He the great primeval craftsman, 80
Stooped to look into the furnace,
At the edges of the bellows,
And he saw a sword was forming,
With a hilt of gold constructed.
From the fire he took the weapon,
Took the work so finely fashioned,
From the furnace to the anvil,
To the hammer and the mallet,
Forged the sword as he would wish it,
And a blade the best of any, 90
And with finest gold inlaid it,
And with silver he adorned it.
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Entered then to view the weapon,
And he found a keen-edged sword-blade.
Straightway in his hand he raised it,
And he turned it and surveyed it,
And he spoke the words which follow:
"Does this sword befit a hero,
Is the sword to bearer suited?" 100
And the sword the hero suited.
Well did it befit the bearer.
On its point the moon was shining,
On its side the sun was shining,
On the haft the stars were gleaming,
At the tip a horse was neighing,
On the knob a cat was mewing,
On the sheath a dog was barking.
After this the sword he brandished,
And he cleft an iron mountain, 110
And he spoke the words which follow:
"Thus, with such a blade as this is,
Can I cleave the mountains open,
Cleave the rocky hills asunder."
After this did Ilmarinen
Speak aloud the words which follow:
"How shall I myself, unhappy,
How shall I, the weak, defend me,
And shall armour me, and belt me,
'Gainst the risks of land and water? 120
Shall I clothe myself in armour,
In a coat of mail the strongest,
Gird a belt of steel around me?
Stronger is a man in armour,
In a coat of mail is better,
With a belt of steel more mighty."
Then arrived the time for starting,
And preparing for departure;
First the aged Väinämöinen,
Secondly smith Ilmarinen, 130
And they went to seek the courser,
And to find the yellow-maned one,
And the one-year old to bridle,
And to see the foal was rough-shod.
Then they went to seek the courser,
Went to seek him in the forest,
And they gazed around them keenly,
And they sought around the blue wood,
Found the horse among the bushes,
Found the yellow-maned in firwood. 140
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Secondly smith Ilmarinen,
On his head the bit adjusted,
And the one-year old they bridled,
And they drove upon their journey.
On the shore drove both the heroes,
On the shore they heard lamenting,
From the haven heard complaining.
Then the aged Väinämöinen
Spoke aloud the words which follow: 150
"Perhaps it is a girl complaining,
Or perchance a dove lamenting.
Shall we go to look about us,
Shall we nearer go to listen?"
Therefore to the spot they sauntered,
Nearer went to gaze around them,
But no maiden there was weeping,
And no dove was there lamenting,
But they found a vessel weeping,
And a boat was there lamenting. 160
Said the aged Väinämöinen
As he went towards the vessel,
"Wherefore weep, O wooden vessel,
Boat with rowlocks, why lamentest?
Dost thou weep that thou art clumsy,
And art dreaming at thy moorings?"
Then the wooden boat made answer,
Thus replied the boat with rowlocks:
"Know, a vessel longs for water,
And its tarry sides desire it, 170
As a maiden may be longing
For the fine home of a husband.
Therefore weeps the boat unhappy,
And the hapless boat lamenteth,
And I weep to speed through water,
And to float upon the billows.
"It was said when I was fashioned,
When my boards were sung together,
That I should become a warship,
And should be employed for warboat, 180
And should bear the plunder homeward,
In my hold should carry treasure,
But I have not been in battle,
Neither have been stored with plunder.
"Other boats, and even bad ones,
Always wander forth to battle,
And are led to battle-struggle
Three times in the course of summer,
And return with money loaded,
In their hold they carry treasure, 190
But for me, though well constructed,
Of a hundred boards constructed,
Here upon my rests I'm rotting,
Lying idly at my moorings,
And the worst worms of the country
Underneath my ribs are lurking,
While the birds, of all most horrid,
In my masts their nests are building,
All the toads from out the forest
Over all my deck are leaping. 200
Twice it had been better for me,
Two or three times were it better
Had I been a mountain pine-tree,
Or upon the heath a fir-tree,
With a squirrel in my branches,
Underneath my boughs a puppy."
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Answered in the words which follow:
"Do not weep, O wooden vessel,
Fret thyself, O boat with rowlocks! 210
Soon shalt thou go forth to battle,
There to mix in furious conflict.
Boat, who wast by builder fashioned,
'Twas this gift the builder gave thee,
That thy prow should reach the water,
And thy sides the billows traverse,
Even though no hand should touch thee,
Neither arm be thrust against thee,
Though no shoulder should direct thee,
And although no arm should guide thee." 220
Then replied the wooden vessel,
Answered thus the boat with rowlocks:
"None of all my race so mighty,
Neither will the boats, my brothers,
Move unpushed into the water,
Nor unrowed upon the billows,
If no hand is laid upon us,
And no arm should urge us forward."
