from Suomen kansan muinaisia loitsurunoja, compiled by Elias Lönnrot (1880)

Fourteen creature origin charms — syntyloitsut — from the Finnish tietäjä's cosmological bestiary. Here is how the wasp was fashioned from a maiden's fallen hair; how the snail was conceived by Pain's daughter and Death's son; how a flax seed stretched by holy water became the pike; how the horse was forged in Hiisi's smithy from stone, rock, iron, and steel; how the elk was assembled from the landscape itself — back of bent birch, legs of fence-posts, fur of sedge; how the seal froze from flowers held by a man who rose from the sea; how the cat was gotten on a stove with a maiden's nose, a hare's head, serpent-claws, and wolf-body; how the dog was born when the wind made Louhiatar pregnant; how the raven was assembled from the world's detritus — head of pot-shards, guts of needles, beak of a sorcerer's arrow; how the lizard came from Syöjätär's spittle on the waves, or from a tryst in the yard against a woodpile.

These are not fables in the modern sense. Each is a syntyloitsu — an origin incantation recited by the tietäjä (seer-shaman) to gain power over the named creature. To know a thing's origin is to command it: the tietäjä who recited the wasp's birth could banish wasps; the one who knew the seal's origin could command it into the sea's black mud; the one who recited the dog's birth could make it gentle. The tietäjä's entire craft rested on this distributed cosmological bestiary — a world in which every creature had a story the seer must know to hold power over it.

These incantations have never before appeared in English. They are drawn from Elias Lönnrot's 1880 Suomen kansan muinaisia loitsurunoja, the most comprehensive published collection of Finnish shamanic incantations, compiled from field collections by the Finnish Literary Society (SKS). Where multiple major variants exist from different singers and regions, all are translated.

Ampiaisen synty — Birth of the Wasp

A maiden sat upon a stone,
A girl settled on a slab,
Brushing out her hair,
Combing out her tresses.
A hair fell from the maiden,
A strand broke from the fair one,
This the wind carried away
To a nameless meadow;
From it the wasp was made,
That evil bird was fashioned,
A brazen stripe upon its back,
Full of venom in its sting.

Etanan synty — Birth of the Snail

Pain's daughter, Death's son,
Lay together on an earth-stone,
The two of them upon the rock,
Begetting worms,
Catching snails.
The girl grew heavy with child,
Carried a hard womb,
At last loosed her belly —
From it worms were spawned,
From it the snails came into being.

Hauvin synty — Birth of the Pike

By night Liipo sowed the flax,
By day Kauko made it grow,
From it rose a young shoot,
The shoot rose, the flax grew;
A wind came from three directions
To shake the head of the flax,
The wind shook the head of the flax,
Scattered the hemp-seed,
The wind carried the flax away
To a holy river's eddy,
There the current rocked it,
The water stretched it long —
From it grew a beautiful pike,
A fish of the waters rose.

Hevosen synty — Birth of the Horse

From Hiisi is the horse's origin,
From the mountain the champion foal,
In the fire-doored house,
In the iron-ridged forge,
Its head was set from stone,
Its hooves from rock,
Its legs built from iron,
Its back made from steel.

Hirven synty — Birth of the Elk

Where was the elk born,
Where did the herd-son grow?
There was the elk born,
There did the herd-son grow,
On the back of the windy moor,
In a dense bird-cherry grove,
In thick willow scrub —
Its back from a bent birch,
Its legs from fence-posts,
Its head from an ash-tree root,
The rest of its body from rotten wood,
Its fur from rough sedge-grass.

Hylkeen synty — Birth of the Seal

A man rises from the sea,
Lifts himself from the waves,
A counter of the sea's skerries,
A watcher of the water's fish,
Six flowers in his hand,
Six buds on every flower-tip,
All full of spawn —
These froze into seals.
Seal-boy, round one,
Wanderer around the sea,
Curly-tufted one of the sea-meadow,
As a seal was your father,
As a seal was your mother,
As a seal are you yourself —
Go from here where I command,
Into the black mud of the sea,
Into the blue clay's depths,
Into the water-dragon's jaws!

