1680s, the first farmer nected to the fresh Lutheran parish of Ylitornio. settled on the site that had previously been occu- During the l 7'h century, goal-oriented Christian pied by the Lapps. The latter had to move away education was introduced among the local people (Teerijoki 1993: 18; Jaako 1996; Portin I 968). in the sparsely settled parishes. It aimed at the According to Mr Vanha, the Lapps had been extraction of old religions and the dominance of living in this place year round. In his childhood, the . The position of the Church some floors of the huts of the Lapps were still became stronger after the Konganen ironworks left and artifacts were found in the fields. I ob- was established in Pajala in the mid- l 7'hcentury served one hut floor myself in the vicinity of this and consequently the community got a chapel farm in 2006. and a priest (Slunga 1993: 300- 304).

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From acculturation towards assimilation knew the landscape in detail and they were ex- cellent guides. The Lapp society in Kurtakko can be perfectly There is a written source indicating that connected with the western kind of forest Sarni some forest Lapps still kept reindeer around the tradition that has been documented, for exam- ironworks of Konganen (Kengis bruk) in 1740. ple, in Pajala, too (Manker 1968). The milking It is not clear where the Lapps lived, but it is of reindeer was a step towards the final assimi- likely that the note also concerns certain places lation of the reindeer economy into a farming in Kolari. society. The assimilation policy was encouraged The same source describes that at the same by the authorities. The settlement bill from 1695 time, the local forest Lapps were strongly turn- declared that all the Lapps had to be taken by ing to farming and cattle breeding at their inher- force from the Ylitornio parish and they were ited farms (Manker 1968: 11 ; Fellman 191 0a: made to move to official Lapland in the northern 178 < Carl Sadelin). Half a decade earlier the mountain area ( e.g. Enontekio). We can note that Lapps had milked reindeer in Kurtakko. This is such policy had actually been practiced already an example of acculturation with the cattle farm- in the 1670s by Governor Johan Graan, who had ing economy. We can rely on the notes of the a Sarni background himself. Soon all Lapps of organist of the Ylitornio parish church, who de- the southern parishes were obliged to leave for scribed the transition of the Lapp li festyle into a areas that were administratively reserved for farming culture during approximately 50 years, Sarni/Lapp villages. The southern areas were since the 1780s and also earlier. He had gath- joined to the county ofVasterbotten. ered much personal knowledge about this and The goal of the policy was to reserve the he knew the local tradition. Portin reports that forest area for further farming settlement. The there were marriages between Lapps and farm- merchants of the town of Tornio supported the ers (Portin 1968: 103- 104, 122- 125, 217- 218, Crown in practice: they began to keep their track 278- 279; Wahlberg 1968). The cultural transi- reindeer in pastures (Fi. raitio) of the Lapp vil- tion was continuation of an old custom. Farmers lages in the northern mountain areas instead of especially from Pello had traditionally visited keeping the animals in the adjacent forests as be- the area for activities such as fishing. Then a fore. In the mountains, the herders got properly few members of farming societies came to the paid for their work, but among the forest Sarni area of the forest Sarni to stay and to practice the this caused loss of traditional income. It led to cultivation of hay, turnip (Brassica rapa), and complaints by the forest Sarni (Virrankoski 1973 : barley there. It led first to acculturation, then to 78; Itkonen 1984 I: 115; 1984 11: 115- 116). the assimilation of Lapp families into the Finn- In 1736- 173 7 the French expedition led by ish type of farming culture. The development Sir Maupertuis visited Lapland in order to make was supported by the Crown. geophysical measurements. A member of the In Kolari such a development is apparent th team writes that he had often met Lapps in the since the mid-18 century, when farmers occu- lower valley of the river Tornionjoki up to Pello pied the forest lakes permanently (Jaako 1996: in the north (Outhier 1975). These communi- 14). It is understandable that in the course of ties lived in huts, bred a few reindeer, and used economical acculturation and assimilation of the animals for driving and milking. The Lapps Lapp and farmer communities, the original local indigenous language and identity were gradually