Said the aged Väinämöinen,
"If I push you in the water, 230
Will you make, unrowed, your journey,
Unassisted by the oars,
By the rudder undirected,
When the sails no breeze is filling?"
Answer made the wooden vessel,
Thus replied the boat with rowlocks:
"None of all my race so noble,
Nor the host of other vessels,
Speed along unrowed by fingers,
Unassisted by the oars, 240
By the rudder undirected,
When the sails no breeze is filling."
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Answered in the words which follow:
"Can you speed if some one rows you,
If assisted by the oars,
By the rudder if directed,
When the sails the breeze is filling?"
Answered then the wooden vessel,
Thus replied the boat with rowlocks: 250
"Yes, my race would hasten onward,
All the other boats my brothers,
Speed along if rowed by fingers,
If assisted by the oars,
By the rudder if directed,
When the sails the breeze is filling."
Then the aged Väinämöinen
Left his horse upon the sandhills,
On a tree he fixed the halter,
Tied the reins upon the branches, 260
Pushed the boat into the water,
Sang the vessel in the billows,
And he asked the wooden vessel,
And he spoke the words which follow:
"O thou boat, of shape so curving,
O thou wooden boat with rowlocks,
Art thou just as fit to bear us,
As thyself art fair to gaze on?"
Answered thus the wooden vessel,
Thus replied the boat with rowlocks: 270
"I am fitted well to bear you,
And my floor is very spacious,
And a hundred men might row me,
And a thousand others stand there."
So the aged Väinämöinen
Softly then began to carol,
Sang on one side of the vessel
Handsome youths, with hair brushed smoothly,
Hair smoothed down and hands all hardened,
And their feet were finely booted; 280
Sang on other side of vessel
Girls with tin upon their head-dress,
Head-dress tin, and belts of copper,
Golden rings upon their fingers;
And again sang Väinämöinen,
Till the seats were full of people,
Some were very aged people,
Men whose lives were nearly over,
But for these the space was scanty,
For the young folks came before them. 290
In the stern himself he seated,
Sat behind the birchwood vessel,
And he steered the vessel onward,
And he spoke the words which follow:
"Speed thou on through treeless regions,
O'er the wide expanse of water,
O'er the lake do thou float lightly,
As on waves a water-lily."
Then he set the youths to rowing,
But he left the maidens resting; 300
Rowed the youths, and bent the oars,
Yet the vessel moved not onward.
Then he set the girls to rowing,
But he left the youths reposing;
Rowed the girls, and bent their fingers,
Yet the vessel moved not onward.
Then the old folks set to rowing,
While the young folks gazed upon them;
Rowed they till their heads were shaking,
Still the vessel moved not onward. 310
Thereupon smith Ilmarinen
Sat him down, and set to rowing;
Now moved on the wooden vessel,
Sped the boat and made good progress,
Far was heard the splash of oars,
Far the splashing of the rudder.
On he rowed, while splashed the water,
Cracked the seats, and shook the planking,
Clashed the mountain-ashwood oars,
Creaked like hazel-grouse the rudders, 320
And their tips like cry of blackcock.
Like a swan the prow clove onward,
Croaked the stern as croaks a raven,
Hissed the rowlocks just as geese hiss.
And the aged Väinämöinen
Steered the vessel quickly onward,
From the stern of the red vessel,
With the aid of the strong rudder,
Till they saw a cliff before them,
And perceived a wretched village. 330
On the cape was Ahti dwelling,
In its bend was Kauko living,
Weeping that the fish had failed him,
Weeping that the bread had failed him;
For the smallness of his storehouse,
Wept the scamp his wretched fortune.
At a boat's planks he was working,
At a new boat's keel was working,
On this hungry promontory,
And beside the wretched village. 340
Very keen was Ahti's hearing,
But his sight was even keener;
As he gazed afar to north-west,
And to south his head was turning,
Suddenly he saw a rainbow,
And a single cloud beyond it;
What he saw was not a rainbow,
Nor a little cloud beyond it;
But a boat that speeded swiftly,
And a vessel rushing onward 350
O'er the broad lake's shining surface,
Out upon the open water,
In the stern a noble hero,
And a handsome man was rowing.
Said the lively Lemminkainen,
"What this boat may be I know not,
Whose may be this handsome vessel,
Which is hither rowed from Suomi,
From the east, with strokes of oars,
And its rudder to the north-west." 360
Then with all his might he shouted,
Shouted, and continued shouting,
From the cape the hero shouted,
Shouted loudly o'er the water,
"Whose the boat that cleaves the water,
Whose the vessel on the billows?"
