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

Four types of origin charm — syntyloitsut — for the trees and plants of the Finnish world. The Birth of the Birch (Koivun synty) is the gentlest charm in the collection: a maiden weeps, and from her tears a birch grows, rocked by the Wind-daughter, its crown filling heaven. The Birth of Flax (Liinan synty) is the most industrial — flax-seed found in Death's grub's hiding-place, sown in the ashes of burned boats and dead horses, sprouting in a single summer night.

The Birth of Trees (Puiden synty) is the great botanical cosmogony. In its fullest version, Sampsa Pellervoinen — the sowing-god — takes six grains and seven seeds in a marten's pouch and sows every species to its proper ground: spruces on hillocks, pines on ridges, heather on heaths, birches on marshes, rowans on holy ground, oaks on riverbanks. In another variant, God speaks from heaven: "All trees are the Creator's making, rocked by the Wind-daughter, suckled by the frost." In the darkest variant, all trees are God's — save the wicked willow, a pagan's creation, and the aspen, Hiisi's planting. A wolf's shed fur becomes the forest. A pike's scattered teeth become a golden spruce.

The Birth of the Oak (Tammen synty) is the cosmogonic masterpiece — one of the most important myths in Finnish oral tradition. The oak is the world-tree, and its origin requires cosmic preparation: four maidens mow a meadow, a Laplander burns their hay, winds carry the ashes to a holy river, and there — where ash meets acorn — the oak grows until its crown fills heaven and its branches block the sun. In variant (c), the entire process begins with Kyytöläinen's weeping: tears become rivers, rivers become seas, a sand-island rises at the meeting of three seas, and four maidens plant the oak-seedling there. In variant (e), Pellervoinen sows every tree successfully except the oak — God's tree refuses to root. He waits days, weeks, and finally: "Now the oak had taken seedling, God's tree had taken root, a shoot drawn by Jesus." Whoever takes a branch takes eternal fortune; whoever cuts a leaf cuts eternal love.

These incantations have never before appeared in English.

Koivun synty — Birth of the Birch

A maiden sat by a spring,
Fine-hemmed, in the grassland,
Weeping softly.
A tear rolled and wound
From her red cheeks
Down to earth-mother at her feet,
Rounder than a grouse's eggs,
Fatter than a thrush's.
From that grew a beautiful birch,
A green sapling rose,
A shoot drawn by the land,
Rocked by the Wind-daughter.
Its crown filled the heavens,
Its branches spread to the sky.

Liinan synty — Birth of Flax

a.

Once many lands burned,
Many lands, many bogs,
In a wicked fire-summer,
A fire-year without strength.
One spot remained unburned
On the broadest back of the bog,
On the crown of a grim fell,
Between two stumps,
Beneath three birch-roots.
The stump's root was dug —
There was found a flax-seed
In Death's grub's hiding-place,
In the earth-worm's keeping.

An old boat was burned
At the bank of the fiery rapids,
At the turning of the fire-rapids.
There came a heap of ashes,
A mass of dry embers,
From the burning of the wooden vessel,
From the boat's cremation.
Into it the flax was sown,
Sown and ploughed,
In a single summer night.
From that a seedling then rose,
A boundless flax grew,
In a single summer night.

b.

The sister-women, the Sotkottaret,
The sisters-in-law, the nimble women,
They found Death's grub,
Death's grub, the earth-worm,
Between two stumps,
Beneath three birch-roots.
Death's grub was burned,
The earth-worm was roasted,
The wicked one was sizzled,
Baked into embers,
Before the gates of Pohjola,
On Lapland's chip-strewn yard.
There came a little ash,
A bit of fine ember.

Where shall the ashes be put?
The ashes were carried over there
To a field with a clay bottom,
To the slope of a mighty hill.
There the flax was sown
Into Death's grub's ashes,
Into the earth-worm's embers.
From that a young seedling rose,
A boundless flax bristled,
An endless flax grew,
In a single summer night,
Between two days.

c.

Once a black horse died,
A white horse fell,
On a nameless meadow,
On an unknown land.
With its bones the meadow was rolled,
The old harrow was burned,
The old woman was scorched.
There came a little ash,
A bit of ember.
Into it the flax was sown.
By night Liiko sowed the flax,
By day Kauko made it grow.