Kaalimadon synty — Birth of the Cabbage Worm

Roly-poly, round one,
Black worm, earth-coloured,
I know your lineage:
Blue-One is your father,
Blue-One is your mother,
Blue-Ones are your sisters,
Blue-One is all your kin,
Blue-One are you yourself.
When first you were born of your mother,
I listened, I turned about,
I heard a murmur from the grass,
A rumble from the hollow's bottom,
Rustling you crept into the stubble,
Tinkling into the hay.

Kissan synty — Birth of the Cat

Well I know the cat's origin,
How the grey-beard hatched it:
The cat was gotten on a stove —
Its nose is of a maiden, its head of a hare,
Its tail is Hiisi's braid,
Its claws are vipers and serpents,
Its legs of other berries,
The rest of its body is wolf-kin.

Koiran synty — Birth of the Dog

a.

From the wind is the puppy's origin,
From the gale the dog's beginning;
Louhiatar, the aged woman,
The harlot, mistress of Pohjola,
Lay with her backside to the wind,
With her hips toward the northwest,
The wind made her pregnant,
The gale hardened her womb.
What lies hard in her womb?
In her womb she carried a dog,
A puppy beneath her spleen,
A creature of earth inside her liver,
For one moon, for two moons;
At the end of the third moon
She began to release her creatures,
To loosen her belly,
From her womb she delivered the dog,
The puppy from beneath her spleen.
Who carried the swaddling cloths,
The rough child's wrapping?
Haivo's raging wife,
She carried the swaddling cloths,
In her linens rocked it,
In her skirts swayed it,
Set the boy to tramping,
The furry-tail to beckoning.
Pohjola's finest maiden,
She stood by the wall's edge,
Dwelt beneath the window,
Melting honey;
Honey froze upon her fingertips,
With which she anointed its teeth —
And the dog became well-mannered,
The mongrel turned well-behaved,
That it would not eat even a morsel,
Nor bite the tiniest scrap.

b.

Well I know the dog's origin,
I divine the puppy's beginning:
Made on a trash-heap,
Fashioned on a field,
Of nine fathers' lineage,
Born of one mother.
Manuhutar, mistress of the earth,
Scooped its head from a hummock,
Got its legs from fence-posts,
Its ears from pond-lilies,
Struck its gums from the east,
Built its muzzle from the wind.

Korpin synty — Birth of the Raven

a.

Well I know the raven's origin,
I divine the devourer's birth,
Whence the black bird was gotten,
Where the raven was raised:
The scoundrel's raven, Lemmo's bird,
The wickedest bird of the sky,
It was born on a charcoal hill,
Grew on the ember-heaths,
Gathered from brands,
Born from soot-logs,
Its head set from pot-shards,
Its body from Lemmo's spinning-rod,
Its tail from Lemmo's sail,
Its limbs from crooked sticks,
Its belly from the poor wretch's sack,
Its guts from Lemmo's needles,
Its rear from a hoop of the sky,
Its crop from a cauldron-rim,
Its neck from Hiisi's loom-beam,
Its beak from a sorcerer's arrow-tip,
Its tongue from Kirkki's axe,
Its eyes from a curlew-stone.

b.

Ho you raven, pitiful bird,
Raven, three-Lemmo's bird,
On the ground is your dwelling,
In a birch is your home;
Well I know your lineage,
And all your raising:
Gathered from the hearth's soot,
Bundled from fire-logs,
Born from charcoal,
Put together from all that is evil,
Your scabs from Hiisi's mittens,
Your cloven feet from Hiisi's spindles,
Your guts from Hiisi's belts,
Your legs from the sky's spindle-whorls,
Your claws from tar-sticks,
Your wings from Lemmo's fans,
Your feathers ground from coal,
Your ears from birch-leaves,
One eye from Hiisi's seeds,
The other from an iron pea,
Your beak from a sorcerer's axe,
Your tongue from a dead tree's spear.

Sian synty — Birth of the Pig

Well I know the pig's origin too,
The snub-snout's beginning is guessed:
Tynimys is your mother,
Kynimys is your father —
With hooves, with claws, root the earth,
With your snout turn the turves,
But do not tear at fences,
Do not topple the gates!

