Mari names. The Mari: a history of three thousand years

The origin of the Mari people

The question of the origin of the Mari people is still controversial. For the first time a scientifically grounded theory of the ethnogenesis of the Mari was expressed in 1845 by the famous Finnish linguist M. Castren. He tried to identify the Mari with the annalistic measure. 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 others researchers of the II half of the XIX - I half of the XX centuries. A prominent Soviet archaeologist A.P. Smirnov came up with a new hypothesis in 1949, who came to the conclusion about the Gorodets (close to Mordovians) basis, other archaeologists O.N. Bader and V.F. Gening at the same time defended the thesis about Dyakovsky (close to measure) origin of the Mari. Nevertheless, even then archaeologists were able to convincingly prove that the Meri and the Mari, although related to each other, are not one and the same people. In the late 1950s, when a permanent Mari archaeological expedition began to operate, its leaders A.Kh. Khalikov and G.A. Arkhipov developed a theory of a mixed Gorodets-Azelin (Volga-Finnish-Permian) basis of the Mari people. Subsequently, G.A. Arkhipov, developing this hypothesis further, during the discovery and study of new archaeological sites, proved that the Gorodets-Dyakovsky (Volga-Finnish) component prevailed in the mixed basis of the Mari and the formation of the Mari ethnos, which began in the first half of the 1st millennium AD , as a whole, ended in the 9th-11th centuries, while even then the Mari ethnos began to divide into two main groups - the mountain and meadow Mari (the latter, in comparison with the first, were more strongly influenced by the Azelin (Perm-speaking) tribes). This theory as a whole is now supported by the majority of archaeological scientists dealing with this problem. The Mari archaeologist V.S. Patrushev put forward a different assumption, according to which the formation of the ethnic foundations of the Mari, as well as the Meri and Muroma, took place on the basis of the population of the Akhmilov appearance. Linguists (I.S. Galkin, D.E. Kazantsev), who rely on language data, believe that the territory of the formation of the Mari people should be sought not in the Vetluzhsko-Vyatka interfluve, as archaeologists believe, but to the southwest, between the Oka and Sura. Scientist-archaeologist T.B. Nikitina, taking into account data not only from archeology, but also from linguistics, came to the conclusion that the ancestral home of the Mari is located in the Volga part of the Oka-Sursk interfluve and in Povetluzhie, and the movement to the east, to Vyatka, took place in VIII-XI centuries, in the process of which came into contact and mixing with the Azelin (Perm-speaking) tribes.

The question of the origin of the ethnonyms “Mari” and “Cheremis” also remains difficult and unclear. The meaning of the word "mari", the self-name of the Mari people, is deduced by many linguists from the Indo-European term "mar", "mer" in various sound variations (translated as "man", "husband"). The word "cheremis" (so the Russians called the Mari, and in a slightly different, but phonetically similar pronunciation, many other peoples) has a large number of different interpretations. The first written mention of this ethnonym (in the original "ts-r-mis") is found in the letter of the Khazar kagan Joseph to the dignitary of the Cordoba caliph Hasdai ibn-Shaprut (960s). D.E. Kazantsev following the historian of the XIX century. GI Peretyatkovich came to the conclusion that the name “Cheremis” was given to the Mari by the Mordovian tribes, and in translation this word means “a person living on the sunny side, in the east”. According to IG Ivanov, “Cheremis” is “a person from the Chera or Chora tribe,” in other words, the name of one of the Mari tribes was subsequently extended by the neighboring peoples to the entire ethnos. The version of the Mari ethnographers of the 1920s and early 1930s, F.E. Yegorov and M.N. Yantemir, who suggested that this ethnonym goes back to the Turkic term "warlike person", is widely popular. FI Gordeev, as well as IS Galkin, who supported his version, defend the hypothesis of the origin of the word “cheremis” from the ethnonym “Sarmat” through the mediation of the Turkic languages. A number of other versions were also expressed. The problem of the etymology of the word "cheremis" is further complicated by the fact that in the Middle Ages (up to the 17th - 18th centuries) not only the Mari, but also their neighbors, the Chuvashes and Udmurts, were called so in a number of cases.

Mari in the IX - XI centuries.

In the IX - XI centuries. in general, the formation of the Mari ethnos was completed. At the time in questionMarisettled in a vast territory within the Middle Volga region: south of the Vetluga-Yuga watershed and the Pizhma River; north of the Piana River, the upper reaches of the Tsivil; east of the Unzhi River, the mouth of the Oka; west of Ileta and the mouth of the Kilmezi River.

