Puukkojunkkari
troublemakers in Finland in the 19th century
Puukkojunkkari (Swedish: knivjunkare, translated to English as knife-fighter; lit. 'knife junker') or häjy (lit. 'mean, wicked') was a term used of troublemakers who were active in the Southern Ostrobothnia region of Finland in the 19th century. Fights among puukkojunkkaris were common, and often resulted in death. Puukkojunkkaris usually made trouble at weddings, stole horses and roamed the towns and villages. They also participated in gambling and theft. The most notorious puukkojunkkaris lived in towns near the Lapuanjoki river, such as Alahärmä. The first homicides took place in the 1790s, but the infamous "golden age" of puukkojunkkaris lasted from the 1820s to the 1880s.
The puukkojunkkaris as a social phenomenon
Puukkojunkkaris were present in all classes of society. They included both free houseowners and farmhands. The houseowners were often the gangs' leaders. Puukkojunkkaris were often feared and respected, and they fought for their honour.
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This entry incorporates text from “Puukkojunkkari” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.