And the signs made answer truly,
For they said the sun was hidden,
And the moon was also sunken,
Deep in Pohjola's stone mountain,
And within the hill of copper. 110
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Uttered then the words which follow:
"I to Pohjola must journey,
On the path of Pohja's children,
And will bring the moon to shining,
And the golden sun to shining."
Forth he journeyed, and he hastened
Unto Pohjola's dark regions,
And he walked one day, a second,
And at length upon the third day 120
Came in view the gate of Pohja,
And appeared the rocky mountains.
Then with all his strength he shouted,
As he came to Pohja's river,
"Bring me here a boat directly
Which shall take me o'er the river."
As his shouting was not heeded,
And no boat for him provided,
Wood into a heap he gathered,
And the dead twigs of a fir-tree. 130
On the shore he made a fire,
And thick clouds of smoke rose upward;
To the sky the flame rose upward,
In the air the smoke ascended.
Louhi, Pohjola's old Mistress
Came herself unto the window,
And, at the sound's opening gazing,
Then she spoke the words which follow:
"What's the flame that's burning yonder,
Where the Sound of Saari opens? 140
For a camp too small I think it,
But 'tis larger than a fisher's."
Then the son of Pohja's country
Hurried out into the open,
And he looked about and listened,
Seeking thus for information.
"On the river's other margin,
Is a stately hero marching."
Then the aged Väinämöinen
Once again commenced his shouting. 150
"Bring a boat, O son of Pohja,
Bring a boat for Väinämöinen."
Answer made the son of Pohja,
And in words like these responded:
"Here the boats are never ready;
You to row must use your fingers,
And must use your hands for rudder,
Crossing Pohjola's deep river."
Then the aged Väinämöinen
Pondered deeply and reflected, 160
"Not as man should he be reckoned
Who retreats upon his pathway."
Like a pike in lake then plunging,
Powan-like in sluggish river,
Through the sound he swam right quickly,
Speedily the strait he traversed,
And he moved one foot, a second,
And he reached the shore of Pohja.
Then spoke out the sons of Pohja,
And the evil army shouted: 170
"Go into the yard of Pohja,"
And on this the yard he entered.
Then exclaimed the sons of Pohja,
And the evil army shouted:
"Enter now the house of Pohja."
And on this the house he entered,
On the floor his foot he planted,
Grasped he the door-handle firmly,
Forced his way into the dwelling,
And beneath the roof he entered, 180
There the men the mead were drinking,
And the honey-drink imbibing.
All the men with swords were girded,
And the heroes aimed their weapons
At the head of Väinämöinen,
Thus to slay Suvantolainen.
Then they questioned the intruder
In the very words that follow:
"What's your news, you wretched fellow,
What's your need, O swimming hero?" 190
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Answered in the words which follow:
"Of the moon are curious tidings,
Of the sun are wondrous tidings.
Where is now the sun imprisoned,
Whither has the moon been taken?"
Answered then the sons of Pohja,
And the evil army answered:
"Thus it is the sun is hidden,
Sun is hidden, moon imprisoned, 200
In the stones of many colours,
In the rocks as hard as iron,
And from this, escape they cannot,
And release shall never reach them."
Then the aged Väinämöinen
Answered in the words that follow:
"If the sun from rock ascends not,
Nor the moon from rocky mountain,
Let us join in closest conflict,
Let us grasp our trusty sword-blades." 210
Sword they drew, and tried their sword-blades,
Drew from out the sheaths their weapons;
At the point the moon was shining,
On the hilt the sun was shining,
On the back a horse was standing,
At the knob a cat was mewing.
After this the swords they measured,
And they thus compared their weapons,
And the sword of aged Väinö
Was a little trifle longer, 220
Longer, as a grain of barley,
As the width of straw-stalk longer.
