Posted Thu, 20/02/2014 - 07:53 by Cap

Mari (Mar. Mari, Mary, Mare, mӓrӹ; earlier: Russian Cheremis, Turk. Chirmysh, Tatar: Marilar listen)) are a Finno-Ugric people in Russia, mainly in the Republic of Mari El. It is home to about half of all Mari, numbering 604 thousand people (2002). The rest of the Mari are scattered in many regions and republics of the Volga region and the Urals.
The main territory of residence is the interfluve of the Volga and Vetluga.
There are three groups of Mari: mountainous (they live on the right and partially left bank of the Volga in the west of Mari El and in neighboring regions), meadow (they make up the majority of the Mari people, occupy the Volga-Vyatka interfluve), eastern (they formed from settlers from the meadow side of the Volga to Bashkiria and the Urals ) - the last two groups, due to historical and linguistic proximity, are combined into a generalized meadow-eastern Mari. They speak Mari (Meadow-Eastern Mari) and Mountain Mari languages ​​​​of the Finno-Ugric group Ural family. They profess Orthodoxy. The Mari traditional religion, which is a combination of paganism and monotheism, has also long been widespread.

Mari hut, kudo, Mari's dwelling

Ethnogenesis
In the early Iron Age, the Ananyinskaya archaeological culture (VIII-III centuries BC) developed in the Volga-Kamie, the carriers of which were the distant ancestors of the Komi-Zyryans, Komi-Permyaks, Udmurts and Mari. The beginning of the formation of these peoples refers to the first half of the 1st millennium.
The area of ​​formation of the Mari tribes is the right bank of the Volga between the mouths of the Sura and Tsivil and the opposite left bank together with the lower Povetluzhye. The basis of the Mari was the descendants of the Ananyites, who experienced the ethnic and cultural influence of the late Gorodetsky tribes (ancestors of the Mordovians).
From this area, the Mari settled in an easterly direction up to the river. Vyatka and in the south to the river. Kazanka.

______________________MARI HOLIDAY SHORYKYOL

The ancient Mari culture (lugovomar. Akret Mari cultures) is an archaeological culture of the 6th-11th centuries, marking the early periods of the formation and ethnogenesis of the Mari ethnos.
Formed in the middle of the VI-VII centuries. based on the Finnish-speaking West Volga population living between the mouths of the Oka and Vetluga rivers. The main monuments of this time (Junior Akhmylovsky, Bezvodninsky burial grounds, Chortovo, Bogorodskoye, Odoevskoye, Somovskaya I, II, Vasilsurskoe II, Kubashevskoe and other settlements) are located in the Nizhny Novgorod-Mariysky Volga region, the Lower and Middle Povetluzhye, the basins of the Bolshaya and Malaya Kokshaga rivers. In the 8th-11th centuries, judging by the burial grounds (Dubovsky, Veselovsky, Kocherginsky, Cheremisskoye cemetery, Nizhnyaya Strelka, Yumsky, Lopyalsky), fortified settlements (Vasilsursky V, Izhevskoye, Yemanaevskoye, etc.), settlements (Galankina Gora, etc.) , the ancient Mari tribes occupied the Middle Volga region between the mouths of the Sura and Kazanka rivers, the Lower and Middle Povetluzhye, the right bank of the Middle Vyatka.
During this period, finalization common culture and the beginning of the consolidation of the Mari people. The culture is characterized by a peculiar funeral rite that combines cremation and cremation on the side, sacrificial complexes in the form of sets of jewelry placed in birch bark or wrapped in clothes.
A typical abundance of weapons (iron swords, eye axes, spearheads, darts, arrows). There are tools of labor and everyday life (iron axes-Celts, knives, flints, clay flat-bottomed undecorated pot-shaped and jar vessels, whorls, lyachki, copper and iron kettles).
A rich set of jewelry is characteristic (a variety of hryvnias, brooches, plaques, bracelets, temporal rings, earrings, ridge, "noisy", trapezoidal pendants, "whiskered" rings, typesetting belts, head chains, etc.).

map of the settlement of the Mari and Finno-Ugric tribes

Story
The ancestors of the modern Mari between the 5th and 8th centuries interacted with the Goths, later with the Khazars and the Volga Bulgaria. Between the 13th and 15th centuries, the Mari were part of the Golden Horde and the Kazan Khanate. During the hostilities between the Moscow State and the Kazan Khanate, the Mari fought both on the side of the Russians and on the side of the Kazanians. After the conquest of the Kazan Khanate in 1552, the Mari lands that previously depended on it became part of Russian state. On October 4, 1920, the autonomous region of the Mari was proclaimed as part of the RSFSR, and on December 5, 1936, the ASSR.
Accession to the Muscovite state was extremely bloody. Three uprisings are known - the so-called Cheremis wars of 1552-1557, 1571-1574 and 1581-1585.
The Second Cheremis War had a national liberation and anti-feudal character. The Mari managed to raise neighboring peoples, and even neighboring states. All the peoples of the Volga and Ural regions participated in the war, and there were raids from the Crimean and Siberian khanates, the Nogai Horde and even Turkey. The second Cheremis war began immediately after the campaign of the Crimean Khan Davlet-Girey, which ended with the capture and burning of Moscow.

Sernur folklore Mari group

The Malmyzh principality is the largest and most famous Mari proto-feudal formation.
It traces its history from the founders, the Mari princes Altybay, Ursa and Yamshan (1st half-middle of the XIV century), who colonized these places after coming from the Middle Vyatka. The heyday of the principality - during the reign of Prince Boltush (1st quarter of the 16th century). In cooperation with the neighboring principalities of Kityak and Porek, it offered the greatest resistance to the Russian troops during the Cheremis wars.
After the fall of Malmyzh, its inhabitants, under the leadership of Prince Toktaush, Boltush's brother, descended down the Vyatka and founded new settlements of Mari-Malmyzh and Usa (Usola)-Malmyzhka. The descendants of Toktaush still live there. The principality broke up into several independent minor destinies, including Burtek.
In its heyday, it included Pizhmari, Ardayal, Adorim, Postnikov, Burtek (Mari-Malmyzh), Russian and Mari Babino, Satnur, Chetai, Shishiner, Yangulovo, Salauev, Baltasy, Arbor and Siziner. By the 1540s, the regions of Baltasy, Yangulovo, Arbor and Siziner were captured by the Tatars.

Principality of Izhmara (Principality of Pizhany; Lugomar. Izh Mariy kugyzhanysh, Pyzhanyu kugyzhanysh) is one of the largest Mari proto-feudal formations.
It was formed by the North-Western Mari on the Udmurt lands conquered as a result of the Mari-Udmurt wars in the 13th century. The original center was the Izhevsk settlement, when the borders reached the Pizhma River in the north. In the XIV-XV centuries, the Mari were pushed from the north by Russian colonialists. With the fall of the geopolitical counterweight to the influence of Russia of the Kazan Khanate and the advent of the Russian administration, the principality ceased to exist. The northern part became part of the Yaransk district as the Izhmarinskaya volost, the southern part as the Izhmarinskaya volost became part of the Alat road of the Kazan district. Part of the Mari population in the current Pizhansky region still exists to the west of Pizhanka, grouping around the national center of the village of Mari-Oshaevo. Among the local population, a rich folklore of the period of existence of the principality was recorded - in particular, about local princes and the hero Shaev.
It included land in the basins of the Izh, Pizhanka and Shuda rivers, with an area of ​​about 1 thousand km². The capital is Pizhanka (known in Russian written sources only from the moment the church was built, in 1693).

Mari (Mari people)

Ethnogroups
Mountain Mari(Mountain Mari language)
Forest Mari
Meadow-Eastern Mari (Meadow-Eastern Mari (Mari) language)
Meadow Mari
Eastern Mari
Pribelsky Mari
Ural Mari
Kungur, or Sylven, Mari
Upper Ufa, or Krasnoufim, Mari
Northwestern Mari
Kostroma Mari

mountain Mari, Kuryk Mari

Mountain Mari language - the language of the mountain Mari, literary language based on the mountain dialect of the Mari language. The number of speakers is 36,822 (2002 census). Distributed in the Gornomariysky, Yurinsky and Kilemarsky districts of Mari El, as well as in the Voskresensky district of the Nizhny Novgorod and Yaransky districts of the Kirov regions. It occupies the western regions of the distribution of the Mari languages.
The Mountain Mari language, along with the meadow-eastern Mari and Russian languages, is one of the state languages ​​of the Republic of Mari El.
The newspapers “Zhero” and “Yomduli!” are published in the Mountain Mari language, literary magazine“At this,” broadcasts the Gornomariy radio.

Sergei Chavain, founder of Mari literature

The Meadow-Eastern Mari is a generalized name for the ethnic group of the Mari, which includes the historically established ethnic groups of the Meadow and Eastern Mari, who speak a single Meadow-East Mari language with their own regional characteristics, in contrast to the mountain Mari, who speak their mountain Mari language.
Meadow-Eastern Mari make up the majority of the Mari people. The number is, according to some estimates, about 580 thousand people out of more than 700 thousand Mari.
According to the All-Russian census of 2002, 56,119 people (including 52,696 in Mari El) out of 604,298 Maris (or 9% of them) in Russia identified themselves as meadow-eastern Maris, of which as "meadow Maris" (olyk Mari) - 52,410 people, as actually "Meadow-Eastern Mari" - 3,333 people, as "Eastern Mari" (Eastern (Ural) Mari) - 255 people, which speaks in general about an established tradition (commitment) to call themselves as a single name for the people - "Mari".

Eastern (Ural) Mari

Kungur, or Sylven, Mari (mar. Kögyr Mari, Sulii Mari) is an ethnographic group of Mari in the southeastern part of the Perm Territory of Russia. The Kungur Mari are part of the Ural Mari, who in turn are among the Eastern Mari. The group got its name from the former Kungur district of the Perm province, which until the 1780s included the territory where the Mari had settled since the 16th century. In 1678-1679. in the Kungur district, there were already 100 Mari yurts with a male population of 311 people. In the 16th-17th centuries, Mari settlements appeared along the Sylva and Iren rivers. Some of the Mari were then assimilated by more numerous Russians and Tatars (for example, the village of Oshmarina of the Nasad village council of the Kungur region, the former Mari villages along the upper reaches of the Iren, etc.). The Kungur Mari took part in the formation of the Tatars of the Suksun, Kishert and Kungur regions of the region.

