Religion of the Chuvash people. Folk religion of the Chuvash (Chemen Kuli)

And behavior. The Chuvash live in the center of the European part of Russia. The characteristic traits of character are inextricably linked with the traditions of these amazing people.

The origins of the people

At a distance of about 600 kilometers from Moscow is the city of Cheboksary, the center of the Chuvash Republic. Representatives of a colorful ethnic group live on this land.

There are many versions about the origin of this people. It is most likely that the ancestors were Turkic-speaking tribes. These people began migrating west as early as the 2nd century BC. e. Seeking a better life, they came to the modern territories of the republic as early as the 7th-8th centuries and three hundred years later created a state that was known as the Volga Bulgaria. This is where the Chuvash came from. The history of the people could be different, but in 1236 the Mongol-Tatars defeated the state. Some people fled from the conquerors to the northern lands.

The name of this people is translated from Kyrgyz as "modest", according to the old Tatar dialect - "peaceful". Modern dictionaries claim that the Chuvash are "quiet", "harmless". The name was first mentioned in 1509.

Religious preferences

The culture of this people is unique. Until now, elements of Western Asia can be traced in the rites. The style was also influenced by close communication with Iranian-speaking neighbors (Scythians, Sarmatians, Alans). Not only life and household, but also the manner of dressing was adopted by the Chuvash. Appearance, features of the costume, character and even their religion are received from their neighbors. So, even before joining the Russian state, these people were pagans. The supreme god was called Tura. Later, other faiths began to penetrate the colony, in particular Christianity and Islam. Jesus was worshiped by those who lived on the lands of the republic. Allah became the head of those who lived outside the region. In the course of events, the bearers of Islam became Tatars. Nevertheless, today most of the representatives of this people profess Orthodoxy. But the spirit of paganism is still felt.

Merging two types

Various groups influenced the appearance of the Chuvash. Most of all - the Mongoloid and Caucasoid races. That is why almost all representatives of this people can be divided into fair-haired Finnish and representatives of the dark Blond. Fair hair, gray eyes, pallor, a wide oval face and a small nose are inherent, the skin is often covered with freckles. At the same time, they look somewhat darker than Europeans. Curls of brunettes often curl, eyes dark brown, narrow shape. They have poorly defined cheekbones, a depressed nose and a yellow skin type. It is worth noting here that their features are softer than those of the Mongols.

Chuvash differ from neighboring groups. Characteristic for both types - a small oval of the head, the bridge of the nose is low, the eyes are narrowed, a small neat mouth. Growth is average, not prone to fullness.

Everyday look

Each nationality is a unique system of customs, traditions and beliefs. It was no exception, and since ancient times, these people in every house made their own cloth and canvas. Clothes were made from these materials. Men were supposed to wear a linen shirt and trousers. If it became cool, a caftan and a sheepskin coat were added to their image. They had Chuvash patterns inherent only to themselves. The woman's appearance was successfully emphasized by unusual ornaments. All things were embroidered, including the wedged shirts worn by the ladies. Later, stripes and checks became fashionable.

Each branch of this group had and has its own preferences for the color of clothing. So, the south of the republic has always preferred saturated shades, and northwestern fashionistas have loved light fabrics. In the dress of each woman there were wide Tatar trousers. An obligatory element is an apron with a bib. It was decorated especially diligently.

In general, the appearance of the Chuvash is very interesting. The description of the headgear should be highlighted in a separate section.

Status determined by helmet

Not a single representative of the people could walk with his head uncovered. Thus, a separate trend in the direction of fashion arose. With special imagination and passion, they decorated such things as tukhya and khushpu. The first was worn on the head unmarried girls, the second was only for family women.

At first, the hat served as a talisman, a talisman against misfortune. Such an amulet was treated with special respect, decorated with expensive beads and coins. Later, such an object not only adorned the appearance of the Chuvash, he began to talk about social and marital status women.