Out into the yard they hastened,
On the grass to meet in conflict,
And the aged Väinämöinen
Struck a blow with lightning swiftness,
Struck a blow, and struck a second,
And he sheared, like roots of turnips,
Off he shore, like heads of flax-plant,
Heads of all the sons of Pohja. 230
Then the aged Väinämöinen
Sought for where the moon was hidden,
Likewise would release the sunlight
From the rocks of varied colour,
From the depths of steely mountain,
From the rocks as hard as iron.
Then he walked a little distance,
But a very little distance,
When he saw a copse all verdant,
In the copse a lovely birch-tree, 240
And a large stone block beneath it,
And a rock beneath the stone block,
And there were nine doors before it,
In the doors were bolts a hundred.
In the stone a crack perceiving,
In the rock some lines engraven,
Then he drew his sword from scabbard,
On the coloured stone he scraped it,
With the sharp point of his sword-blade,
With his gleaming blade he scraped it, 250
Till the stone in two divided,
And in three he quickly split it.
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Looked into the stone all pictured;
Many serpents ale were drinking,
In the wort the snakes were writhing,
In the coloured stone were hiding,
In the cracks of liver-colour.
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Uttered then the words that follow: 260
"Thus it is the hapless Mistress
Has so little ale acquired,
For the snakes the ale are drinking,
In the wort the snakes are writhing."
Off he cut the heads of serpents,
Broke the necks of all the serpents,
And he spoke the words which follow,
And in words like these expressed him:
"Never while the world existeth,
From this very day henceforward, 270
Let our ale by snakes be drunken,
And our malt-drink by the serpents."
Then the aged Väinämöinen,
He the great primeval sorcerer,
Sought with hands the doors to open,
And the bolts by spells to loosen,
But to hands the doors would yield not,
By his spells the bolts were moved not.
Then the aged Väinämöinen
Spoke his thoughts in words that follow: 280
"Man unarmed is weak as woman;
Weak as frog, without a hatchet."
And at once he wended homeward,
Head bowed down, in great vexation,
For the moon was not recovered,
Neither had the sun been captured.
Said the lively Lemminkainen,
"O thou aged Väinämöinen,
Wherefore didst forget to take me,
As your very trusty comrade? 290
I had brought the locks to creaking,
And the bars asunder broken,
And released the moon for shining,
And had raised the sun for shining."
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Answered in the words that follow:
"Unto spells the bolts will yield not,
And the locks my magic breaks not;
Strength of hands will never move them,
And no strength of arm will force them." 300
To the smith's forge then he wandered,
And he spoke the words which follow:
"O thou smith, O Ilmarinen,
Forge me now a mighty trident,
And a dozen hatchets forge me,
And a bunch of keys enormous,
From the stone the moon to rescue,
From the rock the sun deliver."
Thereupon smith Ilmarinen,
He the great primeval craftsman, 310
Forged the hero what he needed,
And a dozen hatchets forged him,
Forged a bunch of keys enormous,
And of spears a mighty bundle,
Not too large and not too little,
But of middle size he forged them.
Louhi, Pohjola's old Mistress,
Old and gap-toothed dame of Pohja,
Then with wings herself provided,
And extended them for flying, 320
Near the house at first was flying,
Then her flight extended further,
Straight across the lake of Pohja
Unto Ilmarinen's smithy.
Then the smith his window opened,
Looking if the wind was blowing;
'Twas no wind that there was blowing,
But a hawk, and grey in colour.
Thereupon smith Ilmarinen
Spoke aloud the words that follow: 330
"Bird of prey, what brings thee hither,
Sitting underneath my window?"
Hereupon the bird spoke language,
And the hawk at once made answer:
"O thou smith, O Ilmarinen,
Thou the most industrious craftsman,
Truly art thou very skilful,
And a most accomplished craftsman."
Thereupon smith Ilmarinen
Answered in the words that follow: 340
"But indeed 'tis not a wonder
If I am a skilful craftsman,
For 'twas I who forged the heavens,
And the arch of air who welded."
