“ Then the youthful Joukahainen,
in the swamp he sang yet deeper.390
Said the youthful Joukahainen,
"I have still two noble stallions;
Ay, a pair of handsome horses;
One of these of matchless swiftness,
And the other best in harness.
If it please you, choose between them."
Said the aged Väinämöinen,
"No, I do not want your horses;
Do not need your steeds, white-footed.
I myself have plenty of them.400
Every stall has now its tenant,
Every stable's filled with horses,
With their backs like water shining;
Lakes of fat upon their haunches." ”

“ Tuoni's short and stunted daughter.
She the dwarfish maid of Mana,230
Once again replied in answer:
"Well indeed I know the liar!
Had the fire to Tuoni brought you,
Flame to Manala conveyed you,
Would your hair be singed and frizzled,
And your beard be scorched severely.
"O thou aged Väinämöinen,
If you wish the boat to fetch you,
Tell me true, without evasion,
Make an end at last of lying,240
Why to Manala you travel,
Though disease has not subdued you,
Nor has death thus overcome you,
Nor some other fate o'erwhelmed you." ”

“ But the maid gave crafty answer,
And in words like these responded:
"As a man I will esteem you,
And as hero will regard you,
If you can split up a horsehair
With a blunt and pointless knife-blade,
And an egg in knots you tie me,
Yet no knot is seen upon it."
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Then the hair in twain divided,100
With a blunt and pointless knife-blade,
With a knife completely pointless,
And an egg in knots he twisted,
Yet no knot was seen upon it.
Then again he asked the maiden
In the sledge to sit beside him. ”

“ Row a boat through Viro's waters,
Nor will move a punt from Saari,
Nor will eat the fish of Viro,
Nor the fish-soup eat of Viro.
"Nor to Ingerland I'll travel,
Nor its slopes and shores will visit.
There is hunger, nought but hunger,
Want of trees, and want of timber,
Want of water, want of wheatfields,
There is even want of ryebread."60
Then the lively Lemminkainen,
He the handsome Kaukomieli,
Now resolved to make a journey
And to woo the Flower of Saari,
Seek at home the peerless fair one,
With her beauteous locks unbraided. ”

“ If you can but forge a Sampo,
With its many-coloured cover,
You will then receive the maiden,
And the fair maid be your guerdon."100
Said the smith, e'en Ilmarinen,
"O thou aged Väinämöinen,
You have perhaps already pledged me
To the gloomy land of Pohja,
That your own head you might rescue,
And might thus secure your freedom.
Not in course of all my lifetime,
While the golden moon is shining,
Hence to Pohjola I'll journey,
Huts of Sariola so dreary,110
Where the people eat each other,
And they even drown the heroes." ”

“ Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
O'er the horse his whip then brandished,
And the sledge went rattling onward.
Thus a little way he travelled,240
On the midmost of the pathways,
To the midmost of the houses,
And he asked upon the threshold,
And beseeching at the window,
"Is there no one in this household,
Who can heal the wounds of iron,
Who can stanch the blood when flowing,
And can check the rushing bloodstream?" ”

“ And he spoke the words which follow;60
"'Tis a fish, among the fishes,
For I never saw its equal,
Smoother is it than a powan,
Than a salmon-trout more yellow,
Greyer than a pike I deem it,
For a female fish too finless,
For a male 'tis far too scaleless;
Has no tresses, like a maiden,
Nor, like water-nymphs, 'tis belted;
Nor is earless like a pigeon;70
It resembles most a salmon,
Or a perch from deepest water."
In his waistband Väinämöinen
Bore a case-knife, silver-hafted,
And he drew the knife of sharpness. ”

“ Working at your sledge at night-time,
And its frame in daytime shaping,
Forth to journey to your wooing,
And to Pohjola to travel,
One more cunning goes before you,
And another speeds beyond you,
And your own will capture from you,
And your love will ravish from you,
Whom two years ago thou sawest,
Whom two years agone thou wooed'st.260
Know that Väinämöinen journeys
O'er the blue waves of the ocean,
In a boat with prow all golden,
Steering with his copper rudder,
To the gloomy land of Pohja,
Sariola, for ever misty."
[Pg. 200] To the smith came grievous trouble. ”