Farm Mari was complex (agriculture, cattle breeding, hunting, fishing, gathering, bee-keeping, crafts and other activities related to the processing of raw materials at home). Direct evidence of the widespread use of agriculture in Mari no, there are only indirect data indicating the development of slash-and-burn agriculture in them, and there is reason to believe that in the XI century. the transition to arable farming began.
Mari in the IX - XI centuries. almost all cereals, legumes and industrial crops cultivated in the forest belt of Eastern Europe and at the present time were known. Slash farming was combined with cattle breeding; stall keeping of livestock in combination with free grazing prevailed (mainly the same types of domestic animals and birds were bred as now).
Hunting was a significant help on the farm Mari, while in the IX - XI centuries. hunting for fur began to be of a commercial nature. The hunting tools were bow and arrows, various traps, snares and traps were used.
Mari the population was engaged in fishing (near rivers and lakes), accordingly, river navigation developed, while natural conditions (dense network of rivers, rugged forest and swampy terrain) dictated the priority development of river rather than land routes.
Fishing, as well as gathering (first of all, forest gifts) were focused exclusively on domestic consumption. Significant distribution and development in Mari received beekeeping, on bead trees they even put property signs - "teaste". Along with furs, honey was the main item of the Mari export.
Have Mari there were no cities, only rural crafts were developed. Due to the lack of a local raw material base, metallurgy developed due to the processing of imported semi-finished products and finished products. Nevertheless, blacksmithing in the 9th - 11th centuries. at Mari has already emerged as a special specialty, while non-ferrous metallurgy (mainly blacksmithing and jewelry making - the manufacture of copper, bronze, silver jewelry) was mainly occupied by women.
The manufacture of clothing, footwear, utensils, some types of agricultural implements was carried out in each farm in their free time from agriculture and animal husbandry. In the first place among the branches of home production were weaving and leatherworking. Flax and hemp were used as raw materials for weaving. The most common leather product was footwear.

In the IX - XI centuries. Mari conducted exchange trade with neighboring peoples - the Udmurts, Merey, Vesyu, Mordovians, Muroma, Meschera and other Finno-Ugric tribes. Trade relations with the Bulgars and Khazars, who were at a relatively high level of development, went beyond the natural exchange, there were elements of commodity-money relations (many Arab dirhams were found in the ancient Mari burial grounds of that time). In the territory where they lived Mari, Bulgars even founded trading posts like the Mari-Lugovsk settlement. The greatest activity of the Bulgar merchants falls on the end of the 10th - the beginning of the 11th centuries. Any clear signs of close and regular ties between the Mari and the Eastern Slavs in the 9th - 11th centuries. until discovered, things of Slavic-Russian origin in the Mari archaeological sites of that time are rare.

Based on the totality of available information, it is difficult to judge the nature of contacts Mari in the IX - XI centuries. with their Volga-Finnish neighbors - Merey, Meschera, Mordovians, Muroma. However, according to numerous folklore works, tensions between Mari formed with the Udmurts: as a result of a number of battles and minor skirmishes, the latter were forced to leave the Vetluzhsko-Vyatka interfluve, retreating to the east, to the left bank of the Vyatka. At the same time, among the available archaeological material, there are no traces of armed conflicts between Mari and the Udmurts were not found.

Relationship Mari with the Volga Bulgars, apparently, they were not limited only to trade. At least a part of the Mari population, bordering on the Volga-Kama Bulgaria, paid tribute to this country (Kharaj) - at first as a vassal-intermediary of the Khazar Kagan (it is known that in the 10th century both the Bulgars and Mari- ts-r-mis - were subjects of Kagan Joseph, however, the first were in a more privileged position as part of the Khazar Kaganate), then as an independent state and a kind of legal successor to the Kaganate.

The Mari and their neighbors in the XII - early XIII centuries.

Since the XII century. in some Mari lands, the transition to steam farming begins. The funeral rite was unifiedMari, cremation disappeared. If earlier in everyday lifeMarimen often met swords and spears, but now everywhere they were replaced by bows, arrows, axes, knives and other types of light melee weapons. Perhaps this was due to the fact that the new neighborsMariturned out to be more numerous, better armed and organized peoples (Slavic-Rus, Bulgars), with which it was possible to fight only by partisan methods.

XII - early XIII centuries were marked by a noticeable growth of the Slavic-Russian and the fall of the Bulgarian influence on Mari(especially in Povetluzhie). At this time, Russian settlers appear in the interfluve of Unzha and Vetluga (Gorodets Radilov, first mentioned in the annals for 1171, fortified settlements and settlements on Uzol, Linda, Vezlom, Vatom), where settlements were still found Mari and eastern Merya, as well as in the Upper and Middle Vyatka (the cities of Khlynov, Kotelnich, settlements on Pizhma) - in the Udmurt and Mari lands.
Settlement area Mari, compared with the 9th-11th centuries, did not undergo significant changes, however, its gradual shift to the east continued, which was largely due to the advancement of the Slavic-Russian tribes and Slavicizing Finno-Ugrians (first of all, Merya) from the west and, possibly , continued Mari-Udmurt confrontation. The movement of the Meryan tribes to the east took place in small families or their groups, and the settlers who reached the Povetluzhie, most likely, mixed with related Mari tribes, completely dissolving in this environment.

Material culture turned out to be under strong Slavic-Russian influence (obviously, through the mediation of the Meryan tribes). Mari... In particular, according to archaeological research, instead of traditional local molded ceramics, dishes made on a potter's wheel (Slavic and "Slavoid" ceramics) come, under the Slavic influence the appearance of Mari jewelry, household items, and tools has changed. At the same time, among the Mari antiquities of the 12th - early 13th centuries, there are much fewer Bulgarian things.

