CANTO XX.—ARMAGEDDON 135

_PART II_ ESTHONIAN FOLK-TALES SECTION I TALES ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE "KALEVIPOEG" THE MILKY WAY 147 THE GRATEFUL PRINCE 152 THE CLEVER COUNTRYWOMAN 186 SLYBOOTS 187 THE HOUSE-SPIRIT 207 THE GOLD-SPINNERS 208 SECTION II ORPHAN AND FOUNDLING STORIES THE WOOD OF TONTLA 237 THE KING OF THE MISTY HILL 259 THE ORPHAN'S HANDMILL 260 THE ORPHAN BOY AND THE HELL-HOUNDS 261 THE EGG-BORN PRINCESS 273 THE ROYAL HERD-BOY 279 TIIDU, THE FLUTE-PLAYER 303 THE LUCKY EGG 308 THE MAGICIAN IN THE POCKET 321 THE GOD-DAUGHTER OF THE ROCK-MAIDENS 321 THE FOUNDLING 321

CONTENTS OF VOL. II

_PART II_ ESTHONIAN FOLK-TALES—(_continued_) SECTION III COSMOPOLITAN STORIES PAGE BLUEBEARD (THE WIFE-MURDERER) 1 CINDERELLA (TUHKA TRIINU) 4 THE DRAGON-SLAYER (THE LUCKY ROUBLE) 6 THE DWARF'S CHRISTENING 8 THE ENVIOUS SISTERS (THE PRINCE WHO RESCUED HIS BROTHERS) 9 THE GIFTED BROTHERS (SWIFTFOOT, QUICKHAND, AND SHARPEYE) 12 THE SWIFT-FOOTED PRINCESS 23 THE IDIOT'S LUCK (STRANGE TALE OF AN OX) 24 THE MAGICIAN'S HEIRS (THE DWARFS' QUARREL) 24 THE MAN IN THE MOON 29 VIDEVIK, KOIT, AND ÄMARIK 30 THE MAIDEN AT THE VASKJALA BRIDGE 34 THE WOMAN IN THE MOON 37 POLYPHEMUS 38 RED RIDING-HOOD (THE DEVIL'S VISIT) 38 SNOWWHITE, THE GLASS MOUNTAIN, AND THE DESPISED YOUNGEST SON (THE PRINCESS WHO SLEPT FOR SEVEN YEARS) 40 THE THREE SISTERS 43 THE THREE WISHES (LOPPI AND LAPPI) 45 THE WITCH-BRIDE (RÕUGUTAJA'S DAUGHTER) 45 THE STEPMOTHER 46 SECTION IV FAMILIAR STORIES OF NORTHERN EUROPE MELUSINA 48 THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE (THE POWERFUL CRAYFISH AND THE INSATIABLE WIFE) 48 THE MERMAID 49 HOW THE SEA BECAME SALT 70 THE TWO BROTHERS AND THE FROST 71 THE SOLDIER AND THE DEVIL 76 SECTION V STORIES OF THE GODS AND SPIRITS OF THE ELEMENTS THE SONG-GOD'S DEPARTURE 81 JUTTA 85 THE TWELVE DAUGHTERS 87 THE FOUR GIFTS OF THE WATER-SPRITE 98 THE LAKE-DWELLERS 98 THE FAITHLESS FISHERMAN 104 THE MERMAID AND THE LORD OF PAHLEN 106 THE SPIRITS OF THE NORTHERN LIGHTS 107 THE SPIRIT OF THE WHIRLWIND 110 THE WILL O' THE WISPS 111 THE FOUNDLING 112 THE CAVE-DWELLERS 114 THE COMPASSIONATE WOODCUTTER 125 CHRISTIAN VARIANT OF SAME 127 THE GOOD DEED REWARDED 128 SECTION VI HEATH LEGENDS THE WONDERFUL HAYCOCK 133 THE MAGIC EGG 134 SECTION VII LAKE LEGENDS LAKE PEIPUS 136 THE LAKE AT EUSEKÜLL 142 EMMU LAKE AND VIRTS LAKE 144 THE BLUE SPRING 145 THE BLACK POOL 146 SECTION VIII STORIES OF THE DEVIL AND OF BLACK MAGIC THE SON OF THE THUNDER-GOD 149 THE MOON-PAINTER 159 THE TREASURE-BRINGER 168 THE WOODEN MAN AND THE BIRCH-BARK MAID 180 THE COMPASSIONATE SHOEMAKER 182 MISCELLANEOUS STORIES OF THE DEVIL 185 MARTIN AND HIS DEAD MASTER 188 THE HUNTER'S LOST LUCK 191 THE COINERS OF LEAL 192 THE BEWITCHED HORSE 193 SECTION IX HIDDEN TREASURES THE COURAGEOUS BARN-KEEPER 195 THE GALLOWS-DWARFS 210 THE TREASURE AT KERTELL 222 THE GOLDEN SNAKES 224 THE DEVIL'S TREASURE 225 THE NOCTURNAL CHURCH-GOERS 226 SECTION X ORIENTAL TALES THE MAIDENS WHO BATHED IN THE MOONLIGHT 233 THE NORTHERN FROG 237 SECTION XI CHURCH STORIES THE CHURCH AT REVEL 262 THE CHURCH AT PÜHALEPP 263 THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY CROSS 265 THE CHURCH AT FELLIN 265 SECTION XII UNNATURAL BROTHERS THE RICH BROTHER AND THE POOR ONE 267 SECTION XIII PLAGUE-LEGENDS 271 SECTION XIV BEAST-STORIES WOLF-STORIES 274 THE MAN WITH THE BAST SHOES 278 WHY THE DOG AND CAT AND THE CAT AND MOUSE ARE ENEMIES 282 THE ORIGIN OF THE SWALLOW 283 THE SPIDER AND THE HORNET 284 THE OFFICIOUS FLIES 285 _PART III_ ESTHONIAN BALLADS, &c. THE HERALD OF WAR 285 THE BLUE BIRD (I.) 292 THE BLUE BIRD (II.) 296 CHARM AGAINST SNAKE-BITE 298 BIBLIOGRAPHY 299 INDEX AND GLOSSARY 305

