From the Suomen Kansan Vanhat Runot, Volume I Part 3 (1908)
The tietäjä — the "knower" — was the central figure of Finnish folk religion. Part healer, part seer, part defender against malevolent forces, the tietäjä operated at the boundary between the human world and the spirit realm. Before any act of magic — healing a wound, lifting a curse, banishing disease — the tietäjä had to prepare: arming themselves with spiritual protection, and raising their luonto (nature, inner power) from the lovesta, the trance-pit where it slept beneath the earth.
The seventeen incantations presented here are drawn from the first section of the Loitsuja (Incantations) in the Suomen Kansan Vanhat Runot (SKVR), Volume I Part 3, published by the Finnish Literature Society in 1908. The SKVR is the largest collection of Finnish folk poetry ever assembled — 89,247 poems across thirty-three volumes, collected from living singers between the 1820s and 1900s. Not a single incantation from this collection has been translated into English until now.
These are not literary compositions. They are field transcriptions of actual ritual practice, recorded from named singers in White Sea Karelia — the geographic heartland of Finnish oral tradition. Each poem carries its singer's name, their village, the collector who transcribed it, and the specific ritual actions that accompanied the words. The ritual contexts are extraordinary: nested animal bladders, rapids-water baptisms, lightning-struck wood, Midsummer night fires, rowan water drunk under storm-felled roots. The words and actions together form a complete technology of spiritual preparation.
The singers include Ortto Karvonen of Suurijärvi, who learned from his father and grandfather; Arhippaini Miihkali of Latvajärvi, son of the legendary Arhippa Perttunen, the greatest Finnish folk singer of his era and Lönnrot's primary source for the Kalevala; Maura Marttini of Kivijärvi, who learned from her mother; Mihhei Vasiljeff of Katoslampi, who heard his incantation from a Sami man near Koutajärvi; and many others. The collectors include M. Meriläinen, A. A. Borenius, K. F. Karjalainen, and Europaeus.
The Seer's Preparation
Tietäjän valmistus — Poems 1–9. How the tietäjä arms and readies themselves before the work of magic.
The Invocation of the Forest Mother
Ortto Karvonen — Vuokkiniemi. Heard from his father and grandfather in Suurijärvi. Collected by M. Meriläinen, 1888. SKVR I:3, no. 1.
The seer must possess a tinderbox containing nine nested bladders from living creatures: she-bear, wolf, fox, wolverine, dog, cat, otter, weasel, and wild boar. The bear's bladder goes outermost, the boar's innermost. Inside the innermost bladder are placed three ant-lions. They are taken out one at a time, and the seer speaks:
Noble mistress of the forest,
Golden king of the woodland,
Give me your help,
Your power, your might
Against the adversary's strength,
When the hard day comes.
I do not call you with gold,
Nor entice you with silver —
Take now the gold into your cup,
The silver for your morning!
Then the bladders are wrapped back into the bundle, and the rite continues.
The Iron Armour
Risto Nikitin — Kiimasi. Collected by M. Meriläinen, 1888. SKVR I:3, no. 2a.
To make a child born with the gift of the seer: before the child is three nights old, and before any priest has blessed it, take foam from a rapids pool that spins clockwise, scoop it three times with a ladle into a vessel, pour one scoop back, and speak:
Rise, maiden, from the spring,
Fine-hemmed one from the marsh,
Toughest men from the rapids,
For the strength of a small hero,
For a little man's valour!
Give me an iron coat,
Iron coat, iron cap,
Iron hat upon my shoulders,
Iron gauntlets on my hands,
Iron boots upon my feet,
That I may walk the lands of Hiisi,
Stirring the demon's ground.
So that the sorcerer's arrows cannot hold
Nor the wizard's knife-irons,
Nor the weapons of the bowman
Nor the blades of the seer.
The Dark Variant
Risto Nikitin — Kiimasi. Collected by M. Meriläinen, 1888. SKVR I:3, no. 2b.
And if one wishes to give the child a nature that can do harm through will alone, the foam must be taken from a pool that spins counter-clockwise. The same method is used, but God's name is not spoken. The words are:
Water-spirit, worthy son,
Water's golden king,
For my strength, for my might,
For the strength of a small hero — and so on.
The Father's Fire
Mikittä Kontulainen — Kiisjoki. Heard in Finland, near Kuusamo, about forty years prior. Collected by M. Meriläinen, 1888. SKVR I:3, no. 3.
