Kultapyörä

Some of the First Inhabitants of Lemmijoki

Blue: Helgeland.
Green: Inari.
Red: Porsanger.

As told by Iivarin Erkki in 1946:

My grandfather's side of the family were from Helgeland. There was the Norwegian Klaavus (Klaus) who first went to Inari in Finland and married a Sámi daughter from the Kitti family and lived as a Fell Sámi in the fells. He had the sons Klauksen Piera and Klauksen Erkki. They came down from the fells when they lost their reindeer. Piera settled in Pyssyjoki and Hestaniemi (Hestnes). Erkki settled in two places in Kiksiniemi and Galgulahti (Ytre Kjerringvik). (All these places are in Porsanger).

Erkki was big and rich and strong. When he was drunk, he joiked:


"Mie olen Lapinmaan lensmanni
Iso, väkevä ja rikas
Ei ole täällä Lapinmaassa
Muuta lensmannia kuin minä."

"I am the lensmann of Lapland
Big, strong and rich
Here in Lapland, there is no
Other lensmann than I."

Erkki brewed and drank a barrel of booze in a winter. Once, he hunted one black fox and two black-and-red mixes. He got a barrel of booze from them, and 50 rigsdaler of money. He sold them to poor Viiki in Haversund (Havøysund?), who was one of the greatest merchants here. He hanged himself.

Then Erkki joiked of the black fox and being a lensmann of Lapland:


"Mie olen Lapin lensmanni
Ei täällä muuta lensmannia olekaan
Mie olen saanut tyyrhiin Vassan jäneksen
Mustanketun rauvoilla tappanut."

"I am the lensmann of Lapland
There is no other lensmann here
I've caught the precious rabbit of Vassa
Killed a black fox with iron."

(Vassa is a fell in Porsanger.)