A 1,041,099
SELECTIONS
FROM THE
KALEVALA
TRBY POTTER
394.8
K/4
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ARTES
LIBRARY
1837
SCIENTIA
VERITAS
OF THE
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E-FLURIBUS UNUM
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894.8
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LIBRARY OF FOREIGN POETRY.
Uniform volumes, 16mo. Cloth. Gilt top, bevelled edges.
I.
Herz's King René's Daughter.
Translated from the Danish by THEO. Martin.
Price $1.25.
II.
Tegnér's Frithiof's Saga.
Translated from the Swedish by Rev. W. L. Blackley. Edited by
BAYARD TAYLOR.
Price $1.50.
III..
Lessing's Nathan the Wise.
Translated from the German by Miss ELLEN FROTHINGHAM.
Price, $1.50.
IV.
Selections from the Kalevala-The National Epic
of Finland.
Translated by Prof. JOHN A. Porter.
Price $1.50.
V.
Heine's Book of Songs.
Translated from the German by CHAS. G. Leland,
Price, $1.50.
VI.
Goethe's Poems and Ballads.
Translated from the German by AYTOUN and Martin.
Price $1.50.
VII.
Kalidasa's Sakuntala.
Translated from the Sanscrit. (In Preparation.)
HENRY HOLT & CO.,
PUBLISHERS,
25 BOND STREET, NEW YORK.
SELECTIONS
FROM THE
KALEVALA
Translated from a German version
BY
JOHN A. PORTER M.D.
LATE PROFESSOR IN YALE COLLEGE
WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND ANALYSIS OF
THE POEM

NEW YORK
HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
1873
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1867, by
MRS. JOHN A. PORTER
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for thị
Southern District of New York.
CHAS. E. WILBOUR, PRINTER,
205-213 EAST 12TH ST., NEW YORK.
PUBLISHERS' NOTICE.
THIS Volume contains the fourth of a series of great
foreign poems which the publishers are trying to
engraft upon American literature.
The first one issued was King René's Daughter, from
the Danish. This has already passed to a second
edition. It was followed by Frithiof's Saga, from the
Swedish, with an introduction by Bayard Taylor. The
third of the series is Lessing's immortal Nathan the
Wise, which has lately been presented to American
readers for, strange to say, the first time, through the
translation of Miss Ellen Frothingham of Boston.
The present volume contains selections from the
Kalevala, which were made by the late Professor
Porter, after a long familiarity with the work, as
forming the most interesting narrative, or episode,
which it contains, and as being sufficient, without
wearying the reader with uninteresting mythologi-
cal details, and monotonous repetition, to give a just
idea of the matter and manner of the poem. The
translations were made from a close German version,
by Professor Porter, to while away the hours of the ▾
long illness which terminated his valuable life.
་
vi
PUBLISHERS' NOTICE.
The introduction and analysis of the poem have been
prepared by a competent scholar, and will be found to
contain valuable information on subjects which hereto-
fore have hardly received just attention from American
writers.
Not having been able to learn that any other English
translation from the great national epic of the Finns has
ever appeared, the publishers present this one with
special confidence in its claims upon the attention
of all cultivated readers.
CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION .
ANALYSIS OF THE KALEVALA
WAINAMOINEN'S SOWING
THE RIVAL MINSTRELS.
7
22
49
59
THE ENCOUNTER
YOUKAHAINEN'S SONG
THE ENCHANTMENT
THE BETROTHAL
67
73
83
95.
THE WOOING
107
•
THE CONSOLATION
THE FLIGHT
117
129
NOTES
146
INTRODUCTION.
Of
ABOUT the eastern coasts of the Baltic Sea
live a million and a half-of people, the last
remnants of a race which has been pressed
back from the Ural by advancing tribes. They
inhabit a land of marshes and lakes, and call
themselves Suomilainen, fen-dwellers; to us
they are known by the name of Finns.
their congeners in Lapland, Russia, Hungary,
and Bulgaria, only the Magyars have become
civilized. The Finns are even more advanced
than these. Their literature, and especially
their popular poetry, show a high intellectual
development, even in a very distant time-so
far back indeed as to belong almost to the
mythical period.
Finland, with its deep bays and inlets, its
granite mountains and its lakes, its change of
long sad winters with short and warm springs
8
INTRODUCTION.
and summers, with its dense forests and roar-
ing water-falls, is the consecrated ground of
the dreamy imagination, which now rises to
embrace the terrible and the huge, and now
sinks to take in the minute and particular.
The men are strongly built, with pleasant
faces and prominent cheek-bones; their hair
is light, but later in life turns brown; their
beards are thin, and their eyes gray. Their
anger is slow and quiet, their speech earnest,
and their faith always pledged by their words.
The Finn believes, as no one else does, in the
power of words, and with him words disposed
in a song have a magical influence. The be-
lief in magic has always had a strong hold on
him, and even now in the country districts,
incantations and charms are still used in spite
of a belief in Christianity and the penalties of
the law.
The mythology of the people is peculiar,
and seems almost autochthonous. Certainly
it has no close resemblance to that of any
other people except the Esthonians, who live
INTRODUCTION.
9
on the opposite side of the Gulf of Finland. It,
of course, has the same general ideas which
run through all mythologies which have been
developed from poetical versions of natural
phenomena. A close analysis might explain
many of the legends in like way with those of
Greece and India. Room for comparison might
be found between Wainamoinen, Achilleus,
and the northern Sigurd, and in many minor
points also the same idea is developed sim-
ilarly in different races. But yet the religion
bears the peculiar impress of the climate and
the region as well as of the race. In it, of
course, magic plays an important part. The
traditions which have been handed down from
mouth to mouth in popular songs, are so va-
rious and so contradictory that it is a matter
of some difficulty to unravel and harmonize
them, and to state exactly what the Finnish
mythology actually was, and only one or two
general statements can be made.
Jumala, the heaven, is the name of the great
Divinity, the creator and ruler of all things.
10
INTRODUCTION.
Out of this come various spiritual powers,
which rule the different appearances and phe-
nomena of nature. When the supreme power
becomes more personified it is called Ukko,
the old one, the father. He rules over the
clouds and sends the rain. The wind is his
breath, the thunder his voice, the lightnings
his sword, and the rainbow his bow. His con-
sort is the earth-mother, which produces all
and takes all back in her bosom. Their chil
dren are Wainamoinen and Ilmarinen, heroes
and demi-gods. The former, who is old from
his birth, is the lord of wisdom, of song, and
of music; the latter is the king of the winds,
of water, of fire, and especially of the forge.
One represents the intellectual, the other the
physical powers of man. All the objects in
nature are ruled by minor powers. Tapio,
with his hat of fir leaves, and his wife Miellikki,
rule over the forests and their inhabitants.
Ahti rules the lakes and the seas.
Tuoni
sways the realms of death. Kauna reigns
over the tombs.
INTRODUCTION.
I I
Songs telling these stories of the Finnish
mythology, and of the great deeds of Wai-
namoinen, Ilmarinen, and Lemminkainen,
were long known to exist among the Finnish
peasantry; but till the early part of this cen-
tury few had been reduced to writing, and no
systematic effort had been made for their col-
lection. In 1822 Dr. Zacharias Topelius made
a collection of poems, which he published in
five parts. About the same time Professor
von Becker, in a Finnish journal appearing at
Abo, made an endeavor to reduce the poems
concerning Wainamoinen to some unity. It
was probably this example that gave Dr. Elias
Lönnrot the idea of collecting all the poems
still existing with regard to the three brothers
of Kaleva, and weaving them into one whole.
At all events he set himself to seek for this
popular poetry, and for the links which bound
it together. During entire years he wandered
from cabin to cabin, in the most remote dis-
tricts, sitting at the hearth of the peasant and
the fisherman, asking the old man and the child,
12
INTRODUCTION.
listening with an attentive ear to their tales,
sometimes uncertain and confused, and writing
gladly down what rewarded him for his under-
taking. At last, after he had made a long
stay with the Finns of the distant province of
Archangel, near the White Sea, he attained
his end, and in 1835 he published his collec-
tion of epic poems under the title of Kalevala
(from Kava, the mighty one). It included
about 12,000 lines, and was divided into thirty-
two runes or cantos. At the same time he
published with the name of Kanteletar (from
kantele, a harp), a collection of lyric poems,
which he had collected in the same way. The
importance of the Kalevala was at once appre- ·
ciated by all Finland, and indeed by learned
men throughout Europe. Jacob Grimm, es-
pecially, published an excellent disquisition on
the Finnish epic. It was at once translated
into Swedish by Alexander Castrén, the philol-
ogist, and in 1845 into French prose, after a
fashion, by M. Léouzon Le Duc, in his book
La Finlande. Meanwhile further researches
INTRODUCTION.
13
were made among the people, and new songs
and parts of songs were found, which Dr.
Lönnrot incorporated into the work, and a
new edition was published in 1849, which in-
cluded 22,793 verses, and was divided into
fifty runes. In 1852 a German translation of
this was published by Anton Schiefner. A
new Swedish translation is now being made
by Mr. Karl Collan, the librarian of the public
library at Helsingfors, of which the first half
has just been published.
The appearance of the Kalevala was very
opportune for the believers in the Wolfian
theory of the origin of the Homeric poems.
Here was a long epic poem, with as much
unity of plot as the Iliad, yet made up from
songs collected from different mouths, and
actually pieced out after it had once been
published, by new additions to almost every
part.
The men who had learned the songs
from their ancestors were still in existence,
and the authenticity of the poem could be, and
was verified. Dr. Lönnrot was no MacPher-
14
INTRODUCTION.
son, and all his contemporaries give him cre
dit for the utmost good faith. Not a single
line or part of a line was added by him.
But the beauty of the poem is no less re-
markable than the mode of its discovery. Mr.
Max Müller says in his Lectures on the Science
of Language, and he only echoes the voice of
all scholars and critics: "From the mouths of
the aged an epic poem has been collected
equalling the Iliad in length and completeness,
nay, if we can forget for a moment all that
we in our youth learned to call beautiful, not
less beautiful. A Finn is not a Greek, and
a Wainamoinen was not a Homer. But if the
poet may take his colors from that nature by
which he is surrounded, if he may depict the
men with whom he lives, Kalevala possesses
merits not dissimilar from those of the Iliad,
and will claim its place as the fifth national
epic of the world, side by side with the Ionian
songs, with the Mahábhárata, the Shahná-
meh, and the Nibelunge." There breathes
throughout the spirit of the country which
INTRODUCTION.
