Mari, (Cheremis is the Old Russian name of the Mari) Finno-Ugric people. The self-name is the name "Mari", "Mari", which translates as "husband", "man".

MARIANS are a people living in Russia, the indigenous population of the Republic of Mari El (312 thousand people according to the 2002 census). The Mari also live in the neighboring regions of the Volga region and the Urals. In total, there are 604 thousand Mari in the Russian Federation (data from the same census). The Mari are divided into three territorial groups: mountain, meadow (forest) and eastern. Mountain Mari live on the right bank of the Volga, meadow - on the left, eastern - in Bashkiria and the Sverdlovsk region.

The Mari language belongs to the Finno-Volga group of the Finno-Ugric branch of the Uralic languages. About 464 thousand (or 77%) of the Mari speak the Mari language, the majority (97%) speak Russian. Mari-Russian bilingualism is widespread. The writing of the Mari is based on the Cyrillic alphabet.

Faith is Orthodox, but there is also its own Mari faith (marla faith) - this is a combination of Christianity with traditional beliefs. The first written mention of the Mari (Cheremis) is found by the Gothic historian Jordan in the 6th century. They are also mentioned in The Tale of Bygone Years. Close ties with the Turkic peoples played an important role in the development of the Mari ethnos.

The formation of the ancient Mari people took place in the 5th – 10th centuries. In 1551–52, after the defeat of the Kazan Khanate, the Mari became part of the Russian state. In the 16th century, the Christianization of the Mari began. However, the eastern and part of the meadow Mari did not accept Christianity, and to this day they retained pre-Christian beliefs, especially the cult of ancestors.

The Mari have a lot of holidays, like any people with a long history. There is, for example, an old ritual holiday called "Sheep's Leg" (Shorykyol). It begins to be celebrated on the day of the winter solstice (December 22) after the birth of a new moon. During the holiday, a magical action is performed: pulling the sheep by the legs so that in the new year more sheep will be born. To the first day of this holiday, a whole set of signs and beliefs was timed. The weather on the first day was used to judge what the spring and summer would be like, and to predict the harvest.

Reference article from the almanac "Faces of Russia" from the site rusnations.ru/etnos/mari/

The Mari are one of the ancient Finno-Ugric peoples of the Middle Volga region. Currently, the Mari live in dispersed groups in many regions of Russia.

The Mari are divided into three ethnographic groups: mountain, meadow, and eastern.

How do the Mari live

Mountain Mari (Kyrykmars) live on the right bank of the Volga within the modern Gornomariysky region of the Republic of Mari El, as well as along the basins of the Vetluga, Rutka, Arda, Parat rivers on the left bank of the river.

Volga. The entire central and eastern part of the Republic of Mari El is inhabited by a large ethnographic group of meadow Mari (Olyk Mari). In the XVI century. part of the Mari rushed to the Trans-Kama region to the Bashkir lands, laying the foundation for the formation of an ethnographic group of eastern Mari.

Self-name - In the scientific literature there is an opinion that the Mari under the name "Imniscaris" or "Scremniscans" were mentioned by the Gothic historian of the 6th century.

Jordan in "Getica" among the northern peoples, subject in the IV century. to the Gothic leader Hermann Rich. More reliable information about this people called "Ts-r-mis" in the letter of the 10th century. Khazar Khagan Joseph. The self-name of the people of Mari (Mari, Marais) - originally used in the meaning of "man, man", has survived to this day and is represented in the traditional names of small territorial groups "Vÿtla Marais"(Vetluzhsky Mari), "Pizha Marais"(Pizhma Mari), "Morco mari"(Morkin Mari).

The closest neighbors in relation to the Mari used ethnonyms "Chirmesh"(Tatars), "Eyarmys"(Chuvash).

Resettlement - According to the 2002 census, there are 604,298 people in the Russian Federation of Mari. The Mari are predominantly settled on the territory of the Volga-Ural historical and ethnographic region. 60% of the Mari population lives in the Vetluzhsko-Vyatka interfluve (Mari El and adjacent areas of the Kirov and Nizhny Novgorod regions), about 20% along the Belaya rivers in Ufa and in their interfluves (northwest of Bashkiria and southwest of the Sverdlovsk region).

Small groups of Mari villages are found in Tatarstan, Udmurtia, Perm and Chelyabinsk regions. In the XX century, especially after the Great Patriotic War, the proportion of Mari living outside the traditional areas of settlement increased.

Today, beyond the Urals, in Kazakhstan and Central Asia, in the south of the European part of Russia, in Ukraine and other places, more than 15% of the total number of Mari live.

Clothing - Traditional women's and men's clothing consisted of a headdress, a tunic-like shirt, a caftan, a belt with pendants, pants, leather shoes or bast bast shoes with woolen and canvas onuches. The women's costume was most richly ornamented with embroidery and was complemented by removable ornaments. The costume was produced mainly by home methods.

Clothes and footwear were made of hemp, less often linen, home cloth and half-cloth, dressed animal skins, wool, bast, etc. The men's clothing of the Mari was influenced by the Russian costume, which was associated with handicrafts. Traditional men's underwear shirt ( tuvyr, tygyr) had a tunic-like cut. The cloth bent in half made up the front and back of the shirt, sleeves were sewn to it at right angles to the width of the canvas, and the sidewalls were sewn to the waist in the form of rectangular panels under the sleeves.

Embroidery on shirts was located at the collar, at the chest cut, on the back, sleeve cuffs and hem.

Settlements - The Mari have long developed a river-ravine type of settlement. Their ancient habitats were located along the banks of large rivers - the Volga, Vetluga, Sura, Vyatka and their tributaries. Early settlements, according to archaeological data, existed in the form of fortified settlements ( pocket, op) and unfortified settlements ( il, surt), related by family ties.

Until the middle of the 19th century. In the planning of the Mari settlements, cumulus, disordered forms prevailed, inheriting the early forms of settlement by family-patronymic groups. The transition from cumulus to ordinary, street layout of streets took place gradually in the middle - second half of the 19th century.

Noticeable changes in the layout took place after the 1960s. In modern central farmsteads of agricultural enterprises, features of street, quarter and zoned layouts are combined. The types of settlements of the Mari are villages, hamlets, neighborhoods, repairs, settlements.

The village is the most common type of settlement, which accounted for about half of all types of settlements in the middle of the 19th century.

National Republic of Mari El

The Republic of Mari El is located in the center of the European part of Russia, in the basin of the great Russian Volga River. The area of ​​the republic is 23.2 thousand square meters. km, population - about 728 thousand people, the capital - g.

Yoshkar-Ola (founded in 1584). From the north, north-east and east, Mari El borders on the Kirov region, from the south-east and south - with the republics of Tatarstan and Chuvashia, and in the west and north-west - with the Nizhny Novgorod region.

The guests of the republic are invariably amazed and admired by the nature of the region. Mari El is the land of the purest springs, deep rivers and beautiful lakes. The rivers Ilet, Bolshaya Kokshaga, Yushut, Kundysh are among the cleanest in Europe.

The pearls of the Mari Territory are the forest lakes Yalchik, Kichier, Karas, Morskoy Eye. The north-eastern regions of the republic have long been called "Mari Shvetsaria".

The culture of the Republic of Mari El is also peculiar. There are not so many regions in Russia where you can still meet people in national clothes in everyday life, where the faith of their ancestors has been preserved - paganism, where traditional culture is an integral and organic part of modern life.

Figure 1. Ancient jewelry, 4th-6th century: // Medzhitova, D.Ye. Mari Mari folk art = Kalik. Article: album / Medzhitova E.D. - Yoshkar-Ola 1985:.

Photo 2. Beer spoons. Herbalist and Mari Mountains. Kazan province, 19th century: [Photos: Tsv. 19.0x27.5 cm] // Medzhitova, D.Ye. Mari Mari folk art = Kalik article: album / Medzhitova E.D. - Yoshkar-Ola, 1985 - P. 147.

Gerasimova E.F. Traditional musical instruments of Mary in the system of primary musical education / E.

F. Gerasimova // Musical instrument of the peoples of the Volga region and the Urals: traditions and modernity. - Izhevsk, 2004 - p. 29-30.

Art of Mary // Folk decorative skills of the peoples of the RSFSR. - M., 1957 .-- p. one hundred and third

Kryukova T.A. Mariy Vez = Mariy Tu: r / T.A. Kryukov; Maris.

scientific research etc. I, lit. and history, Gos. Museum of Ethnography of the Peoples of the USSR. - L., 1951. - Text par .: Rus., Marius. lang.

Mariž kalyk Art: Album / Medžitova ED - Yoshkar-Ola: Marijs. book. publishing house, 1985. - 269 p .: ill., color. silt + Res. (7 seconds). On the road. ed. not indicated. - Parallel text: Russian, Marius. lang. Residence in English. and Hungarian. lang. - Bibliography: p. 269-270.

Model of embroidered women's T-shirts. Fragments. Herbalist Marie. Kazan region. First half of the 19th century: [Photos: color; 19.0 × 27.5 cm] // Mezhitova, E.D. Mari Mari art: Mari kalyk: album / Medzhitova E.D. - Yoshkar-Ola, 1985 - p. two hundred and sixth

Wedding towels. Fragments. Additional weaving. Eastern Marie. Ufa province, 1920-1930s: [Photos: color; 19.0x27.5 cm] // Medzhitova, D.Ye. Mari Mari folk art = Kalik article: album / Medzhitova E.D. - Yoshkar-Ola, 1985 - S. 114.

Figure 5.

The dagger of married women rustles. Herbalist Marie. Vyatka province, 18th century: [Photos: color. 19.0 × 27.5 cm] // Medzhitova, E. Mari folk art = Mari kalyk Art: Album / Mezhitova E.D. - Yoshkar-Ola, 1985.

Photo 6. Women's cervicothoracic jewelry - kishkivujan arshash. Herbalist Marie. Kazan province, 19th century: [Photos: Tsv. 19.0x27.5 cm] // Medzhitova, D.Ye. Mari Mari folk art = Kalik article: album / Medzhitova E.D. - Yoshkar-Ola, 1985 - S. 40.

Women's chest and back trim - shy arshash. Herbalist Marie. Kazan region. Second half of the 19th - early 20th century: [Photos: color; 19.0 × 27.5 cm] // Medzhitova E.

D. Mari folk art = Mariy kalyk Art: Album / Medzhitova ED - Yoshkar-Ola, 1985. - P. 66.

L.N. Molotova The art of the peoples of the Volga region and the Urals / Molotova L.N. // Folk art of the Russian Federation: from pos. Gos. Museum of Ethnography of the Peoples of the USSR. - L., 1981 .-- p. 22-25.

Aprons. Additional weaving. Eastern Marie. Udmurt and Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, 1940-1950: [Photos: color; 19.0 × 27.5 cm] // Mezhitova, E.D. Mari art of man = Mari kalyk: album / Medzhitova E.

D. - Yoshkar-Ola, 1985 .-- S.

Marie or Cheremis

one hundred eighteenth

Photo 9. Women's T-shirts. Additional weaving. Eastern Marie. Ufa region. Second half of the 19th century - first half of the 20th century: [Photos: color; 19.0 × 27.5 cm] // Mezhitova, E.D. Mari art of man = Mari kalyk: album / Medzhitova E.

D. - Yoshkar-Ola, 1985 .-- S. 120.

V.V. Nikitin Sources of Mari art = Mari artistic tungalty Children / V.V. Nikitin, T.B. Nikitin; Maris. scientific research etc. I, lit. and their stories. V.M. Vasil'eva, Scientific Prosecutor. Center for the Protection and Use of Historical and Cultural Monuments of the Ministry of Culture, Press and Nationalities. Mari El. - Yoshkar-Ola:, 2004 .-- 150, p. : sick. - The text is parallel. Russian, Marius. Residence Eng.