Siikasen synty — Birth of the Whitefish

A pearl fell from the Lord,
Dropped from the Almighty,
From high heaven above,
From the hollow of Jesus' hand,
Onto Osmo's field-margin,
Onto Pellervo's embankment.
From that an origin was born,
From that a lineage arose,
From it grew bentgrass,
From it the whitefish was spawned.
It rose from the earth like a strawberry,
Rose up three-branched,
Branched by the brush-heap,
Grown by the slash-burn field,
Rocked by the wind-spirit,
Suckled by the frost,
Its crown drawn up by the Creator,
Upheld by the Almighty.

Sisiliskon synty — Birth of the Lizard

a.

Syöjätär spat into the sea,
Flung her spittle onto the waves;
A bubble travels in the sea,
Foam on the wide back of the water.
Kasaritar, beautiful maiden,
Sat on a bent birch-tree,
Rested on an aspen's branch,
Rose from the bent birch,
Looks about, turns about,
Her eyes toward the gentle sea,
Saw the bubble traveling,
The foam-bit wandering.
She took the bubble into her throat,
Drew the foam into her nostrils;
The bubble burns in her throat,
Smoulders in her nostrils,
Traveled from her throat to her belly,
Slid down into her stomach.
Kasaritar, that beautiful maiden,
From that grew full, from that grew heavy,
Carried a hard womb
For three full years;
From it she got an evil offspring —
What name was given to it?
Lizard was the name it received,
The brushwood for its dwelling,
A birch-stump for its home,
A rotting stump for its estate.

b.

Nuoramo, good mistress,
Stepped from stone to stone,
From hummock to hummock,
A pearl fell from her skirts,
A golden trinket dropped,
Against a berry-bush hill,
Into the brushwood beneath a fence;
From that a birth was born,
A little lizard was begotten,
Grew beside the cliff,
Against a fence-post's shadow,
In the brushwood beneath the fence.

c.

Lizard, Hiisi's eye,
Earth's minnow, water's sprat,
Well I know your lineage:
Silk-born was your father,
Silk-born was your mother,
Silk-born are you yourself.
You were gathered from birch-trees,
Set together from aspen bark,
Made from tar-root,
Snatched from a pine's branch,
Gathered from a hollow log,
Puffed up from feathers,
Gotten behind the threshold,
Slipped into the woodpile's crack,
Tossed into the brushwood,
Flung beneath the fence.

d.

Old man Vingas the mighty
Lay with his old woman
In the yard against a woodpile,
Beside birch-wood logs,
Against a heap of twigs,
Bird-cherry prop-logs —
From that a lineage was begotten,
A great flat creature was born;
A boy came during their sleeping,
An ungermo during their resting.

The child was hidden in the wilderness,
The boy was tucked away,
Inside a bird-cherry house,
In a bird-cherry cradle —
But the boy would not stay hidden there,
The boy slipped out to the yard,
Beneath the long woodpile's edge,
Along the rowan-wood.

Where shall the boy be placed,
Where the creature be assigned?
There it would be taken
To the farthest field,
Placed on the field's margin —
But it is no good there either:
Pigs root about there,
Snub-snouts turn the soil.

Where shall the boy be placed,
Where the ungermo be assigned,
Shall it be sent to the wilderness?
The boy was taken to the wilderness,
To the middle of the honey-forest —
But it is bad for the boy there:
The honey-forests dry out,
Forest-men will burn them.

Where shall the wretched one be placed,
Where the destroyer be done away with;
Shall it be taken to the water?
The boy was taken to the water —
But it is bad for the boy there:
Young men pull with seine-nets,
Lash with fishing-lines,
Old men circle with gill-nets,
Fasten with sinkers.

Where shall the boy be placed,
Where the ungermo be assigned?
The boy was taken to the clearing,
To a birch-stump home,
To the armpit of a rotting stump —
There he changed into a worm,
Was born as a lizard.

e.