15
produced it. Little touches and short
phrases open up to us long vistas of birch
forest, with glimpses of the roaring water-
fall. We see the deep green lakes, and live
in the innermost life of the peasants and
fishermen who inhabit their shores. We see
the three great heroes of Finland, and their
figures are not dimly drawn, but we are awed
by their mighty presence. The spells of
magic which Wainamoinen throws over his
enemies, and with which he gives life to the
dead, are thrown over us, and we read eagerly
of his heroic deeds. In one passage, the
birth of the harp, a sublimity is reached
which is without parallel in other epics.
With the simplicity of all early people and
poets, no details are too minute or too un-
worthy of a place in the verse, and we be-
hold the life of Finland without any conven-
tional drapery.
In the story of the Kalevala there is a cer-
tain unity of plot. It can be briefly described
as a struggle between the good and bad pow-
16
INTRODUCTION.
ers of the universe. Wainamoinen, Ilmari-
nen, and Lemminkainen, the heroes of Kaleva,
a land of plenty and happiness, are on one
side; and Louhi, Hiisi, Tuoni, Youkahainen,
Kullervo, and their various supporters from
Pohiola, situate in the cold of the extreme
north, and from Tuonela, the realm of death,
are on the other. After various struggles.
and contests, from the creation of the world
down; and after numerous attempted recon-
ciliations and agreements, with marriage of
the children of light to the daughters of
darkness, the bad powers are defeated and
overwhelmed, and Wainamoinen gains the
final victory. It is the old contest between
light and darkness, which the people of the
north know only too well. Yet, while a gen-
eral design may be traced, the Kalevala is
rather a cycle of songs than a poem. These
songs are sometimes inconsistent, and are
evidently the work of different minds at dif-
ferent ages. But as each song has received
additions and changes at each generation,
INTRODUCTION.
17
they do not differ in general character or in
style. They have a common author, the
whole Finnish people. Wainamoinen, Il-
marinen, and Lemminkainen have each their
own set of legends, in which their separate
and their joint adventures are related. Hence
the poem is full of episodes, and a portion of
it can be presented to the public at a time.
One very noticeable feature of the poem is
the stress which is laid upon magical power.
It might indeed have been expected from the
character of the people, but still it stands out
here as in no other people's poems or legends.
Wainamoinen the hero, the god of poetry and
music, accomplishes nearly everything by
magic. His songs disarm his antagonists;
they appease the eagle of the storm; they
throw a whole people into a deep sleep; they
give warmth to the new sun and moon which
Ilmarinen forges out of copper; they give
life to his new wife which he makes out of
gold and silver. Lemminkainen is the son
of a sorceress; he is restored to life by charms
2
18
INTRODUCTION.
and spells; he returns safely from the most
marvellous adventures by the same means.
Even Ilmarinen is unable successfully to fab-
ricate his works without the use of magic on
his fire and his forge. The sun and moon too
are stolen from heaven and hid away by
magic.
Another singular thing about the Kalevala,
which springs from the fact of its being
handed down orally, is the occasional intro-
duction of Christian ideas. There are once
in a while glimpses of a Trinity, and the sor-
ceress of Pohiola speaks to her daughter as
to a Christian girl. A Christian ending is even
given to the Pagan epic. The virgin Maryatta
bears a son, whom Wainamoinen in consider-
ation of his magical birth orders to be killed
without being baptized. But the child speaks,
and convicts him of injustice, at which Wai-
namoinen becomes very sad and confused.
The child, who is no other than Christ, grows
up and becomes king of Kaleva, and Waina-
moinen, unable to endure the new dispensa-
INTRODUCTION.
19
tion, sails away into the West, leaving his harp
and his songs as a legacy to Finland.
The Kalevala is written in eight-syllabled
trochaic verse. That is the peculiar and char-
acteristic metre of the Finns, and nearly all
their poems are in this form. Poetry is their
natural speech; and the mother as she hushes
her babe, and the old man telling stories to
the children around the hearth, insensibly
fall into verse. The genius of their language
helps them to this, for it is strongly trochaic
both in accent and quantity. Even ordinary
speech is at times metrical. There is no
rhyme, except by accident, but much alliter-
ation. It is not uncommon for all the words
in several lines to begin with the same letter.
This too is helped by the language, for there
are only nineteen letters in Finnish, and sev-
eral of these are never used at the beginning
of a word. Another peculiarity of this metre
is that a second verse or half verse is almost
always the echo of the preceding, varying it
and introducing a new image, or repeating the
20
INTRODUCTION.
thought in other words. Hence the vocabu
lary is very large, and everything in common
use has numerous names. The metre, both
in the simple form and with this peculiarity
of the echo, is familiar to English readers
through Mr. Longfellow's Hiawatha, and it is
impossible to read the Kalevala without com-
paring it to Hiawatha, and thinking that it
was the great example which set Mr. Long-
fellow about producing his beautiful poem, so
similar to the Kalevala in general scope as
well as in metre.
A specimen of the original is annexed, be-
ginning at verse 235 of the third Rune:
"Vaka vanha Wäinämöinen :
Sen varsin valehtelitki,
Ei sinua silloin nähty,
Kun on merta kynnettihin,
Meren kolkot kuokittihin,
Kala-hauat kaivettihin,
Kuuhutta kuletettaissa
Aurinkoa autettaissa,
Otavoa ojennettaissa,
Taivoa tähitettäissä,
Miekkojasi, mieliäsi,
Tuuriasi, tuumiasi,
INTRODUCTION.
21
Waan kuitenki, kaikitenki
Lähe en miekan mittelöhön
Sinun kanssasi katala,
Kerallasi kehno raukka.”
The portion of the Kalevala here published
consists of the third and fourth Runes, with
portions of the first and second. It was trans-
lated at the suggestion and advice of a Fin-
nish friend, by the late Professor John A.
Porter, of Yale College, who was eminent for
his love of and study in literature. With this
poem and with some translations from the
Swedish, he wore away the weary hours of his
lingering illness, till his death in August, 1866,
brought the work to an unexpected termina-
tion. The part done, however, is complete in
itself, and includes the episode of the contest
between Wainamoinen and Youkahainen, and
will suffice to give English readers an idea of
the poem.
A careful comparison with the
original shows that the translation is as exact
as the different genius of the two languages
will permit.
NEW YORK, July 26, 1857.
E. S.
ANALYSIS OF THE KALEVALA.
AFTER a short introduction the poem pro-
ceeds in this way: The daughter of the air
lets herself down into the sea, where by the
winds and the waves she becomes pregnant
and a mother of waters. A duck, seeking a
resting-place, builds its nest on her knees and
lays in it six golden eggs and a seventh of
iron. As the duck broods, the eggs become
so warm as to burn her lap, whereupon she lets
them drop into the sea, where they are broken,
and out of their parts are produced earth,
heaven, sun, moon, and stars. The mother of
waters then creates points of land, bays, coasts,
depths and shallows of the sea.
After thirty
years Wainamoinen tears open the breast of
the mother of waters, and is born. He is
carried about for a long time by the waves,
but at last reaches the shore.
ANALYSIS OF THE KALEVALA.
23
Wainamoinen comes out on the land, which
is then treeless, and has Sampsa Pellerwoinen
plant it with trees. The oak at first will not
grow, but after repeated plantings it sprouts.
and spreads out so broad and thick over the
country that the rays of the sun and the moon
cannot penetrate it. A dwarf, who speedily
changes to a giant, rises out of the sea and
fells the oak, whereon the sun and the moon
are again visible. Birds sing in the trees;
herbs, flowers, and berries grow out of the
ground; only the barley does not yet thrive.
Wainamoinen at last finds some grains of
barley in the sand of the sea-shore, and fells
the forest, leaving only a birch-tree standing
as a perch for the birds. Out of gratitude for
this, an eagle brings him fire, with which he
burns the trees and brush. He then sows the
barley, and prays for its growth.
Then follows the story given in this trans-
lation.
Wainamoinen wishes to fish Youkahainen's
sister out of the sea, and gets her on his hook
24
ANALYSIS OF THE KALEVALA.
in the shape of a fish, which he is about to
cut in pieces, when she escapes into the sea
and explains who she really is. Wainamoinen
tries in vain with charms and nets to get her
again in his power; but at last gives up in
despair and goes sorrowing home, and follows
his mother's advice to go to the Northland and
woo himself a wife there.
Youkahainen, in hatred against Wainamoi-
nen, contrary to the advice and wishes of his
father and mother, lies in wait for Wainamoi-
nen as he goes to the Northland. He sees
him riding over the sea, and shoots at him,
but hits his horse. Whereupon Wainamoinen
plunges into the water, and a violent tempest
carries him over the surface of the sea, and
Youkahainen goes home lamenting his want
of success.
Wainamoinen swims several days on the
open sea; the eagle, still grateful for the birch-
tree left in the barley field, takes him on his
back and carries him to the shore of the North-
land, where Louhi, the mistress of Pohiola,
ANALYSIS OF THE KALEVALA.
25
finds him weeping, and gives him refuge and
comfort in her house, and treats him exceed-
ingly well. Wainamoinen, however, desires
to go home, but Louhi will not let him go un-
less he will forge her the Sampo* out of swan
feathers, a thread of wool, a grain of wheat,
and a piece of a distaff-promising him her
daughter in marriage. Wainamoinen cannot
do this, but promises that when he gets home
he will send her his brother Ilmarinen to forge
the Sampo, and obtains from her a horse and
sledge to take him home.
On the way he meets the charming maiden
of the Northland, the daughter of Pohiola, and
tries to induce her to take a seat by his side
and go with him as his bride. After many
refusals she consents, provided he can split a
horse-hair with a knife without a point, strike
an egg without breaking it, and build a boat
* Each commentator gives a different interpretation to the Sampo-
some making it to be an image of the god Jumala, others some mys
terious ornament, and others simply a hand-mill to grind wheat, like the
salt-mill of the Scandinavian mythology.
26
ANALYSIS OF THE KALEVALA.
on a rock of the slivers of her spindle and get
it to the water without moving it in any way
or letting his axe touch the rock. In the third
trial he cuts his knee with his axe. He tries
to heal himself, but he has forgotten the magic
words, and goes in search of some sorcerer
who can stop the flow of blood. He finds at
last an old man, who promises to cure him if
he will tell him the origin of iron.
Wainamoinen sings to the old man the
origin of iron and of steel, and the old man
curses iron for its evil nature, and staunches
the blood by a charm. His son prepares
a salve, and he anoints and binds up the
wound. Wainamoinen becomes stronger
than before, and thanks God for the help
granted to him.