The book presents archaeological materials about the artistic history of the population of the Vetluz-Vatka bear from the Stone Age to the 17th century, studies the problems and direction of the creation and development of the folk art of Mary.

Basics of the art craft mara: handmade work for children: for teachers of preschool children.

institutions, teachers. classes, hands. Art. studio / Marie. Phil. Feder. condition. Sci. Institution "Institute for Problems of National Schools"; author-comp. L. E. Maikova. - Yoshkar-Ola:, 2007 .-- 165, p.

Soloviev, G.

I. Mari folk woodcarving / Solovyova G.I. - 2nd ed., Revised. - Yoshkar-Ola: Marius. book. publishing house, 1989 .-- 134 p. - Bibliography: p. one hundred twenty-eighth

This book is the first general edition to focus on the most common and traditional art form in Mari art.

The work was written based on the study of literature sources and analysis of materials collected during the expeditions of the Mari Research Institute.

Khmelnitskaya L. Traditional Mari culture and the influence of Russian cultural traditions on its territory / L. Khmelnitskaya // Ethnocultural history of the Ural people 16.-21. Centuries: problems of nationality.

identification and culture. interaction. - Yekaterinburg, 2005 .-- st. 116-125

In the past, the Mari were known under the name "Cheremis"; This name is found in historical monuments from the 10th century.1 The Mari themselves call themselves Mari, Mari, Mar (man). This self-name has established itself as an ethnonym since the formation of the Mari Autonomous Region. The Mari live mainly within the Middle Volga region. Their total number throughout the Soviet Union is 504.2 thousand. Mari are scattered in small groups in the Bashkir, Tatar and Udmurt ASSR, Kirov, Gorky, Sverdlovsk, Perm and Orenburg regions.

The bulk of the Mari (55% of their total number) live in the Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. In addition to the Mari, Russians, Tatars, Chuvash, Udmurts, Bashkirs, Mordovians live in the Mari ASSR.

The Mari ASSR is located in the middle part of the Volga basin.

In the north and north-east, it borders on the Kirov Region, in the southeast with the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, in the south-west with the Chuvash Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, in the west with the Gorky Region. The Volga divides the territory of the republic into a large low-lying left-bank plain - the forest Trans-Volga region and occupying a relatively small part of the right bank - mountainous, indented by deep ravines and valleys of small rivers. The rivers of the Volga basin flow through the Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic: Vetluga, Rutka, Kokshaga, Ilet and others. There are large forests and many forest lakes on the territory of the republic.

The Mari are divided into three groups: mountain (kuryk mari), meadow (iolyk mari) or forest (kozhla mari) and eastern (upo mari).

The bulk of the mountain Mari inhabit the right, mountainous bank of the Volga, meadow Mari live in the forested areas of the left bank; settlements of the eastern Mari are located within Bashkiria and partly in the Sverdlovsk region. and in the Tatar ASSR.

This division has existed for a long time. Already the Russian chronicles distinguished the mountain and meadow "cheremisu"; the same division is found in the old cartography of the 17th century.

However, the territorial feature adopted to designate certain groups of the Mari is largely conditional. Thus, the mountain Mari inhabiting the Gornomariyskiy region of the Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic live not only on the mountainous right, but partially on the left bank of the Volga. The main differences between these groups are in linguistic features and some uniqueness of life.

The Mari language belongs to the eastern branch of the Finno-Ugric languages ​​and has three main dialects: meadow, eastern and mountain.

In vocabulary terms, the first two are close, while mountainous is similar to them only by 60-70%. In all these adverbs, there are a number of words of common Finno-Ugric origin, for example kid (hand), vur (blood), etc.

etc., and many words borrowed from the Russian language as a result of long-term cultural communication with the Russian people.

The Mari have two literary languages: meadow-eastern and mountain-mari, differing mainly in phonetics: in the meadow-eastern language there are 8 vowel phonemes, in the mountain language - 10. The consonant system is basically the same; the grammatical structure is also common.

In recent years, the vocabulary of the Mari language has been enriched thanks to new word formations and the assimilation of international terms through the Russian language.

The Mari writing is based on the Russian alphabet with the addition of some diacritics for a more accurate transmission of the sounds of the Mari language.

A brief historical outline

The Mari tribes were formed as a result of the interaction of the bearers of the Pianobor culture of the left bank of the Volga with the tribes of the late Goteodenkoy kultuyu who lived on the right bank.

The data at our disposal allow us to see the aborigines of the local region in the Mari. AP Smirnov writes: "The Mari tribes formed on the basis of earlier tribal groups inhabiting the interfluve of the Volga and Vyatka rivers, and are the autochthonous population of the region." However, it would be wrong to identify the ancient inhabitants of the Volga region with the modern Mari people, since it was formed as a result of the crossing of many tribes, from which the peoples of the Volga region were later formed.

In the letter of the Khazar king Joseph (middle of the 10th century), among the peoples of the Volga region under his control, “tsarmis” are mentioned, in which it is easy to recognize “cheremis”.

The Russian "Tale of Bygone Years" also mentions the "Cheremis" living at the confluence of the Oka River with the Volga. This latest news allows us to significantly expand our understanding of the boundaries of the settlement of the Mari in the past. At the end of the 1st - beginning of the 2nd millennium A.D. NS. the Mari were influenced by the Bulgars. In the first half of the XIII century. The Bulgar state was defeated by the Mongols and lost its independence.

The power of the Golden Horde was established on the territory of the Volga region. At the beginning of the 15th century. the Kazan Khanate was formed, under whose rule the main part of the Mari was.

The Golden Horde culture also influenced the formation of the culture of the Mari. At the same time, clear traces of close communication with neighboring peoples (Mordovians, Udmurts), with which the Mari have a common origin, appear in it.

Archaeological material makes it possible to trace the ancient ties of the Mari tribes with the Slavs, however, the question of the relationship between the ancient Slavic and Mari cultures has not yet been sufficiently developed.

After the fall of Kazan (1552), the territory occupied by the Mari was annexed to the Russian state.

At this time, patriarchal-clan relations prevailed among the Mari. Legends about the existence of princes in the past in the Mari society have been preserved.

Apparently, this concept meant representatives of the separated tribal elite, since there is no information about the feudal dependence of the Mari population on these princes. In legends, the Mari princes

act as heroes - military leaders. During the period of the Kazan Khanate, some of these princes probably joined the ruling class of Tatar society, since there is information about the existence of the Mari Murzas and Tarkhans.

As part of the Russian state, the Mari Murzas and Tarkhans became part of the service people and gradually merged with the Russian nobility.

The inclusion of the Mari in the population of the Russian state contributed to their introduction to the more developed culture of the Russian people.

However, their situation remained difficult. The forcible introduction of Christianity, numerous extortions, abuses of local authorities, the seizure of the best lands by monasteries and landowners, military service and various services in kind fell a heavy burden on the Mari population, which more than once served as the reason for the Mari to oppose social and national oppression.

The Mari, together with other peoples of the Volga region and the Russians, took an active part in the peasant wars under the leadership of Stepan Razin and Emelyan Pugachev (XVII-XVIII centuries).

The uprisings of the Mari peasants also broke out in the middle and at the end of the 19th century.

Christianization of the Mari began at the end of the 16th century. and especially increased in the middle of the XVIII century. But the Christian religion was actually not accepted even by the baptized Mari population.

The transition to the proclamation of the peoples of the Volga region did not supplant paganism, Christian rituals were often performed under duress. Most of the Mari, who were formally Orthodox, retained many vestiges of pre-Christian beliefs. In addition, there remained, mainly among the eastern and meadow Mari, a group of so-called chi mari - "real Mari", i.

e. unbaptized. The Mari also encountered Islam before Christianization, but its influence was insignificant, although some groups of the Mari observed certain Muslim customs, for example, they considered Friday a holiday.

For the pre-Christian beliefs of the Mari, polytheism is characteristic. Chief among the deities who personified the elements of nature was the good god Yumo, the god of heaven. The carrier of evil, according to the views of the Mari, was a ferry, they prayed to him and offered sacrifices in special ceremet groves.

In general, the Mari did not have a harmonious religious system. We can only talk about a complex interweaving of beliefs that have arisen at different stages of the development of society.

Magic occupied a significant place in the beliefs and rituals of the Mari. Magical actions were associated, for example, with a cycle of agricultural work: the holiday of the plow (aga-payrem), the autumn festival of new bread (at the kinde payrem).

The festival of manuring the fields was associated in time with the rite of surem - the expulsion of an evil spirit.

The struggle of the Russian autocracy and the church against the pre-Christian beliefs of the Mari was waged for many decades and especially intensified in the 19th century. In their actions, the administration and the church relied on the wealthy strata of the village. Repressions against the general mass of the Mari population, who did not succumb to Christianization, caused religious and nationalist sentiments among the Mari.

In the 70s of the XIX century. a sect of the Kugu variety (Big Candle) appeared, which tried to reform old beliefs on the basis of pronounced nationalism and was extremely reactionary.

It is no coincidence that already under Soviet power, during the aggravated class struggle in the countryside during the period of collectivization, sectarians actively opposed collective farms, as well as against cultural events.

By the beginning of the XX century. include organized joint actions by Russian and Mari workers against tsarism and the exploiting classes.

National character of the Mari

This was largely due to the growth of the working class in connection with the development of industry in the Mari Territory (here in 1913, for example, 1480 workers were already employed in industry).

As elsewhere in Russia, the Bolshevik Party stood at the head of the working masses. The first Bolshevik Social Democratic circle on the territory of the present Mari ASSR was created in the spring of 1905.

in the village of Yurino from the workers of tanneries. He had connections with the Nizhny Novgorod regional center of the RSDLP. In 1905-1906. political demonstrations took place under his leadership.

During the revolution of 1905-1907.

The Kazan Regional Committee of the RSDLP directed the joint actions of the Russian, Chuvash and Mari workers and peasants against the landlords and the local bourgeoisie.

Such revolutionary uprisings took place in Zvenigov, Kokshamary, Mariinsky Posad and other villages and cities of Kozmodemyanskiy and Cheboksary districts. These actions were ruthlessly suppressed by the tsarist authorities.

After the overthrow of tsarism in March 1917, power in the Mari Territory was seized by the bourgeoisie, who organized the so-called Public Security Committee in Tsarevokokshaisk (now Yoshkar-Ola).

However, the revolutionary forces also grew, and in May 1917 the seizure of private lands and enterprises by the Mari workers began.

The complete liberation of the Mari people from political, economic and national oppression was carried out during the Great October Socialist Revolution. In early January 1918, Soviet power was established on the territory of the Mari Territory.

On January 30, the county congress of Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies began work. At the end of the same year, the first party cell was created. During Kolchak's offensive on the Volga region in 1919, 50% of all party members went to the front; on the initiative of the party organization, volunteers were recruited from among the Mari workers, who were formed into special-purpose companies and sent to the Eastern Front.

In the struggle against foreign interventionists and internal enemies, the Mari workers marched alongside the other peoples of the multinational Soviet country.

A significant date for the Mari people is November 4, 1920 - the date of the publication of the decree on the formation of the Mari Autonomous Region, signed by V. I. Lenin and M. I. Kalinin. The Mari Autonomous Region included Krasnokokshaisky and part of the Kozmodemyansky district of Kazan province, as well as volosts with the Mari population of the Iranian and Urzhum districts of Vyatka province.

and the Yemaninskaya volost of the Vasilsur district of the Nizhny Novgorod province. The regional center was the city of Krasnokokshaisk, which was later renamed Yoshkar-Ola. At the beginning of 1921, the Mari regional party organization took shape. On June 1, 1921, the I Congress of Soviets of the Mari Autonomous Region opened, outlining practical measures to restore the national economy.

