Runo XXI.—The Wedding Feast at Pohjola
Argument
The bridegroom and his party are received at Pohjola (1-226). The guests are hospitably entertained with abundance of food and drink (227-252). Väinämöinen sings and praises the people of the house (253-438).
Then did Pohjola’s old Mistress,
Crone of Sariola the misty,
Sometimes out of doors employ her,
Sometimes in the house was busied;
And she heard how whips were cracking,
On the shore heard sledges rattling,
And her eyes she turned to northward,
Towards the sun her head then turning,
And she pondered and reflected,
“Wherefore are these people coming10
On my shore, to me unhappy?
Is it perhaps a hostile army?”
So she went to gaze around her,
And observe the portent nearer;
It was not a hostile army,
But of guests a great assembly,
And her son-in-law amid them,
With a mighty host of people.
Then did Pohjola’s old Mistress,
Crone of Sariola the misty,20
When she saw the bridegroom’s party,
Speak aloud the words which follow:
“As I thought, the wind was blowing
And a faggot-stack o’erthrowing,
On the beach the billows breaking,
On the strand the shingle rattling.
So I went to gaze around me,
And observe the portent nearer;
But I found no wind was blowing,
Nor the faggot-stack was falling,30
On the beach no waves were breaking,
On the strand no shingle rattling.
’Twas my son-in-law’s assemblage,
Twice a hundred men in number.
“How shall I detect the bridegroom
In the concourse of the people?
He is known among the people,
As in clumps of trees the cherry,
Like an oak-tree in the thickets,
Or the moon, ’mid stars in heaven.40
“Black the steed that he is driving;
Which a ravenous wolf resembles;
Or a raven, keen for quarry,
Or a lark, with fluttering pinions.
Six there are of golden song-birds,
On his shafts all sweetly singing,
And of blue birds, seven are singing
Sitting on the sledge’s traces.”
From the road was heard a clatter,
Past the well the runners rattled,50
In the court arrived the bridegroom,
In the yard the people with him,
In the midst appeared the bridegroom,
With the greatest of the party.
He was not the first among them,
But by no means last among them.
“Off, ye youths, and out ye heroes,
To the court, O ye who loiter,
That ye may remove the breastbands,
And the traces ye may loosen,60
That the shafts may quick be lowered:
Lead into the house the bridegroom.”
Then the bridegroom’s horse sped onward,
And the bright-hued sledge drew forward
Through the courtyard of the Master,
When said Pohjola’s old Mistress:
“O my man, whom I have hired,
Best among the village servants,
Take the horse that brought the bridegroom,
With the white mark on his frontlet,70
From the copper-plated harness,
From the tin-decked breastband likewise,
From the best of reins of leather,
And from harness of the finest.
Lead the courser of the bridegroom,
And with greatest care conduct him
By the reins, of silken fabric,
By the bridle, decked with silver,
To the softest place for rolling,
Where the meadow is the smoothest,80
Where the drifted snow is finest,
And the land of milky whiteness.
“Lead the bridegroom’s horse to water,
To the spring that flows the nearest,
Where the water all unfrozen,
Gushes forth, like milk the sweetest,
’Neath the roots of golden pine-trees,
Underneath the bushy fir-trees.
“Fodder thou the bridegroom’s courser,
From the golden bowl of fodder,90
From the bowl adorned with copper,
With the choicest meal of barley,
And with well-boiled wheat of summer,
And with pounded rye of summer.
“Then conduct the bridegroom’s courser
To the best of all the stables,
To the best of resting-places,
To the hindmost of the stables.
Tether there the bridegroom’s courser,
To the ring of gold constructed,100
To the smaller ring of iron,
To the post of curving birchwood,
Place before the bridegroom’s courser,
Next a tray with oats o’erloaded,
And with softest hay another,
And a third with chaff the finest.
“Curry then the bridegroom’s courser,
With the comb of bones of walrus,
That the hair remain uninjured,
Nor his handsome tail be twisted;110
Cover then the bridegroom’s courser
With a cloth of silver fabric,
And a mat of golden texture,
And a horse-wrap decked with copper.
“Now my little village laddies,
To the house conduct the bridegroom,
Gently lift his hat from off him,
From his hands his gloves take likewise.
“I would fain see if the bridegroom
Presently the house can enter,120
Ere the doors are lifted from it,
And they have removed the doorposts,
And have lifted up the crossbars,
And the threshold has been sunken,
And the nearer walls are broken,
And the floor-planks have been shifted.
“But the house suits not the bridegroom,
Nor the great gift suits the dwelling,
Till the doors are lifted from it,
And they have removed the doorposts,130
And have lifted up the crossbars,
And the threshold has been sunken,
And the nearer walls been broken,
And the flooring-planks been shifted,
For the bridegroom’s head is longer,
And the bridegroom’s ears are higher.
