Kalevala (Kirby 1907)/Runo 14
Runo XIV.—Lemminkainen’s Death
Argument
Lemminkainen invokes the forest deities, and at length succeeds in capturing the elk, and brings it to Pohjola (1-270). Another task is given him, to bridle the fire-breathing steed of Hiisi. He bridles it and brings it to Pohjola (271-372). A third task is assigned him, to shoot a swan on the river of Tuonela. Lemminkainen comes to the river, but the despised cowherd, who is lying in wait for him, kills him, and casts his body into the cataract of Tuoni. The son of Tuoni then cuts his body to pieces (373-460).
Then the lively Lemminkainen
Deeply pondered and reflected,
On the path that he should follow,
Whither he should turn his footsteps,
Should he leave the elk of Hiisi,
And direct his journey homewards,
Should he make another effort,
And pursue the chase on snowshoes,
With the Forest-Queen’s permission,
And the favour of the wood-nymphs?10
Then he spoke the words which follow,
And in words like these expressed him:
“Ukko, thou of Gods the highest,
Gracious Father in the heavens,
Make me now two better snowshoes,
Leather snowshoes fit for sliding,
That I glide upon them swiftly
Over land and over marshes,
Glide throughout the land of Hiisi,
And across the heaths of Pohja,20
There to chase the elk of Hiisi,
And to catch the nimble reindeer.
“In the wood alone I wander,
Toil without another hero,
Through the pathways of Tapiola,
And beside the home of Tapio.
Welcome, wooded slopes and mountains,
Welcome to the rustling pinewoods,
Welcome to the grey head aspens,
And to all who greet me, welcome!30
“Be propitious wood and thicket,
Gracious Tapio, do thou aid me,
Bring the hero to the islands,
To the hills in safety lead him,
Where he can attain the quarry,
Whence he may bring back the booty.
“Nyyrikki, O son of Tapio,
Thou the mighty red-capped hero,
Blaze the path across the country,
And erect me wooden guide-posts,40
That I trace this evil pathway,
And pursue the rightful roadway,
While I seek my destined quarry,
And the booty I am seeking.
“Mielikki, the forest’s mistress,
Thou the mighty, fair-faced mother!
Let thy gold now wander onward,
And thy silver set in motion,
Right before the man who seeks it,
On the pathway of the seeker.50
“Take the keys of gold, suspended
By the ring that hangs beside thee,
Open thou the stores of Tapio,
And his castle in the forest,
During this my hunting-season,
While I hunt in distant regions.
“If thyself thou wilt not trouble,
Strictly charge thy little maidens,
Send thy serving maidens to me,
Give thy orders to thy servants!60
If thou canst not be my hostess,
Do thou not forbid thy maidens,
For thou hast a hundred maidens,
And a thousand at thy orders,
Those on all thy herds attending,
Likewise all thy game protecting.
“Little maiden of the forest,
Tapio’s girl, with mouth of honey,
Play upon thy flute of honey,
Whistle through thy pipe of honey,70
In thy noble mistress’ hearing,
Gracious queen of all the forest,
That she soon may hear the music,
And from her repose may rouse her,
For she does not hear at present,
And she but awakens rarely,
Though I supplicate for ever,
With my golden tongue imploring!”
Then the lively Lemminkainen
Wandered on, but found no booty,80
Glided through the plains and marshes,
Glided through the trackless forests,
Where has Jumala his soot-hills,
To the charcoal heaths of Hiisi.
Thus he skated one day, two days,
And at length upon the third day,
Came he to a lofty mountain,
Where he climbed a rock stupendous,
And he turned his eyes to north-west,
To the north across the marshes,90
And he saw the farms of Tapio,
With the doors all golden shining,
To the north, across the marshes,
On the slope among the thickets.
Then the lively Lemminkainen
Quickly to the spot approaching,
Pushed his way through all obstructions,
Under Tapio’s very windows.
And he looked while stooping forward,
In the sixth among the windows.100
There were resting game-dispensers,
Matrons of the woods reposing,
All were in their work-day garments,
And with filthy rags were covered.
