Millä mä maksan maammon mai'on

SKVR XIII1 54·Sakkola·1854·Collector: Slöör, Kaarlo

In the SKVR edition: Sakkola, Lapinlahti. Slöör IV 1. 54.

Song types: Äidin kuolo, Äidin vaivojen palkinto

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SKVR textEnglish

1Millä mä maksan maammon mai'on,How shall I repay my mother's land,

2Hamaralla vai hal'olla,With a hoe or a threshing tool,

3Kivenpuulla vai kivellä?With a stone tool or a bare stone?

4Maksan marja tuuttisella,I repay with berries in a small basket,

5Poimin puoloja putinan,I gathered half-ripe berries in a basket,

6Va'in verran vaapukkoja,Just a handful of lingonberries,

7Kapan täyden karpaloja,A peckful of cranberries,

8Sieklan täyden siehtarlaista.A bushel of cloudberries.

9Ei marjat mitänä maksa.Berries are no repayment at all.

10Ammun pyytä pyy'öllisen,I shot a grouse as game,

11Oravia orrellisen.Snared squirrels with a trap.

12Tein mä turkin taatolleni,I made a fur coat for my father,

13Toisen turkin maammolleni.Another for my mother.

14Tuost' hän tyytyi, tuost hän täytyi,From that she was content, from that she had enough,

15Tuost hän tautihin tapaisi,From that she met illness,

16Läsi on vuo'en vuotehella,She lay on a sheep's bed,

17Kaks on alla kattehien.Two [layers] beneath the covers.

18Jo alkoi iho märätä,Her skin began to moisten,

19Pois on pohkehet loheta.Her calves started to rot away.

20Läksin noijille kylille,I went to the witches' villages,

21Astuin Narvan tietäjille:Stepped before Narva's seers:

22Noidat sanoit kuolevan,The witches said she'd die,

23Tietäjät paranevan.The seers said she'd recover.

24Tulin noijilta kyliltä,I came from the witches' villages,

25Astuin Narvan tietäjiltä;Stepped away from Narva's seers;

26Vello vestää pinolla.Brother builds on a platform.

27Kysyttelin, lausuttelin;I inquired, I spoke:

28"Mitä, vello, tuosta vestät,"What, brother, are you building there,

29Vestätkö soti venhettä,Are you building a war boat,

30Sotikartta kalkuttelet,Hammering a battle shield,

31Sotilaivoa latelet?"Assembling a warship?"

32Vello vasten vastajaa:Brother answered in reply:

33"En vestä sotivenhettä,"I build no war boat,

34Sot' en kantta kalkuttele,I hammer no battle shield,

35Sot' en laivoa latele;I assemble no warship;

36Vestän maammollein majaa,I build a house for Mother,

37Emolleni erotupaa,A parting hut for my mother,

38Johon ei tuule kaikki tuulet,Where no winds may blow,

39Pohjatuulet ei puoletkahan,North winds not even half,

40Ilman on ikkunoittamattaWithout windows,

41Ja ilman ovettomatta."And without doors."

42Voi mie poloinen piika,Ah, wretched maid that I am,

43Kun en olt luona luusimassa,For I was not there to witness,

44Läsn' en olt hengen lähtiessä.Not present when the spirit left.

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-071565 · Read at SKS ↗

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