The rite of commemoration among the people of the Mari __________________

Mari (Mari people)
Northwestern Mari- An ethnographic group of Mari who traditionally live in the southern regions of the Kirov region, in the northeastern Nizhny Novgorod region: Tonshaevsky, Tonka, Shakhunsky, Voskresensky and Sharangsky. The overwhelming majority underwent strong Russification and Christianization. At the same time, Mari sacred groves have been preserved near the village of Bolshaya Yuronga in the Voskresensky district, the village of Bolshiye Ashkaty in Tonshaevsky and some other Mari villages.

on the grave of the Mari hero Akpatyr

The northwestern Mari are presumably a group of Mari, whom the Russians called Merya from the local self-name Märӹ, in contrast to the self-name of the meadow Mari - Mari, who appeared in the annals as Cheremis - from the Turkic chirmesh.
The northwestern dialect of the Mari language differs significantly from the meadow dialect, which is why the literature in the Mari language published in Yoshkar-Ola is hardly understood by the northwestern Mari.
In the village of Sharanga, Nizhny Novgorod Region, there is a center of Mari culture. In addition, in the regional museums of the northern regions of the Nizhny Novgorod region, tools and household items of the northwestern Mari are widely represented.

in the sacred Mari grove

resettlement
The main part of the Mari lives in the Republic of Mari El (324.4 thousand people). A significant part lives in the Mari territories of the Kirov and Nizhny Novgorod regions. The largest Mari diaspora is located in the Republic of Bashkortostan (105 thousand people). The Mari also live compactly in Tatarstan (19.5 thousand people), Udmurtia (9.5 thousand people), Sverdlovsk (28 thousand people) and Perm (5.4 thousand people) regions, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Chelyabinsk and Tomsk regions. They also live in Kazakhstan (4 thousand in 2009 and 12 thousand in 1989), in Ukraine (4 thousand in 2001 and 7 thousand in 1989), in Uzbekistan (3 thousand in 1989). G.).

Mari (Mari people)

Kirov region
2002: no. share (in district)
Kilmezsky 2 thousand 8%
Kiknursky 4 thousand 20%
Lebyazhsky 1.5 thousand 9%
Malmyzhsky 5 thousand 24%
Pizhansky 4.5 thousand 23%
Sanchursky 1.8 thousand 10%
Tuzhinsky 1.4 thousand 9%
Urzhumsky 7.5 thousand 26%
Number (Kirov region): 2002 - 38,390, 2010 - 29,598.

Anthropological type
The Mari belong to the Subural anthropological type, which differs from classic options the Ural race has a noticeably larger proportion of the Mongoloid component.

Marie hunting at the end of the 19th century

Festive performance by the Mari people ______

Language
The Mari languages ​​belong to the Finno-Volga group of the Finno-Ugric branch of the Uralic languages.
In Russia, according to the All-Russian Population Census of 2002, 487,855 people speak the Mari languages, including 451,033 people (meadow-eastern Mari) (92.5%) and Mountain Mari - 36,822 people (7.5%). Among the 604,298 Maris in Russia, 464,341 people (76.8%) speak the Mari languages, 587,452 people (97.2%) speak Russian, that is, Mari-Russian bilingualism is widespread. Among the 312,195 Mari in Mari El, 262,976 people (84.2%) speak the Mari languages, including 245,151 people (93.2%) and Mountain Mari (6 ,eight %); Russians - 302,719 people (97.0%, 2002).

Mari funeral rite

The Mari language (or meadow-eastern Mari) is one of the Finno-Ugric languages. Distributed among the Mari, mainly in the Republic of Mari El and Bashkortostan. The old name is "Cheremis language".
It belongs to the Finno-Permian group of these languages ​​(along with the Baltic-Finnish, Sami, Mordovian, Udmurt and Komi languages). In addition to Mari El, it is also distributed in the Vyatka River basin and to the east, to the Urals. In the Mari (meadow-eastern Mari) language, several dialects and dialects are distinguished: meadow, distributed exclusively on the meadow coast (near Yoshkar-Ola); as well as adjacent to the meadow so-called. eastern (Ural) dialects (in Bashkortostan, Sverdlovsk region, Udmurtia, etc.); the northwestern dialect of the meadow Mari language is spoken in Nizhny Novgorod and some areas of Kirov and Kostroma regions. Separately, the Mountain Mari language is distinguished, which is distributed mainly on the mountainous right bank of the Volga (near Kozmodemyansk) and partly on its meadow left bank - in the west of Mari El.
The Meadow-Eastern Mari language, along with Mountain Mari and Russian, is one of the official languages ​​of the Republic of Mari El.

Traditional Mari clothes

The main clothing of the Mari was a tunic-shaped shirt (tuvyr), trousers (yolash), and also a caftan (sovyr), all clothes were girded with a belt towel (solik), and sometimes with a belt (ÿshtö).
Men could wear a felt hat with a brim, a cap and a mosquito net. Leather boots served as shoes, and later - felt boots and bast shoes (borrowed from the Russian costume). To work in swampy areas, wooden platforms (ketyrma) were attached to shoes.
Belt pendants were common among women - jewelry made of beads, cowrie shells, coins, clasps, etc. There were also three types of women's headdresses: a cone-shaped cap with an occipital lobe; magpie (borrowed from the Russians), sharpan - a head towel with an overcoat. Shurka is similar to the Mordovian and Udmurt headdress.

Public work among the Mari people __________

Mari prayer, Surem holiday

Religion
In addition to Orthodoxy, the Mari have their own pagan traditional religion, which retains a certain role in spiritual culture at the present time. The commitment of the Mari to their traditional faith is of great interest to journalists from Europe and Russia. The Mari are even called " the last pagans Europe".
In the 19th century, paganism among the Mari was persecuted. For example, in 1830, at the direction of the Minister of the Interior, who received an appeal from the Holy Synod, a place of prayer - Chumbylat Kuryk was blown up, however, interestingly, the destruction of the Chumbylat stone did not have the proper effect on morals, because the Cheremis worshiped not the stone, but the inhabitant here to the deity.

Mari (Mari people)
Mari traditional religion (Mar. Chimari yula, Mari (marla) faith, Mariy yula, Marla kumaltysh, Oshmariy-Chimariy and other local and historical variants of names) is the folk religion of the Mari, based on Mari mythology, modified under the influence of monotheism. According to some researchers, in recent times, with the exception of rural areas, it has a neo-pagan character. Since the beginning of the 2000s, organizational formation and registration took place as several local and regional centralized religious organizations of the Republic of Mari El that unite them. For the first time, a single confessional name was officially fixed Mari Traditional Religion (mar. Mari Yumyyula)

The holiday of the Mari people _________________

The Mari religion is based on faith in the forces of nature, which a person must honor and respect. Before the spread of monotheistic teachings, the Mari worshiped many gods known as Yumo, while recognizing the supremacy of the Supreme God (Kugu-Yumo). In the 19th century, pagan beliefs, under the influence of the monotheistic views of their neighbors, changed and the image of the One God Tÿҥ Osh Poro Kugu Yumo (the One Light Good Great God) was created.
Followers of the Mari traditional religion carry out religious rituals, mass prayers, hold charitable, cultural and educational events. They teach and educate the younger generation, publish and distribute religious literature. Currently, four regional religious organizations are registered.
Prayer meetings and mass prayers are held in accordance with the traditional calendar, always taking into account the position of the moon and sun. Public prayers are usually held in sacred groves ah (kasoto). Prayer is led by oneҥ, kart (kart kugyz).
G. Yakovlev points out that the meadow Mari have 140 gods, and the mountain ones have about 70. However, some of these gods probably arose due to a mistranslation.
The main god is Kugu-Yumo - the Supreme God, who lives in heaven, heads all the heavenly and lower gods. According to legend, the wind is his breath, the rainbow is his bow. Also mentioned is Kugurak - "elder" - sometimes also revered as the supreme god:

Mari archer on the hunt - late 19th century

Of the other gods and spirits of the Mari, one can name:
Purisho is the god of fate, the caster and creator of the future fate of all people.
Azyren - (mar. "death") - according to legend, appeared in the form strong man who approached the dying man with the words: “Your time has come!”. There are many legends and tales about how people tried to outwit him.
Shudyr-Shamych Yumo - god of stars
Tunya Yumo - the god of the universe
Tul on Kugu Yumo - the god of fire (perhaps just an attribute of Kugu-Yumo), also Surt Kugu Yumo - the "god" of the hearth, Saxa Kugu Yumo - the "god" of fertility, Tutyra Kugu Yumo - the "god" of fog and others - rather of everything, these are just attributes of the supreme god.
Tylmache - speaker and lackey of the divine will
Tylze-Yumo - god of the moon
Uzhara-Yumo - the god of the morning dawn
In modern times, prayers are made to the gods:
Poro Osh Kugu Yumo is the supreme, most important god.
Shochynava is the goddess of birth.
Tunyambal Sergalysh.

Many researchers consider Keremet to be the antipode of Kugo-Yumo. It should be noted that the places for sacrifices at Kugo-Yumo and Keremet are separate. Places of worship of deities are called Yumo-oto ("God's island" or "divine grove"):
Mer-oto is a public place of worship where the whole community prays
Tukym-oto is a family and ancestral place of worship

By the nature of prayer, they also differ in:
occasional prayers (for example, for rain)
communal - major holidays (Semyk, Agavairem, Surem, etc.)
private (family) - wedding, birth of children, funerals, etc.

