Vaka vanha Väinämöinen
In the SKVR edition: Uhut. Lönnrot A II 6, n. 4. - 1834. Luultavasti Teppisen Larin isän laulama, ks. n:oja 107 ja 906.
SKVR textEnglish
1Vaka vanha VäinämöinenSteadfast old Väinämöinen
2Teki tiiolla venoja,Made boats on the road,
3Laati purtta laulamalla,Built a vessel by singing,
4Uupu 3 sanoaGrew weary of words,
5Perikaaren liitoksessa.In the serpent's coiling.
6Läksi saamaan sanoja,Set out to fetch words,
7Ottamaan ongelvoita,To gather enchantments,
8Paimen vastahan tuleepi,A shepherd comes to meet him,
9Hän on tuon sanoiksi virkki:He spoke these words:
10"On tuolla 100 sanoa"There lies a word
11Karja hanhin hartiolla."On the flock-goose's shoulder."
12Hajotteli hanhikarjan;He scattered the goose-flock;
13Ei saanut sanoa yhtä.Could not claim a single word.
14Läksi saamaan sanoja,Set out to fetch words,
15Ottamaan ongelvoita.To seize enchantments.
16Paimen vastahan tuleepi:The shepherd meets him again:
17"On tuolla 100 sanoa"There lies a word
18Tuoss' on Tuonelan koissa,There in Tuonela's chambers,
19Manalan alantehessa."In Manala's abyss."
20Meni Tuonelan kotih,Went to Tuonela's home,
21Manalan alanteh.To Manala's depths.
22Tuonen tyttäret toruvat,Death's daughters rebuke him,
23Tina rin̄at riitelevät:Tin-breasted ones quarrel:
24"Mik' on sun Manalle tuonut?""What brought you to Manala?"
25"Tuli on mun Manalle tuonut.""Fire brought me to Manala."
26"Kun tuli Manalla toisi,"If fire brought you here,
27Tulin vaatties valuisi,Your clothes would melt in flames,
28Hurmehin hurajeleisi."Flounder in blood."
29Hän tuon sanoiksi virkki:He spoke these words:
30"Vesi on mun Manalle tuonut.""Water brought me to Manala."
31"Kuin vesi Manalla toisi,"If water brought you here,
32Vesin vaatties valuisi."Your clothes would flow with water."
33Hän on tuon sanoiksi virkki:He spoke these words:
34"Tuoni on mun Manalle tuonut.""Death brought me to Manala."
35"Kun Tuoni Manalle toisi,"If Death brought you here,
36Tuoni on toisi tullessahek."Death comes as it must."
37Sai sieltä 100 sanoaHe obtained words there,
38Tuost' on Tuonelan koista,From Tuonela's chambers,
39Manalan alantehesta.From Manala's abyss.
English translations by DeepSeek R1, provided by Lidia Pivovarova (University of Helsinki). AI-generated translations may contain inaccuracies.
The text is that of the SKVR digital edition of the Finnish Literature Society (SKS), with these changes:
- The editors’ signs inside the verses ([ ], ⌈ ⌉, *, [!], [?]) are left out, as in the poem reader; the letters they enclose are kept.
- The edition’s line numbers are replaced by a number on every verse, counted as in the poem reader.
- The editors’ notes, and the marks in the verses that point to them, are left out; they can be read at SKS.
Source
Text: SKVR (Suomen Kansan Vanhat Runot), the digital edition of the Finnish Literature Society (SKS), licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Permanent address of this poem at SKS: http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-000447 · Read at SKS ↗
Added by RunoVerse: the English translations, the song types, the verse numbers and the links.