The Kalevala · 51 of 275 · tr. John Martin Crawford
Rune XIa
'S LAMENT.
This the time to sing of Ahti, Son of Lempo, Kaukomieli, Also known as Lemminkainen.
Ahti was the king of islands, Grew amid the island-dwellings, At the site of his dear mother, On the borders of the ocean, On the points of promontories.
Ahti fed upon the salmon, Fed upon the ocean whiting, Thus became a mighty hero, In his veins the blood of ages, Read erect and form commanding, Growth of mind and body perfect But alas!
he had his failings, Bad indeed his heart and morals, Roaming in unworthy places, Staying days and nights in sequences At the homes of merry maidens, At the dances of the virgins, With the maids of braided tresses.
Up in Sahri lived a maiden, Lived the fair and winsome Kulli, Lovely as a summer-flower, From a kingly house descended, Grew to perfect form and beauty, Living in her father's cottage, Home of many ancient heroes, Beautiful was she and queenly, Praised throughout the whole of Ehstland; From afar men came to woo her, To the birthplace of the virgin, To the household of her mother.
For his son the Day-star wooes her, But she will not go to Sun-land, Will not shine beside the Day-star, In his haste to bring the summer.
For her son, the bright Moon wooes her, But she will not go to Moon-land, By the bright Moon will not glimmer, Will not run through boundless ether.
For his son the Night-star wooes her, But she will not go to Star-land, Will not twinkle in the starlight, Through the dreary nights in winter.
Lovers come from distant Ehstlaud, Others come from far-off Ingern, But they cannot win the maiden, This the answer that she gives them "Vainly are your praises lavished Vainly is your silver offered, Wealth and praise are no temptation; Never shall I go to Ehstland, Never shall I go a-rowing On the waters of the Ingern, Shall not cross the Sahri-waters, Never eat the fish of Ehstland, Never taste the Ehstland viands.
Themes
◆Animismcosmology
The doctrine and worldview that natural phenomena, places, and objects possess inherent spirit, soul, or personality — and that the cosmos is populated by countless local, plural, embodied divine agents: kami in mountain and tree, sidhe in cairn and well, landwights in field and stone, nymphs in spring and grove, haltija in forest and lake, lares and penates in household and threshold, Iamblichean daemons in element and place. Distinct from monotheism (single transcendent God), pantheism (one underlying substance), and emanation_hierarchy (cascading single source); animism's signature is the plurality, locality, and embodied-in-landscape character of the divine.
The passage depicts a world populated by spirits and personified natural forces (Ahti as king of islands, Sun/Moon/Star as wooers), aligning with the plurality and locality of divine agents in landscape.
Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.
Celestial bodies (Day-star, Moon, Night-star) are described with human actions such as wooing and having sons, attributing human characteristics to divine or natural entities.
The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.
The celestial bodies act as active, personal agents who woo and desire, presenting the divine/natural forces as dynamic realities rather than abstract principles.