Finland

[Janne]

I do not want us Scandinavians starting a verbal fight, but the deign originates with the Same. The non Same population in all of Scandinavia adopted the design.

A thicker sole is an adaptation to gravel roads, the leather is different because we "whites" had access to cow leather and not the Same reindeer. Some boots were made from Moose leather.

The Same had 2 main variations. One version made from hairless reindeer skin and one for winteruse made with the hair kept on the skin.
The hair was on the outside as it sheds water and snow very well. Even the sole was hairy to improve the grip on snow and ice.

The design varies a bit between shoemakers - yes.
They are still made by one commercial shoe and boot factory in Sweden and by a few artisan makers.

The shoelaces colour are diffent between the countries, also between the Same. The ones I have seen in Sweden are mainly red yellow and blue. Green Blue and red is anither combo.
I am unsure if the Coast Sames and the inland Sames have different colours.



For you Brits, this shoe was designed as a multi purpose summer / winter.
The upturned tip is to be inserted in a loop on the skis. This was the traditional Scandinavian ski binding until the new design. Could slso be used with the same loop on snow shoes.

You did not use socks in those shoes, but a combination of square fabric and a special grass, or just the special grass.
It could be dried " normal" grass (lawngrass) or a type of sedge which is very common in Arctic Scandinavia.

Boots like this are still used as they are very comfortable.

I still have my old pair left, keep them as a memento. I used them daily while on regimental duties between -79 and 82. I had a local shoemaker in Arvidsjaur resole them with a thick moose skin.

We were the only regiment to approve this boot to be worn in duty as a nod to our history.

 

[Martti]

The non Same population in all of Scandinavia adopted the design.

It is almost impossible to say who adapted what shoe design from whom because we know from the archaeological findings that at least the Finns were using similar boots over 800 years ago. What we know for certainly is that the Saami didn't invent the shoe, so the must have adopted their design from a previous one. Also, it is argued (by e.g. T. I. Itkonen) that Saami adopted the technique of making woven shoelaces from the Finns because the Saami never used the much older tablet weaving, but only of the younger inkle weaving technique introduced to Finland during the 16th century.

Altogether, the boots are traditional Finnish boots made and used by Finns, not Saami.

 

[Janne]

I think you will find that the Finnish peoples customs were shaped by the Swedish during their close to 1000 years of having that area, and by the Russians during their 100+ years of having that area , an area called since 1917 Finland.

Your history and customs are intertwined with the rest of scandinavia.

If we cast away the false nationalistic BS, the whole of Scandinavia including Russia across the border had the same clothes, shoes, customs and so on until very recently, dictated by the climate. Borders did not exist, people were moving across freely. Hence Swedish speaking areas in Finland, Finnish speaking areas in Norway and Sweden...
Skis developed somewhere in Scandinavia, and this boot style must have been developed at the same time.

Todays Norway? Sweden? Finland? Who cares? Scandinavia!

Skis that need shoes like this were discovered in Sweden ( 6500-4500 years old) and Norway ( 5200 years old). No doubt there were ski users in todays Finland at the same time.

You mention the Same used a weaving tech introduced to the Finnish speaking area of Sweden ( no Finland existed then, but the Swedish Empire did) in the 1500's.
Do you know where it was introduced from?
I hope you appreciate that the Norwegians settled the northernmost area of Scandinavia well before ( hundreds of years) Finns or Russians ( sSweden never did) so by default they introduced some of their customs and tech?

Most Same live in Norway. Second largest population is in Sweden. Then Finland. Then Russia.

Our northern cultures are intertwined with theirs too....

 

[Martti]

I think you will find that the Finnish peoples customs were shaped by the Swedish during their close to 1000 years of having that area, and by the Russians during their 100+ years of having that area , an area called since 1917 Finland.

According to the generally accepted theory, Southwest Finland or Finland Proper was annexed by Sweden in 1250. Eastern and Northern Finland were not annexed until the Treaty of Teusina in 1595.

On top of my head I can think of many areas of material culture that were very different in traditional Sweden and Finland: Firemaking, the use of birch bark, items related to hunting and fishing, religion (bear worship), construction of wooden boats and log cabins etc.

I hope you appreciate that the Norwegians settled the northernmost area of Scandinavia well before ( hundreds of years) Finns or Russians ( sSweden never did) so by default they introduced some of their customs and tech?

If we look at the accounts of Ohthere of Hålogaland written down in the 9th century, we notice that he mentions that he claimed to live in Hålogaland by the sea more northern than any other Norwegian. Beyond that were only a few Saami and "Bjarmaland", possibly inhabited by Finnic people.

Furthermore, many inland regions in the Southern Norway and Sweden were uninhabited before the so called "Forest Finns" moved to the area during the 1500s.

 

[Janne]

That is what I mean. People move, take their customs, adopt them, and in turn influence changes in the others.