No later than the beginning of the XII century. the incorporation of the Mari lands into the system of Old Russian statehood begins. According to the "Tale of Bygone Years" and "The Word about the Death of the Russian Land," the "Cheremis" (probably, these were the western groups of the Mari population) already then paid tribute to the Russian princes. In 1120, after a series of attacks by the Bulgars on the Russian cities in the Volga-Ochye, which took place in the II half of the 11th century, a reciprocal series of campaigns of the Vladimir-Suzdal princes and their allies from other Russian principalities began. The Russian - Bulgarian conflict, as is commonly believed, flared up on the basis of collecting tribute from the local population, and in this struggle the advantage was steadily leaning towards the side of the feudal lords of North-Eastern Russia. Reliable information about direct participation Mari in the Russian-Bulgarian wars there is no, although the troops of both opposing sides repeatedly passed through the Mari lands.

Mari in the Golden Horde

In 1236 - 1242 Eastern Europe was subjected to a powerful Mongol-Tatar invasion, a significant part of it, including the entire Volga region, was under the rule of the conquerors. At the same time, the Bulgars,Mari, Mordovians and other peoples of the Middle Volga region were included in the Ulus Jochi or the Golden Horde, the empire founded by Khan Batu. Written sources do not report a direct invasion of the Mongol-Tatars in the 30s - 40s. XIII century to the territory where they livedMari... Most likely, the invasion touched the Mari settlements located near the regions that were subjected to the most severe devastation (Volga-Kama Bulgaria, Mordovia) - these are the Right Bank of the Volga and the left-bank Mari lands adjacent to Bulgaria.

Mari obeyed the Golden Horde through the Bulgar feudal lords and khan darugs. The main part of the population was divided into administrative-territorial and tax units - uluses, hundreds and dozens, which were led by the centurions and foremen who were accountable to the khan's administration - representatives of the local nobility. Mari Like many other peoples subject to the Golden Horde Khan, they had to pay yasak, a number of other taxes, carry various duties, including military. They mainly supplied furs, honey, wax. At the same time, the Mari lands were located on the forest northwestern periphery of the empire, far from the steppe zone, it did not differ in a developed economy, therefore, there was no strict military-police control, and in the most inaccessible and remote area - in Povetluzhie and the adjacent territory - the power of the khan was only nominal.

This circumstance contributed to the continuation of the Russian colonization of the Mari lands. More Russian settlements appeared on Pizhma and Srednyaya Vyatka, the development of the Povetluzh area, the Oka-Sursk interfluve, and then the Lower Sura began. In Povetluzhie, Russian influence was especially strong. Judging by the "Vetluzhsky Chronicle" and other Trans-Volga Russian chronicles of late origin, many local semi-mythical princes (kuguz) (Kai, Kodzha-Yraltem, Bai-Boroda, Keldibek) were baptized, were in vassal dependence on the Galician princes, sometimes concluding military alliances with the Golden Horde. Apparently, a similar situation was in Vyatka, where contacts of the local Mari population with the Vyatka Land and the Golden Horde developed.
The strong influence of both the Russians and the Bulgars was felt in the Volga region, especially in its mountainous part (in the Malo-Sundyr settlement, Yul'yalsky, Noselsky, Krasnoselishchensky settlements). However, here the Russian influence gradually grew, and the Bulgar-Golden Horde weakened. By the beginning of the 15th century. the interfluve of the Volga and Sura actually became part of the Moscow Grand Duchy (before that - Nizhny Novgorod), back in 1374 on the Lower Sura the Kurmysh fortress was founded. Relations between the Russians and the Mari were complicated: peaceful contacts were combined with periods of wars (mutual raids, campaigns of the Russian princes against Bulgaria through the Mari lands from the 70s of the 14th centuries, attacks of the Ushkuiniks in the second half of the 14th - early 15th centuries, the participation of the Mari in military actions of the Golden Horde against Russia, for example, in the Battle of Kulikovo).

Mass relocations continued Mari... As a result of the Mongol-Tatar invasion and subsequent raids of the steppe warriors, many Mari who lived on the right bank of the Volga, moved to the safer left bank. At the end of the XIV - beginning of the XV centuries. the left-bank Mari, who lived in the basin of the Mesha, Kazanka, Ashit rivers, were forced to move to more northern regions and to the east, since the Kama Bulgars rushed here, fleeing from the troops of Timur (Tamerlane), then from the Nogai warriors. Eastern direction of the resettlement of the Mari in the XIV - XV centuries. was also due to Russian colonization. Assimilation processes also took place in the zone of contacts of the Mari with the Russians and Bulgaro-Tatars.

The economic and socio-political situation of the Mari in the Kazan Khanate

The Kazan Khanate arose during the disintegration of the Golden Horde - as a result of the appearance in the 30s - 40s. XV century in the Middle Volga region of the Golden Horde Khan Ulu-Muhammad, his court and combat-ready army, which together played the role of a powerful catalyst in the consolidation of the local population and the creation of a state entity equivalent to the still decentralized Russia.

Mari were not included in the Kazan Khanate by force; dependence on Kazan arose due to the desire to prevent an armed struggle in order to jointly confront the Russian state and in the order of the established tradition of paying tribute to the Bulgar and Golden Horde representatives of power. Allied, confederal relations were established between the Mari and the Kazan government. At the same time, there were noticeable differences in the position of the mountain, meadow and northwestern Mari in the composition of the khanate.

The main part Mari the economy was complex, with a developed agricultural basis. Only in the northwest Mari due to natural conditions (they lived in an area of ​​almost continuous swamps and forests), agriculture played a secondary role in comparison with forestry and cattle breeding. In general, the main features of the economic life of the Mari of the 15th - 16th centuries. have not undergone significant changes in comparison with the previous time.