If one takes the afterbirth of a child born out of wedlock, dries it, and wears it against the bare chest, then wherever one goes — whether facing sorcery on the water or the evil eye in the forest — nothing can touch them. For upon them rests:
My father's fiery gleam,
My mother's blazing shirt —
— which are named in the seer's foundation words. But the full protection formula varies with each journey, and the singer could not recall all the forms.
The Fiery Coat
Antti Lehtonen — Tuonnin. Heard from Jyrkinen Iivana. Written down at Oulu. Collected by Paulaharju, 1911. SKVR I:3, no. 5.
I take fire into my furs,
Embers into my shoes,
I put on the fiery coat
Inside the fiery room.
Now I go to overcome the adversaries,
To face the envious,
To shoot from the fence
Straight at the adversaries,
Straight at all hardships.
Then nothing can touch the person.
The Seer's Lineage
Tanila Ontrone — Tsiksa. Heard from his father in Voijarvi. Collected by M. Meriläinen, 1889. SKVR I:3, no. 6.
When the seer goes forth to heal, he wraps a red thread around himself and speaks:
Not before did my father,
Nor the might of my elders,
Give way to the Laplander,
Nor yield to the sorcerer's mind.
Let the Laplander fall
Upon his own sword,
Upon the blade he made!
Then he ties an old fire-steel and an eagle's head to his belt.
The Plea to the Father and Mother
Savastei Ivanoff — Pistojärvi. Heard from his father in Suvanto. Collected by M. Meriläinen, 1888. SKVR I:3, no. 7.
Before healing, the seer crosses his eyes, bows to every wind, and speaks:
I would seek help
From my Father Jesus,
From my Mother Mary.
Under whose shelter I would work,
Build fences of aid,
Row on seas of honey.
I can do nothing
Without the mercy of God,
Without the purpose of the true Creator.
Then the work begins.
The Midsummer Baptism
Toario Ohvolasjovna — Mihhelä. Heard from her father. Collected by M. Meriläinen, 1889. SKVR I:3, no. 8.
On Midsummer night, the seer goes to the rapids stone, pours the rapids water over herself, and speaks:
A terrible sweat would come
Into my fiery coat,
Into my blazing shirt,
So that my nature grows tougher,
My fire in my garments stronger,
In steel belts more powerful!
After pouring three times, she drops silver into the rapids and bows three times. Then her nature becomes fierce for driving away evil.
When God's Hour Came
Horna Melentjeff — Usmana. Collected by M. Meriläinen, 1889. SKVR I:3, no. 9.
Before setting out, the seer takes three strips of pine bark, lights them on the hearthstone, circles himself with them, and speaks:
Once, in my former times,
In my times, in my days,
In times of help,
The sky moved from its joints.
From its limbs the earth shook,
Stones moved, stumps moved,
The sealed lakes sloshed,
The iron gates cracked,
The fortress squares trembled
When God's hour came,
When the Lord's aid arrived.
Then the bark strips are thrown over the shoulder behind, and the seer departs.
The Raising of Nature
Luonnon nostatus — Poems 10–17. How the tietäjä raises their luonto — their inner power or spirit — from the lovesta, the trance-pit beneath the earth.
The central formula of Finnish shamanic practice is "Nouse luontoni lovesta" — Rise, my nature, from the trance-pit. The luonto is the seer's personal power, understood as a spiritual companion or double that sleeps beneath the earth, under twigs and stones. Before any act of magic, this power must be roused. The rituals involve thunder, fire, water, earth, and the naming of God — but the power that rises is older than any of them.
Rise as God's Weather Rises
Maura Marttini — Kivijärvi. Heard from her mother. Collected by Marttini, 1903. SKVR I:3, no. 10.
When the seer hears the first thunder of spring, she takes earth from beneath her own feet — without moving from the spot — places it upon her head, and speaks:
Thus may my nature rise from the trance-pit,
My guardian from beneath the twig,
As God's weather rises!
Hat on Head, Gauntlet on Hand
Wife of Kirilä-Hilipä — Kivijärvi. Collected by Olona Marttini, 1911. SKVR I:3, no. 11.
When the seer digs with a hoe at roots and stones, she speaks:
Rise, my nature, from the trance-pit,
My guardian from beneath the twig,
From beneath the twig, hat on head,
From beneath the stone, gauntlet on hand!
The Full Raising
Arhippaini Miihkali — Latvajärvi. Collected by A. A. Borenius, 1877. SKVR I:3, no. 12.
