The Great Päiviö Dynasty
and the oldest families in Kittilä

 Prologue from Ounasjoen Maa, translated by Birgitta Filppa of Stockholm

            "When Päiviö became old he was converted to Christianity.   He traveled all the way down to Stockholm to see the King in order to complain about the fact that the inhabitants of Kemi and surroundings treated the Sami in an unfair way: At the Royal Court he cured the daughter of the King, with the help of a beaver skin, of a condition that the Court's own physicians couldn't do anything about. On this expedition he was baptized in a Christian church. After conversion, he had complained that his shaman powers were 'spoiled' and taken away from him 'by the cross and the baptism/christening.'"

            "One of the last full-blooded Sami to live in Kittilä was Kallon Kreeta (Kreeta Johanna Keskrtalo), 1881-1962, a very vigorous and spirited elder, born into a famous Vasara Sami family. Her parents had reindeer herds by the fish-rich lake, Jerisjärvi. There, by the lake, at an open fire, she opened her eyes to this world. There she slept on a moss bed in her gietka (cradle board), hanging on a tree. When her mother went to tend the reindeer she put a piece of dried reindeer meat in Kreeta's mouth instead of a modern pacifier, and the mountain winds rocked the baby to sleep. Kreeta had 11 children! Another of the last full-blooded Sami was Magga Piera in the village of Raattama. He was born in Karesuvanto. Now, these two are gone, but the Sami blood will never cease to run in the veins of the Kittilä families." 

Translation by Mikko Rahikka

            The first inhabitants in Lapland were the Sami and, consequently, the oldest known residents of Kittilä were also of Sami origin.

            The Pirkkas came all the way to the far north to levy taxes from the traveling Sami.  In 1277, King Magnus Ladulås granted the Pirkkas with a right to tax the Sami, the privilege they needed to repay by giving a share of the revenue to the Swedish Crown. Through more than two centuries, until King Gustav Vasa's era, tax collecting and trading in Lapland was solely in Pirkkas' hands.

            Yet in 1528, in his early years as an emperor, King Gustav Vasa reconfirmed the Pirkkas' levy rights, but in 1554 he canceled those rights. After that, the taxes were collected by Lapland bailiffs and other King's officers.

            In the 16^th century, Lapland was divided in two:  the Tornio Lapland and the Kemi Lapland.  The latter consisted of nine siidas (Lapp villages): Inari, Keminkylä, Kitka, Kittilä, Kuolajärvi, Maanselkä, Pelojärvi, Sompio, and Sodankylä. The Kemi Lapland was part of Länispohja and belonged to the northern bailiwick of Pohjanmaa province.

            There were two mighty Pirkka bailiffs in the Kemi Lapland in the 1500s, Olavi Anudinpoika from Armassaari, Tornio, and Niilo Orvainen from Vojakkala.  In 1555, there were five taxable Sami in Kittilä and seven in Lombolo listed in the bailiffs’ accounts.     

            Winter villages were located in Lompolo and by the Kapsajoki (Kapsa river), and goahti grounds were in Könkavaara, in Raudusjärvi and Munajärvi areas, in Jerisjärvi, in Kukasjärvi, in Linkujärvi, in Kelontekemä, in Kinisjärvi, in Kuivasalmi, Rauninkenttä in Sikkola, in Raattama, in Lomajärvi, in Rouravaara, and in Hanhimaa.

            The Sami worshipped their sieiddes (sacred objects or places) and practiced their magic. Their livelihood was based on reindeer herding, hunting wild deer and other game, and fishing. For making decisions about common causes, the men gathered for a Siida Council under the leadership of the village elder.

            Sami families in Kittilä were the Päiviös, Torajainens, Suikkis, Vasaras, Riimis, Pokkas, Kittis, Vuollis, Logjes, Niklaavus, and Nikoteemuses.

            For the first time, the name Kittilä appears in the bailiffs’ tax accounts in 1553. Back then, the name was spelled Kijckele.

            According to legends, the most powerful of Kittilä noaides was old Päiviö, or Peiva as he was called by the Sami. He had a living ground in Kuivasalmi, on the northeastern shore of the take. On the west side of the lake he had a sieidde, which was worshipped also by other Sami. Old Päivö lived in the first half of the 16th Century.

            White Lapland was visited by raiders. Päiviö tried to fight for his defenseless tribe. He also defended Sami from the oppression and exploitation by Pirkkas.

            The following of Päiviö's children are known: sons Vuolleb (OIli), Issak (lisakki), and Johanas (Juho); and giris Kitti (Kristiina), Kreta (Kreeta), and Inkeri. It is also known that Päiviö had 30 hired men and a number of maids as servants. As Päiviö's son Johanas established a living ground in Rauduskylä by the Raudusjärvi (Raudus lake), another son Vuolleb settled down in the Ollila bank by the mouth of the Aakenusjoki (Aakenus river), Issak stayed at his father's place in Kuivasalmi.

