Kasvatti miun emmoini
In the SKVR edition: Sakkola, Noisniemi. Borenius 294. 26/2 88. Yrjö Antinp. Kotti.
SKVR textEnglish
1Kasvatti miun emmoini,Raised me, my mother
2Kasvatti kanoja parti(n),She raised a flock of chickens,
3Jouku(n) suure(n) joutsenia;A great host of swans;
4Ne hä aijalle asetti.She set them in their place.
5Kui tul' haukka, nii hajotti,When the hawk came, it scattered them,
6Ei (tultkaa) emollen turvaa,No refuge came to the mother,
7Varaa ei tullut vanhan päivän.No aid came in the old days.
8Nii se laulo miun em(m)oińiThus sang my mother
9Lasta liekutellessoase(n),While rocking the child,
10Kasvattaissaasen kannoja:To raise upon the stumps:
11Kasvakaa, miu kannainiGrow, my stumps,
12Ja nousoot miu nokinennäin,And rise like my soot,
13Joutukaa, miu joutseneniBecome my swans,
14Muihen tammiin tasalle,To my oaks' level,
15Muihen puihen puul'l'iseksi.To my trees' wooden form.
16Ei siitt uo emoille huolta,Thus, no worry for mothers,
17Ei uo huolta huolijalle,No worry for the caregiver,
18Ei uo kiirettä kivelleNo haste to the stone,
19Eikä huolta huumareelleNor worry for the resting spot,
20Eikä kaihoota kaselleNo care for the elk,
21Eikä viiä viertämähäNor take to roll away,
22Noki-puita nostamoane,Soot-pines to lift,
23Kaski-puita kantamoane,Burnt pines to carry,
24Vii ei heinä viikattiehe,No hay to stack,
25Toaj' ei leäveä tahota,The shed needs no leftovers,
26Sen kui pistän piikojainiFor I place my girls
27Sekä laitan lapsijaini,And set my children,
28Poam mie palkkalaisiaini,I take my hired workers,
29Mie itse tuvassa istun -I myself sit in the house.
30Emo on nähnyt vaivan suuren,Mother has seen great toil,
31Kärsinyt kivun kipiänEndured sharp pain.
32Saunam moata moatessoasen,In the sauna’s earthen floor,
33Olkiloilla ollessoasen,On straw beds,
34Syli(n) saunan kynnyksessä.At the sauna’s threshold.
35Mill voam mie poloinen poika,How can I, wretched boy,
36Mill (voam) maksan moamon maijon,How repay my mother’s milk,
37Kostanen emon kipoisen?Compensate her suffering?
38Milläs maksam moamolleini,With what repay my mother,
39Hamaralla vai halolla,With a hammer or plank,
40Kirvehellä vai kivellä,With an axe or stone,
41Maksam marja tuuttisella,Repay with a basket of berries,
42Kostan koivu jältöisellä.Compensate with birch leftovers.
43Siitt kysyn emoiseltaini,Then I asked my mother,
44Jok' om maito maksettuna,“If the milk is repaid,
45Kostett' on kova kipoine.The harsh pains compensated?”
46Moamo vaste vastajieli:Mother answered:
47"Eihä marjat paljo maksa,“Berries don’t repay much,
48Koivu jäls ei paljon kosta,Birch remnants don’t compensate,
49Moam' on nähnyt vaivan suuren,Mother has seen great toil,
50Kärsinyt kivun kipiän."Endured sharp pain.”
51Siitt' ot'in pyhäisen pyssyn,Then I took the holy gun,
52Ammuim pyym pyhältä moalta,Shot ducks from the holy land,
53Tetrim marja-mättäheältä,Capercaillie from the berry mound,
54Ammuin joutsenen juojesta,Shot a swan at its drinking spot,
55Virrasta vikeväl linnun,From the stream, a swift bird,
56Lammista lihaval linnun,From the pond, a plump bird,
57Kannoin kaikki moamolleini.Brought all to my mother.
58Siit kysyin emoiseltaini:Then I asked my mother:
59"Jok' om maito maksettuna,“If the milk is repaid,
60Kostett' on kova kipoine?"The harsh pains compensated?”
61Moamo vaste vastajieli:Mother answered:
62"Ei uo maito maksettuna,“The milk is not repaid,
63Kostett' uo kova kipoine."The harsh pains uncompensated.”
64Mi' otim pyhäisem pyssyn,I took the holier gun,
65Ammuin oksalta oravan,Shot a squirrel from a branch,
66Ammuin neäm mie rekko-rinnan,Shot the cross-breasted one,
67Revon kankoan nenästä,From the fox’s forest nose,
68Tuost' tein turkim moamolleini.Then made a fur coat for Mother.
69Siitt kysyin emoiseltaini:*Then I asked my mother:
70"Jok om maito maksettuna,“If the milk is repaid,
71Kostett on kova kipoine?"The harsh pains compensated?”
72Moamo vaste vastajieli:Mother answered:
73"Jo on maito maksettuna"*“Now the milk is repaid”*
74(Siit tul' maito maksetuksi),(Thus the milk was repaid),
75Kovat vaivat kostetuksi.The harsh toils compensated.
76Eihä voali kaikki vaimot,Not all women could,
77Kaikk ei ihmiset imetäNot all people nurse,
78Niin kui voali miun emoini,As my mother could,
79Eikä kasva kaikki lapsetNor do all children grow
80Niin kuim mie katala kasvoinAs I, wretched, grew—
81Niin kuin putki puuta vasten,Like a vine against a tree,
82Saraheinä vuorta vasten,Sedge grass against a cliff,
83Kasvoin koali tähtehiellä,I grew crooked under stars,
84Virkosin vesi-muruilla,Thrived on water-crumbs,
85Kasvoin kaikille sanoiksi,Grew into a proverb for all,
86Ihmeheksi ihmisilleA marvel to people,
87Kaikkii sanottavaksi.To be spoken of by all.
88Joka sillo muut sa(n)nuoto,Some then said
89Jumalan pu'ut sanuoto,God’s trees said,
90Herra vitsat henkäjeäte,The Lord’s rods breathed,
91Muute mustakse sannuoto,Others called them black,
92Kekäliekse kelläjeäte.As cinders they were named.
93En olt musta eukostaini,I was not black by nature,
94En uo musta luonnom musta,Nor born black naturally,
95En musta emon tekemä,Not made black by Mother,
96Mie musta pesemätyyttä,I am black from uncleanness,
97Saippuvaisen soamatuutta.From soap’s scarcity.
98En uo hoikka luonnon hoikka,I’m not slender by nature,
99En hoikka emon tekemä,*Not made slender by Mother*,
100Mie uon hoikka huol'ijaińiI am slender from caregivers’ toil.
101Sekä uom musta murhettaińi.And I am dark from my sorrows.
102Ei pie lukkii luojan töitä,One must not count God's works,
103Ei se soantu miun emmoini,She was not born my mother,
104Näkkyö soant näpillä tehä,Is it possible to create birth with fingers,
105Suuta sormi synnytellä,To birth a mouth with a finger,
106Soant ei vuolla vuol'imellä,Birth cannot be carved with a chisel,
107Lasin kans ei koaputella.Nor assembled with glass.
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-073565 · Read at SKS ↗
Added by RunoVerse: the English translations, the song types, the verse numbers and the links.