Vingas pressed against his woman,
Tumbled her, rolled upon her,
In a dense bird-cherry grove,
In thick willow-forest,
On a stone at the lower end,
Against a raspberry cairn —
From that a birth was born,
A little lizard was begotten,
Yard-trash, field-rubbish,
Earth-trash, underworld-trash,
A dweller beneath fences,
A reveler in the brushwood.

Tijasen synty — Birth of the Titmouse

I know the titmouse's origin,
Whence the titmouse was made,
The small bird fashioned:
Willow was first born of trees,
Willow among trees, tussock among lands,
Bear among the forest's own,
Titmouse among the birds of the sky.
A shred came loose from the willow,
A fragment fell from the bark,
Onto a bare clearing —
From that the titmouse was made,
The small bird was fashioned.

Colophon

Source: Elias Lönnrot (comp.), Suomen kansan muinaisia loitsurunoja (Ancient Charm Songs of the Finnish People), Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, 1880. Sections: 1 Ampiaisen synty, 2 Etanan synty, 4 Hauvin synty, 5 Hevosen synty, 6 Hirven synty, 8 Hylkeen synty, 10 Kaalimadon synty, 13 Kissan synty, 16 Koiran synty (variants a–b), 18 Korpin synty (variants a–b), 37 Sian synty, 38 Siikasen synty, 39 Sisiliskon synty (variants a–e), 43 Tijasen synty.

Translation: Good Works Translation by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026. Translated independently from the Finnish source text (Project Gutenberg #48751, human-proofread transcription by Jari Koivisto). No prior English translation of these incantations is known to exist. Orthographic variants (Toisin:) are omitted for readability; only major variant texts from different singers and regions are included.

Note: These fourteen creature-origin charms reveal how the Finnish tietäjä understood the living world. Each creature is assembled from its cosmological materials: the horse is forged from stone, rock, iron, and steel in Hiisi's fire-doored smithy; the elk is built from the landscape — bent birch for its back, fence-posts for its legs, sedge for its fur; the raven is collected from evil itself — pot-shards for its head, soot for its body, a sorcerer's arrow for its beak. The cat is a chimera — maiden's nose, hare's head, serpent-claws, wolf-body. The dog is born from the wind itself, or made from a trash-heap with pond-lily ears. The lizard finds no home anywhere — not in the field (pigs root there), not in the forest (men burn it), not in the water (fishermen net it) — until it reaches a rotting stump, where it finally becomes what it was always going to be. Together with the previously translated Birth of the Bear, Birth of the Serpent, Birth of the Wolf, Birth of Iron, Birth of Fire, Birth of Frost, Birth of Water, Birth of Humankind, and Birth of Beer, these charms constitute the largest published English collection of Finnish syntyloitsut — the tietäjä's distributed encyclopedia of origins.

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

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Source Text

Finnish source text from Elias Lönnrot (comp.), Suomen kansan muinaisia loitsurunoja (Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, 1880), Project Gutenberg #48751. Presented here for reference, study, and verification. Orthographic variants (Toisin:) are omitted for readability.

Ampiaisen synty

Impi istuihe kivelle,
Kapo paaelle panihe,
Hapsiansa harjoavi,
Päätänsä panettelevi.
Hivus immeltä putosi,
Karva katkesi kavolta,
Senpä tuuli tuonne kantoi
Niittyhyn nimettömähän;
Tuost' on tehty ampiainen,
Paha lintu paiskutettu,
Viini vaskinen selässä,
Täynnä viinensä vihoja.

Etanan synty

Kivun tyttö, Tuonen poika,
Makasivat maakivellä,
Kahen kesken kalliolla,
Matoja sijittäessä,
Etanoita pyyttäessä.
Tuli tyttö raskahaksi,
Kantoi kohtua kovoa,
Viimein vatsansa vajensi,
Siitäpä maot sikesi,
Siitä syntyivät etanat.

