Kalevala (Kirby 1907)/Runo 43
Runo XLIII.—The Fight for the Sampo
Argument
The Mistress of Pohjola equips a war-vessel and goes in pursuit of the robbers of the Sampo (1-22). When she overtakes them a fight ensues between the forces of Pohjola and Kalevala in which the latter conquer (23-258). Nevertheless the Mistress of Pohjola succeeds in dragging the Sampo from the boat into the lake, where it breaks to pieces (259-266). The larger portions sink in the lake, and form its riches, while the smaller pieces are thrown on shore by the waves, at which Väinämöinen is much pleased (267-304). The Mistress of Pohjola threatens to send all evil upon Kalevala, to which Väinämöinen pays no attention (305-368). The Mistress of Pohjola returns home in great distress, taking with her only a small fragment of the cover of the Sampo (369-384). Väinämöinen carefully collects the fragments of the Sampo on the shore, and plants them, hoping for continuous good fortune (385-434).
Louhi, Pohjola’s old Mistress,
Called together all her forces,
Bows delivered to her army,
And the men with swords provided,
Fitted out a ship of Pohja,
As a war-ship she prepared it.
In the ship the men she stationed,
And equipped for war the heroes,
As the duck her ducklings musters,
Or the teal her children marshals;10
There she ranged a hundred swordsmen,
And a thousand men with crossbows.
In the boat the mast she lifted,
Put the yards and spars in order,
On the mast the sails adjusted,
Spread the canvas o’er the sailyards;
Like a hanging cloud it waved there,
Like a cloud in heaven suspended;
Then upon her voyage she started,
Sailed away and speeded onward,20
Soon to struggle for the Sampo,
With the boat of Väinämöinen.
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
O’er the blue lake steered his vessel,
And he spoke the words which follow,
From the stern where he was seated:
“O thou lively son of Lempi,
Of my friends the dearest to me,
Climb thou quickly to the masthead,
And among the canvas hasten.30
Look thou to the air before thee,
Look thou to the sky behind thee,
Whether clear is the horizon,
Or the sky is somewhat clouded.”
Then the lively Lemminkainen,
Ruddy youth, accomplished scoundrel,
Very active, though unbidden,
Very quick, though never boastful,
To the masthead then ascended,
Up aloft among the canvas.40
East he looked, and looked to westward,
Looked to north-west and to southward,
Looked across to Pohja’s coast-line,
And he spoke the words which follow:
“Clear in front is the horizon,
Dark behind is the horizon,
Rises north a cloud, a small one,
Hangs a single cloud to north-west.”
Said the aged Väinämöinen,
“What you say is surely nonsense,50
For no cloud is there ascending,
Nor a single cloud arising,
But perchance a sailing vessel;
Look again, and look more sharply.”
Then he looked again more sharply,
And he spoke the words which follow:
“Far away I see an island,
Dimly looming in the distance,
Aspens covered o’er with falcons,
Speckled grouse upon the birch-trees.”60
Said the aged Väinämöinen,
“What you say is surely nonsense,
For no falcons do you see there,
And no speckled grouse you see there,
But perchance the sons of Pohja;
Look more sharply for the third time.”
Then the lively Lemminkainen
For the third time looked around him,
And he spoke the words which follow,
And in words like these expressed him:70
“’Tis a ship from Pohja sailing,
With a hundred rowlocks fitted,
And I see a hundred oarsmen,
And a thousand men beside them.”
Then the aged Väinämöinen,
All the truth at once perceiving,
Spoke aloud the words which follow:
“Row, thou smith; row, Ilmarinen;
Row, O lively Lemminkainen;
Row ye also, all ye people, 80
That the boat be hurried forward,
And the vessel onward driven.”
Rowed the smith, rowed Ilmarinen,
Rowed the lively Lemminkainen,
All the people joined in rowing.
Swayed about the pinewood oars,
Loudly rang the rowan rowlocks,
And the pinewood boat was swaying.
