Akk' on Pohjolan sokije

SKVR I4 888·Kontokki·1872·Collector: Berner, A.

In the SKVR edition: Tetriniemi. Berner n. 35. 12/8 72. Huotari Lyttäńe.

SKVR textEnglish

1Akk' on Pohjolan sokije,The crone is Pohjola's blind one,

2Untamolan umpi silmä,Untamola's sealed eye,

3Kanto kohtuo kovoa,The stump's womb is hard,

4Vatsan täyttä vaikijeta.The belly full of silence.

5Teki tiellä vuote'ensa,She made her bed on the road,

6Matkalla makusiansa,On the journey her resting places,

7Istuihe itäihe rinnoin,She sat facing eastward,

8Kohin päivän koittijehe.To the murmur of daybreak.

9Kanto kohtuo kovoa,The stump's womb is hard,

10Vatsan täyttä vaikijeta.The belly full of silence.

11Saip' on poikoa yheksänShe bore nine sons,

12Yhellä† vatsan väjellä.With one belly's labor.

13Nimittelyö† poikijansa,She named her sons,

14Laitteloup'† on lapsiansa:She arranged her children:

15Yhen riisiksi ritasi,One she made into rice,

16Toisen pani pahkaseksi,†Another into a nut,

17Kolmannen poikiansaThe third of her sons

18Pani merta luutimaha,She placed as the sea's bone-belly,

19Latetta lakasomaha.To sweep the roofless space.

20Kirpoi varpa vassastaki†A toe sprouted from the left,

21Lakaissulla lattijella,†On the swept floor,

22Pehmiellä permannolla,On the soft earth,

23Siit' on syöjä syöpynynnä,From there the eater ate,

24Luun purija luopununna.†The bone-chewer devoured.

25Siellä tuuli tuuvitteli,There the wind rocked harshly,

26Vein† henki heilutteli,The water's spirit swayed,

27Oalto reunalla ajavi,Waves drove at the shore's edge,

28Vesi hinkasi kivellä,Water scrubbed the stone,

29Pajun karvani panihi,Willow's tendrils it placed,

30Kopru moasta† korjoave,Gathered a hollow from soil,

31Siit' on syöjä syöpynynnä,From there the eater ate,

32Luun purija luopununna.†The bone-chewer devoured.

33Söitkös† luuta, joitkos vertaDid you eat bones, drink blood,

34Ilman poalla keittämättä,Uncooked without flame,

35Vaskell' on varistamatta?Unspilled without a vessel?

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.

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