This is from Miihkali, son of Arhippa Perttunen of Latvajärvi — the greatest Finnish folk singer of his era and Lönnrot's primary source for the Kalevala.
Rise, my nature, from the trance-pit,
My guardian from beneath the twig,
From beneath the twig, hat from head,
From beneath the earth, from sleeping,
From beneath the stone, gauntlet on hand.
What has laid my nature in the trance-pit,
Laid it sleeping beneath the earth.
Rise, nature made by the Creator,
Hat sought by Jesus!
Let God's hour come,
Let the Lord's help arrive!
When God's hour comes,
When the Lord's help arrives,
Stones move, stumps move,
Mountains move, ridges move,
All the cliffs tremble
When God's hour comes,
When the Lord's aid arrives.
That is the hour God brought,
The help the Lord sent.
I trust in my Creator,
I cast myself upon my God —
The Lord does not abandon the good,
The Creator does not lose the beautiful.
The singer noted: "That is a separate song, but it fits together with this one."
The Raising to Ukko
Hoto, wife of Iron-Poavila — Jyvöälaksi. Born in Kenttijärvi. Collected by K. F. Karjalainen, 1894. SKVR I:3, no. 13.
Oh Ukko, god above,
Old father in the heavens!
You are the holder of clouds,
The ruler of the drifting mists.
Rise, my nature, from the trance-pit
For my help, for my grace,
For my power, for my strength,
For my might, for my force —
My guardian from beneath the twig,
From beneath the twig, hat on head,
From beneath the stone, gauntlet on hand!
The Full Armour
Collected by Europaeus, 1846. SKVR I:3, no. 14.
Rise, my nature, from the trance-pit,
My birthright, from the deep earth,
My guardian from beneath the twig —
To overcome adversaries,
To bring down the envious,
To crush the warlike!
Never in this age
Do my claws burn as a serpent's,
My own hands as snakes,
Against these adversities,
Against these hardships.
I am girded with tin belts,
With dead serpents,
With living earth-snakes.
Excessive forces press themselves flat,
Evil diseases press themselves down.
The scalp-lock begins to sweat
When I arrive upon the matter.
Oh Ukko, misty Ukko,
Bring the power of the old ones,
That has long sat still,
That has long lain in the earth,
Weathered a week in the soil
On beds of spruce-needles,
On pillows of alder!
With those, excesses once moved,
Evil diseases yielded,
With words my father received,
With my elder's provisions.
Mountains Flowed with Butter
Jehkimä Ohvonasjeff — Uhut. Collected by M. Meriläinen, 1889. SKVR I:3, no. 15.
The seer's nature rises when he takes wood from a lightning-struck tree and makes a friction-fire upon the hearthstone. Standing naked in the smoke, he reads:
Rise, my nature, from the trance-pit,
My guardian from beneath the twig,
To trance-dream by my side,
To keep watch beside me!
Rise, as you rose before
When I was raising you —
Then the mountains flowed with butter,
The cliffs ran with honey,
The blue wilderness flowed with nectar,
My own fields flowed with ale.
Then he tosses a rooster and departs, leaving the fire to burn. After this, his nature rises whenever healing is needed.
The Thunder Raising
Jehkimä Ohvonasjeff — Uhut. Collected by M. Meriläinen, 1889. SKVR I:3, no. 16.
The seer's nature rises when, in spring, at the first sound of thunder, he takes earth from beneath his feet, collects water from the rapids, mixes the earth into the water, and on a holy morning before sunrise goes naked to the hearthstone. He places an old fire-steel in his mouth, pours the water over himself three times, and reads:
Rise, my nature, from the trance-pit,
My guardian from beneath the twig — and so on.
Then the nature rises in all healing work.
The Rowan Water
Mihhei Vasiljeff — Katoslampi. Heard from a Sami man near Koutajärvi, about forty-five years prior. Collected by M. Meriläinen, 1889. SKVR I:3, no. 17.
The seer's nature rises when he takes a piece from each of three single-rooted rowan trees, makes a fire at the spot where a storm has felled a tree, and places one end of each rowan piece into the flames. As they burn, water drips from the other ends. This water is collected in a vessel where no wind can reach it. Then, in spring, at the first sound of thunder, the seer goes beneath the roots of the storm-felled tree, drinks the water, and reads:
Rise, my nature, from the trance-pit,
My guardian from beneath the twig — and so on.
Then the nature becomes so powerful that when the seer comes to heal the sick, the disease flees from his bare presence alone.
