From the Collection of Zacharias Topelius (1829)

These are the eleven Old Songs from the fourth volume of Zacharias Topelius the Elder's Suomen Kansan Vanhoja Runoja ynnä myös Nykyisempiä Lauluja ("Old Songs of the Finnish People, together with Newer Songs and Lays"), published in Helsinki in 1829. Topelius (1781–1831), a district physician in Nykarleby, Ostrobothnia, collected these songs from singers across northern Finland and Russian Karelia. This volume is dominated by its opening masterpiece: the Kontion Synty, a bear origin charm of over two hundred lines — one of the earliest published Finnish bear-ceremony texts, preserving the complete ritual cycle of the bear cult: the bear's sacred birth from Mielikki in Pohjola, the invocation of forest spirits, the bear-hunt, and the triumphal feast of welcome. Other songs include the Riien Synty (origin of an evil spirit born from wind-pregnancy), a Christmas miracle narrative, and a collection of healing incantations.

The volume also contains a section of "Newer Songs" (Nykyisempiä Runoja) — verse fables and occasional poetry — which fall outside the folk tradition and are not translated here. Source text from Project Gutenberg (EBook #72976).

Preface

Topelius's own note on the sources for Volume IV.

The Bear Origin Charm, the Origin of the Evil Spirit, and the Beginning of Stitch's Origin have been sent to me from the regions of Kajaani by the Chaplain of Suomussalmi, Mr. C. Saxa. The Words of the Wasp, Mouse, and Frost are from the parish of Kalajoki; the Words of Fire from Vuokkiniemi; the Words for Getting a Child and the Flour Rune from Kemi; the Wonders and the Contagion Charm from Savo.

While collecting these songs, of which one or two more booklets may yet appear, I have discovered that here and there, especially in old clerical families, all manner of verse-manuscripts may be found, preserved from ancient times. It is therefore my humble request that countrymen who possess such treasures would be willing to send them to me, so that they may find their place in this collection. Even fragmentary pieces are received with gratitude, since from many materials a complete work may more easily be prepared.

Also such contemporary verse-smiths as might wish their songs to be published, I urge and encourage to send them here. My place of residence is Nykarleby or Joensuun town in Ostrobothnia.

I. Origin of the Bear

Kontion Synty — the longest and most important incantation in Volume IV, at over two hundred lines. "Kontio" is a Finnish euphemism for the bear, the sacred animal of the northern peoples. This poem preserves the complete cycle of the Finnish bear cult: the bear's birth in Pohjola from Mielikki, the forest mistress; the ritual invocations to protect cattle; the hunt with dogs and spear; the ritualized denial of guilt ("you yourself rolled from the branch"); and the triumphal procession to the homestead feast. Published three years before the first Kalevala, this is one of the rawest and earliest printed forms of Finnish bear-ceremony poetry.

Walker, King of the Forest,
Forest-traveler of curving gait,
Still Old Man, grey-beard —
Where was Ohto born,
The sparse-furred one brought to growth,
The blue-tailed one begotten?
There was Ohto born,
The blue-tailed one begotten,
In dark Pohjola,
In watchful Tapiola,
At the foot of twisted rowans,
Beside a greening willow,
Near a rough old stump.
Should I go to Ohto's doors,
To flat-nose's grounds,
To small-eye's yard,
To look upon my quarry —
Short the leg, bent the knee,
Flat-nose, broad and waddling.
Annikki, daughter of Tapio,
Mielikki, mistress of the forest,
You who are the least of her maidens,
The best of her hired servants —
Tie up your dogs,
Leash your hounds
In the spruce-wood lane,
In the oaken enclosure,
When I come to the yards,
To noble Ohto's doors.
Who was it that bred Ohto,
That raised the sparse-furred one?
Mielikki, mistress of the forest —
She it was who bred Ohto,
Who raised the sparse-furred one,
Under the flowering crown of a spruce,
Under a golden-leafed crown.

