This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. The following translation was undertaken from a desire to lay before the English-speaking people the full treasury of ethical beauty, folklore, and mythology comprised in the Kalevala, the national epic of the Finns. A brief description of this peculiar people and of their ethical, linguistic, social, and religious life seems to be called for here in order that the following poem may be better understood. Finland, Finnish, Suomi, or Suomenma, the swampy region of which Finland or Finland is said to be a Swedish translation, is at present a Grand Duchy in the northwestern part of the Russian Empire, bordering on Olenets, Archangel, Sweden, Norway, and the Baltic Sea. Its area being more than 144,000 square miles and inhabited by some two million of people, the last remnants of a race driven back from the east at a very early day by advancing tribes. The Finlanders live in a land of marshes and mountains, lakes and rivers, seas, gulfs, islands, and inlets, and they call themselves Suomi-Lainen, Fen-dwellers. The climate is more severe than that of Sweden. The mean yearly temperature in the north is about 27 degrees Fahrenheit, and about 38 degrees Fahrenheit at Helsingfors, the capital of Finland. In the southern districts, the winter is seven months long, and in the northern provinces, the sun disappears entirely during the months of December and January. The inhabitants are strong and hearty with bright intelligent faces, high cheekbones, yellow hair in early life and with brown hair in mature age. With regard to their social habits, morals, and manners, all travelers are unanimous in speaking well of them. Their temper is universally mild, they are slow to anger and when angry they keep silence. They are happy-hearted, affectionate to one another and honorable and honest in their dealings with strangers. They are cleanly people, being much given to the use of vapor baths. This trait is a conspicuous note of their character from their earliest history to the present day. Often in the runes of the Kalevala, references made to the cleansing and healing virtues of the vapors of the heated bathroom. The skull of the Finn belongs to the Brachycephalic, short-headed class of Retzius. Indeed, the Finn organization has generally been regarded as Mongol, though Mongol of a modified type. His color is swarthy and his eyes are gray. He is not inhospitable but not over-easy of access, nor is he a friend of new fashions.  The Finns are very ancient people. It is claimed, too, that they began earlier than any other European nation to collect and preserve their ancient folklore. Tacitus, writing in the very beginning of the second century of the Christian era, mentions the Fenny, as he calls them, in the 46th chapter of his De Moribus Germanorum. He says of them, The Finns are extremely wild and live in abject poverty. They have no arms, no horses, no dwellings. They live on herbs. They clothe themselves in skins and they sleep on the ground. Their only resources are their arrows, which for the lack of iron are tipped with bone. Strabo and the great geographer, Ptolemy, also mentioned this curious people. There is evidence that at one time they were spread over large portions of Europe and Western Asia. Perhaps it should be stated here that the copper so often mentioned in the Kalevala, when taken literally, was probably bronze or hardened copper, the amount and quality of the alloy used being not now known. The prehistoric races of Europe were acquainted with bronze implements. It may be interesting to note in this connection that Canon Isaac Taylor and Professor Seish have but very recently awakened great interest in this question, in Europe especially, by the reading of papers before the British Philological Association, in which they argue in favor of the Finnic origin of the Aryans. For this new theory, these scholars present exceedingly strong evidence and they conclude that the time of the separation of the Aryan from the Finnic stock must have been more than 5,000 years ago. The Finnish nation has one of the most sonorous and flexible of languages. Of the cultivated tongues of Europe, the Magyar or Hungarian bears the most positive signs of deep-rooted similarity to the Finnish. Both belong to the Ugrian stock of agglutinative languages, i.e. those which preserve the root most carefully and affect all changes of grammar by suffixes attached to the original stein. Grimen has shown that both Gothic and Icelandic present traces of Finnish influence. The musical element of the language, the vowels, are very developed in Finnish and their due sequence is subject to strict rules of euphony. The dotted o, equivalent to the French e, of the first syllable, must be followed by an e or an i. The Finnish, like all Ugrian tongues, admits rhyme but with reluctance and prefers alliteration. Their alphabet consists of but 19 letters and of these b, c, d, f, g are found only in a few foreign words and many others are never found initial. One of the characteristic features of this language and one that is likewise characteristic of the Magyar, Turkish, Mordevin and other kindred tongues consists in the frequent use of endearing diminutives. By a series of suffixes to the names of human beings, birds, fishes, trees, plants, stones, metals and even actions, events and feelings, diminutives are obtained, which by their form present the names so made in different colors. They become more naive, more childlike, eventually more roguish or humorous or pungent. These traits can scarcely be rendered in English for, as Robert Ferguson remarks, the English language is not strong in diminutives and therefore it lacks some of the most effective means for the expression of affectionate, tender and familiar relations. In this respect, all translations from the Finnish into English necessarily must fall short of the original. The same might be said of the many emotional interjections in which the Finnish, in common with all Ugrian dialects, abounds. With the exception of these two characteristics of the Ugrian languages, the chief beauties of the Finnish verse admit an apt rendering into English. The structure of the sentences is very simple indeed and adverbs and adjectives are used sparingly. Finnish is the language of a people who live preeminently close to nature and are at home amongst the animals of the wilderness, beasts and birds, winds and woods and waters, falling snows and flying sands and rolling rocks and these are carefully distinguished by corresponding verbs for changing acoustic import. Conscious of the fact that in a people like the Finns where nature and nature worship form the center of all their life, every word connected with the powers and elements of nature must be given its full value. Great care has been taken in rendering these finely shaded verbs. A glance at the mythology of this interesting people will place the import of this remark in better view. In the earliest age of Suomi, it appears that the people worship the conspicuous objects in nature under their respective sensible forms. All beings were persons. The sun, moon, stars, the earth, the air and the sea were to the ancient Finns living self-conscious beings. Gradually the existence of invisible agencies and their energies was recognized and these were attributed to superior persons who lived independent of these visible entities but at the same time were connected with them. The basic idea in Finnish mythology seems to lie in this that all objects in nature are governed by invisible deities termed halteit, regents or geni. These halteit, like members of the human family, have distinctive bodies and spirits but the minor ones are somewhat immaterial and formless and their existences are entirely independent of the objects in which they are particularly interested. They are all immortal but they rank according to the relative importance of their respective charges. The lower grades of the Finnish gods are sometimes subservient to the deities of greater powers especially to those who rule respectively the water, the field and the forest. Thus, Pileiattar, the daughter of the Aspen, although as divine as Tapio, the god of the woodlands is necessarily his servant. One of the most notable characteristics of the Finnish mythology is the interdependence among the gods. Every deity, says Kastrin, however petty he may be, rules in his own sphere as a substantial independent power or to speak in the spirit of the Kalavala as a self-ruling householder. The god of the polar star only governs an insignificant spot in the vaults of the sky but on this spot he knows no master. The Finnish deities like the ancient gods of Italy and Greece are generally represented in pairs and all the gods are probably wedded. They have their individual abodes and are surrounded by their respective families. The primary object of worship among the early Finns was most probably the visible sky with its sun, moon, stars, its aurora lights, its thunders and its lightnings. The heavens themselves were thought divine. Then a personal deity of the heavens coupled with the name of his abode was the next conception. Finally the sky god was chosen to represent the supreme ruler. To the sky, the sky god and the supreme god, the term Yumala, thunder home was given. In course of time however when the Finns came to have more purified ideas about religion they called the sky Taivas and the sky god Ukko. The word Ukko seems related to the Magyar Ag old and meant therefore an old being, a grandfather but ultimately it came to be used exclusively as the name for the highest of the Finnish deities. Frost, snow, hail, ice, wind and rain, sunshine and shadow are thought to come from the hands of Ukko. He controls the clouds. He is called in the Kalabala, the leader of the clouds, the shepherd of the lamb clouds, the god of the breezes, the golden king, the silver ruler of the air and the father of the heavens. He wields the thunderbolt striking down the spirits of evil on the mountains and is therefore termed the thunderer like the Greek Zeus and his abode is called the thunder home. Ukko is often represented as sitting upon a cloud in the vault of the sky and bearing on his shoulders the firmament and therefore he is termed the pivot of the heavens. He is armed as an omnipotent warrior. His fiery arrows are forged from copper. The lightning is his sword and the rainbow his bow still called Ukkonkari. Like the German god Thor, Ukko swings a hammer and finally we find in a vein of similar symbolism that his skirt sparkles with fire that his stockings are blue and his shoes crimson colored. In the following runes Ukko here and there interposes. Thus when the sun and moon were stolen from the heavens and hidden away in a cave of the copper bearing mountain by the wicked hostess of the Dismosariola, he, like Atlas in the mythology of Greece, relinquishes the support of the heavens, wanders along the borders of the darkened clouds and strikes fire from his sword to kindle a new sun and a new moon. Again, when Lemenkainen is hunting the fire-breathing horse of Piru, Ukko, invoked by the reckless hero, checks the speed of his mighty coarser by opening the windows of heaven and showering upon him flakes of snow, balls of ice and hailstones of iron. Usually however, Ukko prefers to encourage a spirit of independence among his worshipers. Often we find him in the runes refusing to heed the call of his people for help, as when Ilmatar, the daughter of the heir, vainly invoked him to her aid that Vayne Moinen, already 700 years unborn, might be delivered. So also, Vayne Moinen besieges Ukko and Vayne to check the crimson streamlet flowing from his knee wounded by an axe in the hands of Hisi. Ukko, however, with all his power is by no means superior to the sun, moon, and other bodies dwelling in the heavens. They are uninfluenced by him and are considered deities in their own right. Thus, Paevie, means both sun and moon Paevie means both sun and sun god Kun means moon and moon god and Teiti and Otava designate the polar star and the great bear, respectively, as well as the deities of these bodies. The sun and the moon have each a consort and sons and daughters. Two sons only of Paevie appear in the Kalavala. One comes to aid Vayne Moinen in his efforts to destroy the mystic