Many researchers believe that the shape of the headdress resembles others. Others give a direct link to understanding the design of the universe. Indeed, according to the ideas of this group, the earth had a quadrangular shape, and in the middle stood the tree of life. The symbol of the latter was a bulge in the center, which distinguished married woman from a girl. Tukhya was a pointed conical shape, khushpu was rounded.

Coins were chosen with particular care. They were meant to be melodic. Those that hung from the edges hit each other and rang. Such sounds scared away evil spirits - the Chuvash believed in it. The appearance and character of the people are in a direct relationship.

Ornament Code

The Chuvash are famous not only for soulful songs, but also for embroidery. Mastery grew with generations and was inherited from mother to daughter. It is in the ornaments that one can read the history of a person, his belonging to a separate group.

Home embroidery - clear geometry. The fabric should be only white or gray. It is interesting that the girls' clothes were decorated only before the wedding. AT family life there wasn't enough time for that. Therefore, what they did in their youth was worn for the rest of their lives.

Embroidery on clothes complemented the appearance of the Chuvash. It encoded information about the creation of the world. So, they symbolically depicted the tree of life and eight-pointed stars, rosettes or flowers.

After the popularization of factory production, the style, color and quality of the shirt changed. The older people grieved for a long time and assured that such changes in the wardrobe would bring trouble to their people. Indeed, over the years, the true representatives of this genus are becoming less and less.

World of Traditions

Customs say a lot about a people. One of the most colorful rituals is a wedding. The character and appearance of the Chuvash, traditions are still preserved. It is worth noting that in ancient times the wedding ceremony was not attended by priests, shamans or official representatives of the authorities. The guests of the action witnessed the creation of a family. And everyone who knew about the holiday visited the houses of the parents of the newlyweds. Interestingly, divorce as such was not perceived. According to the canons, lovers who combined in front of relatives should be faithful friend friend for the rest of your life.

Previously, the bride had to be 5-8 years older than her husband. In the last place when choosing a partner, the Chuvash appearance was put. The nature and mentality of these people demanded that, first of all, the girl be hardworking. They gave the young lady in marriage after she mastered the household. An adult woman was also assigned to raise a young husband.

Character - in customs

As mentioned earlier, the word itself, from which the name of the people came from, is translated from most languages ​​​​as "peace-loving", "calm", "modest". This value is absolutely consistent with the character and mentality of this people. According to their philosophy, all people, like birds, sit on different branches of the big tree of life, each one is a relative to another. Therefore, their love for each other is boundless. Chuvash people are very peaceful and kind people. The history of the people does not contain information about the attacks of the innocent and arbitrariness against other groups.

The older generation keeps traditions and lives according to the old scheme, which they learned from their parents. Lovers still marry and swear allegiance to each other in front of their families. Often they arrange mass celebrations, at which the Chuvash language sounds loud and melodious. People put on the best suits, embroidered according to all the canons. They cook traditional mutton soup - shurpa, and drink their own beer.

The future is in the past

AT modern conditions urbanization traditions in the villages are disappearing. At the same time, the world is losing its independent culture, unique knowledge. Nevertheless, the Russian government aims to maximize the interest of contemporaries in the past of different peoples. The Chuvash are no exception. Appearance, features of life, color, rituals - all this is very interesting. To show young generation culture of the people, impromptu evenings are held by students of the universities of the republic. Young people speak and sing at the same time in the Chuvash language.

The Chuvash live in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, so their culture is successfully breaking through into the world. Representatives of the people support each other.

Recently translated into Chuvash main book Christians - Bible. Literature flourishes. Ornaments and clothes of the ethnic group inspire famous designers to create new styles.

There are still villages where they still live according to the laws of the Chuvash tribe. The appearance of a man and a woman in such gray hairs is traditionally folk. The great past is preserved and revered in many families.

Chuvash traditional beliefs represent a mythological world outlook, religious concepts and views coming from distant epochs. The first attempts to consistently describe the pre-Christian religion of the Chuvash belong to K.S. Milkovich (late 18th century), V.P. Vishnevsky (1846), V.A. Sboev (1865). Materials and monuments related to beliefs were systematized by V.K. Magnitsky (1881), N.I. Zolotnitsky (1891) Archbishop Nikanor (1910), Gyula Messaros (translated from the Hungarian edition of 1909. Made in 2000), N.V. Nikolsky (1911, 1912), N.I. Ashmarine (1902, 1921). In the second half of the 20th - early 21st centuries. a series of works devoted to the traditional beliefs of the Chuvash appeared.