Wainamoinen returns home and asks Ilma-
rinen to woo the Northern maiden for him by
forging the Sampo. Ilmarinen says that he
will never go to the Northland, but Waina-
moinen by enchantment raises a tempest, and
compels him to go against his will. When
ANALYSIS OF THE KALEVALA.
27
he arrives there he is hospitably received by
Louhi, and is asked to forge the Sampo. After
searching long for a place and materials for
his forge, and after working for many days,
and finding undesired things emerge from his
fire, he at last succeeds in forging the Sampo,
which Louhi shuts safely up in a mountain of
copper. Ilmarinen demands the maiden as
his reward; but she is loath, and says she can-
not yet leave home. Ilmarinen obtains a boat,
returns home, and tells Wainamoinen that he
has already forged the Sampo.
Lemminkainen, the son of a skilful sor-
ceress, as passionate and bold as Wainamoinen
is prudent and reserved, now comes upon the
scene. He starts out to woo the best of the
maidens of Saari. They at first mock him,
but soon become enamored of him. Only one
of them, Kyllikki, on whose account he had
come, he cannot win, and finally seizes her
and carries her off with him in his sledge.
She weeps and objects to the warlike tastes
of Lemminkainen, so that he promises her
28
ANALYSIS OF THE KALEVALA.
not to go to war, if she will not go to the vil
lage dances. Lemminkainen's mother rejoices
over her new daughter-in-law.
Kyllikki, vexed that Lemminkainen stays
out one whole night fishing, breaks her oath
and goes to the village dance, whereupon
Lemminkainen becomes very angry and re-
solves to divorce her at once, and go to the
Northland for another wife. His mother seeks
to dissuade him, telling him he will certainly
be destroyed. Lemminkainen, who is brushing
his hair, angrily throws the brush to the floor,
and says that blood will flow from that brush
as soon as from his body. He therefore starts
off, comes to the Northland, and enchants all
the men into a deep sleep except a herdsman,
who seems too wretched to apprehend harm
from. The herdsman runs off and lies in wait
to kill Lemminkainen when he returns.
Lemminkainen asks Louhi for her daughter;
but to obtain her he must catch a reindeer in
the domain of Hiisi, the terrible giant that
rules the forests. He catches it once, but it
ANALYSIS OF THE KALEVALA,
29
gets away, and when he has nearly come up
to it again he breaks his snow-shoes. SKI
At last, after praying for success, he again
gets the reindeer into his power and brings it
to the Northland. A second task is then im-
posed on him, to bridle the fire-breathing
horse of Hiisi, which he accomplishes also.
A third task is to shoot the swan on the river
of Tuoni, or of death. There he is surprised
by the despised herdsman, who throws against
him a venomous serpent, and then casts his
body into the water-fall of the Death-realm,
where Tuoni's sons cut it into pieces.
Onc day, in Lemminkainen's home, blood
begins to trickle from his brush, whereon his
mother at once concludes that her son has
met with some misfortune. She flies with the
wings of the lark to Pohiola, and asks Louhi
what she has done with Lemminkäinen. After
several falsehoods, Louhi tells her for what
she has sent him, and the sun gives her exact
information about his death. She then makes
herself a long steel rake, with teeth a hundred
30
ANALYSIS OF THE KALEVALA.
ells long, goes to the water of Tuoni, and
rakes up one by one the members of her son.
When she has obtained all the pieces she fits
them together, and by means of enchantments
and magic salve brought to her from heaven
by a bee, she restores Lemminkainen to life.
After he returns to consciousness he tells his
mother how he came to be thrown into the
stream, and goes home with her.
Wainamoinen resolves to go again to Pohiola
for his bride, but when building his boat he
forgets the three magic words requisite to
finish it, and prosecute his voyage. When he
does not find them in the brain of the swal-
lows, in the head of the swans, on the wings
of the wild-geese, or on the tongue of the
reindeer, he goes to Tuonela, the home of the
dead, in search of them. The daughters of
Tuoni refuse to tell him, but try to keep him
a prisoner, and when they think him asleep,
put a net of iron over him. Wainamoinen
changes himself into a pebble and rolls into
the river, then he turns to a snake and escapes
ANALYSIS OF THE KALEVALA.
31
through the net; and as he comes home sings
of the punishments that there befall wicked
men.
Wainamoinen then goes to get the three
words from Antero Wipunen, but the way is
long and hard; he has to pass over the points
of young girls' needles, over the sharp swords
of men, over the battle-axes of heroes. He
makes himself shoes, gloves, and armor of
iron, and sets out. At last he reaches the
place where Wipunen sleeps so deeply that
a thick forest has grown up out of him. He
cuts down the trees and wakes Wipunen by
plunging an iron stake into his mouth. Wi-
punen attempts to bite and devour him, but
is prevented by the iron, which makes him
suffer the most grievous pangs. Wainamoinen
refuses to leave him until he has learned the
magic words. At last Wipunen consents, and
sings him all his wisdom; whereupon Waine-
moinen leaves him in peace, goes home and
finishes his boat.
Wainamoinen sets sail in his new boat to
32
ANALYSIS OF THE KALEVALA.
the Northland. Ilmarinen's sister sees him
and talks with him from the shore and finding
out where he is going, hastens to tell her
brother that another is going after his bride
while he is loitering at home. Ilmarinen ar-
rays himself and hurries on horseback along
the shore to the Northland, and overtakes
Wainamoinen. Both agree to woo peaceably
and abide by the decision of the young girl.
When Louhi sees them coming she advises.
her daughter to choose Wainamoinen. But
she prefers Ilmarinen, because he is young,
and because he forged the Sampo, and re-
ceives Wainamoinen with a refusal.
Ilmarinen has three tasks imposed on him:
to plough a field full of serpents, to bring the
bear of Tuoni and the wolf of Manala, and
Castly, to catch a pike in the river of death
without line or net. By the counsel of the
Northland maiden he successfully accom-
plishes all these things, and the marriage is
arranged. Wainamoinen returns home de-
jected, warning every one never to go wooing
in company with a younger man.
ANALYSIS OF THE KALEVALA.
33
Nuptial preparations are being made at
Pohiola. They kill for the banquet a great
ox, whose head and tail touch the extreme
borders of Finland, whose horns even are so
far apart, that it takes a whole day for a swal-
low to fly the distance. They work during a
whole summer and a whole winter at brewing
the beer for the guests. The squirrel and the
marten bring the ingredients to ferment it,
the magic bird pours into it honey that it flew
over nine seas to obtain. Louhi invites all
the people of the Northland and of Kaleva to
the wedding, except Lemminkainen.
Even Wainamoinen gets over his grief suf-
ficiently to come with his harp and to sing for
three whole days.
The bride is prepared for her journey, and
is reminded of earlier days, so that she finally
falls to weeping. She is consoled by being
told how she will live in the home of her hus-
band. The bridegroom on his part is ex-
horted to treat his wife well, and not to be too
hard with her. An old beggar tells a story
3
34
ANALYSIS OF THE KALEVALA.
of how he once brought his wife to reason.
The bride, though very sad at leaving her
birthplace, at last bids all farewell, and is put
into the sledge by Ilmarinen, and they start.
On the evening of the third day they reach
home and are received there. The guests
feast merrily at a great supper, with much
drink. Wainamoinen sings the praise of the
host, the hostess, the groomsmen, the brides-
maids, and of the rest of the company. On
his way home from the wedding, Wainamoi-
nen breaks his sledge, but he mends it again,
and reaches home.
Lemminkainen, full of spite that he was not
invited to the wedding, resolves, nevertheless,
to go to the Northland, without caring for the
command of his mother, or the manifold ruin
that his mother said was threatening him.
He sets out, and by the use of magic gets
safely through all the dangers that he meets
with.
Lemminkainen comes to the Northland and
behaves very superciliously. The master of
ANALYSIS OF THE KALEVALA.
35
Pohiola falls into a passion, and, when he finds
that his magic avails nothing against Lem-
minkainen, he turns to his sword. But in the
duel he is killed by Lemminkainen and his
head struck off his shoulders. To avenge
this murder, the mistress of the Northland
sends her armed bands after him.
Lemminkainen hastily escapes from the
Northland, returns home and asks his mother
where he can conceal himself from the North-
ern people, who will soon appear in mass
against him. His mother reproaches him
with his journey to the North, and after much
consideration, advises him to seek an island
beyond many seas, where previously her hus-
band had lived in peace during the great year
of war.
Lemminkainen now sails over the sea, and
succeeds in reaching the island. There he
seduces all the women till the men resolve to
kill him, so that he hastily leaves the island,
greatly to his own regret as well as that of
the girls. When at sea his boat is wrecked
36
ANALYSIS OF THE KALEVALA.
in a violent storm, but he swims to land, gets a
new boat and coasts along to his home. Find-
ing the house burned down and all the place.
despoiled, he begins to weep and cry, think-
ing his mother is dead. She, however, is still
alive in a hiding-place on the edge of the
forest, where Lemminkainen finds her to his
great joy. His mother tells how the North-
land people came and burned up the house;
and he promises to build a new and better one
after he has taken revenge on the people of
the Northland for this crime, and tells his
mother of his luxurious life in the island.
Lemminkainen sets out again with Tiera,
his former companion in arms, to subdue the
Northland,
The mistress of Pohiola sends against them
a mighty frost, which freezes their boat in,
and would have overcome them too, if they
had not escaped through the charms and spells
of Lemminkainen. They get over the ice to
the shore, wander in the wilderness in great
distress, and at last reach home.
ANALYSIS OF THE KALEVALA.
37
Untamo makes war against his brother
Kalervo; kills Kalervo and all his host, and
leaves alive only one woman, of an enchanted
body. He takes her home, and she gives
birth there to a child, Kullervo. Even in his
cradle, Kullervo meditates revenging himself
on Untamo, and Untamo tries in vain to kill
him, but he can neither drown him, burn him,
nor hang him. When Kullervo has grown
larger he ruins everything he is set to work
at, until at last Untamo in his anger sells him
as a slave to Ilmarinen,
Ilmarinen's wife makes Kullervo her herds-
man, and out of malice bakes him a stone in
the bread she gives him for lunch; then she
sends him out with the flock to the meadows,
with prayers against the bears.
Toward night Kullervo takes the bread
out of his wallet, begins to cut it, and breaks
his knife, which makes him very angry, as
this was the only relic he had of his family.
He resolves to revenge himself on his mis-
tress; drives his herd into the swamps, and
38
ANALYSIS OF THE KALEVALA.
collects a herd of wolves and bears, which he
drives home at night; when his mistress goes
to milk them she is torn to pieces, and killed
by the wild animals.