Puiden synty — Birth of Trees

a.

Sampsa, son of Pellervoinen,
Lay all summer in the field,
In the midst of the grain-plot,
On the grain-bed's edge.
He took six grains,
Seven seeds,
Into one marten's skin-pouch,
Into a summer squirrel's leg,
Set out to sow the lands,
To scatter the seeds.

He sowed, he scattered,
Sowed lands, sowed bogs,
Sowed dry clearings,
Sowed rocky places.
He sowed the hillocks into spruce-groves,
The ridges into pine-woods,
The heaths into heather-fields,
The hollows into young saplings.
On marshy ground he sowed birches,
Alders on moist soil,
Sowed bird-cherries on fresh ground,
Rowans on holy ground,
Willows on swelling ground,
Junipers on the edges of meadows,
Junipers on barren ground,
Oaks on the banks of rivers.

The trees began to rise,
The young saplings to grow,
In the Wind-spirit's rocking,
In the North-wind's cradling.
The spruces grew flower-crowned,
The flat-topped pines spread,
Birches rose on the marshes,
Alders on moist soil,
Bird-cherries on fresh ground,
Rowans on holy ground,
Willows on swelling ground,
Junipers on bright ground,
Junipers on barren ground,
Oaks on the banks of rivers.

b.

Semmerpoika Vemmeroinen,
He it was who sowed the lands.
Marshes he sowed — birches rose,
Ridges he sowed — pines grew,
Hillocks he sowed — spruces grew,
Banks he sowed — aspens grew.
The little pines grew,
Wretched saplings took root,
The pines grew in tangles,
Great pines of the open air.
The bird-cherries grew, the oaks grew,
The sturdy junipers grew,
On the juniper a beautiful berry,
On the bird-cherry a good fruit.

The Creator spoke from heaven,
The holy God declared:
"All trees are the Creator's making,
The Almighty's growing,
Rocked by the Wind-daughter,
Cradled by the North-wind,
Nurtured by the cold air,
Suckled by the frost."

c.

A wolf ran on the ice,
A pike swam beneath the ice.
From the wolf a hair fell,
From the pike a gleaming tooth.
Kati the beautiful, a young maiden,
She picked the hair from the ice,
Planted it deep in the heath,
Into Ukko's blackest mud,
Set the crown in the hollow —
The wind blows upon the crown.
From that a birth was born,
From that a lineage was conceived,
From that grew the pine of care,
A honey-grove in the forest,
Swayed by Hongatar,
Rocked by Lemmettär,
Echoed by Kankahatar,
Cradled by the Wind-daughter,
Nurtured by the cold air,
Suckled by the frost.

d.

The red-cheeked son of Tuoni
Kicked his kick into the water,
His stamp beneath the ridge,
At the tip of the fiery headland,
At the peak of the fire-cape.
From there he got a fiery pike,
Rose to shore to cook it.
The pike's teeth scattered
On a nameless meadow,
On an unnamed ground.
From that a bog-sapling rose,
A red shoot took root,
From that grew a golden spruce,
A spruce with a golden flower-crown.

e.

The dark-cheeked maiden of Pohjola
Ploughed bogs, ploughed lands,
Ploughed at last even the slopes.
On the bogs grew heather,
Small willows on the brooks,
Birches rose in the hollows,
Pines grew on the hillsides,
Spruces rose on the mounds.

f.

Kave ran across the bogs,
Ran across bogs, ran across lands,
Ran through dry clearings,
Shedding her fur,
Casting her wool to the ground.
From that a birth was born,
From that all trees were conceived,
From that grew the pliant pines,
The low-bowed pines bristled,
The flower-crowned spruces grew.

g.

Tree was born from purity,
The needle-crown from gentleness,
Pine-tree from the warm nest,
Honey-crown from the forest.
Pine, the swaying son,
Is nursed by Hotja,
Rocked by the Laplander,
Swung by the Mountain-dweller,
Nurtured by the cold air,
Suckled by the frost,
Watered by heaven's water,
Moistened by the pond.
It rose from the earth as a strawberry,
As a thick-headed root,
Grew with two branches,
Rose with three branches,
Grew from the dew of the air,
Sprouted from heaven's water,
Stretched as a wheat-stalk,
Rolled as a flour-lump.