Beliefs The Chuvash belong to the category of those religions that are called the religion of sacrifice, according to researchers who trace their origins to the first world religion - ancient Iranian Zoroastrianism. Christianity, Islam were known to the ancient ancestors of the Chuvash already in the early stages of the spread of these two religions. It is known that the Suvar king Alp - Ilitver in his principality (17th century) planted Christianity in the struggle against ancient religions.

Christianity, Islam, Judaism coexisted side by side in the Khazar state, at the same time, the masses were very committed to the worldview of their ancestors. This is confirmed by the absolute dominance of pagan funeral rites in the Saltov-Mayak culture. In the culture and beliefs of the Chuvash, researchers also found Judaic elements (Malov, 1882). In the middle of the century, when the Chuvash ethnos was being formed, traditional beliefs experienced a long-term influence of Islam. After the accession of the Chuvash region to the Russian state, the process of Christianization was lengthy and did not end only with an act of forced baptism. The Chuvash Bulgars adopted elements of the traditional beliefs of the Mari, Udmurts, possibly Burtases, Mozhors, Kypchaks and others. ethnic communities with whom they have been in contact.

Adherence to Islam after its adoption in 922 by the Bulgars under Khan Almush, on the one hand, to ancient beliefs, on the other, becomes an ethno-confessional and ethno-separating sign of the population of the Volga Bulgaria, where the nobility and the main part of the townspeople became Muslims (or Besermens), villager predominantly remained worshipers of the pre-Islamic religion. In Bulgaria, Islam was established not as an orthodox model, but as a syncretic one, enriched with elements of traditional cultures and beliefs. There is reason to believe that transitions from one state to another (from the Chuvash to the Besermian and vice versa) among the population, especially the rural population, took place throughout the entire Bulgar period. It is believed that before the formation of the Kazan Khanate, official Islam did not persecute non-Muslims too much, who, despite the syncretization of traditional beliefs, remained faithful to pre-Muslim canons, social and family life. In the religious and ritual practice of the ancient Chuvash left a trace complex processes that took place during the period of the Golden Horde. In particular, gods and spirits were reflected in the pantheon in the images of the khans and the officials who served them.

In the Kazan Khanate, the ruling class and the Muslim clergy preached intolerance towards non-believers - the so-called. yasak Chuvash. Hundreds of sickles and tenths of Wunpu princelings, Tarkhans and Chuvash Cossacks, having converted to Islam, fled. Traditions testify that the yasak Chuvash were also forced to accept Islam. The facts of the return to the bosom of the bearers of traditional beliefs are also known. After the capture of Kazan in 1552, when the positions of Islam were greatly weakened, part of the Muslim villagers passed into the "Chuvash" pre-Muslim state. This took place back in the period of the Golden Horde in connection with the strife in the Trans-Kama region, from where the population of the Bulgar ulus (vilayet) went north - to the Order and north-west - to the Volga region, as a result of these migrations there was a break from the Muslim centers. Adherents of non-Muslim beliefs, according to the researchers, made up the majority of the inhabitants of the Order and the Volga region. However, with the strengthening of Islam, starting from the 17th century, in the ethno-contact Chuvash-Tatar zone, there was an overflow of pagans (part or all families) into Islam in the Chuvash villages. This process continued until the middle of the 19th century. (for example, in the village of Artemyevka, Orenburg province).