firefish by throwing from the heavens to the girdle of the hero a magic knife silver edged and golden handled. The other son, Panu, the fire child, brings back to Kalavala the fire that had been stolen by Luohi, the wicked hostess of Paola. From this myth, Kastrin argues that the ancient Finns regarded fire as a direct emanation from the sun. The daughters of the sun, moon, great bear, polar star, and of the other heavenly dignitaries are represented as ever young and beautiful maiden sometimes seated on the bending branches of the forest trees, sometimes on the crimson rims of the clouds, sometimes on the rainbow, sometimes on the dome of heaven. These daughters are believed to be skilled to perfection in the arts of spinning and weaving accomplishments probably attributed to them from the fanciful likeness of the rays of light to the wrap of the weavers' web. The sun's career of usefulness and beneficence in bringing light and life to Northland is seldom varied. Occasionally, he steps from his accustomed path to give important information to his suffering worshipers. For example, when the star and the moon refuse the information, the sun tells the virgin Marietta where her golden infant lies hidden. Yonder is thy golden infant, there thy holy babe lies sleeping, hidden to his belt in water, hidden in the reeds and rushes. Again, when the devoted mother of the reckless hero Lemeckainen chopped to pieces by the sons of Nanna, as in the myth of Osiris, was raking together the fragments of his body from the river of Tuoi and fearing that the sprites of the death stream might resent her intrusion, the sun, in answer to her entreaties, throws his powerful rays upon the dreaded shades and sinks them into a deep sleep while the mother gathers up the fragments of her son's body in safety. This rune of the Kalevala is particularly interesting as showing the belief that the dead can be restored to life through the blissful light of heaven. Among the other deities of the air are the Luonatars, mystic maidens, three of whom were created by the rubbing of Uko's hands upon his left knee. They forthwith walk the crimson borders of the clouds, and one sprinkles white milk, one sprinkles red milk, and the third sprinkles black milk over the hills and mountains. Thus they become the mothers of iron, as related in the ninth rune of the Kalevala. In the highest regions of the heavens, Untar, or Undutar, has her abode and presides over mists and fogs. These she passes through a silver sieve before sending them to the earth. There are also goddesses of the winds, one especially noteworthy, Suvatar, Suva, South, Summer, the goddess of the South Wind. She is represented as a kind-hearted deity healing her sick and afflicted followers with honey, which she lets drop from the clouds, and she also keeps watch over the herds grazing in the fields and forests. Second, only to air, water is the element held most in reverence by the Finns and their kindred tribes. It could hardly be otherwise, says Castron, for as soon as the soul of the savage began to suspect that the god-like spiritual, super-sensual, then, even though he continues to pay reverence to matter, he in general values it the more highly the less compact it is. He sees on the one hand how easy it is to lose his life on the surging waves, and on the other he sees that from the same waters he has nurtured and his life is prolonged. Thus it is that the map of Finland is to this day full of names like Pihojärvi, Sacred Lake, and Pihajoki, Sacred River. Some of the Finlanders still offer goats and calves to these sacred waters, and many of the Eugrian clans still sacrifice the reindeer to the river Aub. In Estonia is a rivulet, Vohanda, held in such reverence that until very recently none dare to fell a tree or cut a shrub in its immediate vicinity. Less death should overtake the offender within a year in punishment for his sacrilege. The lake, Aime, is still held sacred by the Estonians and the Aime legend is thus told by F. Thiersh, quoted also by Grimm and by Masa Descharda. Savage, evil men, dwelt by its borders. They neither mowed the meadows which it watered, nor sowed the fields which it made fruitful, but robbed and murdered in so much that its clear waves grew dark with the blood of the slaughtered men. Then did the lake hymn mourn, and one evening it called together all its fishes and rose aloft with them into the air. When the robbers heard the sound they exclaimed, Aime hath arisen, let us gather its fishes and treasures. But the fishes had departed with the lake and nothing was found on the bottom but snakes, lizards, and toads. And Aime rose higher and higher and hastened through the air like a white cloud. And the hunters of the forest said, What bad weather is coming on? The herdsmen said, What a white swan is flying above there. For the whole night the lake hovered among the stars, and in the morning the reapers beheld its sinking. And from the swan grew a white ship and from the ship a dark train of clouds and a voice came from the waters. He hens with thy harvest, for I will dwell beside thee. Then they bade the lake welcome if it would only be due their fields and meadows. And it sank down and spread itself out in its home to the full limits. Then the lake made all the neighborhood fruitful and the fields became green and the people danced around it so that the old men grew joyous as the youth. The chief water god is Ato on the etymology of which the Finnish language throws little light. It is curiously like Ate, another name for the reckless Lemekainen. This water god or wave host as he is called lives with his cold and cruel hearted spouse, Bellamo, at the bottom of the sea in the chasms of salmon rocks where his palace, Atolla, is constructed. Besides the fish that swim in his dominions particularly the salmon, the trout, the whiting, the perch, the herring and the whitefish, he possesses a priceless treasure in the sample. The talisman of success, which Luohi, the hostess of Poyola goes to the sea in her efforts to regain it from the heroes of Kalevala. Ever eager for the treasures of others and generally unwilling to return any that come into his possession, Ato is not incapable of generosity. For example, once when a shepherd lad was whittling a stick on the bank of a river he dropped his knife into the stream. Ato, as in the fable, mercury and the woodman, moved by the tears of the unfortunate lad, swam to the scene, dived to the bottom, brought up a knife of gold and gave it to the young shepherd. Innocent and honest the herd boy said the knife was not his. Then Ato dived again and brought up a knife of silver which he gave to the lad but this in turn was not accepted. Thereupon the wave host dived again and the third time brought the right knife to the boy who gladly recognized his own and received it with gratitude. To the shepherd lad, Ato gave the three knives as a reward for his honesty. A general term for the other water hosts living not only in the sea but also in the rivers, lakes, and fountains is Ato Lyset inhabitants of Atolla, water people people of the foam and billow Valamos eternal people of these some have specific names as Alotar, wave goddess Koskineti, cataract maiden Melotar, goddess of the helm and in the Kalevala these are sometimes personally invoked of these minor deities Pikumias, the pygmy is the most noteworthy. Once when the far outspreading branches of the oak tree shut out the light of the sun from the north land Pikumias, moved by the entreaties of Venomoynen, emerged from the sea in a suit of copper with a copper hatchet in his belt. Quickly grew from a pygmy to a gigantic hero and felled the mighty oak with the third stroke of his axe. In general the water deities are helpful and full of kindness. Some, however as Vettihilion and Ikoturso find their greatest pleasure in annoying and destroying their fellow beings. Originally the Finlanders regarded the earth as an existence with personal powers and represented as a beneficent mother bestowing peace and plenty on all her worthy worshipers. In evidence of this we find the names Mai Mai Mother Earth and Ma Nemo Mother of the Earth given to the Finnish Demeter. She is always represented as a goddess of great powers and, after suitable invocation, is ever willing and able to help her helpless sufferers. She is according to some mythologist espoused to Ukko who bestows upon her children the blessings of sunshine and rain, as Ge is wedded to Oranos Yord to Odin and Papa to Rangi. Of the minor deities of the earth who severally govern the plants such as trees, rye, flax and barley, Vorokanus only is mentioned in the Kalevala. Once, for example, this green roped priest of the forest abandoned for a time his presidency over the serials in order to baptize the infant son of the virgin Mariata. Once again, Vorokanus left the native's fear of action, this time making a most miserable and ludicrous failure when he emerged from the wilderness and attempted to slay the Finnish Taurus as described in the runes that follow. The agricultural deities however received but little attention from the Finns who, with their cold and cruel winters and their short but delightful summers, naturally neglect the cultivation of the fields for cattle raising, fishing and hunting. The forest deities proper however are held in high veneration. Of these, the chief is Tapio, the forest friend, the gracious god of the woodlands. He is represented as a very tall and slender divinity wearing a long brown board, a coat of tree moss, and a high crowned hat of fir leaves. His consort is Mialiki, the honey-rich mother of the woodland, the hostess of the glen and forest. When the hunters were successful she was represented as beautiful and benign and her hands glittering with gold and silver ornaments wearing earrings and garlands of gold with hair bands silver tinseled on her forehead strings of pearls and with blue stockings on her feet and red strings in her shoes. But if the game bag came back empty, she was described as a hateful hideous thing, robed in untidy rags and shot with straw. She carries the keys to the treasury of Metzola, her husband's abode and her bountiful chest of honey, the food of all the forest deities is earnestly sought for by all the weary hunters of Suomi. These deities are invariably described as gracious and tenderhearted probably because they are all females with the exception of Tapio and his son, Niriki, a tall and stately youth who is engaged in building bridges over marshes and forest streams through which the herds must pass on their way to the woodland pastures. Niriki also busies himself in blazing the rocks and the trees to guide the heroes to their favorite hunting grounds. Sima Su, Honey Mouth, one of the tiny daughters of Tapio by playing on her Sima Pili, Honey Flute, also acts as guide to the deserving hunters. Hiisi, the Finnish Devil, bearing also the epithets Juntas, Piru and Lempo is the chief of the forest demons and is inconceivably wicked. He was brought into the world constantaneously with Suoyattar from whose spittle, as sung in the Kalevala, he formed the serpent. The demon is described as cruel, horrible, hideous and bloodthirsty and all the most painful diseases and misfortunes that ever afflict mortals are supposed to emanate from him. This demon too is thought by the Finlanders to have a hand in all the evil done in the world. Turning from the outer world to man we find deities whose energies are used only in the domain of human existence. These deities, says Kastrin, have no dealings with the higher spiritual nature of man. All that they do concerns man solely as an object of nature, wisdom and law, virtue and justice, find and finish mythology, no protector among the gods, who trouble themselves only about the temporal wants of humanity. The love goddess was Sukamiyele, stalking lover. Stockings, says Kastrin gravely, are soft and tender things and the goddess of love was so called because she interests herself in the softest and tenderest feelings of the heart. This conception, however, is as far fetched as it is modern. The love deity of the ancient Finns was Lempo, the evil demon. It is more reasonable therefore to suppose that the Finns chose the son of evil to look after the feelings of the human heart because they regarded love as an insufferable passion or