In 1936, the Mari Autonomous Region was transformed into the Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.

The devotion of the Mari people to the Motherland and the Communist Party manifested itself with particular force in the harsh years of the Great Patriotic War, when the Mari patriots showed themselves to be courageous fighters both at the front and in the rear.

The collective farmer s. Nyrgynda, private Eruslanov before leaving for the front: “As long as my eyes see the light and my hands are bent at the joints, my heart will not tremble. If my heart trembles, let my eyes be closed forever. " And the heart of the brave warrior did not flinch: in 1943, his tank destroyed an entire division of the Nazis.

The heroic feat was performed by the Komsomol member-partisan O. A. Tikhomirova, who, after the death of the commander, led the partisans into the attack. For their courage and bravery, forty soldiers of the Mari Republic were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and more than 10 thousand were awarded with military orders and medals.

fighters and commanders. During the war, the collective farms of the Mari ASSR joined the national movement to help the front. They donated 1,751,737 pounds of bread, 1,247,206 pounds of meat, 3,488 short fur coats, 28,100 pairs of felt boots and 43 million rubles to the army fund. Members of the Peredovik kolkhoz built two planes with their own funds.

The post-war period in the republic, as well as throughout the Soviet Union, is characterized by an increase in the role of public organizations and the further development of Soviet democracy.

The working people of the Mari ASSR take an active part in the work of local Soviets through standing commissions. Production conferences at pre-production and collective farms have been vested with great powers. The role of the Komsomol has increased both in cities and in the countryside. The youth of the Mari Republic, on Komsomol vouchers, travels to the mines of Donbass, Angarstroy, to the construction of railways and the virgin lands of Kazakhstan.

The feats of labor of the brigades of communist labor in industry and agriculture are the real contribution of the Mari people to the common cause of building a communist society.

(self-name ≈ mari; former name ≈ cheremis), people; live mainly in the Mari ASSR, as well as in the Bashkir ASSR, the Udmurd ASSR and the Tatar ASSR, the Kirov, Gorky, Perm and Sverdlovsk regions of the RSFSR. They are divided into three territorial groups: mountain, meadow (or forest), and eastern M. Mountain M. live mainly on the right bank of the Volga, meadow - on the left, eastern - in Bashkiria and Sverdlovsk Oblast. The total number is 599 thousand people (1970, census). M.

Reflections on the Mari people

(see Mari language) belongs to the eastern branch of the Finno-Ugric languages. After the Mari lands became part of the Russian state in the 16th century, the Christianization of M. began; however, the eastern and small groups of meadow M. did not accept Christianity, and until the 20th century they retained pre-Christian beliefs, especially the cult of ancestors.

By origin, M. are closely associated with the ancient population of the Volga region. The beginning of the formation of the Mari tribes dates back to the turn of the century. BC, this process took place mainly on the right bank of the Volga, partially capturing the left-bank regions of the Volga region.

The first written mention of the Cheremis (Mari) is found in the Gothic historian Jordan (6th century). They are also mentioned in The Tale of Bygone Years. In the process of historical development M.

approached and influenced the neighboring peoples of the Volga region. The resettlement to Bashkiria began at the end of the 16th century and was especially intense in the 17th and 18th centuries. Cultural and historical rapprochement with the Russian people began in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. After the annexation of the Middle Volga region to Russia (16th century), ties expanded and strengthened. After the October Revolution of 1917, Malaysia received national autonomy and developed into a socialist nation.

M. are employed both in agriculture and in industry, which was created mainly during the years of Soviet power. Many features of the distinctive national culture of M. have been further developed in modern times — folklore, decorative arts (especially embroidery), and musical and song traditions.

The national Mari literature, theater, and visual arts emerged and developed. The national intelligentsia has grown up.

For the history, economy, and culture of M., see also Art. Mari ASSR.

Lit .: Smirnov I.N., Cheremisy, Kaz., 1889: Kryukova T.A., Material culture of the Mari of the XIX century, Yoshkar-Ola, 1956; Essays on the history of the Mari ASSR (From ancient times to the Great October Socialist Revolution), Yoshkar-Ola, 1965; Essays on the history of the Mari ASSR (1917-1960), Yoshkar-Ola, 1960; Kozlova K.

I., Ethnography of the peoples of the Volga region; M., 1964; Peoples of the European part of the USSR, t. 2, M., 1964; The origin of the Mari people, Yoshkar-Ola, 1967.

K.I. Kozlova.

The origin of people

The question of the origin of the people of Mari is controversial to this day. The first theory is the scientific basis of Mari's ethnogenesis, expressed in 1845 by the famous Finnish linguist M. Castren. Marie tried to define it as a chronicle. This point of view was supported and developed by T.S.Semenov, I.N.Smirnov, S.K. Kuznetsov, A.A.Spitsyn, D.K. Zelenin, M.N. Yantemir, F.E. Egorov and many other researchers in the second half of the 19th - I half of the 20th century.

A new hypothesis in 1949, he made an important Soviet archaeologist A.P. Smirnov to find Gorodets (near the Mordovians) foundations, other archaeologists Bader V.F. Gening, defending the thesis dyakovskom (close to action) the origin of the Mari.

However, archaeologists have been able to convincingly demonstrate that actions and Mari, although related, are not the same people. In the late 1950s, when it became a regular act of the Mari archaeological expedition, its leaders A.H. Halikov G.A. Arhipov and developed the theory of mixed azelinskoy Gorodetsky (volzhskofinsko-Perm), based on the Mari people.

Later GAArhipov, further development of this hypothesis, the discovery and study of new archaeological objects showed that the components of Gorodetsky Dyakovo (Volga-Finnish) prevail in the mixed Mari base and the creation of the ethnic Mari, which began in the first half of the 1st millennium before our account, which ended in the 9th century the whole. - XI century, the Mari ethnic group has already begun to be divided into two main groups - mountains and meadow Mari (in the past, compared to the first, stronger influence of the azelinskie (permoyazychnye) tribes).

At present, this theory is generally supported by the majority of scientists and archaeologists who are dealing with this problem. Mari archaeologist V.S. Patrushev put forward a different hypothesis that the formation of ethnic foundations and Mari Mary and Mure, formed on the basis of the image of the Akhmylov population. Linguists (I.S. Galkin, D.E. Kazantsev), on the basis of language data, indicate that the creation on the territory of the Mari people should not be found in the area between Vetluzhsky-Vyatsky, as archaeologists believe, and to the southwest, between the Oka and Suri.

Archaeologists TBNikitina, according to data, not only archeology, linguistics, but they also came to the conclusion that the ancestral home of Mari is located in the Volga part of the interfluve of Oki-Sura and Povetluzhe and east to Vyatka occurred in the VIII-XI centuries, during which contact was made and mixing with the Azalyan (Permian) tribes.

The source of the ethnos "Mari" and "Cheremis"

The question of the origin of the ethnons "Mari" and "Cheremis" remains complex and unclear. The meaning of the word "Mari", the name of the very name of Mary, many linguists come from the Indo-European term "mar", "measures" in various sound versions (translated as "man", "husband").

The word "Cheremis" (the so-called "Russian Mari" and a slightly different, but similar vowel - many other people) has many different interpretations. The first written mention of this name (in the original "c-p-MIS"), which is available in a letter from Kazar Kagan Joseph about Scientology of the Hard of Cordoba Hasdai ibn Shaprut (960s).

Marie. Ethnic history

The degree of elasticity of Kazantsev followed the historian of the XIX. Century. GI Peretyatskovich came to the conclusion that the name “Cheremisian” was given by the Maris tribe of Mordovia, and in translation this word means “a person living on the sunny side in the east”. According to IG Ivanov, "Cheremisyan" is "a man of the Chera or Khora tribe", in other words, the name of one of the tribes of the neighboring Mari nation, and then spread to the entire ethnic group.

The wide popular version of Mari etnografi 1920 - early 1930 and FYegorov MN Yantemir shows that it extends to the ethnonym of the Turkish term "warrior of man".

FI Gordeev and supports his version of IS Galkin for the defense of hypotheses about the origin of the word "Cheremisian" from the ethnonym "Sarmat" through mediation in Turkish languages. A number of other versions have been released. The problem of the etymology of the word "Cheremisian" is complicated by the fact that in the Middle Ages (up to the 17th-18th centuries), in some cases, they were not only Mari, but also their neighbors - the Chuvash and Udmurts.

links

For more details see: S.K. Svechnikov.

Methodical manual "History of people IX-XVI. Century "Yoshkar-Ola: GOU DPO (PC) C" Mari Institute of Education ", 2005

The Mari ethnos was formed on the basis of the Finno-Ugric tribes that lived in the Volga-Vyatka interfluve in the 1st millennium AD. NS. as a result of contacts with the Bulgars and other Turkic-speaking peoples, the ancestors of the modern Tatars,.

The Russians used to call the Mari Cheremis. The Mari are divided into three main sub-ethnic groups: mountain, meadow, and eastern Mari. Since the XV century. the mountain Mari fell under Russian influence. Meadow Mari, who were part of the Kazan Khanate, for a long time put up fierce resistance to the Russians, during the Kazan campaign of 1551-1552. they sided with the Tatars. Some of the Mari moved to Bashkiria, not wanting to be baptized (eastern), the rest were baptized in the 16th-18th centuries.

In 1920, the Mari Autonomous Region was created, in 1936 - the Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, in 1992 - the Republic of Mari El. At present, the mountain Mari inhabit the right bank of the Volga, meadow ones live in the Vetluzhsko-Vyatka interfluve, the eastern ones to the east of the river. Vyatka, mainly in the territory of Bashkiria. Most of the Mari live in the Republic of Mari El, about a quarter - in Bashkiria, the rest - in Tatarstan, Udmurtia, Nizhny Novgorod, Kirov, Sverdlovsk, Perm regions. According to the 2002 census, more than 604 thousand Mari lived in the Russian Federation.

The basis of the Mari economy was arable land. They have long cultivated rye, oats, barley, millet, buckwheat, hemp, flax, turnips. Gardening was also developed, mainly onions, cabbage, radishes, carrots, hops were planted, since the 19th century. potatoes became widespread.

The Mari cultivated the soil with a plow (step), a hoe (katman), and a Tatar plow (saban). Cattle breeding was not very developed, as evidenced by the fact that there was only enough manure for 3-10% of the arable land. Whenever possible, horses, cattle, and sheep were kept. By 1917, 38.7% of the farms of the Mari were tillageless, beekeeping (then apiculture), fishing, as well as hunting and various forest industries: pitching, logging and timber floating, hunting played a large role.

During the hunt, the Mari until the middle of the 19th century. used bows, spears, wooden traps, flintlocks. On a large scale, otkhodniki was developed at woodworking enterprises. Among the crafts, the Mari were engaged in embroidery, wood carving, and the production of women's silver jewelry. The main means of transportation in summer were four-wheeled carts (oryava), tarantases and wagons, in winter - sledges, logs and skis.

In the second half of the XIX century. the settlements of the Mari were of the street type, a log hut with a gable roof, built according to the Great Russian scheme: izba-canyon, izba-canyon-izba or izba-canyon-cage, served as a dwelling. The house had a Russian stove, a kitchen separated by a partition.

