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“I’m crying because I can’t wear my fine jewellery anymore. I threw them away!” Aino’s voice caught in her throat as she dashed across the courtyard. She ran up to her mother, who was skimming cream at the dairy. Her mother was dismayed to see her daughter’s distress. “Aino, why are you crying? What’s wrong?” “Oh Mother!” At last, she was able to tell someone of her distress. “I was in the forest gathering birch branches for our vihtas. I was singing, looking forward to the sauna when that ancient Väinämöinen came up the path, looking for me. He asked me to dress only for him! Horrid old man, he’s so old and wrinkled! I got so upset at his lecherous looking that I threw my ribbons and jewellery into the forest! I told him no way would I dress only for him and not for anyone else either!” Aino’s mother listened closely to her beloved daughter. Stroking her hair, she told Aino, “ Don’t cry, my little bird! Don’t cry! True, true, Väinämöinen may be old, but he is also a great wizard! Do you know how jealous the other girls will be of you? So envious of your prestigious marriage to such a wise, honourable, and renowned man! He is a good catch! Look beyond his decrepit appearance! He will be able to look after you so well, especially when the time comes for your father and me to bid farewell to this world!” “No, no, I won’t marry him! Why did Joukahainen have to promise me to that old goat? I won’t!” Aino’s mother took Aino’s hands into her own and looked into the deep blue eyes that were so similar to hers. “In a few days you will get over this! You’ll see! It is for the best, dear! He is the best catch of all of the suitors who have come asking for your hand. You’ll grow to love him! Your father is just over the moon about this!” she said with a laugh. Aino’s sobs rang even louder. “No, I won’t get over it! He is not a good catch! His breath smells of mushrooms and rot! His skin is dry like an old pike skin left in the sun! His squirrel skin coat hangs in tatters! I won’t have him!” Aino’s mother smoothed her daughter’s bright hair and wiped the tears that were continually falling. In a soft conspiratorial voice, she whispered, “Go to the mountain, to where we keep our store-house. Once there, you will see a big trunk with a rainbow coloured lid. Open it! Inside are some magical dresses that were woven by my sisters, the Sun and the Moon. I lived in a different world at one time, my dear sweet daughter! A wonderful world it was, but then I met your father. I was banished for loving a human! My name was Star and I filled the night sky! But that was many years ago, a different life!” A far-away look clouded her eyes. “This is my life now,” she continued. “I love your father, you, your sister and brother. This is my home. Believe me when I say you will learn to love him, Aino! So go on and take your pick of the rainbow dresses and adorn your hair. Help yourself to as many gold and silver jewels as you like. Make yourself beautiful, dear daughter. That’ll help you feel b et t er! T hen come back and we will begin celebrating! We haven’t had a celebration here for such a long time!” Ai n o, e m o t i o n s swirling, ran to the courtyard to be alone. She was angry at her fate and disillusioned about her future. How could she leave her mother and father to go and live with an old man, hardly more than a forest gnome? She did not want the wealth or prestige the marriage would bring. She did not want to be an old man’s solace, to support him when he faltered as he inevitably would, or become the shoulder he would lean on for support. She wanted to live with her mother and father, where she was as free as the deer roaming the forest, as free as the salmon swimming in the flowing waters of her revered lake. 6 Aino - Continued from Page 1 As Väinämöinen’s bride, her life would change. Her carefree days would end. Her hair would be braided, concealed under a scarf and loosed only for his touch. She would become like an icicle in the freezing winter or like water imprisoned in a well. Her mind, so full of sorrow, saw only a lifetime of darkness ahead. Even her mother, who used to be a star, would not be able to shine a light into her abyss. Aino had been surprised by her mother’s revelations. She wondered how her mother could have given up her life as a star deity to live a mundane human life. Did her mother ever sneak out to the store-house and try on the sparkling clothes she told her about? She knew her mother loved her life but did she ever regret leaving her home in the sky? Aino saw her mother working as hard as a slave, looking after her father, brother and sister as well as Aino herself. Cleaning, weaving, preparing food, milking the cows, she never had a moment of rest. Although her mother never complained, Aino kept wondering if she ever missed her old life, a life where she had been independent and free? Her mother had given all that up when she married her father. Aino did not want to give up her freedom for a man – even if the man was as wonderful as her father. Aino also knew no man could compete with her father’s wisdom and kindness. It incensed her to think of her brother and what he had done, how he had misused his great powers. But she had strong powers of her own! Her mother’s disclosure had shown her that she came from a sky full of strong women. Imagine! She was the daughter of Star! Her aunts were the Sun and the Moon! Why had she not known about her history or the power of her women ancestors? Of the strength of her aunts? The more she thought, the more she realized that she did not want to be an old man’s slave and darling. Aino wanted to be a free woman just like her aunts who boldly shone their light, illuminating the whole world. Aino decided to go to the store-house and put on her mother’s former clothes. Perhaps putting on the garments would help sort out her dilemma. Once she got to the store-house, Aino opened the colourful trunk. Inside she found six golden belts, seven sparkling dresses and pouches full of jewellery. After much deliberation, she chose a dress of red and adorned herself with gold and silver pendants and rings of amber and rose quartz. She put a blue