Hauvin synty

Yöllä Liipo liinan kylvi,
Kauko päivän kasvatteli,
Tuosta nousi nuori taimi,
Taimi nousi, liina kasvoi;
Tuli tuuli kolmialta
Liinan päätä puistamahan,
Puisti tuuli liinan päätä,
Hampun siementä sirotti,
Tuonne tuuli liinan viepi
Pyhän virran pyörtehesen,
Siinä tuoli tuuditteli,
Vesi pitkäksi venytti,
Kasvoi siitä kaunis hauki,
Ve'en venkala kohosi.

Hevosen synty

Hiiest' on hevosen synty,
Vuoresta valion varsan,
Tuli-uksessa tuvassa,
Rautaharjassa pajassa,
Pää sen on kivestä pantu,
Kaviot on kalliosta,
Sääret rauasta rakettu,
Teräksestä selkä tehty.

Hirven synty

Miss' on hirvi syntynynnä,
Karin poika kasvanunna?
Tuoll' on hirvi syntynynnä,
Karin poika kasvanunna,
Nevan tuulisen selällä,
Tiheällä tuomikolla,
Paksulla pajupehulla,
Selkä on koivun konkelosta,
Sääret aian seipähistä,
Pää on saarnen juurikasta,
Muu raato lahosta puusta,
Karvat karvakorttehista.

Hylkeen synty

Mies on nousevi merestä,
Aallosta ylenteleikse,
Meren luotojen lukia,
Veen kalojen katselia,
Kuus' on kukkia käessä,
Kuus' kunki kukan nenässä,
Kaikk' on täynnä raaniloita,
Ne on hyytyi hylkehiksi.
Hyle poika pyöreäinen
Meren ympäri meniä,
Meren nurmen nutturainen,
Hylkynä sinun isosi,
Hylkynä sinun emosi,
Hylkynä sinä itseki,
Mene tästä, kunne käsken,
Meren mustahan mutahan,
Sinisen saven sisähän,
Lohikäärmehen kitahan!

Kaalimadon synty

Pulleroinen, palleroinen,
Mato musta, maan näköinen,
Tietähän sinun sukusi:
Sinervö sinun isosi,
Sinervö sinun emosi,
Sinervöisiä sisaret,
Sinervöinen muu sukusi,
Sinervö sinä itseki.
Kun ensin emosta synnyit,
Kuuntelime, kääntelime,
Kuulin nurmelta nurinan,
Notkon pohjalta porinan,
Kulisten menit kulohon,
Helähellen heinikkohon.

Kissan synty

Kyllä tieän kissan synnyn,
Halliparran hauteleman:
Kissa on saatu kiukoalla,
Nenä neittä, pää jänistä,
Häntä Hiien palmikkoa,
Kynnet kyitä käärmehiä,
Jalat muita muuramia,
Muu ruumis suen sukua.

Koiran synty — a.

Tuulest' on penuen synty,
Ahavasta koiran alku;
Louhiatar vaimo vanha,
Portto Pohjolan emäntä,
Perin tuulehen makasi,
Lonkamuksin luotehesen,
Teki tuuli tiineheksi,
Ahava kohun kovaksi.
Mit' on kohtunsa kovana?
Kohussansa koiran kantoi,
Penun alla pernojensa,
Maksoissansa maan itikan,
Yksikuisen, kaksikuisen;
Kuun on kolmannen lopulla
Alkoi luoa luomiansa,
Vajennella vatsoansa,
Kohustansa koiran luopi,
Penun alta pernojensa,
Ken kantoi kapalorievut,
Lapsen karkean kapalon?
Haivon akka raivokerta,
Se kantoi kapalorievut,
Liinoissansa liekutteli,
Helmoissansa heilutteli,
Laitti poian polkemahan,
Villahännän viitomahan.
Pohjolan parahin neiti,
Sepä seisoi seinänvieret,
Asui ikkunan alukset,
Simoa sulaelevi;
Sima hyytyi hyppysihin,
Jolla voiti hampahia,
Tuli koira kunnollinen,
Sai sepeli siivollinen,
Jott' ei syö vähäistäkänä,
Pure pikkuruistakana.

Koiran synty — b.

