A Blogger’s (Silent) Poetry Reading
Posted by Lanea on Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011
This year, I’m trying to focus more clearly on music than I have since, well, since the world went all pear-shaped in 2009. I’ve also been doing more research on early medieval Scandinavia than usual. It feels right, then, to give you a song that circles through my brain, particularly as the ground starts to warm. This is a benediction for a Finnish Goddess of Spring who appears in the beautiful, enigmatic Kalevala. I’ve added the English translation, of course, though I can’t really vouch for its accuracy since I only know a few words of Finnish, and most of them are impolite. I’d also encourage you to listen to the song itself, and watch the original video, which is breathtaking though not entirely safe for work, or the live video, which is.
Suvetar
| Suvetar hyvä emäntä | Suvetar, fine matron |
| nouse harja katsomahan | Arise to see the seeds |
| viitimä emännän vilja | Raise the matron’s corn |
| kun ei tuskihin tulisi | So that we may be spared pain |
| Manutar maan emänätä | Manutar, matron of the earth |
| nostele oras okinen | Lift up the shoots from the ground |
| kannon karvanen ylennä | New shoots from the stumps |
| kun ei tuskihin tulisi | So that we may be spared pain |
| Syöttele metisin syömin | Feed us with honey-hearts |
| juottele metisin juomin | Give us honey-drink |
| mesiheinin herkuttele | Delicious honey-grass |
| vihanalla mättähällä | On a blossoming knoll |
| siull on helkiät hopiat | You have shining silver |
| siull on kullat kuulusammat | You have glistening gold |
| siull on helkiät hopiat | You have shining silver |
| siull on kullat kuulusammat | You have glistening gold |
| nouse jo neitonen | Rise up, O maiden black from the soil |
| mustana mullasta | Rise up, O maiden black from the soil |
| Akka mantereen alanen | Underground crone |
| vanhin luonnon tyttäristä | Most ancient of Nature’s daughters |
| pane turve tunkomahan | Make the peat shoot forth |
| maa väkevä väantämähän | And the ground turn over |
| Akka mantereen alanen | Underground crone |
| vanhin luonnon tyttäristä | Most ancient of Nature’s daughters |
| tuhansin neniä nosta | Lift up a thousand seedlings |
| varsin vaivani näöstä | To reward my efforts |
Filed in blather,Books,Celtic,Music | 3 responses so far
Lizon 03 Feb 2011 at 2:32 pm 1Thanks for sharing that – a beautiful piece to read as I stare at our frozen and snowy landscape. And the quilting! Gorgeous!
gayleon 07 Feb 2011 at 11:41 am 2Breathtaking, indeed!
Thanks for sharing such beauty.
lellaon 25 Feb 2011 at 8:21 pm 3That is beautiful. Thank you! It is good to think of Earth Goddesses.
Yesterday we watched “Dirt, the Movie” for the second time. Spectacular movie about our unique and wonderful dirt layer on Earth.