Forest of the Finns

Quite a stretch from Finland, more precisely along the Norwegian-Swedish border, there is a large forest called Finnskogen. The name is best translated into the forest of the Finns. The name comes from the fact that these previously virtually uninhabited stretches of forest were inhabited by Finns. In this area Finnish immigrants settled down from the 17th century. The reasons for their wanderings throughout the years were many – from bad years in the Savolax area in Finland to tax exemption to all Finns who wanted to settle in Sweden to cultivate huge forest areas. The forest Finns lived by so-called slash and burn agriculture. They burned down the spruce and grew rye in the ashes. This form of agriculture requires large resources in the form of lush and preferably old forest. As forest areas were burnt down in Eastern and Central Finland, the farmers moved to the great coniferous forests further west along the Norwegian-Swedish border. Here the forest Finns continued to live as they had done for hundreds of years; they continued to speak Finnish, lived in the typical smoke cabins, kept their shamanistic natural traditions and kept traditional cooking and crafts alive. The people living in this area are often associated with magic and mystery. They had a shamanistic conception of nature that was exercised through rituals, incantations and symbols. It was used to cure disease and keep evil away. You can still find symbols carved on stone on several of the old farms. In Norway groups with long-term affiliation with the country is defined as national minorities The Forest Finns are today recognized as one of the five national minorities in Norway. Today you will find a 240 kilometers long trail through the big forest called Finnskogleden. Not too many people live in these areas today, but the stories are still alive, and you will find thousands of places with Finnish names. There is a long distance between the settlements and nature appears to be quite wild. In these deep forests all the four large predators live: lynx, bear, wolf and wolverine.