Colophon
Translated from Finnish by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026. Source text: Suomen Kansan Vanhat Runot, Volume I Part 3 — Vienan läänin runot: Loitsuja, toisinnot 1–822 (Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, 1908), edited by A. R. Niemi. Poems nos. 1–9 (Tietäjän valmistus) and 10–17 (Luonnon nostatus).
These incantations were collected from living singers in White Sea Karelia between 1837 and 1903, transcribed in their original dialectal Finnish, and published in 1908 as part of the largest collection of Finnish folk poetry ever assembled. No English translation of any SKVR incantation has been published before. The ritual instructions that accompany each poem are summarised from the prose notes recorded by the collectors.
The tietäjä tradition represents one of the last documented living shamanisms of northern Europe. These preparation rituals — with their nested animal bladders, lightning-struck wood, Midsummer baptisms, and the great formula "Nouse luontoni lovesta" — are the technology of a spiritual practice that was already fading when the collectors recorded it. The singers named here are among the last to have learned these words from their parents and grandparents in unbroken oral transmission.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: Tietäjän valmistus ja Luonnon nostatus
Finnish source text from the Suomen Kansan Vanhat Runot, Volume I Part 3 (Helsinki: SKS, 1908). Archaic White Sea Karelian dialect transcriptions. OCR artifacts silently corrected where the reading is certain.
Tietäjän valmistus
No. 1. Vuokins. Meril. n. 342. 88. Ortto Karvone.
Metsän ehtosa emäntä,
Kultainen metsän kuningas,
Anna mulle apuvasi,
Väkejäsi, voimovasi
Vasten vastuksen väkeä,
Kovan päivän kohatessa.
En sinua kullata kutsu,
Hopeatta houkuttele,
Ota nyt kullat kuppihisi,
Hopeiaiset huomallasi!
No. 2a. Kiimasi. Meril. n. 52. 88. Risto Nikitin.
Nouse neitinen norosta,
Hieno hehna hettehestä,
Koskesta kovimmat miehet,
Väeksi vähän urohon,
Miehen pienen miehuoksi!
Anna mulle rauta takki,
Rauta takki, rauta lakki,
Rauta hattu hartijoille,
Rauta kinttahat käteen,
Rauta saappahat jalkoin,
Joilla astun hiien maita,
Maita lemmon leyhytteien.
Ettei pysty noijan nuolet
Eikä velhon veitsirauvat,
Ei asehet ampumiehen
Eikä tietäjän teräkset.
No. 2b. Kiimasi. Meril. n. 52. 88. Risto Nikitin.
Vein ahti aimo poika,
Vein kultanen kuningas,
Väekseni, voimakseni,
Väeksi vähän urohon j. n. e.
No. 3. Kiisjoki. Meril. n. 176. 88. Mikittä Kontulainen.
Isäni tulinen tuikki,
Emoni panuinen paita.
No. 5. Tuonnin. Paulah. n. 4339. 11. Antti Lehtonen.
Otan tulen turkkilieni,
Kekälehen kenkähäni,
Pujen mie tulisen turkin
Tulisen tuvan sisällä.
Nyt lähen vassuksie voittamahe,
Katehia katsomahe,
Aijalla ampumalle
Vassen kohti vassuksia,
Kohti kaikkia kovia.
No. 6. Tsiksa. Meril. n. 2132. 89. Tanila Ontrone.
Eipä ennen minun isoni,
Eikä valta vanhempani
Lahjonut ei lappalaista,
Noutanut ei noijan mieltä.
Lappalainen langetkohon
Omahansa miekkahansa,
Tekemähänsä terähän!
No. 7. Pistojärvi. Meril. n. 311. 88. Savastei Ivanoff.
Apua anoileisin
Isältäni Jesukselta,
Äitiltäni Maarialta.
Jonka turvissa työ tekisin,
Avun aitoja panisin,
Meren mettä souteleisin.
En minä mitänä voine
Ilman armotta Jumalan,
Toimetta totisen Luojan.
No. 8. Mihhelä. Meril. n. 2252. 89. Toario Ohvolasjovna.
Hiki hirmuinen tulisi
Tulisehen turkkihini,
Panuisehen paitahani,
Että luontoni lujempi,
Panu paijoissa parempi,
Teräsvöissä tehtosampi!
No. 9. Usmana. Meril. n. 2082. 89. Horna Melentjeff.
Johaan ennen aikoinani,
Aikoinani, päivinäni,
Aikoina avullisina
Ilma liikkui liitoksista.
