Everything about The Tornedalians totally explained
The
Tornedalians are descendants of
Finns who in some point in history settled to the areas of today's Northern Sweden near the
Torne Valley district and west from there.
Tornedalians migrated from today's Southwestern
Finland, mainly from
Häme and
Karelia. Settlement began around the northern end of the
Gulf of Bothnia and along the river valleys nearby (
River Kalix,
Torne River, and
Kemijoki River). Migration started at the latest in the beginning of the
14th century CE on areas loosely controlled by Russians and Karelians.
The taxation of the
Sami people, fur trade and large hunting grounds were among the most important factors contributing to the migration of the
Tornedealians up north.
Tornedalians also helped the Swedish expansion to the areas that today are part of northern
Sweden.
Despite the Finnish and Russian demands of including much of today's Swedish
Torne River Valley territory into the autonomous Russian
Grand Duchy of Finland, the area remained part of the
Kingdom of Sweden as a result of the peace treaty signed between Russia and Sweden in
1809. The Swedish-Finnish border was drawn at the
River Tornio, and that border has stood official up to date.
Cultural imperialism, in combination with a fear of
Russia, led to Swedish attempts to assimilate and
Swedify the Finnish-speaking population between 1850 and 1950. Since the
1970s, efforts have been made to reverse some of the effects of the
Swedification, notably in education. The minority status of the
Tornedalians was officially recognized by the Swedish government in
1999 by the recognition of the local Finnish dialect
Meänkieli as one of the acknowledged
minority languages in Sweden. A written
standard of
Meänkieli has been established and taught, which has given rise to critical remarks from Finland, suggesting that standard Finnish would be of more use to the pupils.
Sweden doesn't distinguish minority groups in
population censuses, but the number of people who identify themselves as
Tornedalians is usually estimated to be between 30,000 and 150,000. Estimates are complicated by the fact that the remote and sparsely-populated
Tornedalen area has been particularly struck by the twentieth century
urbanization and
unemployment. In 2006, a large radio survey about Finnish/Meänkieli speakers was conducted in Sweden. The result was that 469,000 individuals in Sweden claim to understand/speak Finnish or/and Meänkieli. Those who can speak/understand Meänkieli is estimated to be 150,000-175,000.
Bengt Pohjanen is a Tornedalian author, who has written the first novel in meänkieli, the language of Torne Valley. He has written dramas, screen-plays, songs and opera. He is trilingual in his writing.
The novel
Populärmusik från Vittula (
Popular Music from Vittula) (
2000) by Tornedalian author
Mikael Niemi became very popular both in Sweden and in Finland. The novel 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. Mikael Niemi doesn't speak meänkieli.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Tornedalians'.
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