Kyllä tieän koiran synnyn,
Arvoan alun penikan:
Tehty on rikkatunkiolla,
Vainiolla valmistettu,
Yheksän isän aloa,
Yhen äitin synnyttämä.
Manuhutar maan emäntä
Pään mäkäisi mättähästä,
Sääret hankki seipähistä,
Korvat lammin lumpehista,
Ikenet iästä iski,
Turvan tuulesta rakensi.

Korpin synty — a.

Kyllä tieän korpin synnyn,
Syöjän synnyn arvaelen,
Mist' on saatu musta lintu,
Kusta korppi kasvatettu:
Konnan korppi, Lemmon lintu,
Ilkeämpi ilman lintu,
Se syntyi sysimäellä,
Kasvoi hiilikankahilla,
Kerätty kekälehistä,
Sysipuista synnytetty,
Pää pantu patapaloista,
Ruho Lemmon rukkipuusta,
Pursto Lemmon purjehesta,
Kontit puista konkeloista,
Vatsa vaivaisen säkistä,
Suolet Lemmon neulikoista,
Perä ilman renkahasta,
Kupu kattilaranista,
Kaula Hiien kangaspuusta,
Nokka noian nuolen päästä,
Kieli Kirkin kirvehestä,
Silmät kuukkalan kivestä.

Korpin synty — b.

Hoi sie korppi koito lintu,
Korppi kolmen Lemmon lintu,
Maassa on sinun majasi,
Koivussa sinun kotisi;
Kyllä sun sukusi tieän,
Kanssa kaiken kasvantosi:
Koottu oot koan noesta,
Tulipuista tukkueltu,
Sysilöistä synnytetty,
Pantu kaikesta pahasta,
Ruppa Hiien rukkasesta,
Sorkat Hiien värttinöistä,
Suolet Hiien vyötehistä,
Jalat ilman värppänöistä,
Kynnet tervastikkusista,
Siivet Lemmon viuhkamoista,
Höyhen hiilestä hiottu,
Korvat koivun lehtilöistä,
Silmä Hiien siemenistä,
Toinen rautahernehestä,
Nokka noian kirvehestä,
Kieli kelon keihä'ästä.

Sian synty

Tietähän sianki synty,
Alakärsän arvatahan:
Tynimys sinun emosi,
Kynimys sinun isosi,
Kynin, kynsin kynnä maata,
Kärsin käännä turpehia,
Ellös aitoja repikö,
Veräjiä vieretelkö!

Siikasen synty

Helmi Herralta putosi,
Kaikkivallalta kalahti,
Ylähältä taivosesta,
Jesuksen käen kuvusta,
Osmon pellon pientarehen,
Pellervoisen penkerehen,
Siitä sitten synty syntyi,
Siitäpä suku sukeusi,
Siitä kasvoi kastikkaiset,
Siitä siikanen sikisi.
Nousi maasta mansikkana,
Kolmihaaraisna kohosi,
Hakohuuhan haarottama,
Kaskipellon kasvattama,
Tuuliaisen tuu'ittama,
Pakkasen imettelemä,
Luojan latvasta vetämä,
Kaikkivallan kannattama.

Sisiliskon synty — a.

Syöjätär merehen sylki,
Lapahiitto lainehille;
Kupla kulkevi meressä,
Vaahto vankalla selällä.
Kasaritar kaunis neito
Istui koivun konkelolla,
Haavan lengolla levähti,
Nousi koivun konkelolta,
Katselevi, kääntelevi
Silmät päin suloa merta,
Näki kuplan kulkemassa,
Vaahtosen vaeltamassa.
Otti kuplan kulkkuhunsa,
Veti vaahen sieramihin;
Kupla kulkussa palavi,
Sytelevi sieramissa,
Kulki kulkusta maha'an,
Alas vatsahan valahti.
Kasaritar neito kaunis
Tuosta tyytyi, tuosta täytyi,
Kantoi kohtua kovoa
Kokonaista kolme vuotta;
Siitä sai pahan sikiön,
Mikä pantihin nimeksi?
Sisiliskon sai nimeksi,
Risukon asunsijaksi,
Koivupökkelön ko'iksi,
Lahokannon kartanoksi.

Sisiliskon synty — b.