frenzy that bordered on insanity and incited in some mysterious manner by an evil enchanter. Unni is the god of sleep and is described as a kind hearted and welcome deity. Untamo is the god of dreams and is always spoken of as a personification of indolence. Munu tenderly looks after the welfare of the human eye. This deity to say the least is an oculist of long and varied experience in all probability often consulted in Finland because of the blinding snows and piercing winds of the north. Lemos is the goddess in the mythology of the Finns who dresses the wounds of her faithful sufferers and subdues their pains. Sulanettar is another goddess of the human frame and plays a curious and important part in the restoration to life of the reckless Lemekainen as described in the following runes. She busies herself in spinning veins and in sowing up the wounded tissues of such deserving worshipers as need her surgical skill. Other deities associated with the welfare of mankind are the Sinataret and the Kankahataret the goddesses respectively of dying and weaving. Matkatepo is their road god and busies himself in caring for horses that are overworked and in looking after the interests of weary travelers. Arani is the guardian of hidden treasures. This important office is also filled by a hideous old deity named Mammalainen whom Renwall the Finnish lexicographer describes as Femina maligna matrix serpentis Divitiarum subteranearum custos a malignant woman the mother of the snake and the guardian of subterranean treasures. From this conception it is evident that the idea of a kinship between serpents and hidden treasures frequently met with in the myths of the Hungarians Germans and Slavs is not foreign to the Finns. Nowhere are the inconsistencies of human theory and practice more curiously and forcibly shown than in the custom in vogue among the clans of Finland who are not believers in a future life but notwithstanding perform such funeral ceremonies as the burying in the graves of the dead the lives hatched spears bows and arrows kettles food clothing slays and snowshoes thus bearing witness to their practical recognition of some form of life beyond the grave. The ancient Finns occasionally craved advice and assistance from the dead thus as described in the Kalevala where the hero of Vynola needed three words of master magic wherewith to finish the boat in which he was to sail to win the mystic maiden of Sariola he first looked to the brain of the white squirrel then in the mouth of the white swan when dying but all in vain then he journeyed to the kingdom of Tuoni and failing there he struggled over the points of needles over the blades of swords over the edges of hatchets to the grave of the ancient wisdom bard Antero Vipunin where he found the lost words of the master. In this legend of the Kalevala exceedingly interesting instructive and curious are found apparently the remote vestiges of ancient masonry it would seem that the earliest beliefs of the Finns regarding the dead centered in this that their spirits remained in the graves until after the complete disintegration of their bodies over which Kalma, the god of the tombs with his black and evil daughter presided. After their spirits have been fully purified they were then admitted to the kingdom of Manala in the underworld. Those journeying to Tuoniola were required to voyage over nine seas and over one river the Finnish sticks black deep and violent and filled with hungry whirlpools and angry waterfalls like Helheim of Scandinavian mythology Manala or Tuoniola was considered as corresponding to the upper world. The sun and the moon visited there. Fen and forest gave a home to the wolf, the bear, the elk the serpent and the songbird. The salmon, the whiteing, the perch and the pike were sheltered in the coal black waters of Manala. From the seed grains of the deathland fields and forests Tuoni worm, the serpent had taken its teeth. Tuoi or mana, the god of the underworld is represented as a hard-hearted and frightful old personage with three iron pointed fingers on each hand and wearing a hat drawn down to his shoulders. As in the original conception of Hades, Tuoni was thought to be the leader of the dead to their subterranean home as well as their counselor guardian and ruler. In the capacity of ruler he was assisted by his wife a hideous horrible old witch with crooked copper fingers iron pointed with deformed head and distorted features and uniformly spoken of in irony in the Kalevala as Hiva Imantha, the good hostess. She feasted her guests on lizards, worms, toads and writhing serpents. Tuoni and Poika, the god of the red cheeks so called because of his blood thirstiness and constant cruelties is the son and accomplice of this merciless and hideous pair. Three daughters of Tuoni are mentioned in the runes the first of whom a tiny black maiden but great in wickedness once at least showed a touch of human kindness when she vainly urged Venomoinan not to cross the river of Tuoni assuring the hero that while many visit Manala few returned because of their inability to brave her father's wrath. Finally after much entreaty she ferried him over the finished sticks like Keran the son of Erebus and Nox in the mythology of Greece. The second daughter of Tuoni is Loyatar black and blind and is described as still more malignant and loathsome than the first. Through the east winds impregnation she brought forth the spirits of the nine diseases most dreaded by mankind as described in the 45th rune of the Kalevala. Colic, Pleo, Risi, and Fever also plague and dread consumption, gout, sterility, and cancer. The third daughter of Tuoni combines the malevolent and repugnant tributes of her two sisters and is represented as the mother and hostess of the impersonal diseases of mankind. The Finns regarded all human ailments as evil spirits or indwelling devils some formless, others taking the shapes of the most odious forms of animal life as worms and mites. The nine however described above were conceived to have human forms. Where the three arms of Tuoni river meet a frightful rock arises called Kipukivi or Kipuvuori in a dungeon beneath which the spirits of all diseases are imprisoned. On this rock the third daughter of Tuoni sits constantly whirling it around like a millstone grinding her subjects until they escape and go forth to torture and slay the children of men as in Hindu mythology, Kali, Black, sits in judgment on the dead. Various other spiritual powers than God and goddesses are held in high reverence by the Finns. Tontu is represented as a kind-hearted house spirit, a sort of diminutive cyclops and offerings of bread and broth are made to him every morning. Putting a mayor's collar on one's neck and walking nine times around a church is thought to be a certain means of attracting one to the place desired. Para is a mystical three-legged being constructed in many ways and which, according to Castern, attains life and action when its possessor cutting the little finger of his left hand lets three drops of blood fall upon it and at the same time pronouncing the proper magic word. The possessor, by whatever means of this mystic being, is always supplied with abundance of milk and cheese. The Mai he set are the dwarves of the Church mythology. Their abode is under stumps, trees, blocks, thresholds and hearth stones though exceedingly minute and invisible to man they have human forms. They are irritable and resentful and they punish with ulcers, tether, ringworms, pimples and other cutaneous affections, all those who neglect them at brooings, bakings, and feastings. They punish in a similar manner those who enter new houses without making obeisance to the Four Corners and other ancient nations. Those who live in untidy houses are also likewise punished. The Kirkkan Waeke, church folk are little deformed beings living under the altars of churches. These misshapen things are supposed to be able to aid their sorrowing suffering worshipers. Certain beasts and birds and trees are held sacred in Finland. In the Kalevala are evident traces of archtoletry, bear worship once very common among the tribes that the Catholic mythology was born on the shoulders of Otava in the regions of the sun and the moon and nursed by a goddess of the woodlands in a cradle swung by bands of gold between the bending branches of budding fir trees.  Otso however does not always keep his pledge and accordingly the hunters of Finland find it comparatively easy to reconcile in the runes of many endearing titles as the Honey Eater, Golden Lightfoot, the Forest Apple, Honey Paw of the Mountains, the Pride of the Thicket, the Fur-Robed Forest Friend, Ahava, the West Wind, and Pennatar, a blind old witch of Sarjola are the parents of the swift dogs of Finland, just as the horses of Achilles, Santos, and Belios sprang from Zephros and the Harpy, Podarga. As to birds, the duck, according to the Kalevala, the eagle, according to other traditions, lays the mundane egg thus taking part in the creation of the world. Puhuri, the North Wind, the father of Pakanen, Frost, is sometimes personified as a giant eagle. The Diedapper is reverenced because it foretells the approach of rain. Linulata, Birdpath, is the name given to the Milky Way, due probably to the myth like those of the Swedes and Slavs in which liberated songs take the form of the White Dovelets. The cuckoo to this day is sacred and is believed to have fertilized the earth with its songs. As to insects, honeybees called by the Finns, Meheleinen, are especially sacred as in the mythologies of many other nations. Ukkon Koiva, Ukko's dog, is the Finnish name for the butterfly and is looked upon as a messenger of the Supreme Deity. It may be interesting to observe here that the Bretons in reverence called butterflies feathers from the wings of God. As to inanimate nature, certain lakes, rivers, springs, and fountains are held in high reverence. In the Kalevala, the oak is called Punyunmalan, God's tree. The mountain ash even to this day and the birch tree are held sacred and peasants plant them by their cottages with reverence. Respecting the giants in Finnish mythology, Castern is silent and the following notes are gleaned from the Kalevala and from Grimm's Teutonic mythology.  Soini, for example, a synonym of Kalevo, the hero of the saddest episode of the Kalevala, when only three days old tore his swaddling clothes to tatters. When sold to a forgeman of Karelia, he was ordered to nurse an infant, but he dug out the eyes of the child, killed it and burned its cradle. Ordered to fence the fields, he built a fence from earth to heaven using entire pine trees for fencing materials and interweaving their branches with venomous serpents. Ordered to tend the herds in the woodlands, he changed the cattle to wolves and bears and drove them home to destroy his mistress because she had baked a stone in the center of his oat loaf, causing him to break his knife, the only keepsake of his people. Regarding the heroes of the Kalevala, much discussion has arisen as to their place in Finnish mythology. The Finns proper regard the chief heroes of the Suomi Epic, Venamoinen, Ilmarinen and Lemikainen as descendants of the Celestial Virgin Ilmatar, impregnated by the winds when Ilma, air, light and water were the only material existences. In harmony with this conception we find in the Kalevala, a description of the birth of Venamoinen or Vaino, as he has sometimes called in the original, a word probably akin to the Magyar Ven, old. The Estonians regard these heroes as sons of the Great Spirit, begotten before the earth was created and dwelling with their supreme ruler in Yamala. The poetry of a people with such an elaborate mythology and with such a keen and appreciative sense of nature and of her various phenomena was certain sooner or later to attract the attention of scholars. And in fact, as early as the 17th century, we meet men of literary taste who tried to collect and interpret the various national songs of the Finns. Among these were Palmsgold and Peter Bang. They collected portions of the national poetry, consisting chiefly of wizard incantations and all kinds of pagan folklore. Gabriel Maxinius, however, was the first to publish a work on Finnish national poetry which brought to light the beauties of the Kalevala. It appeared in 1733 and bore the title De effectibus