Kvens (alternate spellings: Cwen, Kven, Kvæn, Kveeni, Quen) in modern terminology is a name used nowadays for the Finnish minority living in Northern Norway. Many of the Finnish migration waves to Northern Norway can be pinpointed from the 16th century on. However, already much earlier known Viking Age settlement of the Finnish Tavastians to the Torne Valley region of today's Sweden - for instance - is belived to have reached also the shorelines of the Arctic Ocean in the modern-day Northern and Northeastern Norway.
Thus, for instance in 870 AD Ottar from Hålogaland - a Norwegian explorer, historian and leader - wrote a thorough account about his Northern Svandianvian and White Sea exploration trip, where he discusses the Kvens by name, who - according to Ottar - ruled large territories of the Northern and Northeastern Scandinavia, including the White Sea region of the modern day Russia.
Many consider the Kvens original and inginous residents of most of the Northern Scandinavian territories, including Northern Norway.
Originally, the term Kven was used in early Norse sources, Viking Age sagas and other historic texts where it referred to an ill-defined group inhabitating the northern parts of Scandinavia and Finland during the 9th - 12th centuries AD. Usually it is assumed that these ancient Kvens were a Finnic group too, possibly coming from Southwestern Finland to utilizate the northern wilderness and later settling there permanently. These ancient Kvens seem to have operated mainly in the areas of Northern Sweden and Finland, whereas the contemporary Kvens live in the vicininy of the Arctic Ocean in Northern Norway.
Historical origin
The name "Kwen" is associated to he concept of Kvenland. This area is ofen esteemed to have been the north-western coastal part of today's Finland -- the part Ostrobothnia. The exact location of the historical Kvenland is however uncertain.
It stands without a doubt that a group called "Kvens" existed. The name is found in Alfred the Great's chronicle and in Egil Skallgrimsson's saga. Adam of Bremen mentions the Kvens in the 11th century. He called it Terra Feminica: the word "Kven" resembles the Old Norse word Qvinna, which means "woman". This confusion was also made by others, but there is no known relationship of the Kvenland and women in general.
The chronicle of Alfred the Great writes that Scandinavia was inhabited by Suiones of Svealand, the Lapps in Lapland, the Norse in Norway and the Kvens in Kvenland. The old passages have been interpreted differently. It is mentioned that Kvenland was located around a big body of waters, such as the Gulf of Bothnia, and by the large fjords such as the Varanger Fjord, and by large lakes such as the Lake Inari, and by large rivers such as the Kvenland river. This makes it likely to have been located on the eastern side of the Gulf of Bothnia, in what later became known as Ostrobothnia.
The name Kven may derive from a Northern Norwegian form of the old Norse word hvein which means "flat and humid land", commonly associated with the territories around the Gulf of Bothnia.
Archeologically the Kvens are very obscure. Many prehistoric burials are known from the Finnish side of Gulf Of Bothnia to the 8th century, but afterwards only a handful of burials are known. It is so far unclear if the area had a permanent inhabitation of farmers until the 12th century, when settlers from Southwestern Finland were present in the northern riverine valleys.
If the pre-8th century farming population has vanished, as many Finnish historians and archaeologists do believe, "Kvenland" was inhabitated by only by hunter-gatherers (possibly of Sami affiliation), whose archeological remains are notoriously elusive, and whose possible connection with the Kvens is unclear. Even in this case, Kvenland was occasionally visited by traders and hunters from the southern farmer settlements. Possibly the later were called the Kvens at that time. The hunter-gatherers were apparently called Finns in many contemporary sources, although this name was later transferred to the predominantly farming groups from Southern Finland.
Relationship to the Finns
The old viewpoint that Kven is equal to the Finnish kainulaiset (or kainuulaiset) and Kvenland to the Finnish Kainuu has not found full etymological acceptance by some researchers. On the other hand, some researchers believe the term Finns referred to all of the historic Fenno-Ugric populations of the north, both the Lapps and the Kvens. It is possible that some further away historians during the Viking Age - such as Muhammad al-Idrisi - could have confused the Samis with the Kvens, because the subsistence economy of both groups would have included extensive hunting and fishing.
In the epic Finnish Kalevala legend - as in Finnish language in general - Kvenland has always been known as Kainuu, Kainu or Kainuunmaa. Compared with the modern day Finnish province of Kainuu the traditional, historic territories of Kainuu - i.e. Kvenland - reached much further up northwest, north and northeast than at the present time.
Details of old sources
The first known written use of the term Kven can be found from the Account of the Viking Othere. The information given is based to the voyages of the Norse leader Ottar to Northern Scandinavia and the Arctic Ocean in the end of the 9th century.
Ancient writings include the account by the Northern Norwegian Viking leader Ottar from Björkoy in Hålogaland (Haalogaland), near Troms (Tromsa) (a.k.a. Ottar from Hålogaland); the Icelandic sagas, in particular Egil's saga by Snorri Sturluson. In 1230 AD, in the introduction to the Orkneyinga Saga, Fundinn Noregr discusses the mythological kings of Finland and Kvenland and their fictitious conquest of Norway.
