Song 13 from Castrén's Fieldwork (jārabts')
This song belongs to the oral tradition of the Nenets (Yurak Samoyeds), the reindeer-herding people of the western Siberian tundra. It was recorded by the Finnish linguist and ethnographer Matthias Alexander Castrén (1813–1852) during his celebrated Siberian expeditions, most likely during the winter of 1842–1843 at the trading settlement of Pustozërsk on the Pechora River, where he researched language, customs, and religion among the Samoyed peoples. Castrén did not survive to publish the bulk of his material; he died of tuberculosis at thirty-eight. His transcriptions were edited posthumously by Toivo Lehtisalo and published as Samojedische Volksdichtung (SUST LXXXIII) by the Finno-Ugrian Society in Helsinki, 1940.
Song 13 is the only lament (jārabts') in the collection. Lehtisalo's preface identifies it as "offenbar ein sog. Klagelied" — evidently a so-called lament-song. It stands apart from the ten heroic epics (sjudbabts'), the two narrative songs (hįnnabts'), the four euphoria songs (jābje'ma), and the shaman song (sām badabts') that make up the rest of the Nenets portion. Castrén's explanatory notes reveal two critical details: first, that the singer is a woman — specifically a "Mannweib," a mannish woman, a woman who lives and acts like a man; and second, that she is a shamaness (Schamanin), as proven by her ability to heal her own wounds through rubbing.
The song is a vendetta narrative. The singer drives her blind mother across the tundra to the Russian colonial town of Obdorsk (modern Salekhard). Her four full brothers and father are dead. Her three half-brothers — the Tasinjej, sons of her father's younger wife — are alive, and it is they who have murdered her mother. The singer discovers the body wrapped in cloth at the tent door, blood flowing. She accuses the half-brothers. They bind her naked and lead her across the tundra for three years, stabbing her with knives — but her wounds heal. Passing drivers protest that her treatment is "for God a sin," but the brothers dismiss them. Finally, the son of her father's younger brother cuts her bonds. She reverses the captivity exactly: binds the three brothers naked, leads them for three years, then delivers them to Obdorsk — into a Russian horse-sled, down the broad road. The symmetry is absolute. What they did to her, she does to them.
The translation chain is honestly acknowledged: Nenets (oral, 1840s) → Castrén's phonetic field notation → German prose translation (Lehtisalo, 1940) → English (NTAC, 2026). The English is independently derived from the German text. No prior English translation of this song exists. Castrén's explanatory notes (Erklärungen, pp. 349–350) have been used to clarify obscure passages. The two-column bilingual layout of the original publication (Nenets on the left, German on the right) presented significant reconstruction challenges in the OCR-extracted text; the verse order has been carefully established from the German verse numbers and narrative logic.
I drive —
my one mother,
like a man,
to Obdorsk.
While I drive,
blood-drops
begin to fall —
it begins to rain.
My four elder brothers
have long since died.
My old father
has long since died —
I do not remember it.
A dying one
I did not have.
My three elder brothers —
the three Tasinjii,
the sons of the younger wife
of my father —
remained alive.
I arrived in Obdorsk.
My blind mother
stayed alive.
My four maternal uncles,
the younger brothers of my mother —
at some time
they began to go visiting.
My eldest maternal uncle,
one heard him say:
"Almost like a man,
the daughter of your elder sister
has arrived."
I said:
"There is nothing
for my cloth."
My four maternal uncles —
black-breasted foxes,
foxes they give:
"For your cloth."
My three maternal uncles
lead my sled.
I set off for home.
My tents came into view.
I tied my four piebald ones.
We drink.
Nearly drunk,
my four maternal uncles
said:
"For your cloth —
have they come, or not?"
I said:
"There is nothing
for my cloth."
I came to my tent.
At the door-side of the tent
a wrapped one is to be seen.
The three wives of my elder brothers
go into the tent,
come out again.
The three wives of my elder brothers
said:
"Your mother died
of a sudden illness."
I said —
I say also:
"My mother —
where did you want her?
The blind one —
where did you want her?
Such dog-bastards —
you shall have killed her.