“ I will go to war in Pohja,
To destroy the sons of Lapland.
"There my inclination leads me
And my understanding drives me,110
And my own ears shall inform me,
And my own eyes show me truly,
If in Pohjola a maiden,
In Pimentola a maiden,
Is not longing for a lover,
For the best of men desirous."
Then said Lemminkainen's mother,
"O my son, my dearest Ahti,
Kyllikki at home is with thee,
Fairest she of all the housewives.120
Strange it were to see two women
In a bed beside one husband."
Said the lively Lemminkainen,
"Kyllikki has sought the village. ”

“ If you go with Ilmarinen,
From whose brow the sweat falls freely,
You must wash the blacksmith's aprons,
And the blacksmith's head wash likewise."
But the daughter gave her answer,
In the very words which follow:
"Him from Väinölä I choose not,
Nor an aged man will care for,
For an old man is a nuisance,
And an aged man would vex me."660
Then did aged Väinämöinen
Reach his journey's end the soonest,
And he steered his crimson vessel,
Brought his boat of bluish colour
To the rollers steel-constructed,
To the landing-stage of copper. ”

“ And a handsome sledge was driving
On the shore of Sound of Sima.550
After this the Lord of Pohja
To the house returned directly,
And beneath the roof he hastened,
And he spoke the words which follow:
"There are strangers swiftly sailing
O'er the blue lake's watery surface,
And a gaudy sledge is gliding
On the shore of Sound of Sima;
And a large boat is approaching
To the shore of Bay of Lempi."560
Then said Pohjola's old Mistress,
"Whence shall we obtain an omen
Why these strangers here are coming?
O my little waiting-maiden,
On the fire lay rowan-faggots. ”

“ Only born was Väinämöinen,
And revealed the bard immortal,
Sprung from the divine Creatrix,
Born of Ilmatar, his mother.110
Air's young daughter was a virgin,
Fairest daughter of Creation.
Long did she abide a virgin,
All the long days of her girlhood,
In the Air's own spacious mansions,
In those far extending regions.
Wearily the time passed ever.
And her life became a burden,
Dwelling evermore so lonely,
Always living as a maiden,120
In the Air's own spacious mansions,
In those far-extending deserts. ”

“ In the crown of every birch-tree,
Golden cuckoos three were perching.
All at once they called together,
And the first cried, "Sweetheart, sweetheart!"490
And the second, "Lover, lover!"
And the third cried, "Gladness, gladness!"
He who cried out, "Sweetheart, sweetheart!"
Sang his song for three months running,
For the young and loveless maiden,
Resting now beneath the water.
He who cried out, "Lover, lover!"
Sang his song for six months running,
Sang to the unhappy suitor,
Who must sorrow through his lifetime.500
He who cried out, "Gladness, gladness!" ”

“ Then came Pohjola's old Mistress,
On the floor advancing swiftly,
Till she reached the chamber's middle,
And she spoke these words in answer:
"Once there was a dog among us,
And a shaggy iron-haired puppy,
Eating flesh, of bones a biter,
One who licked the blood when freshest.420
Who among mankind may you be,
Who among the list of heroes,
Boldly thus the house to enter,
Pushing right into the chamber,
Yet the dogs have never heard you,
Nor have warned us with their barking?" ”

“ Then did Lemminkainen's mother
Raise it to her mouth and taste it,
With her tongue the ointment tasted,
With the greatest care she proved it.
"'Tis the ointment that I needed,
And the salve of the Almighty,540
Used when Jumala the Highest,
The Creator heals all suffering." ”

“ Round the toes of Väinämöinen.
Then he spoke the words which follow,
And expressed himself in this wise:
"Thus I use God's silken bandage,
The Creator's mantle wind I540
Round the great knees of the patient,
Round the toes of one most noble.
Watch thou, Jumala most gracious,
Give thy aid, O great Creator,
That we fall not in misfortune,
That no evil may o'ertake us." ”

“ There are none would think you noble
Of the mighty race of Saari."
Said the lively Lemminkainen,
Said the handsome Kaukomieli,
"If my house is not as noble,
Nor my race esteemed so mighty,
For my handsome shape they'll choose me,
For my noble form will take me."
But his mother still opposed her
Unto Lemminkainen's journey,80
To the mighty race of Saari,
To the clan of vast possessions.
"There the maidens all will scorn you,
And the women ridicule you." ”

