Joukahainen challenged Väinämöinen to a singing contest, boasting of his knowledge. Väinämöinen sang the youth into a swamp up to his chin, forcing Joukahainen to offer his sister Aino as ransom.
After his humiliation in the singing contest, Joukahainen ambushed Väinämöinen with a crossbow, shooting his horse and casting the sage into the open sea where he drifted for days.
Joukahainen's sister Aino was promised to Väinämöinen as the price of Joukahainen's defeat in the singing contest. Rather than marry the ancient sage, she drowned herself and became a water spirit, leaving Väinämöinen grief-stricken.
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