Your old father
you shall have been.
Your four elder brothers —
your sufferings you will find
among the Russians,
among the soldiers."
A wrapped one
I tore open with my hand:
blood began to flow.
I said:
"My mother died
of a sudden illness?"
My three elder brothers
said:
"If you mourn your mother,
you yourself are good."
They bound me —
stark naked,
three years
they lead me.
My three elder brothers
took me captive.
They stab me —
with knives
they stab me.
Where I rubbed,
I healed.
My three elder brothers
tore my clothes down,
ripped my clothes.
They said:
"As long as you live, try —
the suffering, try!"
Someday
the lads said:
"A driver has come."
The driver,
one heard him say:
"That weeping one,
that screaming one —
for God it is a sin."
My three elder brothers,
the three Tasinjej —
I weep without ceasing.
I scream without ceasing.
"Let me go —
freezing I began to die,
starving I began to die!"
Someday
the lads said:
"A driver has come."
The driver,
one heard him say:
"That screaming one —
where they lead her —
I freeze —
for God it is a sin."
My three elder brothers
heard, and said:
"The screaming one —
her own will it is.
Us she wanted to go to —
the Russians,
the soldiers —
she wanted to go to."
"In that case,
let them bind her."
The three wives of my elder brothers —
again three years,
where they lead me,
I freeze.
"Her own will it is.
Us she wanted —
the Russians,
the soldiers."
The driver
drew his knife,
my strap he cut through —
me, the wretched one, he let go.
It was the son
of the younger brother
of my father.
The cords of the middle
high goods-sled
I cut through.
I dressed myself
very well.
I said:
"Dear son of the younger uncle —
when they start with you,
do not fear your comrades!
Your coat protects —
you yourself it protects."
My three elder brothers
begin then to stab —
with knives to stab —
to stab us.
Where we rub,
we heal.
My three elder brothers
said:
"After three years —
if you do not know —
then it is well."
Then somewhere
I harnessed my caravan.
From the reindeer herd
of my father,
half I drove.
We live —
my little brothers —
they surrounded the tent,
they stab me.
I cannot heal —
I have grown old.
I found no sleep.
I thought:
in sleep, in the dream,
I was strong.
I said:
"I cannot sleep."
My dear little brothers —
my three elder brothers —
with one hand only
I tried —
little it was.
Their clothes I tore down.
Their hands I bound.
I fastened them tight —
stark naked —
I lead them
three years.
My three elder brothers
weep every day,
scream every day.
They say:
"Dear younger sister,
let us go —
we are hungry —
we are cold!"
After three years
I harnessed my caravan.
I said:
"Dear younger brother,
stay at home!
I am bringing away
these enemies."
After Obdorsk —
after I had come —
my three elder brothers
into a Russian sled only,
into a deep sled
I threw them.
Of my three elder brothers
only their screams went,
only their weeping went
down the broad way.
With my younger brother
we live
well only.
Then afterwards
I arrived at my tent.
Colophon
A Nenets (Yurak Samoyedic) lament-song (jārabts') from the fieldwork of Matthias Alexander Castrén (1813–1852), collected during his Siberian expeditions, most likely at Pustozërsk in the winter of 1842–1843. Published posthumously by Toivo Lehtisalo as Samojedische Volksdichtung, Suomalais-Ugrilaisen Seuran Toimituksia (SUST) LXXXIII, Helsinki, 1940, pp. 281–289 (Song 13). The German prose translation was rendered into English for the Good Work Library; no prior English translation exists.
Castrén's explanatory notes (Erklärungen, p. 349) provide essential context: the singer is a Mannweib (mannish woman), and her ability to heal wounds through rubbing identifies her as a Schamanin (shamaness). The Tasinjii or Tasinjej are the sons of the singer's father's younger wife — her half-brothers. Obdorsk (modern Salekhard, at the confluence of the Ob and Polui rivers) was the principal Russian colonial trading post in the region. The "deep sled" in the final scene is glossed by Castrén as a Pferdeschlitten — a Russian horse-drawn sled, the vehicle of colonial justice.