156 SAMI PAST IN THE NW FOREST LAPLAND IN FINLAND

lost. This may be the explanation for the scar- a positive impact on the professional develop- city of historical sources that would reveal more ment of the contemporary reindeer economy. th about local Sarni. As a matter of fact, it seems However, by the early 20 century, even these that the state officials had deliberately hindered families had been assimilated with the local rural documentation of their life since the reign of culture. The paliskunta act (act for associations Gustav Yasa. of reindeer owners) from 1898 became especial- ly important. A completely new era began in the Cultural interaction and final assimilation Finnish reindeer economy which since then has of the Lapps been strictly organized ( e.g. Kortesalmi 1977; 2003; 2008: 135 ; Ruotsala 2002). The process was mutual cultural exchange, too, and it led to creolization (Ruotsala 2002: 81 ). In Conclusions order to survive, farmers had to become reindeer keepers, although they did not have large herds Continuity of animals. Documents provide information about "Lapps" who took care of the animals in The sources support my hypothesis that in many forests but these herders were partly of Finnish cases the coincidences between Lapp traditions origin (Kortesalmi 2003: 567- 568). The situ- on one hand and archaeological finds or sites on ation refers to mixed identities, be they ethnic the other hand are not accidental. The reason is or connected with a profession. This view helps that the basis of the economy remained simi- to understand ltkonen 's note ( 1984 I: 95) that lar through millennia. Livelihood depended on indigenous Lapps had completely disappeared hunting, fishing, and keeping reindeer on a small th from Kolari already in the 18 century. scale in forest areas and on mires. This wilder- In any case, this western type of forest Lapp ness landscape offered the sources for subsis- culture was not extinct yet. In 1799, Edward tence until the strong cultural change that the th Clarke travelled up the rivers Tornionjoki and hunter-fisher Lapps faced from the 13 century Muonionjoki. He noted that north of the village onwards. of Kaartinen in the NW of Pello, it was more The change was due to pressure from the and more common to see Lapp huts (published: outside: taxation and the growing market with Clarke 1997). Pirkka- men for furs and fish. Contacts with the th From the beginning of the 19 century there wilderness economy of farmers led to changes are also notes concerning Sarni families who in the reindeer economy. An important part of moved in the opposite direction: from the moun- this was concession herding (Sw. concession, tains to the forests of southern parishes in order Fi. raitioporonhoito ), i.e., the practice according to earn their living by taking care of the reindeer to which the Lapps took care of the reindeer of of farmers there. In some cases, the documents the dwellers of farming villages who needed the mention these people as returning to the lands animals mainly for transportation of loads in the of their ancestors (Paulaharju 1962: 60-76; cf. winter time. Rasmussen 2008: 21 - 25). This can be seen as In the following, the cultural features with the last wave of concession herders on the Finn- roots in the indigenous Lapp culture are summa- ish side of the border river ofTornionjoki. It had rized. We have to keep in mind that the charac- teristics are chosen by a scholar standing outside

157 HILKKA OKSALA

the society, not by members of the societies in The Sarni language/dialect - distinct in th focus. the 18 century, but observed today in From the Stone Age onwards: fishing, place-names and in the reindeer-related hunting, and the capture of wild rein- vocabulary used by the local reindeer deer. The dates and use of hunting pits professionals; have been discussed in detail by Halinen Cone huts (Sarni goahti, Fi . kota) for th ( 1995) and Korteniemi (1990; 1992). dwelling, in some cases up to the 20 From the Metal Age (since ea. 2000 BC) century; onwards: taming of reindeer at first, for Certain family names. example, for decoy animals for hunting or for transportation; Reasons for assimilation From the Middle Ages: intensified use of reindeer for transportation; The main reasons for the final assimilation of From the Early Historical Period: inten- the Lapp culture with the dominating farming sive herding of reindeer as cattle, milk- culture can be viewed from the angle of social ing and butchering of tamed reindeer; psychology: Up to the Second World War: keeping In the late iron Age, first contacts be- some reindeer as track animals by al- tween the Lapps and Kven/Kainu farm- most every household and transporting ers may have been based partly on vio- loads in pulks (Fi. pulkka) or sleighs (Fi. lence from the side of the latter group. ahkio). Along with the spread of agricul- In the Middle Ages, the Pirkka taxation ture, horses and better roads, pulks were and trade caused heavy exploitation of usually replaced by reindeer sledges (Fi. fish and game in wilderness areas. th reki), which were simpler to build. From the 16 century onwards, the pol- Use ofreindeer furs as raw materials for icy of the Swedish Crown supported the clothing; Finnish hunter-fisher-farmers in their The Sarni costume or parts of it as the taking over the ownership of lands and dress in reindeer work - in later times lakes from the Lapps. The boundary even independently of the ethnic back- between Lapland and farmed areas de ground of the user. After the Second facto moved north from Pello as far as World War, the use of the costume has Enontekio in the relatively short time of been more and more devoted to the Sarni only 150 years. Negotiations about the speakers in their present administrative use of lands and waters were no longer home area, although in the historical held with the Lapps. view, it does belong to the original tradi- Smee. t h e 17 th century, t h e government tion in, for example, the Kolari area as policy directed persecution against the well. Lapps in order to prepare for the expan- The late beliefs concerning for example, sion of farming in forest areas. Slash- sacred trees and Saivo waters as expres- and-burn cultivation, as well as charcoal sions of ancient religion; burning for the needs of iron manufac- ture, spoiled previous natural reindeer

