Out of the River of Tuoni

In Runo XIV of the Kalevala, compiled by Elias Lönnrot, Lemminkäinen hunts the black swan that lives on the river of Tuoni in the underworld in order to win a daughter of Louhi as his wife. While searching for the swan, he is killed and his body is dumped into the river. In Runo XV, Lemminkäinen’s mother searches all over the world for him before discovering his fate. She fashions a rake and uses it to recover her son’s body from the bottom of the river, then sews his body back together and uses a drop of honey from the god Ukko as an ointment. Speaking the words below, she uses her magic to restore her son to life.

Recording of Out of the River of Tuoni by MPLS (imPulse)