When the King of the wildwood
Departs from his chamber,
Leaves his fortress —
Tuometar, maiden of Tapio,
Mielikki, mistress of the forest,
Dull his claws on the slope,
Soothe his teeth with honey,
So he cannot strike as a villain,
Cannot stir as slime
When he walks the cattle-lands!
Virgin Mary, Mother,
Dear mother full of mercy —
Weave me a golden cloth,
Forge a brazen veil,
With which I guard the cattle,
Shield the cloven-hooved
From the spruce-walker's travels,
When Ohto's son comes treading,
When the honey-paw comes journeying!
Annikki, daughter of Tapio —
Cut sign-marks across the lands,
Slash notches into the mountain-cracks,
That he may pass the grain unharmed,
Pass the cattle without touching,
Turning mine to stones,
My fair ones to stump-tops!
I do not forbid your wandering,
Nor watching over my herds,
Nor your traveling through —
I forbid with tongue your touching,
Forbid the teeth from scattering,
Forbid the flesh within from stirring.

Annikki, mistress of the forest —
Press a rowan collar,
Or build one of bird-cherry,
Or cast it out of brass;
If the brass be not strong enough,
Then build it out of iron,
Bind with it Ohto's muzzle,
So he cannot strike as a villain,
Cannot stir as slime!

There is land enough elsewhere,
A farmyard further off,
For an idle man to roam;
Were I Ohto,
Were I the honey-paw walking,
I would not be thus —
Always under the old wives' feet;
The cone-carpet is for your walking,
For your fingers' scratching;
Take a path for your running,
A trail for your stepping
Out to Manala's forest.

Kuittola, King of the forest —
Pull the bridge over for a gangway,
Fling silk for a causeway
Across the river of Pohjola,
So no path may run there,
No Ohto may scratch his way across,
No blue-stocking may tiptoe.

Then speaks the eldest of the islands,
Holy Taaria speaks,
From beyond nine night-places,
From behind a hundred stretches of road:
"My dear, my darling,
My apple, my Ohto —
Honey is fed to you,
Young mead is poured for you
Among a host of heroes,
In a company of men.
When I, a man, go to the forest,
A hero, rise to the wildwood,
I whet the dust from my gold-things,
The mold from my silver,
I take three of my dogs,
Five bush-tails,
Seven my fleet hounds.
Such is my dog's tail
As the finest forest spruce,
Such is my dog's eye
As the largest bridle-ring,
Such is my dog's tooth
As a scythe on the stretching-board;
You, handsomest of my dogs,
Best of my creatures —
Chase them, harry them
Across the open heathland,
First bow to the spruces,
Cleave the needle-crowns,
Caress the growing trees.
Run on over yonder
To pleasant Mehtola,
To watchful Tapiola!
Mielikki, mistress of the forest —
Come and give your hand,
Stretch out your right hand,
Fit your fingers together!
What mood, what change
In pleasant Mehtola,
In watchful Tapiola!
The former mistress of the forest
Was fair to look upon,
Lovely in her charms,
Her hands were in golden wrappings,
Her fingers in golden rings;
The present mistress of the forest
Is ugly in her frame,
Her hands are in birch-twig wrappings,
Her fingers in birch-twig rings,
Her head in birch-twig tangles.
Beautifully the dogs barked
In pleasant Mehtola,
Broadly the cattle lowed
In the famous wildwood home.

Louhi, Mistress of Pohjola —
Thrust forth your woolly hand,
Turn your fur-palmed hand;
It was promised from afar,
Hoped for from the wilds,
Wished for from Tapiola —
A great prize for my taking,
A honey-paw for my felling.
Still Old Man, grey-beard —
Ski your man out by his jacket,
Lead him by his coat-tails,
Pull him by his cloth collar,
Bring him to that island,
Lead him to that hill
Where the prize may be won,
The catch brought home."