PREFACE

When I took up the study of the _Kalevala_ and Finnish literature, with the intention of publishing a critical English edition of the poem, on which I am still engaged, the accumulation of the necessary materials led me to examine the literature of the neighbouring countries likewise. I had expected to find the _Kalevipoeg_ an Esthonian variant of the _Kalevala_ ; but I found it so dissimilar, and at the same time so interesting, when divested of the tedious and irrelevant matter that has been added to the main story, that I finally decided to publish a full account of it in prose, especially as nothing of the kind has yet been attempted in English, beyond a few casual magazine articles.

The Esthonian folk-tales are likewise of much interest, and in many cases of an extremely original character; and these also have never appeared in an English dress. I have, therefore, selected a [Pg x]

sufficiently representative series, and have added a few ballads and short poems. This last section of the work, however, amounts to little more than an appendix to the _Kalevipoeg_, though it is placed at the end of the book. Esthonian ballad literature is of enormous extent, and only partially investigated and published at present, even in the original; and it would therefore be premature to try to treat of it in detail here, nor had I time or space to attempt it. I had, however, intended to have included a number of poems from Neus' _Ehstnische Volkslieder_ in the present volumes, but found that it was unnecessary, as Latham has already given an English version of most of the best in his "Nationalities of Europe."

The Introduction and Notes will, it is hoped, be sufficiently full to afford all necessary information for the intelligent comprehension of the book, without overloading it; and it has been decided to add a sketch-map of this little known country, including some of the places specially referred to. But Esthonian folk-literature, even without the ballads, is a most extensive study, and I do not pretend to do more than offer a few specimens culled from some of the most easily accessible sources. My professional work does not allow me time to attempt [Pg xi] more at present; and it is from the same cause that my work on the _Kalevala_ has been delayed so long.

