The Kalevala · 164 of 275 · tr. John Martin Crawford
Rune XXVIIc
Now he drinks the beer remaining, When the wizard speaks as follows: "As a guest am I unwelcome, Since no beer to me is given That is worthy of a hero; Neither has a ram been butchered, Nor a fattened calf been slaughtered, Worthy food for Lemminkainen." Then the landlord of Pohyola Answered thus the Island-minstrel: "Wherefore hast thou journeyed hither, Who has asked thee for thy presence?
Spake in answer Lemminkainen: "Happy is the guest invited, Happier when not expected; Listen, son of Pohylander, Host of Sariola, listen: Give me beer for ready payment, Give me worthy drink for money!" Then the landlord of Pohyola, In bad humor, full of anger, Conjured in the earth a lakelet, At the feet of Kaukomieli, Thus addressed the Island-hero: "Quench thy thirst from yonder lakelet, There, the beer that thou deservest!" Little heeding, Lemminkainen To this insolence made answer: "I am neither bear nor roebuck, That should drink this filthy water, Drink the water of this lakelet." Ahti then began to conjure, Conjured he a bull before him, Bull with horns of gold and silver, And the bull drank from the lakelet, Drank he from the pool in pleasure.
Then the landlord of Pohyola There a savage wolf created, Set him on the floor before him To destroy the bull of magic, Lemminkainen, full of courage, Conjured up a snow-white rabbit, Set him on the floor before him To attract the wolf's attention.
Then the landlord of Pohyola Conjured there a dog of Lempo, Set him on the floor before him To destroy the magic rabbit.
Lemminkainen, full of mischief, Conjured on the roof a squirrel, That by jumping on the rafters He might catch the dog's attention.
But the master of the Northland Conjured there a golden marten, And he drove the magic squirrel From his seat upon the rafters.
Lemminkainen, full of mischief, Made a fox of scarlet color, And it ate the golden marten.
Then the master of Pohyola Conjured there a hen to flutter Near the fox of scarlet color.
Lemminkainen, full of mischief, Thereupon a hawk created, That with beak and crooked talons He might tear the hen to pieces.
Spake the landlord of Pohyola, These the words the tall man uttered: "Never will this feast be bettered Till the guests are less in number; I must do my work as landlord, Get thee hence, thou evil stranger, Cease thy conjurings of evil, Leave this banquet of my people, Haste away, thou wicked wizard, To thine Island-home and people!
Spake the reckless Lemminkainen: "Thus no hero will be driven, Not a son of any courage Will be frightened by thy presence, Will be driven from thy banquet." Then the landlord of Pohyola Snatched his broadsword from the rafters, Drew it rashly from the scabbard, Thus addressing Lemminkainen: "Ahti, Islander of evil, Thou the handsome Kaukomieli, Let us measure then our broadswords, Let our skill be fully tested; Surely is my broadsword better Than the blade within thy scabbard." Spake the hero, Lemminkainen.
"That my blade is good and trusty, Has been proved on heads of heroes, Has on many bones been tested; Be that as it may, my fellow, Since thine order is commanding, Let our swords be fully tested, Let us see whose blade is better.
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 worldview implies a cosmos populated by active spiritual agents and forces inherent in nature (earth, lakelet) that can be summoned or interacted with.
Iamblichean ritual practice that engages the gods directly through consecrated material symbols and actions, on the premise that divine power descends into properly prepared matter — distinct from philosophical contemplation alone.
The wizards engage in ritual practices (conjuring) that manipulate supernatural forces to produce material effects like animals and lakes.
The doctrine and practice that spoken or sung word carries causal-magical force — that uttering names, formulas, songs, or incantations alters reality directly rather than merely communicating about it. Vainamoinen's runo-songs that move mountains and command iron, Norse galdr, Vedic mantra, Shinto kotodama, the magician's barbarous names in the Greek Magical Papyri, Iamblichean arcane signatures and inexplicable symbols, biblical creation-by-word. Distinct from sacred_names (the ontological power of names themselves) and prayer (address to the divine); word_power_incantation is the magical-causal efficacy of the spoken word as such.
The passage centers on a magical duel where spoken words and conjuring ('Conjured', 'Spake') directly alter reality by creating animals and landscapes.