''Pohjalaisia ''(The Ostrobothnians) is a 1914

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

play. Based on it, a 1924 opera and two films in 1925 and 1936 were also made. Its story takes place around 1850 in South Ostrobothnia, depicting local

folklife Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging fr ...

and rebellion of the peasants against the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

-speaking arbitrary

lensmann in modern Norwegian or in Danish and older Norwegian spelling (; ) is a term with several distinct meanings in Nordic history. The Icelandic equivalent was a . Fief-holder The term traditionally referred to a holder of a royal fief in Denmark ...

. While the lensmann character can be seen as being based on not only oppressive officers but also

Klaus Fleming Baron Klaus Eriksson Fleming ( sv, Clas Eriksson Fleming; 1535 in Pargas – 13 April 1597 in Pohja) was a Finnish-born member of the Swedish nobility and admiral, who played an important role in Finnish and Swedish history during the rise of S ...

, a Swedish nobleman who was rebelled against by South Ostrobothnian pesants in the late 16th century, the character is also seen as a metaphor for ' the years of oppression' Finns were facing under Russian rule when the play was written.

1914 play

The play was published by Artturi Järviluoma and produced in 1914. It was first performed at the

Finnish National Theatre The Finnish National Theatre ( fi, Suomen Kansallisteatteri), established in 1872, is a theatre located in central Helsinki on the northern side of the Helsinki Central Railway Station Square. The Finnish National Theatre is the oldest Finnish ...

and directed by

Jalmari Lahdensuo Jalmari is a Finnish male given name which derives from the Old Norse male name ''Hjalmar'' or ''Hjálmarr'' (''hjalmr'' 'helmet' + ''arr'' 'warrior/army'). Notable people with the name ''Jalmari'' include: *Jalmari Eskola (1886–1958), Finnish a ...

, who was also the overall

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

. However there exists concrete doubt over whether Järviluoma actually fully wrote the play. Järviluoma's other literary works are modest in comparison. ''Anton Kangas'' (1867–1904) worked as Järviluoma's teacher and wrote the unfinished play ''Härmäläisiä''. Although the original script has been destroyed, Järviluoma's notes on it have survived and ''Pohjalaisia'' may have largely been derived from it.

1924 opera

Leevi Madetoja Leevi Antti Madetoja (; 17 February 1887 – 6 October 1947) was a Finns, Finnish composer, music criticism, music critic, conductor (music), conductor, and teacher of the Romantic music, late-Romantic and modernism (music), early-moder ...

made a popular opera in 1924 based on the play with the same name, commonly known by its English name as '' The Ostrobothnians''.

1925 filmatization

The 1925 film version also titled ''Pohjalaisia'' is a

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

. It was also directed by Jalmari Lahdensuo. It was aided by the popularity of the opera from only the year before. The film was restored in 2012.

1936 filmatization

The 1936 film version again titled ''Pohjalaisia'' came with sound and was directed by

Toivo Särkkä Toivo Jalmari Särkkä (20 November 1890, Mikkeli – 9 February 1975, Helsinki), born Toivo Hjalmar Silén, was a Finnish film producer and director. He was CEO of the production company Suomen Filmiteollisuus. Before his career in filmmakin ...

References

1914 plays Finnish plays adapted into films Plays adapted into operas {{1910s-play-stub