Hereupon the bird spoke language,
And the hawk at once responded:
"What is this, O smith, thou makest,
What, O blacksmith, art thou forging?"
Thereupon smith Ilmarinen
Answered in the words that follow: 350
"'Tis a neck-ring I am forging,
For the aged crone of Pohja,
That she may be firmly fettered
To the side of a great mountain."
Louhi, Pohjola's old Mistress,
Old and gap-toothed dame of Pohja,
Felt on this her doom was coming,
On her head the days of evil,
And at once to flight betook her,
Swift to Pohjola escaping. 360
From the stone the moon released she,
From the rock the sun released she,
Then again her form she altered,
And to dove herself converted,
And her flight again directed
Unto Ilmarinen's smithy,
To the door in bird-form flying,
Lit as dove upon the threshold.
Thereupon smith Ilmarinen
Asked her in the words which follow: 370
"Why, O bird, hast thou flown hither?
Dove, why sit'st thou on the threshold?"
From the door the wild bird answered,
And the dove spoke from the threshold:
"Here I sit upon the threshold,
That the news I now may bring thee.
From the stone the moon has risen,
From the rock the sun is loosened."
Thereupon smith Ilmarinen
Hastened forth to gaze around him, 380
And he stood at door of smithy,
Gazing anxiously to heaven,
And he saw the moon was gleaming,
And he saw the sun was shining.
Then he went to Väinämöinen,
And he spoke the words which follow:
"O thou aged Väinämöinen,
Thou the great primeval minstrel,
Come to gaze upon the moonlight,
Come to gaze upon the sunlight. 390
Now they stand in midst of heaven,
In their old accustomed places."
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Hurried out into the open,
And at once his head uplifted,
And he gazed aloft to heaven.
Moon was risen, sun was loosened,
In the sky the sun was beaming.
Then the aged Väinämöinen
Made a speech without delaying, 400
And he spoke the words which follow,
And in words like these expressed him:
"Hail, O Moon, who beamest yonder,
Thus thy fair cheeks well displaying,
Golden sun who risest yonder,
Sun who once again arisest!
"Golden Moon from stone delivered,
Fairest Sun from rock arisen,
Like the golden cuckoo rise you,
Like the silver dove arise you, 410
Lead the life ye led aforetime,
And resume your former journeys.
"Rise for ever in the morning,
From this present day hereafter.
Bring us always happy greetings,
That our wealth increases ever,
Game for ever in our fingers,
Fortune at the points of fish-hooks.
"Go ye on your path with blessings,
Go ye on your charming journey, 420
Let your crescent now be beauteous,
Rest ye joyful in the evening."
RUNO L.--MARJATTA
_Argument_
The virgin Marjatta swallows a cranberry and brings forth a boy (1-346).
The child disappears and is found after a long search in a swamp
(347-430). He is taken to an old man to be baptized, but the latter will
not baptize the fatherless child until after due consideration
(431-440). Väinämöinen comes to inquire into the matter, and advises
that the ill-omened boy should be put to death, but the child reproaches
him for his unjust sentence (441-474). The old man baptizes the boy as
King of Carelia, at which Väinämöinen is grievously offended and leaves
the country, but first declares that he will again make a new Sampo and
kantele, and light for the people. He sails away in a copper boat to a
land between earth and heaven, but he leaves behind his kantele and his
great songs as a parting gift to his people (475-512). Concluding verses
(513-620).
Marjatta the petted damsel
In her home long time was growing,
In the home of her great father,
In her tender mother's dwelling,
And five chains wore out completely,
And six rings she wore out likewise;
For her father's keys she used them,
Which around her waist were hanging.
And she wore out half the threshold,
With her skirts as she was passing, 10
And she half destroyed the rafters
Where she hung her silken ribands,
And she half destroyed the door-posts
As her fine sleeves rubbed against them,
And the planking of the flooring
Wore away beneath her slippers.
