While the first human, Maiden of Grass and her island, could be born out of a bird's egg like in the Creation myth, it is also possible that she and the island were born out of a drop of gold that falls out of a smith's kettle. Since this smith's forge is in the middle of the sea, it seems to be THE smith, Ilmarinen.
 Ol' mulla ennen kolme torvea Yks' ol' puusta, toine luusta Kolmas kuusan lylystä Mänin miä suolle soittamaan Kankaalle kajahuuttamaan Kuului tuo sepän pajahan Seppä seisattu pajassa Vasara kätessä vapisi Pihit pystyyn putosi Kulta kiehu kattilassa Keskellä meren selköö Kuhun kulta tipahti Siihen saari siunahti Korja nurmi saaren päälle Korja neiti nurmen päälle Nurmen nukka, tuomen kukka Mansikka mäellä huusi: "Tule neiti noppimahan Punaposki poimimaan Ennen kun etana syöpi Mato musta muikkajaa!" Paljo on mustia merellä Ei ne kaikki hylkehiä Paljo kantoja kasella Ei ne kaikki karhun päitä Paljo lintuja metässä Ei kaikki pyytäjän pivossa Paljo on piikoja kylässä Ei ne kaikki naitavia Jos mie laulaja olisin Laulaisin rauniot rahoiksi Meren hiekat hernehiksi Suuret vuoret voipytyiksi Kalliot sianlihoiksi |
Once, I had three horns One was out of tree, the other was out of bone The third out of a spruce ski I went to play in the swamp To blast in the forest That could be heard in a smith's forge The smith went still in the forge Hammer trembled in his hand Tongs fell upright Gold boiled in a kettle In the middle of the open sea Where a drop of gold fell There, an island was blessed (into existence) A beautiful grass on the island A beautiful maiden on the grass Grass fuzz, bird cherry flower A strawberry yelled on a hill: "Come pick me, maiden Come glean me, red cheeks Before a slug eats me A black snake snacks me!" There are a lot of black things in the sea Not all of them are seals Many stumps in the forest Not all of them are bear heads Many brids in the forest Not all of them on a hunter's palm There are many women in a village Not all of them for one to marry If I was a singer I'd sing ruins into money Seasand into peas Large hills into butter jugs Rocks into pig meat |
The fate of the Maiden of Grass can greatly differ between runosongs. In the one featured in creation myths, she gives birth to a son or sons. In another, she is taken by Iivari. In a third one, she is taken by Nurmi-Tuomas "Grass Thomas", which means death. From the perspective of cosmology, only the first version seems relevant. The others are more "lyrical" runosongs (ballads) than "epic" (myths).
    Minä menin Muurimäkehen Mustia villoja vaihtamahan Siell' oli suuri koira Koira mullen haukkumahan Minä hyppäsin aidan päällen Aita kaatui kahden puolen Minä menin lepistöhön Lepistö muuttui mereksi Mitä siellä meress’ näkyy? Saari siellä meress’ näkyy Mikäs saaren keskellä on? Kylä saaren keskellä on Mikäs kylän alitse käy? Joki kylän alitse käy Mikäs joen sisällä on? Sammal joen sisällä on Mikäs sammalass’ sisäll’ on? Kivi sammalass’ sisäll’ on Mikäs kiven sisällä on? Sormus kiven sisällä on Mikäs sormuksen sisäll’ on? Pitkä tammi, paksu tammi Tammi yhreksän kanttinen Tupa tammen tarhasessa Mikäs tammen juuripuu? Kulta tammen juuripuu Mikäs tammen latvapuu? Taivas tammen latvapuu Mikä latvaoksasilla? Kätkyt latvaoksasilla Mikä kätkyen kasassa? Poika kätkyen kasassa Mikä pojan olkapäällä? Kirves pojan olkapäällä Mikä kirvehen kasassa? Lastu kirvehen kasassa Mihin lastu lankeaapi Siihen paja tehtäköhön Pajahan vaskinen alasin Hopeaiset huohottimet Kultavartinen vasara Mies pieni, kähärä tukka Pajan päässä takomahan Noitakonetta valmistamaan Mitä tuvan sisällä on? Neljä niemen neitsykkäistä Kolme nuorta neitoa Mitä töiksensä tekevät? Yksi kutoo kultavyötä Toinen solkia sovittaa Kolmas harjaa hapsiansa Neljäs itkee nuorinta veljeänsä Pieni lintu västäräkki Lensi tuvan akkunalle Kysy: ”Mitäs itket, neity nuori?” ”Itken nuorta veljeäni Kun nuorena sotaan vietiin Lasna laivan haltijaksi Vihollisen paimenille Tykin suuren suun eteen” Kysy: "Mitäs annat palkakseni Niin mä veljesi sanelen?" "Annan pualen kullastani Toisen pualen hopiastani" "Tualta näkkyy tulevan Pää näkkyy päältä metän Jalat alta aevottaa Parta päivän palmikossa Hiukset kullan suortuvissa Sormet Ruotsin sormuksissa Jalat saksan saappahissa” Mitä sille annetaan? Paijan uuen palttinaisen Hihattoman, helmattoman Liisa hihat liitteli Kaisa kauluksen pani Helka helman päärmesi |