Kullervo runs away from Ilmarinen, wan-
ders sorrowfully through the forest, and learns
at last from an old woman that his parents
and family are still alive; and after further
journeying he finds them on the borders of
Lapland. His mother tells him how she had
long believed him dead, and further, how her
eldest daughter was lost, having gone after
berries.
Kullervo attempts to perform various tasks
for his parents, but as he is of no assistance,
and always makes matters worse, his father
sends him to pay the taxes on his land. On
his way home he meets his lost sister, whom
he does not recognize, but whom he seduces,
and takes along with him. But when on the
next day the truth is discovered, his sister
drowns herself, and Kullervo hastens home,
tells his mother the horrible story, and wishes
ANALYSIS OF THE KALEVALA.
39
to make an end of his own life. His mother
tries to dissuade him, and advises him to seek
some alleviation of his grief in some conceal-
ment, but he resolves first to take revenge on
Untamo.
Kullervo prepares himself for war, and
with light heart abandons his home, where no
one but his mother will care for his death.
He comes to Untamo's dwelling, tears it
down, and burns it; and on his return
home he finds the place abandoned, and no
living thing but a black dog, with which he
goes into the forest to shoot for his subsist-
ence. On the way he comes to the spot where
he had intercourse with his sister, and out of
remorse stabs himself with his sword, and dies.
Ilmarinen weeps for his wife night and day,
not knowing where to get another. At last
he makes a woman out of gold and silver,
which, after much trouble, he brings to life,
but which he cannot make speak. He sleeps
at night by the side of his golden bride; but
finds, when he wakes up in the morning, that
40
ANALYSIS OF THE KALEVALA.
the side which he had turned to the golden
image is very cold. He wishes to give the
golden bride to Wainamoinen, but he will
have nothing to do with it, and advises his
brother to forge it into other things.
Ilmarinen goes to the Northland to woo
the younger sister of his wife, but receives
only insults for answer. Angry at this, he
carries her off by force, but she abuses him
so much on the way that he changes her into
a sea-gull. On his return he tells Waina-
moinen of his wooing, and of the happiness
that is enjoyed at Pohiola through the magi-
cal effect of the Sampo.
Wainamoinen induces him to join in an ex-
pedition after this precious talisman. Ilma-
rinen agrees to it, and forges a large sword
and splendid armor, then both seek for horses
to ride; but Wainamoinen hears a boat sigh-
ing on the edge of the sea, and complaining
of being left in idleness, and of no longer
ploughing the waves. The two heroes,
touched by its complaints, take it for their
ANALYSIS OF THE KALEVALA.
41
voyage-Wainamoinen steering, and Ilmari-
nen rowing. They meet Lemminkainen, who
has a revenge to take on Pohiola, and who
gladly joins them.
They come at last to a water-fall, and all at
once their boat stops, and they find that it is
aground on the back of a huge pike. Wai-
namoinen kills the pike with his sword; dis-
poses its bones into the form of a harp, and
strings them with cords made of the hair of
the steeds of Hiisi. Ilmarinen, Lemminkai-
nen, and all the inhabitants of Pohiola in
vain attempt to play upon this harp, but can
make only discordant sounds. Wainamoinen
at last takes the harp and begins to play, so
that all living creatures in the air, the earth,
and the water throng around to listen. Their
hearts are all so moved by his playing that
tears come into their eyes; great drops fall
from Wainamoinen's eyes even, and roll into
the water, where they are changed to beauti-
ful pearls.
The heroes come to the Northland, and
42
ANALYSIS OF THE KALEVALA.
demand a part of the Sampo. "No," Louhi
says; "one cannot share the ermine, and the
squirrel is too little for three." As she has
summoned all her troops for war, Wainamoi-
nen takes his harp and throws the whole peo-
ple of Pohiola into a deep sleep; then they
get possession of the Sampo, put it in their
boat, and start gaily for home. Three days
afterwards, when they see the doors of their
house, Wainamoinen sings a joyful song, at
which Louhi and her people wake from their
trance, and when she finds that the Sampo is
gone, she sends a thick mist and a violent
wind. In the storm Winamoinen's harp falls
into the sea.
Louhi gets into a boat and pursues the he-
roes, but Wainamoinen sinks her boat with a
rock. She then changes into an eagle, and
seizes the Sampo in her claws. The swords
of Ilmarinen and Lemminkainen produce no
effect on her, but Wainamoinen beats her with
the rudder till all the armed men drop from
under her wings and all her claws are broken
ANALYSIS OF THE KALEVALA.
43
except one, with which she throws the Sampo
into the sea. It breaks, the larger parts sink,
and the smaller ones float to the shore, where
Wainamoinen collects them, and Louhi flies
off with the cover only.
Wainamoinen tries to fish up his harp, but
he cannot find it. He then makes another
out of the branches of a solitary birch-tree,
which was bemoaning its loneliness and its
misfortunes, and strings it with the hair of a
love-sick girl. He plays on it, and all the
country rejoices.
The mistress of the Northland sends plagues
and diseases to Kaleva. Wainamoinen heals
his people by charms, and drives the plagues
elsewhere.
She then sends a bear against the herds in
Kaleva. Wainamoinen kills the bear, and
the usual banquet of rejoicing is held, at which
Wainamoinen sings and plays, and argues fu-
ture prosperity for his people.
The moon and sun come down to listen to
his playing, and Louhi gets them into her
44
ANALYSIS OF THE KALEVALA.
power and conceals them in a magic moun-
tain. She also steals the fire from Waina-
moinen's hearth.
displeased at the darkness in heaven, and
strikes fire for a new moon and a new sun.
The fire falls down to earth, and Wainamoinen ·
and Ilmarinen set out to find it. The daughter
of the air tells them that the fire fell into the
Alue Sea and was swallowed by a fish there.
They try unsuccessfully to catch the fish with
a net of bark-cord.
Ukko, the god of the air, is
They make a linen net of flax growing on
the shore of the Alue Sea, and catch the fish,
in whose mouth the fire is found. The fire
escapes from them, badly burning Ilmarinen's
hands and cheeks, seizes the woods, and de-
vastates many countries, and runs still fur-
ther, till they at last get possession of it and
bring it to the dark houses of Kaleva.
Ilmarinen, after being cured of his burns,
forges a new moon and a new sun, but cannot
make them shine. Wainamoinen learns that
the sun and moon are concealed in a moun-
ANALYSIS OF THE KALEVALA.
45
tain in the Northland, and goes after them,
and slays the whole people. Not being able
to get the sun and moon, he returns home for
tools to open the magic mountain. While
Ilmarinen is forging them, Louhi comes in the
form of a swallow to ask him what he is mak-
ing. He says, “An iron collar for the mistress
of Pohiola." On which she, fearing, lets the
sun and moon out of the mountain. When
Wainamoinen sees them again in heaven, he
sings a song of joy.
The virgin Maryatta bears a son. The child
is lost in a swamp and at last found again
there. It is taken to the priest to be baptized,
but Wainamoinen orders it to be killed and
drowned. The child, only two weeks old,
says that Wainamoinen has judged unjustly.
On which the priest baptizes it, and it grows
and becomes king of the forests and the isles.
The old Wainamoinen, sad and confused, sails
off in a copper boat to the horizon, between
heaven and earth, where he still dwells. He
left Finland, however, his harp and his songs,
WAINAMOINEN'S SOWING.
1.
WAINAMOINEN'S SOWING.
All the ocean isles and islets
Had been duly made and fashioned;
All the ocean reefs and ledges
Had been duly wrought and founded;
All the shining silver pillars
Of the firmament uplifted,
And the hills with crystal sprinkled,
And the highlands water-channelled ;
All the prairies had been levelled,
And the meadows wide unfolded.
Then at last in lapse of ages,
By the will of mighty Ukko,'
Ukko mighty Lord above us,
4
50
THE KALEVALA.
To the world was born the minstrel,
Finland's mighty sage and singer,
Wise and prudent Wainamoinen,
Of a goddess fair descended,
Daughter of the air and ocean.
Full of glory grew the forest,
Leaf and branch in beauty flourished,
All the race of herbs and grasses,
All the tribe of reeds and sedges.
Birds sang sweetly in the tree-tops,
Making music all the day long,
Cheerily chirped the noisy throstle,
Sweetly sang the low-voiced cuckoo.
Berries grew upon the mountains,
Golden flowers adorned the meadows,
Leaf and fruit of every flavor,
Bush and herb of every fashion ;
All things fair and lovely flourished,
WAINAMOINEN'S SOWING.
51
All things save the one most precious
Fruit of fruits, the golden barley.
Then one morning Wainamoinen
Taking from his pouch of leather
Six small seeds of golden barley
Sallied forth the seed to scatter.
Six small seeds of golden barley
He had found upon the sea-shore,
On the mighty water's edges,
And with loose and sandy pebbles
Had concealed them in his skin-pouch,
In his pouch of squirrel-leather.
As he sowed he chanted ever,
Blessing to the seed I scatter,
For it falls upon the meadow,
By the grace of Ukko mighty,
Through the open finger-spaces
Of the hand that all things fashioned,
52
THE KALEVALA.
Falls to rise again in beauty,
Evermore to spring and flourish.
"Queen of meadow-land and pasture
Bid the earth unlock her treasures,
Bid the soil the young seed nourish,
Never shall their teeming forces,
Never shall their strength prolific
Fail to nourish and sustain us,
If the Daughters of Creation,
They the free and bounteous givers,
Still extend their gracious favor,
Offer still their strong protection.
<<
'Rise, O Earth! from out thy slumbers,
Bid the soil unlock her treasures,
Bid the blade arise in beauty,
Bid the stalk grow strong and stately;
On a thousand stems uplifted
Let the yellow harvest ripen,
WAINAMOINEN'S SOWING.
53
,
Let it cover all my cornfields
Hundred-fold for seed I planted.
"Ukko mighty! God above us,
Gracious Ukko! Father in Heaven,
Thou who all the sky commandest,
For the fleecy clouds appointing
Every morn their course and pathway,
In thine airy realm consulting,
In thy kingdom taking counsel,
Send us clouds from East and North-East,
From the South and from the Sun-Set;
Let them scatter drops refreshing;
Bid them all their sweetness sprinkle
That the ear may lift its treasure
And the corn make haste to ripen."
Gracious Ukko, Father in Heaven,
Heard the prayer the minstrel lifted,
From the South a cloud commanded
54
THE KALEVALA.
From the West despatched its fellow,
Bid one gather in the North-West,
And from out the East another,
Closing then their swarthy borders,
Crowding all in haste together,
Bade them all their sweetness sprinkle,
Scatter wide their drops refreshing,
That the ear might rise in beauty
And the corn make haste to ripen.