“ Heroes I have thus o'erpowered,
Hither will I drive and thither.280
And will pitch them on the dunghill,
Grunting in the cowshed corner."
Angry then was Väinämöinen,
Filled with wrath and indignation,
And himself commenced his singing,
And to speak his words of wisdom.
But he sang no childish ditties,
Children's songs and women's jesting,
But a song for bearded heroes,
Such as all the children sing not,290
Nor a half the boys can master,
Nor a third can lovers compass,
In the days of dark misfortune,
When our life is near its ending. ”

“ There's in Tuonela a witch-wife,
Aged crone with chin projecting,
And she spins her thread of iron,
And she draws out wire of copper.
And she spun of nets a hundred,
And she wove herself a thousand,340
In a single night of summer,
On the rock amid the waters.
There's in Tuonela a wizard,
And three fingers has the old man,
And he weaves his nets of iron,
And he makes his nets of copper,
[Pg. 175] And a hundred nets he wove him,
And a thousand nets he plaited,
In the selfsame night of summer,
On the same stone in the water.350
Tuoni's son with crooked fingers. ”

“ Then the aged Väinämöinen
Answered in the words that follow:
"Well I know the birth of Iron,
And how steel was first created.
Air is the primeval mother,
Water is the eldest brother,30
Iron is the youngest brother,
And the Fire in midst between them. ”

“ Jumala's own mouth speaks with you,
If my speech is sweet unto you,
Jumala's own speech is sweeter.
Even if my hands are lovely,
The Creator's hands are fairer."
When the salve was rubbed upon him,
And the healing ointment touched him,
Almost fainting with the anguish,
Väinämöinen writhed and struggled.520
Turning this way, turning that way,
Seeking ease, but never finding. ”

“ The religion of the poem is peculiar; it is a Shamanistic animism, overlaid with Christianity.
The Kalevala relates the history of four principal heroes: Väinämöinen, the Son of the Wind, and of the Virgin of the Air; a great culture-hero, patriarch, and minstrel, always described as a vigorous old man. The Esthonians call him Vanemuine, and make him the God of Music.
His "brother" Ilmarinen appears to be the son of a human mother, though he is also said to have been "born upon a hill of charcoal." He is a great smith and craftsman, and is described as a handsome young man. ”

“ However, the Esthonians make him not a slave, but a king. In the Kalevala we meet with no kings, but only patriarchs, or chiefs of clans.
The principal heroines of the Kalevala are Ilmatar, the Daughter of the Air, the Creatrix of the world, in the first Runo, whose counterpart is Marjatta, the mother of the successor of Väinämöinen, in the last Runo; Aino, a young Lapp girl beloved of Väinämöinen, whose sad fate forms one of the most pathetic episodes in the Kalevala; Louhi, the Mistress of Pohjola, or the North Country; and her daughter, afterwards the wife of Ilmarinen. ”

“ Firstly, we find her as the beautiful and accomplished daughter of the witch, playing the part of a Medea, without her cruelty.
Secondly, we find her as a timid and shrinking bride, in fact almost a child-bride.
Thirdly, when married, she appears as a wicked and heartless peasant-woman of the worst type.
The heroes are all skilled in magic, and to some extent are able to command or propitiate even the gods. A peculiarity of Finnish magic is what is called "the word of origin." ”

“ Mana's maiden scolded loudly:
"O thou fool, of all most foolish,
Man devoid of understanding.
[Pg. 173] Tuonela, thou seekest causeless,
Com'st to Mana free from sickness!
Better surely would you find it
Quickly to regain your country,270
Many truly wander hither,
Few return to where they came from!"
Said the aged Väinämöinen,
"This might perhaps deter old women,
Not a man, how weak soever.
Not the laziest of heroes!
Bring the boat, O Tuoni's daughter,
Row across, O child of Mana!"
Brought the boat then, Tuoni's daughter. ”

“ Runo IX.—The Origin of Iron Argument
Väinämöinen repeats to the old man the legend of the origin of iron (1-266) . The old man reviles the iron and repeats spells for the stopping of blood, and the flow of blood is stayed (267-416) . The old man directs his son to prepare a salve, and dresses and binds up the wound. Väinämöinen is cured, and thanks Jumala for his merciful assistance (417-586) . ”