There were benches along the front and side walls of the house, in the front corner there was a table and a chair specially for the owner of the house, shelves for icons and dishes, and on the side of the door there was a bed or bunk. In the summer, the Mari could live in a summer house, which was a log building without a ceiling with a gable or pitched roof and an earthen floor. There was a hole in the roof for smoke to escape. A summer kitchen was set up here. A hearth with a suspended boiler was placed in the middle of the building. The outbuildings of an ordinary Mari estate included a cage, a cellar, a barn, a barn, a chicken coop, and a bathhouse. Wealthy Mari built two-storey storerooms with a gallery-balcony. Food was stored on the first floor, and utensils on the second.

Traditional Mari dishes were soup with dumplings, dumplings with meat or cottage cheese, boiled sausage made from bacon or blood with cereals, horse meat dried sausage, puff pancakes, cheese cakes, boiled flat cakes, baked flat cakes, dumplings, pies filled with fish, eggs, potatoes , hemp seed. The Mari cooked their bread unleavened. The national cuisine is also characterized by specific dishes made from squirrel meat, hawk, eagle owl, hedgehog, snake, viper, dried fish meal, hemp seed. Of the drinks, the Mari preferred beer, buttermilk (eran), mead, they knew how to drive vodka from potatoes and grain.

The traditional clothing of the Mari is considered to be a tunic-like shirt, trousers, a swinging summer caftan, a belt towel made of hemp canvas, and a belt. In ancient times, the Mari sewed clothes from homespun linen and hemp fabrics, then from purchased fabrics.

The men wore small-brimmed felt hats and caps; for hunting, work in the forest, they used a headdress of the type of a mosquito net. Bast shoes, leather boots, felt boots were worn on their feet. For work in swampy areas, wooden platforms were attached to the shoes. The distinctive features of the women's national costume were an apron, belt pendants, breast, neck, ear ornaments made of beads, cowrie shells, sequins, coins, silver clasps, bracelets, rings.

Married women wore a variety of hats:

• shymaksh - a cone-shaped cap with an occipital lobe worn on a birch bark frame;
• magpie, borrowed from the Russians;
• tarpan - head towel with headdress.

Until the XIX century. The most common female headdress was a shurka, a high headdress on a birch bark frame, reminiscent of Mordovian headdresses. Outerwear was straight and assembled caftans made of black or white cloth and a fur coat. Traditional types of clothing are still worn by the Mari of the older generation, and national costumes are often used in wedding ceremonies. At present, modernized types of national clothing are widespread - a shirt made of white and an apron made of multi-colored fabric, decorated with embroidery and mites, belts woven from multi-colored threads, caftans made of black and green fabric.

The Mari communities consisted of several villages. At the same time, there were mixed Mari-Russian, Mari-Chuvash communities. The Mari lived mainly in small monogamous families, large families were quite rare.

In the old days, the Mari had small (urmat) and larger (namal) tribal divisions, the latter being part of the rural community (mer). At the time of marriage, the bride's parents were paid a ransom, and they gave a dowry (including cattle) for their daughter. The bride was often older than the groom. Everyone was invited to the wedding, and it took on the character of a general holiday. In the wedding rituals, there are still traditional features of the ancient customs of the Mari: songs, national costumes with decorations, a wedding train, the presence of everyone.

The Mari had a highly developed folk medicine based on the concept of cosmic life force, the will of the gods, corruption, the evil eye, evil spirits, the souls of the dead. Before the adoption of Christianity, the Mari adhered to the cult of ancestors and gods: the supreme god Kugu Yumo, the gods of the sky, the mother of life, the mother of water and others. An echo of these beliefs was the custom of burying the dead in winter clothes (in a winter hat and mittens) and taking the bodies to the cemetery in a sleigh even in summer.

According to tradition, nails collected during his life, rosehip branches, and a piece of canvas were buried together with the deceased. The Mari believed that in the next world, nails would be needed in order to overcome the mountains, clinging to the rocks, the dog rose would help drive away the snake and the dog guarding the entrance to the kingdom of the dead, and along a piece of canvas, like over a bridge, the souls of the dead would go to the afterlife.

In ancient times, the Mari were pagans. They adopted the Christian faith in the 16th-18th centuries, but, despite all the efforts of the church, the religious views of the Mari remained syncretic: a small part of the Eastern Mari converted to Islam, and the rest remain faithful to pagan rites to this day.

The Mari mythology is characterized by the presence of a large number of female gods. There are no less than 14 deities denoting mother (ava), which testifies to strong remnants of matriarchy. The Mari performed pagan collective prayers in the sacred groves under the leadership of the priests (cards). In 1870, among the Mari, the Kugu Sorta sect of a modernist-pagan persuasion arose. Until the beginning of the twentieth century. Among the Mari, ancient customs were strong, for example, during a divorce, a husband and wife who wanted to divorce were first tied with a rope, which was then cut. This was the whole rite of divorce.

In recent years, the Mari have been making attempts to revive the ancient national traditions and customs, uniting in public organizations. The largest of them are "Oshmari-Chimari", "Mari Ushem", the Kugu Sorta sect (Big candle).

The Mari speak the Mari language of the Finno-Ugric group of the Ural family. In the Mari language, mountain, meadow, eastern and northwestern dialects are distinguished. The first attempts to create writing were made in the middle of the 16th century, in 1775 the first grammar in Cyrillic was published. In 1932-34. an attempt was made to switch to the Latin script. Since 1938, a unified graphics in Cyrillic has been adopted. The literary language is based on the language of the meadow and mountain Mari.

The folklore of the Mari is mainly characterized by fairy tales and songs. There is no single epic. Musical instruments are represented by a drum, a harp, a flute, a wooden pipe (bundle) and some others.

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Mari

MARIANS-ev; pl. The people of the Finno-Ugric language group, constituting the main population of the Mari Republic; representatives of this people, republic.

◁ Maríets, -ryets; m. Mariika, -and; pl. genus.-riek, dates.-riykam; f. Mari (see). In Mari, adverb

mari

(self-name - Mari, obsolete - Cheremis), the people, the indigenous population of the Mari Republic (324 thousand people) and neighboring regions of the Volga region and the Urals. In total, there are 644 thousand people in Russia (1995). The language is Mari. Believers of the Mari are Orthodox.

MARIANS

MARIANS (obsolete - Cheremis), the people in the Russian Federation, the indigenous population of the Mari Republic (312 thousand people), also live in the neighboring regions of the Volga region and the Urals, including in Bashkiria (106 thousand people), Tataria (18 , 8 thousand people), Kirov region (39 thousand people), Sverdlovsk region (28 thousand people), as well as in the Tyumen region (11 thousand people), Siberian Federal District (13 thousand people .), Southern Federal District (13.6 thousand people). In total, there are 604 thousand Mari in the Russian Federation (2002). The Mari are divided into three territorial groups: mountain, meadow (or forest) and eastern. Mountain Mari live mainly on the right bank of the Volga, meadow - on the left, eastern - in Bashkiria and the Sverdlovsk region. The number of mountain Mari in Russia is 18.5 thousand people, Eastern Mari - 56 thousand people.
According to their anthropological appearance, the Mari belong to the Subural type of the Uralic race. In the Mari language, which belongs to the Volga-Finnish group of Finno-Ugric languages, the mountain, meadow, eastern and northwestern dialects are distinguished. The Russian language is widely spoken among the Mari. Written language - based on the Cyrillic alphabet. After the entry of the Mari lands into the Russian state in the 16th century, the Christianization of the Mari began. However, the eastern and small groups of the meadow Mari did not accept Christianity, they retained pre-Christian beliefs until the 20th century, especially the cult of ancestors.
The beginning of the formation of the Mari tribes dates back to the turn of the first millennium AD, this process took place mainly on the right bank of the Volga, partly capturing the left bank regions. The first written mention of the Cheremis (Mari) is found in the Gothic historian Jordan (6th century). They are also mentioned in The Tale of Bygone Years. Close ethnocultural ties with the Turkic peoples played an important role in the development of the Mari ethnos. Russian culture exerted a significant influence, especially after the entry of the Mari into the Russian state (1551-1552). At the end of the 16th century, the migration of the Mari to the Cis-Urals began, which intensified in the 17-18th centuries.
The main traditional occupation is arable farming. Gardening, horse, cattle and sheep breeding, hunting, forestry (logging and rafting, tar-smoking), bee-keeping were of secondary importance; later - apiculture, fishing. The Mari have developed artistic crafts: embroidery, wood carving, jewelry.
Traditional clothing: a richly embroidered tunic-cut shirt, trousers, a swinging summer caftan, a hemp canvas waist towel, a belt. The men wore small-brimmed felt hats and caps. For hunting, work in the forest, a headdress of the type of a mosquito net was used. Mari footwear - bast shoes with onuchi, leather boots, felt boots. For work in swampy areas, wooden platforms were attached to the shoes. A woman's costume is characterized by an apron and an abundance of jewelry made of beads, sequins, coins, silver xulgan fasteners, as well as bracelets and rings.
Women's headdresses are varied - cone-shaped caps with an occipital lobe; borrowed from the Russian magpies, head towels with a headdress, high spade-like headwear on a birch bark frame. Women's outerwear - straight and assembled cut-off caftans made of black or white cloth and fur coat. Traditional types of clothing are common among the older generation and are used in wedding ceremonies.
Mari cuisine - dumplings stuffed with meat or cottage cheese, puff pancakes, cottage cheese pancakes, drinks - beer, buttermilk, strong mead. Families among the Mari are mostly small, but there were also large, undivided ones. The woman in the family enjoyed economic and legal independence. At the conclusion of a marriage, the bride's parents were paid a ransom, and they gave a dowry for their daughter.
Converted to Orthodoxy in the 18th century, the Mari preserved their pagan beliefs. Public prayers with sacrifices, held in sacred groves before the start of sowing, in the summer and after the harvest, are characteristic. There are Muslims among the eastern Mari. In folk art, woodcarving and embroidery are peculiar. Mari music (gusli, drum, trumpets) is distinguished by the richness of forms and melody. Songs stand out from the folklore genres, among which “songs of sorrow”, fairy tales and legends occupy a special place.

encyclopedic Dictionary. 2009 .