In outlying parts of Europe like Finland and Esthonia, which were not Christianised till long after the southern and western countries, primitive literature has survived to a much greater extent than elsewhere; and the publication of the _Kalevala_ and the _Kalevipoeg_ during the present century furnishes a striking example before our very eyes of the manner in which the Iliad and the Odyssey grew up among the Greeks, before these poems were edited in the form in which they have come down to us, by order of Pisistratus.

The principal books used in the preparation of this work are mentioned in the short Bibliography. The names of others quoted or referred to will be found in the Index, which has also been drawn up in such a manner as to form a general glossary.

W.F. KIRBY.

Chiswick, _September 1894_.

[Pg xiii]

INTRODUCTION

ESTHONIA

Esthonia, or Estonia, as some prefer to write it, is the most northerly of the three so-called German or Baltic provinces of Russia—Esthonia, Livonia, and Courland. It is bounded on the north by the Gulf of Finland, which lies between that country and Esthonia; on the east by the Government of St. Petersburg; on the south by Livonia, and on the west by the Baltic. Opposite its western coast lie numerous large islands, the most important of which are Dagö and Oesel; these islands nearly close the north-west corner of the Gulf of Riga.

The northern part of Livonia (including the island of Oesel, already mentioned) is partly inhabited by Esthonians, and is dealt with in popular literature as forming part of the country. The four provinces of Esthonia proper, which are constantly referred to, [Pg xiv] are as follows, the German names being added in brackets. Two western, Arju or Harju (Harrien) on the north, and Lääne (Wiek) on the south; one central, Järva (Jerwen), and one eastern, Viru (Wierland). East of Livonia lies the great Lake Peipse or Peipus, eighty miles long and thirty-two miles broad at the broadest part, across which the son of Kalev is said to have waded to fetch timber from Pihgast or Pleskau, which name is used to include the Russian province of Pskov, bordering the lake on the south and south-east. At two-thirds of its length the lake is divided nearly in two, and the southern portion is sometimes called Lake Pskov. It may have been across the narrow part between the two ends of the lake that the hero is supposed to have waded, when, even during a great storm, the water reached only to his girdle.

The coast of Esthonia is rocky, but the interior of the country is very marshy, though there are no navigable rivers or lakes of much importance except Lake Peipus, which we have already mentioned. Small lakes, however, are very numerous, the largest being Lake Virts.

Esthonia was one of the countries conquered during the Middle Ages by the crusading German [Pg xv] Knights of the Sword, and has been described as a country with a Finnish population and a German aristocracy under Russian rule. Occasionally we meet with reminiscences of oppression by the German nobility in the songs and tales; as, for instance, in the story of the Royal Herd-boy; while everything beautiful or above the ordinary life of the peasants is characterised as Saxon.

The bulk of the population speak a language very closely allied to Finnish, and they possess a large store of oral literature, much of which has been collected, and in part published, during the present century. It has, however, attracted very little attention out of Esthonia, except in Finland, and to some extent in Germany, and very few articles on the subject have appeared in England or France. It is believed that this is the first work published in England giving any detailed account of the popular literature of Esthonia, and it does not pretend to be exhaustive, nor to extend much beyond the publication of Kreutzwald, Neus, and Jannsen.

The Finnish-Ugrian race, though not Aryan, is widely distributed throughout Europe and Asiatic Russia, and the principal peoples belonging to it [Pg xvi] in the North are the Finns, the Esthonians, and the Lapps, who speak very similar languages, and whose tales and legends possess much similarity, while in the south the Magyars are more distantly related to them. The Lapp hero-tales, however, have more of a historical basis, while the popular tales are much shorter and less artistic. It is, however, curious that Swan-maiden stories are peculiarly common among the Lapps. Several other lesser known peoples belong to the same race, whom we need not further notice.

Esthonian abounds in dialects, but is so close to Finnish that it bears almost the same relation to it as Lowland Scotch to English, or perhaps as Danish to Swedish. But there is a strong admixture of German words in Esthonian, and their tales, when exhibiting traces of foreign influence, have apparently derived it from Germany. In Finnish tales, on the contrary, Russian influence is often very apparent.