Until the middle of the 18th century. Adherents of traditional beliefs retained canonized forms, they were subjected to violent acts of baptism on a small scale (the service Chuvashs accepted Orthodoxy). The bulk of the Chuvash remained faithful to the pre-Christian religion even after their baptism in 1740. By force, when with the help of soldiers, members of the New Baptism office drove the villagers to the river, performed the rite of baptism and wrote down their Orthodox names. Under the influence of Orthodoxy, its developed, including rural areas, church organization in the late 18th - first half of the 19th centuries. syncretization of traditional beliefs. For example, the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (Mozhaisk), which was a rare specimen wooden sculpture of the 16th century (located in Nikolsky convent), which turned into Mikul Tur and entered the Chuvash pantheon. Chuvash rituals and holidays are approaching Christian ones, but the trend of convergence was not simple and smooth.

During the period of mass forced baptism in the 18th and first quarter of the 19th centuries, sacred places of public prayers and ancestral prayers (kiremetey) were severely destroyed, baptized Chuvash were forbidden to perform traditional customs and rituals in these places. Often churches and chapels were erected here. Violent actions, spiritual aggression of Orthodox missionaries caused protests and mass movements in defense of folk beliefs, rituals and customs, and in general - original culture. erected Orthodox churches, chapels, monasteries were poorly visited (although on the site of ancient sanctuaries in different areas many chapels arose during the Chuvash settlement), with the exception of a few well-known churches, including Ishakovskaya (Cheboksary region), which became multi-ethnic and interregional.

In the middle of the 19th century, the Kazan province remained about them, according to official statistics, there were much more. In fact, judging by the data of 1897, 11 thousand "pure pagans" lived in the right-bank districts of the Kazan province. As a transitional state in religious terms, the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries is characterized. This period is associated with the introduction of N.I. Ilminsky, Christian and educational activities of I.Ya. Yakovlev and the Chuvash Orthodox missionaries, young people reached for Orthodoxy through education, as a result of which the process of Christianization of the Chuvash people accelerated. The victory of Orthodoxy over ethnic religions was also accelerated by bourgeois reforms. Orthodox figures of this period generally respected Chuvash traditions and mentality, enjoyed the confidence of the masses. Orthodoxy on Chuvash soil was consolidated rapidly, albeit on a syncretic basis.

During the 20th century, the number of adherents of the Chuvash beliefs who did not accept baptism (they call themselves chan chavash - "true Chuvash") gradually decreased, because the generation of people of the Soviet era grew up outside the religious soil. However, due to the stability of the folk ritual culture, which Soviet rituals and holidays could not supplant, among the peasantry, an ethno-confessional community was preserved, localized mainly outside the Chuvash Republic in multinational regions - in Ulyanovsk, Orenburg, Samara regions, Tatarstan and Bashkortostan. Due to the lack of statistical data, one can only speak about the number of Chuvashs of this group - it is several thousand people, but not less than 10 thousand, and two-thirds of them live in Zakamye, especially in the Bolshoi Cheremshan and Sok basins.

At the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, the tendency of "pagans" to convert to Orthodoxy intensified, in particular, in families where spouses belong to different confessions.

The Orthodox religion, which has established itself as the official religion among the Chuvash, has absorbed significant elements of traditional beliefs that are associated with folk customs and rituals, the ritual calendar, and the names of religious holidays. The term Tura denoted the Chuvash supreme sky god and then Jesus Christ. The Chuvash also call Christ turash, as well as images of other Christian gods and saints. This is due to the consolidation of the veneration of icons as gods (turash - "icon"). In the 20th century, it was common to refer to the icon and pagan gods simultaneously. During this century, despite atheistic propaganda Soviet era, functioned, and in many cases actively existed folk (nevertheless real Chuvash, associated with beliefs) religious rites and holidays, primarily associated with the cult of ancestors and production rituals - this is the first pasture of cattle, the rites of consecrating the new crop of chukleme and others. The traditional Chuvash holidays of the winter, spring, summer and autumn cycles coincided with or merged with the Christian ones: Kasharni - Epiphany, Mankun - Easter, Kalam - with Holy Week and Lazarus Saturday, Virem - with Palm Sunday, Simek - with the Trinity, Sinse - with Spiritual Day, Kerr sari - with patronal holidays.