When the prize was won,
The old ones spoke thus:
"I did no harm in holding him,
Nor did my companion:
You yourself rolled from the cradle-pole,
Tumbled from the branch-top,
Splitting your golden skull,
Cleaving your berry-belly;
The bow-spring and stick-arrow —
I am a man of little strength,
A hero feeble in spirit.
Come now, my gold, to go,
Blue-stocking, to step forth,
Broadcloth-trousers, to roll along
Among a heroic company,
A host of men.
Do not fear the women,
The capped-head cowering ones,
The felt-stockinged shrinking ones,
The quilt-headed startling ones.
We have long since built a storehouse
On silvery legs,
On golden benches,
Where we bring our guest,
Lead our golden one.
Grant, daughter of Paivala,
Tuometar, maiden of Tapio —
If the guest be hated,
Shut the door and hold it;
But if the guest be welcome,
Hold the door wide open
When we bring our golden one,
When Ohto steps inside."
Then Ohto turns and turns himself,
The honey-paw swings round —
Like a wood-grouse upon its nest,
A goose upon its hatching.

II. Origin of the Evil Spirit

Riien Synty — origin charm for the Riisi, an evil spirit born from a wind-pregnancy. The youngest of maidens lies back into the wind and conceives nine sons and a daughter. The Riisi is a fatherless, mouthless, eyeless creature — the personification of illness — who is ritually baptized in foul water and then banished through an escalating series of destinations: the wolf's mouth, the dead giant Antero Vipunen's belly, the church threshold, and finally the battlefield heaped with boneless flesh. At 152 lines, this is one of the most complete published banishing incantations in the Topelius collection.

The youngest of maidens
Made her bed in the road,
Her straw-bed on evil ground;
She lay back into the wind,
Into the harsh cold air.
The wind lifted her skirt-hems,
The north wind her dress-hems,
The wind made her pregnant,
The north wind swelled her:
From this she filled, from this she grew,
From this she swelled.
She bore a hard womb,
A heavy belly full;
She bore for two months, three,
She bore for five months, six,
Already bore for eight months,
Bore for well nigh ten months,
Bore for twelve months;
Already in the twelfth month
The birthmother's pains were brought,
The woman's fire was kindled.
She ran knee-deep into the sea,
Belt-buckle deep into the waves,
Stocking-thread deep into the slush;
At once she cried out a cry
To the one-eyed perch,
To all the fish of the water:
"Bring the spined ruff its battle-gear,
The burbot its slippery one;
Now comes the woman's pain,
Torment presses on the maiden."
She struck a honey-wing
From old Vainamoinen's belt,
With it she anointed the bone-joints,
Smoothed along the sides,
Drew along the back-edge;
Sideways she was pushed into the sea,
Into the water-demon's cradle,
Into the secret-chamber's stall,
Into the lily-basket home.
Under nine blankets,
Under five woolen veils,
She bore nine sons,
A daughter-child the tenth;
Her offspring she bound,
Her young ones she knotted
At the bath-whisk's edge,
On the sauna-bench's top.
She named her sons,
Counted out her children —
Some she called spruce-trees,
Some she named serpents.

Riisi is the son of Ruivantehen,
Of Ruivantehen, of Rayvantehen,
A fatherless, motherless child,
A mouthless, eyeless offspring.
How could the mouthless eat,
The tongueless suckle the breast,
The toothless bite,
The sightless fret?
Woe to you, the maiden's shame,
The maiden's shame, the women's scorn —
Now are you not shamed by shame?
Evil one, depart aside
From breaking the baptized,
From gnawing the christened!
Where was Riisi baptized,
The gnawer christened?
There was Riisi baptized:
At the well of Kaleva's son,
On the runners of a small sleigh.
Was the water clean?
The water was not clean;
That water was mixed with blood —
Harlots washed their veils in it,
Wicked women their chemises,
With which Riisi was baptized,
The gnawer was christened
In stinking skirts,
In nappy-worn coats.

