Savonians (; ), or Savo Finns, are a

subgroup In group theory, a branch of mathematics, a subset of a group G is a subgroup of G if the members of that subset form a group with respect to the group operation in G. Formally, given a group (mathematics), group under a binary operation ...

(''heimo'') of

Finns Finns or Finnish people (, ) are a Baltic Finns, 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 cou ...

who live in the areas of the historical province of Savonia.

History

Savonians are descendants of Tavastian and Karelian peasants who, during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, had settled in the areas that would later become known as ''Savonia'' in order to find new lands suitable for

slash-and-burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a form of shifting cultivation that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a Field (agriculture), field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody p ...

agriculture. The

Treaty of Nöteborg The Treaty of Nöteborg, also known as the Treaty of Orehovsk (; ; ), is a conventional name for the peace treaty signed at Shlisselburg Fortress, Oreshek (; ) on 12 August 1323. It was the first agreement between Sweden and the Novgorod Republic ...

split the area between

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

Novgorod Republic The Novgorod Republic () was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries in northern Russia, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east. Its capital was the city of Novgorod. The ...

, Savonia going to Sweden and Karelia to Novgorod. This tied Savonia to the Finnish language and Lutheran religion. While Savonia as a region was first mentioned in writing in 1323 in the treaty, Savonians as a separate group emerged around the year 1700 as a result of the mixing of Karelians and Tavastians. During 16th and 17th centuries, many Savonians emigrated to Eastern Norway and Central Sweden where they became known as the

Forest Finns Forest Finns (, Bokmål, Norwegian bokmål: ''skogfinner'', Nynorsk, Norwegian nynorsk: ''skogfinnar'', ) were Finns, Finnish migrants from Savonia (historical province), Savonia and Northern Tavastia (historical province), Tavastia in Finland w ...

. In the 17th century, there was also a migration to

Swedish Ingria Swedish Ingria (, ‘land of Ingrians’) was a dominion of the Swedish Empire from 1583 to 1595 and then again from 1617 to 1721 in what is now the territory of Russia. At the latter date, it was ceded to the Russian Empire in the Treaty of Ny ...

(now part of Russia), where they became known as Savakot and collectively known as the

Ingrian Finns Ingrian Finns (, ; ) are the Finnish people, Finnish population of Ingria (now the central part of Leningrad Oblast in Russia), descending from Lutheranism, Lutheran Finnish immigrants introduced into the area in the 17th century, when Finland ...

together with the Äyrämöiset (Finnish Karelians).

Description and stereotypes

The stereotypical Savonian is talkative, easy-going, jolly and humorous, occasionally even to an offensive degree. Traditionally, the Savonians have often been considered to be "sneaky" and "mendacious." However, recent research has shown that this infamy is largely due to misunderstandings caused by the traditional Savonian social indirectness.Yle News Savolainen kierous onkin vaarinymmarrys : http://yle.fi/uutiset/3-5338205 Savonians and Karelians were the first people in Finland to use

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

s, beginning during the Middle Ages. These surnames are known for containing the "nen" diminutive.

Notable Savonians

Juhani Aho Juhani Aho, originally Johannes Brofeldt (11 September 1861 – 8 August 1921), was a Finnish author and journalist. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature sixteen times. Early life Juhani Aho was born at Lapinlahti in 1861. His ...

* Hannu Aravirta * Juhan af Grann * Harri Hakkarainen * Pekka Halonen * Teemu Hartikainen * Jukka Hentunen * Marko Hietala * Kari Hietalahti * Pekka Janhunen *

Olli Jokinen Olli Veli Pekka Jokinen (born December 5, 1978) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. He was selected by the Los Angeles Kings third overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, with whom he made his NHL debut. He has also played for the Ne ...

* Jussi Jääskeläinen * Juha Kankkunen * Kasperi Kapanen * Sami Kapanen * Klaus Karppinen *

Urho Kekkonen Urho Kaleva Kekkonen (; 3 September 1900 – 31 August 1986), often referred to by his initials UKK, was a Finnish politician who served as the eighth and longest-serving president of Finland from 1956 to 1982. He also served as Prime Minister ...

* Kalle Kerman * Topi Keskinen * Harri Kirvesniemi * Hannes Kolehmainen * Mikko Kolehmainen * Sakari Kuosmanen * Kaapo Kähkönen * Esapekka Lappi * Kari Laukkanen * Juice Leskinen * Otto Leskinen * Erkki Liikanen * Eetu Luostarinen * Paavo Lötjönen *

Otto Manninen Otto Manninen (13 August 1872 – 6 April 1950) was a Finnish language, Finnish writer, poet, and a celebrated translator of world classics into Finnish language. Along with Eino Leino in the early 20th century, he is considered as a pioneer of Fi ...

* Jarmo Myllys * Ari-Pekka Nikkola * Urho Nissilä * Spede Pasanen * Petteri Pennanen * Joonas Rask *

Tuukka Rask Tuukka Mikael Rask (born 10 March 1987) is a Finns, Finnish former professional ice hockey Goaltender (ice hockey), goaltender. Rask was drafted 21st overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs before being traded to the Boston ...

* Timo Rautiainen *

Olli Rehn Olli Ilmari Rehn (; born 31 March 1962) is a Finnish public official who has been serving as governor of the Bank of Finland since 2018. A member of the Centre Party, he previously served as the European Commissioner for Enlargement from 2004 ...

* Rasmus Rissanen * Antti Ruuskanen *

Eero Saarinen Eero Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer who created a wide array of innovative designs for buildings and monuments, including the General Motors Technical Center; the pa ...

Eliel Saarinen Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1873 – July 1, 1950) was a Finnish and American Architecture, architect known for his work with Art Nouveau buildings in the early years of the 20th century. He was also the father of famed architect Ee ...

* Arja Saijonmaa * Matias Siltanen *

Heikki Silvennoinen Heikki Johannes Silvennoinen (27 April 1954 – 18 December 2024) was a Finnish musician and an actor. He was a guitarist and a songwriter in several notable Finnish bands of the 1970s and 1980s, and also recorded solo albums. He was best know ...

* Kari Tapio * Ilpo Tiihonen * Jussi Timonen * Kimmo Timonen *

Erkki Toivanen Erkki Matti Toivanen (18 May 1938 – 21 July 2011) was a Finnish journalist and Television presenter, presenter for Yleisradio. Career After gaining a master's degree in political history from the University of Helsinki in 1962, Toivanen ...

* Marko Tuomainen * Allu Tuppurainen * Kari Ukkonen *

Jenni Vartiainen Jenni Mari Vartiainen (born 20 March 1983) is a Finnish pop singer. Before her professional musical endeavours, she was a figure skating, figure skater in her teenage years and attended the Kuopio Senior High of Music and Dance. Vartiainen rose t ...

* Iiro Viinanen * Jukka Voutilainen *

Ismo Leikola (born 22 January 1979), sometimes known professionally as ISMO, is a Finnish comedian, musician, author, screenwriter, and YouTuber. Leikola made his United States debut in 2014, when he won the "Funniest Person in the World" competition organ ...

References

Ethnic groups in Finland Savonia (historical province) {{Ethno-stub