Swidden cultivation

Swidden cultivation was of extremely great significance in the settling of Finland, as it enabled the tillers of the land to obtain more food from the forests for human consumption than would have been possible when living only on hunting and fishing. This in turn led to population growth and the spread of human settlements inland. The people of Savo province developed a new swidden technique in the 16th century whereby fully grown spruce forests could be burnt. Concurrently with this, a new strain of rye yielding good crops also promoted the spread of swidden cultivation. The burning technique adopted was so efficient that it was soon exported to what came to be referred to as the "Finnish Forests" in Sweden and Norway, to the region of Tver in Russia, and even as far as the United States.

The swidden practice considerably modified the appearance of Finland’s forests. Spruce almost vanished from the more intensively cultivated regions, with pine, broadleaved and mixed forests of varying ages taking its place. It was not unusual in eastern Finland for the landscape as far as the eye could see to be entirely lacking in "natural" forests and large trees, which was why construction timber had to be fetched from further away.

A swidden landscape dominated by broadleaved trees became the sign of well- being. Proof of this is provided by the words of the folk song On the Hills of Karelia: "The trees are coming into leaf on the hills of Karelia, the dense leaves are opening on the birches…"

Cattle grazing went hand-in-hand with swidden cultivation, as the cattle grazed in the woods and grassy swidden clearings throughout the summer. Grazing had a considerable impact on the landscape. As they wandered in the forests eating grass, seedlings and young trees, the cattle gave rise to spacious, sun-lit pastures and produced a network of paths that facilitated people’s access to the forests. Surrounding the villages there developed a warm, grey belt of alder, because this species was not palatable for the cattle. As much as a tenth of Finland’s forests served as grazing land in the early years of this century.

Fields and meadows were enclosed by pole fences to prevent the cattle from spoiling valuable crops. It has been estimated that the pole fences amounted to a total length of 800 000 kilometres and that more than 500 000 cubic metres of wood were consumed annually in their construction at the end of the 19th century.

To prevent the cattle from losing their way and predators from harming them, they always had a shepherd accompanying them, usually a child who was not yet able to do any other work. In the course of their duties, these young shepherds had unforgettable experiences of the forests, the emotions of which have been preserved in folklore.