From the boat the men made answer,
And the women answered likewise,
"Who art thou, O forest-dweller,
Hero, breaking through the thicket, 370
That thou dost not know this vessel,
Whose from Väinöla this vessel,
Dost not even know the steersman,
Nor the hero at the oars?"
Said the lively Lemminkainen,
"Now do I perceive the steersman,
And I recognize the oarsman.
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
In the vessel's stern is sitting,
Ilmarinen at the oars. 380
Whither then away, O heroes,
Whither do you journey, heroes?"
Said the aged Väinämöinen,
"To the northward do we journey,
Journey through the foaming billows,
And above the foam-flecked billows.
Forth we go to seize the Sampo,
Gaze upon its pictured cover,
There in Pohjola's stone mountain,
And within the hill of copper." 390
Said the lively Lemminkainen,
"O thou aged Väinämöinen,
Take me with you as your comrade,
As the third among the heroes,
When you go to seize the Sampo,
Bear away the pictured cover.
Perhaps my manly sword may aid you,
In the combat may be useful,
As my hands may bear you witness,
And my shoulders witness to you." 400
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Took the man upon his journey,
In the boat he took the rascal,
And the lively Lemminkainen
Hurried on to climb upon it,
And he hastened quick to board it,
And his planks he carried with him
To the boat of Väinämöinen.
Said the aged Väinämöinen,
"In my boat is wood in plenty, 410
Planks sufficient for the vessel,
And besides 'tis heavy laden.
Wherefore do you bring more planking,
Bringing timber to the vessel?"
Said the lively Lemminkainen,
"Foresight will not sink the vessel,
Nor o'erturns a prop the haystack.
Often on the lake of Pohja,
Does the wind destroy the planking,
When the sides are dashed together." 420
Said the aged Väinämöinen,
"Therefore in a ship for battle,
Are the sides composed of iron,
And the prow of steel constructed,
Lest the wind aside should turn it,
Storms should shatter it to pieces."
RUNO XL.--THE PIKE AND THE KANTELE
_Argument_
The Sampo-raiders come to a waterfall, beneath which the boat is caught
fast on the back of a great pike (1-94). The pike is killed, and the
front part is taken into the boat, cooked, and eaten (94-204).
Väinämöinen makes the jaws of the pike into a kantele, on which several
of the party attempt to play, but without success (205-342).
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Steered the vessel swiftly forward,
On beyond the jutting headland,
On beyond the wretched village,
Singing songs upon the water,
Joyous songs upon the billows.
On the cape were maidens standing,
And they looked around and listened.
"From the lake there comes rejoicing,
And what song from lake re-echoes, 10
Far more joyous than aforetime,
And a finer song than any?"
Onward steered old Väinämöinen,
For a day o'er lake was steering,
For the next through marshy waters,
For the third day past a cataract.
Then the lively Lemminkainen
Thought of spells he heard aforetime,
For the ears of furious cataract,
And the sacred river's whirlpool. 20
And he spoke the words which follow,
And expressed himself in singing:
"Cease, O Cataract, thy foaming,
Mighty water, cease thy rushing,
Thou, foam-maiden, Cataract's daughter,
On the foam-flecked stones, O seat thee,
On the wet stones do thou seat thee,
In thy lap the waters gather,
And in both thy hands collect them,
With thy hands repress their fury, 30
That upon our breasts they splash not,
Nor upon our heads are falling.
"Thou, old dame, beneath the billows,
Lady, pillowed on the waters,
Raise thy head above the waters,
Rise from bosom of the waters,
That the foam be heaped together,
And that thou mayst watch the foam-wreaths,
Lest they should o'erwhelm the guiltless,
And should overthrow the faultless. 40
"Stones that stand amid the river,
Slabs of stone with foam o'ercovered,
Be ye sunk into the water,
And your heads be pressed beneath it,
From the red boat's pathway banished,
From the course the tarred boat follows.
"If this is not yet sufficient,
Kimmo-stone, O son of Kammo,
Make an opening with thy auger,
Pierce an opening with thy auger, 50
Through the stones in river standing,
And the dangerous slabs that border,
That the boat may pass uninjured,
And the vessel pass undamaged.
"If this is not yet sufficient,
Water-Father, 'neath the river,
Into moss the rocks transform thou,
Make the boat like pike's light bladder,
As amid the foam it rushes,
As beneath the banks it passes. 60
"Maiden in the cataract dwelling,
Girl who dwell'st beside the river,
Do thou spin a thread of softness,
In a soft ball do thou wind it,
Drop thy thread into the water,
Through the blue waves do thou guide it,
That the boat its track may follow,
While its tarry breast speeds onward,
So that men the least instructed,
E'en the inexperienced find it. 70
"Melatar, thou gracious matron!