Synonyms:

See what "Mari" are in other dictionaries:

Mari ... Wikipedia

- (the self-name of the Mari is outdated. Cheremis), the nation, the indigenous population of the Mari Republic (324 thousand people) and the neighboring regions of the Volga region and the Urals. There are 644 thousand people in the Russian Federation (1992). The total number is 671 thousand people. The language is Mari ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (self-names Mari, Mari, Cheremis) people with a total number of 671 thousand people. Main countries of settlement: Russian Federation 644 thousand people, incl. Republic of Mari El 324 thousand people Other countries of settlement: Kazakhstan 12 thousand people, Ukraine 7 thousand ... ... Modern encyclopedia

MARIANS, ev, ed. egg, egg, husband. Same as Mari (in 1 digit). | wives marika, and. | adj. Mari, oh, oh. Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 ... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

- (self-designation of the Mari, obsolete Cheremis), the people in the Russian Federation, the indigenous population of the Mari Republic (324 thousand people) and the neighboring regions of the Volga region and the Urals. In total, there are 644 thousand people in the Russian Federation. The language of the Mari Volga ... ... Russian history

Noun., Number of synonyms: 2 mari (3) cheremis (2) ASIS synonym dictionary. V.N. Trishin. 2013 ... Synonym dictionary

Mari- (self-names Mari, Mari, Cheremis) people with a total number of 671 thousand people. Main countries of settlement: Russian Federation 644 thousand people, incl. Republic of Mari El 324 thousand people Other countries of settlement: Kazakhstan 12 thousand people, Ukraine 7 thousand ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

Mari- (self-called mari, obsolete Russian name cheremis). They are divided into mountain, meadow and east. They live in the rep. Mari El (on the Volga avenue and partly on the left. Mountainous, the rest are meadow), in Bashk. (east), as well as in a small number in the neighboring republics. and region ... ... Ural Historical Encyclopedia

Mari Ethnopsychological Dictionary

MARIANS- representatives of one of the Finno-Ugric peoples (see), living in the Volga-Vetluzhsko-Vyatka interfluve, Prikamye and Ural regions and in their national psychology and culture similar to the Chuvash. The Mari are hardworking, hospitable, modest, ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary of Psychology and Pedagogy

History of the Mari people

We learn the vicissitudes of the formation of the Mari people more and more fully on the basis of the latest archaeological research. In the second half of the 1st millennium BC. BC, as well as at the beginning of the 1st millennium AD. NS. among the ethnic groups of the Gorodets and Azelin cultures, the ancestors of the Mari can be assumed. The Gorodets culture was autochthonous on the right bank of the Middle Volga region, while the Azelin culture was on the left bank of the Middle Volga, as well as along the Vyatka. These two branches of the ethnogenesis of the Mari people clearly show the double connection of the Mari within the Finno-Ugric tribes. The Gorodets culture for the most part played a role in the formation of the Mordovian ethnos, but its eastern parts served as the basis for the formation of the ethnic group of the mountain Mari. The Azelin culture can be elevated to the Ananyin archaeological culture, which was previously assigned a dominant role only in the ethnogenesis of the Finno-Permian tribes, although at present this issue is considered by some researchers differently: it is possible that the Proto-Ugric and ancient Marian tribes were part of the ethnoses of new archaeological cultures. successors that arose in the place of the disintegrated Ananyino culture. The ethnic group of meadow Mari is also traced back to the traditions of the Ananyin culture.

The East European forest zone has extremely scanty written information about the history of the Finno-Ugric peoples, the writing of these peoples appeared very late, with few exceptions, only in the modern historical era. The first mention of the ethnonym "Cheremis" in the form "ts-r-mis" is found in a written source that dates back to the 10th century, but dates back, in all likelihood, one to two centuries later. According to this source, the Mari were tributaries of the Khazars. Then Mari (in the form of "cheremisam") mentions compiled in. the beginning of the XII century. Russian annalistic code, calling the place of their settlement of the earth at the mouth of the Oka. Of the Finno-Ugric peoples, the Mari turned out to be the most closely associated with the Turkic tribes that moved to the Volga region. These connections are very strong even now. Volga Bulgars at the beginning of the IX century. arrived from Great Bulgaria on the Black Sea coast to the confluence of the Kama with the Volga, where the Volga Bulgaria was founded. The ruling elite of the Volga Bulgars, taking advantage of the profits from trade, could firmly retain their power. They traded honey, wax, furs from the Finno-Ugric peoples who lived nearby. The relations between the Volga Bulgars and various Finno-Ugric tribes of the Middle Volga region were not overshadowed in any way. The empire of the Volga Bulgars was destroyed by the Mongol-Tatar conquerors who invaded from the interior regions of Asia in 1236.

Khan Batu founded a state entity called the Golden Horde in the occupied and subordinated territories. Its capital until the 1280s. was the city of Bulgar, the former capital of the Volga Bulgaria. The Mari were in allied relations with the Golden Horde and the independent Kazan Khanate that later separated from it. This is evidenced by the fact that the Mari had a stratum that did not pay taxes, but was obliged to carry out military service. This estate then became one of the most efficient military units among the Tatars. Also, the existence of allied relations is indicated by the use of the Tatar word "el" - "people, empire" to designate the region inhabited by the Mari. Mari still call their native land Mari El.

The annexation of the Mari Territory to the Russian state was greatly influenced by the contacts of some groups of the Mari population with the Slavic-Russian state formations (Kievan Rus - northeastern Russian principalities and lands - Muscovite Rus) even before the 16th century. There was a significant restraining factor that did not allow to quickly complete the work begun in the XII-XIII centuries. the process of joining Russia is the close and multilateral ties of the Mari with the Turkic states that opposed the Russian expansion to the east (Volga-Kama Bulgaria - Ulus Juchi - Kazan Khanate). Such an intermediate position, according to A. Kappeler, led to the fact that the Mari, as well as the Mordovians and Udmurts, who were in a similar situation, were drawn into neighboring state formations economically and administratively, but at the same time retained their own social elite and their pagan religion. ...

The inclusion of the Mari lands in Russia from the very beginning was ambiguous. Already at the turn of the XI-XII centuries, according to the Tale of Bygone Years, the Mari (Cheremis) were among the tributaries of the Old Russian princes. It is believed that tributary dependence is the result of military clashes, "torture". True, there is not even indirect information about the exact date of its establishment. G.S. Lebedev, on the basis of the matrix method, showed that in the catalog of the introductory part of the Tale of Bygone Years, "cheremis" and "Mordva" can be combined into one group with all, measure and muroma according to four main parameters - genealogical, ethnic, political and moral-ethical ... This gives some reason to believe that the Mari became tributaries earlier than the rest of the non-Slavic tribes listed by Nestor - "Perm, Pechera, Em" and other "yazytsy, who give tribute to Russia."

There is information about the dependence of the Mari on Vladimir Monomakh. According to the "Word about the death of the Russian land", "cheremis ... bourgeois on the great prince Volodymer." In the Ipatiev Chronicle, in unison with the pathetic tone of the Lay, it is said that he is “most terrible for the filthy”. According to B.A. Rybakov, the real persecution, the nationalization of North-Eastern Russia began precisely with Vladimir Monomakh.

However, the testimony of these written sources does not allow us to say that all groups of the Mari population paid tribute to the ancient Russian princes; most likely, only the western Mari, who lived near the mouth of the Oka, were drawn into the sphere of influence of Russia.

The rapid pace of Russian colonization provoked opposition from the local Finno-Ugric population, who found support from the Volga-Kama Bulgaria. In 1120, after a series of attacks by the Bulgars on the Russian cities in the Volga-Ochye in the II half of the 11th century, a reciprocal series of campaigns of the Vladimir-Suzdal and allied princes began on the lands, either belonging to the Bulgar rulers, or only controlled by them in the order of collection tribute from the local population. It is believed that the Russian-Bulgarian conflict broke out, first of all, on the basis of the collection of tribute.

Russian princely squads more than once attacked the Mari villages that came across on their way to the rich Bulgar cities. It is known that in the winter of 1171/72. the detachment of Boris Zhidislavich destroyed one large fortified and six small settlements just below the mouth of the Oka, and here even in the 16th century. still lived along with the Mordovian and Mari population. Moreover, it was under the same date that the Russian fortress Gorodets Radilov was first mentioned, which was built slightly above the mouth of the Oka on the left bank of the Volga, presumably on the land of the Mari. According to V.A. Kuchkin, Gorodets Radilov became a military stronghold of North-Eastern Russia on the Middle Volga and the center of Russian colonization of the local region.

The Slavic-Russians gradually either assimilated or drove out the Mari, forcing them to migrate to the east. This movement has been traced by archaeologists from about the 8th century. n. NS.; the Mari, in turn, entered into ethnic contacts with the Permian-speaking population of the Volga-Vyatka interfluve (the Mari called them odo, that is, they were Udmurts). The ethnic competition was dominated by an alien ethnic group. In the IX-XI centuries. the Mari basically completed the development of the Vetluzhsko-Vyatka interfluve, displacing and partially assimilating the former population. Numerous legends of the Mari and Udmurts testify that there were armed conflicts, and between the representatives of these Finno-Ugric peoples, mutual antipathy continued for quite a long time.

As a result of the military campaign of 1218–1220, the conclusion of the Russian-Bulgar peace treaty of 1220 and the founding of the easternmost outpost of Northeastern Russia at the mouth of the Oka in 1221, the influence of the Volga-Kama Bulgaria in the Middle Volga region weakened. This created favorable conditions for the Vladimir-Suzdal feudal lords to conquer the Mordovians. Most likely, in the Russian-Mordovian war of 1226-1232. the "Cheremis" of the Oka-Sur interfluve was also drawn in.

The expansion of both Russian and Bulgarian feudal lords was directed to the Unzha and Vetluga basins, which are relatively unsuitable for economic development. It was mainly inhabited by the Mari tribes and the eastern part of the Kostroma Mery, between which, as established by archaeologists and linguists, there was a lot in common, which to some extent allows us to speak about the ethnocultural community of the Vetlug Mari and the Kostroma Mery. In 1218 the Bulgars attacked Ustyug and Unzha; under 1237, another Russian city in the Trans-Volga region, Galich Mersky, was first mentioned. Apparently, there was a struggle for the Sukhono-Vychegodsky trade and fishing route and for collecting tribute from the local population, in particular, the Mari. Russian domination was established here as well.

In addition to the western and northwestern periphery of the Mari lands, Russians from about the turn of the XII-XIII centuries. they began to develop the northern outskirts - the upper reaches of the Vyatka, where, in addition to the Mari, the Udmurts also lived.

The development of the Mari lands, most likely, was carried out not only by force, military methods. There are such types of "cooperation" between Russian princes and the national nobility as "equal" matrimonial alliances, company, bailiffs, hostage taking, bribery, "gagging". It is possible that a number of these methods were also applied to representatives of the Mari social elite.

If in the X-XI centuries, as the archaeologist E.P. Kazakov points out, there was "a certain community of Bulgar and Volga-Mari monuments", then over the next two centuries the ethnographic appearance of the Mari population - especially in Povetluzhie - changed. In it, the Slavic and Slavic-Meryan components have significantly increased.

The facts show that the degree of involvement of the Mari population in the Russian state formations in the pre-Mongol period was quite high.

The situation changed in the 30s and 40s. XIII century as a result of the Mongol-Tatar invasion. However, this did not at all lead to an end to the growth of Russian influence in the Volga-Kama region. Small independent Russian state formations appeared around urban centers - princely residences, founded during the existence of a single Vladimir-Suzdal Rus. These are Galicia (arose around 1247), Kostroma (around the 50s of the XIII century) and Gorodetsky (between 1269 and 1282) principality; at the same time, the influence of the Vyatka Land grew, turning into a special state entity with veche traditions. In the second half of the XIV century. Vyatka residents have already firmly settled in Srednyaya Vyatka and in the Pizhma basin, displacing the Mari and Udmurts from here.

In the 60s and 70s. XIV century. feudal unrest broke out in the horde, which weakened for a time its military and political power. This was successfully used by the Russian princes, who sought to break out of dependence on the khan's administration and augment their possessions at the expense of the peripheral regions of the empire.

The most notable successes were achieved by the Nizhny Novgorod-Suzdal principality, the successor to the Gorodetsky principality. The first prince of Nizhny Novgorod, Konstantin Vasilyevich (1341-1355) "ordered the Russian people to settle down the Oka and along the Volga and along the Kuma rivers ... wherever anyone wants to," that is, he began to sanction the colonization of the Oka-Sur interfluve. And in 1372, his son Prince Boris Konstantinovich founded the Kurmysh fortress on the left bank of the Sura, thereby establishing control over the local population - mainly Mordovians and Mari.

Soon, the possessions of the Nizhny Novgorod princes began to appear on the right bank of the Sura (in the Zasurye), where the mountain Mari and Chuvash lived. By the end of the XIV century. Russian influence in the Sura basin increased so much that representatives of the local population began to warn the Russian princes about the upcoming invasions of the Golden Horde troops.

