Joukahainen

Also known as: Youthful Joukahainen · Family: Lapland · Role: youthful minstrel · First appears: Runo III · Väinämöinen and Joukahainen · Part 1

In Runo III, Joukahainen’s sledge collided with Väinämöinen’s at Väinölä, and their reins and runners became entangled. He challenged the older minstrel to settle their dispute with swords, but Väinämöinen defeated him in singing and sank him into a swamp. To save himself, Joukahainen pledged his sister Aino to Väinämöinen as his consort. Once Väinämöinen reversed the spell and freed him, Joukahainen returned sorrowfully to his mother and told her what he had promised.

In Runo VI, Joukahainen made a crossbow and poisoned arrows, then waited for Väinämöinen with the intention of killing him. His mother forbade him to shoot, revealing that Väinämöinen was her sister’s son and Joukahainen’s cousin. Joukahainen nevertheless shot him, striking both Väinämöinen and his horse.