The traditional beliefs of the Chuvash, as noted above, have become the object of attention of researchers, missionaries, and everyday writers since the 18th century. And even then, a pronounced dualism with a sharp distinction between the good and evil principles of their religion served as the basis for its classification as a branch of Zoroastrianism. In the Chuvash pantheon and the pre-Christian concept of the consciousness of the world and the creation of man, researchers find similarities with ancient Iranian mythology. For example, the following names of the Chuvash gods echo the pantheon of the Indo-Iranian circle: Ama, Amu, Tura, Asha, Pulekh, Pikhampar. Yanavar.

The beliefs of the Chuvash associated with fire worship, cosmogonic ideas, the multiplicity of gods of the hearth and nature, rituals in honor of ancestors, the construction of anthropomorphic stone and wooden monuments gave rise to researchers back in the 19th century to conclude that the Chuvash adhered to the teachings of Zoroastrianism.

At the head of the Chuvash pantheon, complex in its structure, is the supreme heavenly god Sulti Tura, who rules the whole world, acts as the main person of religious worship and faith. This main character Chuvash religion coincides with the riding gods of many Indo-European, Turkic and Finno-Ugric peoples, including etymology, functions and other parameters.

In a solemn form, a thanksgiving sacrifice was made to the god Tura during public ceremonies, the family and tribal rite of chukleme, when new bread was baked in his honor from the new crop and beer was brewed. Tura was addressed in many ceremonies, including public, family and individual ones, the prayer was specific in each case.

In a solemn form, thanksgiving was performed to the god of Tur.

What is the Chuvash folk religion? The Chuvash folk religion refers to the pre-Orthodox Chuvash faith. But there is no clear understanding of this faith. Just as the Chuvash people are not homogeneous, the Chuvash pre-Orthodox religion is also heterogeneous. Part of the Chuvash believed in Thor and now believe. This is a monotheistic faith. There is only one Torah, but in the belief of the Torah there is Keremet. Keremet is a relic of a pagan religion. The same pagan relic in Christian world as a celebration of the new year and carnival. Among the Chuvash, keremet was not a god, but an image of evil and dark forces, to which sacrifices were made so that they would not touch people. Keremet at literal translation means "faith in (god) Ker". Ker (name of god) has (faith, dream).

World structure

Chuvash paganism is characterized by a multi-tiered view of the world. The world consisted of three parts: the upper world, our world and the lower world. And there were only seven layers in the world. Three layers in the upper, one in ours, and three more in the lower worlds.

In the Chuvash structure of the universe, a common Turkic division into aboveground and underground tiers can be traced. In one of the celestial tiers, the chief Pireshti Kebe lives, who transmits the prayers of people to the god Turg, who lives in the uppermost tier. In the above-ground tiers there are also luminaries - the moon is lower, the sun is higher.

The first aboveground tier is located between the earth and the clouds. Previously, the upper limit was much lower ("at the height of the roof of windmills"), but the clouds rose higher when people became worse. In contrast to the underground tiers, the surface of the earth - the world of people - is called the "upper world" (Z?lti zantalgk). The shape of the earth is quadrangular, in spells the "four-cornered bright world" (Tgvat ketesle zut zantalgk) is often mentioned.

The earth was square. It was inhabited by different peoples. The Chuvash believed that their people lived in the middle of the earth. The sacred tree, the tree of life, which the Chuvash worshiped, supported the firmament in the middle. On four sides, along the edges of the earthly square, the firmament was supported by four pillars: gold, silver, copper, stone. At the top of the pillars there were nests, in them there were three eggs, on the eggs - ducks.

The shores of the earth were washed by the ocean, raging waves constantly destroyed the shores. “When the end of the earth reaches the Chuvash, the end light will come”, - believed the ancient Chuvash. In every corner of the earth, wonderful heroes stood guard over the earth and human life. They guarded our world from all evil and misfortune.

The supreme god was in the upper world. He ruled the whole world. He threw thunder and lightning, let the rain fall to the ground. In the upper world were the souls of saints and the souls of unborn children. When a person died, his soul went up to the upper world along a narrow bridge, passing to the rainbow. And if he was sinful, then, without passing the narrow bridge, the human soul fell into the lower world, into hell. In the lower world, there were nine cauldrons where the souls of sinful people were boiled. The servants of the devil constantly kept the fire under the cauldrons.