naturalibus. The book contains a quaint collection of Finnish poems in lyric form, chiefly incantations, but the author was entirely at a loss how to account for them or how to appreciate them. He failed to see their intimate connection with the religious worship of the Finns in paganism. The next to study the Finnish poetry and language was Daniel Euslenius, a celebrated bishop and a highly gifted scholar. In a dissertation published as early as 1700, entitled Aboa Vetas Ednova, he discussed the origin and nature of the Finnish language and in another work of his, printed in 1745, he treated a Finnish cantations, displaying with all a thorough understanding of the Finnish folklore and of the importance of the Finnish language and national poetry. With great care he began to collect the songs of Suomi, but this precious collection was unfortunately burned. Porthon, a Finnish scholar of great attainments, born in 1766 continuing the work of Euslenius accumulated a great number of national songs and poems, and by his profound enthusiasm for the promotion of Finnish literature succeeded in founding the society for the fennofils, which to the present day forms the literary center of Finland. Among his pupils were E. Linguist and Christopher Ganunder, whose work on Finnish mythology references used in preparing this preface. These indefatigable scholars were joined by Reinhold Bekner and others who were industriously searching for more and more fragments of what evidently was a great epic of the Finns. For certainly neither of the scholars just mentioned nor earlier investigators could fail to see that the runes they collected gathered round two or three chief heroes but more especially around the central figure of Vein Moinen, the hero of the following epic. The Kalevala proper was collected by two great Finnish scholars, Zakarius Torpelius and Elias Lunut. Both were practicing physicians and in this capacity came into frequent contact with the people of Finland.  But this sad and trying circumstance did not dampen his enthusiasm. His manner of collecting these songs was as follows Knowing that the Finns of Russia preserved most of the national poetry that they came annually to Finland proper which at the time did not belong to Russia he invited these intonerant Finnish merchants to his bedside and induced them to sing their heroic poems which he copied as they were uttered. And when he heard of a renowned Finnish singer or minstrel he did all in his power to bring the songman to his house in order that he might gather new fragments of the national epic. Thus the first glory of collecting the fragments of the Kalevala and of rescuing it from literary oblivion belongs to Torpelius. In 1822 he published his first collections and in 1831 his last Elias Lunrutt who brought the whole work to glorious completion was born April 9th, 1802 He entered the University of Abbo in 1822 and in 1832 received the degree of Doctor of Medicine from the University of Helsingfors. After the death of Kastrin in 1850 Lunrutt was appointed Professor of the Suomi Finnish Language and Literature in the University where he remained until 1862 at which time he withdrew from his academic activity and devoted himself exclusively to the study of his native language and its epical productions. Doctor Lunrutt had already published a scholarly treatise in 1827 on the chief hero of the Kalevala before he went to Sava and Karyala to glean the songs and parts of songs from the lips of the people. This work was entitled The Veina Noina Perskorum Finorum Numin. In the year 1828 he traveled as far as Kajan, collecting poems and songs of the Finnish people sitting by the fireside of the aged, rowing on the lakes with the fishermen and following the flocks with the shepherds. In 1829 he published at Helsingfors a work under the following title Kantile Taika Soume Kansansek Vaushojaita Mikisipia Rūnojā Jālaluja Lyre or Old and New Songs and Lays of the Finnish Nation. In another work edited in 1832 written in Swedish entitled Om Finarus Magiska Medicin on the Magic Medicine of the Finns he dwells on the incantations so frequent in Finnish poetry notably in the Kalevala. A few years later he traveled in the province of Archangel and so ingratiated himself into the hearts of the simple-minded people that they most willingly aided him in collecting these songs. These journeys were made through wild fens, forests, marshes and ice planes on horseback in slays drawn by reindeer to news or in some other form of primitive conveyance. The enthusiastic physician described his journeys and difficulties faithfully in a paper published at Helsingfors in Swedish in 1834. He had the peculiar good luck to meet an old peasant one of the oldest of the Rūnoleinen in the Russian province of Wolkenium who was by far the most renowned minstrel of the country and with whose closely impending death numerous very precious runes would have been irrevocably lost. The happy result of his travels throughout Finland Dr. Lunrut now commenced to arrange under the central idea of a great epic called Kalevala and in February 1835 the manuscript was transmitted to the Finnish Literary Society which had it published in two parts. Lunrut however did not stop here he went on searching and collecting and in 1840 had brought together more than 1,000 fragments of epical poetry national ballads and proverbs. These he published in two works respectively entitled Leotar, Liar Charm and the proverbs of the Suomi people the latter containing over 1,700 proverbs, adages, nomic sentences and songs. His example was followed by many of his enthusiastic countrymen the more prominent of whom are Kastrin, Jurofeus, Polen and Reneholm. Through the collections of these scholars so many additional parts of the epical treasure of Finland were made public that a new edition of the Kalevala soon became a necessity. The task of sifting arranging and organizing the extensive material was again allotted to Dr. Lunrut and in his second editions of the Kalevala which appeared in 1849 the epic embracing 50 runes and 22,793 lines had reached its mature form. The Kalevala was no sooner published than it attracted the attention of the leading scholars of Europe. Men of such worldwide fame as Jakob Grimm Steindal, Ulland Carrier and Max Müller hastened to acknowledge its surpassing value and intrinsic beauty. Jakob Grimm in a separate treatise published in his Kleiner Schriften said that the genuineness and extraordinary value of the Kalevala is easily proved by the fact that from its mythological ideas we can frequently interpret the mythological conceptions of the ancient Germans whereas the poems of Asi and manifest their modern origin by their inability to clear up questions of old Saxon or German mythology. Grimm furthermore shows that both the Gothic and Icelandic literatures display unmistakable features of Finnish influence. Max Müller places the Kalevala on a level with the greatest epics of the world. These are his words. 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 Veino Moinin was not Homer, Achilles 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 the 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 the Mahabrata, the Shalinameth and the Nibbolunga. Steinthal recognizes but four great national epics being the Iliad Kalevala, Nibbolunga and the Roland songs. The Kalevala describes Finnish nature very minutely and very beautifully. Grimm says that no poem is to be compared with it in this respect unless it be some of the epics of India. It has been translated into several European languages into Swedish by Alex Castron in 1844 into French prose by El Ledoux in 1845 into German by Anton Scheifer in 1852 into Hungarian by Ferdinand Barna in 1871 and a very small portion of it the legend of I know into English in 1868 by the late professor John A. Porter of Yale college. It must remain a matter of universal regret to the English speaking people that Professor Porter's life could not have been spared to finish the great work he had so beautifully begun. Some of the most convincing evidences of the genuineness and great age of the Kalevala have been supplied by the Hungarian translator. The Hungarians as is well known are closely related to the Finns and their language the Magyar dialect has the same characteristic features as the Finnish tongue. Barna's translation accordingly is the best rendering of the original. In order to show the genuineness and antiquity of the Kalevala Barna adduces a Hungarian book written by a certain Peter Bornamissa in 1578 entitled Ordoge Kisetetekro on Satanic Spectres the unique copy of which he found in the library of the University of Budapest in this book Bornamissa collected all the incantations in use among Hungarian country people of his day for the expulsion of diseases and misfortunes these incantations forming the common stock of all agreeing people of which the Finns and Hungarians are branches display of most satisfactory sameness with the numerous incantations of the Kalevala used for the same purpose. Barna published an elaborate treatise on this subject it appeared in the transactions of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Philological Department for 1870 again in 1868 22 Hungarian deeds dating from 1816 to 1660 were sent to the Hungarian Academy of Sciences as having been found in the Hegyália where the celebrated wine of toke is made these deeds contain several contracts for the sale of vineyards and at the end of each deed the customary cup of wine was said to have been emptied by both parties to the contract this cup of wine in the deeds was termed Ukkun's cup Ukko however is the chief god according to Finnish mythology and thus the coincidence of the Magyar Ukkon and the Finnish Ukko is placed beyond doubt. The Kalevala, the land of heroes relates the ever varying contests between the Finns and the Darksum Laplanders just as the Iliad relates the contests between the Greeks and the Trojans Kastren is of the opinion that the enmity between the Finns and the Laps was sung long before the Finns had left their Asiatic birthplace. A deeper and more esoteric meaning in the Kalevala however points to a contest between light and darkness, good and evil the Finns representing the light of the good and the Laps the darkness and the evil. Like the Nia belongs, the heroes of the Finns woo for brides and beauteous maidens of the North, and the similarity is rendered still more striking by their frequent inroads into the country of the Laps in order to possess themselves of the envy treasure of Lapland, the mysterious Sample, evidently the golden fleece of the Argonautic expedition. Curiously enough public opinion is often expressed in the runes in the words of an infant, often too the unexpected is introduced after the manner of the Greek dramas by a young child or an old man. The whole poem is replete with the most fascinating folklore about the mysteries of nature, the origin of things, the enigmas of human tears, and true to the character of a national epic, it represents not only the poetry but the entire wisdom and accumulated experience of a nation. Among others there is a profoundly philosophical trait in the poem indicative of a deep insight into the workings of the human mind and into the forces of nature. Whenever one of the heroes of the Kalevala wishes to overcome the aggressive power of an evil force as a wound, a disease, a ferocious beast, or a venomous serpent he achieves his purpose by chanting the origin of the inimical force. The thought underlying this idea evidently is that all evil could be obiviated had we but the knowledge of Wentz and how it came. The numerous myths of the poems are likewise full of significance and beauty and the Kalevala should be read between the lines in order that the full meaning of this great epic may be comprehended. Even such a hideous impersonation as that of Kulervoinen is rich with pointed meaning showing as it does the incorrigibility of ingrained evil. This legend like all others of the poem has its deep running stream of esoteric interpretation. The Kalevala perhaps more than any other uses its lines on the surface in symbolism to point the human mind to the brighter gems of truth beneath. The three main personages, Vayne Moinen, the ancient singer, Ilmarinen, the Eternal Forgeman and Lemekainen, the