Juho Vihtori (Johan Viktor) Nätti (31 August 1890 – 4 August 1964), known as "Nätti-Jussi" (; English: "Pretty-John") was a Finnish forest laborer. The stories told by Nätti made him a legendary figure, particularly in Lapland. Nätti was born to a six-member family in

Karstula Karstula is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland founded in 1867. It is located in the Central Finland regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population ...

, Central Finland, in August 1890. His parents were

log driver Log driving is a means of moving logs (sawn tree trunks) from a forest to sawmills and pulp mills downstream using the current of a river. It was the main transportation method of the early logging industry in Europe and North America. History ...

Juho Nätti and hostess Maija Nätti. He had three sisters. Nätti migrated with other members of his family to the Northern logging sites, and worked there for most of his life. He was a well-known

lumberjack Lumberjack is a mostly North American term for workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees. The term usually refers to loggers in the era before 1945 in the United States, when trees were felled us ...

who was known in

Tervola Tervola is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Lapland, Finland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbour municipalities are Keminmaa, Ra ...

, Pisa, Muurola and

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; ; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Lapland (Finland), Lapland. It is located near the Arctic Circle in the northern interior of the country. The population of Rovaniemi is approximately , while the Rovaniemi su ...

Life

Nätti was also known for his

clubfoot Clubfoot is a congenital or acquired defect where one or both feet are rotated inward and downward. Congenital clubfoot is the most common congenital malformation of the foot with an incidence of 1 per 1000 births. In approximately 50% of ca ...

: his left foot had turned backwards. From the 1950s on, Nätti was paralysed and was admitted into the Rautiosaari nursing home in Rovaniemi. Nätti died in the Palosalmi nursing home for lumberjacks on 4 August 1964. He was buried in the Rovaniemi Viirinkangas cemetery in a common burial plot reserved for the Palosalmi residents. Nätti got his own grave marker at the cemetery in the summer of 2006; the unveiling took place on 25 August 2006. The grave marker has a quote from Nätti-Jussi himself: ''"Over there, I was. Spoke with St. Peter about the sights for the coming winter, and agreed to work with him on a contractual basis, going about lighting the Northern Lights."''

Nätti-Jussi name used for other purposes

The first pizzeria in Rovaniemi was named "Il Bel Giovanni", Italian for Nätti-Jussi. In the late 1990s the Nätti room Muurola restaurant was established in former rural municipality of

. In 2003, Karstula founded the Nätti-Jussi restaurant. Vaasan & Vaasan bakery also manufactures Lapland Pakari Nätti-Jussi called

rye bread Rye bread is a type of bread made with various proportions of flour from rye grain. It can be light or dark in color, depending on the type of flour used and the addition of coloring agents, and is typically denser than bread made from wheat f ...

Publications

In the 1970s, journalist and writer Pentti Harjumaa published two thin books of Nätti-Jussi stories which have also been published as a single volume. A CD-album about his life called ''Tarua ja totta'' was released in March 2008. The album includes interviews of people who were involved with Nätti and four songs performed by

Souvarit Souvarit is a Finnish song and dance music ensemble founded in 1978, a schlager pop band that plays mainly Lapland-themed dance music. The founding members included Lasse Hoikka on lead vocals, Tapani Peura and Juha Salmivuori. It has seen many ...

. In addition, the album begins with a song about Nätti-Jussi, the first and last verses of which are sung. The verses in the middle are recited. The interviews released on the album have been collected for the C-cassette released in 1994. ''Yhdentoista virran maa'', a song by Mikko Alatalo, mentions Nätti-Jussi as one of the Northern Finnish legends.

Bibliography

Lehtinen, Lasse: Nätti-Jussi. Finnish adventurer biography. Espoo: Paasilinna, 2012. .

References

* "Nätti-Jussi" Rovaniemi.fi. Subsequent 26.12.2011. * memorial building stone business Lamminranta * Lapland Pakari Nätti-Jussi * Nätti-Jussi stories and the title song, Esa I. Järvinen, Lapin Kansa, 11.03.2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Natti-Jussi 1890 births 1964 deaths People from Karstula Finnish folklore