" Now must some one come to drink me,
Now must some one come to taste me,
That my fame may be reported,
And that they may sing my praises."

Then they went to seek a minstrel,
Went to seek a famous singer,
One whose voice was of the strongest,
One who knew the finest legends. 530

First to sing they tried a salmon,
If the voice of trout was strongest ;
Singing is not work for salmon,
And the pike recites no legends.



238 Kalevala [Runo xx

Crooked are the jaws of salmon,
And the teeth of pike spread widely.

Yet again they sought a singer,
Went to seek a famous singer,
One whose voice was of the strongest,
One who knew the finest legends, 540

And they took a child for singer,
Thought a boy might sing the strongest.
Singing is not work for children,
Nor are splutterers fit for shouting.
Crooked are the tongues of children,
And the roots thereof are crooked.

Then the red ale grew indignant,
And the fresh drink fell to cursing,
Pent within the oaken barrels,
And behind the taps of copper. 550

" If you do not find a minstrel,
Do not find a famous singer,
One whose voice is of the strongest,
One who knows the finest legends,
Then the hoops I'll burst asunder,
And among the dust will trickle."

Then did Pohjola's old Mistress
Send the guests their invitations,
Sent her messengers to journey,
And she spoke the words which follow : 560

" O my maid, of all the smallest,
O my waiting-maid obedient,
Call the people all together,
To the great carouse invite them,
Call the poor, and call the needy,
Call the blind, and call the wretched,
Call the lame, and call the cripples ;
In the boat row thou the blind men ;
Bring the lame ones here on horseback.
And in sledges bring the cripples. 570

" Ask thou all the folk of Pohja,
And of Kaleva the people :
Ask the aged Vainamoinen,
Greatest he of all the minstrels,



Runoxx] The Great Ox 239

Only ask not Lemminkainen,
Ask not Ahti Saarelainen."

Then the maid, of all the smallest,
Answered in the words which follow :
" Wherefore ask not Lemminkainen,
Only Ahti Saarelainen ? " 580

Then did Pohjola's old Mistress,
In these very words make answer :
" Therefore ask not Kaukomieli,
Not the reckless Lemminkainen.
He is always quick to quarrel,
And to fight is always ready.
And at weddings works he mischief,
And at banquets grievous scandal,
Brings to shame the modest maidens,
Clad in all their festive garments." 590

Then the maid, of all the smallest,
Answered in the words which follow :
" How shall I know Kaukomieli
That I leave him uninvited ?
For I know not Ahti's dwelling,
Nor the house of Kaukomieli."

Then did Pohjola's old Mistress,
Answer in the words which follow :
" Easy may you hear of Kauko,
Learn of Ahti Saarelainen. 600

Ahti dwells upon an island,
Dwells the rascal near the water,
Where the bay outspreads the broadest,
At the curve of Kauko's headland."

Then the maid, of all the smallest,
She the handmaid hired for money,
Bid the guests from six directions,
And in eight the news she carried ;
All she asked of Pohja's people,
And of Kaleva the people, 610

Of the householders the poorest,
And the poorest clad amongst them,
Only not the youth named Ahti,
For she left him uninvited.



240 Kalevala [Rimo xxi



RUNG XXI. THE WEDDING FEAST AT POHJOLA

Argument

The bridegroom and his party are received at Pohjola (1-226). The
guests are hospitably entertained with abundance of food and drink
(227-252). Vainamoinen sings and praises the people of the house
(253-438).

THEN did Pohjola's old Mistress,

Crone of Sariola the misty,

Sometimes out of doors employ her,

Sometimes in the house was busied ;

And she heard how whips were cracking,

On the shore heard sledges rattling,

And her eyes she turned to northward,

Towards the sun her head then turning,

And she pondered and reflected,

"Wherefore are these people coming 10

On my shore, to me unhappy ?

Is it perhaps a hostile army ? "

So she went to gaze around her,
And observe the portent nearer ;
It was not a hostile army,
But of guests a great assembly,
And her son-in-law amid them,
With a mighty host of people.