reckless wizard as mentioned above, are conceived as being of divine origin. In fact, the acting characters of the Kalevala are mostly superhuman, magic beings. Even the female actors are powerful sorceresses and the hostess of Payola, especially, braves the might of all the enchanters of Vayne Ola combined. The power of magic is a striking feature of the poem. Here, as in the legends of no other people, do the heroes and demigods accomplish nearly everything by magic. The songs of Vayne Moinen disarm his opponents. They quiet the angry seas. They give warmth to the new sun and the new moon, which his brother, Ilmarinen, forges from the magic metals. They give life to the spouse of Ilmarinen, which the eternal metal artist forges from gold, silver, and copper. In fact, we are among a people that endows everything with life and with human and divine attributes. Birds and beasts and fish and serpents as well as the sun, the moon, the great bear and the stars are either kind or unkind. Drops of blood find speech. Men and maidens transform themselves into other shapes and resume again their native forms at will. Ships and trees and waters have magic powers. In short, all nature speaks in human tongues. The Kalevala dates back to an enormous antiquity. One reason for believing this lies in the silence of the Kalevala about Russians, Germans, or Swedes, their neighbors. This evidently shows that the poem must have been composed at a time when these nations had but very little intercourse with the Finns. The coincidence between the incantations adduced above proves that these witch songs date from a time when the Hungarians and the Finns were still united as one people. In other words, to a time at least 3,000 years ago. The whole poem betrays no important signs of foreign influence, and in its entire tenor is a thoroughly pagan epic. There are excellent reasons for believing that the story of Mariatta, recited in the 50th rune, is an anti-Christian legend. An additional proof of the originality and independent rise of the Kalevala is to be found in its meter. All genuine poetry must have its peculiar verse, just as snowflakes cannot exist without their peculiar crystallizations. It is thus that the Iliad is inseparably united and, as it were, immersed in the stately hexameter and the French epics in the graceful Alexandrian verse. The meter of the Kalevala is the eight-syllable trochaic with the part-line echo and is the characteristic verse of the Finns. The natural speech of this people is poetry. The young men and maidens, the old men and matrons, in their interchange of ideas unwittingly fall into verse. The genius of their language aids to this end in as much as their words are strongly trochaic. This wonderfully versatile meter admits of keeping the right medium between the dignified, almost prancing hexameter and the shorter meters of the lyrics. Its feet are nimble and fleet, but yet full of vigor and expressiveness. In addition, the Kalevala uses alliteration and thus varies the rhythm of time and the rhythm of sound. This meter is especially fit for the numerous expressions of endearment in which the Finnish epic abounds. It is more especially the love of the mother for her children and the love of the children for their mother that find frequent and ever-tender expression in the sonorous lines of the Kalevala. The Swedish translation by Kastrin, the German by Scheifner and the Hungarian by Barna, as well as the following English translation are in the original meter of the Kalevala. To prove that this peculiar and fascinating style of verse is of very ancient origin, the following lines have been accurately copied from the first edition in Finnish of the Kalevala, collated by Dr. Lunrut and published in 1835 at Helsing Forse, the quotation beginning with the 150th line of the second rune. The sentence is the word of the Kalevala. It stands midway between the epical ballads of the Servians and the purely epical structure of the Iliad. Though a continuous whole it contains several almost independent parts as the contest of Joko Haenen, the Kulervo episode and the legend of Mariatta. By language masters this epic of Suome descending unwritten from the mythical age to the present day kept alive from generation to generation by minstrels or songmen is regarded as one of the most precious contributions to the literature of the world, made since the time of Milton and the German classics. Acknowledgement is hereby made to the following sources of information used in the preparation of this work. To elinquist the superstition verterum fenorm theoretica e praktica to Christian Ganandar's mythology of finica, to Becker's Devenin the Moinen, to Max Mulo's Oxford Essays, to professor John A. Porter's selections from the Kalevala, to the writings of the two Grims, to Latham's Native Races of the Russian Empire, to the translations of the Kalevala by Alex Kostrin, Anton Schieffer, El Lido, and Ferdinand Barna and especially to the excellent treatises on the Kalevala and on the mythology of the Finns by Masa Descharda and Alex Kostrin, to professor Helena Klingner of Cincinnati a linguist of high rank and who has compared very conscientiously the manuscript of the following pages with the German translation of the Kalevala by Anton Scheiffner to Dr. Emile Reich a native Hungarian, a close student of the Ugrian tongues who, in a most thorough manner, has compared this translation with the Hungarian by Ferdinand Barna and who familiar with the habits, customs, and religious notions of the Finns has furnished much valuable material used in the preparation of this preface and finally Professor Thomas C. Porter, D.D. L.L.D. of Lafayette College who has become an authority on the Kalevala through his own researches for many years aided by a long and intimate acquaintance of Professor A.F. Soldan, a Finn by birth, an enthusiastic lover of his country, a scholar of great attainments, acquainted with many languages, and once at the head of the Imperial Mint at Helsingfors, the capital of Finland. Professor Porter has very kindly placed in the hands of the author of these pages all the literature in this subject at his command, including his own writings. He has watched the growth of this translation with unusual interest and, with the eye of a gifted poet and scholar, he has made two careful and critical examinations of the entire manuscript, making annotations, amendations, and corrections by which this work has been greatly improved. With this prolonged introduction, this the first English translation of the Kalevala, with its many imperfections is hesitatingly given to the public. John Martin Crawford, October 1, 1887 Recording by Kyle Robb Rune 1 of the Kalevala This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org The Kalevala Compiled by Elias Loonroot Translated by John Martin Crawford Rune 1 Birth of Vayne Moynen In primeval times of maiden beautyous daughter of the aether passed for ages her existence in the great expanse of heaven over the prairies yet enfolded, wearisome the maiden growing her existence sad and hopeless thus alone to live for ages in the infinite expanses of the air above the seafoam in the far outstretching spaces in a solitude of aether she descended to the ocean waves her coach and waves her pillow there upon the rising storm wind flying from the east in fierceness whips the ocean into surges strikes the stars with sprays of ocean till the waves are white with fervor to and fro they toss the maiden storm encircled hapless maiden with her sport the rolling billows with her play the storm wind forces on the blue back of the waters on the white wreath waves of ocean play the forces of the salt sea with the loon and helpless maiden till at last in full conception union now of force and beauty sink the storm winds into slumber overburden now the maiden cannot rise above the surface seven hundred years she wandered ages nine of man's existence swam the ocean hither thither could not rise above the waters conscious only of her travail seven hundred years she labored ere her firstborn was delivered thus she swam as water mother toward the east and also southward toward the west and also northward swam the sea in all directions frightened at the strife storm winds swam and travail swam unceasing ere her firstborn was delivered then began she gently weeping spake these measures heavy-hearted woe is me my life hard faded woe is me in this my travail into what have I now fallen woe is me that I unhappy left my home in subtle ether came to dwell amid the seafoam to be tossed by rolling billows to be rocked by winds and waters on the far outstretching waters in the salt seas vast expanses knowing only pain and trouble better far for me o uko were I in the sea far for me o uko were I maiden in the ether then within these ocean spaces to become a water mother all this life is cold and dreary painful here is every motion as I linger in the waters as I wander through the ocean uko thou o God up yonder thou the ruler of the heavens come thou hither thou art needed come thou hither I implore thee to deliver me from trouble to deliver me in travail I pray thee hither hasten hasten more that thou art needed haste and help this helpless maiden when she ceased her supplications scarce a moment onward passes ere a beauty is stuck descending hastens toward the water mother comes a flying hither thither seeks herself a place for nesting flies she eastward flies she westward circles northward circles southward cannot find a grassy hillock not the smallest bit of verger cannot find a spot protected cannot find a place befitting where to make her nest in safety flying slowly looking round her she describes no place for resting thinking loud and long debating and her words are such as follow build I in the winds my dwelling on the floods my place of nesting surely would the winds destroy it far away the waves would wash it then the daughter of the ether now the hapless water mother raised her shoulders out of water raised her knees above the ocean that the duck might build her dwelling build her nesting place in safety there upon the duck in beauty flying slowly looking round her spies the shoulders of the maiden sees the knees of ether's daughter now the hapless water mother thinks them to be grassy hillocks on the blue back of the ocean then she flies and hovers slowly lightly on the knees she settles finds a nesting place befitting where to lay her eggs in safety here she builds her humble dwelling lays her eggs within at pleasure six the golden eggs she lays there then a seventh an egg of iron sits upon her eggs to hatch them quickly warms them on the kneecap of the hapless water mother hatches one day then a second then a third day sits in hatches warmer grows the water around her warmer is her bed in ocean while her knee with fire is kindled and her shoulders too are burning fire in every room fire in every vein is coursing quick the maiden moves her shoulders shakes her members in succession shakes the nest from its foundation and the eggs fall into ocean dash in pieces on the bottom of the deep and boundless waters in the sand they do not perish not the pieces in the ocean but transformed in wondrous beauty all the fragments come together forming pieces two in number one the upper one the lower equal to the one the other from one half the egg the lower grows the nether vault of terra from the upper half remaining grows the upper vault of heaven from the white part come the moon beams from the yellow part the sunshine from the maltley part the starlight from the dark part grows the cloudage and the days speed onward swiftly quickly do the years fly over from the shining of the new sun from the lighting of the full moon still the daughter of the aether swims the sea as water mother with the floods outstretched before her and behind her sky and ocean finally about the ninth year in the summer of the tenth year lifts her head above the surface lifts her forehead from the waters and begins at last her workings now commences her creations on azure water ridges on the mighty waist before her where her hand she turned in water there arose a fertile hillock where so error her foot she rested there she made a hole for fishes where she dived beneath the waters fell the many deeps of ocean where upon her side she turned her there the