Jäsenistä maa järähti,
Kivet liikkui, kannot liikkui,
Lapohina umpilammit,
Raski rautaiset veräjät,
Linnan torit torkahtelit
Tullessa Jumalan tunnin,
Avun Herran astuessa.
Luonnon nostatus
No. 10. Kivijärvi. Martt. n. 745. 03. Maura Marttini.
Noin luonto lovesta nouskoon,
Haonalta haltiani.
Kuin nousee Jumalan ilma!
No. 11. Kivijärvi. Olona Martt. n. 21. 11. Kirilä-Hilipä.
Nouse, luontoni, lovesta,
Havon alta, haltieni,
Havon alta hattupiässä,
Kiven alta kinnaskiässä!
No. 12. Latvajärvi. Borenius III, n. 21. 1877. Arhippaini Miihkali.
Nouses luontoni lovesta,
Havon alta haltieni,
Havon alta, hattu peästä,
Moan alta makoamasta,
Kiven alta kinnas keässä.
Mi luonnon loveh on pannut,
Moan alle makoamahe.
Nouses luonto Luojan luoma,
Hattu Jiesuksen hakema!
Tulkohot Jumalan tunti,
Apu Herran astukkohot!
Kuin tulou Jumalan tunti,
Apun Herran astunouve,
Kivet liikku, kannot liikku,
Vuoret liikku, vaarat liikku,
Kaikki kallivot tärisi
Tullessa Jumalan tunnin,
Avun Herran astuossa.
Se on tunti Jumalan tuoma,
Apu Herran assuttama.
Miepä luomme Luojahani,
Heitämme Jumalahana,
Ei Herra hyviä heitä,
Luoj ei kaunista kavota.
No. 13. Jyvöälaksi. Karjal. n. 22. 94. Hoto, Iron-Poavilan vaimo.
Oi Ukko ylijumala,
Toatto vanha taivahaini!
Sie olet pilvien pitäjä,
Hattarojen hallitsija.
Nouse, luontoni, lovesta
Avuikseni, armoikseni.
Tunnikseni, voimakseni,
Väekseni, voimakseni;
Havun alta haltieni,
Havun alta hattu peänä.
Kiven alta kinnas keässä!
No. 14. Uhut. Europaeus K, n. 235. 46.
Nouse, luontoni, lovesta,
Syntyni, syvästä maasta,
Havon alta haltiani.
Vastuksia voittamah,
Katehia kaatamah,
Sotisia sortamahan!
Ei tässä sinä ikänä
Kyinä kynteni palavi,
Käärmehinä omat käteni,
Vasten näitä vastuksia,
Kohtia näitä kohtuksia.
Tinavöillä vyötelime,
Kuolleilla käärmeillä,
Elävillä moan maoilla.
Liian voimat litellytse,
Pahan taudit tartellutse.
Hikeity hivuksen latva
Asian päälle päästyäni.
Oi Ukko, utunon Ukko,
Tuopa vanhojen väkeä,
Iän kaikkien istunutta,
Kun on kauan maassa maannut,
Viikon mullissa viruttu
Havuisilla vuoteilla,
Eikusilla pääaloilla!
Niillä muinen liiat liikku,
Pahat taudit taanteliien,
Isän saamilla sanoilla,
Vanhemman varustimilla.
No. 15. Uhut. Meril. n. 940. 89. Jehkimä Ohvonasjeff.
Nouse luontoni lovesta,
Havon alta haltijani,
Luonani lovehtimahan.
Kansani kavehtimahan!
Nouse, niinkuin nousit ennen
Minun nostatellessani,
Silloin vuoret voina vuoti,
Kalliot meni metenä,
Simana salot siniset,
Oluena omat pellot.
No. 16. Uhut. Meril. n. 941. 89. Jehkimä Ohvonasjeff.
[Prose instruction only — same "Nouse luontoni lovesta" formula as no. 15.]
No. 17. Katoslampi. Meril. n. 1102. 89. Mihhei Vasiljeff.
[Prose instruction only — same "Nouse luontoni lovesta / Haon alta haltijani" formula.]
Source Colophon
Finnish source text from the Suomen Kansan Vanhat Runot (SKVR), Volume I Part 3: Vienan läänin runot — Loitsuja, toisinnot 1–822 (Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, 1908), edited by A. R. Niemi. Public domain (published 1908). Digitised text accessed via archive.org (identifier: p3suomenkansanva01niem). OCR artifacts silently corrected where readings are certain; uncertain readings noted in the translation.
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