The Tornedalians are descendants of

Finns Finns or Finnish people ( fi, suomalaiset, ) are a Baltic Finnic ethnic group native to Finland. Finns are traditionally divided into smaller regional groups that span several countries adjacent to Finland, both those who are native to these ...

who, at some point, settled to the areas of today's Northern

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

near the

Torne Valley The Torne, also known as the Tornio ( fi, Tornionjoki, sv, Torne älv, , se, Duortneseatnu, fit, Tornionväylä), is a river in northern Sweden and Finland. For approximately half of its length, it defines the border between these two countr ...

district and west from there.

History

Tornedalians migrated from today's Southern

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

, mainly from Häme and

Karelia Karelia ( Karelian and fi, Karjala, ; rus, Каре́лия, links=y, r=Karélija, p=kɐˈrʲelʲɪjə, historically ''Korjela''; sv, Karelen), the land of the Karelian people, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance fo ...

. Settlement began around the northern end of the

Gulf of Bothnia The Gulf of Bothnia (; fi, Pohjanlahti; sv, Bottniska viken) is divided into the Bothnian Bay and Bothnian Sea, and it is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea, between Finland's west coast ( East Bothnia) and the Sweden's east coast ( We ...

and along the river valleys nearby (

Kalix Kalix ( sv, Kalix; Kalix dialect: ''Kôlis'', , phonemically ; fi, Kainuu; fit, Kainus) is a locality and the seat of the Kalix Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden. The name Kalix is believed to originate from the Sami word ''Gálásea ...

River, Torne River, and

Kemijoki Kemijoki ( sv, Kemi älv, se, Giemajohka), with its length, is the longest river in Finland. It runs through Kemijärvi and Rovaniemi before reaching the Gulf of Bothnia at Kemi. Facta 2001, part 8, ''finnish'' At Rovaniemi the Ounasjoki r ...

River). Migration started at the latest over 2000 years ago on areas loosely controlled by Russians and

Karelians Karelians ( krl, karjalaižet, karjalazet, karjalaiset, Finnish: , sv, kareler, karelare, russian: Карелы) are a Finnic ethnic group who are indigenous to the historical region of Karelia, which is today split between Finland and Ru ...

Population

Sweden does not 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 Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly th ...

and

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refe ...

. In 2006, a large radio survey about Finnish/

Meänkieli (literally 'our language') is a group of distinct Finnish dialects or a Finnic language spoken in the northernmost part of Sweden along the valley of the Torne River. Its status as an independent language is disputed, but in Sweden it is recogn ...

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.

Literature

Bengt Pohjanen Bengt Erik Benedictus Pohjanen (born 26 June 1944 in Kassa in Pajala, Norrbotten, Sweden), is a Swedish author, translator and priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as ...

is a Tornedalian author who has written the first novel in Meänkieli, the language of the

Meänmaa (), or sometimes Torne Valley or Torne River Valley ( fi, Tornionlaakso; sv, Tornedalen) lies at the border of Sweden and Finland. It is named after the Torne River flowing through the valley and into the Gulf of Bothnia. Geographically the tow ...

. He has written dramas, screenplays, songs and opera. He is trilingual in his writing. The novel ''Populärmusik från Vittula'' (''Popular Music from Vittula'') (2000) by Tornedalian author

Mikael Niemi Mikael Niemi (born 13 August 1959) is a Swedish author. He wrote the novel ''Populärmusik från Vittula'' (in English as ''Popular music from Vittula''). It is the story of a young boy, Matti, growing up in Pajala in the 1960s and is recounted i ...

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 Pajala () is a locality and the seat of Pajala Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden, with 1,958 inhabitants in 2010. It is located in Swedish Lapland. Pajala is in the Torne Valley and was dominated by people speaking a Finnish dialect unt ...

. The novel has been adapted for several stage productions, and as a film in 2004.

Flag

The flag is a horizontal tricolor of yellow, white and blue.

References

{{Reflist Ethnic groups in Sweden Ethnic groups in Sápmi Baltic Finns

History

Population

Literature

Flag

See also

References