On a lake about a hundred meters from the Swedish border in Grue Finnskog we find the islet of Akkasaari. At the top of the islet are three pits. Here the Finns, who had settled in the forest, buried their relatives during the summer months. Because in the summer it was difficult to transport the body to the nearest cemetery. They were often far away, and there were poor roads in the forest. The solution was intermediate burial grounds on islets such as Akkasari. The Norwegian town name tells us what the name means in Finnish: “Akka” means moor, and “saari” means islet. Kjerringholmen. Now the islet is safe. Transporting coffins was much easier and more practical in winter than in summer. Burial sites in the vicinity of dwellings in Finland and in Finnish forest areas in Scandinavia have therefore usually been of an intermediate character. Photo: Marit Vestvik / Riksantikvaren Vatn as protection It was here in the Grue area that the forest Finns first established themselves in Norway in the 17th century. The tradition of using islets as burial grounds originates from Finland. The fact that lakes and marshes froze in winter made transporting corpses on sleds easier. The dead were therefore buried on islets in the meantime in anticipation of the frost. Riksantikvar Hanna Geiran says it is important to highlight the minorities in our joint, national album. – I am proud that we are working with these reconciliations. Photo: Per-Kåre Sandbakk / news The Norwegian translation “Kjerringholmen” could indicate that the islet was a burial place for women. But the original Finnish name “Akkasaari” indicates that it is simply a burial ground. In Sami shamanism, Jabmi-Akka ruled over the underworld. Here the water divided the living and the dead. An islet therefore became a safe place to bury dead people. This is how they were supposed to stay away from the living. Few preserved forest Finnish cultural heritage Akkasari is the only forest Finnish conservation proposal that represents the forest Finnish tradition of burial grounds out in nature. – It is a conservation that represents the immaterial in the culture of forest Finns where shamanism is the basis, says Birger Nesholen at the Norwegian Forestry Museum. Birger Nesholen is a professional adviser at the Norwegian Forest Finns Museum, and has worked with the culture of the Forest Finns for over 50 years. In 2007, he received the King’s Medal of Merit in gold for his work with forest Finnish culture. Photo: Privat He sees the conservation as an important signal to contribute to greater awareness of the diversity in Finnish forest culture. The National Antiquities Office, which carries out the conservation, refers to the islet as a central Finnish forest cultural monument. – It is a very important part of cultural heritage in Norway. The Norwegianization process meant that there were few physical and documented remains of forest Finnish cultural heritage, says national antiquarian Hanna Geiran. Skogfinsk cultural monuments Abborhøgda is a culturally important example of a traditional forest find site with both buildings, utility garden, tundra and associated farm area and mosaic landscape preserved. The cultural landscape has a rich biological diversity, which is typical of forest Finnish settlements. Øvre Askosberget is a well-preserved example of a smoking stove with a smoke chamber intact in its original place. In Norway, there are only two smoking stoves where the original smoking chamber has been preserved. Orala is a culturally important example of a traditional forest site with both buildings, gardens and associated agricultural land preserved. Orala also shows a connection to the sea and fishing, which has been an important source of income for many forest Finns. The barn in Peistorpet bears an unusually large amount of inscribed symbols. The use of magical symbols has been an important part of Finnish forest culture in Norway back to the 17th century. The building has been promoted by the Forest Finns themselves as particularly important to preserve, precisely to secure knowledge of, and to be able to convey, this important part of their culture. Akkasaari (Kjerringholmen) is a burial mound with traces of three graves. Holmen represent the forest Finnish tradition of burying on islets, fixed or intermediate. Hytjanstorpet is a well-preserved forest Finnish farm that is still inhabited and run in the traditional way. On the farm there is a smoking stove, storehouse, milking shed, barn, summer barn, out-cellar, barn, hayloft, modern sauna stove and garage. The smokehouse on the farm shows the typical development where the smokebox has been replaced with a modern fireplace. The cultural landscape around the farm has a rich biological diversity, which is typical of forest Finnish settlements. Østre Sollien is a well-preserved example of a healthy forest-Finnish village with several typical buildings from the forest-Finnish building tradition and typically located in the landscape. Ria from Revholtet (now at the Glomdalsmuseet) is one of two preserved ries in Norway. Ria is a forest-Finnish drying house for swede rye and thus a key building in the forest-Finnish building tradition. Mikkelrud is a forest-Finnish farm that shows that there has been forest-Finnish settlement all the way to Akershus. The Garden has both a variety of buildings, a characteristic garden structure and a very well-preserved cultural landscape. The cultural landscape has a rich biological diversity, which is typical for places where there has been forest Finnish settlement. Snellingen is a former Finnish forest farm that has a typical location in the landscape, high on a hillside. Garden shows that there was also forest Finnish settlement in Oppland in the past. Nedre Finneplassen is a well-preserved forest Finnish cage with a carved magical symbol on the door. Finneplassen is one of the very few cultural monuments that show that there was Finnish forest settlement as far west as the former Buskerud. Source: The National Antiquities Source: The National Antiquities Likholmane and the inter-Belgian burial grounds were often placed at the highest point with trees around in peaceful surroundings. – It probably had some practical purposes as well, but these islets are lovely. Burying our loved ones in beautiful places was probably important to the forest Finns as well. Source: Akkasaari – Kjerringholmen in Røgden/iFinnskogmagasinet, Proposal for conservation/Riksantikvaren
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The National Antiquities preserves the Finnish forest burial islet Akkasaari/Kjerringholmen in Grue – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