Spruce, son of Kuhja Kähja,
Born of Syöjätär,
Created from earth by Maajatar —
You are the hillock's growing,
Pellervoinen's planting,
Naservainen's nailing.
You rose from earth as a strawberry,
As a honey-berry from the forest.
Through you the sun shone,
Through your belly the moon gleamed,
The tussock suckled your roots,
The wind rocked your leaves.

h.

Pine is the swaying son,
A tree pure, God's creation,
A shoot drawn by Jesus,
A sprout brought forth by fortune,
Raised by the heather,
Beaten by harsh weather,
Whose branch dripped honey,
Whose boughs trickled sweetness.
God watered it with rain,
Cloud held its crown,
Wind rocked its trunk,
Gentle air stirred it.

Birch, raised by the cold,
On a land of berry-stems,
Is the making of three Nature-mothers,
Softened by Poikolainen.

Alder is not made as a tree,
Not as tree, not as land —
Made for the dressing of wounds,
For the healing of hurts,
For anointing the sick,
For watering the wounded.

i.

All trees are God's making
Save that wicked willow —
It is a pagan's creation,
A hair of the devil's beard.
Aspen is Hiisi's planting,
Rowan the devil's making,
Bird-cherry rocked by Lemmo,
Juniper the son of Käsönen,
Alder made by Lemmes,
Raised by Kanelia.

Tammen synty — Birth of the Oak

a.

There were once four maidens,
Three famous daughters,
In the mowing of the blue meadow,
In the gathering of grass,
At the tip of a misty headland,
At the end of a hazy island.
They mowed one day, mowed a second,
Mowed straightway a third.
Whatever they mowed, that they raked,
All they drew to the windrows,
Laid the hay in ricks,
In hundred-sheaf stacks,
Then heaped it into the haybarn,
Brought it to the tall hay-poles.

Now the meadow was mowed,
The hay set upright in ricks.
There came a Laplander from Turja,
Called the fiery Tursas,
Who thrust the hay into the fire,
Hurled it into the blaze.

A little ash remained,
A bit of ember.
The girls pondered,
The maidens took counsel:
Where shall the ashes be gathered,
The ember-dust be set?
"From these would come lye,
Lye would trickle,
To wash the head of the Sun's son,
The eyes of a good man."

A wind came from the fell,
A hard gust from the northeast.
The wind carried the ashes away,
The northeast gathered the embers,
From the tip of the misty headland,
From the end of the hazy island,
To the bank of the fiery rapids,
To the edges of the holy river.

The wind brought an acorn of the oak,
Carried it from a far land
To the bank of the fiery rapids,
To the edges of the holy river,
Cast it on a good spot,
On the edge of fat earth.
From it a young sapling rose,
A matchless shoot grew.
From that grew a beautiful oak,
A mighty rowan rose,
Its crown filled the heavens,
Its branches spread to the sky.

b.

There were once four maidens,
Three brides in all,
In one grass-gathering,
In one straw-cutting,
At the edge of a fiery headland,
In the shelter of a fire-cape.

The maidens made hay,
Gathered the grasses,
Mowed the great, mowed the small,
Mowed once the middle swathe.
Whatever they had mowed,
Straightway they raked into rows,
Spread out on broad sheets,
On thousand-fold bundles,
Stuffed between the poles,
Onto hundred-sheaf foundations.

There came a boy from Pohjola,
A child from the depths of Lapland,
Who burned the hay to ash,
Smoked it into embers,
Put the ashes in birch-bark,
Gathered the embers in a pack.

From there the ashes were taken,
The embers sown,
From the edge of the fiery headland,
From the shelter of the fire-cape,
To the far fields of Pohjola,
To the trampled grounds of Lapland,
Into the blackest mud of the earth,
Onto the slope of a mighty hill.
An oak grew there,
A green sapling rose,
Generous with its branches,
Wide-spreading in its leaves.

c.