Marjatta the petted damsel
Was a very little damsel,
And was always pure and holy,
And was ever very modest, 20
And she fed on fish the finest,
And the soft bark of the fir-tree,
But the eggs of hens ate never,
Over which the cocks were crowing,
And the flesh of ewe she ate not,
Had the ewe with ram been running.
If her mother sent her milking,
Yet she did not go to milking,
And she spoke the words which follow:
"Never such a maid as I am 30
Udders of the cows should handle,
Which with bulls have been disporting,
If no milk from calf is flowing,
Or from calf it is not running."
If her father sent her sledging,
In a stallion's sledge she went not,
If a mare her brother brought her,
Then these words the maiden uttered:
"Never will I sit in mares' sledge,
Which with stallion has been running, 40
If no foals the sledge are drawing,
Which have numbered six months only."
Marjatta the petted damsel,
She who always lived a virgin,
Always greeted as a maiden,
Modest maid with locks unbraided,
Went to lead the herds to pasture,
And beside the sheep was walking.
On the hill the sheep were straying,
To the top the lambs were climbing, 50
On the plain the maiden wandered,
Tripping through the alder bushes,
While there called the golden cuckoo,
And the silvery birds were singing.
Marjatta the petted damsel,
Looked around her and she listened,
Sitting on the hill of berries,
Resting on the sloping hillside,
And she spoke the words which follow,
And in words like these expressed her: 60
"Call thou on, O golden cuckoo,
Sing thou still, O bird of silver,
Sing thou from thy breast of silver!
Tell me true, O Saxon strawberry,
Shall I long remain unhooded,
Long among the flocks as herd-girl,
On the wide-extending heathlands,
And the far-extending woodlands,
For one summer, for two summers,
Or for five or six of summers, 70
Or perchance for ten long summers,
Or the time fulfilled already?"
Marjatta the petted damsel,
For a while lived on as herd-girl.
Evil is the life of shepherd,
Far too heavy for a maiden;
In the grass a snake is creeping,
In the grass the lizards wriggling.
But not there a snake was writhing,
Nor in grass the lizards wriggling. 80
From the hill there cried a berry,
From the heath there cried a cranberry,
"O thou maiden, come and pluck me,
Rosy-cheeked one, come and gather,
Come with breast of tin to pluck me,
With thy copper belt to choose me,
Ere the slug should come to eat me,
Or the black worm should disturb me.
"There are hundreds who have seen me,
Thousands more have sat beside me, 90
Girls by hundreds, wives by thousands,
Children, too, that none can number;
None among them yet has touched me,
None has gathered me, the wretched."
Marjatta the petted damsel,
Went a very little distance,
Went to look upon the berry,
And the cranberry to gather,
With her skilful hands to pluck it,
With her beauteous hands to pluck it. 100
On the hill she found the berry,
On the heath she found the cranberry;
'Twas a berry in appearance,
And it seemed to be a cranberry,
But from ground too high for eating,
On a tree too weak for climbing.
From the heath a stick she lifted,
That she might pull down the berry;
Then from ground the berry mounted
Upward to her shoes so pretty, 110
From her pretty shoes arose it,
Upward to her knees of whiteness,
Rising from her knees of whiteness
Upward to her skirts that rustled.
To her buckled belt arose it,
To her breast from buckled girdle,
From her breast to chin arose it,
To her lips from chin arose it,
Then into her mouth it glided,
And along her tongue it hastened, 120
From her tongue to throat it glided,
And it dropped into her stomach.
Marjatta the petted damsel,
After this had chanced grew pregnant,
And it soon increased upon her,
And her burden soon was heavy.
Then she cast aside her girdle,
Loosely dressed, without a girdle,
Secretly she sought the bathroom,
And she hid her in the darkness. 130
Always was her mother thinking,
And her mother pondered ever:
"What has chanced to our Marjatta,
What has happened to our house-dove,
That she casts aside her girdle,
Always dresses loosely, beltless,
Goes in secret to the bathroom,
And she hides her in the darkness?"