Settlements and dwellings of the Mari people

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 (karman, or) and unfortified settlements (ilem, surt), connected by family ties. The settlements were small, which is typical for the forest zone. Until the middle of the XIX century. the planning of the Mari settlements was dominated by cumulus, disorderly forms that inherited early forms resettlement by family-patronymic groups. The transition from cumulus forms to ordinary, street planning of streets took place gradually in the middle - second half of the 19th century.
The interior of the house was simple but functional, wide benches were located along the side walls from the red corner and the table. Shelves for dishes and utensils, crossbars for clothes were hung on the walls, there were several chairs in the house. The living quarters were conditionally divided into the female half, where the stove was located, the male - from front door to the red corner. Gradually, the interior changed - the number of rooms increased, furniture began to appear in the form of beds, cupboards, mirrors, clocks, stools, chairs, framed photographs.

folklore Mari wedding in Sernur

Mari economy
By the end of the 1st - beginning of the 2nd millennium AD. was complex, but the main thing was agriculture. In the IX-XI centuries. Mari are moving to arable farming. The steam three-field field with manured fallows was established among the Mari peasants in the 18th century. Along with the three-field system of agriculture until the end of the XIX century. slash-and-burn and shifting were preserved. The Mari cultivated cereals (oats, buckwheat, barley, wheat, spelt, millet), legumes (peas, vetch), industrial crops (hemp, flax). Sometimes in the fields, in addition to gardens on the estate, potatoes were planted, hops were bred. Horticulture and horticulture had a consumer character. The traditional set of garden crops included: onions, cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, pumpkins, turnips, radishes, rutabaga, beets. Potatoes began to be cultivated in the first half of the 19th century. Tomatoes began to be bred in Soviet times.
Gardening has become widespread since the middle of the 19th century. on the right bank of the Volga among the mountain Mari, where there were favorable climatic conditions. Their horticulture was of commercial importance.

Folk calendar Mari holidays

initial basis holiday calendar there was a labor practice of people, primarily agricultural, so the calendar rituals of the Mari had an agrarian character. Calendar holidays were closely connected with the cyclical nature and the corresponding stages of agricultural work.
Christianity had a significant impact on the calendar holidays of the Mari. With the introduction church calendar, folk holidays were close in time to Orthodox holidays: Shorykyol (New Year, Svyatki) - to Christmas, Kugech (Great Day) - to Easter, Sÿrem (holiday of summer sacrifice) - to Peter's Day, Uginda (holiday of new bread) - to Ilyin day, etc. Despite this, the ancient traditions were not forgotten, they coexisted with the Christian ones, retaining their original meaning and structure. The timing of the arrival of individual holidays continued to be calculated in the old way, using the lunisolar calendar.

Names
From time immemorial, the Mari had national names. When interacting with the Tatars, Turkic-Arabic names penetrated the Mari, with the adoption of Christianity - Christian ones. Currently more used christian names, the return to national (Mari) names is also gaining popularity. Examples of names: Akchas, Altynbikya, Ayvet, Aimurza, Bikbay, Emysh, Izikay, Kumchas, Kysylvika, Mengylvik, Malika, Nastalche, Pairalche, Shymavika.

Mari holiday Semyk

wedding traditions
One of the main attributes of a wedding is the “Sÿan lupsh” wedding whip, a talisman that protects the “road” of life along which the newlyweds have to go together.

Mari of Bashkortostan
Bashkortostan is the second region of Russia after Mari El in terms of the number of Mari residents. 105,829 Maris live on the territory of Bashkortostan (2002), a third of the Maris of Bashkortostan live in cities.
The resettlement of the Mari to the Urals took place in the 15th-19th centuries and was caused by their forced Christianization in the Middle Volga. The Mari of Bashkortostan for the most part retained traditional pagan beliefs.
Education in the Mari language is available in national schools, in secondary specialized and higher educational institutions in Birsk and Blagoveshchensk. The Mari public association "Mari Ushem" operates in Ufa.

Famous Mari
Abukaev-Emgak, Vyacheslav Alexandrovich - journalist, playwright
Bykov, Vyacheslav Arkadievich - hockey player, coach of the Russian national hockey team
Vasikova, Lidia Petrovna - the first Mari female professor, Doctor of Philology
Vasiliev, Valerian Mikhailovich - linguist, ethnographer, folklorist, writer
Kim Wasin - Writer
Grigoriev, Alexander Vladimirovich - artist
Efimov, Izmail Varsonofievich - artist, king of arms
Efremov, Tikhon Efremovich - educator
Efrush, Georgy Zakharovich - writer
Zotin, Vladislav Maksimovich - 1st President of Mari El
Ivanov, Mikhail Maksimovich - poet
Ignatiev, Nikon Vasilyevich - writer
Iskandarov, Alexey Iskandarovich - composer, choirmaster
Kazakov, Miklai - poet
Kislitsyn, Vyacheslav Alexandrovich - 2nd President of Mari El
Columbus, Valentin Khristoforovich - poet
Konakov, Alexander Fedorovich - playwright
Kyrla, Yivan - poet, film actor, film A ticket to life

Lekain, Nikandr Sergeevich - writer
Luppov, Anatoly Borisovich - composer
Makarova, Nina Vladimirovna - Soviet composer
Mikay, Mikhail Stepanovich - poet and fabulist
Molotov, Ivan N. - composer
Mosolov, Vasily Petrovich - agronomist, academician
Mukhin, Nikolai Semyonovich - poet, translator
Sergei Nikolaevich Nikolaev - playwright
Olyk Ipay - poet
Orai, Dmitry Fedorovich - writer
Palantay, Ivan Stepanovich - composer, folklorist, teacher
Prokhorov, Zinon Filippovich - Guard Lieutenant, Hero of the Soviet Union.
Pet Pershut - poet
Regezh-Gorokhov, Vasily Mikhailovich - writer, translator, People's Artist of the MASSR, Honored Artist of the RSFSR
Savi, Vladimir Alekseevich - writer
Sapaev, Erik Nikitich - composer
Smirnov, Ivan Nikolaevich (historian) - historian, ethnographer
Taktarov, Oleg Nikolaevich - actor, athlete
Toidemar, Pavel S. — musician
Tynysh, Osyp - playwright
Shabdar, Osip - writer
Shadt, Bulat - poet, prose writer, playwright
Shketan, Yakov Pavlovich - writer
Chavain, Sergei Grigorievich - poet and playwright
Cheremisinova, Anastasia Sergeevna - poetess
Chetkarev, Ksenofont Arkhipovich - ethnographer, folklorist, writer, organizer of science
Eleksein, Yakov Alekseevich - prose writer
Elmar, Vasily Sergeevich - poet
Ashkinin, Andrey Karpovich - writer
Eshpay, Andrey Andreevich - film director, screenwriter, producer
Eshpay, Andrey Yakovlevich - Soviet composer
Eshpay, Yakov Andreevich - ethnographer and composer
Yuzykain, Alexander Mikhailovich - writer
Yuksern, Vasily Stepanovich - writer
Yalkayn, Yanysh Yalkaevich - writer, critic, ethnographer
Yamberdov, Ivan Mikhailovich - artist

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Source of information and photo:
Team Nomads.
The peoples of Russia: a picturesque album, St. Petersburg, printing house of the Association "Public Benefit", December 3, 1877, art. 161
MariUver - Independent portal about the Mari, Mari El in four languages: Mari, Russian, Estonian and English
Dictionary of Mari mythology.
Mari // Peoples of Russia. Ch. ed. V. A. Tishkov M.: BRE 1994 p.230
The last pagans of Europe
S. K. Kuznetsov. A trip to the ancient Cheremis shrine, known since the time of Olearius. Ethnographic review. 1905, No. 1, p. 129-157
Wikipedia site.
http://aboutmari.com/
http://www.mariuver.info/
http://www.finnougoria.ru/

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History of the Mari people

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

The Eastern European forest zone has extremely scarce written information about the history of the Finno-Ugric peoples, the writing of these peoples appeared very late, with few exceptions, only in the latest historical era. The first mention of the ethnonym "Cheremis" in the form "ts-r-mis" is found in a written source, which dates back to the 10th century, but, in all likelihood, goes back one or two centuries later. According to this source, the Mari were tributaries of the Khazars. Then Mari (in the form "Cheremisam") mentions the compiled c. early 12th century Russian chronicle, calling the place of their settlement of the land at the mouth of the Oka. Of the Finno-Ugric peoples, the Mari turned out to be most closely associated with the Turkic tribes that migrated to the Volga region. These ties are very strong even now. Volga Bulgars at the beginning of the 9th century. arrived from Great Bulgaria on the Black Sea coast to the confluence of the Kama with the Volga, where they founded the Volga Bulgaria. The ruling elite of the Volga Bulgars, using the profit from trade, could firmly hold their power. They traded honey, wax, and furs coming from the Finno-Ugric peoples living nearby. Relations between the Volga Bulgars and various Finno-Ugric tribes of the Middle Volga region were not overshadowed by anything. The empire of the Volga Bulgars was destroyed by the Mongol-Tatar conquerors who invaded from the interior regions of Asia in 1236.

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

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

The inclusion of the Mari lands in Russia from the very beginning was ambiguous. Already at the turn of the 11th-12th centuries, according to The Tale of Bygone Years, the Mari (“Cheremis”) were among the tributaries of the ancient Russian princes. It is believed that tributary dependence is the result of military clashes, "tormenting". True, there is not even indirect information about the exact date of its establishment. G.S. Lebedev, on the basis of the matrix method, showed that in the catalog of the introductory part of The Tale of Bygone Years, "cherems" and "Mordovians" can be combined into one group with the whole, Merya and Muroma according to four main parameters - genealogical, ethnic, political and moral and ethical . This gives some reason to believe that the Mari became tributaries earlier than the rest of the non-Slavic tribes listed by Nestor - "Perm, Pechera, Em" and other "tongues, which give tribute to Russia."

There is information about the dependence of the Mari on Vladimir Monomakh. According to the "Word about the destruction of the Russian land", "Cheremis ... bortnichahu against the great prince Volodimer." In the Ipatiev Chronicle, in unison with the pathetic tone of the Lay, it is said that he is "most afraid of the filthy." According to B.A. Rybakov, the real enthronement, the nationalization of North-Eastern Russia began precisely with Vladimir Monomakh.