Religions and beliefs Before joining the Russian state, the Chuvash of the Ulyanovsk Volga region were pagans. In their paganism there was a system of polytheism with the supreme god Turg. The gods were divided into good and evil. Each occupation of people was patronized by its own god. Pagan religious cult was inextricably linked with the cycle of agricultural work, with the cult of ancestors. The cycle of agrarian-magical rites began with the winter holiday "Surkhuri", then came the holiday of honoring the sun "Z?varni" (Slavic Shrovetide), then - the spring multi-day holiday of sacrifices to the sun, god and dead ancestors - "Mgnkun" (which later coincided with the Christian Easter). The cycle continued "Akatuy" - a holiday of spring plowing and plow, before the start of spring sowing - "Zimek" (a holiday of the flowering of nature, a public commemoration. Coincided with the Orthodox Trinity). After the sowing of bread, the grassroots Chuvashs celebrated "Uyav". In honor of the new harvest, it was customary to arrange prayers - thanksgiving to the spirit - the keeper of the barn. From autumn holidays celebrated "Avtan-Syry" (rooster holiday). Chuvash weddings were celebrated mainly in the spring before Zimmk (Trinity) or in the summer from Petrov to Ilyin's day. Public commemoration of all ancestors was held on the third day of Easter, in "Zimmk". In November-December, the month of commemoration and sacrifices coincided with the beginning of the year according to the Chuvash lunisolar calendar. The Chuvash more often than other peoples commemorated their dead relatives, since they attributed all the troubles and illnesses to the anger of the dead.

The traditional Chuvash faith was a complex system of beliefs, the basis of which was the belief in Turo - the supreme god of the sky and includes many elements of Zoratushtra (Sarotusturo) - the worship of fire. Even D. Messarosh noticed the presence of a single god among the Chuvash, which, nevertheless, was combined with agrarian holidays:

The southern Chuvashs call God Tur?, the northern Chuvashs call Tor?. Regarding the concept of God among the Chuvash, Russian specialized literature has so far been in error. To paganism or "black magic" she attributed innumerable Gods, regardless of whether they are good or evil, as well as other products of the imagination. With their incomplete knowledge of the language and the subject, the vague names of some diseases were also perceived as the names of the Gods. They differed in the main God (Tur?) and many Gods of the lower rank. Also, the traditional Chuvash faith was characterized by dualism - the presence of good and bad deities. The Chuvash called him "Shuittan":

One day, when a thunderstorm broke out, a peasant was walking along the bank of the river with a gun. Thunder rumbled in the sky, and the Shuitan, mocking God, beat backwards upwards towards the sky. The peasant, seeing this, took a gun and fired at him. Shuitang fell from the shot. The thunder stopped, God descended from the sky in front of the peasant and spoke: - You turned out to be stronger even than me. I have been chasing the Shuitan for seven years, but so far I have never been able to catch him.

The Chuvash also had other beliefs, one of the most significant is the worship of the spirits of their ancestors, which was personified by Kiremet. Kiremet was a holy place on a hill, next to a clean drinking spring. As a symbol of life in such places, an oak, ash or other strong and tall living tree was used. Faith Chuvash people has much in common with the traditional beliefs of the Mari, as well as with other peoples of the Volga region. The influence of Islam (for example, Pireshti, Kiremet, Kiyamat), as well as Christianity, is quite noticeable in it. In the 18th century, the Chuvash were Christianized. The Chuvashs are the most numerous Turkic people, the majority of whose believers are Christians. There are also a few groups that profess Sunni Islam and traditional beliefs.

Chuvash is one of the most numerous nationalities living on the territory of the Russian Federation. Of the approximately 1.5 million people, more than 70% are settled in the territory of the Chuvash Republic, the rest in neighboring regions. Within the group, there is a division into riding (viryal) and grassroots (anatri) Chuvash, differing from each other in traditions, customs and dialect. The capital of the republic is the city of Cheboksary.