Where shall I banish you —
Away from breaking the baptized,
From felling the christened?
There I banish you:
Into the mouth of the running wolf,
Under the summer-reindeer's tongue;
Good is it there for your dwelling,
Dear for your lingering,
Beloved for your dallying —
There your beds are buttered,
Your places pigged with pork;
There your father weeps,
There your parents wail:
"Where has our boy gone?"
And if you will not obey that —
Slide to your treaty-bread,
Go to your portioned food.
And if you will not obey that —
Take your family's skis,
Your clan's horses
To go to your home,
The linden skis of Lempo,
Hiisi's ski-boots, iron-soled,
The wicked spirit's thick staff,
On which you ski across Hiisi's lands,
Toss across Lempo's lands.
Your mother is hastening
Home to her Koiro-folk.
Well you did in coming;
Better yet when you return.
Let him go as he goes —
By boat upon the water,
By ski upon the hills,
By horse upon the road;
There are enough flags
For going downhill.
And if you will not obey that —
There I banish you:
Onto running ski-poles,
Into the cave of Portimo-stone.
And if you will not obey that —
There I banish you:
Into the screaming raven's beak,
Into the cawing crow's mouth.
And if you will not obey that —
There I banish you:
Into the mouth of Antero Vipunen,
Who has lain a week in the earth,
Long rested as a fallen log;
On his brow is a squirrel-spruce,
A willow-bush upon his beard.
And if you will not obey that —
There I banish you:
Into the motley church threshold,
Into the hundred-plank floor,
Into the thousand-beam fold;
Priests are thundering there,
Men are holding mass.
And if you will not obey that —
There I banish you:
Onto the great war-pyres,
Onto the men's slaughter-grounds,
Where the blood reaches the belt —
There is boneless flesh,
Sinewless calf-meat
For a hungry man to eat,
For a famished one to tear,
For a craving one to bite.

III. Beginning of Stitch's Origin

Pistoksen Synnyn Alku — a variant of the cosmogonic Great Oak myth. Four maidens and a Fiery Tursas from Pohjola plant the ash that grows to block the sun, moon, and stars. A tiny man rises from the sea — a quarter-ell tall, fitting under a sieve — to fell the world-oak. Compare the version in Volume II, where this myth is told more fully.

(Another version.) [See Part II, page 1.]

There were once four maidens,
Three brides in all;
They were making hay,
Gathering sedge
At the nose of a misty cape,
On an island of the hazel-tree.
As they mowed, they raked,
At once they piled the grass,
Set it in sheaves and rows,
Thrust it between the posts.
A boy came from Pohjola,
By name the Fiery Tursas.
He thrust the Tursas into the fire,
Cast him into the fire-pit.
A little ash came,
A handful of sparks.
The sparks were sown
Before the gate of Pohjola,
Under the motley stump's threshold.
From this grew a beautiful oak,
A flawless sapling rose;
Its crown filled the heavens,
Its leaves spread to the skies,
It blocked the sun from shining,
Blocked the moon from gleaming,
Kept the clouds from running,
The mists from drifting.
The maidens held counsel:
How shall we have a moon,
How manage without the Great Bear,
How live without the sun?
A man was sought,
A man was searched for
From the parish, from the town,
From the lands of six churches,
Who could fell the oak,
Who could topple the fine tree,
Who could roll the green tree over.
A dark man rose from the sea,
Lifted himself upon the waves.
A quarter-ell in height,
Barely a span in stature,
Could fit beneath a bowl,
Could stand beneath a sieve;
He steps with waddling gait,
With spreading swaying motions;
A fathom his trouser-leg,
A fathom and a half from the knee,
Two fathoms from the hem, etc.

IV. Words of the Wasp

Vaapsahaisen Sanat — a six-line incantation against wasp stings, commanding the wasp to retract its sting and turn its thoughts to honeybread.

Wasp, hornet —
Your birthmother bore you,
Your nurturer raised you.
Thrust back your sting, bend your arrow,
Turn your point to a curve,
Set your mind on honeybread!

V. Words of the Mouse

Hiiren Sanat — spoken when putting hay into the barn. A three-line death-curse against mice who would gnaw the stored grain.

(When putting hay in the barn.)

A nibble for the mouse's tooth,
A bit for the gnawer's mouth!
If you swallow one hair,
Bite another,
At the third you'll straightway die.