Like a seal the prow dashed onward,
Boiled the waves behind like cataract,90
Like a bell uprose the water,
And the foam flew up in masses.
As for wager rowed the heroes,
As in race the heroes struggled,
But they rowed, and made no progress,
Nor could urge the wooden vessel
Further from the sailing vessel,
And the ship that came from Pohja.
Then the aged Väinämöinen
Saw misfortune fast approaching.100
On his head was doomsday falling,
And he pondered and reflected,
How to act and how to save him,
And he spoke the words which follow:
“Still I know a plan of safety,
Still I see a little marvel.”
Then he took a piece of tinder,
In his tinder-box he found it,
And of pitch he took a little,
And a little piece of tinder,110
And into the lake he threw it,
O’er his shoulder left he threw it,
And he spoke the words which follow,
And in words like these expressed him:
“Let a reef of this be fashioned,
And a cliff be fashioned from it,
Where may run the ship of Pohja,
Fitted with a hundred rowlocks,
And may strike in lake tempestuous,
And amid the waves be shattered.”120
Thereupon a reef grew upward,
In the lake a cliff was fashioned,
Half its length to east directed,
And its breadth to north directed.
Onward sped the ship of Pohja,
Gliding swiftly through the lake-waves,
And upon the reef came rushing,
And upon the rocks wedged firmly.
Broke across the wooden vessel,
And to splinters it was broken;130
In the lake the masts fell crashing,
And the sails fell drooping downward,
By the wind away were carried,
And the spring wind all dispersed them.
Louhi, Pohjola’s old Mistress,
Plunged her feet into the water,
And she tried to push the vessel,
And she tried to raise the vessel,
But no spear could lift the vessel,
And she could not even move it,140
For the ribs had all been shattered,
All the rowlocks had been broken.
And she pondered and reflected,
And she spoke the words which follow:
“Who can aid me now with counsel?
Who can help me in this trouble?“
Then her form she quickly altered,
To another shape transformed her,
And she took five scythes the sharpest,
And six hoes, worn out completely;150
These she fashioned into talons,
Into claws did she convert them;
Half the broken vessel’s fragments
Did she then arrange beneath her,
And the sides to wings she fashioned,
And to tail she turned the rudder,
’Neath her wings took men a hundred,
On her tail she took a thousand,
And the hundred men were swordsmen,
And the thousand men were archers.160
Then she flew, her wings extending,
And she soared aloft as eagle,
And she poised herself and hovered,
To attack old Väinämöinen;
In the clouds one wing was flapping,
In the water splashed the other.
Then the fairest Water-Mother
Spoke aloud the words which follow:
“O thou aged Väinämöinen,
Turn thy head beneath the sunrise,170
Do thou turn thine eyes to north-west,
Look a little now behind thee.”
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Turned his head beneath the sunrise,
And he turned his eyes to north-west,
Looked a little just behind him.
Onward came the crone of Pohja,
And the wondrous bird was hovering
Like a hawk about his shoulders,
With the body of an eagle.180
Soon she came near Väinämöinen,
And she flew upon the masthead,
Clambered out upon the sailyard,
And upon the pole she sat her,
And the boat was nearly sinking,
And the vessel’s side lurched downward.
Thereupon smith Ilmarinen
Sought from Jumala assistance,
And invoking the Creator,
Then he spoke the words which follow:190
“Save us, O thou good Creator,
Gracious Jumala, protect us,
That the son may not be hurried,
Nor the mother’s child hurled downward,
From among the living creatures,
From the creatures whom thou rulest.
“Ukko, Jumala the Highest,
Thou our Father in the heavens,
Cast a fiery robe around me,
Over me a shirt of fire,200
That I thus may fight protected,
And may thus contend protected,
That my head may fear no evil,
Nor my hair may be disordered,
When the shining swords are clashing,
And the steely points are meeting.”