Ottar met the English KingAlfred the Great in England in the end of the 9th century and made a thorough account to him of the life in Northern Norway and the Kvens, and about his exploration trip to the White Sea area. This account was included to the omissions and additions included to the Universal History of Orosius republished by Alfred the Great (the book is partially work of Orosius and partially of Alfred the Great). This was the first genuine and comprenensive account of the North, and thus it is a principle source in the exploration of the Nordic history. According to this source, the Kvens sometimes raided Northern Norways. The later Egil's Saga mention an alliance between the Norse the Kvens against Finnish Karelian raiders from the south-east, pparently during the 12th century, when the Karelians were expansing towards Kvenland.
In 1251 AD the Karelians fought against the Norwegians and in 1271 AD the Kvens and the Karelians cooperated in battles against the Norwegians in Haalogaland. These battles had a lasting effect in life in the entire Northern Scandinavia.
During several following centuries a gradual and slow process of a Swedish expansion in today's Finland and the formation of Sweden-Finland took place. This was mainly done through scirmishes between the Finns themselves: Those in the west symphatizing with the catholic Swedes and those in the east symphatizing with the orthodox Russians. This period saw many tendencies and attempts to autonomy for the eastern half of Sweden-Finland, that came to form the borders of Finland of today.
In the 16th century, the historical origin of the Kvens had already been surpassed and it was not certain if the Kvens and the historical Kvenland overlapped. The issue continued to be disputed for centuries. Additionally, ancient sources are generally unspecific as detailed maps did not exist.
Norwegian heritage
In the modern terminology the word Kven usually refers to the Finnish people - and their descendants - who settled in Northern Norway at first in the 16h century and onward to the 20th century, and who today inhabit the northernmost coastal areas of the Scandinavian peninsula, by the Arctic Ocean and its Barents Sea. The areas mostly belong to Norway, but some also to Russia.
For example such places by the Varanger Fjord (a vast bay of water, connected to the Arctic Ocean - Varangerfjorden in Norwegian - in Northeastern Norway) as Bugoynes (Pykeija in Finnish), Vadso (Vesisaari in Finnish), Kirkenes (Kirkkoniemi in Finnish) and Vardo (Vuoreija in Finnish) are perfect examples of today's remaining Kven centers in north-eastern Norway.
Due to the mixing of populations and cultures in the historical Kvenland territories, the descendants of Kvens e.g. in the Gulf of Bothnia and the White Sea areas are usually no longer referred to as Kvens by the local residents. Only the Kvens of Northern Norway by the Arctic Ocean and particularly its Barents Sea in Northeastern Scandinavia - who up till the latter part of the twentieth century have been rather isolated of the rest of the society around them - still today proudly and visibly carry the Kven title, traditions and heritage.
In 1996 the Kvens of Norway were granted a legal minority peoples' status in Norway. Their language, the Kven language, or Kainu, was granted an official and legalized minority language status in 2005. [1]
Kven migrations
Today researchers (Jouko Vahtola and others) agree that the Tornedalians who migrated in what is today the Torne Valley in Sweden originated from the Kvens in Tavastland, in Finland.
After the Middle Ages and the migration of the so called Tornedalians the next larger migration wave up north - this time again reaching the coastal areas of today's Norway - happened in the early 18th century. The following Kven migration to Northern Norway - and to the areas that were a part of the Republic of Finland up till 1944 - took place in the beginning of the 19th century, reaching a peak during the famine in Finland in the 1860s.
The immigrants now were for the most part poor farmers looking for land in the Norwegian provinces of Troms and Finnmark. The first immigrants arrived to parishes such as Alta, Balsfjord, Børselv, Lyngen, Nordreisa, Skibotn and Tana. The later arrivers settled in the eastern parts of Finnmark, along the Varanger Fjord. They integrated quickly into the Norwegian society to live along with the Norwegians and Sami people. For instance, in places like Vadsø - where they were the majority of the population - they soon considered the Norwegian cultural identity as a standard.
The Norwegian government attempted to integrate the Kvens from the 1880s. The use of the Kven language became forbidden in schools and government officies, and Kven town names were replaced by Norwegian.
However, the last few decades brought a significant change. The original Kven have been granted their old meanings. Such names include the Northern Norwegian community place names of Alattio (Alta in Norwegian), Annijoki (Vestre Jakobselv), Kaarasjoki (Karasjok), Kallijoki (Skalvelv), Kirkkoniemi (Kirkenes), Lemmijoki - a Kven name in use at least since 1595 - (Lakselv), Naavuono (Kvænangen), Näätämö (Neiden), Paatsjoki (Pasvik), Porsanki (Porsanger), Pulmanki (Polmak), Punakakkanen (Bonakas), Pykeija (Bugoynes), Pyssyjoki (Børselva), Raisi (Nordreisa), Vesisaari (Vadsø), Vuoreija (Vardø), Yekeä (Lyngen), etc.