Soon from out the earth and darkness,
Lo, the tender blade uplifted,
And anon the ears unfolded,
Through the care of Wainamoinen.
Summer days had sped and vanished,
Days and nights a goodly number,
When the ancient Wainamoinen
Sought the field to see, if might be,
How his ploughing and his sowing
WAINAMOINEN'S SOWING.
55
And his praying had been prospered.
Verily the corn had thriven
Wholly to the bard's contentment,
Lo, the ears in six rows seeded,
Waved o'er all the callow cornfield,
And the straw in three joints builded,
Covered all the teeming acres.
Glancing then a moment round him,
Near him lo! a little cuckoo.
And the birdling sang unto him,
Long the birch tree first surveying :
Why when all the wood has fallen
Standeth there the slender birch tree?
? "
Spake in answer Wainamoinen:
"Therefore is the birch left standing
That its summit soaring skyward
Make for thee, my pretty birdling,
Station for thy cheerful singing.
56
THE KALEVALA.
Warble here my pretty birdling,
Silken throat and breast attuning,
Warble forth thy sweetest carol
Dulcet as a bell of silver.
Sing at morn and sing at evening,
Sing when sunny noon is highest
Blessing to these chosen places,
Growth and greenness to our forests,
Wealth along our ocean borders
For our garner's rich abundance.'
"
THE RIVAL MINSTRELS.
II.
THE RIVAL MINSTRELS.
On the plains of Kalevala²,
On the prairies of Wainola³
Chanting ever wondrous legends
Full of old time wit and wisdom
Wainamoinen, ancient minstrel,
Passed his days in sweet contentment.
All the day long sang the minstrel,
Often into dusky evening,
Now the tales of ancient heroes,
Legends of the time forgotten,
Now the story of creation,
Once familiar to our children,
60
THE KALEVALA,
Lisped, alas! of youth no longer,
Known but half by many a hero
In these mournful days degenerate,
Evil times our land befallen.
Far and wide the tidings travelled,
Far away men heard the story
Of this chant of Wainamoinen,
Of this song of mighty hero;
Far to southward flew the echo,
Heart of Northland heard and listened,
There in dim and dusky Northland
Lived the singer Youkahainen,
Lapland's young and fiery minstrel.
One day feasting with his fellows
Came unto his ears the whisper,
On the meadows of Wainola,
On the meads of Kalevala,
They could boast a sweeter singer,
THE RIVAL MINSTRELS.
61
Better skilled to chant a legend,
Better far than Youkahainen,
Or the ancient one that taught him.
Thereupon the bard grew wrathful,
Envy swelled the minstrel's bosom,
Envy of this Wainamoinen
Famed to be so rare a singer.
Stormful hastes he to his mother,
To the ancient dame that bore him,
Vows that he will hie him northward,
Hasten northward and betake him
To the cabins of Wainola,
There as bard to offer battle,
There to strive with Wainamoinen.
"Nay," replies the fearful mother,
"Go not hence to Kalevala."
"Nay," the father answers, "go not
There to strive with Wainamoinen.
62
-THE KALEVALA.
He will drive you forth in anger,
Turn to ice your supple ankles,
Blast with cold your cunning fingers,
Sink you in the smothering snow drift."
Then made answer Youkahainen :
"Good indeed a father's judgment,
Better still advice maternal,
Best of all one's own decision;
Go I will, and, once before him,
Call him out to wordy battle;
So will sing my ancient legends,
Chant my gathered store of wisdom,
That this boasted best of singers
Soon shall seem a sorry minstrel;
Singing I will so transform him
That his feet shall turn to flintstone,
And to oak his nether garments,
And bewitched the bard shall carry
THE RIVAL MINSTRELS.
63
On his breast a stony burden,
On his shoulder bow of flintstone,
On his right hand stony gauntlet,
On his skull a stony visor."
Thereupon he goes forth raging,
From his stall leads forth a stallion,.
Hot breath steaming from his nostrils,
From his hoofs bright flashes gleaming;
Bridles swift the fiery charger,
To the golden runners links him,
Leaps into the sledge impetuous,
Springs upon the hindmost settle,
Fiercely strikes the fiery stallion
With his pearl-enamelled birch rod.
And the sledge now gayly springing,
Sallies swiftly on his journey;
On he plunges restless northward,
All day long from noon till evening,
64
THE KALEVALA.
All day long, the next day, northward,
So the third from dawn till twilight
Till the third day evening brings him
To Wainola's peaceful meadows,
To the plains of Kalevala.
So it chanced that Wainamoinen,
Wainamoinen ancient minstrel,
Rode that evening on the highway,
Peacefully for pastime gliding
Down the meadows of Wainola,
O'er the plains of Kalevala.
THE ENCOUNTER.
III.
THE ENCOUNTER.
Forward comes the fiery stripling
Urging still his hot blood stallion,
Dashing down upon the minstrel,
Till they met in fierce collision.
Dripping hames are dashed together,
Steaming thills are tightly tangled,
Traces rattle upon traces,
Collar upon collar clatters,
So perforce they come to stand still,
So perforce a moment ponder,
68
THE KALEVALA.
Then the minstrel boldly cries out:
"Say who art thou? stupid fellow
Coming dashing down the highway,
Crazily thy stallion urging,
Striking me in fierce encounter.
Lo, my stallion's hame is shattered,
See his collar torn to atoms,
And my golden sledge demolished,
And its frame work all in flitters.
Let me know, thou stupid fellow,
Who thou art and whence thou comest."
Then the stripling boldly answered:
"I, be sure, am Youkahainen ;
But 'twere better thou shouldst tell me
Who thou art and whence thou comest,
Of what shabby race descended."
Then once more the ancient minstrel :
"If thy name be Youkahainen,
THE ENCOUNTER.
ون
Make me way, thou silly stripling,
Thou art but a boy before me."
But the youthful Youkahainen
Thus unto the greybeard answered:
"Little matter one or fourscore,
Little boots it youth or ancient;
Who in knowledge stands the highest,
Who in wisdom reaches highest,
He shall hold the middle road way
And the other yield him passage.
Art thou ancient Wainamoinen,
He, the far-famed bard magician,
Let us sing each one his legends,
Let each tell his store of wisdom
So that each may judge the other,
And in rival song do battle."
Then made answer Wainamoinen,
Wainamoinen old and truthful:
70
THE KALEVALA.
"I shall do no deed for wonder,
Marvel am I not in singing,
All my peaceful life has glided
Down a dim and desert region,
All the song my ears have gathered
Is the cuckoo's simple measure."
YOUKAHAINEN'S SONG..
IV.
YOUKAHAINEN'S SONG.
"Yet as you will have it, stripling.
Come now tell me, golden stripling,
Tell me straight your store of wisdom,
What you know more than another."
Spake in answer Youkahainen :
"Many a little matter know I;
This meanwhile as clear as sunlight,
Offspring of my wondrous cunning;
Every oven has its hearthstone,
Every roof should have its chimney,
Merrily the seal disports him,
74
THE KALEVALA.
And the sea-dog's life is lusty
Champing up the friendly whiting,
Gulping down incautious salmon ;
Whiting love the quiet shallows,
Salmon choose the level spaces,
Spawns the pike when nights are frosty
Waiting for the winter tempest,
Slowly swims the perch in autumn,
Wry-necked, seeking deeper places,
In the summer spawns in shallows,
Oceanward then swiftly hastens.
"If this wisdom seems too little,
Still I know full many a matter.
Many a trifle I can tell you:
Southward mares are trained for ploughing,
In the north the patient reindeer,
Further Lapland ploughs with oxen,
4
Pisa hill's tall forests know I.
YOUKAHAINENS SONG.
75
Horna" rock and all its fir-trees,
Trees of each are tall and slender,
Spindling forests cap the mountains.
"Waterfalls are three in number,
Three in number are the oceans,
Three in number lofty mountains
'Neath the bending arch of heaven.
'Near to Yamen; Hallapyora,
Kaatrakoski' in Karyala,
Stern Imatra, all consenting
Overtopping lofty Wuoksen"."
Then spake ancient Wainamoinen :
"Old wives' tales and wit of children
Little suit the bearded hero,
Man once old enough to marry;
Tell me of the world's beginning,
And rehearse to me the nature
Of the countless creatures in it."
76
THE KALEVALA.
Spake in answer Youkahainen,
Thus replied the youthful minstrel :
"Verily I know the titmouse,
Titmouse is a tiny birdling,
Vipers green a race of serpents,
Perch are fish that swim the rivers,
Heart of iron grows daily weaker,
Sable earth is always bitter,
Heat of fire is full of danger,
Water where it boils, malicious,
Water is of all things oldest,
Foam most ancient means of magic,
God on high our first Physician,
God the first of all providers.
Fire to earth fell down from Heaven,
Water came from cloven mountain,
Iron was out of rust created,
Copper is of stone engendered.”
YOUKAHAINENS SONG.
77
As he pauses, Wainamoinen,
Old and truthful, asks the singer :
"Is this nonsense all thy wisdom,
Or hast somewhat more to utter?"
"Yea," said youthful Youkahainen,
"I can tell you still a trifle,
Legend of the time primeval,
When I ploughed the shoreless ocean,
Clove in twain its stormy pavements,
Burrowed deep the fishes' grottos,
Hollowed out its soundless caverns,
Where I lake and fen created,
Heavenward piled the rocks around them,
Lifted high o'er-topping mountains.
I, the sixth among the heroes,
Seventh among primeval heroes,
Out of nought the world created
And spread out the airy spaces,
78
THE KALEVALA.
Planting firm the crystal pillars
Underneath the heavenly arches.
"To her place the moon I pointed,
And the sun in heaven established,
All the sky with stars I planted,
And decreed the bear his station."
Verily," said Wainamoinen,
“Lord thou art and prince of liars,
Ne'er wast present, vain pretender,
When the ocean plains were furrowed,
When its thousand isles were shapen,
Hollowed out the fishes' caverns;
"Ne'er wast present, shameless braggart,
When its soundless depths were sunken,
Lake and fen of nought created,
High the mountain peaks uplifted,
Rocks up-piled in towering masses;
Never hadst been seen, thou boaster,
Never seen and never heard of."
YOUKAHAINEN'S SONG.
79
Then the youthful Youkahainen
Red with anger thus made answer :
"So it be I fail in wisdom
I will of my sword demand it,
Come thou would-be bard and hero,
Come thou ancient wide-mouthed minstrel,
Let us then our broadswords measure,
Let us try our falchions' temper."
