Runo XXXVI: The Death of Kullervo

Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring,With the very bluest stockings,Now prepared himself for battle,And prepared himself for warfare.For an hour his sword he sharpened,Sharpened spear-points for another.

Then his mother spoke unto him,"Do not go, my son unhappy,Go not to this mighty battle,Go not where the swords are clashing!He who goes for nought to battle,He who wilful seeks the combat,In the fight shall find his death-wound,And shall perish in the conflict,By the sword-blades shall he perish,Thus shall fall, and thus shall perish.

"If against a goat thou fightest,And wouldst meet in fight a he-goat,Then the goat will overcome thee,In the mud the he-goat cast thee,That like dog thou home returnest,Like a frog returnest homeward."

Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring,Answered in the words which follow:"In the swamps I shall not sink me,Nor upon the heath will stumble,In the dwelling-place of ravens,In the fields where crows are croaking.If I perish in the battle,Sinking on the field of battle,Noble 'tis to fall in battle,Fine 'mid clash of swords to perish,Exquisite the battle-fever,Quickly hence a youth it hurries,Takes him quickly forth from evil,There he falls no more to hunger."

Then his mother spoke and answered,"If you perish in the battle,Who shall cater for your father,And shall tend the old man daily?"

Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring,Answered in the words that follow:"Let him perish on the dust-heap,Leave him in the yard to perish."

"Who shall cater for your mother,And shall tend the old dame daily?"

"Let her die upon a haycock,In the cowshed let her stifle."

"Who shall cater for thy brother,Tend him day by day in future?"

"Let him perish in the forest,Let him faint upon the meadow."

"Who shall cater for thy sister,Tend her day by day in future?"

"Let her fall in well, and perish,Let her fall into the wash-tub."

Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring,Just as he his home was leaving,Spoke these words unto his father:"Now farewell, O noble father!Shall you perhaps be weeping sorely,If you hear that I have perished,And have vanished from the people,And have perished in the battle?"

Then his father gave him answer:"Not for thee shall I be weeping,If I hear that you have perished,For another son I'll rear me,And a better son will rear me,And a son by far more clever."

Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring,Answered in the words which follow:"Nor for you shall I be weeping,If I hear that you have perished.I will make me such a father,Mouth of clay, and head of stonework,Eyes of cranberries from the marshes,And a beard of withered stubble,Legs of willow-twigs will make him,Flesh of rotten trees will make him."

Then he spoke unto his brother:"Now farewell, my dearest brother.Shall you weep for my destruction,If you hear that I have perished,And have vanished from the people,And have fallen in the battle?"

But his brother gave him answer,"Not for you shall I be weeping,If I hear that you have perished.I will find myself a brother,Better brother far than thou art,And a brother twice as handsome."

Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring,Answered in the words which follow:"Nor for you shall I be weeping,If I hear that you have perished.I will make me such a brother,Head of stone, and mouth of sallow,Eyes of cranberries I will make him,Make him hair of withered stubble,Legs of willow-twigs will make him,Flesh of rotten trees will make him."

Then he spoke unto his sister,"Now farewell, my dearest sister.Shall you weep for my destruction,If you hear that I have perished,And have vanished from the people,And have perished in the battle?"

But his sister gave him answer:"Not for you shall I be weeping,If I hear that you have perished.I will find myself a brother,Better brother far than thou art,And a brother far more clever."

Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring,Answered in the words which follow:"Nor for you shall I be weeping,If I hear that you have perished.I will make me such a sister,Head of stone and mouth of sallow,Eyes of cranberries I will make her,Make her hair of withered stubble,Ears of water-lily make her,And of maple make her body."

Then he said unto his mother,"O my mother, O my dearest,Thou the fair one who hast borne me,Thou the golden one who nursed me,Shalt thou weep for my destruction,Shouldst thou hear that I have perished,And have vanished from the people,And have perished in the battle?"

Then his mother gave him answer,And she spoke the words which follow:"Not thou knowest a mother's feelings,Nor a mother's heart esteemest.I shall weep for thy destruction,If I hear that thou hast perished,And from out the people vanished,And have perished in the battle;Weep until the house is flooded,Weep until the floor is swimming,Weep until the paths are hidden,And with tears the cowsheds weighted,Weep until the snows are slippery,Till the ground is bare and slippery,Lands unfrozen teem with verdure,And my tears flow through the greenness.

"If I cannot keep on weeping,And no strength is left for grieving,Weeping in the people's presence,I will weep in bath-room hidden,Till the seats with tears are flowing,And the flooring all is flooded."

Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring,With the very bluest stockings,Went with music forth to battle,Joyfully he sought the conflict,Playing tunes through plains and marshes,Shouting over all the heathland,Crashing onwards through the meadows,Trampling down the fields of stubble.

And a messenger o'ertook him,In his ear these words he whispered:"At thy home has died thy father,And thy aged parent perished.Now return to gaze upon him,And arrange for his interment."

Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring,Made him answer on the instant:"Is he dead, so let him perish.In the house there is a gelding,Which unto the grave can drag him,And can sink him down to Kalma."