“Let the crossbars then be lifted,
That his head the roof may touch not,
Let the threshold now be sunken,
That his footsoles may not touch it,140
Let them now set back the doorposts,
That the doors may open widely,
When at length the bridegroom enters,
When the noble youth approaches.
“Praise, O Jumala most gracious,
For the bridegroom now has entered.
I would now the house examine,
Cast my gaze around within it,
See that washed are all the tables,
And the benches swabbed with water,150
Scoured the smooth planks of the boarding,
And the flooring swept and polished.
“Now that I the house examine,
’Tis so changed I scarcely know it,
From what wood the room was fashioned,
How the roof has been constructed.
And the walls have been erected,
And the flooring been constructed.
“Side-walls are of bones of hedgehog,
Hinder-walls of bones of reindeer,160
Front-walls of the bones of glutton,
And of bones of lamb the crossbar.
All the beams are wood of apple,
And the posts of curving birchwood,
Round the stove rest water-lilies,
Scales of bream compose the ceiling.
“And one bench is formed of iron,
Others made from Saxon timber,
Gold-inlaid are all the tables;
Floor o’erspread with silken carpets.170
“And the stove is bright with copper,
And the stove-bench stone-constructed,
And the hearth composed of boulders,
And with Kaleva’s tree is boarded.”
Then the house the bridegroom entered,
Hastened on beneath the roof-tree,
And he spoke the words which follow:
“Grant, O Jumala, thy blessing
Underneath this noble roof-tree,
Underneath this roof so splendid.”180
Then said Pohjola’s old Mistress,
“Hail, all hail, to thee, who enters
In this room of small dimensions,
In this very lowly cottage,
In this wretched house of firwood,
In this house of pine constructed.
“O my little waiting-maiden,
Thou the village maid I hired,
Bring a piece of lighted birchbark,
To a tarry torch apply it,190
That I may behold the bridegroom,
And the bridegroom’s eyes examine,
Whether they are blue or reddish;
Whether they are white as linen.”
Then the little waiting-maiden,
She, the little village maiden,
Brought a piece of lighted birchbark,
To a tarry torch applied it.
“From the bark the flame springs spluttering,
From the tar black smoke’s ascending,200
So his eyes might perhaps be sooted,
And his handsome face be blackened,
Therefore bring a torch all flaming,
Of the whitest wax constructed.”
Then the little waiting-maiden,
She the little village maiden,
Lit a torch, and brought it flaming,
Of the whitest wax constructed.
White like wax the smoke was rising,
And the flame ascended brightly,210
And the bridegroom’s eyes were shining,
And his face was all illumined.
“Now the bridegroom’s eyes I gaze on!
They are neither blue nor reddish,
Neither are they white like linen,
But his eyes they shine like lake-foam,
Like the lake-reed are they brownish,
And as lovely as the bulrush.
“Now my little village laddies,
Hasten to conduct the bridegroom220
To a seat among the highest,
To a place the most distinguished,
With his back towards the blue wall,
With his face towards the red board,
There among the guests invited,
Facing all the shouting people.”
Then did Pohjola’s old Mistress,
Feast her guests in noble fashion,
Feast them on the best of butter,
And with cream-cakes in abundance;210
Thus she served the guests invited,
And among them first the bridegroom.
On the plates was placed the salmon,
At the sides the pork was stationed,
Dishes filled to overflowing,
Laden to the very utmost,
Thus to feast the guests invited;
And among them first the bridegroom.
Then said Pohjola’s old Mistress,
“O my little waiting-maiden,240
Bring me now the ale in measures,
Bring it in the jugs two-handled,
For the guests we have invited,
And the bridegroom chief among them.”
Then the little waiting-maiden,
She, the servant hired for money,
Brought the measures as directed,
Handed round the five-hooped tankards,
Till, with ale from hops concocted,
All the beards with foam were whitened;250
All the beards of guests invited;
And among them most the bridegroom’s.
What about the ale was spoken,
Of the ale in five-hooped tankards,
When at length it reached the minstrel,
Reached the greatest of the singers,
He the aged Väinämöinen,
First and oldest of the singers,
He the minstrel most illustrious,
He the greatest of the Sages?260
First of all the ale he lifted,
Then he spoke the words which follow:
“O thou ale, thou drink delicious,
Let the drinkers not be moody!
Urge the people on to singing,
Let them shout, with mouth all golden,
Till our lords shall wonder at it,
And our ladies ponder o’er it,
For the songs already falter,
And the joyous tongues are silenced.270
When the ale is ill-concocted,
And bad drink is set before us,
Then the minstrels fail in singing,
And the best of songs they sing not,
And our cherished guests are silent,
And the cuckoos call no longer.