level banks have risen where her head was pointed landward there appeared wide bays and inlets where from shore she swam a distance and upon her back she rested there the rocks she made and fashioned and the hidden reefs created where the ships are wrecked so often where so many lives have perished thus created were the islands rocks were fastened in the ocean pillars of the sky were planted fields and forests were created checkered stones of many colors gleaming in the silver sunlight all the rocks stood well established but the singer vena moinin had not yet beheld the sunshine had not seen the golden moonlight still remaining undelivered vena moinin old and trusty lingering within his dungeon thirty summers all together and the winters also thirty peaceful on the waste of waters on the broad seas yielding bosom well reflected long considered how unborn to live and flourish in the spaces wrapped in darkness in uncomfortable limits where he had not seen the moonlight had not seen the silver sunshine there upon these words be uttered let himself be heard in this wise take, O moon, I pray thee, take me take me thou, O sun above me take me thou, O bear of heaven from this dark and dreary prison from these undelivered waters from this dark and dreary prison from these unbefitting portals from this narrow place of resting from this dark and gloomy dwelling hence to wander from the ocean hence to walk upon the islands on the dry land walk and wander like an ancient hero wander walk in open air and breathe it thus to see the moon at evening thus to see the silver sunlight thus to see the bear in heaven that the stars I may consider since the moon refused to free him the sun would not deliver nor the gray bear give assistance his existence growing weary and his life but an annoyance bursts he then the outer portals of his dark and dismal fortress with his strong but unnamed finger opens he the lock resisting with the toes upon his left foot with the fingers of his right hand creeps he through the yielding portals to the threshold of his dwelling on his knees across the threshold throws himself head foremost forward to deeps of ocean plunges hither plunges thither turning with his hands the water swims he northward swims he southward swims he eastward swims he westward studying his new surroundings thus our hero reach the water rested five years in the ocean six long years and even seven years till the autumn of the eighth year when at last he leaves the waters stops upon a promontory on a coast bereft of verger on his knees he leaves the ocean he plants his right foot on the solid ground his left foot quickly turns his hands about him stands a wreck to see the sunshine stands to see the golden moonlight that he may behold the great bear that he may the stars consider thus our hero Vayna Moynen thus the wonderful enchanter was delivered from his mother Ilumatar the aether's daughter End of Rune 1 Recording by Kyle Robb Rune 2 of the Kalevala This LibriVox recording is in the public domain the Kalevala compiled by Elias Lunruth translated by John Martin Crawford Rune 2 Vayna Moynen's sowing then arose old Vayna Moynen with his feet upon the island on the island washed by ocean broad expanse devoid of verger there remained he many summers there he lived as many winters on the island vast and vacant well considered along reflected who for him should sow the island who for him the seeds should scatter thought at last of Pelervoinen first born of the plains and prairies when a slender boy called Samsa who should sow the vacant island who the forest seeds should scatter Pelervoinen thus consenting sows with diligence the island seeds upon the lands he scatters seeds in every swamp and lowland forced seeds upon the loose earth on the firm soil sows the acorns fir trees sows he on the mountains pine trees also on the hilltops many shrubs in every valley birches sows he in the marshes in the loose soil sows the alders in the lowlands sows the lindens in the moist earth sows the willow mountain ash in virgin places on the banks of the island in virgin places on the banks of streams the hawthorn junipers in hilly regions this the work of Pelervoinen slender Samsa in his childhood soon the fertile seeds were sprouting soon the forest trees were growing soon appeared the tops of fir trees and the pines were far outspreading birches rose from all the marshes in the loose soil grew the alders in the mellow soil the lindens junipers were also growing junipers with clustered berries berries on the hawthorn branches now the hero Venomuinen stands aloft to look about him how the Samsa seeds are growing how the crop of Pelervoinen sees the young trees thickly spreading sees the forest rise in beauty but the oak tree has not sprouted tree of heaven is not growing still within the acorn sleeping its own happiness enjoying then he waited three nights longer and as many days he waited waited till a week had vanished then again the work examined but the oak tree was not growing had not left her acorn dwelling Venomuinen ancient hero spies for maidens in the distance water brides he spies a fifth one on the soft and sandy sea shore in the dewy grass and flowers on a point extending seaward near the forests of the island some were mowing some were raking raking what was mown together in a windrow on the meadow from the ocean rose a giant mighty terseus tall and hardy pressed compactly all the grasses that the maidens had been raking when a fire within them kindles and the flames shot up to heaven till the windrows burned to ashes only ashes now remaining of the grasses raked together in the ashes of the windrows tender leaves the giant places in the leaves he plants an acorn from the acorn quickly sprouting grows the oak tree tall and stately from the ground enriched by ashes newly raked by water maidens spread the oak trees many branches rounds itself abroad corona raises it above the storm clouds far it stretches out its branches stops the white clouds in their courses with its branches hides the sunlight with its many leaves the moon beams and the starlight dies in heaven Venomuinen old and trusty thought a while and well considered how to kill the mighty oak tree first created for his pleasure how to fell the tree majestic how to lop its hundred branches sad the lives of man and hero sad the homes of ocean dwellers if the sun shines not upon them if the moonlight does not cheer them is there not some mighty hero was there never born a giant that can fell the mighty oak tree that can lop its hundred branches Venomuinen deeply thinking spake these words soliloquizing Kape daughter of the aether ancient mother of my being Luon Natar my nurse and helper loan to me the water forces great the powers of the waters loan to me the strength of oceans to upset this mighty oak tree to uproot this tree of evil that again may shine the sunlight that the moon once more may glimmer straightway rose a form from oceans rose a hero from the waters nor belonged he to the largest nor belonged he to the smallest long was he as man's forefinger taller than the hand of woman on his head a cap of copper boots upon his feet were copper gloves upon his hands were copper and its stripes were copper colored belt around him made of copper hatchet in his belt was copper and the handle of his hatchet was as long as hand of woman of a finger's breadth the blade was then the trusty Venomuinen thought a while and well considered and his measures are as follow art thou sir divine or human which of these thou only knowest tell me what thy name and station very like a man thou locust hast the bearing of a hero though the length on man's first finger scarce as tall as hoof of reindeer then again spake Venomuinen to the form from out the ocean verily I think the human of the race of pygmy heroes might as well be dead or dying fit for nothing but to perish answer thus the pygmy hero spake the small one from the ocean to the valiant Venomuinen truly I am God and hero from the tribes that rule the ocean come I here to fell the oak tree lop its branches with my hatchet Venomuinen old and trusty answers thus the seaborne hero never hast thou force sufficient nor to thee has strength been given to uproot this mighty oak tree to uproot this thing of evil nor to lop its hundred branches scarcely had he finished speaking scarcely had he moved his eyelids ere the pygmy fool unfolding quick becomes a mighty giant with one step he leaves the ocean plants himself a mighty hero on the forest field surrounding with his head the clouds he pierces to his knees his beard extending and his locks fall to his ankles far apart appear his eyeballs far apart his feet are stationed farther still his mighty shoulders now begins his axe to sharpen quickly to an edge he wets it using six hard blocks of sandstone and of softer whetstone seven straight way to the oak tree turning thither stocks the mighty giant in his raiment long and roomy flapping in the winds of heaven with his second step he totters on the land of darker color with his third step firmly planted reaches he the oak trees branches strikes the trunk with sharpened hatchet with one mighty swing he strikes it with a second blow he cuts it as his blade descends the third time from his axe the sparks fly upward from the oak tree fire out shooting ere the axe descends a fourth time yields the oak with hundred branches shaking earth and heaven in falling east would far the trunk extending far to westward flew the treetops to the south the leaves were scattered to the north its hundred branches whoso ere a branch has taken has obtained eternal welfare who secures himself a treetop he has gained the master magic who the foliage has gathered has delight that never ceases of the chips some had been scattered scattered also many splinters on the blue back of the ocean of the ocean smooth and mirrored rocked there by the winds and waters like a boat upon the billows storm winds blew them to the northlands some the ocean currents carried northlands fair and slender maiden washing on the shore a headdress beating on the rocks her garments rinsing there her silken raiment in the waters of poyola there beheld the chips and splinters carried by the winds and waters in a bag the chips she gathered took them to the ancient courtyard there to make enchanted arrows arrows for the great magician there to shape them into weapons weapons for the skillful archer since the mighty oak has fallen now has lost its hundred branches the sunshine see the gentle gleam of moonlight that the clouds may keep their courses may extend the vault of heaven over every lake and river over the banks of every island groves arose in varied beauty beautifully grew the forests and again the vines and flowers birds again sang in the treetops noisily the merry thrushes and the cuckoos in the birch trees on the mountains grew the berries golden flowers in the meadows and the herbs of many colors many kinds of vegetation but the barley is not growing vey no moinin olden trusty goes away and well considers by the borders of the waters on the ocean sandy margin find six seeds of golden barley even seven ripened kernels on the shore of upper northland in the sand upon the seashore hides them in his trusty pouches fashioned from the skin of squirrel some were made from skin of martin hastens forth the seeds to scatter quickly sows the barley kernels on the brinks of kalu waters on the osma hills and lowlands hark the tip mouse wildly crying from the aspen words as follow osma's barley will not flourish nor the barley of vey nolla if the soil be not made ready if the forest be not leveled and the branches burn to ashes vey no moinin wise and ancient made himself an axe for chopping then began to clear the forest then began the trees to level felt the trees of all descriptions only left the birch tree standing for the birds a place of resting where might sing the sweet-voiced cuckoo sacred bird in sacred branches down from heaven came the eagle through the air became a flying that he might this thing consider and he spake the words that follow wherefore ancient vey no moinin hast thou left the slender birch tree left the birch tree only standing vey no moinin thus made answer therefore is the birch left standing that the birds may liest within it that the eagle there may rest him there may sing the sacred