Kalevala (Kirby 1907)/Runo 28
Runo XXVIII.—Lemminkainen and his Mother
Argument
Lemminkainen escapes with all speed from Pohjola, comes home and asks his mother where he can hide himself from the people of Pohjola, who will soon attack him in his home, a hundred to one (1-164). His mother reproaches him for his expedition to Pohjola, suggests various places of concealment, and at length advises him to go far across the lakes to a distant island, where his father once lived in peace during a year of great war (165-294).
Then did Ahti Saarelainen,
He the lively Lemminkainen,
Haste to reach a place for hiding,
Hasten quickly to remove him
From the gloomy land of Pohja,
From the gloomy house of Sara.
From the room he rushed like snowfall,
To the yard like snake he hurried,
That he might escape the evil,
From the crime he had committed.10
When he came into the courtyard,
Then he gazed around and pondered,
Seeking for the horse he left there,
But he nowhere saw him standing;
In the field a stone was standing,
On the waste a clump of willows.
Who will come to give him counsel,
Who will now advise and help him,
That his head come not in danger,
And his hair remain uninjured,20
Nor his handsome hair be draggled
In the courtyard foul of Pohja?
In the village heard he shouting,
Uproar too from other homesteads,
Lights were shining in the village,
Eyes were at the open windows.
Then must lively Lemminkainen,
Then must Ahti Saarelainen,
Alter now his shape completely,
And transform without delaying,30
And must soar aloft as eagle,
Up to heaven to soar attempting;
But the sun his face was scorching,
And the moon shone on his temples.
Then the lively Lemminkainen,
Sent aloft a prayer to Ukko:
“Ukko, Jumala most gracious,
Thou the wisest in the heavens,
Of the thunderclouds the leader,
Of the scattered clouds the ruler!40
Let it now be gloomy weather,
And a little cloudlet give me,
So that under its protection
I may hasten homeward quickly,
Homeward to my dearest mother,
Unto the revered old woman.”
As he flew upon his journey,
As he chanced to look behind him,
There he saw a hawk, a grey one,
And its eyes were fiery-glowing,50
As it were the son of Pohja,
Like the former lord of Pohja.
And the grey hawk called unto him,
“Ahti, O my dearest brother,
Think you on our former combat,
Head to head in equal contest?”
Then said Ahti Saarelainen,
Said the handsome Kaukomieli,
“O my hawk, my bird so charming,
Turn thyself and hasten homeward,60
To the place from which you started,
To the gloomy land of Pohja.
Hard it is to catch the eagle,
Clutch the strong-winged bird with talons.”
Then he hurried quickly homeward,
Homeward to his dearest mother,
And his face was full of trouble,
And his heart with care o’erladen.
Then his mother came to meet him,
As along the path he hurried,70
As he past the fence was walking,
And his mother first bespoke him.
“O my son, my son, my youngest,
Thou the strongest of my children!
Why returnest thou so sadly,
Home from Pohjola’s dark regions?
Hast thou harmed thyself by drinking
At the drinking-bout of Pohja?
If the goblet made thee suffer,
Here a better one awaits thee,80
Which thy father won in battle,
Which he fought for in the contest.”
Said the lively Lemminkainen,
“O my mother who hast borne me,
If the goblet made me suffer,
I would overcome the masters,
Overcome a hundred heroes,
And would face a thousand heroes.”
Then said Lemminkainen’s mother,
“Wherefore art thou then in trouble?90
If the horse has overcome you,
Wherefore let the horse annoy you?
If the horse has overcome you,
You should buy yourself a better,
With your father’s lifelong savings,
Which the aged man provided.”
Said the lively Lemminkainen,
“O my mother who hast borne me,
If I quarrelled with the courser,
Or the foal had over-reached me,100
I myself have shamed the masters,
Overcome the horses’ drivers,
Foals and drivers I have vanquished,
And the heroes with their coursers.”
Then said Lemminkainen’s mother,
“Wherefore art thou then in trouble,
Wherefore is thy heart so troubled,
As from Pohjola thou comest?
Have the women laughed about you,
Or the maidens ridiculed you?110
If the women laughed about you,
Or the maidens ridiculed you,
There are maidens to be jeered at,
Other women to be laughed at.”
Said the lively Lemminkainen,
“O my mother who hast borne me,
If the women laughed about me,
Or the maidens ridiculed me,
I would laugh at all their menfolk,
And would wink at all the maidens,120
I would shame a hundred women,
And a thousand brides would make them.”
Then said Lemminkainen’s mother,
“What has chanced, my son, my darling,
Hast thou perhaps encountered something
As to Pohjola thou wentest?
Have you eaten perhaps too freely,
Eaten much, too much have drunken,
Or at night perchance when resting
Have you seen a dream of evil?”130
Then the lively Lemminkainen,
Answered in the words which follow:
“Perhaps old women may remember,
What in sleep they saw in vision!
Though my nightly dreams I think on,
Yet are those of daytime better.