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

The rapid pace of Russian colonization caused opposition from the local Finno-Ugric population, who found support from the Volga-Kama Bulgaria. In 1120, after a series of attacks by the Bulgars on the Russian cities in the Volga-Ochya in the second half of the 11th century, a series of counter-attacks of the Vladimir-Suzdal and allied princes began on the lands that either belonged to the Bulgar rulers, or were only controlled by them in the order of collecting tribute from the local population. It is believed that the Russian-Bulgarian conflict erupted primarily on the basis of the collection of tribute.

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

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

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

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

In addition to the western and northwestern periphery of the Mari lands, Russians from about the turn of the 12th-13th centuries. they began to develop the northern outskirts - the upper reaches of the Vyatka, where, in addition to the Mari, the Udmurts also lived.

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

If in the X-XI centuries, as the archaeologist E.P. Kazakov points out, there was “a certain commonality of the Bulgar and Volga-Mari monuments”, then over the next two centuries the ethnographic image of the Mari population - especially in Povetluzhye - became different. The Slavic and Slavic-Meryansk components have significantly increased in it.

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

The situation changed in the 1930s and 1940s. 13th century as a result of the Mongol-Tatar invasion. However, this did not at all lead to the cessation of the growth of Russian influence in the Volga-Kama region. Small independent Russian state formations appeared around urban centers - princely residences founded back in the period of the existence of a single Vladimir-Suzdal Rus. These are Galician (arose around 1247), Kostroma (approximately in the 50s of the XIII century) and Gorodetsky (between 1269 and 1282) principalities; at the same time, the influence of the Vyatka Land grew, turning into a special state formation with veche traditions. In the second half of the XIV century. the Vyatchans had already firmly established themselves in the Middle Vyatka and in the Tansy basin, displacing the Mari and Udmurts from here.

In the 60–70s. 14th century feudal turmoil broke out in the horde, weakening its military and political power for a while. This was successfully used by the Russian princes, who sought to break free from dependence on the khan's administration and increase their possessions at the expense of the peripheral regions of the empire.

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

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

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

In 1391, as a result of Bektut's campaign, the Vyatka Land, which was considered the refuge of the Ushkuins, was devastated. However, already in 1392 the Vyatchans plundered the Bulgarian cities of Kazan and Zhukotin (Dzhuketau).

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

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

In 1399, the cities of Bulgar, Kazan, Kermenchuk, Zhukotin were taken by the appanage prince Yuri Dmitrievich, the annals indicate that "no one remembers only far away Rus fought the Tatar land." Apparently, at the same time, the Galich prince conquered the Vetluzh Kuguzism - this is reported by the Vetluzh chronicler. Kuguz Keldibek recognized his dependence on the leaders of the Vyatka Land, concluding a military alliance with them. In 1415, the Vetluzhans and Vyatches made a joint campaign against the Northern Dvina. In 1425, the Vetluzh Mari became part of the many thousands of militia of the Galich specific prince, who began an open struggle for the grand prince's throne.

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

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

Among the Privetluzhsky Mari population, a version of the Kitezh legend spread: allegedly, the Mari, who did not want to submit to the “Russian princes and priests”, buried themselves alive right on the shore of Svetloyar, and subsequently, together with the earth that collapsed on them, slid down to the bottom of a deep lake. The following record, made in the 19th century, has been preserved: “Among the Svetloyarsk pilgrims, one can always meet two or three Mari women dressed in sharpan, without any signs of Russification.”

By the time the Kazan Khanate appeared, the Mari of the following areas were involved in the sphere of influence of the Russian state formations: the right bank of the Sura - a significant part of the mountain Mari (this can also include the Oka-Sura "Cheremis"), Povetluzhye - the northwestern Mari, the basin of the Pizhma River and the Middle Vyatka - northern part of the meadow mari. The Kokshai Mari, the population of the Ileti river basin, the north-eastern part of the modern territory of the Republic of Mari El, as well as the Lower Vyatka, that is, the main part of the meadow Mari, were less affected by Russian influence.

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

In the 50s. 15th century Moscow managed to subjugate the Vyatka Land and part of the Povetluzhye; soon, in 1461-1462. Russian troops even entered into a direct armed conflict with the Kazan Khanate, during which the Mari lands on the left bank of the Volga suffered mainly.

In the winter of 1467/68. an attempt was made to eliminate or weaken the allies of Kazan - the Mari. For this purpose, two trips "to the Cheremis" were organized. The first, main group, which consisted mainly of selected troops - "the court of the prince of the great regiment" - fell upon the left-bank Mari. According to the chronicles, “the army of the Grand Duke came to the land of Cheremis, and did much evil to that land: people from the sekosh, and led others into captivity, and burned others; and their horses and every living thing that you can’t take with you, then everything is gone; and whatever was their belly, they took it all. The second group, which included warriors recruited in the Murom and Nizhny Novgorod lands, "wrestled mountains and barats" along the Volga. However, even this did not prevent the Kazanians, including, most likely, the Mari warriors, already in the winter-summer of 1468 from ruining Kichmenga with adjacent villages (the upper reaches of the Unzha and Yug rivers), as well as the Kostroma volosts and twice in a row - the vicinity of Murom. Parity was established in punitive actions, which, most likely, had little effect on the state of the armed forces of the opposing sides. The case came down mainly to robberies, mass destruction, the capture of the civilian population - the Mari, Chuvash, Russians, Mordovians, etc.

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

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

In addition to the Bulgaro-Tatar population (Kazan Tatars) on the territory of the Khanate, according to A.M. Kurbsky, there were also Mari (“Cheremis”), southern Udmurts (“Votyaks”, “Ars”), Chuvashs, Mordvins (mainly Erzya), Western Bashkirs. Mari in the sources of the XV-XVI centuries. and in general in the Middle Ages they were known under the name "Cheremis", the etymology of which has not yet been clarified. At the same time, under this ethnonym, in a number of cases (this is especially characteristic of the Kazan chronicler), not only the Mari, but also the Chuvashs and the southern Udmurts could appear. Therefore, it is rather difficult to determine, even in approximate outlines, the territory of the settlement of the Mari during the existence of the Kazan Khanate.

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

The Unzha-Vetluga interfluve was also inhabited by the Mari; This is evidenced by written sources, toponymy of the area, folklore material. Probably, there were also Mary's groups here. The northern boundary is the upper reaches of the Unzha, Vetluga, the Tansy basin, and the Middle Vyatka. Here the Mari were in contact with the Russians, Udmurts and Karin Tatars.

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

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

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

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

The number of Mari in the XVII-XVIII centuries. ranged from 70 to 120 thousand people.

The right bank of the Volga was distinguished by the highest population density, then - the area east of M. Kokshaga, and the least - the area of ​​\u200b\u200bsettlement of the northwestern Mari, especially the swampy Volga-Vetluzhskaya lowland and the Mari lowland (the space between the rivers Linda and B. Kokshaga).

Exclusively all lands were legally considered the property of the khan, who personified the state. Declaring himself the supreme owner, the khan demanded for the use of the land a rent in kind and cash - a tax (yasak).

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

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

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

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

The Mari patriarchal families, apparently, united into patronymic groups (nasyl, tukym, urlyk; according to V.N. Petrov - urmats and vurteks), and those - into larger land unions - tishte. Their unity was based on the principle of neighborhood, on a common cult, and to a lesser extent - on economic ties, and even more so - on consanguinity. Tishte were, among other things, alliances of military mutual assistance. Perhaps the Tishte were territorially compatible with hundreds, uluses and fifties of the period of the Kazan Khanate. In any case, the tithe-hundred and ulus system of administration imposed from the outside as a result of the establishment of the Mongol-Tatar domination, as is commonly believed, did not conflict with the traditional territorial organization of the Mari.

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

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

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

The anti-Moscow armed uprisings of the peoples of the Middle Volga region after the fall of Kazan are usually called the Cheremis wars, since the Mari (Cheremis) were the most active in them. Among the sources available in scientific circulation, the earliest mention of an expression close to the term “Cheremis war” is found in Ivan IV’s tribute letter to D.F. it is indicated that the owners of the rivers Kishkil and Shizhma (near the city of Kotelnich) “in those rivers ... fish and beavers did not catch for the Kazan cheremis of war and did not pay dues.”

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

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

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

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

The final entry of the Mari Territory into Russia took place after 1557, as a result of the suppression of the people's liberation and anti-feudal movement in the Middle Volga and Urals. The process of the gradual entry of the Mari Territory into the system of Russian statehood lasted hundreds of years: during the period of the Mongol-Tatar invasion, it slowed down, during the years of feudal unrest that swept the Golden Horde in the second half of the 14th century, it accelerated, and as a result of the emergence of the Kazan Khanate (30-40- e years of the XV century) stopped for a long time. Nevertheless, having begun even before the turn of the 11th-12th centuries, the inclusion of the Mari in the system of Russian statehood in the middle of the 16th century. approached its final phase - to direct entry into Russia.

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

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

The people got their name from the adapted Mari "Mari" or "Mari", which in Russian translation is denoted as "man" or "man". The population, according to the 2010 census, is approximately 550,000 people. Marie - ancient people with a history of more than three millennia. Now living, for the most part, in the Republic of Mari El, which is part of the Russian Federation. Also, representatives of the Mari ethnic group live in the republics of Udmurtia, Tatarstan, Bashkiria, in Sverdlovsk, Kirov, Nizhny Novgorod and other regions of the Russian Federation. Despite the rough process of assimilation, the indigenous Mari, in separate remote settlements, managed to preserve their original language, beliefs, traditions, rituals, clothing style and way of life.

Mari of the Middle Urals (Sverdlovsk region)

The Mari, as an ethnic group, belong to the Finno-Ugric tribes, who lived along the floodplains of the Vetluga and Volga rivers even in the Early Iron Age. For a thousand years BC. the Mari built their settlements in the Volga interfluve. And the river itself got its name precisely thanks to the Mari tribes who lived along its banks, since the word "Volgaltesh" means "shine", "brilliant". As for the indigenous Mari language, it is divided into three linguistic dialects, determined by the topographic region of residence. The groups of adverbs are called, in turn, as well as the carriers of each dialect variant, as follows: Olyk Mari (Meadow Mari), Kuryk Mari (Mountain Mari), Bashkir Mari (Eastern Mari). In fairness, it must be noted that speech does not differ too much among themselves. Knowing one of the dialects, you can understand others.