Mountain Mari, who lived, like the Chuvash, the eastern Mordovians and Sviyazhsk Tatars, on the Mountain side of the Kazan Khanate, were distinguished by their active participation in contacts with the Russian population, the relative weakness of ties with the central regions of the khanate, from which they were separated by a large river Volga. At the same time, the Gornaya side was under rather tough military and police control, which was associated with a high level of its economic development, an intermediate position between the Russian lands and Kazan, and the growing influence of Russia in this part of the khanate. In the Right Bank (due to its special strategic position and high economic development) foreign troops invaded somewhat more often - not only Russian warriors, but also steppe warriors. The situation of the mountain people was complicated by the presence of main water and land roads to Russia and the Crimea, since the regular duty was very heavy and burdensome.

Meadow Mari unlike the mountainous ones, they did not have close and regular contacts with the Russian state, they were more connected with Kazan and the Kazan Tatars in political, economic, and cultural terms. According to the level of their economic development, meadow Mari were not inferior to the mountain ones. Moreover, the economy of the Left Bank on the eve of the fall of Kazan was developing in a relatively stable, calm and less harsh military-political situation, therefore contemporaries (A.M. Kurbsky, author of "Kazan History") describe the welfare of the population of the Lugovoy and especially the Arsk side most enthusiastically and colorfully. The amounts of taxes paid by the population of the Gornaya and Lugovoy sides did not differ much either. If on the Gornaya side the burden of fixed duty was felt more strongly, then on the Lugovaya side - the construction one: it was the population of the Left Bank who erected and maintained in proper condition the powerful fortifications of Kazan, Arsk, various fortifications, and incisions.

Northwestern (Vetluzhskiy and Kokshaiskiy) Mari were relatively weakly drawn into the orbit of the khan's power because of their remoteness from the center and because of the relatively low economic development; at the same time, the Kazan government, fearing Russian military campaigns from the north (from Vyatka) and northwest (from Galich and Ustyug), strove for allied relations with the Vetluzh, Kokshai, Pizhan, Yaran Mari leaders, who also saw benefits in supporting the conquest actions of the Tatars in relation to the outlying Russian lands.

"Military democracy" of the medieval Mari.

In the XV - XVI centuries. Mari, like other peoples of the Kazan Khanate, except for the Tatars, were at a transitional stage in the development of society from primitive to early feudal. On the one hand, within the framework of the land-related union (neighboring community) of individual-family property, parcel labor flourished, property differentiation grew, and on the other, the class structure of society did not take on its clear outlines.

Mari patriarchal families united in patronymic groups (send, tukym, urlyk), and those in larger land unions (tiste). Their unity was based not on kinship ties, but on the principle of neighborhood, to a lesser extent on economic ties, which were expressed in various kinds of mutual "help" ("vÿma"), joint ownership of common lands. Land unions were, among other things, alliances of military mutual assistance. Perhaps the teaste were territorially compatible with the hundreds and uluses of the Kazan Khanate period. Hundreds, ulus, dozens were led by centurions or centennial princes ("shÿdövui", "puddle"), foremen ("luvui"). The centurions appropriated for themselves some of the yasak they collected for the benefit of the khan's treasury from the subordinate ordinary members of the community, but at the same time they enjoyed authority among them as smart and courageous people, as skillful organizers and military leaders. Centuries and foremen in the 15th - 16th centuries had not yet had time to break with primitive democracy, at the same time, the power of the representatives of the nobility was increasingly acquiring a hereditary character.

The feudalization of the Mari society was accelerated thanks to the Turkic-Mari synthesis. In relation to the Kazan Khanate, ordinary community members acted as a feudal dependent population (in fact, they were personally free people and were part of a kind of semi-service class), and the nobility as service vassals. Among the Mari, representatives of the nobility began to stand out in a special military class - mamichi (imildashi), heroes (batyrs), who probably already had some relation to the feudal hierarchy of the Kazan Khanate; on lands with the Mari population, feudal possessions began to appear - belyaks (administrative tax districts given by the Kazan khans as a reward for service with the right to collect yasak from the land and various fishing grounds that were in the collective use of the Mari population).

The dominance of the military-democratic order in the medieval Mari society was the environment where the immanent impulses for raids were laid. A war that used to be fought only to avenge attacks or to expand territory is now becoming a permanent trade. The property stratification of ordinary members of the community, whose economic activities were hampered by insufficiently favorable natural conditions and a low level of development of productive forces, led to the fact that many of them began to increasingly turn outside their community in search of funds to satisfy their material needs and in an effort to raise their status in society. The feudalized nobility, which gravitated towards a further increase in wealth and their socio-political weight, also sought outside the community to find new sources of enrichment and strengthening of their power. As a result, solidarity arose between two different strata of the community members, between whom a "military alliance" was formed with the aim of expansion. Therefore, the power of the Mari "princes", along with the interests of the nobility, still continued to reflect common tribal interests.