O my mother, aged woman,
Fill my bag with fresh provisions,
With a good supply of flour,
And a lump of salt add likewise,140
For thy son must travel further,
Journey to another country,
Journey from this house beloved,
Journey from this lovely dwelling,
For the men their swords are whetting,
And the lance-tips they are sharpening.”
Then his mother interrupted,
Asking him his cause of trouble.
“Wherefore whet the men their sword-blades,
Wherefore sharpen they the lance-tips?”150
Answered lively Lemminkainen,
Said the handsome Kaukomieli,
“Therefore do they whet their sword-blades,
Therefore they the lance-tips sharpen:
On the head of me unhappy,
On my neck to bring destruction.
From a quarrel rose a duel,
There in Pohjola’s enclosure;
I have slain the son of Pohja,
Slain the very lord of Pohja,160
Then rose Pohjola to battle,
Close behind me comes the tumult,
Raging all for my destruction,
To surround a single warrior.”
Then his mother gave him answer,
To her child the old crone answered:
“I myself already told you,
And I had already warned you,
And forbidden you most strictly
Not to Pohjola to venture.170
Had you stayed at home in quiet,
Living in your mother’s dwelling,
Safely in your parent’s homestead,
In the home of her who bore thee,
Then no war had ever risen,
Nor appeared a cause of contest.
“Whither now, my son unhappy,
Canst thou flee, unhappy creature,
Go to hide thee from destruction,
Flying from thy wicked action,180
Lest thy wretched head be captured,
And thy handsome neck be severed,
That thy hair remain uninjured,
Nor thy glossy hair downtrodden?”
Said the lively Lemminkainen,
“No such refuge do I know of,
Where a safe retreat awaits me,
Where I from my crime can hide me.
O my mother who hast borne me,
Where do you advise my hiding?”190
Answered Lemminkainen’s mother,
And she spoke the words which follow:
“No, I know not where to hide you,
Where to hide you or to send you.
As a pine upon the mountain,
Juniper in distant places,
There might still misfortune find thee,
Evil fate might rise against thee.
Often is the mountain pine-tree
Cut to pieces into torches,200
And the juniper on heathland,
Into posts is often cloven.
“As a birch-tree in the valley,
Or an alder in the greenwood,
There might still misfortune find thee,
Evil fate might rise against thee.
Often is the valley birch-tree
Chopped to pieces into faggots,
Often is the alder-thicket
Cut away to make a clearing.210
“As a berry on the mountain,
Or upon the heath a cranberry,
Or upon the plain a strawberry,
Or in other spots a bilberry,
There might still misfortune find thee,
Evil fate might rise against thee,
For the girls might come to pluck thee,
Tin-adorned ones might uproot thee.
“In the lake as pike when hiding,
Powan in slow-flowing river,220
There misfortune still might find thee,
And at last destruction reach thee.
If there came a youthful fisher,
He might cast his net in water,
And the young in net might take thee,
And the old with net might capture.
“Didst thou roam as wolf in forest,
Or a bear in rugged country,
There might still misfortune find thee,
Evil fate might rise against thee;230
If a sooty tramp was passing,
He perchance might spear the growler,
Or the wolves bring to destruction,
And the forest bears might slaughter.”
Then the lively Lemminkainen
Answered in the words which follow:
“I myself know evil places,
Worst of all do I esteem them,
There where any death might seize me,
And at last destruction reach me.240
O my mother who hast reared me,
Mother who thy milk hast given,
Whither would’st thou bid me hide me,
Whither should I now conceal me?
Death’s wide jaws are just before me,
At my beard destruction’s standing,
Every day for me it waiteth,
Till my ruin is accomplished.”
Then said Lemminkainen’s mother,
And she spoke the words which follow:250
“I can tell the best of places,
Tell you one the best of any,
Where to hide yourself completely,
And your crime conceal for ever,
For I know a little country,
Know a very little refuge,
Wasted not, and safe from battle,
And untrodden by the swordsmen.
Swear me now by oaths eternal,
Binding, free from all deception,260
In the course of sixty summers,
Nevermore to go to battle,
Neither for the love of silver,
Nor perchance if gold was needed.”
Then said lively Lemminkainen,
“Now I swear by oaths the strongest,
Never in the first of summers,
Nor in any other summer,
Mix myself in mighty battles,
In the clashing of the sword-blades.270
Wounds are still upon my shoulders,
In my breast deep wounds still rankle,
From my former battle-pleasures,
In the midst of all the tumult,
In the midst of mighty battles,
Where the heroes all contended.”
Then did Lemminkainen’s mother
Answer in the words which follow:
“Take the boat your father left you,
And betake yourself to hiding.280
Traverse nine lakes in succession,
Half the tenth one must thou traverse,
To an island on its surface,
Where the cliffs arise from water.
There in former times your father
Hid, and kept himself in safety,
In the furious fights of summer,
In the hardest years of battle.
There you’ll find a pleasant dwelling,
And a charming place to linger.290
Hide thyself a year, a second,
In the third year come thou homeward,
To your father’s well-known homestead,
To the dwelling of your parents.”