Kyytöläinen wept greatly,
The wretched one wailed,
On the back of the bog, at the navel of the earth,
At the far end of the heath.
A tear dropped from his eye,
One tear followed another.
Water dropped in drops
To earth-mother at his feet.
From that it flowed as rivers,
Streamed as currents,
From that it spread into a pond,
Crashed into a lake,
At last measured itself as a sea,
Stretched out as a wave.

From that three seas were born,
Three bodies of water stretched,
Three waves spread,
From Kyytöläinen's tears.
A sand-ridge grew there,
A hidden island blessed itself,
From that a sand-mountain rose,
A golden hillock grew,
At the grinding-place of three seas,
At the spreading of the waves.

There were then four maidens.
They found an oak seedling,
Brought it to a growing ground,
To the edge of the sandy island.
From that grew a terrible tree,
A massive oak arose,
Generous with its branches,
Slippery with its leaves.

d.

A maiden rose from a spring,
A young one from the wet ground,
A warm maiden from a wellspring,
Blue-stockinged from a bog-hollow,
A dark maiden, shorn-headed,
A bare-breasted girl,
A copper basin in her hand,
A golden comb in the basin.

The maiden combed her hair,
Tended her tresses,
On the back of a speckled stone,
In the burning heat,
Beside a woolly stream,
At the bend of a noble rapids.
A tooth flew from her comb,
A prong broke from her brush.
From that grew a beautiful seedling,
A straight and lovely shoot,
Beside an angry stream,
At the bank of a hard rapids.
There grew the flower-leafed oak,
Flower-leafed, iron-branched,
Its crown caught the heavens,
Its branches held the clouds.

e.

Pellervoinen, son of the field,
Little Sampsa boy,
When once he sowed the lands,
Both the lands and the bogs,
He got the trees to rise,
The young shoots to grow.
One thing alone had no seedling — the oak,
God's tree would not take root.

He left it to its own power,
To its own good fortune.
Two nights passed, three,
As many days again.
He went to find out
Whether the oak had taken seedling,
Whether God's tree had taken root.
The oak had not taken seedling,
God's tree had not taken root.

He left it to its own power,
To its own good fortune.
He waited three more nights,
As many days again,
Went to find out
After the third night,
After the very last week.
Now the oak had taken seedling,
God's tree had taken root,
A shoot drawn by Jesus,
Raised from the earth by the soil.
Whoever took a branch from it
Took eternal fortune.
Whoever cut a leaf from it
Cut eternal love.

Colophon

Source: Elias Lönnrot (comp.), Suomen kansan muinaisia loitsurunoja (Ancient Charm Songs of the Finnish People), Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, 1880. Sections: 17 Koivun synty, 22 Liinan synty (variants a–c), 30 Puiden synty (variants a–i), 42 Tammen synty (variants a–e).

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. For Puiden synty, the nine variants have been relabelled a–i sequentially; Lönnrot's original lettering (a, b, e, d, e, f, g, h, f) contains apparent transcription irregularities in the published edition.

Note: These tree and plant origin charms constitute the Finnish tietäjä's botanical cosmogony — the knowledge of how the vegetable world came into being. The Birth of Trees (Puiden synty) is the foundational sowing-myth: Sampsa Pellervoinen, the sowing-god, assigns every species to its proper terrain — spruces to hillocks, pines to ridges, birches to marshes, rowans to holy ground, oaks to riverbanks. This is not random planting but cosmic taxonomy: each tree belongs in its ordained place. In variant (g), the individual trees are given distinct parentages — pine nursed by Hotja, spruce born of Syöjätär, birch made by three Nature-mothers. The alder alone is "not made as a tree" but "for the dressing of wounds, for the healing of hurts" — a tree whose synty is its medicinal function. In variant (i), the dark inversion: all trees are God's except the willow (pagan's creation), aspen (Hiisi's planting), rowan (devil's making), and bird-cherry (rocked by Lemmo). The Birth of the Oak (Tammen synty) is one of the most important narratives in Finnish mythology — the world-tree myth. The oak requires extraordinary preparation to come into being: in variant (a), four maidens' meadow-work, a Laplander's burning, and wind-carried ashes must converge at a holy river before the acorn can root. In variant (c), the preparation is even more primordial — Kyytöläinen's tears create three entire seas, and only at the intersection of all three seas does the island arise where the oak can grow. The Finnish world-tree, unlike Yggdrasil, is not simply there — it must be willed into existence by the concatenation of tears, fire, wind, and patience.