Translation chain: Nenets (oral, 1840s) → Finnish field notes (Castrén) → German prose translation (Lehtisalo, 1940) → English (NTAC, 2026). The English is independently derived from the German text. The original publication presents the Nenets source text in Castrén's phonetic transcription alongside the German on facing half-columns; the OCR extraction interleaves the two, requiring careful reconstruction of the verse sequence.
Compiled, translated, and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: Samojedische Volksdichtung (SUST LXXXIII, 1940)
Nenets (Jurak Samoyedic) source text in M. A. Castrén's phonetic transcription, from pp. 281–289 of Samojedische Volksdichtung, edited by T. Lehtisalo (Helsinki, 1940). Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above. Due to the two-column bilingual layout of the original publication and the limitations of OCR extraction from the 70MB PDF, some spacing and diacritical artifacts may remain. The verse numbers (every five lines) are Castrén's.
Song 13
manj hariebim'ah;
opoj njēveau
hāsauwãdarjau'ah
salen kāradan'ah
5 jiles hājis;
ädedaljodān
tjet ninjikau
sχeam kāmalĩ'eh
saeu hāmalī'eh.
10 āna hāvuitsi,
uäsko nisiau
jīnjan mam'ah:
āna hãvuisi
hāvundānau
15 tjenan djāna.
jāngoungāsinju'uh,
manj daeujiu'ah
njār njinjekau
salen kāradan'ah.
20 njār tasinjî
tjäta titikou
nisean dãtinju'uh
nievén
jiles hājitsi;
25 pāpán'ah
seänja hunundo'oh
tōvui äeptōh,
tanjingām nīm'ah?»
hāradaljuuvui'eh.
30 manj darem mam'ah
tiätana āru'ah
»ũvaej ēnguda'ah
ēnguda'ah.»
nōjujnge
35 tjëta tidikou
hōrakātji dion
tjon miritie'eh:
hana wādkua'ah,
»nojkudingí'eh.»
40 manj
seäram'ah
tjätam badu'eu,
manje jādarŋāu'ah.
tanja ādibadah
45 hatse jāberkāsi
meäda njo njāna
ōleri mānúj;
tjata tidikou
njār njenjābau
50 pudan darem ma'ah:
»nojkudiŋā'ah
meätan tjūrisjetieh,
»hatse kāsauārkka
meängara taevį0i'ih.»
55 njār tidelœu
pindarpsetida'ah.
hunjan garoasada'ah,
meäkan daeujiu'ah,
saeusi haroasada'ah
60 njār njenjãbau
hunjan garoasada'ah?
pudan
tarem nurah:
»njeukāra hāsi
65 tjetam njinjikāmdōh
meär hāptsemana.»
hādauandadsi,
manj darem mam'ah,
uäskom nisjamda'ah
70 hādauwandadsi.
manj ō mam'ah:
»njeukau hāsi
meär hāptsemana.»
wuan njaudī'eh,
75 jiles hōnjira'ah
mãjenda hōnjira'ah
õleri(m) mānuim'ah
uòari adam(m)ah:
lūtsitanā'ah
80 pālitanāna.»
manj darem mam'ah:
»njeveau haroasada'ah
pudan darem ma'ah:
njāra njinjikau
85 pudan darem ma'ah:
»niewemda seämbad
hurkkasi amgasi'eh
hartauan sauanfa).»
njār ambo jāmbán'ah
90 njāra njinjikau
siujeu
siujeu wādarŋa'ah,
njamā'ah,
losmoanjeu haroã,
95 siujeu bōrilpťeh
hantas(i)tim'ah.
haro pōrilpťeh.
seänī ēpto'oh
humna bujau
100 atsekī mã'ah:
»äedalioda diroh.»
njār njinjikau
panen adā'ah,
panen niôa'ah.
