Kuika silloin lauletahan

SKVR VII3 loitsut 451·Ilomantsi·1828·Collector: Lönnrot, Elias

In the SKVR edition: Ilomantsi t. Pielisjärvi. Lönnrot S, n. 41 g. -28. Vihreille halkaistuille folioarkin lehdille kirjoitettu. Käsi turitemattoman, näht. vanhan herrasmiehen.

Song types: Raudan sanat, Raudan synty, Verensulku

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SKVR textEnglish

1Kuika silloin lauletahan,How is it sung then,

2kuin rauta pahan tekevi,when iron works evil,

3terä hieno hempasovi?the fine blade turns gentle?

4Nijn silloin sanottuohon:Thus it is proclaimed:

5Oho sinua, rauta raucka,Shame on you, crude iron,

6rauta raucka, koito kuone,crude iron, death-bringer,

7mixis vestit veliänsi,why did you take your brother,

8lastusit Emosi lasta?abandon your mother’s child?

9Tule työsi tuntemahan,Come acknowledge your deeds,

10pahasi parantamahan,mend your wrongs,

11ennen kuin sanon Emolle;before I tell Mother;

12Emolla on emämpi työtä,Mother has greater work,

13suuri vaiva vanhem̄alla,great toil for the elder,

14tules työsi tuntemahan!come know your deeds!

15Ett sinä silloin suuri ollut,That you were mighty then,

16etkä suuri, etkä pieni,neither great nor small,

17ett kovin koreakahan,but fiercely splendid,

18kuin sinä heilut hettehinä,when you swung as a tool-handle,

19särkyt sääri männiköinä.shattered legs like pine logs.

20Ett sinä silloin suuri ollut,That you were mighty then,

21kun minä sun sormin suosta nostin,when I lifted you with fingers from the swamp,

22koprin kuohusta kohotin.raised you from bog’s foam.

23Ett sinä silloin suuri ollut,That you were mighty then,

24kuin sinä maitona makasitwhen you lay as milk

25nuoren neitosen nisissä,in a young maiden’s breasts,

26kasvannaisen kainalossa.a grown woman’s embrace.

27Mixi vestit veljeänsi,Why take your brother,

28lastusit Emosi lasta?abandon your mother’s child?

29Tule työsi tuntemahan,Come acknowledge your deeds,

30pahasi parantamahan!mend your wrongs!

31Eipä maito maahan jouda,Let milk not spill to earth,

32kumpuhun urohon kulta,nor man’s seed to the mound,

33miehen hempu heinickohon.man’s shame into the hay.

34Neityt Maria Emonen,Virgin Mary, Mother,

35rakas äiti armollinen,beloved merciful mother,

36lijtä_sormesi nimetöin,join your nameless fingers,

37paina paxu peukalosipress your thumb’s patch

38tulevalle tuckehexi,as aid for the future,

39veren tielle telckimexi;a barrier on blood’s path;

40kuin ei tuosta täyttä tulle,if that is not enough,

41tuvos Saatanan sametti tacki,bring Satan’s velvet patch,

42pahan hengen paxu paitathe evil spirit’s patched shirt,

43tuckehexi tuiman reijän,to mend the stubborn hole,

44paikaxi pahan veräjän!to block evil’s gateway!

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-035846 · Read at SKS ↗

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