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

🌲

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.

Koivun synty

Neitonen norolla istui,
Hienohelma heinikossa,
Itkeä tihuttelevi,
Kyynel vieri kyykerteli
Punaisilta poskipäiltä
Maa-emähän jalkoihinsa,
Pyöreämpi pyyn munia,
Raseampi rastahien.
Siitä kasvoi kaunis koivu,
Yleni vihanta virpi,
Vesa manteren vetämä,
Tuulettaren tuu'ittama,
Latva täytti taivahalle,
Oksat ilmoille olotti.

Liinan synty

a.

Paloi ennen paljon maita,
Paljon maita, paljon soita,
Pahana palokesänä,
Tulivuonna voimatonna.
Jäi paikka palamatonta
Suurimmalla suon selällä,
Tuiman tunturin laella,
Kahen kantosen lomahan,
Koivun kolmen juuren alle.
Kannon juuri kaivetahan,
Sieltä löytyi liinan siemen
Tuonen toukan kätköksestä,
Maan matosen säilöksestä.
Vene vanha poltettihin
Korvalla tulisen kosken,
Tulikosken kääntehellä,
Tuli tuhkia läjänen,
Koko kuivia poroja,
Purren puisen polttamilta
Venehen kyettämiltä.
Siihen liina kylvettihin,
Kylvettihin, kynnettihin,
Yhtenä kesäisnä yönä,
Siitä silloin taimi nousi,
Kasvoi pellavas perätön,
Yhtenä kesäisnä yönä.

b.

Sisarekset Sotkottaret,
Kälykset käpeät naiset,
Nuo on löysi Tuonen toukan,
Tuonen toukan, maan matosen,
Kahen kantosen välistä,
Kolmen koivun juuren alta.
Toukka Tuonen poltettihin,
Maan matonen paistettihin,
Ilkeä kisistettihin,
Kypeniksi kypsettihin,
Portin Pohjolan e'essä,
Lapin lastutanterilla;
Tuli tuhkia vähäisen,
Hieman hienoa poroa.
Minne tuhkat pantanehen?
Tuhkat tuonne kannettihin
Peltohon saviperähän,
Vaaran vankan liepehesen,
Tuohon liina kylvettihin
Tuonen toukan tuhkasihin,
Kypenihin maan matosen,
Siitä nousi nuori taimi,
Pensi pellavas peritön,
Liina liitoton yleni,
Yhtenä kesäisnä yönä,
Kahen päivyen välillä.

c.

Kuoli muulloin musta ruuna,
Vaipui valkea hevonen,
Nurmelle nimettömälle,
Maalle tuntemattomalle,
Luilla nurmi vierrettihin,
Hara vanha poltettihin,
Akka vanha korvettihin.
Tuli tuhkia vähäinen,
Sai poroa pikkuruinen,
Tuohon liina kylvettihin;
Yöllä Liiko liinan kylvi,
Kauko päivän kasvatteli.

Puiden synty

a.