I went to Muuri hill To exchange black wool There was a large dog Who began to bark at me I jumped on top of a fence And the fence fell onto two sides I went into an alder forest And the alder forest turned into a sea What can be seen on that sea? An island can be seen on that sea What's in the center of the island? A village is in the center of the island What goes below the village? A river goes below the village? What's inside the river? Moss* is inside the river What's inside the moss? A rock is inside the moss What's inside the rock? A ring is inside the rock What's inside the ring? A long, thick oak An oak with nine corners In the little yard of the oak is a cabin What is the tree root of the oak? Gold is the tree root of the oak What is the treetop of the oak? The sky is the treetop of the oak What is on the top branches? A cradle is on the top branches What is in the cradle? A son is in the cradle What is on the son's shoulder? An axe is on the son's shoulder What is with the axe? A shaving is with the axe Where ever the shaving lands There, shall a forge be made Into the forge, a copper anvil Silver bellows And an axe with a golden handle A small curly-haired man At the end of the forge to hammer To create a shaman machine What is inside the cabin? Four maidens of the cape Three young ladies What are their jobs? One weaves a golden belt Another places on buckles Third brushes her hair Fourth cries after her youngest brother The small bird, a wagtail Flew to the window of the cabin And asked: "Why are you crying, young maiden?" "I cry after my young brother Who was taken to war when he was young To head a boat as a child To the shepherds of the enemy To the front of the mouth of a large cannon" Asked: "What will you give me as payment If I tell you about your brother?" "I'll give you half of my gold And the other half of my silver" "It looks like he is coming from there Head can be seen above a forest And feet below The beard in braids of the Sun Hair in golden locks Fingers in Swedish rings Feet in German boots" What is given to him? A new linen shirt With no sleeves, no hem Liisa attached the sleeves Kaisa put on the collar Helka hemmed it |
The maidens here are, without doubt, nature goddesses (luonnottaret) despite having later been given Christian names like Liisa, Kaisa and Helka. Note the word moss*, or "sammal" in Finnish: it sounds similar to sammas "the world pillar". There are versions of this runosong in Estonia, where the word sammas is indeed used in this context. Well, despite the word having turned into "moss" here, the world pillar, or the world tree is still present in the form of the oak which is golden at the root (connected to the world mountain, the rocky mountain of Pohjola) and the sky itself at the top. The "cradle" is the golden cradle, a path between the upper and center layers of the world, which one Forest Finnish old lady (Kaisa Vilhunen) described to researchers meant a rainbow.
A smith is often Ilmarinen, of course, and that could be the case here. The description also fits the mythic saviour, but he is usually described as a king of water. No one knows what noitakone "shaman machine" means. The only theory I've even heard is that this would be a reference to the same as the Karelian runosongs of "Ilmarinen forging the Sammas/Sampo". In addition to the world pillar, those runosongs also describe Sampo as the sky itself. Ilmarinen is, of course, the smith of the sky so this tracks, and it would make sense for him to have forged the world pillar as well. However, why would one want to steal the world pillar like Väinämöinen and Joukahainen later do? The Sammas/Sampo of the "Theft of Sammas" runosongs is more like a machine of some kind that provides wealth. From a Kainuian and White Karelian perspective, it is the "source of all sorcery".
I wish I could give clear explanations, but I can't. When thinking of Sammas, one just has to kind of accept that it means multiple different things in different contexts: the world pillar, the sky, the source of sorcery, the source of wealth which made agriculture possible, etc.
The main point to understand here is that, whether born out of a bird egg or a drop of gold, there is an island in the center of the world. There stands the world tree or pillar, and it is the home of luonnottaret.