Answered ancient Wainamoinen:
"Never for a moment thought I
Sword of thine or wit thou vauntest,
Braggart wisdom, boasted cunning,
Each or all to fear an instant ;
Let who will accept thy challenge,
I will never, sorry fellow,
Sword of mine in battle measure,
Ne'er with thee a wight so paltry."
Wagging then his head for anger,
80
THE KALEVALA.
Tossing wide his locks in fury,
Mouth awry, the youth made answer:
"He who shuns the test of broadsword,
He who fears to trust his falchion,
Swine in heart to swine in aspect
Singing I will straight transform him;
So I use this sort of hero.
Toss him here or there, as pleases,
Stamp him now upon the dung-hill,
Stall him now among the cattle.”
THE ENCHANTMENT.
V.
THE ENCHANTMENT.
Wrathful then grew Wainamoinen,
Wrathful waxed he, grimly frowning,
Broke his silence, self commanded,
And began his song entrancing.
Paltry tale the minstrel sang not,
Children's prattle, wit of women;
Sang instead the long-beard hero,
Whom, alas! our children know not,
Scarce the half our youth and maiden,
Scarce a third that woo and marry,
In these mournful days degenerate,
Evil times our race befallen.
84
THE KALEVALA.
Bravely sang the ancient minstrel,
Till the flinty rocks and ledges
Heard the trumpet tone and trembled,
And the copper-bearing mountains
Shook along their deep foundations,
Flinty rocks flew straight asunder,
Falling cliffs afar were scattered,
All the solid earth resounded
And the ocean billows answered.
And, alas! for Youkahainen,
Lo, his sledge so fairly fashioned
Floats a waif upon the ocean,
Lo, his pearl-enamelled birch-rod
Lies a weed upon the margin,
Lo, his steed of shining forehead
Stands a statue in the torrent,
And his hame is but a fir bough,
And his collar nought but corn-straw.
THE ENCHANTMENT.
85
Still the minstrel sings unceasing,
And, alas! for Youkahainen,
Sings his sword from out his scabbard,
Hangs it in the sky before him.
As it were a gleam of lightning,
Sings his bow so gayly blazoned
Into drift-wood on the ocean,
Sings his finely feathered arrows
Into swift and screaming eagles,
Sings his dog with crooked muzzle
Into stone dog squatting near him,
Into sea-flowers sings his gauntlets,
And his visor into vapor,
And himself the sorry fellow
Ever deeper in his torture
In the quicksand to his shoulder,
To his hip in mud and water.
Now, alas! poor Youkahainen,
86
THE KALEVALA,
Sorry stripling, comprehended
All too plainly what the end was
Of the voyage he had ventured,
Of this road his feet had travelled,
For the joy of wordy battle
With the ancient Wainamoinen.
First to lift his right foot seeking,
Sorry wight, the foot obeys not,
Striving next to stir the left one
Finds with flint the sole is shodden,
Then, alas! poor Youkahainen
Falling into fear and torment,
Sinking deep in tribulation,
Thus addressed the ancient minstrel :
"O thou ancient Wainamoinen,
First and only true magician,
Do but turn away thy magic,
Make an end of thy enchantment,
THE ENCHANTMENT.
87
Loose me from, this frightful prison,
Free me from its pinching torment,
I will give you princely guerdon,
You shall win a noble ransom.”
Spake the ancient Wainamoinen :
"What shall be the princely guerdon,
What shall be the noble ransom,
If I turn away the magic,
Make an end of the enchantment,
Loose you from this frightful prison,
Free you from its pinching torment?"
Answered youthful Youkahainen :
"In my cabin hang two cross-bows,
Verily two wondrous cross-bows,
Mighty one to drive an arrow,
One so lithe a child can span it;
Choose between them mighty minstrel,
Take, O bard, whichever pleases."
88
THE KALEVALA.
Answered ancient Wainamoinen :
"Nay, I grudge thee not thy cross-bows,
Have indeed a few already,
In my cabin, ashen cross-bows
Cover every wall and chimney,
Hang on every peg and staple,
Bows that spurn the help of hunters,
Bows that go themselves a hunting."
Then said youthful Youkahainen :
"Near my cabin ride two shallops,
Verily two wondrous shallops,
Staunch the one to carry burdens,
Other swift to skim the water,
Choose, O minstrel, choose between them,
Take, O bard, whichever pleases."
"Nay," the minstrel spake in answer,
“Nay, I grudge thee not thy shallops,
Feel for such no inclination,
THE ENCHANTMENT.
89
Have, indeed, a few already;
All my shore is full of shallops,
Every trundle frame allotted;
Some before the wind good sailors,
Mighty some to speed against it;
So I grudge thee not thy shallops."
"In my stable stand two stallions,
Verily two priceless stallions,
One a courser swift as lightning,
Strong his mate to speed the snow-sledge,
Choose between them, mighty minstrel,
Take, O bard, whichever pleases."
"Nay, I grudge thee not thy stallions,
Have no need of dappled stallions,
Have, indeed, a few already
Munching grain at every manger;
Stallions swarm in all my stables
90
THE KALEVALA.
Broad of back to hold the water
Sturdy rump of each doth gather."
"O, thou ancient Wainamoinen,
Only turn away thy magic,
Make an end of thy enchantment,
Gold and silver I will give thee,
Both in heaping measure pour thee,
Gold my father won in battle,
Silver in the fight with heroes."
"Nay, I grudge thee not thy silver,
Gold of thine, O fool, desire not,
Have, methinks, enough already;
Crammed my cot in every chamber,
Every peg and pen allotted,
Gold that like the moonlight shimmers,
Silver like the gleam of sunlight."
"O, thou ancient Wainamoinen,
THE ENCHANTMENT.
91
Lift me from this pit of horror,
Loose me from its pinching torment,
I will give thee all my corn ricks,
Pledge thee all the fields around them,
So my luckless life to ransom,
So once more to gain my freedom.”
"Take thy corn to other market,
Find thy fields another owner,
My supply is all-sufficient;
Fields I have on every upland,
Growing corn in every valley,
One's own fields are always fairer,
Corn they bear is far the sweeter."
THE BETROTHAL.
Uor M
Mou
vi.
THE BETROTHAL
Now, alas! poor Youkahainen
Finds himself in plight too wretched,
Over knees in ooze and rubbish,
Beard bedrabbled in the quagmire,
Mouth so tuneful stopped with litter,
Teeth entangled in the bushes.
Up from out this pit of horror
Spake again the luckless stripling :
"O thou wise and ancient minstrel,
First and only true magician,
Now at last withhold thy magic,
Loose me from this slough of horror,
96
THE KALEVALA.
And my joyous life restore me;
For my eyes with sand are tortured,
Tides unseen begin to drag me.
Only turn away thy magic,
Make an end of thy enchantment,
I will pledge thee beauteous Aino,
Aino daughter of my mother,
Aino my beloved sister,
Bride of thine to be forever;
66
'Every morn to sweep thy cabin,
Bake the toothsome honey-biscuit,
Scour betimes thy beechen platters,
Deck thy bed with snowy linen,
Weave thy couch a golden cover,
All the place to hold in order."
Glad of heart is Wainamoinen,
Full of joy the ancient minstrel,
That he thus has fought and won him
THE BETROTHAL.
97
For his age a lovely maiden,
Sister of this Youkahainen.
So he seeks a' place befitting,
Where to publish forth his pleasure,
Steps upon the rock of joyaunce,
On the stone of music seats him,
Sings a moment, sings and ceases,
Sings a second, then a third time,
So to turn away the magic,
So the potent spell to banish.
Now at last comes Youkahainen
Crawling from his oozy prison,
Lifts his knees from out the water,
Beard from out the bog and litter;
From the rock starts forth his stallion,
From the bramble glides his snow-sledge,
And from out the sedge his birch rod.
Then he sets his sledge in order,
7
98
THE KALEVALA.
Resting not a moment mounts it
And betakes him swiftly homeward,
Woe-begone beyond expression
At the thought to meet his mother;
Came, alas! with pace so heedless,
Sledge against the grain house dashing,
Thill against the door-post striking,
Sledge and thill are dashed in pieces.
Such was Youkahainen's greeting
As he gained the ancient homestead ;
Fain to chide him spoke his mother,
But the father interrupted.
“Tell me, youth, is this thy pastime,
Sledge and thill to dash in pieces?
Why returnest thou so seldom?
Why this morning so demented?"
Now, alas! must Youkahainen
Freely pour his tears of anger;
THE BETROTHAL.
99
Cap awry upon his forehead,
Chin upon his bosom sunken,
Mouth drawn low in deep dejection,
Sorry sight he stands before them.
Then his mother, speaking gently,
Sought to win from him his secret.
"Tell me, son," she said, "thy sorrow,
Tell me, child, thy heart's affliction,
Why thy lips hang low and lifeless,
Why thy aspect so dejected,
Why thou weepest, speak and tell me.”
Answered youthful Youkahainen:
"Mother dearest, thou that bore me,
Cause there is in what has happened,
Cause enough in that befallen,
Cause, alas! for bitter weeping;
Not alone to-day unhappy,
All my life must pass in sorrow.
Uorm
100
THE KALEVALA.
For, O mother, thou that bore me,
Aino I, alas! have promised,
Aino, my beloved sister,
Aino daughter of my mother,
Bride to be of Wainamoinen,
Prop beneath and roof above him."
Then the mother rose up gayly,
Clapped her hands in joy together.
"Weep not," said she, "son beloved,
Cause is none therein for weeping,
Ever I this hope have cherished,
All the years my soul possessing,
That one day the mighty minstrel,
He, the valiant Wainamoinen,
Spouse should be for lovely Aino,
Son-in-law for me her mother."
But the beauteous maiden Aino
Fell at once in bitter weeping,
THE BETROTHAL.
101
Tearful lingered at the threshold,
Wept that day and all the night through,
Wept because a mighty sorrow,
Bitter sorrow filled her bosom.
Then her mother gently chiding:
"Wherefore weep'st thou gentle Aino?
Lordly wooer thou hast won thee,
Wide the door-way thou wilt enter,
There to while thee at the window,
There the oaken bench to scour."
"Dearest mother, thou that bore me,'
Gentle Aino spake in answer,
"Cause is mine indeed for weeping,
Cause for bitter tears and sorrows;
Well may Aino mourn, O mother,
Golden hair she took delight in,
Sunny softness of her tresses,
Trinkets wherewithal she decked them,
102
THE KALEVALA.
Shining braids she wove each morning,
All to be as nought hereafter,
Buried neath the linen bonnet
That the wife must wear forever:
Weep forever, childhood vanished,
Gentle moonlight, golden sunshine,
Joy and hope of all my lifetime
Now forever left behind me;
Sadder yet the fate before me,
Soon, alas! to be forgotten
In my father's humble cottage,
At the work-bench of my brother."