Until IX, the Mari people lived on quite extensive lands. These were not only the modern Republic of Mari El and the current Nizhny Novgorod, but the lands of Rostov and the present Moscow Region. However, just as nothing lasts forever, the independent, original history of the Mari tribes suddenly ceased. In the XIII century, with the invasion of the troops of the Golden Horde, the lands of the Volga-Vyatka interfluve passed into the power of the khan. Then the Mari peoples also received their middle name "Cheremysh", later adopted by the Russians as "Cheremis" and having the designation in the modern dictionary: "man", "husband". It should be immediately clarified that in the current lexicon this word is not used. The life of people and the wound of the valor of the Mari warriors, during the reign of the Khan, will be discussed a little further in the text. And now a few words about the identity and cultural traditions of the Mari people.

Customs and way of life

Crafts and farming

When you live near full-flowing rivers, and around the forest without edge, it is natural that fishing and hunting will occupy an important place in life. So it was among the Mari peoples: the extraction of animals, fishing, beekeeping (extracting wild honey), then cultivated beekeeping occupied not the last place in their way of life. But the main occupation was agriculture. First of all, agriculture. They grew cereals: oats, rye, barley, hemp, buckwheat, spelt, flax. Turnips, radishes, onions, other root crops, as well as cabbages were cultivated in the gardens, and later they began to plant potatoes. Gardens were planted in some areas. The tools for cultivating the soil were traditional for that time: a plow, a hoe, a plow, a harrow. They kept livestock - horses, cows, sheep. They made dishes and other utensils, usually wooden. Woven fabrics from linen fibers. They harvested wood, from which dwellings were then built.

Residential and non-residential buildings

The houses of the ancient Maris were traditional log cabins. The hut, divided into residential and utility rooms, with a gable roof. An oven was placed inside, which served not only for heating in the cold, but also for cooking. Often a large stove was added with a stove convenient for cooking. On the walls were shelves with various utensils. The furniture was wooden, carved. Skillfully embroidered fabric served as curtains for windows and sleeping places. In addition to the residential hut, there were other buildings on the farm. In the summer, when hot days came, the whole family moved to live in kudo, a kind of analogue of a modern summer cottage. A log house without a ceiling, with an earthen floor, on which, right in the center of the building, a hearth was arranged. A cauldron was hung over an open fire. In addition, the household complex included: a bathhouse, a cage (something like a closed gazebo), a barn, under which a shed was located for sleighs and carts, a cellar and a pantry, a cattle shed.

Food and household items

Bread was the main course. It was baked from barley, oatmeal, rye flour. In addition to unleavened bread, they baked pancakes, flat cakes, pies with various fillings. Unleavened dough was used for dumplings with meat or cottage cheese filling, and also in the form of small balls it was thrown into the soup. They called this dish "Lashka". They made homemade sausages, salted fish. Of the drinks were favorite puro (strong mead), beer, buttermilk.

Meadow Mari

Household items, clothes, shoes, jewelry were made by ourselves. Men and women dressed in shirts, trousers and caftans. In cold weather, they wore fur coats and sheepskin coats. The clothes were supplemented with belts. Women's wardrobe items were distinguished by rich embroidery, a longer shirt and were complemented by an apron, as well as a hoodie made of canvas fabric, which was called shovyr. Of course, women of the Mari nationality loved to decorate their outfit. They wore items made of shells, beads, coins and beads, intricate headdresses called: forty (a kind of cap) and sharpan (national headscarf). Men's hats were felt hats, fur hats. Shoes were sewn from leather, birch bark, felted from felt.

Traditions and religion

In traditional Mari beliefs, as in any European pagan culture, the main place was occupied by holidays associated with agricultural activities and the change of seasons. A striking example is Aga payrem - the beginning of the sowing season, the feast of the plow and the plow, Kinde payrem - the harvest, the holiday of new bread and fruits. In the pantheon of gods, Kugu Yumo was the supreme one. There were others: Kava Yumo - the goddess of fate and the sky, Wood Ava - the mother of all lakes and rivers, Ilysh Shochyn Ava - the goddess of life and fertility, Kudo Vodyzh - the spirit guarding the house and hearth, Keremet - an evil god who, on special temples in groves sacrificed livestock. The religious person who conducted the prayers was a priest, “kart” in the Mari language.

As for marriage traditions, marriages were patrilocal, after the ceremony, a prerequisite for which was the payment of a bride price, and the girl herself was given a dowry by her parents, which became her personal property, the bride went to live with her husband's family. During the wedding itself, tables were laid, a festive tree, a birch, was brought into the yard. The way in the families was established patriarchal, they lived in communities, clans, called "urmat". However, the families themselves were not too crowded.

Mari priests

If vestiges family relations long forgotten, many ancient burial traditions have been preserved to this day. The Mari buried their dead in winter clothes, the body was transported to the graveyard exclusively on a sleigh, at any time of the year. On the way, the deceased was supplied with a prickly rosehip branch in order to drive away dogs and snakes guarding the entrance to the afterlife.
The traditional musical instruments during holidays, rituals, and ceremonies were the harp, the bagpipe, various pipes and pipes, and drums.

A bit about history, the Golden Horde and Ivan the Terrible

As mentioned earlier, the lands on which the Mari tribes originally lived were, in the XIII century, subordinated to the Golden Horde Khan. The Mari became one of the nationalities that were part of the Kazan Khanate and the Golden Horde. There is an excerpt from the chronicle of times, which mentions how the Russians lost major battle Mari, Cheremis as they were then called. Figures of thirty thousand dead Russian warriors are mentioned and it is said that almost all of their ships were sunk. Also chronicle sources indicate that at that time the Cheremis were in alliance with the Horde, making raids together as a single army. The Tatars themselves, by the way, are silent about this historical fact, attributing to themselves all the glory of the conquests.

But, as the Russian chronicles say, the Mari warriors were brave and devoted to their cause. Thus, one of the manuscripts cites a case that occurred in the 16th century, when the Russian army surrounded Kazan and the Tatar troops suffered crushing losses, and their remnants, led by the khan, fled, leaving the city to be conquered by the Russians. Then it was the Mari army that blocked their path, despite the significant advantage of the Russian rati. The Mari, who could safely go into the wild forest, put up their army of 12 thousand people against the 150 thousandth army. They managed to fight back, forced the Russian army to retreat. As a result, negotiations took place, Kazan was saved. However, Tatar historians deliberately keep silent about these facts, when their troops, led by the leader, shamefully fled, the Cheremis stood up for the Tatar cities.

After Kazan was already conquered by the Terrible Tsar Ivan IV, the Mari raised a liberation movement. Alas, the Russian tsar solved the problem in his own spirit - by massacres and terror. "Cheremis wars" - an armed uprising against Moscow rule, were named so because it was the Mari who were the organizers and main participants in the riots. In the end, all resistance was brutally crushed, and the Mari people themselves were almost completely cut out. The survivors had no choice but to surrender and take the oath of allegiance to the winner, that is, the Tsar of Moscow.

The day is present

Today, the land of the Mari people is one of the republics that is part of the Russian Federation. Mari El borders on the Kirov and Nizhny Novgorod regions, Chuvashia and Tatarstan. Not only indigenous peoples live on the territory of the republic, but other nationalities, numbering more than fifty. The bulk of the population is made up of Mari and Russians.

Recently, with the development of urbanization and assimilation processes, the problem of the extinction of national traditions, culture, and folk language has become acute. Many residents of the republic, being indigenous Mari, refuse to use their original dialects, preferring to speak exclusively in Russian, even at home, among relatives. This is a problem not only for large, industrial cities, but also for small, rural settlements. Children do not learn their native language, national identity is lost.

Of course, sports are being developed and supported in the republic, competitions, orchestra performances, awards for writers are held, environmental activities are carried out with the participation of young people and many other useful things. But against the background of all this, one should not forget about the primordial roots, the identity of the people and their ethnic, cultural self-identification.

The question of the origin of the Mari people is still controversial. For the first time, a scientifically substantiated theory of the ethnogenesis of the Mari was expressed in 1845 by the famous Finnish linguist M. Kastren. 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 the Mordovian) basis, other archaeologists O.N. Bader and V.F. Dyakovo (close to the measure) origin of the Mari. Nevertheless, even then archaeologists were able to convincingly prove that Merya and Mari, although related to each other, are not the same people. In the late 1950s, when the permanent Mari archaeological expedition began to operate, its leaders A.Kh. Khalikov and G.A. Arkhipov developed a theory about the 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-Dyakovo (Volga-Finnish) component and the formation of the Mari ethnos, which began in the first half of the 1st millennium AD, prevailed in the mixed basis of the Mari. , as a whole, ended in the 9th - 11th centuries, while even then the Mari ethnos began to divide into two main groups - mountain and meadow Mari (the latter, in comparison with the former, were more strongly influenced by the Azelin (Permo-speaking) tribes). This theory as a whole is now supported by the majority of archaeologists 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 Muroms, took place on the basis of the population of the Akhmylov appearance. Linguists (I.S. Galkin, D.E. Kazantsev), who rely on the data of the language, believe that the territory of the formation of the Mari people should not be sought in the Vetluzh-Vyatka interfluve, as archaeologists believe, but to the southwest, between the Oka and Sura. Scientist-archaeologist T.B. Nikitina, taking into account the data not only of archeology, but also of linguistics, came to the conclusion that the ancestral home of the Mari is located in the Volga part of the Oka-Sura interfluve and in the Povetluzhye, and the movement to the east, to Vyatka, occurred in VIII - XI centuries, during which contact and mixing with the Azelin (Permo-speaking) tribes took place.

