Oli ennen nel'l'ä neittä

SKVR I4 832·Suomussalmi·1872·Collector: Borenius, A. A.

In the SKVR edition: Hietajärvi. Bor. II, n. 3. 29/6 72. Miina ja Ohvo Huovinen. - Mp. Latvajärvessä.

Song types: Pistoksen synty, Pistos

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SKVR textEnglish

"Pistosvirsi."

1Oli ennen nel'l'ä neittä,There were four maidens of old,

2Nel'l'ä neittä, kolm' urosta,Four maidens, three men,

3Koko kolme morsientaAll three brides,

4Ühen niitun† niittäji^jä,Mowers of one meadow,

5Mimp' on niitti, señ harasi,What he mowed, he raked,

6Kaikki karhilla veteli;All hauled by bear-force;

7Pani soalla† šoapraⁱśella,Laid on the marsh with bile-reeds,

8Tuhannella tukkuⁱśella.With a thousand bundles.

9Tuli Turjan Lappalaine.Came a Lapp from Turja,

10Jo poltti porolla heinät,He burned the hay with a fire-drill,

11Küpenillä küüvätteli.Smoldered with embers.

12Tuohon kasvo kaunis tammi,There grew a fair oak,

13Vesa verratoin üleni:A sapling unmatched arose:

14Latva täütti taivoⁱsehe,Its crown filled the heavens,

15Oksat ilmoilla ojenti,Branches stretched through the skies,

16Lehvät ilmoilla levitti,Leaves spread across the airs,

17Pietti† päiväm paistamasta,It barred the sun from shining,

18Pietti† kuun kumottamasta,Barred the moon from gleaming,

19Pienet pilvet juoksomasta,Small clouds from fleeing,

20Hattarat hatšertamasta.Mists from drizzling.

21Etšittihp' oñ tietäjeä,They sought a knower,

22Tuon oñ tammeñ taittajo^va,A feller for that oak,

23Puuñ lihavañ liittäjeä.A joiner for the stout tree.

24Mies pieni merestä nousi,A small man rose from the sea,

25Eik' ole aivam pienem pieni,Not the smallest of small,

26Eikä aivañ suureñ suuri:Nor the greatest of great:

27Pissum† peukalon pituⁱne,Thumb-length in stature,

28Vaimoñ voaksan korkevuine.A widow’s spindle in height.

29Astu^vo taputteloveHe stepped tapping lightly,

30Naisten neulojen neniä,On the tips of women’s needles,

31Miestem miekkojeñ teriä.On the edges of men’s swords.

32Hivelövi kirvestäñsä,He honed his axe,

33Tasottave tapparoasa,Smoothed with a hatchet,

34Viijellä hivusimella,With five strokes,

35Kuuvella kuluttimella,Six grindings,

36Seittšemellä sieram peällä,Seven nostridgings,

37Kaheksalla kannikalla.Eight heel-turns.

38Iski puuta kirvehellä,Struck the tree with his axe,

39Tammie tasa-terällä,The oak with a level blade,

40Tuli tuiski kirvehestä,Sparks flew from the axe,

41Tamu tammesta pakeni,Sap fled the oak,

42Pirastihp' om pinta-lastu.A splinter burst outward.

43Otti lassun koprihisa,He took the splinter in his fist,

44Kattšelovi, keäntelöve:Examined it, turned it:

45"Tuost' ois noita nuolet soanut,"From this, one could craft arrows,

46Ampuja pahat asiet."A shooter’s vile tools."

47Semp' oñ süöstävi merehe.Then he hurled it seaward.

48Tuota tuuli tutjuttave,The wind drove it forth,

49Meren lietu liekuttave,Sea-foam rocked it,

50Oalto rannalle ajave.Waves washed it ashore.

51Lapin koira rauta-hammas,Lapland’s iron-toothed hound,

52Rannañ juoksija ikuⁱneThe shore’s eternal runner,

53Sopi rannañ juoksennassa.Suited to shore-running.

54Otti lassun koprihiñsa,Took the splinter in his grip,

55Kattšelövi, keäntelöve:Examined it, turned it:

56"Tuost' ois' noita nuolet soanuñ,"From this, arrows could be made,

57Ampuja pahat asiet."A shooter’s vile tools."

58Veip' on seppojem pajahan.He took it to the smiths’ forge.

59Tuota seppo kattšelovi,The smith inspected it,

60"Tuost' ois' noita nuolet saise,"From this, arrows could be forged,

61Ampuja pahat asiet."A shooter’s vile tools."

62Tako kolmet nuoliañsa,He forged three arrows,

63Koittelovi yhtä nuoltaTested the first arrow

64Jalkoihesa moa-emähän.At Mother Earth’s feet.

65Tahto moa kahekse† männä,Earth wished to split apart,

66Ilmam polku pouskahella.The sky’s path cracked open.

67Koittelove toista nuoltaTested the second arrow

68Peäsä peällä taivosehen.At the sky’s high crown.

69Tahto taivoⁱnen haleta,The sky wished to freeze,

70Ilman kañsi katkiella.The firmament to splinter.

71Koittelove kolmatta nuoltaTested the third arrow

72Kivisehen kallivohon,Into a stony cliff,

73Louheheñ teräkšisehen.Into iron-hard rock.

74Tuolta piilit pinkastihinThere the arrows glanced off,

75Ihohon alattšomahan,Into flesh unready,

76Varsin voattiettomahan.Into defenseless sinew.

77Tuolt' om piilit pistämässä,There the arrows are thrusting,

78Äkähät äkittämässä.Demons goading them on.

79Otas, piili, pistokšesi,Take, arrow, your mark,

80Äkähäsi, äijöm poika!Your demon, old man’s son!

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 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-003240 · Read at SKS ↗

Added by RunoVerse: the English translations, the song types, the verse numbers and the links.