Said the lively Lemminkainen,
“Wherefore, Mistress of the Forest,
Dost thou wear thy work-day garments,
Dirty ragged thresher’s garments?
You are very black to gaze on,
And your whole appearance dreadful,110
For your breast is most disgusting,
And your form is very bloated.
“When before I tracked the forests,
I beheld three castles standing.
One was wooden, one a bone one,
And the third of stone was builded.
There were six bright golden windows
On the sides of every castle,
And if then I gazed within them,
’Neath the wall as I was standing,120
Saw the lord of Tapio’s household,
And the mistress of his household;
Tellervo, the maid of Tapio,
And the rest of Tapio’s household,
All in rustling golden garments,
And parading there in silver,
She herself, the Forest-Mistress,
Gracious Mistress of the Forest,
On her wrists were golden bracelets,
Golden rings upon her fingers,130
On her head a golden head-dress,
And her hair adorned with ducats;
In her ears were golden earrings,
Finest beads her neck encircling.
“Gracious Mistress of the Forest,
Of sweet Metsola the matron!
Cast away thy hay-shoes from thee,
And discard thy shoes of birch-bark,
Cast thou off thy threshing garments,
And thy wretched work-day garments,140
Don thy garments of good fortune,
And thy blouse for game-dispensing,
In the days I track the forest,
Seeking for a hunter’s booty.
Long and wearily I wander,
Wearily I track my pathway,
Yet I wander here for nothing,
All the time without a quarry.
If you do not grant me booty,
Nor reward me for my labour,150
Long and sad will be the evening,
Long the day when game is wanting.
“Aged greybeard of the forest,
With thy pine-leaf hat and moss cloak,
Dress thou now the woods in linen,
And the wilds a cloth throw over.
All the aspens robe in greyness,
And the alders robe in beauty,
Clothe the pine-trees all in silver,
And with gold adorn the fir-trees.160
Aged pine-trees belt with copper,
Belt the fir-trees all with silver,
Birch-trees with their golden blossoms,
And their trunks with gold adornments.
Make it as in former seasons
Even when thy days were better,
When the fir-shoots shone in moonlight,
And the pine-boughs in the sunlight,
When the wood was sweet with honey,
And the blue wastes flowed with honey,170
Smelt like malt the heathlands’ borders,
From the very swamps ran butter.
“Forest-maiden, gracious virgin,
Tuulikki, O Tapio’s daughter!
Drive the game in this direction,
Out into the open heathland.
If it runs with heavy footsteps,
Or is lazy in its running,
Take a switch from out the bushes,
Or a birch-twig from the valley,180
Switch the game upon the haunches,
And upon the flanks, O whip it,
Drive it swiftly on before you,
Make it hasten quickly onward,
To the man who here awaits it,
In the pathway of the hunter.
“If the game comes on the footpath,
Drive it forward to the hero,
Do thou put thy hands together,
And on both sides do thou guide it,190
That the game may not escape me,
Rushing back in wrong direction.
If the game should seek to fly me,
Rushing in the wrong direction,
Seize its ear, and drag it forward
By the horns upon the pathway.
“If there’s brushwood on the pathway,
Drive it to the pathway’s edges;
If a tree should block the pathway,
Then the tree-trunk break asunder.200
“If a fence obstructs the pathway,
Thrust the fence aside before you,
Take five withes to hold it backward,
And seven posts whereon to bind them.
“If a river runs before thee,
Or a brook should cross the pathway,
Build thou then a bridge all silken,
With a red cloth for a gateway;
Drive the game by narrow pathways,
And across the quaking marshes,210
Over Pohjola’s wide rivers,
O’er the waterfalls all foaming.
“Master of the house of Tapio,
Mistress of the house of Tapio;
Aged greybeard of the forest,
King of all the golden forest;
Mimerkki, the forest’s mistress,
Fair dispenser of its treasures,
Blue-robed woman of the bushes,
Mistress of the swamps, red-stockinged,220
Come, with me thy gold to barter,
Come, with me to change thy silver.