band on her forehead and silver ornaments of small birds into her golden tresses. She glowed in beauty and felt full of power. A silvery light shone from her, illuminating the dark store-house. The light shimmered into a path that led to the door. Intrigued, Aino followed the light. Out the door, through the forest, up the mountain, she followed the glowing trail. Perhaps this was the linnunrata or the pathway of the birds, thought Aino. A path made by the glittering stars in the night sky to guide the birds, a passageway forged by her mother, Star, and her legions of sister stars. Perhaps this was how her mother had come to earth many years ago! Aino followed the path of the silvery light to her aunt, the Moon. All night long she traveled the shadowy glow the Moon cast on the unfamiliar stone fields and thick forests of spruce and aspen. During the day, the light of the Sun guided her past fields and meadows. But Aino wasn’t afraid. She walked confidently on the route set out by her female ancestors. She could smell the water after the second day and by sunset of the third day she reached the end of the land. The sea stretched out far into the horizon. Exhausted after her long pilgrimage, Aino sat down on a writ rock of ancient symbols. The land seemed to recede as the sound of the waves and the calls of the sea-birds lulled her. Peering into the darkening blue, she could see perch and trout milling about NEW WORLD FINN TAMMIKUU - HELMIKUU - MAALISKUU • 2009 TALVI
the shore as the Moon began to shine on the waves. She knew this was the end of her journey; her aunts had led her to this place. Aino sat on the coloured stone for a night and a day. She watched and listened. She sang laments from deep within her heart. Through the power of words that welled up in her, Aino keened for the loss of her dear mother, her father and the life she had led. Her crying voice transformed into the wind, carrying her sorrow into the deep waters, causing billows of water to crest and then crash down into the depths. The next day the Sun glistened on the water, enveloping her, filling her with peace and warmth. The water was as clear as an aquamarine jewel, shimmering and translucent. Aino saw Vellamo, the Water Goddess, and her mermaids cavorting in the caverns and crevices at the bottom of the sea. The mermaids swam up to the surface and frolicked in the waves. She heard them laughing as they rejoiced in their freedom, calling out to their sisters in the sky. They reminded her of herself when she would run and play in the meadows and forests near her home. The mermaids looked over to her and beckoned for her to join them. Aino stood up and discarded her clothes until she was as naked as a fish. She dived into the water feeling its sensuousness flow over her body. She felt the water embracing her like a glove. She saw her skin change into glistening gold and silver scales as she dove deeper and deeper into the mirror world of the stars. Aino took a deep swallow of the fragrant sea water and her heart blossomed. This was her new home, the one she shared with Vellamo, the mermaids, the salmon and trout. The red of the blood coursing through her veins blended with the blue of water. Her jewel-like scales of gold and silver shimmered. Aino revelled in her new freedom at the bottom of the sea. Aino’s aunts, the Moon and the Sun and the stars, watched over Joulukauden Tervehdys! Winter Solstice Greetings to all New World Finn readers ********* from HARRY SIITONEN Berkeley, California www.finnlabor.net her as she played in the deep waters of the sea. Aino’s mother cried for three days after hearing of Aino’s fate from a hare. She cried so profusely that her tears created three rivers upon which three hills rose. On top of each hill, a cuckoo sang from the branches of a birch tree. Their song recited the story of Aino and told of her mother’s anguish. Aino wished her mother could see how happy she was in her underwater world and that her aunts watched over her. But since her mother had left the sky world for the human world, she was no longer able to raise the veil between the worlds to observe her daughter’s joy. One day, as Aino was dancing in the currents, she saw the old wizard, Väinämöinen, fishing from a boat of copper. He trolled with a golden hook suspended from a silver fishing line. He chanted strange words as he fished. She knew he was trying to catch her. She laughed at his stubborn persistence and thought to play a little game with the old man. She watched him fish for many days and nights. At times, she swam around his hook and let him see her gold and silver colours and the wavy tendrils of her hair. Finally, she let him catch her and just as he was going to hoist her up into his silken fishing net, she jumped out of his clutches into the blue of her home. She let out a huge laugh as she shouted, “No, you still cannot have me! I am as free as a salmon now!” Aino’s fishtail sliced straight out of the water and seemed to suspend in the air for a few seconds before she disappeared with a splash. The old man’s copper boat rocked in the waves. Katja Maki is an artist living in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and is sister to Della Maki Bitove and Taina Maki Chahal. The three write a quarterly column called “Three Sisters from the Northshore” for New World Finn. The 2 images of Aino and her dress are thanks to the generosity of Della and her Bride Weeping faery. Season’s Greetings to all New World Finn readers ********* from Ivy Nevala, Publisher New World Finn JANUARY - FEBRUARY - MARCH • 2010 WINTER NEW WORLD FINN 7
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Page 9 and 10: Poijat Celebrates Twenty Years of P
Page 11 and 12: So this day finally dawned for me,
Page 13 and 14: Kotinurkka - The Corner of the Home
Page 15 and 16: Name Street/Address The Journey Ahe
Page 17 and 18: Donna Salli’s Play About Finnish-
Page 19 and 20: A View From Finland with Enrique Te
Page 21 and 22: Finn Hall Named Finlandia Foundatio
Page 23 and 24: Willie Lahti: 3 Poems from the Past
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Page 27 and 28: New World Finn Bookstore Your sourc

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