The most active raids among all groups of the Mari population were shown by the northwestern Mari... This was due to their relatively low level of socio-economic development. Meadow and mountain Mari engaged in agricultural labor, took less active part in military campaigns, moreover, the local proto-feudal elite had other, besides the military, ways to strengthen their power and further enrichment (primarily by strengthening ties with Kazan)

Accession of the mountain Mari to the Russian state

Entry Marithe structure of the Russian state was a multi-stage process, and the mountainMari... Together with the rest of the population of the Mountainous side, they were interested in peaceful relations with the Russian state, while in the spring of 1545 a series of major campaigns of Russian troops against Kazan began. At the end of 1546, the mountain people (Tugai, Atachik) attempted to establish a military alliance with Russia and, together with political emigrants from among the Kazan feudal lords, sought to overthrow Khan Safa-Girey and enthrone the Moscow vassal Shah Ali, thereby preventing new invasions Russian troops and put an end to the autocratic pro-Crimean internal politics of the khan. However, Moscow at this time had already set a course for the final annexation of the khanate - Ivan IV was crowned king (this indicates that the Russian sovereign advanced his claim to the Kazan throne and other residences of the Golden Horde kings). Nevertheless, the Moscow government did not succeed in taking advantage of the successfully begun mutiny of the Kazan feudal lords led by Prince Kadysh against Safa-Girey, and the help offered by the mountain people was rejected by the Russian governors. The mountainous side continued to be considered by Moscow as an enemy territory after the winter of 1546/47. (hiking to Kazan in the winter of 1547/48 and in the winter of 1549/50).

By 1551, in Moscow government circles, a plan was ripe for the annexation of the Kazan Khanate to Russia, which provided for the rejection of the Mountain Side with its subsequent transformation into a support base for the seizure of the rest of the Khanate. In the summer of 1551, when a powerful military outpost was erected at the mouth of the Sviyaga (fortress Sviyazhsk), it was possible to join the Gornaya side to the Russian state.

The reasons for the entry of mountain Mari and the rest of the population of the Gornaya side of Russia, apparently, were: 1) the introduction of a large contingent of Russian troops, the construction of the fortress city of Sviyazhsk; 2) the flight to Kazan of the local anti-Moscow group of feudal lords, which could organize resistance; 3) fatigue of the population of the Mountain Side from the devastating invasions of Russian troops, their desire to establish peaceful relations by restoring the Moscow protectorate; 4) the use by Russian diplomacy of the anti-Crimean and pro-Moscow moods of the mountain people in order to directly include the Mountain Side into Russia (the actions of the population of the Mountain Side were seriously influenced by the arrival of the former Kazan Khan Shah-Ali with Russian governors, accompanied by five hundred Tatar feudal lords who entered the Russian service); 5) bribery of local nobility and ordinary militia soldiers, exemption of mountain people from taxes for three years; 6) relatively close ties of the peoples of the Mountainous side with Russia in the years preceding the accession.

There was no consensus among historians about the nature of the accession of the Mountain Side to the Russian State. One part of the scientists believes that the peoples of the Mountainous side entered Russia voluntarily, others argue that it was a violent seizure, and still others adhere to the version about the peaceful, but forced nature of the annexation. Obviously, both reasons and circumstances of a military, violent, and peaceful, non-violent nature played a role in the annexation of the Mountain Side to the Russian state. These factors mutually complemented each other, giving the entry of the mountain Mari and other peoples of the Mountain Side into Russia an exceptional originality.

Accession of the left-bank Mari to Russia. Cheremis war 1552 - 1557

In the summer of 1551 - in the spring of 1552. The Russian state exerted powerful military and political pressure on Kazan, the implementation of a plan for the gradual elimination of the khanate by organizing the Kazan governorship was launched. However, in Kazan, anti-Russian sentiment was too strong, probably growing as pressure from Moscow increased. As a result, on March 9, 1552, the citizens of Kazan refused to let the Russian governor and the troops accompanying him into the city, and the whole plan of the bloodless annexation of the khanate to Russia collapsed overnight.

In the spring of 1552, an anti-Moscow uprising broke out on the Gornaya side, as a result of which the territorial integrity of the khanate was actually restored. The reasons for the uprising of the mountain people were: the weakening of the military presence of the Russians on the territory of the Gornaya side, the active offensive actions of the left-bank Kazan residents in the absence of retaliatory measures from the Russians, the violent nature of the annexation of the Gornaya side to the Russian state, the departure of Shah Ali outside the khanate, to Kasimov. As a result of large-scale punitive campaigns of the Russian troops, the uprising was suppressed, in June-July 1552 the mountain people again took the oath of allegiance to the Russian Tsar. So, in the summer of 1552, the mountain Mari finally became part of the Russian state. The results of the uprising convinced the mountain people of the futility of further resistance. The mountainous side, being the most vulnerable and at the same time important in the military-strategic plan part of the Kazan Khanate, could not become a powerful center of the people's liberation struggle. Obviously, such factors as privileges and all kinds of gifts granted by the Moscow government to mountain people in 1551, the experience of multilateral peaceful ties of the local population with the Russians, and the complex, contradictory nature of relations with Kazan in previous years, also played a significant role. For these reasons, most of the mountain people during the events of 1552 - 1557. remained loyal to the power of the Russian sovereign.

During the Kazan War of 1545 - 1552. Crimean and Turkish diplomats were actively working to create an anti-Moscow union of Turkic-Muslim states in order to resist the powerful Russian expansion in the east. However, the unification policy failed because of the pro-Moscow and anti-Crimean stance of many influential Nogai murzas.