Then did Pohjola's old Mistress,
Crone of Sariola the misty, 20

When she saw the bridegroom's party,
Speak aloud the words which follow :
" As I thought, the wind was blowing
And a faggot-stack o'erthrowing,
On the beach the billows breaking,
On the strand the shingle rattling.
So I went to gaze around me,
And observe the portent nearer ;
But I found no wind was blowing,
Nor the faggot-stack was falling, 30



Runoxxi] The Wedding Feast 241

On the beach no waves were breaking,
On the strand no shingle rattling.
'Twas my son-in-law's assemblage,
Twice a hundred men in number.

" How shall I detect the bridegroom
In the concourse of the people ?
He is known among the people,
As in clumps of trees the cherry,
Like an oak-tree in the thickets,
Or the moon, 'mid stars in heaven. 40

" Black the steed that he is driving ;
Which a ravenous wolf resembles ;
Or a raven, keen for quarry,
Or a lark, with fluttering pinions.
Six there are of golden song-birds,
On his shafts all sweetly singing,
And of blue birds, seven are singing
Sitting on the sledge's traces."

From the road was heard a clatter,
Past the well the runners rattled, 50

In the court arrived the bridegroom,
In the yard the people with him,
In the midst appeared the bridegroom,
With the greatest of the party.
He was not the first among them,
But by no means last among them.

" Off, ye youths, and out, ye heroes,
To the court, O ye who loiter,
That ye may remove the breastbands,
And the traces ye may loosen, 60

That the shafts may quick be lowered :
Lead into the house the bridegroom."

Then the bridegroom's horse sped onward,
And the bright-hued sledge drew forward
Through the courtyard of the Master,
When said Pohjola's old Mistress :
" O my man, whom I have hired,
Best among the village servants,
Take the horse that brought the bridegroom,
With the white mark on his frontlet, 70



242 Kalevala [Runo xxi

From the copper-plated harness,

From the tin-decked breastband likewise,

From the best of reins of leather,

And from harness of the finest.

Lead the courser of the bridegroom,

And with greatest care conduct him

By the reins, of silken fabric,

By the bridle, decked with silver,

To the softest place for rolling,

Where the meadow is the smoothest, 80

Where the drifted snow is finest,

And the land of milky whiteness.

" Lead the bridegroom's horse to water,
To the spring that flows the nearest,
Where the water all unfrozen,
Gushes forth, like milk the sweetest,
'Neath the roots of golden pine-trees,
Underneath the bushy fir-trees.

" Fodder thou the bridegroom's courser,
From the golden bowl of fodder, 90

From the bowl adorned with copper,
With the choicest meal of barley,
And with well-boiled wheat of summer,
And with pounded rye of summer.

" Then conduct the bridegroom's courser
To the best of all the stables,
To the best of resting-places,
To the hindmost of the stables.
Tether there the bridegroom's courser,
To the ring of gold constructed, 100

To the smaller ring of iron,
To the post of curving birchwood,
Place before the bridegroom's courser,
Next a tray with oats o'erloaded,
And with softest hay another,
And a third with chaff the finest.

" Curry then the bridegroom's courser,
With the comb of bones of walrus,
That the hair remain uninjured,
Nor his handsome tail be twisted; no



Runoxxi] The Wedding Feast 243

Cover then the bridegroom's courser

With a cloth of silver fabric,

And a mat of golden texture,

And a horse-wrap decked with copper.

" Now my little village laddies,
To the house conduct the bridegroom,
Gently lift his hat from off him,
From his hands his gloves take likewise.

" I would fain see if the bridegroom
Presently the house can enter, 120

Ere the doors are lifted from it,
And they have removed the doorposts,
And have lifted up the crossbars,
And the threshold has been sunken,
And the nearer walls are broken,
And the floor-planks have been shifted.