cuckoo spake the eagle thus replying good indeed thy hero judgment that the birch tree thou hast left us left the sacred birch tree standing as a resting place for eagles and for birds of every feather even I may rest upon it quickly then this bird of heaven kindled fire among the branches soon the flames are fanned by north winds and the east winds lend their forces burn the trees of all descriptions burn them all to dust and ashes only is the birch left standing vey no moinin wise and ancient brings his magic grains of barley brings he forth his seven seed grains brings them from his trusty pouches fashioned from the skin of squirrel some were made from skin of martin thence to sow his seeds he hastens hastens the birch tree thence to sow his seeds he hastens hastens the barley grains to scatter speaks unto himself these measures I the seeds of life am sowing sowing through my open fingers from the hand of my creator in this soil enriched with ashes in this soil to sprout and flourish ancient mother thou has livest far beyond the earth and ocean mother of the fields and forests bring the rich soil to producing bring the seed grains to the sprouting that the barley well may flourish never will the earth unaided yield the ripe nutritious barley never will her force be wanting if the givers give assistance if the givers grace the sowing grace the daughters of creation rise O earth from out thy slumber from the slumber land of ages let the barley grains be sprouting let the blades themselves be starting let the verdant stocks be rising let the ears themselves be growing and a hundred fold producing from my plowing and my sowing from my skilled and honest labor uko thou O God up yonder thou O Father of the heavens thou that livest high in ether curbest all the clouds of heaven holdest in the air thy counsel holdest in the clouds good counsel from the east dispatch a cloudlet from the northeast send a rain cloud from the west another send us from the northwest still another quickly from the south a warm cloud that the rain may fall from heaven that the rain may fall from heaven that the clouds may drop their honey that the ears may fill and ripen that the barley fields may rustle there upon benign and uko uko father of the heavens held his counsel in the cloud space held good counsel in the ether from the east he sent a cloudlet from the northeast sent a rain cloud from the west another sent he from the northwest still another quickly from the south a warm cloud joined in seams the clouds together in the air joined in seams the clouds together sewed together all their edges grasped the cloud and hurled it earthward quick the rain cloud drops her honey quick the rain drops fall from heaven that the ears may quickly ripen that the barley crop may rustle straight away grow the seeds of barley from the germ the blade unfolding richly colored ears arising from the rich soil of the fallow from the work of vain a moinin here a few days pass unnoted and as many nights fly over when the seventh day had journeyed on the morning of the eighth day vain a moinin wise and ancient went to view his crop of barley how his plowing how his sowing how his labors were resulting found his crop of barley growing found the blades were triple knotted and the ears he found six sided vain a moinin old and trusty turned his face and looked about him low there comes a springtime cuckoo spying out slender birch tree rests upon it sweetly singing wherefore is the silver birch tree left unharmed of all the forest spake the ancient vain a moinin therefore I have left the birch tree left the birch tree only growing home for thee for joyful singing call thou here oh sweet voice cuckoo sing thou here from throat of velvet sing thou here with voice of silver sing the cuckoo's golden flute notes call it morning call it evening call within the hour of noontide for the better growth of forests for the ripening of the barley for the richness of the northland for the joy of Kalevala end of rune 2 recording by kyle robb rune 3 of the Kalevala this LibriVox recording is in the public domain the Kalevala compiled by elias loonroot translated by john martin crawford rune 3 vain a moinin and yukahainen vain a moinin ancient minstrel past his years in full contentment on the meadows of vainola on the plains of Kalevala singing ever wondrous legends songs of ancient wit and wisdom chanting one day then a second singing in the dusk of evening singing till the dawn of morning now the tales of old time heroes tales of ages long forgotten now the legends of creation once familiar to the children by our children sung no longer sung in part by many heroes in these mournful days of evil evil days are race befallen far and wide the story traveled far away men spread the knowledge of the chanting of the hero of the song of vain a moinin to the south were heard the echoes all the north land heard the story far away in dismal north land lived the singer yukahainen laplins young and reckless minstrel once upon a time when feasting dining with his friends and fellows came upon his ears the story that there lived a sweeter singer on the meadows of vainola on the plains of Kalevala better skilled enchanting legends better skilled than yukahainen better than the one that taught him straight way then the bard grew angry envy rose within his bosom envy of this vain a moinin famed to be a sweeter singer hasty angry to his mother to his mother full of wisdom vows that he will southward hasten hide him southward and be taken to the dwellings of vainola to the cabins of the north land there as barred to vie in battle with the famous vain a moinin nay replies the anxious father do not go to Kalevala nay replies the fearful mother go not hence to vain a moinin there with him to offer battle he will charm thee with his singing will be witch thee in his anger he will drive thee back dishonored sink thee in the fatal snowdrift turn to ice thy pliant fingers turn to ice thy feet and ankles these the words of yukahainen good the judgment of a father better still a mother's counsel best of all one's own decision I will go and face the minstrel challenge him to sing in contest challenge him as barred to battle sing to him my sweet toned measures chant to him my oldest legends chant to him my garnered wisdom that this best of boasted singers that this famous barred of soul me shall be worsted in the contest shall become a hapless minstrel by my song shall I transform him that his feet shall be as flint stone and as oak his nether raiment and this famous best of singers thus bewitched shall carry ever in his heart a stony burden on his shoulder bow of marble on his hand a flint stone gauntlet on his brow a stony visor then the wizard yukahainen heeding not advice paternal heeding not his mother's counsel leads his coarser from his stable fire out streaming from his nostrils from his hooves the sparks out shooting hitches to his sledge the fleet foot to his goal his sledge the fleet foot to his golden sledge the coarser mounts impetuous his snow sledge leaps upon the hindmost crossbench strikes his coarser with his birch whip with his birch whip pearl enameled instantly the prancing racer springs away upon his journey on he restless plunges northward all day long be onward gallops all the next day onward onward sow the third from morn till evening till the third day twilight brings him to the meadows of vanola to the plains of kalevala as it happened vanemoinen vanemoinen the magician brode that sunset on the highway silently for pleasure driving down vanola's peaceful meadows over the plains of kalevala yukahainen young and fiery urging still his foaming coarser dashes down upon the singer does not turn aside in meeting meeting thus in full collision shafts are driven tight together hams and collars wedged entangled tangled with the rains and traces thus perforce they make a standstill thus remain and well consider water drips from hame and collar vapors rise from both their horses speaks the minstrel vanemoinen who art thou and whence thou comest driving like a stupid stripling vanemoinen and yukahainen careless dashing down upon me thou has ruined shafts and traces and the collar of my racer thou has shattered into ruin and my golden sleigh is broken shafts and runners dashed to pieces yukahainen then make answer spake at last the words that follow I am youthful yukahainen but make answer first who thou art whence thou comest where thou goest from what lowly tribe descended vanemoinen wise and ancient answered thus the youthful minstrel if thou art but yukahainen thou shouldest give me all the highway I am many years thy senior then the boastful yukahainen spake again to vanemoinen young or ancient little matter little consequence the ages he that higher stands in wisdom he whose knowledge is the greater he that is the sweeter singer he alone shall keep the highway and the other take the roadside art thou ancient vanemoinen famous sorcerer and minstrel let us then begin our singing let us sing our ancient legends let us chant our garnered wisdom that the one may hear the other that the one may judge the other vanemoinen wise and ancient thus replied in modest accents what I know is very little hardly is it worth the singing neither is my singing wondrous all my days I have resided in the cold and dreary northland in a desert land enchanted in my cottage home for eyes all the songs that I have gathered are the cuckoo's simple measures some of these I may remember but since thou perforce demandest I accept thy boastful challenge amongst her what thou knowest more than others open now thy store of wisdom thus made answer Yocahainen Lapland's young and fiery minstrel know I many bits of learning this I know in perfect clearness every roof must have a chimney every fireplace have a hearthstone lives of seal are free and merry merry is the life of walrus feeding on in cautious salmon daily eating perch and whiting whitings live in quiet shallows sponds the pike in coldest weather and defies the storms of winter slowly perches swim in autumn rye-backed hunting deeper water spawn in shallows in the summer bounding on the shore of ocean should this wisdom seem too little I can tell the other matters sing the other wizard sayings all the northmen plough with reindeer mother horses plough the southland inner Lapland ploughs with oxen all the trees on Pisa mountain know I well in all their grandeur the hornar rock are fir trees fir trees growing tall and slender slender grow the trees on mountains three the water falls in number three in number inland oceans three in number lofty mountains shooting to the vault of heaven Helepiora is near to Yemen Kachrakoski in Kajela Imatra the falling water tumbles roaring into Voxi then the ancient Venomorin women's tales and children's wisdom do not please a bearded hero old enough for wedlock tell the story of creation tell me of the world's beginnings tell me of the creatures in it and philosophize a little then the youthful Yokohainen thus replied to Venomorin know I well the titmouse fountains pretty birdling is the titmouse and the viper green a serpent whitings live in brackish waters perches swim in every river iron rusts in rusting weekends bitter is the taste of umber is ever full of danger first physician the creator remedy the oldest water magic is the child of seafoam god the first and best advisor waters gush from every mountain fire descended first from heaven iron from the rust was fashioned copper from the rocks created marshes are of lands the oldest first of all the trees the willow fur trees were the first of houses hollowed stones the first of kettles now the ancient Venomorin addresses Yokohainen canst thou give me now some wisdom is this nonsense all thou knowest Yokohainen thus made answer I can tell thee still a trifle tell thee of the times permeable when I ploughed the salt seas bosom when I raked the seagirt islands when I dug the salmon grottoes hollowed out the deepest caverns when I all the lakes created when I heaped the mountains around them when I piled the rocks about them I was present as a hero when the skies and ancient heroes seventh of all primeval heroes when the heavens were created when were formed the aether spaces when the sky was crystal pillared when was arched the beauteous rainbow when the moon was placed in orbit when the