And a baby gave her answer,
And the little child made answer: 140
"This has chanced to our Marjatta,
This befel the wretched creature,
She has been too long a herd-girl,
With the flocks too far has wandered."
And she bore her heavy burden,
And the pain it brought upon her,
Bore it seven months, bore it eight months,
Bore it through the ninth month also,
By the reckoning of old women,
And for half the tenth month also. 150
While the tenth month thus was passing,
Then the girl was filled with anguish,
Grievous sufferings came upon her,
And the weight oppressed her sorely.
For a bath she asked her mother,
"O my very dearest mother,
Make a warm place ready for me,
And a warm room ready for me,
Where the girl awhile may rest her.
In the house of suffering women." 160
But her mother gave her answer,
Answered thus, the aged woman:
"Woe to thee, O whore of Hiisi,
Tell me now with whom thou restedst,
With a man as yet unmarried,
Or beside a married hero?"
Marjatta the petted damsel,
Then replied to her in thiswise:
"Neither with a man unmarried,
Nor with any married hero, 170
But I sought the hill of berries,
And I went to pluck the cranberries,
And I took what seemed a berry,
And upon my tongue I laid it,
Quickly in my throat it glided,
And it dropped into my stomach.
Thus it is that I am pregnant,
Thus it comes that I am pregnant."
For a bath she asked her father,
"O my very dearest father, 180
Give me now a well-warmed refuge,
Make a warm room ready for me,
Where the suffering one may rest her,
And the girl endure her suffering."
But her father gave her answer,
Gave her back a shameful answer:
"Go thou forth from here, O strumpet,
Wander forth, O wench for burning,
To the bears' own rocky caverns,
To the caves where bears are lurking, 190
Thither forth to bear, O strumpet,
Bear thy children, wench of fire."
Marjatta the petted damsel,
Then returned submissive answer:
"Not at all am I a strumpet,
Neither am a wench for burning;
I shall bear a mighty hero,
And shall bear a noble offspring,
He shall be a mighty conqueror,
Strong as even Väinämöinen." 200
Then the maid was greatly troubled
Where to go, and how to journey,
Where a bath she might provide her,
And she spoke the words which follow:
"O my little damsel Piltti,
Thou the best of all my handmaids,
Find me now a bath in village,
Find a bath near reed-fringed brooklet,
Where the suffering one may rest her,
And the girl endure her suffering. 210
Go at once, and hasten quickly,
For my need is of the greatest."
Then the little damsel Piltti,
Answered in the words that follow:
"Where am I to ask a bathroom,
Who will help me to obtain it?"
Thereupon did our Marjatta
Answer in the words which follow:
"Go and ask a bath from Ruotus,
Near where issues forth the Reed-brook." 220
Then the little maiden Piltti
Listened to her words obedient,
Always ready, heedless never,
Always quick, avoiding gossip,
Like a mist, away she hurried,
To the yard like snake she hastened,
With her hands her skirts she lifted,
In her hands her dress she twisted,
And upon her course she hastened
Straight unto the house of Ruotus. 230
Hills re-echoed to her footsteps,
Shook the mountains as she climbed them,
On the heath the cones were dancing,
Gravel scattered o'er the marshes;
Thus she came to Ruotus' dwelling,
And the house she quickly entered.
In his shirt sat wicked Ruotus,
Eating, drinking like the great ones,
In his shirt at end of table,
In a shirt of finest linen, 240
And he asked as he was eating,
Grunted, leaning o'er the table,
"What have you to say, you beggar,
Wretch, why come you running hither?"
Then the little damsel Piltti
Answered in the words that follow:
"Here I seek a village bathroom,
Seek a bath near reed-fringed brooklet,
That relief may reach the suffering,
For the need is very pressing." 250
Then the wicked wife of Ruotus
Presently with arms a-kimbo,
Slouched along upon the flooring,
Swept to middle of the flooring,
And she asked upon her coming,
Speaking in the words which follow:
"Who is seeking for a bathroom,
Who is seeking for assistance?"