Frequent attacks by ushkuiniks played a significant role in strengthening anti-Russian sentiments among the Mari population. The most sensitive for the Mari, apparently, were the raids carried out by Russian river robbers in 1374, when they ravaged villages along the Vyatka, Kama, Volga (from the mouth of the Kama to Sura) and Vetluga.

In 1391, as a result of Bektut's campaign, the Vyatka Land was ruined, which was considered a refuge for the ushkuiniks. However, already in 1392 the Vyatchans plundered the Bulgar cities of Kazan and Zhukotin (Djuketau).

According to the Vetluzhsky Chronicler, in 1394 “Uzbeks” - nomadic warriors from the eastern half of the Jochi Ulus appeared in the Vetluga kuguz, who “took the people for the army and took them along the Vetluga and Volga to Kazan to Tokhtamysh”. And in 1396 the protege of Tokhtamysh Keldibek was elected as a kuguz.

As a result of a large-scale war between Tokhtamysh and Timur Tamerlane, the Golden Horde Empire weakened significantly, many Bulgar cities were devastated, and its surviving inhabitants began to move to the right side of the Kama and Volga - away from the dangerous steppe and forest-steppe zone; in the region of Kazanka and Sviyaga, the Bulgar population entered into close contacts with the Mari.

In 1399, the appanage prince Yuri Dmitrievich captured the cities of Bulgar, Kazan, Kermenchuk, Zhukotin, in the annals it is indicated that "no one remembers only far away Russia fought the Tatar land." Apparently, at the same time the Galich prince conquered the Vetluzhsky kuguz state - the Vetluzhsky chronicler reports this. Kuguz Keldibek recognized his dependence on the leaders of the Vyatka Land, concluding a military alliance with them. In 1415 veterinarians and Vyatchans made a joint campaign to the Northern Dvina. In 1425, the Vetluzhsky Mari became part of the many-thousand-strong militia of the Galich appanage prince, who began an open struggle for the Grand Duke's throne.

In 1429 Keldibek took part in the campaign of the Bulgaro-Tatar troops led by Alibek to Galich and Kostroma. In response to this, in 1431, Vasily II took severe punitive measures against the Bulgars, who had already seriously suffered from a terrible famine and an epidemic of plague. In 1433 (or in 1434) Vasily Kosoy, who received Galich after the death of Yuri Dmitrievich, physically eliminated the Kuguz Keldibek and annexed the Vetluzh kuguz to his inheritance.

The Mari population also had to experience the religious and ideological expansion of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Mari pagan population, as a rule, negatively perceived attempts to Christianize them, although there were also opposite examples. In particular, the Kazhirovsky and Vetluzhsky chroniclers report that the kuguzs of Kodzha-Eraltem, Kai, Bai-Boroda, their relatives and associates converted to Christianity and allowed the construction of churches on the territory they controlled.

Among the friendly Mari population, a version of the Kitezh legend became widespread: supposedly the Mari, who did not want to submit to the “Russian princes and priests,” buried themselves alive right on the bank of Svetloyar, and subsequently, together with the earth that had collapsed on them, slipped to the bottom of a deep lake. The following record, made in the 19th century, has survived: "Among the pilgrims of Sveti Yar you can always find two or three Mariiks dressed in scarpan, without any signs of Russification."

By the time the Kazan Khanate appeared, the Mari of the following regions were involved in the sphere of influence of the Russian state formations: the right bank of the Sura - a significant part of the mountain Mari (this can include the Oksko-Sursk "Cheremis"), Povetluzhie - the north-western Mari, the basin of the Pizhma River and the Middle Vyatka - the northern part of the meadow mari. Less affected by Russian influence were the Kokshai Mari, the population of the Ileta River basin, the northeastern part of the modern territory of the Republic of Mari El, as well as Nizhnyaya Vyatka, that is, the main part of the meadow Mari.

The territorial expansion of the Kazan Khanate was carried out in the western and northern directions. Sura became the southwestern border with Russia, respectively, Zasurye was completely under the control of Kazan. During 1439-1441, judging by the Vetluzhsky chronicler, the Mari and Tatar soldiers destroyed all Russian settlements on the territory of the former Vetluzhsky kuguz state, the Kazan "governors" began to rule the Vetluzhsky Mari. Vyatka Land and Great Perm soon found themselves in tributary dependence on the Kazan Khanate.

In the 50s. XV century. Moscow managed to subjugate the Vyatka Land and part of the Povetluzhie; soon, in 1461-1462. Russian troops even entered into a direct armed conflict with the Kazan Khanate, during which the Mari lands of the left bank of the Volga were mainly affected.

In the winter of 1467/68. an attempt was made to eliminate or weaken Kazan's allies - the Mari. For this purpose, two campaigns "to the cheremisu" were organized. The first, the main group, which consisted mainly of selected troops - "the court of the prince of the great regiment" - fell on the left-bank Mari. According to the chronicles, “the army of the Grand Duke came to the land of Cheremis, and there is much evil uchinisha in that land: people were cut out, and some were led into captivity, and others were burned; but their horses and every beast that you cannot bear with you, all of them are cut out; but what was of their belly, then you took all. " The second group, which included soldiers recruited in the Murom and Nizhny Novgorod lands, "fought mountains and barats" along the Volga. However, even this did not prevent the Kazan people, including, most likely, the Mari warriors, already in the winter-summer of 1468 to ravage Kichmenga with the adjacent villages (the upper reaches of the Unzha and Yug rivers), as well as the Kostroma volosts and twice in a row - the vicinity of Murom. Parity was established in punitive actions, which most likely had little effect on the state of the armed forces of the opposing sides. The case boiled down mainly to robberies, mass destruction, taking prisoners of the civilian population - the Mari, Chuvash, Russians, Mordovians, etc.

In the summer of 1468, Russian troops resumed their raids across the uluses of the Kazan Khanate. And this time it was mainly the Mari population that suffered. The rook army, led by the voivode Ivan Run, “fought the cheremisu on Vyatka river”, plundered villages and merchant ships on the Nizhnyaya Kama, then climbed up to the Belaya River (“White Volozhka”), where the Russians again “fought the cheremisu, and the people fromsekosh and horses and every animal. " From local residents, they learned that a detachment of Kazan soldiers of 200 people was moving up the Kama nearby on ships taken from the Mari. As a result of a short battle, this detachment was defeated. The Russians then followed "to Great Perm and to Ustyug" and further to Moscow. Almost at the same time, another Russian army ("outpost") was operating on the Volga, headed by Prince Fyodor Khripun-Ryapolovsky. Not far from Kazan, it "beat the Kazan Tatars, the court of the tsars, many good ones." However, even in such a critical situation for themselves, the citizens of Kazan did not abandon active offensive actions. Having introduced their troops into the territory of Vyatka Land, they persuaded the Vyatka residents to neutrality.

In the Middle Ages, there were usually no clearly delineated borders between states. This also applies to the Kazan Khanate with neighboring countries. From the west and north, the territory of the khanate adjoined the borders of the Russian state, from the east - the Nogai Horde, from the south - the Astrakhan Khanate and from the south-west - the Crimean Khanate. The border between the Kazan Khanate and the Russian state along the Sura River was relatively stable; further, it can be defined only conditionally according to the principle of payment of yasak by the population: from the mouth of the Sura River through the Vetluga basin to the Pizhma, then from the Pizhma mouth to the Middle Kama, including some areas of the Urals, then back to the Volga River along the left bank of the Kama, without going deep into the steppe, down the Volga approximately to the Samara bow, finally, to the upper reaches of the same Sura river.

In addition to the Bulgaro-Tatar population (Kazan Tatars) on the territory of the khanate, according to A.M. Kurbsky, the Mari ("Cheremis"), southern Udmurts ("votyaks", "ares"), Chuvash, Mordovians (mainly Erzya), western Bashkirs also lived. The Mari in the sources of the 15th – 16th centuries. and in general in the Middle Ages they were known under the name "cheremis", the etymology of which has not yet been clarified. At the same time, under this ethnonym in a number of cases (this is especially typical for the Kazan chronicler), not only the Mari, but also the Chuvash and southern Udmurts could be listed. Therefore, it is quite difficult to determine, even in approximate outlines, the territory of settlement of the Mari during the period of the Kazan Khanate existence.

A number of fairly reliable sources of the XVI century. - the testimonies of S. Gerberstein, the spiritual certificates of Ivan III and Ivan IV, the Royal Book - indicate the presence of the Mari in the Oksko-Sursk interfluve, that is, in the region of Nizhny Novgorod, Murom, Arzamas, Kurmysh, Alatyr. This information is confirmed by folklore material, as well as the toponymy of this territory. It is noteworthy that until recently, among the local Mordovians, who professed a pagan religion, the personal name Cheremis was widespread.

The Unzha-Vetluzhsky interfluve was also inhabited by the Mari; written sources, toponymy of the region, folklore material speak about it. There were probably also Mary's groups here. The northern border is the upper reaches of the Unzha, Vetluga, the Pizhma basin, and the Middle Vyatka. Here the Mari contacted the Russians, Udmurts and Karin Tatars.

The eastern limits can be limited to the lower reaches of the Vyatka, but apart - "700 miles from Kazan" - in the Urals there was already a small ethnic group of Eastern Mari; chroniclers recorded it at the mouth of the Belaya River in the middle of the 15th century.

Apparently, the Mari, together with the Bulgaro-Tatar population, lived in the upper reaches of the Kazanka and Mesha rivers, on the Arsk side. But, most likely, they were in the minority here and, moreover, most likely, they were gradually otatarized.

Apparently, a considerable part of the Mari population occupied the territory of the northern and western parts of the present Chuvash Republic.

The disappearance of the continuous Mari population in the northern and western parts of the present territory of the Chuvash Republic can to some extent be explained by the devastating wars in the 15th-16th centuries, from which the Mountainous side suffered more than the Lugovaya (in addition to the invasions of Russian troops, the right bank was also subjected to numerous raids of steppe warriors) ... This circumstance, apparently, caused the outflow of some of the mountain Mari to the Lugovaya side.

The number of the Mari by the 17th – 18th centuries ranged from 70 to 120 thousand people.

The highest population density was distinguished by the right bank of the Volga, then - the area east of M. Kokshagi, and the least dense was the area of ​​settlement of the northwestern Mari, especially the marshy Volga-Vetluzhskaya lowland and the Mari lowland (the space between the rivers Linda and B. Kokshaga).

Exclusively all lands were legally considered the property of the khan, who personified the state. Having declared himself the supreme owner, the khan demanded natural and monetary rent for the use of the land - a tax (yasak).

The Mari - the nobility and ordinary community members - like other non-Tatar peoples of the Kazan Khanate, although they were included in the category of the dependent population, were in fact personally free people.

According to the findings of K.I. Kozlova, in the 16th century. among the Mari, druzhina, military-democratic orders prevailed, that is, the Mari were at the stage of formation of their statehood. The emergence and development of their own state structures was hindered by dependence on the khan administration.

The socio-political structure of the medieval Mari society is reflected in written sources rather weakly.

It is known that the family ("esh") was the main unit of the Mari society; most likely, the most widespread were “large families”, which, as a rule, consisted of 3-4 generations of close male relatives. The property stratification between patriarchal families was clearly visible back in the 9th-11th centuries. Parcel labor flourished, which mainly extended to non-agricultural activities (cattle breeding, fur trade, metallurgy, blacksmithing, jewelry). There were close ties between neighboring family groups, primarily economic, but not always consanguineous. Economic ties were expressed in various kinds of mutual "help" ("vyma"), that is, obligatory kindred gratuitous mutual aid. In general, the Mari in the XV-XVI centuries. lived through a peculiar period of proto-feudal relations, when, on the one hand, there was a separation of individual family property within the framework of a land-related union (neighboring community), and on the other hand, the class structure of society did not take on its clear outlines.

