Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 25, 1914.djvu/297

 Reviews.

269

It needs no great knowledge of Finnish poetry to recognize, as the author of course does, that much of the material in the Kalevala is originally foreign to the tale of KuUervo. The episode of the Deflowering of the Sister, runo XXXI., and the series of exploits in the same runo (the "strong boy" motif) are not original, nor is the episode of KuUervo going to war and asking which of his relations would weep for his death (runo XXXVI.). Putting these aside, and rejecting also several episodes in the later forms of the Hamlet-saga, we have the following ground-plan of both tales. Two brothers quarrel and one kills the other, but spares one of his sons. The child grows, escapes several attempts to take his life, and is finally sent abroad. He returns (undetected), and destroys his uncle with all his followers.

Thus far we have a fairly common myth, all the forms of which cannot reasonably be derived from any one origin ; indeed Setala quite rightly rejects several proposed parallels which contain these features only. To prove the relationship he relies on several minor details which we tabulate.

Hamlets make hooks or skew- ers at the fire, and says they are meant "to revenge his father."

Hamlet says that a keel, which he is told is a knife, would " cut a big ham," i.e. the sea.

Hamlet indirectly wishes that wolves may destroy his uncle's herds.

(Same episode.)

KuUervo escapes alive from the fire in which it was sought to destroy him, is found raking it with a hook ("coal-rake " in Kirby, Kalevala, XXXI., 166), and declares that he will revenge his father.

KuUervo, on escaping from the attempt to drown him, is found measuring the sea or lake.

KuUervo brings home wolves and bears instead of cattle. (This is, however, hardly part of the original tale.)

" Untamo's wolves " are fre- quently mentioned in the Kul- lervo-saga and related songs and tales.

Several of the names in the KuUervo narratives seem to be