I have gold as old as moonlight,
Silver old as is the sunlight,
Which I won in battle-tumult,
In the contest of the heroes,
Useful in my purse I found it,
Where it jingled in the darkness;
If thy gold thou wilt not barter,
Perhaps thou wilt exchange thy silver.”230
Thus the lively Lemminkainen
For a week on snowshoes glided,
Sang a song throughout the forest,
There among the depths of jungle,
And appeased the forest’s mistress,
And the forest’s master likewise,
And delighted all the maidens,
Pleasing thus the girls of Tapio.
Then they hunted and drove onward
From its lair the elk of Hiisi,240
Past the wooded hills of Tapio,
Past the bounds of Hiisi’s mountain,
To the man who waited for it,
To the sorcerer in his ambush.
Then the lively Lemminkainen
Lifted his lasso, and threw it
O’er the elk of Hiisi’s shoulders,
Round the camel’s neck he threw it,
That it should not kick in fury,
When upon its back he stroked it.250
Then the lively Lemminkainen
Spoke aloud the words which follow:
“Lord of woods, of earth the master,
Fairest creature of the heathlands;
Mielikki, the forest’s mistress,
Loveliest of the game-dispensers!
Come to take the gold I promised,
Come ye now to choose the silver,
On the ground lay down your linen,
Spreading out of flax the finest,260
Underneath the gold that glitters,
Underneath the shining silver,
That upon the ground it fall not,
Nor among the dirt is scattered.”
Then to Pohjola he journeyed,
And he said on his arrival:
“I have chased the elk of Hiisi
On the distant plains of Hiisi.
Give me now, old dame, your daughter,
Give the youthful bride I seek for.”270
Louhi, Pohjola’s old Mistress
Heard his words, and then made answer:
“I will only give my daughter,
Give the youthful bride you seek for,
If you rein the mighty gelding,
He the chestnut steed of Hiisi,
He the foaming foal of Hiisi,
On the bounds of Hiisi’s meadow.”
Then the lively Lemminkainen
Took at once a golden bridle,280
Took a halter all of silver,
And he went to seek the courser,
Went to seek the yellow-maned one,
On the bounds of Hiisi’s meadow.
Then he hastened on his journey,
On his way went swiftly forward,
Through the green and open meadows,
To the sacred field beyond them,
And he sought there for the courser,
Seeking for the yellow-maned one.290
At his belt the bit he carried,
And the harness on his shoulder.
Thus he sought one day, a second,
And at length upon the third day
Came he to a lofty mountain,
And upon a rock he clambered.
And he turned his eyes to eastward,
And he turned his head to sunwards.
On the sand he saw the courser,
’Mid the firs the yellow-maned one.300
From his hair the flame was flashing,
From his mane the smoke was rising.
Thereupon prayed Lemminkainen:
“Ukko, thou of Gods the highest,
Ukko, thou of clouds the leader,
Of the scattered clouds conductor,
Open now thy clefts in heaven,
And in all the sky thy windows,
Let the iron hail fall downwards,
Send thou down the frozen masses,310
On the mane of that good courser,
On the back of Hiisi’s courser.”
Ukko then, the great Creator,
Jumala ’mid clouds exalted,
Heard and rent the air asunder,
Clove in twain the vault of heaven,
Scattered ice, and scattered iceblocks,
Scattered down the iron hailstones,
Smaller than a horse’s head is,
Larger than a head of man is,320
On the mane of that good courser,
On the back of Hiisi’s courser.
Then the lively Lemminkainen,
Forward stepped to gaze about him,
And advanced for observation,
And he spoke the words which follow:
“Hiitola’s most mighty courser,
Mountain foal, with mane all foam-flecked,
Give me now thy golden muzzle,
Stretch thou forth thy head of silver,330
Push it in the golden bridle,
With the bit of shining silver.
I will never treat you badly,
And I will not drive you harshly,
And our way is but a short one,
And ’tis but a little journey,
Unto Pohjola’s bleak homestead,
To my cruel foster-mother.
With a rope I will not flog you,
With a switch I will not drive you,340
But with silken cords will lead you,
With a strip of cloth will drive you.”