           Paiviö's daughter Kitti married a Finnish man, Paavo Yletyinen. Also they lived in the Ollila bank by the mouth of the Aakenusjoki. (See accompanying article in issue #6 regarding their descendants.) Inkeri, as well, was to marry a Finn, a Savo bom man whose last name was Väänänen. They settled down in Nälkämuotka, downstream from Riikonkoski (Riikon rapids). Kreta, who was also called Katri, married a man who by his last name was Parvajoki and lived in Alakittilä.

            Vuolleb was the chief of Lapland police district, an office subsequently occupied by his son Uula who was discharged due to dereliction of his duties. After Uula, the post was held by Antti Paavalinpoika of Sodankylä.

            Johanas' son Hannu moved to a place that was later on named Hannula and where the Hannula house was to be located. His brother Matti settled down in the same place and established the Hannula farm. Matti was a famous spell reciter.

            The old Päiviö was converted to Christianity while visiting in Stockholm. The Päiviö family existed already before the Pirkka era. In the 1576 tax accounts, there was one Päiviö in Kittilä among the Sami people paying taxes to Kemi Lapland. As listed in the 1579 tax accounts, there was Morottaja Päiviönpoika in Sompio; Peivesar Ikäpäiviönpoika, Ikamid Päiviönpoika, and luna Ikäpäiviönpoika in Kuolajärvi; Matti Ikäpäiviönpoika and Sarrio Ikäpäivinöpoika in Inari; and many other members of Päiviö family.

            In the Hossa village there was the famous Torajainen ground on which the Torajainen house also situated. Torajainen's daughter Kaisa was married to Juno Paksu who was said to be a runaway. Like Päiviö, Torajainen himself was a famous noaide.

            According to Fellmann's memoirs, there were a number of Torajainen's descendants, or Torajaisenpoika (Torajainen's son), living in Kuolajärvi in 1579. Torajainen's place was located a short stretch upstream from Loukinen river mouth. From there, however, Torajainen moved to Raudusjärvi.

            At the time, other noaides were living in the area. There were, for example, Kuuva, Karkia, and Haikara in Lonnakko. In Alakylä there was Pötys-Klaavu.

            In the old days, a Sami called Väkevä-Tuomas (Strong Tuomas) was living in Tepastonlompolo. According to a legend he, with his cunning, defeated seven stallos (malicious gnomes) and killed them in a duel. Mooses-raukka (Poor Moses) moved to the same location but was starved to death later on. After Mooses-raukka, a vagrant called Silpo-Heikki was living in the same site but was driven away by Mooses-raukka's sons Heikki and Niila who settled down in their father's place. Some of their descendants are still living in Tepastonlompolo.

            A Sami family with name Riimi was living in Lomajärvi, in the far eastern edge of Kittilä wilds. As both were noaides, Niila Riimi was a rival to Niila Paalula of Kelontekemä. Olli Riimi, with his eight daughters and a son Olli, was living in Riimitieva in the north shore of the Lomajärvi. The son Olli became a reindeer shepherd in Kolari and Sodankylä, and the girls were married to Finns, or Lantalainens as southerners were called as opposed to Lappalainen (Sami).

            The Kelontekemä Sami were of Vuolli family. They lived in a terrain called Vuollinä (Vuolli's Tabletop) in the southern shore of the Kelontekemäjärvi (Kelontekemä lake), a location where they moved to from the woodlands in between Molkojärvi (Moiko lake) and Alakylä. In Kelontekemä. there was also Mallu-äijä (Old Man Mallu) living in Mallunautio in the southeastern shore. He, however, moved around in a pace that earned him another name, Juoksu-Mallu (Running Mallu). Others living in that area were Toramainen at Toramainen's ground in the west shore; Launa-ukko (Old Man Launa) at Launa's ground in Koskamanniemi; Pulli in the east shore on the site were Kdontekema houses are; and across the lake from Pulli. Karkea-raukka (Poor Karkea) in Karkeaniemi at the upper end of Koskamaajärvi (Koskama lake). The last-mentioned was fishing also in Sotkajärvi. Niila Paalula and Niila Riimi were living in the Uutos mound.

            The first Finnish resident in Kaukonen, Pekka Kaukonen, married to a daughter of Laure, a local Sami living in Porokoanniemi. Remains of goahti grounds of ancient times have been found in Porokoanniemi.

            Before the settlers arrived, Sami were also living in Kinisjärvi (Kinis lake) wilds. The last of them was Pokka whose daughter Tiina had a permanent house and a farm in Autiovaara in the southwestern shore of Kinisjärvi. Tiina Pokka's daughter Reetta Tiina lived her last years as a dependent in Erkki Kinisjärvi's house. Tiina Pokka's grandson was an owner of another Kinisjärvi house.

            Although fishermen from Kemijoki (Kemi river) and Ounasjoki (Ounas river) were travding to Kittilä waters already in the 16^th century, Finnishness wasn't to arrive here until the early 17^th century. The early fishermen, Keminkalastajat (Kemi fishers) or just Kemis, had fishing grounds by the lakes in the region: Kinisjärvi, Molkojärvi, Sotkanjärvi, Kuivasalmi, Sirkka, and Raudusjärvi. There was an old ground called Kenttäniemi in the north end of the sound in between Sirkka and Levi lakes where Kemis were said to live during their summer fishing trips. The first Finns to move among the Sami were runaway criminals from Savo and Pohjanmaa.