" But the house suits not the bridegroom,
Nor the great gift suits the dwelling,
Till the doors are lifted from it,
And they have removed the doorposts, 130

And have lifted up the crossbars,
And the threshold has been sunken,
And the nearer walls been broken,
And the flooring-planks been shifted,
For the bridegroom's head is longer,
And the bridegroom's ears are higher.

" Let the crossbars then be lifted,
That his head the roof may touch not,
Let the threshold now be sunken,
That his footsoles may not touch it, 140

Let them now set back the doorposts,
That the doors may open widely,
When at length the bridegroom enters,
When the noble youth approaches.

" Praise, O Jumala most gracious,
For the bridegroom now has entered.
I would now the house examine,
Cast my gaze around within it,
See that washed are all the tables,
And the benches swabbed with water, 150



244 Kalevala [Runo xxi

Scoured the smooth planks of the boarding,
And the flooring swept and polished.

" Now that I the house examine,
Tis so changed I scarcely know it,
From what wood the room was fashioned,
How the roof has been constructed,
And the walls have been erected,
And the flooring been constructed.

" Side-walls are of bones of hedgehog,
Hinder- walls of bones of reindeer, 160

Front-walls of the bones of glutton,
And of bones of lamb the crossbar.
All the beams are wood of apple,
And the posts of curving birchwood,
Round the stove rest water-lilies,
Scales of bream compose the ceiling.

" And one bench is formed of iron,
Others made from Saxon timber,
Gold-inlaid are all the tables ;
Floor o'erspread with silken carpets. 170

" And the stove is bright with copper,
And the stove-bench stone-constructed,
And the hearth composed of boulders,
And with Kaleva's tree is boarded."

Then the house the bridegroom entered,
Hastened on beneath the roof-tree,
And he spoke the words which follow :
"Grant, O Jumala, thy blessing
Underneath this noble roof-tree,
Underneath this roof so splendid." 180

Then said Pohjola's old Mistress,
" Hail, all hail, to thee, who enters
In this room of small dimensions,
In this very lowly cottage,
In this wretched house of firwood,
In this house of pine constructed.

" O my little waiting-maiden,
Thou the village maid I hired,
Bring a piece of lighted birchbark,
To a tarry torch apply it, 190



Runoxxi] The Wedding Feast 245

That I may behold the bridegroom,
And the bridegroom's eyes examine,
Whether they are blue or reddish ;
Whether they are white as linen."

Then the little waiting-maiden,
She, the little village maiden,
Brought a piece of lighted birchbark,
To a tarry torch applied it.
*' From the bark the flame springs spluttering,
From the tar black smoke's ascending, 200

So his eyes might perhaps be sooted,
And his handsome face be blackened,
Therefore bring a torch all flaming,
Of the whitest wax constructed."

Then the little waiting-maiden,
She the little village maiden,
Lit a torch, and brought it flaming,
Of the whitest wax constructed.

White like wax the smoke was rising,
And the flame ascended brightly, 210

And the bridegroom's eyes were shining,
And his face was all illumined.
"Now the bridegroom's eyes I gaze on !
They are neither blue nor reddish,
Neither are they white like linen,
But his eyes they shine like lake-foam,
Like the lake-reed are they brownish,
And as lovely as the bulrush.

"Now my little village laddies,
Hasten to conduct the bridegroom 220

To a seat among the highest,
To a place the most distinguished,
With his back towards the blue wall,
With his face towards the red board,
There among the guests invited,
Facing all the shouting people."

Then did Pohjola's old Mistress,
Feast her guests in noble fashion,
Feast them on the best of butter,
And with cream-cakes in abundance ; 230



246 Kalevala [Runo xxi

Thus she served the guests invited,
And among them first the bridegroom.

On the plates was placed the salmon,
At the sides the pork was stationed,
Dishes filled to overflowing,
Laden to the very utmost,
Thus to feast the guests invited ;
And among them first the bridegroom.