Mari patriarchal families, most likely, united in patronymic groups (sent, tukym, urlyk; according to V.N. Their unity was based on the principle of neighborhood, on a common cult, and to a lesser extent on economic ties, and even more so on consanguineous relations. Tishte were, among other things, alliances of military mutual assistance. Perhaps the tishtes were territorially compatible with the hundreds, ulus and fifties of the Kazan Khanate period. In any case, the tithe-centennial and ulus system of administration imposed from the outside as a result of the establishment of Mongol-Tatar domination, as is commonly believed, did not conflict with the traditional territorial organization of the Mari.

Hundreds, ulus, fifty and dozens were led by centurions ("shudovuy"), pentecostals ("vitlewui"), foremen ("luvui"). In the 15th – 16th centuries, they most likely did not have time to break with the rule of the people, and, according to K.I. Kozlova, “they were either ordinary foremen of land unions, or military leaders of larger associations such as tribal ones.” Perhaps the representatives of the top of the Mari nobility continued to be called according to the ancient tradition "kugyza", "kuguz" ("great master"), "he" ("leader", "prince", "lord"). Elders - "kuguraks" also played an important role in the public life of the Mari. For example, even Tokhtamysh's protege Keldibek could not become a Vetluzh kuguz without the consent of the local elders. The Mari elders are also mentioned as a special social group in the Kazan History.

All groups of the Mari population took an active part in military campaigns on the Russian lands, which became more frequent under the Girei. This is explained, on the one hand, by the dependent position of the Mari within the khanate, on the other hand, by the peculiarities of the stage of social development (military democracy), the interest of the Mari soldiers themselves in obtaining military booty, in an effort to prevent Russian military-political expansion, and other motives. In the last period of the Russian-Kazan confrontation (1521-1552) in 1521-1522 and 1534-1544. the initiative belonged to Kazan, which, at the suggestion of the Crimean Nogai government group, sought to restore Moscow's vassal dependence, as it was in the Golden Horde period. But already under Vasily III, in the 1520s, the task of the final annexation of the khanate to Russia was set. However, this was accomplished only with the capture of Kazan in 1552, under Ivan the Terrible. Apparently, the reasons for the annexation of the Middle Volga region and, accordingly, the Mari Territory to the Russian state were: 1) a new, imperial type of political consciousness of the top leadership of the Moscow state, the struggle for the "Golden Horde" inheritance and failures in the previous practice of attempts to establish and maintain a protectorate over the Kazan khanate, 2) the interests of state defense, 3) economic reasons (land for the local nobility, the Volga for the Russian merchants and tradesmen, new taxpayers for the Russian government and other plans for the future).

After the capture of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible, the course of events in the Middle Volga region took the following form. Moscow faced a powerful liberation movement, in which both former subjects of the liquidated khanate who had managed to swear allegiance to Ivan IV, and the population of peripheral regions, who did not take the oath, took part. The Moscow government had to solve the problem of preserving the conquered not according to a peaceful, but according to a bloody scenario.

The anti-Moscow armed actions of the peoples of the Middle Volga region after the fall of Kazan are usually called the Cheremis wars, since in them the Mari (Cheremis) were the most active. The earliest mention among the sources available in scientific circulation of an expression close to the term "Cheremis war" is found in Ivan IV's letter of quitrent granted to DF Chelishchev on rivers and lands in the Vyatka land dated April 3, 1558, where, in particular, it is indicated that the owners of the rivers Kishkil and Shizhma (near the town of Kotelnich) "in those rivers ... fish and beavers did not catch war for the Kazan cheremis and did not cry for rent".

Cheremis war 1552-1557 differs from the subsequent Cheremis wars of the second half of the 16th century, and not so much because it was the first of this series of wars, but because it bore the character of a national liberation struggle and did not have a noticeable anti-feudal orientation. Moreover, the anti-Moscow insurrectionary movement in the Middle Volga region in 1552-1557. is, in essence, a continuation of the Kazan War, and the main goal of its participants was the restoration of the Kazan Khanate.

Apparently, for the bulk of the left-bank Mari population, this war was not an uprising, since only representatives of the Prikazan Mari recognized their new citizenship. In fact, in 1552-1557. most of the Mari waged an external war against the Russian state and, together with the rest of the population of the Kazan Territory, defended their freedom and independence.

All waves of resistance movement were extinguished as a result of large-scale punitive operations by the troops of Ivan IV. In a number of episodes, the insurrectionary movement grew into a form of civil war and class struggle, but the struggle for the liberation of the homeland remained character-forming. The resistance movement ceased due to several factors: 1) continuous armed clashes with the tsarist troops, which brought innumerable casualties and destruction to the local population, 2) mass famine, a plague epidemic that came from the Trans-Volga steppes, 3) the meadow Mari lost support from their former allies - the Tatars and southern Udmurts. In May 1557, representatives of almost all groups of the meadow and eastern Mari took the oath to the Russian tsar. This was the end of the annexation of the Mari Territory to the Russian state.

The significance of the annexation of the Mari Territory to the Russian state cannot be defined as unequivocally negative or positive. Both negative and positive consequences of the entry of the Mari into the system of Russian statehood, closely intertwined with each other, began to manifest themselves in almost all spheres of the development of society (political, economic, social, cultural and others). Perhaps the main result for today is that the Mari people survived as an ethnic group and became an organic part of multinational Russia. .

The final incorporation of the Mari Territory into Russia took place after 1557, as a result of the suppression of the national liberation and antifeudal movement in the Middle Volga and Ural regions. The process of gradual entry of the Mari Territory into the system of Russian statehood lasted hundreds of years: during the Mongol-Tatar invasion, it slowed down, during the years of feudal turmoil that swept the Golden Horde in the second half of the XIV century, accelerated, and as a result of the appearance of the Kazan Khanate (30-40- e years of the 15th century) stopped for a long time. Nevertheless, starting even before the turn of the XI-XII centuries, the inclusion of the Mari in the system of Russian statehood in the middle of the XVI century. came to its final phase - to the direct entry into the structure of Russia.

The annexation of the Mari Territory to the Russian state was part of the general process of the formation of the Russian polyethnic empire, and it was prepared, first of all, by preconditions of a political nature. This is, firstly, the long-term confrontation between the state systems of Eastern Europe - on the one hand, Russia, on the other hand, the Turkic states (Volga-Kama Bulgaria - Golden Horde - Kazan Khanate), and secondly, the struggle for the "Golden Horde inheritance" in the final stage of this confrontation, thirdly, the emergence and development of imperial consciousness in the government circles of Muscovite Russia. The expansionist policy of the Russian state in the eastern direction was also to some extent determined by the tasks of state defense and economic reasons (fertile lands, the Volga trade route, new taxpayers, and other projects for the exploitation of local resources).

The economy of the Mari was adapted to the natural and geographical conditions, in general, met the requirements of its time. Due to the difficult political situation, it was largely militarized. True, the peculiarities of the socio-political system also played a role here. The medieval Mari, despite the noticeable local features of the then existing ethnic groups, generally experienced a transitional period of social development from tribal to feudal (military democracy). Relations with the central government were built primarily on a confederal basis.

This Finno-Ugric people believes in spirits, worships trees and is wary of Ovda. Mari's story originated on another planet, where a duck flew in and laid two eggs, from which two brothers appeared - good and bad. This is how life began on earth. The Mari believe in this. Their rituals are unique, the memory of their ancestors never fades away, and the life of this people is saturated with respect for the gods of nature.

It is correct to say Mary and not Mary - this is very important, not the accent - and there will be a story about an ancient ruined city. And ours is about the ancient unusual people of Mari, who are very careful about all living things, even plants. The grove is a sacred place for them.

History of the Mari people

Legends tell that the history of the mari began far from earth on another planet. From the constellation of the Nest, a duck flew to the blue planet, laid two eggs, from which two brothers appeared - good and evil. This is how life began on earth. The Mari still call the stars and planets in their own way: Ursa Major - the constellation Elk, the Milky Way - the Star Road along which God walks, the Pleiade - the constellation of the Nest.

Sacred Groves of the Mari - Kusoto

In autumn, hundreds of Mari come to the big grove. Each family brings a duck or goose - this is a purlyk, a sacrificial animal for all-Mari prayers. Only healthy, beautiful and well-fed birds are selected for the ceremony. The Mari line up for the cards - the priests. They check whether the bird is suitable for the sacrifice, and then ask her forgiveness and consecrate with the help of smoke. It turns out that the Mari express respect for the spirit of fire, and it burns bad words and thoughts, clearing the space for cosmic energy.

The Mari consider themselves a child of nature and our religion is such that we pray in the forest, in specially designated places, which we call groves, ”says consultant Vladimir Kozlov. - Turning to a tree, we are thus addressing space and there is a connection between the worshipers and space. We do not have any churches or other structures where the Mari would pray. In nature, we feel like a part of it, and communication with God passes through the tree and through sacrifices.

Nobody specially planted sacred groves, they have existed since ancient times. The ancestors of the Mari chose the groves for prayers. It is believed that these places have a very strong energy.

They chose the groves for a reason, they first looked at the sun, at the stars and comets, - says Arkady Fedorov kart.

Sacred groves in Mari are called Kusoto, they are clan, village-wide and all-Mari. In some Kusoto, prayers can be held several times a year, while in others - once every 5-7 years. In total, more than 300 sacred groves have been preserved in the Republic of Mari El.

In the sacred groves, one should not swear, sing and make noise. Great power is held in these sacred places. The Mari prefer nature, and nature is God. They refer to nature as to a mother: vud ava (mother of water), mlande ava (mother of the earth).

The most beautiful and tallest tree in the grove is the main one. It is dedicated to the one supreme God Yumo or his divine helpers. Rituals are held near this tree.

The sacred groves are so important to the Mari that for five centuries they fought for their preservation and defended their right to their own faith. At first, they opposed the Christianization of the Soviet government. To divert the attention of the church from the sacred groves, the Mari formally adopted Orthodoxy. The people went to church services, and then secretly performed the Mari rites. As a result, there was a confusion of religions - many Christian symbols and traditions were included in the Mari faith.

The sacred grove is perhaps the only place where women rest more than work. They only pluck and butcher birds. All the rest is done by men: they make fires, install boilers, cook broths and cereals, equip Onapu - this is how the sacred trees are called. Next to the tree, special tabletops are installed, which are first covered with fir branches symbolizing hands, then they are covered with towels and only then the gifts are laid out. Near Onapu there are tablets with the names of the gods, the main one is Tun Osh Kugo Yumo - the One Light Great God. Those who come to prayers decide which of the deities they present with bread, kvass, honey, pancakes. They also hang donation towels and scarves. After the ceremony, the Mari will take some things home, but something will remain hanging in the grove.

Legends about Ovda

... Once upon a time there lived an obstinate Mari beauty, but she angered the celestials and God turned her into a terrible creature Ovda, with large breasts that can be thrown over his shoulder, with black hair and feet with heels turned forward. The people tried not to meet with her and, although Ovda could help the person, but more often she caused damage. Sometimes she cursed entire villages.