Yep, the Forest Finns, or as we call them in Sweden Svedje (slash-and-burn) Finns ere moved from their area in Finland to settle some of the worst areas, with the worst soils in Scandinavia.
With their techniques, hardiness and skills they managed to survive and flourish.

Ottar the Norwegian Viking wrote that he lived north of the northernmost Norwegians, and nobody lived north of him.
I eould think that lived on the coastline of the Barents Sea. Crazy guy.

I would think the Same and the others (Beormas) lived to the East of him, maybe on the Kola peninsula? The Beormas were living on the coast of the White Sea which I think is the Kola inlanssea? Finns or some other Siberian people than Same?


What I find interesting with these millenia old tales is how many different people and cultures travellers encountered in an area inhabited today with a pretty homogenous population.
The creation of modern states killed off all that diversity!

Edit: Birch Bark was used in todays Sweden and Norway too, for the same purposes. As in the rest of Europe, including Russia! Maybe it was used for longer in Finland due to the relative poverty?

But we did not worship the Bear.
Tor, Frej, Freja and the rest of the happy gang - yes. Not sure about the pre Notse times though.

 

[Martti]

Edit: Birch Bark was used in todays Sweden and Norway too, for the same purposes. As in the rest of Europe, including Russia! Maybe it was used for longer in Finland due to the relative poverty?

If you know German, I recommend reading Valonen's Geflechte und andere Arbeiten aus Birkenrindenstreifen unter besondere Berücksichtigung finnischer Tradition. According to him, birch bark weaving was only known in Sweden and Norway in such areas that were previously inhabited by the Forest Finns or Kvens. Besides Finns and Karelians, some other Finno-Ugric people in Europe (but not Saami or people in Siberia) and Russians living near them knew how to weave birch bark into objects.

Altogether, I would say there was a distinct and large difference between the material cultures of Finns and Swedes & Norwegians living in the countryside until the early 20th century.

 

[Janne]

I speak German since birth. I will see if I can find that book.

Interesting what you say about the birch usage. It could be a Finnish custom brought west by Finnish migrants, or by Swedish/Norwegians returning home from the Finnish speaking parts.

I know that the poorest "peasants" or farm "workers" ( statare) in Sweden used Birch bark for several hundreds of years.
Shoes, backpack containers, household items. Roofing of course.
They could not afford anything else.

Birch bark is an amazing material. I have seen waterproof containers made from very thin bark.

The Finns that were moved from Finland in the 1500' to escape starvation could of course have brought the Birch bark skills with them.

There are though quite a few finds from Viking settlements in both Norway and Sweden. Plus they found some in Novgorod (Viking settlement) too.
I think the stuff was so good that most with access learned to use it. Only when people became rich enough they started using leather and other materials.

As an experiment in the Army we fixed a 15 cm wide Birch bark strip so it covered the underside of the instep. We were told by a Same soldier that was what they did in the old days.
We found a way to cut the surface so the skis glided forward, but not backwards.
Same principle as the usage of the skin.

The buildings you show in the first post, has the wood been treated by tar? That custom was largely abandoned ( by the ones that could afford it) in Sweden when Falu Rod was invented, but still very common up north, plus all over Norway.

 

[Janne]

We should have a new thread where we discuss old Scandi customs!

So much to learn from each other. I have a feeling you too are interested in history?

I used to do a lot of experimenting and trying to find out the old ways. I have always believed the old folks were far more clever than we give them credit for.
I was a frequent visitor to museums in Stockholm (mainly) and Oslo, plus the small local museums around those countries.

 

[Arya]

I don´t know about the others, but I find your discussion bloody interesting! I would love to read a thread like that

 

[Janne]

What do you say, Matti, a friendly discussion?
I think Birch Bark could be interesting for the Brits?

 

[Martti]

The Finns that were moved from Finland in the 1500' to escape starvation could of course have brought the Birch bark skills with them.

There was no starvation (major at least) in Finland during the 16th century. The Kings of Sweden wanted to colonise the wilderness areas in Sweden and exempted anyone moving there from taxes for several years.

I know that the poorest "peasants" or farm "workers" ( statare) in Sweden used Birch bark for several hundreds of years.
Shoes, backpack containers, household items. Roofing of course.

Here's one of many illustrations from Valonen's book (pg. 225) showing the extent of the historical use of birch bark shoes in Sweden (in black) and the historical areas where the Finns lived (in red). The two different black symbols denote the two different type of birch bark shoes.

 

[Janne]

And I thought Savolax was very hit by the Little Ice Age? Similar to Smaland. Birch bark was used a lot there too.
Despite being in southern Sweden, Smalands soils is very similar to the area we are not supposed to call Norrland today.

I do not think that the Svedje (slash and burn) Finns paid that much tax, as poor as they were..
Plus they were forced to move to the worst areas in Sweden, poor souls. I guess they could pay tax in Stockholm Tar, which was a major Swedish export in those days.