Great was Väinämöinen,
the shaman son of Ilmatar.
Know his story through my writing,
hear the legend of the old one.
When he was born he possessed knowledge,
could chant, curse and talk to Gods.
Mighty of the heart was this figure,
strong, true and all knowing.
Helped in bringing forth the Sampo,
helped Ilmarinen in the forging.
Of this magic mill great and wondrous,
which brought forth flour, salt and gold.
Also fought he the great pike,
from which jawbones he did take,
Made the mighty Kantele,
to create stronger magic.
He was challenged by a youngster,
Joukahainen was the name.
Thought he could out sing Väinämöinen.
Took not long to see his failure
Väinämöinen sang to nature,
sang to Ukko and the Gods.
No chance had poor Joukahainen,
started sinking into the swamp.
Also helped this great shaman,
all the folk of Kalevala,
when the Sampo was badly needed,
he led a expedition.
To take back that which was wrongly taken,
by the evil Pohjan Akka.
From poor Ilmarinen whose hart was stolen,
by the Akkas lovely daughter.
Called for a raiding party,
did old Väinämöinen,
went to take back the great Sampo,
from the treacherous northern folk.
That is another story,
for a later time to be spoken.
Come again and listen,
to the legend of the Sampo.
Author notes
Väinämöinen is one of the most important figures in the Finnish pagan folklore.
Comments
1 - 14 of 14
-
Thanks, I mean for writing something original and entertaining. Interesting story, you lend a authentic feel to the poem, as if it were an oral tale spoken to a group encircled around you.
-
-
Thank you for your feedback.
I'm glad you noticed the "oral tale" -feel, as that is what Kalevala was once. And therefore I wanted to go for that in my poem too.
-
-
Being well acquainted with the music of Jean Sibelius, much of which was derived from the Kalevala and Finnish folk legends, I liked your fine poem very much, as it was well written and very expressive, much like the music of Sibelius. Of course, words are not musical notes, but I liked the rhythm in your excellent poem very much as well. Carl.
-
-
Ah yes, Sibelius...one of our Greatest artists, along with Axel Gallen-Kallela (who painted a lot of great Kalevala pieces btw.).
I'm happy that you liked the rhythm...I tried to stay close to the original pentachord rhyme which the Kalevala is written to.
Thank you for your comment, and if you have the interest be sure check out "Theft of the Sampo" ( http://allpoetry.com/poem/4274488 ) for a similar piece of work.
-G
-
-
This definitely reads like an old myth you'd read otu of a book and this also sounds like a storyteller telling that big special story that's better then all the others he has. The only thing I'd say is that after the line 'Thought he could out sing Väinämöinen.' the line 'Took not long to see his failure' sounds awkward and 'uncomfortable' would be the word I would use.
-
-
Hey,
and thanks for your comment...sorry for replying so late, been quite hectic.
Could you explain a bit more what should be changed, because (being a non-native English speaker) I do not really "get" what you are aiming at.
The poem is written much in the style of the actual Kalvala epic (writen in pentachord), and therefore the part you commented should be read followingly; (Capitalised letters = the words one should emphasize) THOUGHT he could out sing VÄINÄMÖINEN.
TOOK not LONG to see his FAILURE
Hope you understand what I mean,
- G
-
-
I love this!
I'm a history major, and I love folklore and stories! Thank you for taking the time to craft this piece and share a bit of history with us! I hope you continue the saga in other poems. This is great and interesting reading!
-
-
Thank you.
I will write "The robbing of the Sampo" sometime soon, been meaning to but haven't had the time to do the proper research.
-
-
Thankyou for this insight into your Finnish folklore, I didn't realise you had shamans too.
'Great was Vainamoinen
the Shaman son of Ilmatar
I enjoyed the narrative form of this poem and look forward to the next story.
-
-
Great that you liked the narrative...I tried to copy the feel of the original Hexagonal stanza of Kalevala.
The follow up story "The Robbing of the Sampo" will be posted sometime during march.
Thank you very much for your applause.
G
-
-
Nice story, nice composition
finland rocks
in the second stanza, it should be "heart" -
Epic. The story there is well written, and although I don't like this specific kind of poetry (Or songs or stories or whatever), it grasped me somehow.
-
I like this, just like an old ballad, great! I wasn't famiiliar with this figure, thanks for sharing this.
-
-
Thank you for the applause, and I'm glad you enjoyed the poem.
-
Adding your comment:
1 - 14 of 14