Then the mother answered, "Aino,"
Thus the ancient dame the maiden,
((
Stay thy weeping, witless maiden,
Make an end of this thy folly,
Cause is none for thy repining,
Sun and moon shine all as brightly
THE BETROTHAL.
103
On the roofs of other mortals.
Not upon the tool-bench solely
Where thou standest with thy brother,
Not within the window only
Where thou sitt'st beside thy father,
Not alone thy father's pasture,
Not alone thy brother's upland,
Yield the ripe and ruddy berries;
Berries sprinkle other mountains,
Berries hide in other meadows;
There canst go thyself and find them,
If thou wilt the day long find them,
There as well as here, O maiden.”
THE WOOING.
VII.
THE WOOING.
The next morn the maiden Aino,
Sister fair of Youkahainen,
Sought betimes the birchen forest
Brooms to bind and twigs to gather,
Choosing out the speckled birchwood;
One to bring her father, binds she,
One a gift to bring her mother,
For her brother binds a third one.
Then by woodpath hastening homeward,
Flying from the forest darkness,
As she gains the bushy border,
Lo, before her Wainamoinen,
108
THE KALEVALA.
Deftly spying out the maiden
In her trimly buckled bodice.
Thus the ancient bard addressed her :
"Wear not, lovely maid, for others,
Only wear for me, O maiden,
Glossy pearls upon thy shoulders,
Shining cross¹ upon thy bosom ;
Bind with silk for me thy tresses,
Plait for me thy braidlets golden."
But the maiden quickly answered:
"Nevermore for thee or others
Will I all my life remaining
Deck my hair with silken ribbon,
Or with golden cross my bosom ;
Nay, I need no more the trinkets
Hither brought by ship or shallop,
I will dress in humble raiment ;
All the food I ask a bread crust;
THE WOOING.
109
With my father dwell forever,
In the cabin with my mother."
Then the maid her hair unbinding
Slipped the gold rings from her fingers,
Tore the gold cross from her bosom
And unclasped the shining necklace;
Once more then her wealth surveying,
Tossed her treasure in the brambles
And burst forth in bitter weeping,
As she took her pathway homeward.
At the window sat her father
Shaping out an ashen axe-helve,
From his work bench upward glancing:
Why," he said, "comes Aino weeping,
Why my daughter sadly sobbing?"
And the tearful maiden answered:
"Cause she has for tears, O father,
Cause enough for bitter weeping,
IIO
THE KALEVALA.
Therefore comes she as you see her,
Therefore casts she cross and buckle,
Dearest treasures, careless from her;
Brazen was the clasp thou gavest,
And the cross of purest silver."
In the doorway sat her brother,
Carving out an oaken oxbow;
Resting from his toil a moment,
"Why," he said, "comes Aino weeping,
Why my sister sadly pining?'
"}
And the tearful maiden answered:
"Cause she has for tears, O brother,
Cause enough for bitter weeping,
Therefore comes she as you see her,
Ring no more upon her finger,
Necklace trampled in the forest;
Golden was the ring thou gav'st her,
And the necklace molten silver."
THE WOOING.
III
On the door sill sat her sister
Weaving on a golden girdle;
Dropping from her hand the shuttle,
Why," she said, "comes Aino weeping,
Why my sister sadly sobbing?"
And the tearful maiden answered:
"Cause she has for tears, O sister,
Cause enough for bitter weeping,
Therefore comes she as you see her,
Having thrown away and banished
Ribbons blue that decked her temples,
Fillet red that bound her forehead;
In her ears no golden ear-drops,
In her hair no flash of silver."
In the doorway of the dairy,
Skimming cream sat Aino's mother.
"Why," she cried, "comes Aino weeping,
Why my daughter sadly sobbing?"
II2
THE KALEVALA.
"Mother dearest, thou that bore me,
At thy bosom fed and nursed me,
Cause I have enough for weeping,
Cause enough for bitter weeping.
"Late I sought the birchen forest
Brooms to bind and twigs to gather,
One I bound to give my father,
One for thee, O much loved mother,
For my brother bound a third one;
Then by woodpath home returning,
Flying swiftly o'er the meadow,
From the corn cried Wainamoinen,
From the field the ancient minstrel,
Thus the graybeard bard addressed me:
"Wear not, lovely maid, for others,
Only wear for me, O maiden,
Glassy beads upon thy shoulders,
Golden cross upon thy bosom,
THE WOOING.
113
Bind with silk for me thy tresses,
Plait for me thy tresses golden.'
"Then I threw the gold cross from me,
From my breast the shining necklace,
Tore the ribbons from my temples,
From my head the scarlet fillet;
Angrily I threw them from me,
Tossed them fiercely in the bramble,
Then the graybeard thus I answered:
"Never more for thee or others
Will I all my life remaining
Deck my hair with silken ribbon,
Or with golden cross my bosom;
Nay, I need no more the trinkets
Hither brought by ship or shallop ;
I will dress in humble raiment;
All the food I ask a bread-crust;
With my father dwell forever,
In the cabin with my mother.'"
8
THE CONSOLATION.
VIII.
THE CONSOLATION.
Then the mother to the daughter,
Aged dame to youthful maiden :
((
'Weep not more, I pray thee, daughter,
Waste not life so sweet in mourning ;
One year thou shalt eat sweet butter,
This will make thee lithe and slender;
For a twelvemonth only boars' meat,
That will make thee tall and stately;
Dainty puddings all the third year,
That will make thee fair, my daughter.
"Haste thee now unto the hill-top,
Hie thee swiftly to the store-house;
118
THE KALEVALA.
Thou will find it crammed to ceiling,
Full of boxes and of clothes-chests
Piled the one upon the other;
Open thou the best among them,
Lifting up the inlaid cover,
Thou wilt find there six in number
Gowns of blue cloth good to look on,
Fashioned by the moon's fair daughter,
By the sun's sweet offspring woven.
Once while I was yet a maiden
Hunting berries in the forest,
Raspberries upon the mountain,
So it chanced I heard the weird ones,
Her that calls the sun her father,
And her comrade, moon-descended,
Heard the whisper of their spinning,
Heard the whirring of their weaving,
Just within the greenwood shadow
THE CONSOLATION.
119
On the forest's purple border;
Tarrying not I hastened toward them,
In a moment stood beside them,
And began with soft entreaty;
These the very words I uttered:
"Daughter of the sun, O give me
Shining silver from thy coffers;
Daughter of the moon, O deign me
Yellow gold from thine abundance;
Pity on the dowerless maiden.
Hither come to seek thy favor.'
And they listened to my asking,
And they gave me gold and silver,
Gold to hang upon my temples,
Silver in my hair to sprinkle.
'Nimbly then I hastened homeward,
Joyful to my father's cabin;
Two days then I wore the trinkets,
120
THE KALEVALA.
But the third day ere the evening
Took the gold beads from my temples,
From my hair drew out the silver,
And unto the hill-top hasting,
To the store-house on the summit,
Laid them in the oaken clothes-chest;
There to-day they lie in darkness.
"Thither go, my dear-loved daughtei,
Thither hie thee to the hill-top,
Then adorn with bows thy temples,
Deck them bright with silken ribbons,
Lay thy gold cross on thy bosom,
Hang with beads thy neck and shoulders,
So wilt thou be fair to look on.
Robe thy gentle limbs in linen,
Finest that the weaver fashions,
From thy waist hang woollen short frocks,
Circle it with silken girdle,
THE CONSOLATION.
121
Then with shining silken stockings
And with shoes of finest leather,
Surely thou art fair to look on.
Braid thy hair in comely fashion,
Loop it up with silken ribbons,
Deck with gold thy limber fingers
And thy hands with linen ruffles.
"Come then to us by the hearth-fire;
Sweet and fair will be the vision,
And when forth thou goest stately,
From the cabin threshold gliding,
It will be a joy to see thee;
Joy and pride to all our kinsmen,
Honor to our fame ancestral;
Thou wilt bear thee like a lily
Or some tall and queenly berry,
For thy face will then be fairer,
Statelier thy step and presence.”
122
THE KALEVALA.
So the mother spoke to Aino,
So the dame unto the maiden.
But the maiden, scarcely hearing,
Less the cheerful counsel heeding,
Hurried from the cabin threshold,
Hastened to the empty court-yard,
There alone long time she lingered,
These the plaintive words she uttered:
"Unto what thing shall I liken
Joys of fortune, favored mortals ?
I will liken them to water,
Unto water flowing yonder,
Water bright in yonder basin.
Unto what the bitter sorrow
Of the wretched fate neglected?
Water in the well imprisoned,
Icicle in cruel winter.
"Oft, alas! the wayward fancy,
THE CONSOLATION.
123
Foolish maiden's wayward fancy,
Seizing her in dream and vision,
Whirls her on a fearful journey;
Now it seems she sweeps in terror
Through the prickly fields of stubble,
Then again she sweetly glideth `
Over green and sunny meadows,
Then she pushes on through brambles
Till her veins are black to bursting,
Heart the meanwhile white with terror.
"Ah! for me 'twere so much better
Had I never seen the daylight,
Or if born had never thriven,
Never grown to be a maiden,
In these days so sad and evil,
Underneath a sky so joyless;
If when seven short days had vanished
I had died upon the eighth day,
124
THE KALEVALA.
I was then so low of stature,
I had needed little linen,
And of sod the smallest measure.
Mother mine had mourned a little,
And my father too a trifle,
Brother too perhaps a moment,
So had all been past and over."
So the maiden pined the day through,
So she pined the eve and morrow,
Then again her mother asked her :.
Why art weeping, lovely Aino?
Why art pining, dearest daughter?"
And the maiden then made answer :
"Therefore I must weep and sorrow,
Wretched maiden pine forever,
For that thou thy child hast promised,
Sold away thy little daughter
To a graybeard old and limpsey,
THE CONSOLATION.
125
Joy to be unto his dotage,
Comfort to his years declining,
Out of doors a staff to stay him,
In the house a shield around him.
"Better had it been to send me
Low to live beneath the sea-foam,
There to be the whiting's sister,
And the friend of nimble fishes;
Better surely swim the sea-foam,
In the billows sport and linger,
Better be the whiting's sister,
Mate and friends of little fishes,
Than to be an old man's darling,
Prop to stay him when he trembles,
Arm to aid him when he staggers,
When he falls the hand to lift him;
Better far a whiting's sister,
Than an old man's slave and darling."
THE FLIGHT,
IX.
THE FLIGHT.