158 SAMI PAST IN THE NW FOREST LAPLAND IN FINLAND

pastures and disturbed game hunting. References The indigenous population was forced to draw back either to Sarni/Lapp vii- Unpublished sources !ages in the north or towards forests in other directions. Oksala, Hilkka 2000b. Kolari - Arkeologinen inven- The few local Sarni people apparently tointi 1997- 2000. University of , Depart- ment of Artstudies and Anthropology, Laboratory suffered from poverty. In Kolari, we no- of Archaeology. Unpublished survey report. tice a striking lack of prehistoric metal Oksala, Hilkka 2002b. Pello Rattosjiirvi Kentiinnie- finds and iron artifacts in the archaeo- mi. Kivikautisen asuinpaikan koekaivaus 18.- logical record. 19.9.2000. University of Oulu, Department of Artstudies and Anthropology, Laboratory of Ar- Schooling was organized by the Luther- chaeology. Unpublished excavation report. an church soon after Reformation. Finn- Vanha, Jonne. 1997. Personal communication. ish became the language of common ed- Kurtakko. ucation, even, for example, in the parish Internet pages ofYlitomio just south of the Sarni/Lapp territories. This policy brought along the Kuran, Timur & Sandholm, William H. 2006. Cultural loss of original religion and language. In Integration and its Discontents. USC CLEO, Re- short, it caused the breaking of the men- search Paper N:o C02-14. http://papers.ssm.com/ tal basis of the indigenous culture. sol3/papers.cfm _abstract id=324942. (printed and read 11.12.2006) The past history of local societies has been de- Laakso, Johanna 2006. Pikakatsaus saamelaiskieliin liberately hidden both by the local people them- ja niiden tutkimukseen. http://www.helsinki.fi/ selves and by authorities. In the background hum/sugl/oppimat/sgrjohd/saamet.htm there is an attitude that judges the indigenous (printed and read 16.12.2006) O'Neil, Dennis 2006. Culture Change: Processes of culture and way of life to be trifling. For a long Change. 1-4. http://anthro.palomar.edu/change/; time, the indigenous identity has not been treat- read: October 2006. ed as worth defending. It has not been valuable as something in contrast to the dominating eco- literature nomic and social culture. The last concession th herders of reindeer in the beginning of the 20 Aikio, Samuli 1985 . Katsaus saamelaisten historiaan. Lappi. 4. Saamelaistenja century were treated as "others", and soon even suomalaisten maa (ed. Martti Linkola). Hiimeenlinna. Pp. 40- 103. they assimilated into the majority. Aikio, Samuli 1992. Olbmot ovdal min. Samiid his- torja 1700-logu radjai. Ohcejohka. Asp, Erkki 1966. The Finnicization of the Lapps. Acknowledgements A case of acculturation. Annales universilatis Turkuensis Ser B, Tom JOO. Carpelan, Christian 2004. Arkeologiset loydot aika- My field investigations have been financed by portaina. Ennen, muinoin. Miten menneisyyttiim- me the municipalities of Kolari, Muonio, Pello, and tutkitaan ( ed. Riho GrUnthal). Tietolipas 180: 188-212. Ylitomio, and the Tomionlaakson Neuvosto Clarke, Edward Daniel 1997. Malka Lapin perukoille (Council of Tomionlaakso). I am also deeply 1799 (transl. and ed. by Jorma Ojala). Pieksiimii- grateful to the volunteer participants in the field- ki. work. I appreciate the valuable comments made by the editorial team of this publication.

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