Said the aged Väinämöinen,
And he spoke the words which follow:
“Hail, O Pohjola’s great Mistress!
Wilt thou now divide the Sampo,210
Out upon the jutting headland,
On the misty island’s summit?”
Then said Pohjola’s old Mistress,
“No, I’ll not divide the Sampo,
Not with thee, thou wretched creature,
Not with thee, O Väinämöinen!”
And she swooped to snatch the Sampo
From the boat of Väinämöinen.
Then the lively Lemminkainen
Drew his sword from out his swordbelt,220
Firm he grasped the sharpened iron,
And from his left side he drew it,
Striking at the eagle’s talons,
At the claws of eagle striking.
Struck the lively Lemminkainen,
As he struck, these words he uttered:
“Down ye men, and down ye swordsmen,
Down with all the sleepy heroes!
From her wings, ye men a hundred,
Ten from ends of every feather.”230
Answered then the crone of Pohja,
And she answered from the masthead:
“O thou lively son of Lempi,
Wretched Kauko, worthless fellow,
For thou hast deceived thy mother,
Lied unto thy aged mother!
Thou wast pledged to seek no battle
In the space of sixty summers,
Whether need of gold should tempt thee,
Or the love of silver urge thee.”240
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
He the great primeval minstrel,
Thought his doom had come upon him,
And he felt his bane approaching;
From the lake he drew the rudder,
Took the oak-spar from the billows,
And with this he struck the monster,
On the claws he struck the eagle,
All the other claws he shattered,
There remained the smallest only.250
From her wings the youths dropped downward,
In the lake the men splashed downward,
From beneath her wings a hundred,
From her tail a thousand heroes;
Down there dropped the eagle likewise,
Crashing down upon the boat-ribs,
As from tree the capercailzie,
Or from fir-branch drops the squirrel.
Then she tried to seize the Sampo,
Seized it with her nameless finger,260
From the boat she dragged the Sampo,
Down she pulled the pictured cover,
From the red boat’s hold she pulled it,
’Mid the blue lake’s waters cast it,
And the Sampo broke to pieces,
And was smashed the pictured cover,
Then the fragments all were scattered,
And the Sampo’s larger pieces
Sank beneath the peaceful waters
To the black ooze at the bottom;270
Thence there springs the water’s riches,
And the wealth of Ahto’s people.
Nevermore in all his lifetime,
While the golden moon is shining,
Shall the wealth of Ahto fail him,
Neither shall his watery honours.
Other pieces were remaining,
Rather small those other fragments,
On the blue lake’s surface floating,
Tossing on the broad lake’s billows,280
And the wind for ever rocked them,
And the billows drove them onward.
And the wind still rocked the fragments,
And the lake-waves ever tossed them,
On the blue lake’s surface floating,
Tossing on the broad lake’s billows;
To the land the wind impelled them,
To the shore the billows drove them.
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
In the surf beheld them floating,290
Through the breakers shoreward driving,
Then on shore upcast by billows,
Saw the fragments of the Sampo,
Splinters of the pictured cover.
Very greatly did it please him,
And he spoke the words which follow:
“From these seeds the plant is sprouting,
Lasting welfare is commencing,
Here is ploughing, here is sowing,
Here is every kind of increase,300
Thence there comes the shining moonlight,
Thence there comes the lovely sunlight,
O’er the mighty plains of Suomi,
And the lovely land of Suomi.”
Then did Pohjola’s old Mistress
Speak aloud the words which follow:
“Still can I devise a method,
Find a method and contrivance,
’Gainst thy ploughing and thy sowing,
’Gainst thy cattle and thine increase,310
That thy moon shall cease its shining,
And thy sun shall cease its shining.
In the rocks the moon I’ll carry,
Hide the sun in rocky mountains,
And will send the Frost to freeze you,
That the frozen air destroyeth
What thou ploughest and thou sowest,
Thy provisions and thy harvests.