Played he, as he passed the marshes,And he shouted in the clearings,And a messenger o'ertook him,In his ear these words he whispered:"At thy home has died thy brother,And thy parent's child has perished.Now return to gaze upon him,And arrange for his interment."

Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring,Made him answer on the instant:"Is he dead, so let him perish.In the house there is a stallion,Which unto the grave can drag him,And can sink him down to Kalma."

Through the marshes passed he, playing,Blew his horn amidst the fir-woods,And a messenger o'ertook him,In his ear these words he whispered:"At thy home has died thy sister,And thy parent's child has perished.Now return to gaze upon her,And arrange for her interment."

Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring,Made him answer on the instant:"Is she dead, so let her perish.In the house a mare is waiting,Which unto the grave can drag her,And can sink her down to Kalma."

Through the meadows marched he shouting,In the grassfields he was shouting,And a messenger o'ertook him,In his ear these words he whispered:"Now has died thy tender mother,And thy darling mother perished.Now return to gaze upon her,And arrange for her interment."

Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring,Answered in the words which follow:"Woe to me, a youth unhappy,For my mother now has perished,Wearied as she made the curtains,And the counterpane embroidered.With her long spool she was working,As she turned around her spindle.I was not at her departure,Near her when her soul was parting.Perhaps the cold was great and killed her,Or perchance was bread too scanty.

"In the house with care, O wash her,With the Saxon soap, the finest,Wind her then in silken wrappings,Wrap her in the finest linen,Thus unto the grave convey her,Sink her gently down to Kalma,Then upraise the songs of mourning,Let resound the songs of mourning,For not yet can I turn homeward,Untamo is still unfallen,Yet unfelled the man of evil,Undestroyed is yet the villain."

Forth he went to battle, playing,Went to Untola rejoicing,And he said the words which follow:"Ukko, thou, of Gods the highest,Give me now a sword befitting,Give me now a sword most splendid,Which were worth an army to me,Though a hundred came against me."

Then the sword he asked was granted,And a sword of all most splendid,And he slaughtered all the people,Untamo's whole tribe he slaughtered,Burned the houses all to ashes,And with flame completely burned them,Leaving nothing but the hearthstones,Nought but in each yard the rowan.

Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring,Then to his own home retired,To his father's former dwelling,To the home-fields of his parents.Empty did he find the homestead,Desolate the open places;No one forward came to greet him,No one came his hand to offer.

To the hearth he stretched his hand out,On the hearth the coals were frozen,And he knew on his arrival,That his mother was not living.

To the stove he stretched his hand out,At the stove the stones were frozen,And he knew on his arrival,That his father was not living.

On the floor his eyes then casting,All he noticed in confusion,And he knew on his arrival,That his sister was not living.

To the mooring-place he hastened,But no boats were at their moorings,And he knew on his arrival,That his brother was not living.

Thereupon he broke out weeping,And he wept one day, a second,And he spoke the words which follow:"O my mother, O my dearest,Hast thou left me nought behind thee,When thou livedst in this country?

"But thou hearest not, O mother,Even though my eyes are sobbing,And my temples are lamenting,And my head is all complaining."

In the grave his mother wakened,And beneath the mould made answer:"Still there lives the black dog, Musti,Go with him into the forest,At thy side let him attend thee,Take him to the wooded country,Where the forest rises thickest,Where reside the forest-maidens,Where the Blue Maids have their dwelling,And the birds frequent the pine-trees,There to seek for their assistance,And to seek to win their favour."

Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring,At his side the black dog taking,Tracked his path through trees of forest,Where the forest rose the thickest.But a short way had he wandered,But a little way walked onward,When he reached the stretch of forest,Recognized the spot before him,Where he had seduced the maiden,And his mother's child dishonoured.

There the tender grass was weeping,And the lovely spot lamenting,And the young grass was deploring,And the flowers of heath were grieving,For the ruin of the maiden,For the mother's child's destruction.Neither was the young grass sprouting,Nor the flowers of heath expanding,Nor the spot had covered over,Where the evil thing had happened,Where he had seduced the maiden,And his mother's child dishonoured.

Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring,Grasped the sharpened sword he carried,Looked upon the sword and turned it,And he questioned it and asked it,And he asked the sword's opinion,If it was disposed to slay him,To devour his guilty body,And his evil blood to swallow.

Understood the sword his meaning,Understood the hero's question,And it answered him as follows:"Wherefore at thy heart's desireShould I not thy flesh devour,And drink up thy blood so evil?I who guiltless flesh have eaten,Drank the blood of those who sinned not?"

Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring,With the very bluest stockings,On the ground the haft set firmly,On the heath the hilt pressed tightly,Turned the point against his bosom,And upon the point he threw him,Thus he found the death he sought for,Cast himself into destruction.

Even so the young man perished,Thus died Kullervo the hero,Thus the hero's life was ended,Perished thus the hapless hero.

Then the aged Väinämöinen,When he heard that he had perished,And that Kullervo had fallen,Spoke his mind in words that follow:"Never, people, in the future,Rear a child in crooked fashion,Rocking them in stupid fashion,Soothing them to sleep like strangers.Children reared in crooked fashion,Boys thus rocked in stupid fashion,Grow not up with understanding,Nor attain to man's discretion,Though they live till they are aged,And in body well-developed."