In the battle for Kazan in August - October 1552, a huge number of troops participated on both sides, while the number of the besiegers exceeded the number of the besieged at the initial stage by 2 - 2.5 times, and before the decisive assault - 4 - 5 times. In addition, the troops of the Russian state were better trained in military-technical and military-engineering terms; the army of Ivan IV also managed to defeat the Kazan troops in parts. On October 2, 1552 Kazan fell.

In the first days after the Kazan capture, Ivan IV and his entourage took measures to organize the administration of the conquered country. Within 8 days (from October 2 to October 10), the orderly meadow Mari and Tatars were sworn in. However, the main part of the left-bank Mari did not show submission and already in November 1552 the Mari of the Lugovoy side rose to fight for their freedom. 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 the Mari were most active in them, at the same time the 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. People's Liberation Movement 1552-1557 in the Middle Volga region was caused by the following reasons: 1) defending their independence, freedom, the right to live in their own way; 2) the struggle of the local nobility for the restoration of the order that existed in the Kazan Khanate; 3) religious confrontation (the Volga peoples - Muslims and pagans - seriously feared for the future of their religions and culture in general, since immediately after the capture of Kazan, Ivan IV began to destroy mosques, erect Orthodox churches in their place, destroy Muslim clergy and pursue a policy of forced baptism ). The degree of influence of the Turkic-Muslim states on the course of events in the Middle Volga region during this period was negligible; in some cases, potential allies even interfered with the rebels.

Resistance movement 1552-1557 or the First Cheremis War developed in waves. The first wave - November - December 1552 (separate outbreaks of armed uprisings on the Volga and near Kazan); the second - winter 1552/53 - early 1554 (the most powerful stage, covering the entire Left Bank and part of the Mountain Side); the third - July - October 1554 (the beginning of the recession of the resistance movement, a split among the rebels from the Arsk and Coastal sides); fourth - late 1554 - March 1555 (participation in the anti-Moscow armed uprisings only of the left-bank Mari, the beginning of the leadership of the rebels by a centurion from the Lugovoy side Mamich-Berdey); fifth - late 1555 - summer 1556 (the insurrectionary movement led by Mamich-Berdey, its support by the Ars and coastal people - the Tatars and southern Udmurts, the capture of Mamich-Berdey); sixth, last - late 1556 - May 1557 (widespread cessation of resistance). All waves received their impetus on the Lugovaya side, while the left bank (meadow and northwestern) Mari showed themselves as the most active, uncompromising and consistent participants in the resistance movement.

Kazan Tatars also took an active part in the war of 1552-1557, fighting for the restoration of the sovereignty and independence of their state. But still, their role in the insurrectionary movement, with the exception of some of its stages, was not the main one. This was due to several factors. First, the Tatars in the 16th century. lived through a period of feudal relations, they were class differentiated and such solidarity that was observed among the left-bank Mari, who did not know class contradictions, they no longer had (largely because of this, the participation of the lower strata of Tatar society in the anti-Moscow insurrectionary movement was not stable). Secondly, within the class of feudal lords there was a struggle between clans, which was due to the influx of foreign (Horde, Crimean, Siberian, Nogai) nobility and the weakness of the central government in the Kazan Khanate, and this was successfully used by the Russian state, which was able to win over a significant group to its side. Tatar feudal lords even before the fall of Kazan. Thirdly, the proximity of the socio-political systems of the Russian state and the Kazan Khanate facilitated the transition of the feudal nobility of the khanate to the feudal hierarchy of the Russian state, while the Mari proto-feudal elite had weak ties with the feudal structure of both states. Fourthly, the settlements of the Tatars, unlike most of the left-bank Mari, were located in relative proximity to Kazan, large rivers and other strategically important communication routes, in an area where there were few natural barriers that could seriously complicate the movement of punitive troops; in addition, these were, as a rule, economically developed areas, attractive for feudal exploitation. Fifth, as a result of the fall of Kazan in October 1552, perhaps the bulk of the most efficient part of the Tatar troops was destroyed, the armed detachments of the left-bank Mari then suffered to a much lesser extent.

The resistance movement was suppressed as a result of large-scale punitive operations by the troops of Ivan IV. In a number of episodes, the insurgency took the form of civil war and class struggle, but the main motive remained the struggle to liberate their land. The resistance movement stopped 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 and plague epidemic that came from the Trans-Volga steppes; 3) the left-bank Mari lost the support of their former allies - the Tatars and southern Udmurts. In May 1557, representatives of almost all groups of meadow and northwestern Mari took the oath to the Russian tsar.