Sampsa poika Pellervoinen
Kesät kentällä makasi
Keskellä jyväketoa,
Jyväparkan parmahalla;
Otti kuusia jyviä,
Seitsemiä siemeniä,
Yhen nää'än nahkasehen,
Koipehen kesäoravan,
Läksi maita kylvämähän,
Toukoja tihittämähän.
Kylvi maita kyyhätteli,
Kylvi maita, kylvi soita,
Kylvi auhtoja ahoja,
Panettavi paasikoita.
Kylvi kummut kuusikoiksi,
Mäet kylvi männiköiksi,
Kankahat kanervikoiksi,
Notkot nuoriksi vesoiksi.
Noromaille koivut kylvi,
Lepät maille leyhkeille,
Kylvi tuomet tuorehille,
Pihlajat pyhille maille,
Pajut maille paisuville,
Raiat nurmien rajoille,
Katajat karuille maille,
Tammet virran vierimaille.
Läksi puut ylenemähän,
Vesat nuoret nousemahan,
Tuuliaisen tuu'ittaissa,
Ahavaisen liekuttaissa,
Kasvoi kuuset kukkalatvat,
Lautui lakkapäät petäjät,
Nousi koivuset noroilla,
Lepät mailla leyhkeillä,
Tuomet mailla tuorehilla,
Pihlajat pyhillä mailla,
Pajut mailla paisuvilla,
Raiat mailla raikkahilla,
Katajat karuilla mailla,
Tammet virran vieremillä.

b.

Semmerpoika vemmeroinen
Sep' on ennen maita kylvi,
Norot kylvi, nousi koivut,
Mäet kylvi, kasvoi männyt,
Kummut kylvi, kasvoi kuuset,
Harjut kylvi, kasvoi haavat,
Kasvoi pienoiset petäjät,
Vesat vaivaiset vetihe,
Kasvoi hongat hotjamoiset,
Ison ilmaiset petäjät,
Kasvoi tuomet, kasvoi tammet.
Kasvoi kankeat katajat,
Katajahan kaunis marja,
Tuomehen hyvä he'elmä.
Virkki Luoja taivahasta,
Puhuvi puhas Jumala:
"Kaikki on puut Jumalan luomat.
Kaikkivallan kasvattamat,
Tuulettaren tuu'ittamat,
(Ahavaisen akkiloimat),
Vilun ilman viihyttämät,
Pakkasen imettelemät".

c.

Susi juoksi jäätä myöten,
Hauki ui alatse jäätä,
Suelta karisi karva,
Hauvilta haleva hammas;
Kati kaunis, neiti nuori,
Tuop' on karvan jäältä poimi,
Tyven kaivoi kankahasen,
Ukon mustihin mutihin,
Latvan alho'on asetti,
Tuuli latvahan puhuvi.
Siitäpä se synty syntyi,
Siitäpä suku sikisi,
Kasvoi siitä huolen honka,
Mesilauhto metsolassa,
Hongattaren huojuttama,
Lemmettären liekuttama,
Kankahattaren kajuma,
Tuulettaren tuudittama,
Vilun ilman viihyttämä,
Pakkasen imettelemä.

d.

Punaposki Tuonen poika,
Potki potkunsa vetehen,
Hapahansa harjun alle,
Nenähän tulisen niemen,
Tuliniemen tutkamehen.
Sai sieltä tulisen hauvin,
Nousi maalle keittämähän,
Hauvin hampahat karisi
Niitylle nimettömälle,
Nimen tietämättömälle,
Nousi siitä suokaranka,
Vetihen vesa punainen,
Siitä kasvoi kultakuusi,
Kuusi kulta kukkalatva.

e.

Pohjan neiti mustaposki
Kynti soita, kynti maita,
Kynti viimein vieruksetki,
Soilla kasvoivat kanervat,
Pajut pienoiset puroilla,
Koivut notkoilla kohosi,
Mäkilöillä männyt nousi,
Kuuset kummuilla yleni.

f.

Kave juoksi soita myöten,
Juoksi soita, juoksi maita,
Juoksi alhoja ahoja,
Karisteli karvojansa,
Viskoi maahan villojansa,
Siitä sitten synty syntyi,
Siitä kaikki puut sikesi,
Siitä joutui jolhat hongat,
Pensoi penseät petäjät,
Kasvoi kuuset kukkalatvat.

g.