Of thy favour, take the rudder,
That with which thou guid'st the vessel,
Safely through the streams enchanted,
To the house that lies beyond them,
And beneath the sorcerer's windows.
"If this is not yet sufficient,
Ukko, Jumala in heaven,
With thy sword direct the vessel,
With thy naked sword direct it, 80
That the wooden boat speed onward,
Journey on, the pinewood vessel."
Then the aged Väinämöinen,
Steered the vessel swiftly forward,
Through the river-rocks he steered it,
Steered it through the foaming waters,
And the wooden vessel wedged not,
Nor the wise man's boat was grounded.
But as they their voyage continued
Once again in open water, 90
Suddenly the vessel halted,
Stopped the boat upon its journey,
In its place remained it fastened,
And the vessel rocked no longer.
Thereupon smith Ilmarinen,
With the lively Lemminkainen,
Pushed into the lake the rudder,
In the waves the spar of pinewood,
And they tried to loose the vessel,
And to free the wooden vessel, 100
But they could not move the vessel,
Nor release the wooden vessel.
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Uttered then the words which follow:
"O thou lively son of Lempi,
Stoop thou down, and look around thee.
Look what stops the boat from moving,
Look what keeps the vessel moveless
Here amid the open water;
What the force beneath that holds it, 110
Whether stopped by rocks or branches,
Or by any other hindrance."
Then the lively Lemminkainen
Stooped him down to look about him,
And he looked beneath the vessel,
And he spoke the words which follow:
"Not on rock the boat is resting,
Not on boat, and not on branches,
But upon a pike's broad shoulders,
And on water-dog's great backbone." 120
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Answered in the words which follow:
"All things may be found in rivers,
Whether they are pikes or branches.
If we rest on pike's broad shoulders,
And on water-dog's great backbone,
Plunge your sword into the water,
Thus in twain the fish to sever."
Then the lively Lemminkainen
Ruddy youth, accomplished rascal, 130
Drew his sword from out his sword-belt,
From his side the bone-destroyer,
In the lake his sword plunged deeply,
Thrust it underneath the vessel,
But he splashed into the water,
Plunged his hands into the billows.
Thereupon smith Ilmarinen
By the hair seized fast the hero,
Dragged from out the lake the hero,
And he spoke the words which follow: 140
"All pretend to grow to manhood,
And are ready to be bearded,
Such as these we count by hundreds,
And their number mounts to thousands."
From his belt he drew his sword-blade,
From the sheath the keen-edged weapon,
And he struck the fish with fury,
Striking down beneath the vessel,
But the sword in pieces shivered,
And the pike was injured nothing. 150
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Uttered then the words which follow:
"Not the half of manhood have you,
Not the third part of a hero,
But a man is now required,
And a man's sense now is needed,
All the sense of the unskilful,
All the efforts of the others."
Then himself he drew his sword-blade,
Firmly grasped the keen-edged weapon, 160
In the lake his sword then thrust he,
Underneath the boat he struck it,
At the pike's great shoulders striking
At the water-dog's great backbone.
But the sword was fixed securely,
In the fish's jaws fixed firmly;
Then the aged Väinämöinen
Presently the fish uplifted,
Dragged it up from out the water,
And the pike in twain he severed. 170
To the bottom sank the fish-tail,
In the boat the head he hoisted.
Now again moved on the vessel,
And the boat-prow now was loosened.
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast
To the shoals steered on the vessel,
To the shore the boat he guided,
And he turned and looked about him,
And the pike's great head examined,
And he spoke the words which follow: 180
"Let the eldest of the yeomen,
Come and cleave the pike to pieces,
Let him carve it into slices,
Let him hew the head to pieces."
From the boat the men made answer,
From the boat replied the women,
"But the captor's hands are finer,
And the speaker's fingers better."
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Drew from out the sheath his knife-blade, 190
From his side the cold sharp iron,
That the pike might be divided,
And he cut the fish to pieces,
And he spoke the words which follow:
"Let the youngest of the maidens,
Cook the pike that we have captured,
Let her mince it for our breakfast,
That on fish we make our dinner."
Then the maidens set to cooking,
Ten there were who made the effort, 200
And they cooked the pike for eating,
And they minced it for their breakfast;
On the reefs the bones they scattered,
On the rocks they left the fishbones.