From 1970s on the Kvens and the Samis in Norway have openly been allowed to use the original mother tongue of the Kvens, i.e. an old Kven dialect of Finnish language and to teach it to their children at schools. This new policy was enforced via special language laws for minorities. In 2005, the Kven language - officially now known as Kainu - was given a legal minority language status in Norway.
Today, most speakers of the so called Kven Finnish are found mostly in the extreme Northeastern parts of Norway, in such communities as Bugoynes and Neiden (a municipality of Sør-Varanger, where the last centuries' main migration of Kven people took place from 1830 to 1860), Vestre Jakobselv and Vadso (Vadsø Municipality) and Børselv (Municipality of Porsanger). A few older speakers may still be found also in the municipalities of Nordreisa and Storfjord. Bugøynes - by Varanger Fjord - perhaps remains the most vital of all the remaining Kven communities in Norway.
Besides Norway, in the historical and traditional Kvenland territories of Northern Scandinavia and areas that today are part of Northwestern Russia, the descendants of the Kvens are no longer referred to as Kvens.
Kven language
The Kven language is a Finno-Ugric language related to Sami language, Meänkieli language, Karelian language and the Finnish language. The speakers of Kven, Meänkieli, Karelian and Finnish can understand each others' languages without too much difficulty, but the Sami language differs considerably from the four others.
The Kven language was in Norway considered a dialect of the standard Finnish language up till recent times. In 2005 the Kven language (known as Kainu) was secured a status as official minority language in Northern Norway, as had the Sami language before it.
In a 2005 census, the Kven language declares over 25,000 native speakers in Northern Norway. This number does not include Norwegian speakers of regular Finnish language or the Kvens who have Norwegian as their native language.
In Northeastern Norway, mainly around Varanger Fjord, the spoken Kven is quite similar to a standard Finnish; whereas in the west from Alta to the area of Lyngen Fjord, the few remaining Kven speakers speak Finnish with more particularities, due to a deeper isolation from Finland.
The Kven language has come to incorporate many Norwegian loan words, e.g. tyskäläinen (meaning "German" in English). The Kven language also uses some old Finnish words that no longer are used in Finland. The modern day Finnish Kainuu dialect is largely of the same origin as the Kven Finnish, Meänkieli and the Finnish dialect of today's Northwestern Russia (historically Bjarmaland, in the eastern edge of the historic Kvenland).
See also
Notes
References
- Shore, Thomas William - Origin of the Anglo-Saxon Race. 1906. Reissued in 1971 by Kennikat Press.
- Pokorny, Julius - 1936.
- Wessel, A.B. – Optegnelser fra Sør-Varanger. 1938, reprinted 1979.
- Julku, Kyösti - Kvenland - Kainuunmaa. 1986.
- Anttonen, Marjut - Finnish migrants to North Norway - supporting or threatening the Kven identifications of today ?. 2000.
- Anttonen, Marjut - The politicization of Kven identities in Northern Norway. 2001.
- Vahtola, Jouko - Suomen historia / Jääkaudesta Euroopan unioniin. 2003.
Further reading
- Anttonen, Marjut - Cultural adaption an ethnic identity of finnish immigrants in Nothern Norway. 1993.
- Anttonen, Marjut - Nord-Norges nya finska immigranter. 1986.
- Anttonen, Marjut - Suomalaissiirtolaisten akkulturoituminen Pohjois-Norjassa. 1984.
- Anttonen, Marjut - The dilemma of some present-day Norwegians with Finnish-speaking ancestry. 1998.
- Carpelan, Christian - Käännekohtia Suomen esihistoriassa aikavälillä 5100-1000 eKr. Pohjan Poluilla. 1999.
- Edgren, Torsten - Den förhistoriska tiden. Finland's historia 1. Andra upplagan. 1993.
- Edgren, Torsten - Kivikausi. Suomen historia 1. 1984.
- Hallencreutz, C.F. - Adam, Sverige och trosskiftet. 1984.
- Huurre, Matti - 9000 vuotta Suomen esihistoriaa. Viides, uudistettu painos. 1995.
- Huurre, Matti - Kivikauden Suomi. 1998.
- Lönnrot, Elias - Kalevala. 1835.
- Nunez, Milton - Okkonen, Jari - Environmental Background for the Rise and Fall of Villages and Megastructures in North Ostrobotnia 4000-2000 cal B.C. Dig it all. Papers dedicated to Ari Siiriäinen. 1999.
- Schulz, Hans-Peter - De tog skydd i Varggrottan. Popular arkeologi 3/1998.
- Schulz, Hans-Peter - Pioneerit pohjoisessa. Suomen varhaismesoliittinen asutus arkeologisen aineiston valossa. Suomen museo 1996.
Primary sources