Puu on syntyi puhtahasta,
Havulatva lauhkeasta,
Honkapuu romentolasta,
Mesilatva metsolasta.
Honka poika huojulmainen,
Se on Hotjan huolittama,
Turjalaisen tuu'ittama,
Vaaralaisen vaapottama,
Vilun ilman viihyttämä,
Pakkasen imettelemä,
Taivosen vesin valama,
Lamposen levittelemä;
Nousi maasta mansikkana,
Jukapäänä juurikkana,
Kasvoi kaksihaarukkaisna,
Kolmihaaraisna kohosi,
Kasvoi ilman kastehesta,
Versoi taivosen ve'estä,
Venyi vehnäisnä tahasna,
Voimykynä myllötteli.
Kuusi kuhjan kähjän poika,
Syöjättären synnyttämä,
Maajattaren maasta luoma,
Sie oot kummun kasvattama,
Pellervoisen pensyttämä,
Naservaisen naulitsema,
Nousit maasta mansikkana,
Mesimarjana metsästä,
Lävitsesi päivä paistoi,
Kuvettasi kuu kumotti,
Mätäs juuresi imetti,
Tuuli lehvät tuu'itteli.

h.

Honka on poika hotjamainen,
Puu puhas Jumalan luoma,
Vesa Jesuksen vetämä,
Oras onnen ilmi tuoma,
Kanarvaisen kasvattama,
Kovan ilman kolkuttama,
Jonka oksa mettä tippui,
Simoa sirahtelevi;
Jumala vesin valeli,
Pilvi latvasta piteli,
Tuuli vartta tuu'itteli,
Ilma lieto liikutteli.
Koivu kolkan kasvattama
Maalla marjan varsikolla
Luoma on kolmen Luonnottaren,
Poikolaisen pehmittämä;
Leppä ei ole puuksi luotu,
Eikä puuksi, eikä maaksi,
Luotu on vamman vanteheksi,
Vikojen paranteluksi,
Kipeille voiteluksi,
Vammoille valovesiksi.

i.

Kaikki on puut Jumalan luomat,
Paitsi tuo paha pajakka,
Se ompi pakanan luoma,
Pirulaisen parran karva;
Haapa on Hiien hankitsema,
Pihlaja pirun tekemä,
Tuomi Lemmon tuu'ittama,
Kataja Käsösen poika,
Leppä Lemmeksen tekemä,
Kanelian kasvattama.

Tammen synty

a.

Oli ennen neljä neittä,
Kolme kuulua tytärtä,
Sininurmen niitännässä,
Korttehen kokoannassa,
Nenässä utuisen niemen,
Päässä saaren terhenisen.
Niitit päivän, niitit toisen,
Niitit kohta kolmannenki,
Minkä niitit, sen haravoit,
Kaikki karhille vetelit,
Laitit heinät lallosille,
Sataisille saprasille,
Siitä suovahan kokosit,
Saatoit sankapieleksihin.
Jo oli nurmi niitettynä,
Heinät luotu pielin pystyin,
Tuli Turjan Lappalainen,
Nimeltä tulinen Tursas,
Tunki heinäset tulehen,
Paiskasi panun väkehen.
Tuli tuhkia vähäinen,
Kypeniä pikkarainen,
Tytöt tuossa arvelevat,
Neiet neuvoa pitävät,
Kunne tuhkat koottanehen,
Poron pohjat pantanehen:
"Noistapa puuttuvi poroa,
Lipeätä liuvahtavi,
Pestä päätä Päivän poian,
Silmiä hyvän urohon".
Tuli tuuli tunturista,
Kova ilma koillisesta,
Tuonne tuuli tuhkat kantoi,
Porot koillinen kokosi,
Nenästä utuisen niemen,
Päästä saaren terhenisen,
Korvalle tulisen kosken,
Pyhän virran vieremille.
Tuuli tuopi tammen terhon,
Kantoi maalta kaukaiselta
Korvalle tulisen kosken,
Pyhän virran vieremille,
Heitti paikalle hyvälle,
Maan lihavan liepehelle.
Nousi tuosta nuori taimi,
Vesa verraton vetihe,
Siitä kasvoi kaunis tammi,
Yleni rutimon raita,
Latva täytti taivahille,
Oksat ilmoille olotti.

b.