Nuoramo, hyvä emäntä,
Kiveltä kivelle astui,
Mättähältä mättähälle,
Helmi helmoista putosi,
Kultakalkkara kalahti,
Vasten varvikkomäkeä,
Risukkohon aian alle;
Siitä syntyi syntyminen,
Sisiliskonen sikesi,
Kasvoi kallion sivulla,
Vasten seipähän varoa,
Risukossa aian alla.

Sisiliskon synty — c.

Sisilisko Hiien silmä,
Maan muikku, veen salakka,
Kyllä mä sukusi tieän:
Sukuna sinun isosi,
Silkuna sinun emosi,
Silkuna sinä itseki.
Sie oot koottu koivupuista,
Pantu haavan pakkuloista,
Tehty tervajuurikosta,
Hongan oksasta hotaistu,
Koottu hollakon ko'osta,
Höyhenistä hömmötelty,
Saatu salvomen takana,
Pistetty pinon rakohon,
Risukkohon riepoteltu,
Alle aian virskateltu.

Sisiliskon synty — d.

Ukko vingas vankamoinen
Akka vankahan makasi
Pihalla pinoa vasten,
Kohen puita koivuisia,
Vasten varpuista kokoa,
Tukipuita tuomisia,
Siitäpä suku sikesi,
Liseni iso litikkö;
Tuli poika maattaessa,
Ungermo levättäessä.
Lapsi saatihin saloa,
Poika piilten pistettihin,
Tuomisen tuvan sisähän,
Tuomisehen kätkyehen,
Eip' on poika siellä piillyt,
Poika pistäikse pihalle,
Pinon pitkän reunan alle,
Pitkin puuta pihlajaista.
Mihin poika pantanevi,
Arvio osattanevi?
Tuonne tuo tulevi vieä
Pellolle perimmäiselle,
Panna pellon pientarelle;
Ei oo hyvä sielläkänä:
Siat siellä tönkelevi,
Alakärsät kääntelevi.
Mihin poika pantanehen,
Ungermo osattanehen,
Salohonko saatanehen?
Poika saagahan salohon,
Keskelle simosaloa,
Paha on poian siellä olla:
Simosalot kuivettuvat,
Metsämiehet polttanevat.
Mihin paha pantanehen,
Turmio tuhottauehen;
Vetehenkö vietänehen?
Poika vieähän vetehen,
Paha on poian siellä olla:
Nuoret nuotalla vetävät,
Siimalla sivaltelevat,
Vanhat verkolla kehivät,
Kiveksillä kiinnittävät.
Mihin poika pantanehen,
Ungermo osattanehen?
Poika vietihin aholle,
Koivupökkelön kotihin,
Lahokannon kainalohon,
Siellä se maoksi muuttui,
Sisiliskoksi sikesi.

Sisiliskon synty — e.

Vingas vänkähän likisti,
Riukutteli, röykytteli,
Tiheässä tuomikossa,
Paksussa pajumetsässä,
Kivellä alaperällä,
Vasten vatturaunioa,
Siitä syntyi syntyminen,
Sisiliskonen sikesi,
Pihan rikka, pellon ruhka,
Maan rikka, manalan rikka,
Alla aitojen asuja,
Risukoissa riehoaja.

Tijasen synty

Tieän mä tijasen synnyn,
Mist' on tehtynä tijanen,
Lintu pieni pistettynä:
Paju ensin puita syntyi,
Paju puita, mätäs maita,
Otsonen metsän omia,
Ilman lintuja tijanen.
Papelo pajusta lähti,
Rutta raiasta putosi,
Aholle alastomalle,
Siit' on tehtynä tijanen,
Lintu pieni pistettynä.

Source Colophon

Finnish source text from Elias Lönnrot (comp.), Suomen kansan muinaisia loitsurunoja (Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, 1880). Transcription from Project Gutenberg #48751, human-proofread by Jari Koivisto, converted from ISO-8859-1 to UTF-8. The original 1880 publication is in the public domain. Only major variant texts are reproduced here; orthographic variants (Toisin:) are preserved in the full source file at Project Gutenberg. Presented for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.

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