History of appearance

The first mention of the name Chuvash appears in the 16th century. However, numerous studies indicate that the Chuvash people are a direct descendant of the inhabitants ancient state Volga Bulgaria, which existed on the territory of the middle Volga in the period from the 10th to the 13th centuries. Scientists also find traces of the Chuvash culture, dating from the beginning of our era, on the Black Sea coast and in the foothills of the Caucasus.

The obtained data testify to the movement of the ancestors of the Chuvash during the Great Migration of Peoples to the territory of the Volga region occupied at that time by the Finno-Ugric tribes. Written sources did not preserve information about the date of the appearance of the first Bulgarian state formation. The earliest mention of the existence of the Great Bulgaria dates back to 632. In the 7th century, after the collapse of the state, part of the tribes moved to the northeast, where they soon settled near the Kama and the middle Volga. In the 10th century, Volga Bulgaria was a rather strong state, the exact borders of which are unknown. The population was at least 1-1.5 million people and was a multinational mixture, where, along with the Bulgarians, Slavs, Maris, Mordvins, Armenians and many other nationalities also lived.

The Bulgarian tribes are characterized primarily as peaceful nomads and farmers, but during their almost four hundred years of history they had to periodically encounter in conflicts with the armies of the Slavs, the tribes of the Khazars and the Mongols. In 1236, the Mongol invasion completely destroyed the Bulgarian state. Later, the peoples of the Chuvash and Tatars were able to partially recover, forming the Kazan Khanate. The final inclusion in the Russian lands occurred as a result of the campaign of Ivan the Terrible in 1552. Being in actual subordination of the Tatar Kazan, and then Russia, the Chuvash were able to maintain their ethnic isolation, unique language and customs. In the period from the 16th to the 17th centuries, the Chuvash, being predominantly peasants, participated in popular uprisings that engulfed Russian Empire. In the 20th century, the lands occupied by these people received autonomy and became part of the RSFSR in the form of a republic.

Religion and customs

Modern Chuvash are Orthodox Christians, only in exceptional cases are Muslims found among them. Traditional beliefs are a kind of paganism, where against the background of polytheism stands out the supreme god Tura, who patronized the sky. From the point of view of the structure of the world, national beliefs were initially close to Christianity, therefore, even close proximity to the Tatars did not affect the spread of Islam.

The worship of the forces of nature and their deification led to the emergence a large number religious customs, traditions and holidays associated with the cult of the tree of life, the change of seasons (Surkhuri, Savarni), sowing (Akatuy and Simek) and harvesting. Many of the festivities have remained unchanged or mixed with Christian celebrations, and therefore are celebrated to this day. Vivid examples of the preservation of ancient traditions are considered Chuvash wedding which are still worn National costumes and perform complex rituals.

Appearance and folk costume

The external Caucasoid type with some features of the Mongoloid Chuvash race is not much different from the inhabitants of central Russia. common features faces are considered to be a straight neat nose with a low nose bridge, a rounded face with pronounced cheekbones and a small mouth. The color type varies from light-eyed and fair-haired, to dark-haired and brown-eyed. The growth of most Chuvash people does not exceed the average mark.

The national costume is generally similar to the clothes of the peoples of the middle zone. The basis of the women's attire is an embroidered shirt, complemented by a dressing gown, apron and belts. Mandatory headdress (tukhya or khushpu) and jewelry, lavishly decorated with coins. The male costume was as simple as possible and consisted of a shirt, pants and a belt. Shoes were onuchi, bast shoes and boots. Classical Chuvash embroidery is a geometric pattern and a symbolic image of the tree of life.

Language and writing

The Chuvash language belongs to the Turkic linguistic group and is considered the only surviving language of the Bulgar branch. Within the nationality, it is divided into two dialects, which differ depending on the territory of residence of its speakers.