VI. Words of Frost

Pakkasen Sanat — a charm against frost. The singer binds Frost into a sleigh with Summer in the middle and rides away seated in the heart of warmth.

(Addition. See Part II, page 26.)

I set the Frost into the sleigh,
Frost onto the front-runner,
Frost onto the back-runner,
Summer into the sleigh's middle,
Myself into the middle of Summer.

VII. Words of Fire

Tulen Sanat — a charm for burns. A maiden descends from Lapland in a brazen boat of ice. If the wound was burned in fire, the singer calls for a honey-sauna and sends the bee beyond nine seas for healing balm.

I can enchant the fire,
Subdue its master:
A maiden floated from Lapland
In a brazen boat,
An icy prow, an icy keel,
An icy runner inside,
An icy kettle on the fire,
An icy handle on the kettle.
If it was burned in fire —
Soothe with a honey-sauna,
On a honey hearth!
The little bee brings honey
From beyond nine seas,
Past half of the tenth,
As a remedy for the wound,
As a salve for the hurt.

VIII. Words for Getting a Child

Lapsen Saajan Sanat — a birth incantation. The Virgin Mary is summoned in light shoes and trailing skirt to the secret sauna, where she is to seize the birth-pains and free the woman from her bonds, using the same ointments with which Jesus himself was christened.

Virgin Mary, Mother,
Dear mother full of mercy —
Come here in your light shoes,
With your fine skirt trailing,
Walk in your white stockings,
Step softly in your dark ones!
Come to the sauna in secret,
To the steam-room in hiding —
Come! Here you are needed
To seize the pains,
To silence the anguish!
Free the maiden from the straits,
The woman from the belly's twistings!
Take grit from the ruff-fish,
Slime from the burbot,
Soothe with those soothings,
Anoint with those anointments
With which Jesus was anointed,
The Almighty was christened —
Free from evil days,
From bonds so tight,
From pain-belts so strong!

IX. Wonders

Imehia — a fragmentary folk song about the miracles of Christmas. St. Stephen dances from midnight to midnight. At Herod's (Ruotus's) table, the host demands proof: a flayed ox bellows from its bones, a roasted rooster crows from the spit, a knife-point sprouts golden leaves from the floorboards. The song ends with the singer abandoning Herod for faith in Jesus. Topelius notes this is believed to date from the first spread of Christianity in Finland by Swedish priests.

Christmas comes in its company,
St. Stephen's Day in its dance.
The skillful Stephen danced
From midnight to midnight.
— — —
Stephen has a stable-boy,
Who led the horse to water
Through the thigh to the spring,
To the juniper well;
The spring rippled, the horse snorted.
"Why do you snort, you dog's food,
You neigh, horse of Hiisi?"
— — —
I struck my eyes toward the east,
I saw a star in the sky,
A gleam in the gap between clouds.
I went into Herod's house.
Herod spoke from his table,
Tiivas from the beam-support:
"Then I will believe it true
If the ox will bellow
Though it lies in bones on the floor,
Its flesh eaten, its bones gnawed,
Its hide worn as shoes."
Then the ox began to bellow,
On its bones it clattered,
With its hooves it scraped the earth.

"Then I will believe it true
If the rooster will crow
Though it is roasted on the spit,
Though it is basted with butter,
Limbed and jointed,
Feathered and fluffed."
Then the rooster began to crow,
The rooster on the sixth word,
The hen-chick on the eighth.

"Then I will believe it true
If the knife-point will sprout
Though it is struck into the floor."
Then the knife-point sprouted,
It sprouted six shoots,
A gold leaf on every one.
— — —
Now I leave off from Herod,
I take my faith in Jesus.

Topelius adds: "This much-incomplete song, sent to me from Savo by the court tax assessor Mr. C. H. Asp, is believed to be from the time when Christianity was first spread here by Swedish priests, and the miracle-preachers were thought to work miracles themselves, so that the pagan enchanters also attempted other wonders against them."