The origin of the ethnonyms "Mari" and "Cheremis"

The question of the origin of the ethnonyms "Mari" and "Cheremis" also remains complex and unclear. The meaning of the word "Mari", the self-name of the Mari people, is derived by many linguists from the Indo-European term "Mar", "Mer" in various sound variations (translated as "man", "husband"). The word "Cheremis" (as the Russians called the Mari, and in a slightly different, but phonetically similar vowel - 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 a letter from the Khazar Khagan Joseph to the dignitary of the Caliph of Cordoba Hasdai ibn-Shaprut (960s). D.E. Kazantsev following the historian of the XIX century. G.I. 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 I.G. 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 ethnic group. The version of the Mari local historians of the 1920s - early 1930s F.E. Egorov and M.N. Yantemir, who suggested that this ethnonym goes back to the Turkic term "warlike person", is widely popular. F.I. Gordeev, as well as I.S. 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) in some cases not only the Maris, but also their neighbors - the Chuvashs and Udmurts - were called so.

Literature

For more details, see: Svechnikov S.K. Toolkit"History of the Mari people of the IX-XVI centuries" Yoshkar-Ola: GOU DPO (PC) C "Mari Institute of Education", 2005

Mari: who are we?

Did you know that in the XII-XV centuries, for three hundred (!) years, on the territory of the present Nizhny Novgorod region, between the Pizhma and Vetluga rivers, there was the Vetluzhsky Mari principality. One of his princes, Kai Khlynovsky, had written Peace Treaties with Alexander Nevsky and the Khan of the Golden Horde! And in the fourteenth century, the “kuguza” (prince) Osh Pandash united the Mari tribes, attracted the Tatars to his side, and during the nineteen-year war defeated the squad of the Galich prince Andrei Fedorovich. In 1372, the Vetluzh Mari principality became independent.

The center of the principality was located in the still existing village of Romachi, Tonshaevsky district, and in the Sacred Grove of the village, according to historical evidence, Osh Pandash was buried in 1385.

In 1468, the Vetluzh Mari principality ceased to exist and became part of Russia.

The Mari are the oldest inhabitants of the interfluve of Vyatka and Vetluga. This is confirmed by archaeological excavations of ancient Mari burial grounds. Khlynovsky on the river. Vyatka, dating back to the 8th - 12th centuries, Yumsky on the river. Yuma, a tributary of Tansy (IX - X centuries), Kocherginsky on the river. Urzhumka, a tributary of the Vyatka (IX - XII centuries), the Cheremis cemetery on the river. Ludyanka, a tributary of the Vetluga (VIII - X centuries), Veselovsky, Tonshaevsky and other burial grounds (Berezin, pp. 21-27,36-37).

The decomposition of the tribal system among the Mari occurred at the end of the 1st millennium, tribal principalities arose, which were ruled by elected elders. Using their position, they eventually began to seize power over the tribes, enriching themselves at their expense and raiding their neighbors.

However, this could not lead to the formation of their own early feudal state. Already at the stage of completion of their ethnogenesis, the Mari turned out to be the object of expansion from the Turkic East and Slavic state. From the south, the Mari were invaded by the Volga Bulgars, then the Golden Horde and the Kazan Khanate. Russian colonization proceeded from the north and west.

The Mari tribal elite turned out to be split, some of its representatives were guided by the Russian principalities, the other part actively supported the Tatars. Under such conditions, there could be no question of creating a national feudal state.

At the end of the 12th - beginning of the 13th centuries, the only Mari region over which the power of the Russian principalities and Bulgars was rather arbitrary was the area between the Vyatka and Vetluga rivers in their middle reaches. The natural conditions of the forest zone did not make it possible to clearly tie the northern borders of the Volga Bulgaria, and then the Golden Horde, to the terrain, so the Mari living in this area formed a kind of "autonomy". Since the collection of tribute (yasak), both for the Slavic principalities and the eastern conquerors, was carried out by the local increasingly feudalized tribal elite (Sanukov. p. 23)

Mari could act as a mercenary army in the internecine strife of the Russian princes, and make predatory raids on Russian lands alone or in alliance with the Bulgars or Tatars.

In the Galich manuscripts, the Cheremis war near Galich is mentioned for the first time in 1170, where the Vetluzh and Vyatka Cheremis appear as a hired army for a war between brothers quarreling among themselves. Both in this and in the following year 1171, the Cheremis were defeated and driven away from Galich Mersky (Dementiev, 1894, p. 24).

In 1174, the Mari population itself was attacked.
"The Vetluzh Chronicler" tells: "Novgorod warriors conquered from the Cheremis their city of Koksharov on the Vyatka River and called it Kotelnich, and the Cheremis left from their side to Yuma and Vetluga." Since that time, Shanga (the Shang settlement in the upper reaches of the Vetluga) has been more strengthened near the Cheremis. When in 1181 the Novgorodians conquered the Cheremis on Yuma, many residents found it better to live on Vetluga - on Yakshan and Shang.

After the displacement of the Mari from the river. Yuma, some of them went down to their relatives on the river. Tansy. Throughout the river basin Tansy has been inhabited by Mari tribes since ancient times. According to numerous archaeological and folklore data: the political, commercial, military and cultural centers of the Mari were located on the territory of the modern Tonshaevsky, Yaransky, Urzhumsky and Soviet districts of the Nizhny Novgorod and Kirov regions (Aktsorin, pp. 16-17,40).

The time of foundation of Shanza (Shanga) on Vetluga is unknown. But there is no doubt that its foundation is connected with the advancement of the Slavic population to the areas inhabited by the Mari. The word "shanza" comes from the Mari shengze (shenze) and means eye. By the way, the word shengze (eyes) is used only by the Tonshaev Mari of the Nizhny Novgorod region (Dementiev, 1894 p. 25).

Shanga was set up by the Mari on the border of their lands as a guard post (eyes), which watched the advance of the Russians. Only a sufficiently large military-administrative center (principality), which united significant Mari tribes, could set up such a watch fortress.

The territory of the modern Tonshaevsky district was part of this principality, it is no coincidence that in the 17th-18th centuries there was the Mari Armachinsky volost with its center in the village of Romachi. And the Mari, who lived here, owned at that time "since ancient times" lands on the banks of the Vetluga in the area of ​​the Shang settlement. Yes, and the legends about the Vetluzh principality are known mainly among the Tonshaev Mari (Dementiev, 1892, p. 5.14).

Beginning in 1185, the Galich and Vladimir-Suzdal princes unsuccessfully tried to recapture Shangu from the Mari principality. Moreover, in 1190 Mari was placed on the river. Vetluga is another "city of Khlynov", headed by Prince Kai. Only by 1229 did the Russian princes manage to force Kai to make peace with them and pay tribute. A year later, Kai refused tribute (Dementiev, 1894. p. 26).

By the 40s of the XIII century, the Vetluzh Mari principality was significantly strengthened. In 1240, the Yuma prince Kodzha Yeraltem built the city of Yakshan on Vetluga. Kodzha accepts Christianity and builds churches, freely allowing Russian and Tatar settlements on the Mari lands.

In 1245, on the complaint of the Galich prince Konstantin Yaroslavich Udaly (brother of Alexander Nevsky), the khan (Tatar) ordered the right bank of the Vetluga river to the Galich prince, the left to the Cheremis. The complaint of Konstantin Udaly was obviously caused by the incessant raids of the Vetluzh Mari.

In 1246, Russian settlements in Povetluzhye were suddenly attacked and devastated by the Mongol-Tatars. Some of the inhabitants were killed or captured, the rest fled into the forests. Including the Galicians, who settled on the banks of the Vetluga after the Tatar attack in 1237. About the scale of the ruin says "Manuscript Life of St. Barnabas of Vetluzhsky." "In the same summer ... deserted from the captivity of that Pogan Batu ... along the river bank, called Vetluga, ... And where there was a dwelling for people overgrown everywhere with a forest, great forests and the Vetluzh desert was called" (Kherson, p. 9 ). The Russian population, hiding from the raids of the Tatars and civil strife, settles in the Mari principality: in Shang and Yakshan.

In 1247, Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky made peace with the Mari and ordered trade and the exchange of goods in Shang. The Tatar Khan and the Russian princes recognized the Mari principality and were forced to reckon with it.

In 1277, the Galich prince David Konstantinovich continued to engage in trade with the Mari. However, already in 1280, David's brother, Vasily Konstantinovich, launched an attack on the Mari principality. In one of the battles, the Mari prince Kyi Khlynovsky was killed, and the principality was obliged to pay tribute to Galich. The new prince of Mari, remaining a tributary of the Galich princes, renewed the cities of Shangu and Yakshan, re-fortified Busaksy and Yur (Bulaksy - the village of Odoevskoye, Sharya district, Yur - a settlement on the Yuryevka river near the city of Vetluga).

In the first half of the 14th century, the Russian princes did not conduct active hostilities with the Mari, attracted the Mari nobility to their side, actively contributed to the spread of Christianity among the Mari, and encouraged the transition of Russian settlers to the Mari lands.

In 1345, the Galich prince Andrey Semenovich (son of Simeon the Proud) married the daughter of the Mari prince Nikita Ivanovich Baiboroda (the Mari name is Osh Pandash). Osh Pandash converted to Orthodoxy, and the daughter he gave to Andrei was baptized by Mary. At the wedding in Galicia, there was the second wife of Simeon the Proud - Eupraxia, on whom, according to legend, the Mari sorcerer caused damage because of envy. Which, however, cost the Mari, without any consequences (Dementiev, 1894, pp. 31-32).

Armament and military affairs of the Mari / Cheremis

Noble Mari warrior of the middle of the XI century.

Chain mail, a helmet, a sword, a spearhead, a whip pommel, a sword scabbard tip were reconstructed based on materials from the excavations of the Sarsk settlement.

The stigma on the sword reads +LVNVECIT+ i.e. "Lun did" and is currently the only one of its kind.

The lanceolate spearhead, which stands out for its size (the first tip on the left), belongs to type I according to Kirpichnikov's classification and, apparently, is of Scandinavian origin.

The figure shows warriors occupying a low position in social structure Mari society in the second half of the 11th century. Their set of weapons consists of hunting weapons and axes. In the foreground is an archer armed with a bow, arrows, a knife and an eye axe. At the moment, there is no data on the design features of the Mari bows themselves. The reconstruction shows a simple bow and arrow with a characteristic lance-shaped tip. Bow cases and quivers appear to have been made from organic materials (in this case, leather and birch bark, respectively), and their shape is also unknown.