The orthography is a little unsettled, words like Ukko or Kalev being often written with a single or double consonant, as Uko or Kallev; while words like Käpä are often written with double vowels, as Kääpä. [Pg xvii]

The pronunciation of most of the letters resembles that of English, or, in the case of the vowels, German, and calls for no special remark.

_j_, as in nearly all languages except English and French, corresponds to our _y_.

_v_ is printed either _v_ or _w_ in Finnish and Esthonian, but corresponds to our _v_, and is thus used by the best Finnish authorities. Of course the Germans properly write it _w_, their _w_ corresponding to our _v_.

For the modified vowels we have no exact equivalent in English; _ä_ and _ü_ are pronounced nearly as in German; but the _õ_ may roughly be said to resemble our _ee_ in sound. _y_ has somewhat of a _u_ sound, as in the Scandinavian languages; and, as in these too, the modified vowels are placed at the end of the alphabet, but in the following order: _ü_, _ä_, _õ_. Musical as is Finnish itself, Esthonian is still softer, as may be seen in the dropping of final consonants, as Vanemuine for Väinämöinen; and in such words as _kannel_ (harp) for _kantele_. As in most parts of Northern Europe, the Gothic character is still much used in Finland and Esthonia, especially in literary works.

As a specimen of the language we may quote the original of the lines on p. 14: [Pg xviii] —

Ristitantsi tantsitie,

Viru tantsi veeritie,

Arju tantsi hakkatie,

Lääne tantsi lõhutie,

Sõre liiva sõtkutie,

Murupinda piinatie.

Tähte peig ja Salme neidu,

Pidasivad pulma ilu!

We may add the text of the lines on p. 49:—

Kalevide poeg ei väsi;

Piht on meehel pihlakane,

Õlanukud õunapuusta,

Käevarred vahterased,

Küünarnukud künnapuusta,

Sõrmelülid sõsterased,

Sõrmeküüned kuuslapuused,

Raudarammu kõiges kehas.

THE KALEVIPOEG

In the year 1838 some Esthonian scholars founded a society called " _Die gelehrte Ehstnische Gesellschaft_, " and set themselves to collect the popular literature of their country. Doubtless encouraged by the recent publication of the _Kalevala_ in Finland, Dr. Fählmann undertook specially to collect any fragments of verse or prose relative to the mythical [Pg xix] hero of Esthonia, the son of Kalev, intending to weave them into a connected whole. He did not live to complete the work; but after his death Dr. Kreutzwald carried out his design, and the book was published, accompanied by a German translation by Reinthal and Bertram, from 1857 to 1861.

The materials were defective, and were augmented and pieced together, not always very successfully or artistically, [1] by Dr. Kreutzwald, and the story is interrupted by long lyrical passages, especially at the beginning of some of the cantos, which are tedious and out of place in a narrative poem. Consequently, a complete translation would hardly be sufficiently attractive; but there is so much that is curious and beautiful in the poem, that I think that a tolerably full prose abstract may perhaps be found both useful and interesting, as opening up an almost new subject to English readers.

Besides Reinthal's translation, there are two condensed abstracts of the poem in German, one by C. C. Israel, in prose, published in 1873, and the other by Julius Grosse, in hexameters, published in 1875. [Pg xx]

But while the _Kalevala_ has been translated into six or seven languages, and into several of them two or three times, extremely little has been published on the _Kalevipoeg_ outside of Esthonia and Finland.

The metre is the eight-syllable trochaic, which is the commonest metre used by the Esthonians and Finns. In the _Kalevipoeg_ the verse usually flows continuously, while in the _Kalevala_ it is arranged in distichs, almost every second line being a repetition of the first in other words; nor is the _Kalevipoeg_ quite so full of alliteration as the _Kalevala_.