Cheremis wars 1571 - 1574 and 1581 - 1585 Consequences of the annexation of the Mari to the Russian state

After the uprising of 1552 - 1557. The tsarist administration began to establish strict administrative and police control over the peoples of the Middle Volga region, but at first it was possible to do this only on the Gornaya side and in the immediate vicinity of Kazan, while on most of the Lugovoy side, the administration's power was nominal. The dependence of the local left-bank Mari population was expressed only in the fact that it paid a symbolic tribute and exhibited from its midst soldiers who were sent to the Livonian War (1558-1583). Moreover, the meadow and northwestern Mari continued to raid the Russian lands, and the local leaders were actively establishing contacts with the Crimean Khan in order to conclude an anti-Moscow military alliance. It is no coincidence that the Second Cheremis War of 1571-1574. began immediately after the campaign of the Crimean Khan Davlet-Girey, which ended with the capture and burning of Moscow. The reasons for the Second Cheremis War were, on the one hand, the same factors that prompted the Volga peoples to start an anti-Moscow insurrectionary movement shortly after the fall of Kazan, on the other hand, the population, which was under the strictest control from the tsarist administration, was dissatisfied with the increase in the volume of duties. abuses and shameless arbitrariness of officials, as well as a streak of setbacks in the protracted Livonian War. So in the second major uprising of the peoples of the Middle Volga region, national liberation and antifeudal motives were intertwined. Another difference between the Second Cheremis War and the First was the relatively active intervention of foreign states - the Crimean and Siberian Khanates, the Nogai Horde and even Turkey. In addition, the uprising engulfed the neighboring regions, which had already become part of Russia by that time - the Lower Volga and Ural regions. With the help of a whole range of measures (peace negotiations with the achievement of a compromise with representatives of the moderate wing of the rebels, bribery, isolation of the rebels from their foreign allies, punitive campaigns, the construction of fortresses (in 1574, at the mouth of Bolshoi and Malaya Kokshag, Kokshaisk was built, the first city on the territory the modern Republic of Mari El)), the government of Ivan IV the Terrible managed to split the insurrectionary movement first, and then suppress it.

The next armed uprising of the peoples of the Volga and Ural regions, which began in 1581, was caused by the same reasons as the previous one. What was new was that strict administrative and police supervision began to spread to the Lugovaya side (the assignment of heads ("watchmen") to the local population - Russian service people who exercised control, partial disarmament, and confiscation of horses). The uprising began in the Urals in the summer of 1581 (the attack of the Tatars, Khanty and Mansi on the possessions of the Stroganovs), then the unrest spread to the left-bank Mari, soon they were joined by the mountain Mari, Kazan Tatars, Udmurts, Chuvash and Bashkirs. The rebels blocked Kazan, Sviyazhsk and Cheboksary, made distant campaigns deep into Russian territory - to Nizhny Novgorod, Khlynov, Galich. The Russian government was forced to urgently end the Livonian War, concluding an armistice with the Commonwealth (1582) and with Sweden (1583), and throw significant forces to pacify the Volga population. The main methods of struggle against the rebels were punitive campaigns, the construction of fortresses (in 1583 Kozmodemyansk was erected, in 1584 - Tsarevokokshaisk, in 1585 - Tsarevosanchursk), as well as peace negotiations, during which Ivan IV, and after his death, the actual the ruler of Russia Boris Godunov promised amnesty and gifts to those who wished to end resistance. As a result, in the spring of 1585, "the Tsar and Grand Duke Fyodor Ivanovich of All Russia finished off the cheremis with a century-old peace."

The entry of the Mari people into the Russian state cannot be unambiguously characterized as evil or good. Both negative and positive consequences of entering Mari into the system of Russian statehood, closely intertwined with each other, began to appear in almost all spheres of society development. but Mari and other peoples of the Middle Volga region, on the whole, faced a pragmatic, restrained and even soft (compared to Western European) imperial policy of the Russian state.
This was due not only to fierce resistance, but also to the insignificant geographical, historical, cultural and religious distance between the Russians and the peoples of the Volga region, as well as the traditions of multinational symbiosis dating back to the early Middle Ages, the development of which later led to what is usually called the friendship of peoples. The main thing is that, despite all the terrible shocks, Mari nevertheless, they survived as an ethnos and became an organic part of the mosaic of the unique Russian superethnos.

The materials used were S.K. Svechnikov. Methodological manual "History of the Mari people of the IX-XVI centuries"

Yoshkar-Ola: GOU DPO (PC) S "Mari Institute of Education", 2005

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This Finno-Ugric people believes in spirits, worships trees and is wary of Ovda. The story of Mari 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 if 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 thereby turn to space and there is a connection between the worshipers and the cosmos. 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 address nature as 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 her shoulder, with black hair and feet with heels turned forward. The people tried not to meet with her and, although Ovda could help a 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, 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 legend, 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. - And it cannot be otherwise, - 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 thereby 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 treatment, 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, there were vestments in every village. In the outfit, each element has its own meaning. For example, in a headdress - a shrapana - a 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

... The mountain Mari have merry weddings: the gate is locked, the bride is locked up, matchmakers are not allowed so easily. 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 Kozmodemyansk region of the Republic of Mari El. They differ from the meadow mari in language, clothing and traditions. The Gornomarians themselves believe that they are more musical than the 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. Shuvyr music also opens the door to the world of spirits.

Veneration of the deceased 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 must put here a part of every dish she cooked. After the meal, treats from this table will be given to pets.

The gathered 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 yard. 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

A stove in a 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 an 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 farther the egg rolls, the more likely it will be 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 the 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 harp 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 put in the bowls first the selected bones 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 large prayers, the sacred grove should rest for five to seven years. No one 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.

This category of people can be attributed to Finno-Ugric peoples... They are called mars in another way, and in some other words. The Republic of Mari El is the place of residence of such people. For 2010 there are about 547 thousand people Mari, half of whom live in this republic. In the regions and republics of the Volga region and the Urals, you can also meet representatives of this people. In the interfluve of Vyatka and Vetluga, the population of the Mari mainly accumulates. There is a classification of this category of people. They are divided into 3 groups:
- mountain,
- meadow,
- oriental.