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Saw the bones where they were lying,
And he turned to look upon them,
And he spoke the words which follow:
"What might perhaps be fashioned from them,
From the pike's teeth be constructed, 210
From the fragments of the jawbones,
Were they to the smithy taken,
To the skilful smith entrusted,
To the hands of one most skilful?"
Said the smith, said Ilmarinen,
"Nothing comes from what is useless,
Nothing can be made of fishbones,
By a smith in smithy working,
Though to skilful smith entrusted,
To the hands of one most skilful." 220
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Answered in the words which follow:
"Yet a harp might be constructed
Even of the bones of fishes,
If there were a skilful workman,
Who could from the bones construct it."
As no craftsman there was present,
And there was no skilful workman
Who could make a harp of fishbones,
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast, 230
Then began the harp to fashion,
And himself the work accomplished,
And he made a harp of pikebones,
Fit to give unending pleasure.
Out of what did he construct it?
Chiefly from the great pike's jawbones,
Whence obtained he pegs to suit it?
Of the teeth of pike he made them;
Out of what were harpstrings fashioned?
From the hairs of Hiisi's gelding. 240
Now the instrument was ready,
And the kantele completed,
Fashioned from the pike's great jawbones,
And from fins of fish constructed.
Thereupon the youths came forward,
Forward came the married heroes,
And the half-grown boys came forward,
And the little girls came likewise,
Maidens young, and aged women,
And the women middle-agèd, 250
All advanced the harp to gaze on,
And the instrument examine.
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Bade the young folks and the old ones,
And the people middle-agèd,
With their fingers play upon it,
On the instrument of fishbone,
On the kantele of fishbone.
Played the young and played the aged,
Likewise played the middle-agèd, 260
Played the young, and moved their fingers,
Tried the old, whose heads were shaking,
But they drew no music from it,
Nor composed a tune when playing.
Said the lively Lemminkainen,
"O ye boys half-witted only,
And ye maidens, all so stupid,
And you other wretched people,
'Tis not thus you play upon it,
Neither are you skilled musicians. 270
Give me now the harp of fishbone,
Let me try to play upon it,
On my knees now place it for me,
At the tips of my ten fingers."
Then the lively Lemminkainen
In his hands the harp uplifted
And he drew it nearer to him,
Held it underneath his fingers,
And he tried to play upon it,
And the kantele he twisted, 280
But could play no tune upon it,
Draw no cheerful music from it.
Said the aged Väinämöinen,
"There are none among the youthful,
Nor among the growing people,
Nor among the aged people,
Who can play upon these harpstrings,
Drawing cheerful music from them.
Perhaps in Pohjola 'twere better,
Tunes might perhaps be played upon it, 290
Cheerful music played upon it,
If to Pohjola I took it."
So to Pohjola he took it,
And to Sariola he brought it,
And the boys they played upon it,
Boys and girls both played upon it,
And the married men played on it,
Likewise all the married women,
And the Mistress played upon it,
And they turned the harp and twisted, 300
Held it firmly in their fingers,
At the tips of their ten fingers.
Thus played all the youths of Pohja,
People played of every station,
But no cheerful notes came from it,
And they played no music on it,
For the strings were all entangled,
And the horsehair whined most sadly,
And the notes were all discordant,
And the music all was jarring. 310
In the corner slept a blind man,
By the stove there lay an old man,
And beside the stove he wakened.
From the stove he raised an outcry,
From his couch he grumbled loudly,
And he grumbled, and he mumbled,
"Leave it off, and stop your playing,
Cut it short and finish quickly,
For the noise my ears is bursting,
Through my head the noise is echoing, 320
And through all my hair I feel it,
For a week you've made me sleepless.
"And the harp of Suomi's people
Cannot really give us pleasure,
Lulls us not to sleep when weary,
Nor to rest does it incline us.
Cast it forth upon the waters,
Sink it down beneath the billows,
Send it back to where it came from,
And the instrument deliver 330
To the hands of those who made it,
To the fingers which constructed."
With its tongue the harp made answer,
As the kantele resounded:
"No, I will not sink in water,
Nor will rest beneath the billows,
But will play for a musician,
Play for him who toiled to make me."
Carefully the harp they carried,
And with greatest care conveyed it 340
Back to him whose hands had made it,
To the knees of its constructor.
RUNO XLI.--VÄINÄMÖINEN'S MUSIC
_Argument_
Väinämöinen plays on the kantele, and all living things, whether
belonging to the air, earth, or water, hasten to the spot to listen
(1-168). The hearts of all listeners are so affected by the music that
tears fall from their eyes, and Väinämöinen's own eyes shed large drops
which fall to the ground and trickle into the water, where they are
changed into beautiful blue pearls (169-266).