Oli ennen neittä neljä,
Koko kolme morsianta,
Yhen korttehen koissa,
Yhen karvan katkaisussa,
Äärellä tulisen niemen,
Tulikaiskun kainalossa.
Neiet heiniä tekivät,
Kokoelit korttehia,
Niitit suuren, niitit pienen,
Niitit kerran keskilaaun;
Jonka saivat niitetyksi,
Heti ruoposit ru'oille,
Laposille laajittelit,
Tuhansille tukkusille,
Pistit pielien välihin,
Sa'an saapran pohjasille.
Tuli poika Pohjolasta,
Lapsi täyestä Lapista,
Se heinät porolle poltti,
Kypenille kyyätteli,
Pani tuhkat tuohisehen,
Porot konttihin kokosi.
Tuosta tuhkat vietänehen,
Kylvettänehen kypenät,
Ääreltä tulisen niemen,
Tulikaiskun kainalosta,
Pohjan peltojen perille,
Lapin laahtotanterille,
Maan on mustihin mutihin,
Vaaran vankan rintehesen;
Kasvoi siihen suuri tammi
Yleni vihanta virpi,
Olovampi oksillehen,
Leveämpi lehvillehen.

c.

Kyllin itki Kyytöläinen,
Kovin vaivainen valitti,
Suon selällä, maan navalla,
Kaiken kankahan perällä,
Kyynel tippui silmästänsä,
Toinen toisesta norahti.
Vesi tippui tilkkasina
Maaemähän jalkoihinsa,
Tuosta juoksevi jokina,
Virtoina viraelevi,
Siitä lammiksi lavahti,
Järveksi järähtelevi,
Viimein miestihe mereksi,
Lakaisihe laineheksi.
Syntyi siitä merta kolme,
Vettä kolme vörsteleikse,
Lainetta lakaeleikse,
Kyytöläisen kyynelistä.
Kasvoi siihen hietaharju,
Salasaari siunautui,
Tuosta nousi hietavuori,
Kunnas kultainen yleni,
Meren kolmen hiertehesen,
Lainehen lakaisimehen.
Olipa sitten neittä neljä,
Nepä löysi tammen taimen,
Veivät maalle kasvajalle,
Hietasaaren liepehelle.
Siitä kasvoi puu kamala,
Ylentihe tasma tammi,
Ohovampi oksillehen,
Lehillehen liukkahampi.

d.

Nousi neitonen norosta,
Immikkö märältä maalta,
Neiti lämmin lähtehestä,
Sinisukka suon sopesta,
Neiti musta, pää keritty,
Tyttö nilki nänniköinen,
Vakka vaskinen käessä,
Suka kultainen vakassa.
Impi päätänsä sukivi,
Hapsiansa harjoavi,
Kiven kirjavan selällä,
Palavassa paahtehessa,
Vierellä villaisen virran,
Jalon kosken kotvasessa;
Siiastansa pii pirahti,
Taittui taina harjastansa,
Siitä kasvoi kaunis taimi,
Suorinen vesa sorea,
Vierellä vihaisen virran,
Kosken korvalla kovalla,
Kasvoi tammi kukkalehvä,
Kukkalehvä, rautatarha,
Latva tarttui taivosehen,
Oksat pilviä piteli.

e.

Pellervoinen pellon poika,
Sampsa poika pikkarainen,
Kun se ennen maita kylvi,
Sekä maita, jotta soita,
Sai se puut ylenemähän,
Vesat nuoret nousemahan,
Yks' oli tammi taimimatta,
Juurtumatta puu jumalan.
Heitti hellan vallallensa,
Olevalle onnellensa,
Kului yötä kaksi, kolme,
Saman verran päiviäki,
Läksi tuota tietämähän,
Onko tammi taiminunna,
Juurtununna puu jumalan;
Ei ole tammi taiminunna,
Juurtununna puu jumalan.
Heitti hellan vallallensa,
Olevalle onnellensa,
Outti vielä yötä kolme,
Saman verran päiviäki,
Läksi tuota tietämähän
Yön takoa kohta kolmen,
Viikon päästä viimeistäki,
Jop' oli tammi taiminunna,
Juurtununna puu jumalan,
Vesa Jesuksen vetämä,
Maasta mannun kasvattama;
Kuka siitä oksan otti,
Se otti ikuisen onnen,
Kuka siitä lehvän leikkoi,
Se leikkoi ikuisen lemmen.

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.

🌲