In the background, a warrior is depicted armed with a massive promotional (it is very difficult to distinguish between a combat and fishing ax) ax and several throwing spears with two-thorn socketed and lanceolate tips.

In general, the Mari warriors were armed quite typically for their time. Most of them, apparently, owned bows, axes, spears, sulits, and fought on foot, without using dense formations. Representatives of the tribal elite could afford expensive protective (chain mail and helmets) and offensive bladed weapons (swords, scramasaxes).

The poor preservation of a fragment of chain mail found at the Sarskoye settlement does not allow us to judge with certainty the method of weaving and the cut of this protective element of weapons as a whole. One can only assume that they were typical for their time. Judging by the discovery of a piece of chain mail, the tribal elite of the Cheremis could also use plate armor that was simpler to manufacture and cheaper than chain mail. No armored plates were found at the Sarskoe settlement, but they are present among the items of weapons originating from Sarskoe-2. This suggests that the Mari warriors, in any case, were familiar with a similar armor design. The presence of so-called weapons in the Mari complex also seems extremely probable. "soft armor", made from organic materials (leather, felt, fabric), densely stuffed with wool or horsehair and quilted. For obvious reasons, it is impossible to confirm the existence of this kind of armor with archaeological data. Nothing definite can also be said about their cut and appearance. Because of this, such armor is not reproduced in reconstructions.

No traces of the use of shields by the Mari have been found. However, the shields themselves are quite rare. archaeological find, and written and pictorial sources about the measure are extremely scarce and uninformative. In any case, the existence of shields in the Mari weapons complex of the 9th - 12th centuries. perhaps, because both the Slavs and the Scandinavians, who undoubtedly had contact with the mere, widely used shields that were widespread at that time, in fact, throughout Europe of a round shape, which is confirmed by both written and archaeological sources. Finds of parts of the equipment of the horse and rider - stirrups, buckles, belt distributor, whip tip, in the absence of weapons specially adapted for cavalry combat (pikes, sabers, flails), allow us to conclude that the Mari have no cavalry as a special kind of troops . It is possible, with a very great deal of caution, to assume the presence of small cavalry units, consisting of tribal nobility.

Reminds me of the situation with the mounted warriors of the Ob Ugrians.

The bulk of the Cheremis troops, especially in the case of major military conflicts, consisted of a militia. There was no standing army, every free man could own a weapon and was, if necessary, a warrior. This suggests the widespread use by the Mari in military conflicts of fishing weapons (bows, spears with two-thorn tips) and working axes. Funds for the purchase of specialized "combat" weapons, most likely, were available only to representatives of the social elite of society. One can assume the existence of contingents of warriors - professional soldiers, for whom the war was the main occupation.

As for the mobilization capabilities of the annalistic Mary, they were quite significant for their time.

In general, the military potential of the Cheremis can be assessed as high. The structure of its armed organization and the complex of weapons changed over time, enriched with elements borrowed from neighboring ethnic groups, but retaining some originality. These circumstances, along with a fairly high population density for its time and a good economic potential, allowed the Vetluzh Principality of the Mari to take a significant part in the events of early Russian history.

Mari noble warrior. Illustrations-reconstructions by I. Dzysya from the book "Kievan Rus" (publishing house "Rosmen").

The legends of the Vetluzhsky borderland have their own zest. They usually have a girl in them. She can take revenge on the robbers (be they Tatars or Russians), drown them in the river, for example, at the cost of her own life. She may be a girlfriend of a robber, but out of jealousy she also drowns him (and drowns herself). Or maybe she herself can be a robber or a warrior.

Nikolai Fomin portrayed the Cheremis warrior as follows:

Very close and, in my opinion, very veristic. Can be used to create a "male version" of the Mari-Cheremis combatant. By the way, Fomin, apparently, did not dare to reconstruct the shield.

Mari national costume:

Ovda-witch among the Mari

Mari names:

Male names

Abdai, Abla, Abukay, Abulek, Agey, Agish, Adai, Adenai, Adibek, Adim, Aim, Ait, Aygelde, Ayguza, Ayduvan, Aydush, Ayvak, Aimak, Aymet, Ayplat, Aytukay, Azamat, Azmat, Azygey, Azyamberdey, Akaz, Akanay, Akipai, Akmazik, Akmanay, Akoz, Akpay, Akpars, Akpas, Akpatyr, Aksai, Aksar, Aksaran, Aksyan, Aktai, Aktan, Aktanai, Aktubay, Aktugan, Aktygan, Aktygash, Alatay, Albacha, Alek, Almaday, Alkay, Almakay, Alman, Almantai, Alpay, Altybay, Altym, Altysh, Alshik, Alym, Amash, Anai, Angish, Andugan, Ansai, Anykay, Apai, Apakai, Apisar, Appak, Aptriy, Aptysh, Arazgelde, Ardash, Asai, Asamuk, Askar, Aslan, Asmay, Atavay, Atachik, Aturay, Atyuy, Ashkelde, Ashtyvay

Bikey, Buckeye, Bakmat, Birdeye

Vakiy, Valitpay, Varash, Vachiy, Vegeney, Vetkan, Voloy, Vurspatyr

Eksei, Elgoza, Elos, Emesh, Epish, Yesieniei

Zainikay, Zengul, Zilkay

Ibat, Ibray, Ivuk, Idulbay, Izambay, Izvay, Izerge, Izikay, Izimar, Izyrgen, Ikaka, Ilandai, Ilbaktai, Ilikpay, Ilmamat, Ilsek, Imai, Imakai, Imanay, Indybay, Ipay, Ipon, Irkebay, Isan, Ismeney, Istak, Iver, Iti, Itykay, Ishim, Ishkelde, Ishko, Ishmet, Ishterek

Yolgyza, Yoray, Yormoshkan, Yorok, Yylanda, Yinash

Kavik, Kavyrlya, Kaganai, Kazaklar, Kazmir, Kazulai, Kakaley, Kalui, Kamai, Kambar, Kanai, Kaniy, Kanykiy, Karantai, Karachey, Karman, Kachak, Kebey, Kebyash, Keldush, Keltey, Kelmekey, Kendugan, Kenchyvay, Kenzhivay, Kerey, Kechim, Kilimbay, Kildugan, Kildyash, Kimai, Kinash, Kindu, Kirysh, Kispelat, Kobey, Kovyazh, Kogoy, Kozhdemyr, Kozher, Kozash, Kokor, Kokur, Koksha, Kokshavuy, Konakpay, Kopon, Kori, Kubakay, Kugerge, Kugubai, Kulmet, Kulbat, Kulshet, Kumanai, Kumunzai, Kuri, Kurmanai, Kutyarka, Kylak

Lagat, Laksyn, Lapkay, Leventey, Lekay, Lotai,

Magaza, Madiy, Maksak, Mamatai, Mamich, Mamuk, Mamulai, Mamut, Manekay, Mardan, Marzhan, Marshan, Masai, Mekesh, Memey, Michu, Moise, Mukanai, Mulikpai, Mustai

Ovdek, Ovrom, Odygan, Ozambay, Ozati, Okash, Oldygan, Onar, Onto, Onchep, Orai, Orlai, Ormik, Orsay, Orchama, Opkyn, Oskay, Oslam, Oshay, Oshkelde, Oshpay, Örözöy, Örtömö

Paybakhta, Payberde, Paygash, Paygish, Paygul, Paygus, Paygyt, Payder, Paydush, Paymas, Paymet, Paymurza, Paymyr, Paysar, Pakay, Pakey, Pakiy, Pakit, Paktek, Pakshay, Paldai, Pangelde, Parastay, Pasyvy, Patay, Paty, Patyk, Patyrash, Pashatley, Pashbek, Pashkan, Pegash, Pegeney, Pekey, Pekesh, Pekoza, Pekpatyr, Pekpulat, Pektan, Pektash, Pektek, Pektubai, Pektygan, Pekshik, Petigan, Pekmet, Pibakai, Pibulat, Pidalai, Pogolti, Pozanay, Repent, Poltish, Pombay, Understand, Por, Porandai, Porzay, Posak, Posibey, Pulat, Pyrgynde

Rotkay, Ryazhan

Sabati, Savay, Savak, Savat, Savy, Savli, Saget, Sain, Saipyten, Saituk, Sakai, Saldai, Saldugan, Saldyk, Salmandai, Salmiyan, Samai, Samukai, Samut, Sanin, Sanuk, Sapay, Sapan, Sapar, Saran, Sarapay, Sarbos, Sarvay, Sardai, Sarkandai, Sarman, Sarmanai, Sarmat, Saslyk, Satai, Satkay, S?p? Suangul, Subay, Sultan, Surmanay, Surtan

Tavgal, Tayvylat, Taygelde, Tayyr, Talmek, Tamas, Tanay, Tanakay, Tanagay, Tanatar, Tantush, Tarai, Temai, Temyash, Tenbai, Tenikey, Tepai, Terei, Terke, Tyatyuy, Tilmemek, Tilyak, Tinbay, Tobulat, Togilday, Todanai, Toy, Toybai, Toybakhta, Toyblat, Toyvator, Toygelde, Toyguza, Toydak, Toydemar, Toyderek, Toydybek, Toykei, Toymet, Tokai, Tokash, Tokey, Tokmai, Tokmak, Tokmash, Tokmurza, Tokpay, Tokpulat, Toksubay, Toktai, Toktamysh, Toktanay, Toktar, Toktaush, Tokshey, Toldugak, Tolmet, Tolubay, Tolubey, Topkay, Topoy, Torash, Torut, Tosay, Tosak, Tots, Topay, Tugay, Tulat, Tunay, Tunbai, Turnaran, Tyatyakay, Temer, Tyulebay, Tyuley, Tyushkay, Tyabyanak, Tyabikey, Tabley, Tuman, Tyaush

Uksay, Ulem, Ultecha, Ur, Urazai, Ursa, Teach

Tsapai, Tsatak, Tsorabatyr, Tsorakai, Tsotnay, Tsörysh, Tsyndush

Chavay, Chalay, Chapey, Chekeney, Chemekey, Chepish, Chetnay, Chimay, Chicher, Chopan, Chopi, Chopoy, Chorak, Chorash, Chotkar, Chuzhgan, Chuzay, Chumbylat (Chumblatt), Chyachkay