Said the little damsel Piltti,
"Needed 'tis for our Marjatta." 260
Then the wicked wife of Ruotus
Answered in the words that follow:
"Vacant baths are rare in village,
None at mouth of reed-fringed streamlet.
There's a bath upon the clearing,
And a stable in the pinewood,
Where the whore may bear her children,
And the vile one cast her offspring,
While the horses there are breathing,
Let her take a bath and welcome." 270
Then the little maiden Piltti,
Hurried back with rapid footsteps,
And upon her course she hastened,
And she said on her arrival:
"In the village is no bathroom,
None beside the rush-fringed streamlet,
And the wicked wife of Ruotus,
Only spoke the words which follow:
'Vacant baths are none in village,
None at mouth of reed-fringed streamlet. 280
There's a bath upon the clearing,
And a stable in the pinewood,
Where the whore may bear her children,
And the vile one cast her offspring,
While the horses there are breathing,
Let her take a bath and welcome.'
This was all she said unto me,
This is truly what she answered."
Marjatta the hapless maiden
When she heard, burst forth in weeping, 290
And she spoke the words that follow:
"Thither must I then betake me,
Even like an outcast labourer,
Even like a hired servant,
I must go upon the clearing,
And must wander to the pinewood."
In her hands her skirt she lifted,
With her hands her skirt she twisted,
And she took the bath-whisks with her,
Of the softest leaves and branches, 300
And with hasty steps went onward,
In the greatest pain of body,
To the stable in the pinewood,
And the stall on hill of Tapio.
And she spoke the words which follow,
And in words like these expressed her:
"Come thou to my aid, Creator,
To my aid, O thou most gracious,
In this anxious time of labour,
In this time of hardest labour. 310
Free the damsel from her burden,
From her pains release the woman,
That she perish not in torment,
May not perish in her anguish."
When at length her journey ended,
Then she spoke the words which follow:
"O thou good horse, breathe upon me,
O thou draught-foal, snort upon me,
Breathe a vapour-bath around me,
Send thou warmth throughout the bathroom, 320
That relief may reach the sufferer,
For the need is very pressing."
Then the good horse breathed upon her,
And the draught-foal snorted on her,
Over all her suffering body.
When the horse desisted breathing,
Steam was spread throughout the stable,
Like the steam of boiling water.
Marjatta the hapless maiden,
She, the holy little maiden, 330
Bathed her in a bath sufficient,
Till she had relieved her suffering,
And a little boy was born her,
And a sinless child was given,
On the hay in horses' stable,
On the hay in horses' manger.
Then she washed the little infant,
And in swaddling-clothes she wrapped him,
On her knees she took the infant,
And she wrapped her garments round him. 340
There she reared the little infant,
Thus she reared the beauteous infant,
Reared her little golden apple,
And her little staff of silver,
And upon her lap she nursed it,
With her hands did she caress it.
On her knees she laid the infant,
On her lap she laid the infant,
And began to brush his hair straight,
And began to smooth his hair down, 350
When from off her knees he vanished,
From her lap the infant vanished.
Marjatta the hapless maiden
Fell into the greatest trouble,
And she hurried off to seek him,
Seek her little boy, the infant,
And she sought her golden apple,
Sought her little staff of silver,
Sought him underneath the millstones,
Underneath the sledge while running, 360
Underneath the sieve while sifting,
Underneath the lidless basket;
Trees she moved, and grass divided,
Spreading out the tender herbage.
Long the little boy she sought for,
Sought her son, the little infant,
Sought him through the hills and pinewoods,
On the heath among the heather,
Searched through every tuft of heather,
And in every bush she sought him, 370
Roots of juniper updigging,
And of trees the branches straightening.