Then she hastened to the hill-top,
To the store-house on the summit,
There as bid the great room opened
And sought out the precious clothes-chest.
As she lifts the inlaid cover,
O'er its wealth in wonder kneeling,
Lo, before her richly folded
See the six gold girdles lying,
And the blue gowns seven in number.
From the full provision choosing,
Robe and girdle well selecting,
Aino clad herself as bidden,
9
130
THE KALEVALA.
Decked herself to look her fairest,
Gold upon her snowy temples,
Silver on her braided tresses,
Scarlet band across her forehead,
Ribbons blue upon her shoulders,
Nought poor Aino has forgotten
That she so may seem her fairest.
Then she wanders from the hill-top
Down across the slope and meadow,
Hurries on through bog and stubble,
Plunges into fen and forest,
Then emerges careless whither,
Ever singing as she wanders,
And her mournful chant was this wise:
"Woe is me, my heart is broken,
Torture cruel racks my temples,
None the worse would be my anguish,
None the deeper sting the sorrow
THE FLIGHT.
131
If beneath the burden sinking,
In my bosom's deep dejection
I should yield my life forever,
Luckless maiden now should perish;
Yea, the time has come for Aino
From beneath the sky to hasten
To the realm of the departed,
Underneath to Mana's kingdom."
"Sorrow not for me, O father,
Blame me not, O dearest mother,
Brother mine, O shed no tear drop,
Weep not, sister, but forget me
When ye hear that luckless Aino.
Sought afar the teeming ocean,
Leaped to meet the foamy billow,
Made her bed in deeps of ocean,
Swarthy slime her couch and pillow."
All that day the maiden wandered,
132
THE KALEVALA.
All the morrow sad and weary,
So the next day, till at evening
As the cruel night descended,
Lo, she gained the curving sea-shore,
Lo, before her then the ocean.
All the evening wept the maiden,
All the night long wandered weary
Up and down the pebbly margin ;
In the morning looking round her
Fixed her maiden gaze intently
On the headland jutting seaward.
Sweet sea maidens three in number
She could spy along the ledges,
Now upon the rocks reposing,
Now disporting in the billows,
Sweet sea maidens three in number;
Four to make them hastens Aino,
Five the fairy truncheon counted.
THE FLIGHT.
133
Then the little maid disrobing
Hangs her short frock on the alders,
On the earth lets fall her stockings,
On the rock her tiny sandals,
In the sand her shining necklace,
And her rings among the pebbles,
Then upon a patch of verdure
Lightly drops her snow-white linen.
In the sea a little distance
Stood a stone of many colors,
Gleaming in the sunlight golden;
Toward it leaped the little maiden,
Thither swam the luckless Aino,
Up the shining stone had clambered,
There a moment fain to linger,
When upon a sudden swaying
Seaward, then a moment sinking
Down upon the slimy bottom,
134
THE KALEVALA.
Far beneath the wave of ocean
Fell the stone of many colors.
With it fell the luckless maiden
Clinging to its rocky bosom,
With it sank the maiden Aino
Down beneath the bed of Ocean,
So the little maiden vanished,
So the luckless Aino perished,
Singing as the stone fell seaward,
Chanting still as she descended:
"Once to swim I sought the sea-side,
In the foamy waves to frolic;
Woe is me, I fell in headlong,
Like a little bird I perished.
Never come a-fishing hither,
Never to the shore of ocean,
Never in thy lifetime, father,
As thou lovedst little Aino.
THE FLIGHT.
135
"Mother, dear, I sought the sea-side
In the foamy waves to frolic;
Woe is me, I fell in headlong,
Like a little birdling perished.
Never mix thy bread, O mother,
With the water of this ocean,
Never in thy lifetime, mother,
As thou lovedst little Aino.
<<
Brother, dear, I sought the sea-side
In the foamy waves to frolic;
Woe is me, I fell in headlong,
Like a little birdling perished.
Never bring the steed to water,
Royal racer, never hither,
Never in thy lifetime, brother,
Never to this cruel sea-shore.
"Sister dear, I sought the sea-side
In the foamy waves to frolic;
136
THE KALEVALA,
Woe is me, I fell in headlong,
Like a little birdling perished.
Never may'st thou, dearest sister,
Hither come to lave those eyelids
In the cruel ocean water.
"All the waters of the ocean
Shall be blood of Aino's body,
All the fish that swim the ocean
None the less the flesh of Aino,
All the bushes on the border
Shall be Aino's ribs forever,
All the grass along the margin
Sprouted from her sea-worn tresses."
So at last the maiden vanished,
So at last poor Aino perished.
Who shall bear the cruel tidings?
Who shall tell the cruel story,
At the pretty maiden's cottage,
THE FLIGHT.
137
At the home of lovely Aino?
Shall the swarthy bear be herald,
Homeward bring the cruel story?
Nay, the bear cannot be herald,
He would tear the peaceful cattle.
Who shall bring the cruel tidings,
Who shall tell the cruel story,
At the pretty maiden's cottage,
At the home of lovely Aino?
Shall the yellow wolf be herald,
Homeward bear the cruel tidings?
Nay, the wolf cannot be herald,
He would frighten sheep and shepherd.
Who then bear the cruel tidings?
Who then tell the cruel story,
At the pretty maiden's cottage,
At the home of lovely Aino?
Shall the cunning fox be herald,
138
THE KALEVALA.
Tell at home the cruel story?
Nay, the fox the geese would slaughter,
Nay, the fox cannot be herald.
Who then bear the cruel tidings?
Who then tell the cruel story,
At the pretty maiden's cottage.
At the home of lovely Aino?
Shall the timid hare be herald,
Homeward bear the evil tidings?
And the timid hare made answer:
"I will bear the evil tidings."
Swiftly then the hare went forward,
Lively scampered herald Long-Ear,
Swift as wind Sir Crookleg gallops,
Alway with his head one-sided,
Till he reached the maiden's cabin,
Found the home of lovely Aino.
Silent is the house and empty,
THE FLIGHT.
139
So he seeks the steaming bath-house,
Finding there a flock of maidens,
Each in hand a speckled birch-broom,
There he squats upon the threshold.
"Look you, squint-eye, we shall stew you,"
So the flock of maidens greet him,
"Round eye we shall surely roast you,
May-be for my lady's breakfast,
Or perhaps her husband's supper,
May-be for her daughter's luncheon,
Or perchance young master's dinner,
Surely for the one or other.
So 't were better you should scamper,
To your cozy forest burrow,
Fast as crooked legs can take you."
Then did Long-Ear thus make answer,
Loud reciting his oration:
"Think you Lempo" travelled hither
140
THE KALEVALA.
All on purpose to be roasted?
Nay, I come to bring you tidings,
Here to tell a mournful story.
Perished is the pretty maiden,
She that wore the golden necklace,
She that bore the silver bracelets
And the brass bespangled girdle,
Aye beneath the sea-wave sunken,
In the ocean's spacious caverns,
There to be the whiting's sister,
Mate and friend of nimble fishes."
Sorely weeps the blue-eyed mother,
And the tears that fall are bitter,
As in sad and trembling accents,
Woe-begone she maketh answer:
((
'Listen, oh! ye mothers, listen,
Never from the roof paternal
Hurry forth unwilling daughters,
THE FLIGHT.
141
Ne'er to bridegroom that she loves not,
Ne'er as I, alas! unhappy,
Drove, alack, my lovely Aino."
Sorely weeps the blue-eyed mother,
And the bitter tears come falling,
From her blue eyes red with sorrow
Down across her furrowed visage,
Till they reached her heaving bosom,
And athwart her heaving bosom,
And across her garment's border,
And adown her red striped stockings,
Till they reached the shining sandals;
Then beneath her shining sandals,
Ever with a ceaseless flowing,
Part to earth for its possession,
Part to water for its portion,
As they fall, and falling, mingle,
Streamlets form they, three in number,
142
THE KALEVALA.
Flowing on like crystal rivers,
Gathered all of single tear-drops,
Precious drops that fell and trickled
From the mother's wrinkled eyelids.
In each swiftly flowing torrent,
Lo! a cataract is foaming,
Foaming with a fiery splendor
From each cataract's commotion,
Rise three rocks above the tumult,
From each rock, upon its summit,
Soars aloft a grassy hillock;
On each hillock slender birch-trees
Struggle skyward, three in number;
On the summit of each birch-tree
Sits a pretty cuckoo birdling,
And the three sing altogether.
"Love! O Love!" the first one singeth,
And another, "Suitor! Suitor!"
THE FLIGHT.
143
And the third sings, “Joyful! Joyful!"
And the one "O Love!" that singeth,
Singeth so three moons unceasing,
For the love-refusing maiden
Now beneath the billow sleeping—
And the one that singeth "Suitor,"
He will sing six moons unceasing,
All in honor of that suitor
Who will vainly sue forever.
And the one that singeth" Joyful,"
He will sing, alas! the lifetime
Of that sad and joyless mother,
Who sits weeping now forever.
There, alas! the wretched mother,
Burst forth into mournful singing,
As she heard the cuckoo calling,
And her mournful song was this wise:
"When the cuckoo-birdling calleth,
144
THE KALEVALA.
Then, alas! my heart seems breaking.
Bitter tears unlock my eyelids,
Older grow my stiffened elbows,
Weak are as a babe's my fingers,
Yea, my worn-out body trembles
Wearily in all its members,
When I hear the cuckoo calling."
NOTES.
NOTES.
2
3
4
Page 49.-Ukko, the old one, originally the same
as Jumala, the heaven, then the god of heaven, and
finally the god of all things, the Father of all.
Page 59.-Kaleva, the home of heroes, the abode
of Wainamoinen, the region of light, as contrasted
with Pohiola, the land of darkness.
Page 59.—Wainola, the home of Wainamoinen, or
Waino. Grienen derives their names from the Lapp
vaino, desire.
Page 74.-Pisa, a mountain in Finland.
5 Page 75, Horna, a rock in Finland.
6
• Page 75.— Yaemen, the district of Finland now
called Tavastehus. Hallapyora is a lake and water-
fall near by.
148
NOTES.
7
• Page 75.-Kaatrakoski, a waterfall in Karjala, now
Carelia.
8 Page 75.-Imatra, a celebrated waterfall near
Viborg.
Page 75.-Wuoksen, a river in Eastern Finland.
10 Page 108.-This passage shows how Christian ideas
have crept into the Pagan Epic.
11
¹¹ Page 131.—Mana, another name of Tuoni, the god
of death, who inhabits Manala, the lower world.
12 Page 139.-Lempo, a name for the hare.
Me tentour:
Ycreta. 8:
a tale.
Musset /pect of word

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