On the founding of Solovetskij Monastery in the White Sea

A birth story:
How Solovetskij Monastery in Solovki Island in the White Sea was establised.
Finnish Folklore Archives.

Did white whales (belugas) had a rôle in this process?


Solovetsin luostarin perustamisesta.
Käännös suomeksi

Pyhittäi lähti menemäh solouhkoih. 

Häi ettši dovariššoa.
Kattšou, ga om pellol kyndäi muzikku.
Nu häi sanou: "Läkkä sinä minun kere,
sinuz roih minul dovariššu!" 
Nu hyö i lähtietäh. Nu mennäh sinne
Solouhkoin soareh. 
A se oli näid vanhembi, kudai otti
muzikan dovarišakse. 

Duumattšou: "Roih minullei dovariššu täz
muzikas." 
Mennäh hyö Solouhkoin soarel sinnie
itšelläh i kolmandekse kaverikse löydyy
hebo valgei

"Nu nygöi myö rubiammo täz roadoo
roadamah. 
Rubiammo täz kriepostii loadimah. 
Täm on hyvim mugavu paikku, namasteri
täh roih hyvä. 
Ni mid älä zoboti, roih meijäl luo käyjeä." 

Hyö I ruvettih kivee vedämäh, kriepostii
loadimah. 
 

No mendih hyö sinne mettšäh, ga hebo
kolmandenn on valgei

Nu hyö pannah regeh kivi. 
Lähtietäh kiven kera matkah. 
On sie semmone jogi vai mi on kaijelmuz
meren, mutku semmonen. 

Liijan se tuli suuri kivi olemah regeh. 
No yksi miez i duumaittši sen: "Anna hebo
vedäz, ga pideä jeän kesteä." 

I jeä katkei. Kivi mereh pakui reis. 
Toine tiezi, sanou: "Mikse sinä duumaitšit!
G ed oliz duumainnu, ga kivi ei olis
pakkunuh mereh, jeä katkennuh e ulis 

("e ulis"-sanoilla on erityisen voimakas
paino!."
 

No, katkei ga kuitengi pideä kivi soaha
eäres sie. 
Nu hyö pyheä Miikkuloa molittih: 
 
 

"Pyhä Miikkul syöttäi, tule abuh kivee
meile nostamah!" 
Nu hyö i soadih se kivi. 
Hyö se pändih kriepostin uksipieleh, kivi
se, seinäh. 
 

I sid iän kaiken vesihernehyöt tippuu kives. 

Rahvaz mennäh, miero, käymäh sinne,
niile vezihernehyzil sormii painetah kiveh
da sit silmii voijetah. 

Sit silmät tervehtyy. 

Sen Jumal sanoi: "Minähäi olin avuz
nostamas kivee. 
Minä sanoim pyhäl Mikkulal: "Nostamm
eäre kiven, kerran täh pyhittäjät
parandetaheze olemah da namasteri gu
laittih." 
Pyhittäjäd ne oldih izootei da savaatei.

Namasteri hyö soadih.

Salmi. M. Pelkonen 448. 1935-1940 
<Miikkul Izrikki, 69 v.
 
 

 

On the founding of Solovetskij Monastery
 

A holy man left for Solovki.
[The word "holy" is the root for "pyhittäi"]
He looked for a companion. 
He saw a peasant ploughing on a field. 
Now he said:" Come with me, become my
comrade!"
Now they left. Now they left for Solovki
Island.
There were two, but it was the older, who
took a peasant as a comrade.

Thinks : "I will have a comrade".

They left for Solovki Island and for a third
comrade they found
a white horse.

"Shall we now start to work hard.

We start to construct a castle.
This is an excellent site, a monastery will
be good here.
Do not bother, we will have visitors.

They started to drag a stone, to construct
the castle.
 

So, they went into a forest, ah, the horse as
a third comrade is white.

Now they laid a stone in a sledge.
They started their journey with a stone.
There is a river or what it is? a line of a sea,
a curvature like.

It was too big stone they laid in a sledge.
Ah, one man said it aloud:" Let the horse
pull, the ice must stand".

The ice broke. The stone went in the sea.
The other man said:" Why you thought! If you had not thought, the stone would not be dropped in the sea and
the ice would not be broken.

("e ulis"= "did not", words has a special
stress!)"
 

Ok, the ice broke, however the stone must
get up, somehow.
Now they prayed for the Holy Miikkuloa.
[Archangel Michael]
 

"Holy Michael the feeder, come to help
us to pull-up the stone!"
Now they got the stone up.
They put the stone in the castle's lintel, that
stone, in the wall. 
 

And for ever the stone is sweatting water
droplets. (like beans).
Common people visits and they put their
fingers in water drops and they rub their
eyes.

Then eyes will be healed.

And The Lord said: "I was there to help to
pull-up the stone.
I said to Holy Michael:" Let us pull-up the
stone and lay it in the lintel, because
Sanctifiers will build up the monastery to heal people.

Those Sanctifiers were Izootei and Savaatei.

They managed to have the monastery

Salmi. M. Pelkonen 448. 1935-1940.
< Miikkul Izrikki, 69 years.

 

Salmi is the oral tradition written-up site near the Lake Ladoga (North). The collector is M. Pelkonen. The original source is a peasant Miikkul Izrikki, 69 years old chap. The story has been written-up, exactly as it was told by Izrikki. That's why you see  repetations. To my knowledge, nobody has edited or analysed this fragment. 


Interpretations exercises

Pyhittäi = pyhä, pyšä, piessa, besov, Holy, sanctify (as a verb, a sanctifier as a substantive)
Dovariššo = tovaritsh, origin Russian language, a comrade.
Muzika = peasant. Different meanings, depending the area, sometimes means a child.

Hebo = a horse.
Valgei = white.

It seems that the white horse has an external role in this story. It is like a fragment, Which has followed throughout centuries. And its role has diminished. I interprete that beluga was out of the experiences of people who did not lived near the White Sea. However it is still remembered and hanging in the narrative, because for some  reason (for people who continued to tell the stories) they considered it important.

Also observe that the white horse is in same level as Izootei and Savaatei; two times in  this story the white horse is mentioned as a third comrade (companion). And not just a  mere animal.

Jöns Carlson mentioned that: "It might be that the white horse originally was needed to  describe the realisation (the birth story) of white whales – belugas, but that part has been  dropped away in this fragment". [Compare with white raven/black raven and chimney in North-American aboriginals' folklore].

So, in fact this fragment keeps up two birth stories - one for the monastery and the other  for white whales! If this is really true, it will strenghen the thesis about belugas' role in  Savvateev's decision procedure in 1436 AD. 


The Finnish Society for Prehistoric Art

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