Wainamoinen Finds The Lost Words

Wainamoinen had failed to find the three magic words in the Land of the Dead, and now he sat and pondered where he should go next to seek them. While he was thinking about this, a shepherd came to him and said: 'You can find a thousand words of wisdom on the tongue of the dead hero Wipunen. I know the road that leads to his grave: first, you must journey a long distance over the points of needles, then a long way upon the edges of sharp swords, and then a third road on the edges of hatchets.'

Then Wainamoinen considered how he should be able to walk over the needles, swords, and hatchets, and at last hit on a plan. He went to the smith Ilmarinen and asked him to make shoes of iron, gloves of copper, and a magic staff of the strongest metal, as he was going to seek the lost words from the wise Wipunen. Ilmarinen made him the shoes, gloves, and staff, but said: 'The wise magician Wipunen died long ages ago; he surely cannot tell you the magic words.' Still Wainamoinen was not disheartened, but began his journey. The first day he hurried along over the points of needles, and all the second day over the sword edges, and on the evening of the third day he had come across the edges of the hatchets and reached the spot where Wipunen lay buried.

From Wipunen's shoulders grew great aspens, on each temple grew a birch-tree, on his mighty chin an alder, from his beard grew willows, from his mouth a fir-tree, and an oak upon his forehead. Then Wainamoinen drew his magic hatchet from its leather sheath and cut down all the trees that were growing over Wipunen. And then he took his magic staff and thrust it between Wipunen's teeth and pried open his mouth, and as he did so, he sang a spell to bring Wipunen's spirit back from the Land of the Dead, Tuonela. And when the spell was sung, Wipunen felt the pain of the staff within his mouth and bit it so hard that he cut clear through the iron outside, but the center was of steel, too hard even for Wipunen's teeth. So he opened his mouth wide in anguish, and as he did so Wainamoinen slipped and fell headlong, armor and all, right down his throat.

And Wipunen said, as he swallowed him: 'I have eaten sheep and reindeer, bears and oxen, but I have never tasted a sweeter morsel than this.'

But now Wainamoinen was sorely perplexed to know what he should do. After pondering over the matter, he took a dagger that he wore, and from the wooden handle he built a boat by the aid of magic spells, and began to row all through the old magician's body, through every single vein and vessel, but Wipunen scarcely felt it and paid no attention to him. Then Wainamoinen thought again, and taking off his armor he made it into a forge with bellows and all complete, and used his knees for an anvil and his arm for a hammer, and started to work. For three days he worked away inside the magician's body, until the bellows blew a perfect whirlwind and the anvil rang like thunder.

At length old Wipunen could bear it no longer and cried out: 'What great magician are you, for I have eaten many men and heroes, but never such a one as you: for the smoke is pouring from my nostrils, and the fire streams from my mouth, and my throat is full of iron clinkers. Go and leave me, wretched torturer! Why have you come here to hurt me? Are you a trial sent by mighty Ukko, for if so I will be resigned, but if you are of some human race, I will search out your tribe and destroy it. Leave my body, cease your forging, let me rest in peace and slumber. Or if you will not leave me, I will call on all the great magicians of the past, the spirits of the mountains and woods and seas and rivers, on Ilmatar, daughter of the ether, to assist me. Or if these be not sufficient, I will call on mighty Ukko to drive you forth.

If you are from the winds, then return to the copper mountains where they live; if from the sea, return to it; if from the forests, then return to them, or I will drive you to the bottom of the coal-black river of Tuoni, whence you shall never move again.'

'I am well contented here,' said Wainamoinen, 'in these roomy caverns. I can eat your heart and flesh, and for drink I will take your blood. And I will set my forge still deeper in your vitals, and will swing my hammer still harder on your heart and lungs and liver. I shall never leave you until I learn all your wisdom and the three lost words, that all your magic knowledge may not perish with you from the earth.'

Then Wipunen began to sing all his knowledge and his magic spells for Wainamoinen. He sang the origin of witchcraft, the source of good and evil, and how by the will of Ukko the water was first divided from the ether. And next he sang of how the moon and sun were made, and whence the colors of the rainbow came, and how the stars were sprinkled in the sky. Three whole days and nights he sang, until the stars and the moon stood still to listen, and the very waves of the sea and the tides ceased to rise and fall, and the rivers stopped in their courses.

At length Wainamoinen had learned all the wisdom of the great magician and the three lost words, and he made ready to leave Wipunen's body, bidding him open wide his mouth that he might get out and leave him forever.

'I have eaten many things, O Wainamoinen,' said Wipunen, 'bears and reindeer, wolves and oxen, but never such a thing as you. Now you have found the wisdom that you seek, go in peace and never come back to me.'

Then he opened his mouth wide, and Wainamoinen glided forth and hastened swiftly as the deer to Kalevala. First he went into the smithy, and Ilmarinen asked him if he had learned the lost words that would enable him to finish his vessel. 'I have learned a thousand magic words,' answered Wainamoinen, 'and among them are the lost words that I sought.'

Thereupon he hastened off to where his vessel lay, and with the three lost words he joined the stem and stern and raised the bulwarks. Thus he had built the vessel with magic alone, and by magic art he launched it too, not touching it with foot or knee or hand, using only magic to push it. Thus was the task completed which should gain for him the Rainbow-maiden in her beauty.

*

'Oh! do hurry and tell us about that,' said Mimi, and Father Mikko continued.