“Therefore who shall chant unto us,
And whose tongue shall sing unto us,
At the wedding feast of Pohja,
This carouse at Sariola held?280
Benches will not sing unto us,
Save when people sit upon them,
Nor will floors hold cheerful converse,
Save when people walk upon them,
Neither are the windows joyful,
If the lords should gaze not from them,
Nor resound the table’s edges,
If men sit not round the tables,
Neither do the smoke-holes echo,
If men sit not ’neath the smoke-holes.”290
On the floor a child was sitting,
On the stove-bench sat a milkbeard,
From the floor exclaimed the infant,
And the boy spoke from the stove-bench:
“I am not in years a father,
Undeveloped yet my body,
But however small I may be,
If the other big ones sing not,
And the stouter men will shout not,
And the rosier cheeked will sing not,300
Then I’ll sing, although a lean boy,
Though a thin boy, I will whistle,
I will sing, though weak and meagre,
Though my stomach is not rounded,
That the evening may be cheerful,
And the day may be more honoured.”
By the stove there sat an old man,
And he spoke the words which follow:
“That the children sing befits not,
Nor these feeble folk should carol.310
Children’s songs are only falsehoods,
And the songs of girls are foolish.
Let the wisest sing among us,
Who upon the bench is seated.”
Then the aged Väinämöinen,
Answered in the words which follow:
“Are there any who are youthful,
Of the noblest of the people,
Who will clasp their hands together,
Hook their hands in one another,320
And begin to speak unto us,
Swaying back and forth in singing,
That the day may be more joyful,
And the evening be more blessed?
From the stove there spoke the old man,
“Never was it heard among us,
Never heard or seen among us,
Nor so long as time existed,
That there lived a better minstrel,
One more skilled in all enchantment,330
Than myself when I was warbling,
As a child when I was singing,
Singing sweetly by the water,
Making all the heath re-echo,
Chanting loudly in the firwood,
Talking likewise in the forest.
“Then my voice was loud and tuneful,
And its tones were most melodious,
Like the flowing of a river,
Or the murmur of a streamlet,340
Gliding as o’er snow the snowshoes,
Like a yacht across the billows;
But ’tis hard for me to tell you
How my wisdom has departed,
How my voice so strong has failed me,
And its sweetness has departed.
Now it flows no more like river,
Rising like the tossing billows,
But it halts like rake in stubble,
Like the hoe among the pine-roots,350
Like a sledge in sand embedded,
Or a boat on rocks when stranded.”
Then the aged Väinämöinen
In such words as these expressed him:
“If no other bard comes forward
To accompany my singing,
Then alone my songs I’ll carol,
And will now commence my singing,
For to sing was I created,
As an orator was fashioned;360
How, I ask not in the village,
Nor I learn my songs from strangers.”
Then the aged Väinämöinen
Of the song the lifelong pillar,
Set him to the pleasant labour,
Girt him for the toil of singing,
Loud he sang his songs so pleasing,
Loud he spoke his words of wisdom.
Sang the aged Väinämöinen,
Sang by turns, and spoke his wisdom,370
Nor did words that suited fail him,
Neither were his songs exhausted,
Sooner stones in rocks were missing,
Or a pond lacked water-lilies.
Therefore thus sang Väinämöinen
Through the evening for their pleasure,
And the women all were laughing,
And the men in high good-humour,
While they listened and they wondered
At the chants of Väinämöinen,380
For amazement filled the hearers,
Wonder those who heard him singing.
Said the aged Väinämöinen,
When at length his song he ended,
“This is what I have accomplished
As a singer and magician,
Little can I thus accomplish,
And my efforts lead me nowhere:
But, if sang the great Creator,
Speaking with his mouth of sweetness,390
He would sing his songs unto you,
As a singer and magician.
“He would sing the sea to honey,
And to peas would sing the gravel,
And to malt would sing the seasand,
And to salt would sing the gravel,
Forest broad would sing to cornland,
And the wastes would sing to wheatfields,
Into cakes would sing the mountains,
And to hens’ eggs change the mountains.400
“As a singer and magician,
He would speak, and he would order,
And would sing unto this homestead,
Cowsheds ever filled with cattle,
Lanes o’erfilled with beauteous blossoms,
And the plains o’erfilled with milch-kine,
Full a hundred horned cattle,
And with udders full, a thousand.
“As a singer and magician,
He would speak and he would order410
For our host a coat of lynxskin,
For our mistress cloth-wrought dresses,
For her daughters boots with laces,
And her sons with red shirts furnish.
“Grant, O Jumala, thy blessing,
Evermore, O great Creator,
Unto those we see around us,
And again in all their doings,
Here, at Pohjola’s great banquet,
This carouse at Sariola held,420
That the ale may stream in rivers,
And the mead may flow in torrents,
Here in Pohjola’s great household,
In the halls at Sariola built,
That by day we may be singing,
And may still rejoice at evening
Long as our good host is living,
In the lifetime of our hostess.
“Jumala, do thou grant thy blessing,
O Creator, shed thy blessing,430
On our host at head of table,
On our hostess in her storehouse,
On their sons, the nets when casting,
On their daughters at their weaving.
May they have no cause for trouble,
Nor lament the year that follows,
After their protracted banquet,
This carousal at the mansion!“