The Vanir...

...are the Aryan people of Norway. The Wanr, as the Vanir were known then, were a group of Aryan peoples who started their migration from somewhere in northern India after the last glacial period abated, approx. 3000 to 4000 years ago. The Wanr moved to the west and stayed for a time in the mid-east, settling in the area north of the Black and the Baltic Seas. They were matriarchal, farmers and artisans; a predominantly peaceful folk. With the coming of more warlike Aryan peoples, also migrating to the west from India, the Waner slowly moved northwesterly along the river which became known after them -- the Wan (Dan).

Eventually some of the Wanr moved onto the land of Feri folk of what are now the countries of Danmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. The Huldre had been there for several thousand years before the Wanr arrived. The Huldre were both dark and light-skinned and came in several sizes, from Troll to Dwarve. The Huldre and the Wanr blended well as the Wanr were matriarchal and contributed agricultural knowledge the Huldre needed. For their part the Huldre added ancient skills of metal working, mining, and magic. Indeed you will find a great difference in tone and tenor in the "Hulder" stories of the Vanir and those "Faerie" tales of other cultures. The Vanir and the Huldre were generally respectful, even helpful, to each other. The Wanr were followed into that area much later by the more warlike Aesr who, along with the Rus, migrated north along the Volga river.