X. Flour Rune

Jauho Runo — despite its title, a love song rather than a grinding song. The singer longs for the return of a beloved, willing to kiss a mouth stained with wolf's blood or shake a hand holding a serpent. The wind is invoked as a messenger between two lovers.

If my dear one would come,
If my once-seen one would appear!
I would kiss that mouth —
Though the mouth were in wolf's blood;
I would shake that hand —
Though a serpent were in the palm.
Were the wind willing,
The north wind articulate:
It would carry a word, bear a word,
Set an extra word in motion
Between two lovers.
Sooner I give up the feast-foods,
Forget the parson's roasts,
Than give up my sweetheart —
My summer's courted one,
My winter's wooed one.

XI. Contagion Charm

Tarttuman Loihtu — a banishing spell against contagious illness. The disease-spirit is sent back to whatever realm it came from: the grave, the water-demon's lair. A succinct and powerful example of the Finnish folk healer's art.

There I banish you —
To the dead man's pit,
Into the skin of the long-departed,
Where are the other murderers,
The eternal evil-doers.
If it is from Death's chamber,
Then go to Death's chamber;
If from the water-demon's cradle,
Then go to the water-demon's cradle —
From eating, from gnawing,
From breaking the baptized,
From felling the christened,
From tearing the wrought.
There is eating for the eater,
Biting for the craver.

Colophon

Ancient Songs of the Finnish People — Volume IV (Suomen Kansan Vanhoja Runoja ynnä myös Nykyisempiä Lauluja, IV) — the fourth volume of the first Finnish folk poetry collection ever published. Compiled by Zacharias Topelius the Elder (1781–1831), district physician in Nykarleby, Ostrobothnia. Published in Helsinki, 1829.

These eleven songs — the Old Songs (Vanhoja Runoja) from the collection — include the Kontion Synty (Bear Origin Charm), one of the earliest and most complete published Finnish bear-ceremony texts; the Riien Synty (Origin of the Evil Spirit), a wind-pregnancy myth; the Pistoksen Synnyn Alku (Great Oak variant); and eight shorter incantations covering fire, frost, birth, death, miracles, love, and plague. The five "Newer Songs" (Nykyisempiä Runoja) — verse fables and occasional poetry — fall outside the folk tradition and are not included.

Translated from Finnish by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, March 2026, for the Good Work Library at tianmu.org.

This is a Good Works Translation: the English text was independently derived from the Finnish source. No prior complete English translation of this collection exists. The translation follows the Kalevala meter's natural cadence — trochaic octosyllabic verse with parallelism — rendering each line as a verse line in English to preserve the sung form.

Source text from Project Gutenberg (EBook #72976). The 1829 Finnish original is in the public domain.

Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.

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Source Text: Suomen Kansan Vanhoja Runoja (IV)

Finnish source text from Zacharias Topelius, Suomen Kansan Vanhoja Runoja ynnä myös Nykyisempiä Lauluja, IV (Helsinki, 1829). Project Gutenberg EBook #72976. Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.

Esi-puhe.
Kontion Synty.
Riien Synty.
Pistoksen Synnyn alku.
Vaapsahaisen Sanat.
Hiiren Sanat.
Pakkasen Sanat.
Tulen Sanat.
Lapsen Saajan Sanat.
Imehiä.
Jauho-Runo.
Tarttuman Loihtu.

Source Colophon

Finnish. From Zacharias Topelius (the Elder), Suomen Kansan Vanhoja Runoja ynnä myös Nykyisempiä Lauluja ("Old Songs of the Finnish People, together with Newer Songs and Lays"), Volume IV, Helsinki: J. Simelius's Widow, 1829. Text prepared for Project Gutenberg (EBook #72976). The 1829 Finnish original is in the public domain.

Only the eleven Old Songs (Vanhoja Runoja) and the Preface (Esi-puhe) are reproduced here. The five "Newer Songs" (Nykyisempiä Runoja) — verse fables and occasional poetry from the same volume — fall outside the folk tradition and are not included.

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