Maailman synty

Tuli sotka, suora lintu; lenteä lekuttelevi

etsien pesän sijoa, asuinmaata arvaellen.

Lenti iät, lenti lännet, lenti luotehet, etelät.

Ei löyä tiloa tuota, paikkoa pahintakana,

kuhun laatisi pesänsä, ottaisi olosijansa.

Liitelevi, laatelevi; arvelee, ajattelevi:

"Teenkö tuulehen tupani, aalloillen asuinsijani?

Tuuli kaatavi tupasen, aalto vie asuinsijani."

Niin silloin ve'en emonen, veen emonen, ilman impi,

nosti polvea merestä, lapaluuta lainehesta

sotkalle pesän sijaksi, asuinmaaksi armahaksi.

Tuo sotka, sorea lintu, liiteleikse, laateleikse.

Keksi polven veen emosen sinerväisellä selällä;

luuli heinämättähäksi, tuoreheksi turpeheksi.

Lentelevi, liitelevi, päähän polven laskeuvi.

Siihen laativi pesänsä, muni kultaiset munansa:

kuusi kultaista munoa, rautamunan seitsemännen.

Alkoi hautoa munia, päätä polven lämmitellä.

Hautoi päivän, hautoi toisen, hautoi kohta kolmannenki.

Jopa tuosta veen emonen, veen emonen, ilman impi,

tuntevi tulistuvaksi, hipiänsä hiiltyväksi;

luuli polvensa palavan, kaikki suonensa sulavan.

Vavahutti polveansa, järkytti jäseniänsä:

munat vierähti vetehen, meren aaltohon ajaikse;

karskahti munat muruiksi, katkieli kappaleiksi.

Ei munat mutahan joua, siepalehet veen sekahan.

Muuttuivat murut hyviksi, kappalehet kaunoisiksi:

munasen alainen puoli alaiseksi maaemäksi,

munasen yläinen puoli yläiseksi taivahaksi;

yläpuoli ruskeaista päivöseksi paistamahan,

yläpuoli valkeaista, se kuuksi kumottamahan;

mi munassa kirjavaista, ne tähiksi taivahalle,

mi munassa mustukaista, nepä ilman pilvilöiksi.

Kalevalan mukaan maailma syntyi telkän munista. Kyseisen eepoksen kirjoittamisajankohdassa telkkää kutsuttiin sotkaksi.

In the Finnish national epic, Kalevala, have a creation myth. In the original Finnish language text  the eggs that created the world was the eggs of the “sotka” which means “telkkä” and in English it is the Goldeneye.

--- Ere a beauteous duck descending,
Hastens toward the water-mother,
Comes a-flying hither, thither,
Seeks herself a place for nesting.
Flies she eastward, flies she westward,
Circles northward, circles southward,
Cannot find a grassy hillock,
Not the smallest bit of verdure;
Cannot find a spot protected,
Cannot find a place befitting,
Where to make her nest in safety.
Flying slowly, looking round her,
She descries no place for resting,
Thinking loud and long debating,
And her words are such as follow:
"Build I in the winds my dwelling,
On the floods my place of nesting?
Surely would the winds destroy it,
Far away the waves would wash it."

Then the daughter of the Ether,
Now the hapless water-mother,
Raised her shoulders out of water,
Raised her knees above the ocean,
That the duck might build her dwelling,
Build her nesting-place in safety.
Thereupon the duck in beauty,
Flying slowly, looking round her,
Spies the shoulders of the maiden,
Sees the knees of Ether's daughter,
Now the hapless water-mother,
Thinks them to be grassy hillocks,
On the blue back of the ocean.
Thence she flies and hovers slowly,
Lightly on the knee she settles,
Finds a nesting-place befitting,
Where to lay her eggs in safety.

Here she builds her humble dwelling,
Lays her eggs within, at pleasure,
Six, the golden eggs she lays there,
Then a seventh, an egg of iron;
Sits upon her eggs to hatch them,
Quickly warms them on the knee-cap
Of the hapless water-mother;
Hatches one day, then a second,
Then a third day sits and hatches.
Warmer grows the water round her,
Warmer is her bed in ocean,
While her knee with fire is kindled,
And her shoulders too are burning,
Fire in every vein is coursing.
Quick the maiden moves her shoulders,
Shakes her members in succession,
Shakes the nest from its foundation,
And the eggs fall into ocean,
Dash in pieces on the bottom
Of the deep and boundless waters.
In the sand they do not perish,
Not the pieces in the ocean;
But transformed, in wondrous beauty
All the fragments come together
Forming pieces two in number,
One the upper, one the lower,
Equal to the one, the other.
From one half the egg, the lower,
Grows the nether vault of Terra:
From the upper half remaining,
Grows the upper vault of Heaven;
From the white part come the moonbeams,
From the yellow part the sunshine,
From the motley part the starlight,
From the dark part grows the cloudage;

Kalevala

 Anu