I will send a hail of iron,
And a hail of steel o’erwhelming,320
Over all thy finest clearings,
And the best among the cornfields.
“On the heath the bear I’ll waken,
From the pines the wide-toothed monster,
That he may destroy thy geldings,
And that he thy mares may slaughter,
And that he may kill thy cattle,
And that he thy cows may scatter.
I’ll with sickness slay thy people,
And thy race will wholly slaughter,330
That so long as shines the moonlight,
In the world no more ’tis mentioned.”
Then the aged Väinämöinen
Answered in the words that follow:
“Never Lapland spell affects me,
Neither threats from Turjalainen.
Jumala is lord of weather,
Keys of fate are the Creator’s,
Not to wicked men entrusted,
Neither to malicious fingers.340
“If I turn to my Creator,
To my Jumala upreaching,
From my corn he’ll banish maggots,
That they do not spoil my harvests,
That they may not harm my seed-com,
Nor destroy my corn when growing,
Nor may take my seed-corn from me,
Nor my splendid corn when growing.
“Go thou, Pohjola’s great Mistress,
Drag unto the stones the lost ones,350
Crush thou in the rocks the wicked,
Evils in thy chosen mountain,
Not the shining of the moonlight,
Nor the shining of the sunlight.
“Send the Frost to freeze the country,
Send the frozen air destroying,
Send it only on thy seed-corn,
That thy corn when sown be injured.
Send thou forth a hail of iron,
And a hail of steel o’erwhelming,360
Let it fall on thine own ploughing,
Only on the fields of Pohja.
“On the heath the bear awaken,
And the fierce cat in the bushes,
From the wood the curving-clawed one,
’Neath the pines the wide-toothed monster,
But to range the paths of Pohja,
And to prey on Pohja’s cattle.”
Then did Pohjola’s old Mistress
Answer in the words which follow:370
“Now my might has all departed,
And my strength has greatly weakened.
By the lake my wealth was taken,
By the waves was crushed the Sampo.”
Then she hastened homeward weeping,
Back to Pohjola lamenting.
Nothing worthy to be mentioned
Of the Sampo brought she homeward,
Nothing but a little fragment,
By her nameless finger carried,380
But a fragment of the cover,
Which to Sariola she carried:
Hence the poverty of Pohja,
And the starving life of Lapland.
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Went back likewise to his country,
But he took the Sampo’s fragments,
And the fragments of the cover,
From the lakeshore where he found them,
From the fine sand of the margin.390
And he sowed the Sampo’s fragments,
And the pieces of the cover,
Out upon the jutting headland,
On the misty island’s summit,
That they there might grow and flourish,
Might increase and yield their produce,
As the ale obtained from barley,
As the bread that rye is yielding.
Then the aged Väinämöinen
Spoke aloud the words which follow:400
“Grant, O Jumala, Creator,
That we now may live in comfort,
And be joyous all our lifetime,
And thereafter die in honour,
In our pleasant land of Suomi,
And in beautiful Carelia.
“Keep us, O thou great Creator,
Guard us, Jumala most gracious,
From the men to us unfriendly,
And from that old woman’s malice.410
Guard us from terrestrial evils,
And the spells of water-sorcerers.
“O protect thy sons for ever,
May’st thou always aid thy children,
Guard them always in the night-time,
And protect them in the daytime,
Lest the sun should cease from shining,
Lest the moon should cease from beaming,
Lest the winds should cease from blowing,
Lest the rain should cease from falling,420
Lest the Frost should come and freeze us,
And the evil weather harm us.
“Build thou up a fence of iron,
And of stone a castle build us,
Round the spot where I am dwelling,
And round both sides of my people.
Build it up from earth to heaven,
Build it down to earth from heaven,
As my own, my lifelong dwelling,
As my refuge and protection,430
That the proud may not devour us,
And they may not spoil our harvests,
In the course of all our lifetime,
When the golden moon is shining.”