Longfellow adapted this metre in his _Hiawatha_ from Schiefner's German translation of the _Kalevala_, and as it was then a novelty in English, it was set down at the time as Longfellow's own invention, and was much ridiculed. A similar metre, however, was used before the appearance of _Hiawatha_ in some parts of Kenealy's _Goethe_, which was published in 1850, and subsequently condensed and completed under the title of "A New Pantomime." I quote a passage from this wonderful but eccentric poem ( _Goethe_, p. 301) to show the manner in which Kenealy has used it in the lighter parts of his work; but in some of the darker passages it shows itself as a versatile metre of great power in English: [Pg xxi] —

"We have come, enchanting ladyes,

To sojourn awhile, and revel

In these bowers, far outshining

The six heavens of Mohammed,

Or the sunbright spheres of Vishnu,

Or the Gardens of Adonis,

Or the viewless bowers of Irim,

Or the fine Mosaic mythus,

Or the fair Elysian flower-land,

Or the clashing halls of Odin,

Or the cyclop-orbs of Brahma,

Or the marble realms of Siva,

Or the grandly proud Walhalla."

I do not find this metre used in either of the two cognate poems, _Faust_ and _Festus_.

To return to the _Kalevipoeg_, the poem consists of twenty cantos and about 19,000 verses. Some of the legends are found also in the _Kalevala_, and the giant-hero whose life and adventures form its subject is evidently the same as the Kullervo of the _Kalevala_, as will be seen in our notes on various passages in the poem.

Of the other heroes of the _Kalevala_, besides an occasional reference to Vanemuine and Ilmarine (Väinämöinen and Ilmarinen), we find no trace; but three heroes, apparently cousins of the Kalevipoeg, appear suddenly in the poem. These are usually [Pg xxii] called by their patronymics, Alevide, Sulevide, and Olevide, but sometimes simply Alev, Sulev, and Olev.

FOLK-TALES IN PROSE

The most important collection of Esthonian prose tales was edited by Kreutzwald, and was published by the Finnish Literary Society at Helsingfors in 1866, under the title of _Eestirahwa Ennemuistesed jutud_, and has since been reprinted at Dorpat. In 1869 the same Society published a useful little Esthonian-Finnish glossary to the volume. A good German translation of many of these tales, by F. Löwe, appeared at Halle in 1869, under the title of _Ehstnische Märchen_, with notes by various contributors; and M. Dido, who has lately translated two or three of the tales into French, and given more or less detailed notices of the others, mentions that they have also been translated into Russian. Other collections of Esthonian tales have since been published; and Harry Jannsen has published a selection in German under the title of _Märchen und Sagen des estnischen Volkes_ (Dorpat, 1881; Riga, 1888). Some of his tales are taken from Kreutz [Pg xxiii] wald, but I have not seen the Esthonian originals of the others. Many of the longer and more interesting tales in those collections I have given in full; others are more or less abridged, or simply noticed, and some few unimportant tales towards the end of Kreutzwald's collection have been passed over altogether.

One of Kreutzwald's longer tales, which I thought too unlike the others to be noticed in the body of the work, is, "How Seven Tailors went to war in Turkey." Their names were, "First-man, One-strong, Two-strong, Three-strong, Four-strong, Five-strong, and Last-man;" and the story gives a comic account of their poltrooneries.

Other tales relate to a plot against a chaste wife; a girl who clears herself from scandal by lifting and hurling a huge stone; &c.

BALLADS AND OTHER SHORT POEMS

The plan of the present work did not allow of many short poetical pieces being included; nevertheless, two of the best of the numerous songs and ballads interspersed through the _Kalevipoeg_ have been given, and two other specimens from [Pg xxiv] Neus' _Ehstnische Volkslieder_ (Revel, 1850-1852) and Kreutzwald and Neus' _Mythische und Magische Lieder der Ehsten_ (St. Petersburg, 1854). More poetical specimens were thought unnecessary, because many of the principal ballads in the former work will be found translated in Latham's "Nationalities of Europe," 1863.

PASTOR HURT'S COLLECTIONS

In recent years enormous collections of Esthonian folk-lore have been formed by Pastor Jacob Hurt and his coadjutors.

"Three volumes of these collections were edited by Hurt in 1875, 1876, and 1886, under the title of _Vana Kannel_, the 'Old Harp;' and other collections were published by several of his colleagues. In 1888 Hurt made a renewed appeal to the Esthonians to collect their old songs, and fresh contributions came pouring in from all quarters.