Then the chestnut horse of Hiisi,
Hiisi’s horse, with mane all foam-flecked,
Forward stretched his golden muzzle,
Forward reached his head of silver,
To receive the golden bridle,
With the bit of shining silver.
Thus did lively Lemminkainen
Bridle Hiisi’s mighty courser,350
In his mouth the bit adjusted,
On his silver head the bridle,
On his broad back then he mounted,
On the back of that good courser.
O’er the horse his whip he brandished,
With a willow switch he struck him,
And a little way he journeyed
Hasting onward through the mountains,
Through the mountains to the northward,
Over all the snow-clad mountains,360
Unto Pohjola’s bleak homestead.
From the yard the hall he entered,
And he said on his arrival,
Soon as Pohjola he entered:
“I have reined the mighty courser,
Brought the foal of Hiisi bridled,
From the green and open meadows,
And the sacred field beyond them,
And I tracked the elk on snowshoes,
On the distant plains of Hiisi.370
Give me now, old dame, your daughter,
Give the youthful bride I seek for.”
Louhi, Pohjola’s old Mistress,
Answered in the words which follow:
“I will only give my daughter,
Give the youthful bride you seek for,
If the river-swan you shoot me,
Shoot the great bird on the river.
There on Tuoni’s murky river,
In the sacred river’s whirlpool,380
Only at a single trial,
Using but a single arrow.”
Then the lively Lemminkainen
He the handsome Kaukomieli,
Went and took his twanging crossbow,
Went away to seek the Long-neck,
Forth to Tuoni’s murky river,
Down in Manala’s abysses.
On with rapid steps he hastened,
And he went with trampling footsteps,390
Unto Tuonela’s broad river,
To the sacred river’s whirlpool,
’Neath his arm a handsome crossbow,
On his back his well-stored quiver.
Märkähattu then, the cowherd,
Pohjola’s old sightless greybeard,
There by Tuonela’s broad river,
By the sacred river’s whirlpool,
Long had lurked, and long had waited,
There for Lemminkainen’s coming.400
And at length one day it happened,
Came the lively Lemminkainen
Hasting on, and swift approaching
Unto Tuonela’s deep river,
To the cataract most terrific,
To the sacred river’s whirlpool.
From the waves he sent a serpent,
Like a reed from out the billows;
Through the hero’s heart he hurled it,
And through Lemminkainen’s liver.410
Through the arm-pit left it smote him,
Through the shoulder right it struck him.
Then the lively Lemminkainen
Felt himself severely wounded,
And he spoke the words which follow:
“I have acted most unwisely,
That I asked not information
From my mother, she who bore me.
Two words only were sufficient,
Three at most might perhaps be needed,420
How to act, and live still longer,
After this day’s great misfortune.
Charm I cannot water-serpents,
Nor of reeds I know the magic.
“O my mother who hast borne me,
And hast nurtured me in sorrow,
Would that thou might’st know, and hasten
To thy son, who lies in anguish.
Surely thou would’st hasten hither,
To my aid thou then would’st hasten,430
To thy hapless son’s assistance,
At the point of death now lying,
For indeed too young I slumber,
And I die while still so cheerful.”
Then did Pohjola’s blind greybeard,
Märkähattu, he the cowherd,
Fling the lively Lemminkainen,
Casting Kaleva’s own offspring
Into Tuoni’s murky river,
In the worst of all the whirlpools.440
Floated lively Lemminkainen,
Down the thundering cataract floated,
Down the rushing stream he floated,
Unto Tuonela’s dread dwelling.
Then the bloodstained son of Tuoni
Drew his sword, and smote the hero,
With his gleaming blade he hewed him,
While it shed a stream of flashes,
And he hewed him in five fragments,
And in pieces eight he hewed him,450
Then in Tuonela’s stream cast them,
Where are Manala’s abysses.
“Thou may’st toss about for ever,
With thy crossbow and thy arrows,
Shooting swans upon the river,
Water-birds upon its borders!”
Thus did Lemminkainen perish,
Perished thus the dauntless suitor,
Down in Tuoni’s murky river,
Down in Manala’s abysses.460