According to legend, Ovda lived on the outskirts of villages in the forest, ravines. In the old days, residents often met with her, but in the 21st century, no one saw a terrible woman. However, even today they try not to go to the remote places where she lived alone. Rumor has it that she took refuge in the caves. There is a place called Odo-Kuryk (Ovda Mountain). In the depths of the forest, there are megaliths - huge rectangular boulders. They are very similar to man-made blocks. The stones have straight edges, and they are composed in such a way that they form a jagged fence. Megaliths are huge, but not so easy to spot. They seem to be cleverly disguised, but for what? One of the versions of the appearance of megaliths is a man-made defensive structure. Probably, in the old days, the local population defended itself at the expense of this mountain. And this fortress was built by hands in the form of ramparts. A sharp descent was accompanied by an ascent. It was very difficult for the enemies to run along these ramparts, and the locals knew the paths and could hide and shoot from a bow. There is an assumption that the Mari could fight the Udmurts for land. But what strength did you need to possess to process the megaliths and install them? Even a few people cannot move these boulders. Only mystical beings can move them. According to legends, it was Ovda who could install stones to hide the entrance to her cave, and therefore they say a special energy in these places.

Psychics come to the megaliths, trying to find the entrance to the cave, the source of energy. But the Mari prefer not to disturb Ovda, because her character is like a natural element - unpredictable and uncontrollable.

For the artist Ivan Yamberdov, Ovda is the feminine principle in nature, a powerful energy that came from space. Ivan Mikhailovich often rewrites paintings dedicated to Ovda, but each time not copies are obtained, but the originals or the composition will change, or the image will suddenly take on different outlines. “Otherwise, it cannot be,” the author admits, “because Ovda is natural energy that is constantly changing.

Although no one has seen a mystical woman for a long time, the Mari believe in her existence and are often called healers Ovda. After all, whisperers, prophets, herbalists, in fact, are the conductors of that very unpredictable natural energy. But only healers, unlike ordinary people, know how to manage it and thus arouse fear and respect among the people.

Mari healers

Each medicine man chooses the element that is close to him in spirit. The witch doctor Valentina Maksimova works with water, and in the bath, according to her, the water element gains additional strength, so that any disease can be treated. Conducting rituals in the bath, Valentina Ivanovna always remembers that this is the territory of bath spirits and must be treated with respect. And leave the shelves clean and be sure to thank.

Yuri Yambatov is the most famous medicine man in the Kuzhenersky district of Mari El. His element is the energy of trees. The entry to it was compiled for a month in advance. He takes one day a week and only 10 people. First of all, Yuri checks the compatibility of the energy fields. If the patient's palm remains motionless, then there is no contact, you will have to work hard to establish it with the help of a sincere conversation. Before starting to heal, Yuri studied the secrets of hypnosis, watched the healers, tested his strength for several years. Of course, he does not reveal the secrets of treatment.

During the session, the healer himself loses a lot of energy. By the end of the day, Yuri simply has no strength, it will take a week to recover. According to Yuri, illnesses come to a person from a wrong life, bad thoughts, bad deeds and resentments. Therefore, one cannot rely only on healers, a person himself must exert strength and correct his mistakes in order to achieve harmony with nature.

Mari girl outfit

Mariyki love to dress up, so that the costume is multi-layered, and there are more decorations. Thirty-five kilograms of silver is just right. Dressing up is like a ritual. The outfit is so complicated that you can't put it on alone. Previously, in every village there were vestment masters. In the outfit, each element has its own meaning. For example, in a headdress - a shrapana - the three-layer structure, symbolizing the trinity of the world, must be observed. A female set of silver jewelry could weigh 35 kilograms. It has been passed down from generation to generation. The woman bequeathed the jewelry to her daughter, granddaughter, daughter-in-law, and could leave it to her home. In this case, any woman living in it had the right to wear a kit for the holidays. In the old days, craftswomen competed - whose costume will retain its appearance until the evening.

Mari wedding

... Mountain Mari have merry weddings: the gate is locked, the bride is locked, matchmakers are not so easy to let. The girlfriends do not despair - they will still receive their ransom, otherwise the bridegroom will not see the bride. At a mountain Mari wedding, the bride may be hidden in such a way that the groom looks for her for a long time, but if he does not find her, the wedding will be upset. Mountain Mari live in the Kozmodemyansky region of the Republic of Mari El. They differ from the meadow mari in language, clothing and traditions. Mountain Marians themselves believe that they are more musical than meadow Mari.

The braid is a very important element at a mountain Mari wedding. She is constantly clicked around the bride. And in the old days they say that the girl got it. It turns out that this is done so that the jealous spirits of her ancestors do not damage the young and the groom's relatives, so that the bride is released in peace to another family.

Mari bagpipes - shuvyr

... In a jar of porridge, a salty cow bladder will wander for two weeks, from which they will then make a magical toss. A tube, a horn will be attached to the soft bladder and you will get a Mari bagpipe. Each element of the shuvyr endows the instrument with its own power. During the game, Shuvyrzo understands the voices of animals and birds, and the listeners fall into a trance, there are even cases of healing. And also the music of shuvyr opens the door to the world of spirits.

Veneration of the departed ancestors among the Mari

Every Thursday, residents of one of the Mari villages invite their deceased ancestors to visit. For this, they usually do not go to the cemetery; souls hear an invitation from afar.

Nowadays, there are wooden decks with names on the Mari graves, and in the old days there were no identification marks on the cemeteries. According to Mari beliefs, a person lives well in heaven, but he still misses the earth very much. And if in the world of the living no one remembers the soul, then it can become embittered and begin to harm the living. Therefore, deceased relatives are invited to dinner.

Invisible guests are received as if they were alive; a separate table is set for them. Porridge, pancakes, eggs, salad, vegetables - the hostess should put here a part of every dish she cooked. After the meal, treats from this table will be given to pets.

The assembled relatives have dinner at a different table, discuss problems, and ask for help from the souls of their ancestors in solving difficult issues.

For dear guests, in the evenings, a bath is heated. Especially for them, a birch broom is steamed, they give in to heat. The owners can steam themselves with the souls of the dead, but usually they come a little later. Invisible guests are seen off until the village goes to bed. It is believed that in this way souls quickly find their way into their world.

Mari Bear - Mask

Legend has it that in ancient times the bear was a man, a bad man. Strong, accurate, but cunning and cruel. His name was the hunter Musk. He killed animals for fun, did not listen to old people, even laughed at God. For this, Yumo turned him into a beast. Mask cried, promised to improve, asked him to return to his human form, but Yumo told him to walk in fur skin and keep order in the forest. And if he carries out his service regularly, then in the next life he will be born again as a hunter.

Beekeeping in the Mari culture

According to Mari legends, bees were among the last to appear on Earth. They came here not even from the constellation of the Pleiades, but from another galaxy, otherwise how to explain the unique properties of everything that bees produce - honey, wax, bee bread, propolis. Alexander Tanygin is the supreme card, according to Mari laws, each priest must keep an apiary. Alexander has been studying bees since childhood, studied their habits. As he himself says, he understands them from a half-glance. Beekeeping is one of the most ancient occupations of the Mari. In the old days, people paid taxes with honey, bee bread and wax.

In modern villages, beehives are in almost every courtyard. Honey is one of the main ways to make money. The top of the hive is covered with old things, this is a heater.

Mari signs associated with bread

Once a year, the Mari take out museum millstones in order to prepare bread of the new harvest. The flour for the first loaf is ground by hand. When the hostess kneads the dough, she whispers good wishes for those who get a piece of this loaf. The Mari have many signs associated with bread. When sending household members on a long journey, they put specially baked bread on the table and do not remove it until the deceased returns.

Bread is an integral part of all rituals. And even if the hostess prefers to buy it in the store, for the holidays she will certainly bake a loaf herself.

Kugeche - Mari Easter

The stove in the Mari house is not for heating, but for cooking. While the wood is burning in the oven, the hostesses bake multi-layered pancakes. This is an old national Mari dish. The first layer is ordinary pancake dough, and the second is porridge, it is put on a toasted pancake and the pan is again sent closer to the fire. After the pancakes are baked, the coals are removed, and the pies with porridge are placed in the hot oven. All these dishes are intended for the celebration of Easter, or rather Kugeche. Kugeche is an old Mari holiday dedicated to the renewal of nature and the commemoration of the dead. It always coincides with Christian Easter. Homemade candles are an obligatory attribute of the holiday, they are made only by cards with their assistants. Marie believe that wax absorbs the power of nature, and when it melts, it strengthens prayers.

Over the course of several centuries, the traditions of the two religions have mixed so much that in some Mari houses there is a red corner and homemade candles are lit in front of the icons on holidays.

Kugeche is celebrated for several days. Loaf, pancake and cottage cheese symbolize the triplicity of the world. Kvass or beer is usually poured into a special ladle - a symbol of fertility. After prayer, this drink is given to all women to drink. And also on Kugeche it is supposed to eat a colored egg. The Mari smash it against the wall. At the same time, they try to raise the hand higher. This is done so that the chickens rush in the right place, but if the egg is broken at the bottom, then the layers will not know their place. The Mari also roll dyed eggs. At the edge of the forest, boards are laid out and eggs are thrown, while making a wish. And the further the egg rolls, the greater the likelihood of the plan being fulfilled.

There are two springs in the village of Petyaly near the St. Guryev Church. One of them appeared at the beginning of the last century, when an icon of the Smolensk Mother of God was brought here from the Kazan Mother of God Hermitage. A baptismal font was installed near it. And the second source has been known since time immemorial. Even before the adoption of Christianity, these places were sacred for the Mari. Sacred trees still grow here. So both baptized Mari and unbaptized people come to the sources. Everyone turns to their God and receives comfort, hope, and even healing. In fact, this place has become a symbol of the reconciliation of two religions - the ancient Mari and Christian.

Films about the Mari

Mari live in the Russian outback, but the whole world knows about them thanks to the creative union of Denis Osokin and Alexei Fedorchenko. The film "Heavenly Wives of the Meadow Mari" about the fabulous culture of a small nation conquered the Rome Film Festival. In 2013, Oleg Irkabaev shot the first feature film about the Mari people "A pair of swans over the village". Mari through the eyes of Mari - the movie turned out to be kind, poetic and musical, just like the Mari people themselves.

Rites in the Mari sacred grove

… At the beginning of the prayer, the cards light candles. In the old days, only homemade candles were brought to the grove, church ones were prohibited. Now there are no such strict rules, in the grove no one is asked at all what faith he professes. Since a person has come here, it means he considers himself a part of nature, and this is the main thing. So during the prayers, you can also see the Mari baptized. The Mari psaltery is the only musical instrument allowed to be played in the grove. It is believed that gusli music is the voice of nature itself. Knife strikes on the blade of an ax are reminiscent of ringing bells - this is a rite of cleansing with sound. It is believed that vibration with air drives away evil, and nothing prevents a person from being saturated with pure cosmic energy. Those same personalized gifts are thrown into the fire, along with the tablets, and poured with kvass on top. The Mari believe that the smoke from burnt products is the food of the Gods. Prayer does not last long, after which comes perhaps the most pleasant moment - a treat. The Mari first put the selected bones in the bowls, symbolizing the rebirth of all living things. There is almost no meat on them, but it doesn't matter - the bones are sacred and will transfer this energy to any dish.

No matter how many people come to the grove, there will be enough treats for everyone. They will also take the porridge home to treat those who could not come here.

In the grove, all the attributes of prayer are very simple, no frills. This is done to emphasize that everyone is equal before God. The most valuable thing in this world is the thoughts and actions of a person. And the sacred grove is an open portal of cosmic energy, the center of the Universe, so with what mood we enter the sacred Grove, she will reward him with such energy.

When everyone is gone, the cards with assistants will be left to put things in order. They will come here the next day to complete the ceremony. After such great prayers, the sacred grove should rest for five to seven years. Nobody will come here, will not disturb the peace of Kusomo. The grove will be charged with cosmic energy, which in a few years during prayers it will again give to the Mari in order to strengthen their faith in one bright God, nature and space.