"Special attention was called to Pastor Hurt's work at the Congress of Folk-lorists in Paris by Henry Carnoy.

"According to the latest intelligence which I have received from Dr. Krohn, Pastor Hurt has received [Pg xxv] contributions from 633 different folk-tale collectors in the last three and a half years. Most of these contributors are simple peasants; some are schoolmasters, but only a few are students or highly educated persons.

"He now possesses, as the result of three and a half years' work of this nature, epics, lyrics, wedding-songs, &c., upwards of 20,000 items; tales, about 3000; proverbs, about 18,000; riddles, about 20,000. Besides these he has a large collection of magical formulæ, superstitions, &c.

"He has only been able to accomplish these extraordinary results by his having been able to awaken popular interest in the subject." [2]

I am glad to hear from my friend Dr. Kaarle Krohn, to whom I have been indebted for much useful information and assistance in my own studies, that part of the results of these great collections are likely to be published very shortly. Of course a great number of tales and songs are merely variants. Many relate to legends belonging rather to the _Kalevala_ than to the _Kalevipoeg_.

In Dr. Krohn's important paper, _Die geogra_ [Pg xxvi] _phische Verbreitung Estnischer Lieder_, published in 1892, he divides Esthonia and Northern Livonia into several districts, and marks the number of variants obtained in each. It may be interesting to summarise the latter, to show the extent to which the collection of variants has been carried on in Esthonia.

1. Legend of the creation of the earth and of the origin of the heavenly bodies, 62 variants.

2. Salme and her suitors, 160 variants; and 33 relative to the celestial suitors.

3. The Great Ox, 24 variants.

4. The Great Oak, 130 variants, and 61 relative to its fragments.

5. The Weeping Oak, 61 variants.

6. The origin of the harp and of boating, three variations, with 19, 39, and 17 variants respectively.

7. The bride of gold and silver, 52 variants.

8. Songs of the Seluks or Orthodox Esths, 91 variants.

MYTHOLOGY

We can, I think, trace Finnish and Esthonian religion through four well-marked stages. [Pg xxvii]

1. Fetishism, as seen in the story of the Treasure-Bringer, and in the account given of the origin of various animals, &c.

2. Nature-worship.

3. Transitional stage, well marked in the _Kalevala_, where the heroes sometimes pray to the gods in conventional Christian phraseology, and at other times try to compel their assistance by invocations and spells. This stage is also seen in the strange travesty of the Nativity in the last Runo of the _Kalevala_ ; and indeed, one of the older writers says that the favourite deities of the Finns in his time were Väinämöinen and the Virgin Mary. But this stage is much less visible in the _Kalevipoeg_, which is, on the whole, a more archaic and more heathenish poem than the _Kalevala_.

4. Mediæval Christianity.

The gods belong to the stage of Nature-worship. The supreme god is Taara, to whom the oak is sacred. The most celebrated of his sacred oak-forests was in the neighbourhood of Dorpat. Thursday is his day; whence it is more often mentioned in popular tales than any other day in the week. He is also called Uko or Ukko (the Old God), by which name he is usually known in the [Pg xxviii] _Kalevala_ ; and also Vana Isa, or Old Father. The Christian God is called Jumal or Jumala, and is probably to be identified with Taara. Ukko or Taara is the ancestor and protector of the heroes; he attended with Rõugutaja at the birth of the Kalevipoeg, watched over and protected him during his life, sometimes appeared to counsel him in visions, received him in his heavenly halls after death, and assigned to him his future employment.

Ukko's daughters are Lindu and Jutta, the queens of the birds; and Siuru, who is described as a blue bird herself. Possibly these may be all the same; and the first at least may be identical with Kalev's bride, Linda, who was born from an egg, and whose name is evidently derived from _lind_ or _lindu_, a bird.