Then said Pohjola's old Mistress,
" O my little waiting-maiden, 240

Bring me now the ale in measures,
Bring it in the jugs two-handled,
For the guests we have invited,
And the bridegroom chief among them."

Then the little waiting-maiden,
She, the servant hired for money,
Brought the measures as directed,
Handed round the five-hooped tankards,
Till, with ale from hops concocted,
All the beards with foam were whitened ; 250

All the beards of guests invited ;
And among them most the bridegroom's.

What about the ale was spoken,
Of the ale in five-hooped tankards,
When at length it reached the minstrel,
Reached the greatest of the singers,
He the aged Vainamoinen,
First and oldest of the singers,
He the minstrel most illustrious,
He the greatest of the Sages ? 260

First of all the ale he lifted,
Then he spoke the words which follow :
" O thou ale, thou drink delicious,
Let the drinkers not be moody !
Urge the people on to singing,
Let them shout, with mouth all golden,
Till our lords shall wonder at it,
And our ladies ponder o'er it,
For the songs already falter,
And the joyous tongues are silenced. 270



Runoxxi] The Wedding Feast 247

When the ale is ill-concocted,
And bad drink is set before us,
Then the minstrels fail in singing,
And the best of songs they sing not,
And our cherished guests are silent,
And the cuckoos call no longer.

" Therefore who shall chant unto us,
And whose tongue shall sing unto us,
At the wedding feast of Pohja,
This carouse at Sariola held ? 280

Benches will not sing unto us,
Save when people sit upon them,
Nor will floors hold cheerful converse,
Save when people walk upon them,
Neither are the windows joyful,
If the lords should gaze not from them,
Nor resound the table's edges,
If men sit not round the tables,
Neither do the smoke-holes echo,
If men sit not 'neath the smoke-holes." 290

On the floor a child was sitting,
On the stove-bench sat a milkbeard,
From the floor exclaimed the infant,
And the boy spoke from the stove-bench :
" I am not in years a father,
Undeveloped yet my body,
But however small I may be,
If the other big ones sing not,
And the stouter men will shout not,
And the rosier cheeked will sing not, 300

Then I'll sing, although a lean boy,
Though a thin boy, I will whistle,
I will sing, though weak and meagre,
Though my stomach is not rounded,
That the evening may be cheerful,
And the day may be more honoured."

By the stove there sat an old man,
And he spoke the words which follow :
" That the children sing befits not,
Nor these feeble folk should carol. 310



248 Kalevala [Runo xxi

Children's songs are only falsehoods,
And the songs of girls are foolish.
Let the wisest sing among us,
Who upon the bench is seated."

Then the aged Vainamoinen,
Answered in the words which follow ;
" Are there any who are youthful,
Of the noblest of the people,
Who will clasp their hands together,
Hook their hands in one another, 320

And begin to speak unto us,
Swaying back and forth in singing,
That the day may be more joyful,
And the evening be more blessed ?

From the stove there spoke the old man.
" Never was it heard among us,
Never heard or seen among us,
Nor so long as time existed,
That there lived a better minstrel,
One more skilled in all enchantment, 330

Than myself when I was warbling,
As a child when I was singing,
Singing sweetly by the water,
Making all the heath re-echo,
Chanting loudly in the firwood,
Talking likewise in the forest.

" Then my voice was loud and tuneful,
And its tones were most melodious,
Like the flowing of a river,

Or the murmur of a streamlet, 340

Gliding as o'er snow the snowshoes,
Like a yacht across the billows ;
But 'tis hard for me to tell you
How my wisdom has departed,
How my voice so strong has failed me,
And its sweetness has departed.
Now it flows no more like river,
Rising like the tossing billows,
But it halts like rake in stubble,
Like the hoe among the pine-rools, 350



Runo xxi] The Wedding Feast 249

Like a sledge in sand embedded,
Or a boat on rocks when stranded."

Then the aged Vainamoinen
In such words as these expressed him :
" If no other bard comes forward
To accompany my singing,
Then alone my songs I'll carol,
And will now commence my singing,
For to sing was I created,

As an orator was fashioned ; 360

How, I ask not in the village,
Nor I learn my songs from strangers."