            In 1619 the Kemi Lapland bailiffs listing of taxpayers in Kittilä included Paavo Niilonpoika Yletyinen who had moved there from Savo. The following year he was not among the listed, but in 1642, his farm was entered as a pioneer farm Ollila located in the mouth of the Aakenusjoki. This was the site earlier occupied by Päiviö's son Olli from whom the name originates. Thus Yletyinen was the first Finnish settler in Kittilä and he married Päviö's daughter Kristiina who by then had been converted to Christianity. It was said that Yletyinen had run away after committing a manslaughter. Yletyinen's sons. Matti and Juno, adopted Sami way of living and their descendants include Salmons and Kariniemis among others.

            According to legends, the Russians killed the girl's father during one of their raids in 1570-1595. It is unknown whether this is referring to old Päiviö or to Väänänen who will be introduced later.

            In the early part of the 17^th century, the name Väänänen was entered in the books. He had settled down in Nälkämuotka, downstream from Riikonkoski. It was said that also he was a runaway and from Savvo. His wife was Päiviö's daughter Inkeri. Väänänen's name disappears from the bailiffs’ listings in 1643. A legend tells that Russians killed Väänänen who was living in the Väänänen's pine stand but his two daughters managed to escape. Kreta was hiding in Riikonkoski Island, and Inkeri in Nälkäjärvi. Since Väänänen had only daughters, there was no one to carry on the family name.

            Juho Paksu, who had fled to Kittilä because of manslaughter, was mentioned by his name in the mid-17^th century. He married Torajainen's daughter Kaisa with whom he lived in Hossa village behind the Levitunturi (Levi mountain). Rauduses and Alakangases are their descendants. Paksu's place was at the mouth of the Loukinen, close to Ounasjoki shore.

            In 1661 Hannu Juhonpoika Hiukka and Olli Pulli were included in the Kittilä tax listings. They had arrived from Ounasjoki village in Kemi and both were of Finnish origin. Hiukka's name disappears from the census by the end of the 17^th century, but Olli Pulli was granted with a right to live in Molkojärvi in 1682. There is more information of Pulli family in another chapter.

            The 1669 listing included the first member of the Kaukonen family, Pekka Martinpoika Kaukonen from Savo. There is more information of Kaukonen family in another section.

            October 27^th, 1673, the King Karl XI declared the Lapland Bill which stated that any Finn is allowed to move to Lapland and select a site with hunting grounds and fishing waters to live in. By this declaration, settlers were exempted from paying taxes for the first fifteen years.

            After that they would be paying only the low Lapp paid. Furthermore the settlers were exempted from military service for life. In September 3^rd, 1695, an additional Lapland Bill was introduced to bring more settlers in Lapland where game hunting and fishing were known to be worth praising. The worsened living conditions in south due to the Great Wrath in the early 18^th century added interest towards Lapland. (Ed: the “Great Wrath" was a sequence of devastating events beginning in 1697 with widespread starvation, followed by the Russian invasion and a plague in 1710. In an effort to deprive the Swedish king of resources, the Russians, under Peter the Great, destroyed everything in their path, driving the survivors north and into the forests. By the peace in 1721, over 100,000 of the population had lost their lives to plague, starvation, or the Russian military.) The Finns moving from south started to seize the best of Sami's game and fishing reserves after which the Sami started to consider Finns as their enemies.

The 1695 land register includes Niilo Niilonpoika Kuru, a settler who was living in Tarrojärvi. The location of this take is not known but it is believed to have been situated in Kuivasalmi area. Later on, the name Kuru disappears from the register; it is unknown whether he moved away or changed his name. The name Niilo appears as Niilo Niilonpoika in Köngäs, Tepasto, Sirkka, and Alakittilä. If this person was the same Niilo Niilonpoika who moved to the Parvajoki's farm after Parvajoki or not, remains unanswered.

            Since 1731 the Sodankylä parish register covers Kittilä which was part of the Sodankylä dependent parish.

            After this, we will concentrate on the oldest families starting with the origins of the families, and holders of the family estates. The families are researched from the oldest to the youngest.

Translator's notes:  Original names were used as often as possible.  The Finnish name "Pirkka" (Finns) is used rather than "Birklar," the Swedish, used in other translations.

            The family name is Salmen, but there is also the name Salmi in the family...and it doesn't seem logical that the Salmen house would have been divided into two Salmi houses, yet that may well be the case.

            The word talo, house, may refer not only to living quarters, but to the whole property.

            Every tila, farm, may not have been for actual farming. Pioneers in Lapland were encouraged to establish farms and the taxes paid indicate the existence of farms, but also hunting and fishing were major sources of livelihood. 

            As farms and not families had "last'' names, men changed their names after moving to another farm or establishing a new one.