Äike, Kõu, Paristaja, Pikne, Piker, or Pikker, is the god of thunder, and some of his names connect him with the Lithuanian Perkunas. He thunders across the iron bridges of the skies in his chariot; and hurls his thunderbolts at the demons, like Thor. He also possesses a musical instrument, of which the demons stand in great terror. He has a ne'er-do-weel son, who has dealings with the Devil, and a mischievous little daughter, called the Air-Maiden. [Pg xxix]

Ahti, the god of the waters, is mentioned occasionally, but much less frequently than Ahto in the _Kalevala_. He must not be confounded with Ahti, one of the names of the hero Lemminkainen in the latter poem.

Rõugutaja is the god of the winds and waves, and attends specially on births. In one story, however, he appears rather in the character of a morose wood-demon with very undesirable family connections than as a god. This is very probably due to missionary efforts to malign his character and discredit his worship. However, there is a class of magicians who are called Wind-sorcerers, and witches often invoke the aid of the Mother of the Wind.

An old man, with one eye and a long grey beard, often appears to travellers in the forests. He is probably the Finnish Tapio, but is not named.

The sun, moon, and stars are represented as male deities.

Goddesses preside over the woods, fields, waters, &c. Thus we have the Meadow-Queen (literally, Grass-mother), who presides over the home-field, and is therefore one of the protecting deities of the household. She is also the queen of the woods and fields. The Wind-mother and Water-mother are [Pg xxx] similar deities, and the wood-nymphs and water-nymphs are their daughters.

Vanemuine, the Väinämöinen of the Finns, is the god of song and music, rather than the patriarch and culture-hero of the _Kalevala_. All voices and sounds in nature are only echoes of his music. He has a foster-daughter, Jutta, of whom we have given an account elsewhere.

Ilmarine (Finnish, Ilmarinen) is a great smith, whose workshop is under a mountain at the centre of the earth.

The Devil has many names, being called Kurat, the Evil One; Tühi or Tühja, the Empty One, or rather, perhaps, the Contemptible One; but most often Vana Pois, the Old Boy; God being frequently called Vana Isa, the Old Father. He dwells in the underground kingdom, and has three daughters, or foster-daughters; a hat of invisibility, composed of nail-parings; a bridge-building wand, and a sword. He has also much gold and silver plate, and ducks and geese with gold and silver plumage. These treasures are often carried off by enterprising heroes. The maidens whom the Kalevipoeg found in the palace of Sarvik do not appear to have been at all unkindly treated, though they had to work [Pg xxxi] hard, and much regretted that they had no human company.

Another Devil, more prominent in the _Kalevipoeg_, is Vana Sarvik, or Old Hornie, who is represented as Tühi's brother-in-law.

The Devil's underground kingdom is called Põrgu, or Hell. His mother usually appears in the form of a bitch, and his grandmother under that of a white mare. The minor Esthonian devils are usually stupid rather than malevolent. They are sometimes ogres or soul-merchants, but are at times quite ready to do a kindness, or to return one to those who aid them. Their great enemies are the Thunder-God and the wolf. The principal outwitter of the devil is generally called Crafty Hans; and several volumes of their adventures have been published in Esthonian. The Devil is often represented as fond of beer.

Besides the above-named gods and demons, we have spirits of the whirlwind and the Northern Lights; gnomes; and a host of inferior demons, as well as various grades of sorcerers, especially Wind-sorcerers, Word-sorcerers, or soothsayers, and Death-sorcerers, or necromancers. The Tont, or House-Spirit, goes by various names; among others Kratt or Puuk. Kratt is perhaps a word [Pg xxxii] of Scandinavian or German origin; Puuk must be the same as our Puck, or the Irish Pouka. He was probably originally a beneficent house-spirit, and in later times assumed the demoniacal character in which he appears in the story of the Treasure-Bringer. In the story of "Martin and his Dead Master," we have a spectre much resembling a vampyre in character.

The gigantic race of the heroes is represented as descended from Taara. As in the case of so many other hero-races—as, for example, the knights of Arthur, Finn, Charlemagne, Vladimir, Palmerin, &c.—they are at length practically destroyed in a series of terrible battles, while the Kalevipoeg, like Arthur, Olger, Barbarossa, and Tell, remains in enchanted bondage till the day shall come for him to restore the ancient glories of his country. [3]

[Pg 1]