Then the aged Vainamoinen
Of the song the lifelong pillar,
Set him to the pleasant labour,
Girt him for the toil of singing,
Loud he sang his songs so pleasing,
Loud he spoke his words of wisdom.

Sang the aged Vainamoinen,

Sang by turns, and spoke his wisdom, 370

Nor did words that suited fail him,
Neither were his songs exhausted,
Sooner stones in rocks were missing,
Or a pond lacked water-lilies.

Therefore thus sang Vainamoinen
Through the evening for their pleasure,
And the women all were laughing,
And the men in high good-humour,
While they listened and they wondered
At the chants of Vainamoinen, 380

For amazement filled the hearers,
Wonder those who heard him singing.

Said the aged Vainamoinen,
When at length his song he ended,
" This is what I have accomplished
As a singer and magician,
Little can I thus accomplish,
And my efforts lead me nowhere :
But, if sang the great Creator,
Speaking with his mouth of sweetness, 390

I 1 *59



250 Kalevala [Runo xxi

He would sing his songs unto you,
As a singer and magician.

" He would sing the sea to honey,
And to peas would sing the gravel,
And to malt would sing the seasand,
And to salt would sing the gravel,
Forest broad would sing to cornland,
And the wastes would sing to wheatfields,
Into cakes would sing the mountains,
And to hens' eggs change the mountains. 400

"As a singer and magician,
He would speak, and he would order,
And would sing unto this homestead,
Cowsheds ever rilled with cattle,
Lanes o'erfilled with beauteous blossoms,
And the plains o'erfilled with milch-kine,
Full a hundred horned cattle,
And with udders full, a thousand.

"As a singer and magician,

He would speak and he would order 410

For our host a coat of lynxskin,
For our mistress cloth-wrought dresses,
For her daughters boots with laces,
And her sons with red shirts furnish.

" Grant, O Jumala, thy blessing,
Evermore, O great Creator,
Unto those we see around us,
And again in all their doings,
Here, at Pohjola's great banquet,
This carouse at Sariola held, 420

That the ale may stream in rivers,
And the mead may flow in torrents,
Here in Pohjola's great household,
In the halls at Sariola built,
That by day we may be singing,
And may still rejoice at evening
Long as our good host is living,
In the lifetime of our hostess.

"Jumala, do thou grant thy blessing,
O Creator, shed thy blessing, 430



Runoxxii] Tormenting of the Bride 251

On our host at head of table,
On our hostess in her storehouse,
On their sons, the nets when casting,
On their daughters at their weaving.
May they have no cause for trouble,
Nor lament the year that follows,
After their protracted banquet,
This carousal at the mansion ! "



RUNG XXII. THE TORMENTING OF THE BRIDE

Argument

The bride is prepared for her journey and is reminded of her past
life and of the altered life that now lies before her (1-124). She
becomes very sorrowful (125-184). They bring her to weeping (185-
382). She weeps (383-448). They comfort her (449-522).

WHEN the drinking-bout was ended,

And the feast at length was over,

At the festival at Pohja,

Bridal feast held at Pimentola,

Then said Pohjola's old Mistress,

To the bridegroom, Ilmarinen,

"Wherefore sit'st thou, highly-born one,

Waitest thou, O pride of country ?

Sit'st thou here to please the father,

Or for love of mother waitest, 10

Or our dwelling to illumine,

Or the wedding guests to honour?

" Not for father's pleasure wait'st thou,
Nor for love thou bear'st the mother,
Nor the dwelling to illumine,
Nor the wedding guests to honour ;
Here thou sit'st for maiden's pleasure,
For a young girl's love delaying,
For the fair one whom thou long'st for,
Fair one with unbraided tresses. 20



252 Kalevala [Runo xxn

" Bridegrocmi, dearest of my brothers,
Wait a week, and yet another ;
For thy loved one is not ready,
And her toilet is not finished.
Only half her hair is plaited,
And a half is still unplaited.