105 pudan darem ma'ah:
»jiles hōr'ah
mājenda hñr'ah.»
njāra njinjikau
siujeu hurā'ah,
110 njāra tasinjej
»taeki jãrortah
taekī djõrortăh
numgana häeuvinjuh.»
njāra njinjikau
115 siujeu hurā'ah,
manj jārorƞám'ah,
manj djõrorŋám'ah:
lūtsitanarī'eh
palītananarīeh
120 sidna karoāsi
miman garoāsi.»
seäm ēpto'oh
atsekī mā'ah:
»äedliõda doh.»
125 tjikī äedliõda
tani siarãjeh.»
puda mãmanōda:
»taekī djōrortah
numgana hăeuvinju'uh.»
130 siujeu wādarŋa'ah.
hantasitim'ah,
njār njenjābau
āni njār ambäh
puda mãmanōda'ah:
135 »siujeuweedāda'ah
hanimsi hāsi beäm'ah,
ōritsi kāsi beäm'ah.»
»taritseauāna
hurkkarī ereh.
140 »pāpukõkamboi'eh,
sītta beäbnando'oh
njidnōna birìah!
jinan matorŋa,
paner ęadanāh
145 siujeu waedāh;
harta ęadanāh.»
niseän beäbinjuh euuvih.
njār njinjikau
jierinkuridān'ah
150 hurkkî beäridēmʼnh,
harna jiembajiu'ah
tāvia pōrilpi'eh
hāro pōrilpī'eh
sidanj pōrilpi'eh.
155 ullinsauauna;
humna puji(m)pinj'eh
niseän(a) beäbinjunna
tamnja ōmôanbinj'eh.
hōritseăn(a) njĩm'ah
160 paneu sieriptiemʼnh.
manj darem mam'ah
»pāpukõkamboi'eh,
haromda njalka'ah,
paner ęadanāh
165 harta ęadanāh.»
niseän beäbinjuh euuvih.
njār njinjikau
jierinkuridān'ah
tāvia pōrilpi'eh
170 hāro pōrilpī'eh
sidanj pōrilpi'eh.
pudan darem ma'ah:
»njāra wuajeras
pou vajeras
175 seäinda leărjos
hunjanda njāna
tjikerīndan gōah
tjikën jasauā'ah.»
taòa tāvioh
180 müuduu boderŋam'ah
njār tasinjej
niseam jileüvve'eh
meädam beäritã'ah,
peälемda dānam'ah.
185 siujeu bōrilpī'eh;
manj jilen'j'eh
njāran bōjāmban'ah.
seänī ēpto'oh
jīnjan mām'ah:
190 niemau jāmalŋam'ah.
niama júòhanah
nįhitsētitamsi.
manj darem mam'ah:
»pãpakokamboi'eh,
195 meäkananj gājū'uh!
manj huruäijen,
manj hãnãrtsin
tjukū nansidī.»
manj uadarŋam'ah
200 njārum hoj jāmbán'ah.
salen kāradānah
taeumādan
njārum njinjikau
salen kāradānah
205 njãrom njinjikau
jālē jārorŋa'ah,
jalē tjuororŋa'ah,
puda mālesieti'eh:
»pāpakōkamboua'ah,
210 sidna ädara'ah,
munaua karoā'ah,
lũtsan ganarin'ah
sandja hānarin'ah
manj mōjijen,
215 njāra njinjekāna
tjōriridan kajéh
jāriridan kajéh
lāta
pāpakonnjā'ah
220 nieda mimnjeh.
manj jileänj'eh.
taôa tāvioh
sauvam bõrjiuna.
meäkan taeujiu'ah.
Source Colophon
Nenets (Jurak Samoyedic) source text from M. A. Castrén, Samojedische Volksdichtung, edited by T. Lehtisalo, Suomalais-Ugrilaisen Seuran Toimituksia (SUST) LXXXIII, Helsinki, 1940, pp. 281–289 (Song 13). Freely available through Fenno-Ugrica, National Library of Finland (handle: 10024/89921). Castrén's phonetic transcription represents 1840s Nenets dialects from the western tundra (Pechora region), recorded during his expeditions of 1842–1844. The transcription system uses diacritics not found in modern Nenets orthography. Verse numbering follows the original publication. OCR artifacts from the two-column bilingual layout may affect individual characters; for precision scholarship, consult the original PDF.
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