Shabai, Shabdar, Shaberde, Shadai, Shaymardan, Shamat, Shamray, Shamykay, Shanzora, Shiik, Shikvava, Shimai, Shipai, Shogen, Strek, Shumat, Shuet, Shyen

Ebat, Evay, Evrash, Eishemer, Ekay, Exesan, Elbakhta, Eldush, Elikpay, Elmurza, Elnet, Elpay, Eman, Emanai, Emash, Emek, Emeldush, Emen (Emyan), Emyatai, Enai, Ensai, Epai, Epanai, Erakay , Erdu, Ermek, Ermyza, Erpatyr, Esek, Esik, Eskey, Esmek, Esmeter, Esu, Esyan, Etvay, Etyuk, Echan, Eshay, Eshe, Eshken, Eshmanay, Eshmek, Eshmyay, Eshpay (Ishpay), Eshplat, Eshpoldo, Eshpulat, Eshtanay, Eshterek

Yuadar, Yuanay (Yuvanay), Yuvan, Yuvash, Yuzay, Yuzykay, Yukez, Yukey, Yukser, Yumakay, Yushkelde, Yushtanay

Yaberde, Yagelde, Yagodar, Yadyk, Yazhai, Yaik, Yakai, Yakiy, Yakman, Yakterge, Yakut, Yakush, Yakshik, Yalkai (Yalky), Yalpay, Yaltay, Yamai, Yamak, Yamakay, Yamaliy, Yamanai, Yamatai, Yambay, Yambaktyn , Yambarsha, Yamberde, Yamblat, Yambos, Yamet, Yammurza, Yamshan, Yamyk, Yamysh, Yanadar, Yanay, Yanak, Yanaktai, Yanash, Yanbadysh, Yanbasar, Yangai, Yangan (Yanygan), Yangelde, Yangerche, Yangidey, Yangoza, Yanguvat, Yangul, Yangush, Yangys, Yandak, Yanderek, Yandugan, Yanduk, Yandush (Yandysh), Yandula, Yandygan, Yandylet, Yandysh, Yaniy, Yanikey, Yansai, Yantemir (Yandemir), Yantecha, Yantsit, Yantsora, Yanchur (Yanchura), Yanygit , Yanyk, Yanykay (Yanyky), Yapay, Yapar, Yapush, Yaraltem, Yaran, Yarandai, Yarmiy, Yastap, Yatman, Yaush, Yachok, Yashay, Yashkelde, Yashkot, Yashmak, Yashmurza, Yashpay, Yashpadar, Yashpatyr, Yashtugan

Women's names

Aivika, Aikavi, Akpika, Aktalche, Alipa, Amina, Anay, Arnyaviy, Arnyasha, Asavi, Asildik, Astana, Atybylka, Achiy

Baitabichka

Yoktalche

Kazipa, Kaina, Kanipa, Kelgaska, Kechavi, Kigeneshka, Kinai, Kinichka, Kistelet, Xilbika

Mayra, Makeva, Malika, Marzi (Myarzi), Marziva

Naltichka, Nachi

Ovdachi, Ovoy, Ovop, Ovchi, Okalche, Okachi, Oksina, Okutiy, Onasi, Orina, Ochiy

Paizuka, Payram, Pampalche, Payalche, Penalche, Pialche, Pidelet

Sagida, Saiviy, Sailan, Sakeva, Salika, Salima, Samiga, Sandyr, Saskaviy, Saskai, Saskanai, Sebichka, Soto, Sylvika

Ulina, Unavi, Usti

Changa, Chatuk, Chachi, Chilbichka, Chinbeika, Chinchi, Chichavi

Shaivi, Shaldybeyka

Evika, Ekevi, Elika, Erviy, Ervika, Erika

Yukchi, Yulaviy

Yalche, Yambi, Yanipa

Occupations of the population: settled agricultural and livestock farming, developed crafts, metalworking in combination with ancient traditional occupations: gathering, hunting, fishing, beekeeping.
Note: The lands are very good and fertile.

Resources: fish, honey, wax.

Troop Line:

1. Detachment of the prince's bodyguards - mounted heavily armed fighters with swords, in chain mail and plate armor, with spears, swords and shields. The helmet is pointed, with sultans. The squad is small.
Onyzha is a prince.
Kugyza - leader, elder.

2. Vigilantes - as in the color illustration - in chain mail, hemispherical helmets, with swords and shields.
Patyr, odyr - warrior, hero.

3. Lightly armed warriors with darts and axes (without shields) in padded jackets. No helmets in hats.
Marie - men.

4. Archers with good strong bows and sharp arrows. No helmets. in quilted sleeveless jackets.
Yumo - bow.

5. Special seasonal unit - Cheremis skier. The Mari had - Russian chronicles mark them repeatedly.
kuas - ski, skis - fell kuas

The symbol of the Mari is a white elk - a symbol of nobility and strength. It indicates the presence around the city of rich forests and meadows where these animals live.

The main colors of the Mari: Osh Mari - White Mari. So the Mari called themselves, glorified whiteness traditional clothes the purity of your thoughts. The reason for this was, first of all, their usual outfits, the custom that had developed over the years to wear all white. In winter and summer they put on a white caftan, under a caftan - a white linen shirt, on their heads - a hat made of white felt. And only the dark red patterns embroidered on the shirt, along the hem of the caftan, added variety and a noticeable feature to the white color of the entire attire.

Therefore, they should be made mainly - white clothes. There were many redheads.

More ornaments and embroidery:

And, perhaps, everything. The faction is ready.

Here's more about the Mari, by the way, touches on the mystical aspect of traditions, it may come in handy.

Scientists attribute the Mari to the group of Finno-Ugric peoples, but this is not entirely true. According to ancient Mari legends, this people in ancient times came from Ancient Iran, the birthplace of the prophet Zarathustra, and settled along the Volga, where they mixed with the local Finno-Ugric tribes, but retained their originality. This version is also confirmed by philology. According to the Doctor of Philology, Professor Chernykh, out of 100 Mari words, 35 are Finno-Ugric, 28 are Turkic and Indo-Iranian, and the rest Slavic origin and other peoples. Carefully studied the prayer texts of the ancient Mari religion, Professor Chernykh came to an amazing conclusion: the prayer words of the Mari are more than 50% of Indo-Iranian origin. It was in the prayer texts that the proto-language of the modern Mari was preserved, not subject to the influence of the peoples with whom they had contacts in later periods.

Outwardly, the Mari are quite different from other Finno-Ugric peoples. As a rule, they are not very tall, with dark hair, slightly slanted eyes. Mari girls in young age very beautiful, but by the age of forty most of them are very old and either shrink or become incredibly full.

The Mari remember themselves under the rule of the Khazars from the 2nd century. - 500 years, then under the rule of the Bulgars 400, 400 under the Horde. 450 - under the Russian principalities. According to ancient predictions, the Mari cannot live under someone for more than 450-500 years. But they will not have an independent state. This cycle of 450-500 years is associated with the passage of a comet.

Before the collapse of the Bulgar Khaganate, namely at the end of the 9th century, the Mari occupied vast areas, and their number was more than a million people. These are the Rostov region, Moscow, Ivanovo, Yaroslavl, the territory of modern Kostroma, Nizhny Novgorod, modern Mari El and the Bashkir lands.

In ancient times Mari people ruled by princes, whom the Mari called oms. The prince combined the functions of both a military commander and a high priest. The Mari religion considers many of them to be saints. Saint in Mari - shnuy. For a person to be recognized as a saint, 77 years must pass. If after this period, when prayerfully addressed to him, healings from diseases occur, and other miracles occur, then the deceased is recognized as a saint.

Often such holy princes possessed various extraordinary abilities, and were in one person a righteous sage and a warrior merciless to the enemy of his people. After the Mari finally fell under the rule of other tribes, they no longer had princes. And the religious function is performed by the priest of their religion - kart. The supreme kart of all Mari is elected by the council of all karts and his powers within the framework of his religion are approximately equal to the powers of the patriarch among Orthodox Christians.

In ancient times, the Mari really believed in many gods, each of which reflected some element or force. However, at the time of the unification of the Mari tribes, like the Slavs, the Mari had an acute political and religious need for religious reformation.

But the Mari did not follow the path of Vladimir Krasno Solnyshko and did not accept Christianity, but changed their own religion. The Mari prince Kurkugza became a reformer, whom the Mari now revere as a saint. Kurkugza studied other religions: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism. He was helped to study other religions by trading people from other principalities and tribes. The prince also studied the shamanism of the northern peoples. Having learned in detail about all religions, he reformed the old Mari religion and introduced a cult of worship of the supreme God - Osh Tyun Kugu Yumo, the Lord of the Universe.

This is the hypostasis of the great one God, responsible for the power and control of all other hypostases (incarnations) of the one God. Under him, the supremacy of the hypostases of the one God was determined. The main ones were Anavarem Yumo, Ilyan Yumo, Pirshe Yumo. The prince did not forget his kinship and roots with the people of the Mer, with whom the Mari lived in harmony and had common linguistic and religious roots. Hence the deity Mer Yumo.

Ser Lagash is an analogue of the Christian Savior, but inhuman. This is also one of the hypostases of the Almighty, which arose under the influence of Christianity. An analogue of the Christian Mother of God became Shochyn Ava. Mlande Ava is the hypostasis of the one God, responsible for fertility. Perke Ava is the hypostasis of the one God, responsible for economy and abundance. Tynya Yuma is the celestial dome, which consists of nine Kawa Yuma (heavens). Keche Ava (sun), Shidr Ava (stars), Tylize Ava (moon) are the upper tier. The lower tier is Mardezh Ava (wind), Pyl Ava (clouds), Vit Ava (water), Kudricha Yuma (thunder), Volgenche Yuma (lightning). If the deity ends in Yumo, it is an oz (master, lord). And if it ends in Ava, then strength.

Thanks for reading to the end...