Basically, such a division is based on the place of residence. But recently there has been some change: the two groups have merged into one. The combination of meadow and eastern Mari formed the subspecies meadow-eastern. The language spoken by these people is called Mari or Mountain Mari. Orthodoxy is considered here as a faith. The presence of the Mari traditional religion is a combination of menotheism and polytheism.

Historical reference

In the 5th century, a Gothic historian named Jordan says in his chronicle that there was an interaction between the Mari and the Goths. The Golden Horde and the Kazan Khanate also had these people in their composition. It was quite difficult to join the Russian state, this struggle can even be called bloody.

The Subural anthropological type is directly related to the Mari. This category of people differs from the classic version of the Uralic race only by a large share of the Mongoloid component. The anthropological appearance of this people is attributed to the ancient Ural community.

Features in clothes

For such peoples, there was even traditional clothing. The tunic-shaped cut can be seen in the shirt, which is typical for this particular people. It is called tuvyr. Pants, yolash, have also become an integral part of the image of this nation. Also a mandatory attribute is a caftan, otherwise called a shovyr. A belt towel (soly) encircled clothing, sometimes a belt (ÿshtö) was used for this. A felt hat with a brim, a mosquito net or a hat is more typical for Mari men. A wooden platform (ketrma) was attached to felt boots, bast shoes or leather boots. The presence of belt suspensions is most typical for women. The adornment made of beads, cowrie shells, coins and clasps - all this was used for the original decoration of a unique women's costume, and was striking in its beauty. Hats for women can be classified as follows:

Cone-shaped cap with an occipital lobe;
-magpie,
-sharpan - a head towel with a headdress.

Religious component

Quite often you can hear that the Mari are pagans, and the last in Europe. Journalists from Europe and Russia, in connection with this fact, have a considerable interest in this nation. The 19th century was marked by the fact that the beliefs of the Mari were persecuted. The place of prayer was called Chumbylat kuryk. It was blown up in 1830. But such a measure did not give any results, because the main asset for the Mari was not a stone, but the deity that lived in it.

The names of the Mari

The presence of national names is characteristic of this nation. Later there was a mixture with Turkic-Arabic and Christian names. For example, Ayvet, Aymurza, Bikbai, Malika. The listed names can be safely attributed to the traditional Mari.

People are quite responsible for wedding traditions. Wedding whip Sÿan lupsh is a key attribute in the celebration. The road of life, which the newlyweds will need to go through, is protected by this amulet. Famous Mari include Vyacheslav Alexandrovich Kislitsyn, who was the 2nd President of Mari El, Valentin Khristoforovich Columbus, who is a poet, and many other personalities. The level of education is quite low among the Mari, as evidenced by statistics. In 2006, director Alexei Fedorchenko made a film in which the characters use the Mari language for conversation.

This nation has its own culture, religion and history, many prominent figures in various fields and its own language. Also, many Mari customs are unique today.

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, adv.

(self-name - Mari, obsolete - Cheremis), the people, 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 Russia (1995). The language is Mari. Believers of the Mari are Orthodox.

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). From 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 breeding, 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, woodcarving, 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 female 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 headdresses on a birch bark frame. Women's outerwear - straight and cut-off kaftans from 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, curd cheese cakes, 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 time of marriage, the bride's parents were paid a ransom, and they gave the dowry for the 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 .

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-name 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-named mari, obsolete Russian name cheremis). They are divided into mountain, meadow and east. They live in the rep. Mari El (on the avenue of the Volga 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

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 in 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 more sheep will be born in the new year. The first day of this holiday was timed to coincide with a whole set of signs and beliefs. 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 Gornomariyskiy 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, initiating 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 "Getyk" 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 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 604298 people in the Russian Federation of Mari. The Mari are mainly 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 the 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 Tataria, 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 folded in half made up the front and back of the shirt, sleeves were sewn to it at right angles across the width of the canvas, and 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 riverine-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 with 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.

nauchn.-isslo. 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 ornaments - kishkivudzhan 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.

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. nauchn.-isslo. 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 Maria's folk art.

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 the 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 widespread and traditional art form of 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 been established 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, Chuvashs, 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 northeast, it borders on the Kirov region, in the southeast with the Tatar ASSR, in the southwest with the Chuvash ASSR, in the west with the Gorky oblast. 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, etc. 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. So, the mountain Mari, inhabiting the Gornomariyskiy region of the Mari ASSR, live not only on the mountainous right, but partially on the left bank of the Volga. The main differences between these groups are 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 terms of lexicon, 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 whom 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 18th 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 ideas 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 the 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 rule, 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 people. 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 landowners and the local bourgeoisie.

Such revolutionary uprisings took place in Zvenigov, Kokshamary, Mariinsky Posad and other villages and cities of Kozmodemyansky 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 in the same ranks with 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 Yemaninskaya volost of the Vasilsur district of the Nizhny Novgorod province. The regional center was 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 accomplished by a partisan Komsomol member 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 collective farm 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 labor exploits of communist labor brigades 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, but 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 related to 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, partly 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 fine 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 divide 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 century, 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 on 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 Khor 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 to defend hypotheses about the origin of the word "Cheremisian" from the ethnonym "Sarmatian" 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 and 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