  In the present article we show that the Skyrme--Faddeev model possesses
nonlinear wave solutions, which can be expressed in terms of elliptic
functions. The Whitham averaging method has been exploited in order to describe
slow deformation of periodic wave states, leading to a quasi-linear system. The
reduction to general hydrodynamic systems have been considered and it is
compared with other integrable reductions of the system.