" Bridegroom, dearest of my brothers,
Wait a week, and yet another,
For thy loved one is not ready,
And her toilet is not finished ; 30

One sleeve only is adjusted,
And unfitted still the other.

" Bridegroom, dearest of my brothers,
Wait a week, and yet another,
For thy loved one is not ready,
And her toilet is not finished.
For one foot is shod already,
But unshod remains the other.

" Bridegroom, dearest of my brothers,
Wait a week, and yet another, 40

For thy loved one is not ready,
And her toilet is not finished.
For one hand is gloved already,
And ungloved is still the other.

" Bridegroom, dearest of my brothers,
Thou hast waited long unwearied ;

For thy love at length is ready,
And thy duck has made her toilet.
" Go thou forth, O plighted maiden,

Follow thou, O dove new-purchased ! 50

Near to thee is now thy union,

Nearer still is thy departure,

He who leads thee forth is with thee,

At the door is thy conductor,

And his horse the bit is champing,

And his sledge awaits the maiden.

"Thou wast fond of bridegroom's money

Reaching forth thy hands most greedy

Glad to take the chain he offered,

And to fit the rings upon thee. 60



Runo xxn] Tormenting of the Bride 253

Now the longed-for sledge is ready,
Eager mount the sledge so gaudy,
Travel quickly to the village,
Quickly speeding on thy journey.

" Hast thou never, youthful maiden,
On both sides surveyed the question,
Looked beyond the present moment,
When the bargain was concluded ?
All thy life must thou be weeping,
And for many years lamenting, 70

How thou left'st thy father's household,
And thy native land abandoned,
From beside thy tender mother,
From the home of she who bore thee.

11 the happy life thou leddest,
In this household of thy father !
Like a wayside flower thou grewest,
Or upon the heath a strawberry,
Waking up to feast on butter,
Milk, when from thy bed arising, 80

Wheaten-bread, from couch upstanding,
From thy straw, the fresh-made butter,
Or, if thou could eat no butter,
Strips of pork thou then could'st cut thee.

" Never yet wast thou in trouble,
Never hadst thou cause to worry,
To the fir-trees tossed thou trouble,
Worry to the stumps abandoned,
Care to pine-trees in the marshlands,
And upon the heaths the birch-trees. 90

Like a leaflet thou wast fluttering,
As a butterfly wast fluttering,
Berry-like in native soil,
Or on open ground a raspberry.

" But thy home thou now art leaving,
To another home thou goest,
To another mother's orders,
To the household of a stranger.
Different there from here thou'lt find it
In another house 'tis different : 100



254 Kalevala [Runo xxn

Other tunes the horns are blowing,
Other doors thou hearest jarring,
Other gates thou hearest creaking,
Other voices at the fishlines.

"There the doors thou hardly findest,
Strange unto thee are the gateways,
Not like household daughter art thou,
May not dare to blow the fire,
Nor the stove canst rightly heaten,
So that thou canst please the master. no

" Didst thou think, O youthful maiden.
Didst thou think, or didst imagine,
Only for a night to wander,
In the morn again returning ?
; Tis not for one night thou goest,
Not for one night, not for two nights,
For a longer time thou goest.
Thou for months and days hast vanished,
Lifelong from thy father's dwelling,
For the lifetime of thy mother, 120

And the yard will then be longer,
And the threshold lifted higher,
If again thou ever comest,
To thy former home returning."

Now the hapless girl was sighing,
Piteously she sighed and panted,
And her heart was filled with trouble,
In her eyes the tears were standing,
And at length she spoke as follows :
"Thus I thought, and thus imagined, 130

And throughout my life imagined,
Said throughout my years of childhood,
Thou ar^ not as maid a lady
In the wardship of thy parents,
In the meadows of thy father,
In ^hy aged mother's dwelling.
Thou wilt only be a lady
When thy husband's home thou seekest,