silver sun was planted when the bear was firmly stationed and with stars the heavens were sprinkled spake the ancient Venomorin thou art surely prince of liars lord of all the host of liars never worth thou in existence never worth thou never present when was ploughed the salt seas bosom when were raked the seagirt islands when were dug the salmon grottoes when were hollowed out the caverns when the lakes were all created when were heaped the mountains around them when the rocks were piled about them thou art never seen or heard of when the earth was first created when were made the aether spaces when the air was crystal pillared when the moon was placed in orbit when the silver sun was planted when the sky was finally stationed when the skies with stars were sprinkled then sir, since I fail in wisdom with the sword I offer battle come thou famous bard and minstrel thou the ancient wander-singer let us try our strength with broad swords let our blades be fully tested spake the ancient Venomorin not thy sword and not thy wisdom not thy prudence nor thy cunning do I fear a single moment not with thee, a puny braggart, not with one so vain in paltry, will I ever measure broadswords. Then the youthful Yoko-hainan, Maltharai, envisaged sneering, shook his golden locks and answered. Who so fears his blade to measure, fears to test his strength at broadswords, into wild boar of forest, swine at heart, and swine envisage, singing I will thus transform him. I will hurl such hero-cowards, this one hither, that one dither, stamp him in the mire and bedding, in the rubbish of the stable. Angry then grew Venomwin, and wrathful waxed, and fiercely frowning, self-composed he broke his silence, and began his wondrous singing, sang he not the tales of childhood, children's nonsense wit of women, sang he rather bearded heroes, that the children never heard of, that the boys and maidens knew not, known but half by bride and bridegroom, known in part by many heroes, in these mournful days of evil, evil times are race befallen. They sang wise Venomwin, until the copper-bearing mountains, and the flinty rocks and ledges hurt his magic tones and trembled. Mountain cliffs were torn to pieces, all the oceans heaved and tumbled, and the distant hills re-echoed. Lo, the boastful Yokohainen, is transfixed in silent wander, and his sledge with golden trimmings floats like brushwood on the billows, sings his braces into reed grass, sings his reins to twigs of willow, and to shrubs his golden crossbench. Lo, his birch-whip pearl enameled floats a reed upon the border. Lo, his steed with golden forehead stands a statue on the waters, hams and traces are as fur bowels, and his collar, straw and sea-grass. Still the minstrel sings enchantment, sings his sword with golden handle, sings it into gleam of lightning, hangs it in the sky above him, sings his crossbow gaily painted, to a rainbow over the ocean, sings his quick and feathered arrows into hawks and screaming eagles, sings his dog with bended muzzle into block of stone beside him, sings his cap from office forehead, sings it into wreaths of vapor, from his hands he sings his gauntlets into rushes on the waters, sings his vesture purple-colored into white clouds in the heavens, sings his girdles set with jewels into twinkling stars around him, and alas for Yokohainen sings him into deeps of quicksand, ever deeper, deeper, deeper, in his torture sinks the wizard to his belt in mud and water. Now it was that Yokohainen comprehended but too clearly what his folly what the end was of the journey he had ventured, vainly he had undertaken for the glory of a contest with the grand old Vayna Moynen. When at last young Yokohainen, po' Yola's old and sorry stripling, strives his best to move his right foot, but at last the foot obeys not. When he strives to move his left foot, lo he finds a turn to Flintstone. Thereupon said Yokohainen in the deeps of desperation, and in earnest supplication, thus addresses Vayna Moynen. O thou wise and worthy minstrel, thou the only true magician, cease I pray the thine enchantment, only turn away thy magic, let me leave this slough of horror, loose me from this stony prison, free me from this killing torment, I will pay a golden ransom. Take the ancient Vayna Moynen, what the ransom thou will give me, if I cease from mine enchantment, if I turn away my magic, lift thee from thy slough of horror, loose thee from thy stony prison, free thee from thy killing torment, answered youthful Yokohainen. Have at home two magic crossbows, pair of bows of wondrous power, one so light a child can bend it, only strength can bend the other, take of these the one that pleases. Then the ancient Vayna Moynen, do not wish thy magic crossbows, have a few of such already, thine to me are worse than useless, I have bows in great abundance, bows on every nail and rafter, bows that laugh at all the hunters, bows that go themselves a hunting. Then the ancient Vayna Moynen sang alas for Yokohainen, deeper into mud and water, deeper in the slough of torment. Yokohainen thus made answer, have at home two magic shallops, beautiful the boats and wondrous, one rides light upon the ocean, one is made for heavy burdens, take of these the one that pleases. Spake the ancient Vayna Moynen, do not wish thy magic shallops, have enough of such already, all my bays are full of shallops, all my shores are lined with shallops, some before the winds are sailors, some were built to sail against them. Still the Vynola, Bard and Minstrel sings again for Yokohainen, deeper deeper into torment, into quicksand to his girdle, till the Lapland Bard in Anguish speaks again to Vayna Moynen, have at home two magic stallions, one eraser fleet as lightning, one was born for heavy burdens, take of these the one that pleases. Spake the ancient Vayna Moynen, neither do I wish thy stallions, do not need thy hawk limb stallions, have enough of these already, magic stallions swarm my stables, eating corn at every manger, brought of back to hold the water, water on each croup in lakelets. Still the Bard of Kalevala sings the hapless Lapland Minstrel, deeper deeper into torment, to his shoulders into water. Spake again, young Yokohainen, O thou ancient Vayna Moynen, thou the only true magician, cease I pray thee, thine enchantment only turn away thy magic, I will give thee gold abundant countless stores of shining silver from the wars my father brought it, brought it from the hard fought battles. Spake the wise old Vayna Moynen, for thy gold I have no longing, neither do I wish thy silver, have enough of each already, gold abundant fills my chambers, on each nail hang bags of silver, gold that glitters in the sunshine, silver shining in the moonlight. Sank the braggart Yokohainen, deeper in the slough of torment, to his chin in mud and water, ever praying thus be seeking, O thou ancient Vayna Moynen, greatest of the old magicians, lift me from this pit of horror, from this prison house of torture, I will give thee all my corn fields, give thee all my corn and garners, thus my hapless life to ransom, thus to gain eternal freedom. Vayna Moynen thus made answer, take thy corn to other markets, give thy garners to the needy, I have corn in great abundance, fields have I in every quarter, corn in all my fields is growing, one's own fields are always richer, one's own grain is much the sweeter. Lap lends young in reckless minstrel, sorrow laden, thus enchanted, deeper sinks in mud and water, fear enchained and full of anguish, in the mire his beard be drabbled, mouth once boastful filled with seaweed, in the grass his teeth entangled, Yokohainen thus be seeches. O thou ancient Vayna Moynen, wisest of the wisdom singers, cease at last thine incantations, only turn away thy magic, and my former life restore me, lift me from this stifling torment, free mine eyes from sand and water, I will give thee sister, I know, fairest daughter of my mother, bride of thine to be forever, bride of thine to do thy pleasure, sweep the rooms within thy cottage, keep thy dwelling place in order, rinse for thee the golden platters, spread thy couch with finest linens, for thy bed we've golden covers, bake for thee the honey biscuit. Vayna Moynen, old and truthful, finds at last the wished for ransom, Lap lends young and fairest daughter, sister dear of Yokohainen, happy he that he had won him, in his age a beautyous maiden, bride of his to be forever, pride and joy of Kalevala. Now the happy Vayna Moynen sits upon the rock of gladness, joyful on the rock of music, sings a little, sings and ceases, sings again and sings a third time, thus to break the spell of magic, thus to lessen the enchantment, thus the potent charm to banish. As the magic spell is broken, Yokohainen sad but wiser, drags his feet from out the quicksand, lifts his beard from out the water, from the rocks leads forth his coarser, brings his sledge back from the rushes, calls his whip back from the ocean, sets his golden sledge in order, throws himself upon the crossbench, snaps his whip and hies him forward, hastens homeward, heavy-hearted, sad indeed to meet his mother, Ayano's mother, gray and aged. Careless thus he hastens homeward, nears his home with noise and bustle, reckless drives against the penthouse, breaks the shafts against the portals, breaks his handsome sledge in pieces. Then his mother, quickly guessing, would have chided him for rashness, but the father interrupted. Wherefore dost thou break thy snow-sledge? Wherefore dash thy thills in fragments? Wherefore comeest home so strangely, why this rude and wild behavior?  Eyes and lips expressing sadness, answers not his anxious father. Then the mother, quickly asked him, sought to find his cause for sorrow. Tell me, firstborn, why thou weepest, why thou weepest, heavy-hearted, why thy mind is so dejected, why thine eyes express such sadness? Yokohainen then made answer, golden mother, ever-faithful, cause there is to me sufficient, cause enough in what has happened. Bitter cause for this my sorrow, cause for bitter tears and murmurs.  Joyful then arose the mother, clapped her hands and gleeed together, thus addressing Yokohainen, Weep no more, my son, beloved, thou hast not to cause thy weeping, hast no reason for thy sorrow, often I, this hope, have cherished. Many years have I been praying that this mighty bard and hero, wise and valiant, Vayno-Moynen, spouse should be to beauty as Ayano, son-in-law to me, her mother. But this fair and lovely maiden, sister dear of Yokohainen, straightway fell to bitter weeping on the threshold, wept and lingered, wept all day and all the night long, wept a second, then a third day, wept because a bitter sorrow on her youthful heart had fallen. Then the gray-haired mother asked her, why this weeping lovely Ayano, thou has found a noble suitor, thou will rule his spacious dwelling, at his window sit and rest thee, rinse be times his golden platters, walk a queen within his dwelling. Thus replied the tearful Ayano, mother dear and all forgiving, cause enough for this, my sorrow, cause enough for bitter weeping, I must lose my sunny tresses, tresses beautiful and golden, cannot deck my hair with jewels, cannot bind my head with ribbons, all to be hereafter hidden underneath the linden bonnet, that the wife must wear for ever. Weep at morning, weep at evening, weep alas for waning beauty, childhood vanished, youth departed, silver sunshine, golden moonlight, hope and pleasure of my childhood, taken from me now for ever, and so soon to be forgotten at the tool bench of my brother, at the window of my sister, in the cottage of my father. Spake again the gray-haired mother to her wailing daughter, Ayano, cease thy sorrow foolish maiden, buy thy tears, thou art ungrateful, reason none for thy repining, not the slightest cause for weeping, everywhere the silver sunshine falls as bright on other households, not alone the moonlight glimmers through thy father's open windows, on the workbench of thy brother, flowers bloom in every meadow, berries grow on every mountain, thou canst go thyself and find them, all the day long go and find them, not alone thy brother's meadows, grow the beauteous finds and flowers, not alone thy father's mountains, yield the ripe nutritious berries, flowers bloom in other meadows, berries grow on other mountains, there as here, my lovely Ayano. End of Rune 3, Recording by Kyle Rob.