It is believed that in ancient times the Chuvash language had its own runic script. The modern alphabet was created in 1873 thanks to the efforts of the famous educator and teacher I.Ya. Yakovlev. Along with the Cyrillic alphabet, the alphabet contains several unique letters reflecting the phonetic difference between the languages. The Chuvash language is considered the second official language after Russian, is included in the compulsory education program on the territory of the republic and is actively used by the local population.

noteworthy

1. The main values ​​that determined the way of life were diligence and modesty.
2. The non-conflict nature of the Chuvashs was reflected in the fact that in the language of the neighboring peoples its name is translated or associated with the words "quiet" and "calm".
3. The second wife of Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky was the Chuvash princess Bolgarbi.
4. The value of the bride was determined not by her appearance, but by diligence and the number of skills, therefore, with age, her attractiveness only grew.
5. Traditionally, at the time of marriage, the wife had to be several years older than her husband. Raising a young husband was one of the duties of a woman. Husband and wife were equal.
6. Despite the worship of fire, the ancient pagan religion of the Chuvash did not provide for sacrifices.

According to one hypothesis, the Chuvash are the descendants of the Bulgarians. The Chuvash themselves also believe that their distant ancestors were the Bulgars and Suvars, who once inhabited Bulgaria.

Another hypothesis says that this nation belongs to the associations of the Savirs, who in ancient times migrated to the northern lands due to the fact that they abandoned generally accepted Islam. During the time of the Kazan Khanate, the ancestors of the Chuvash were part of it, but were quite an independent people.

Culture and life of the Chuvash people

The main economic activity of the Chuvash was settled agriculture. Historians note that this people succeeded in the land business much more than the Russians and Tatars. This is explained by the fact that the Chuvash lived in small villages, near which there were no cities. Therefore, working with the land was the only source of food. In such villages, it was simply not possible to take a break from work, especially since the lands were fertile. But even they could not saturate all the villages and save people from hunger. The main cultivated crops were: rye, spelt, oats, barley, wheat, buckwheat and peas. Flax and hemp were also grown here. To work with agriculture, the Chuvash used plows, roe deer, sickles, flails and other devices.

In ancient times, the Chuvash lived in small villages and settlements. Most often they were erected in river valleys, next to lakes. The houses in the villages were lined up in a row or in a cumulus way. The traditional hut was the construction of a purt, which was placed in the center of the yard. There were also huts called elks. In the Chuvash settlements, they played the role of a summer kitchen.

The national costume was clothes typical for many Volga peoples. Women wore tunic-shaped shirts, which were decorated with embroidery and various pendants. Both women and men wore a shupar, a caftan-like cape, over their shirts. Women covered their heads with scarves, and the girls wore a helmet-shaped headdress - tukhyu. A linen caftan - shupar served as outerwear. In the autumn, the Chuvash dressed in a warmer sakhman - a cloth undercoat. And in winter, everyone wore fitted sheepskin coats - kyoreks.

Traditions and customs of the Chuvash people

The Chuvash people carefully treat the customs and traditions of their ancestors. Both in ancient times and today, the peoples of Chuvashia hold ancient holidays and rituals.

One of these holidays is Ulakh. In the evening, young people gather for an evening meeting, which is arranged by girls when their parents are not at home. The hostess and her friends sat in a circle and did needlework, while the guys sat between them and watched what was happening. They sang songs to the music of an accordion player, danced and had fun. Initially, the purpose of such meetings was to find a bride.

Others national custom is Savarni, the holiday of seeing off winter. This holiday is accompanied by fun, songs, dances. People dress up a scarecrow as a symbol of the passing winter. Also in Chuvashia, it is customary to dress up horses on this day, harness them to a festive sleigh and ride children.

The Mankun holiday is the Chuvash Easter. This holiday is the purest and brightest holiday for the people. In front of Mankun, women clean their huts, and men clean up in the yard and outside the yard. They prepare for the holiday, fill full barrels of beer, bake pies, paint eggs and cook National dishes. Mankun lasts seven days, which are accompanied by fun, games, songs and dances. Before the Chuvash Easter, swings were set up on every street, on which not only children, but also adults rode.

(Painting by Yu.A. Zaitsev "Akatuy" 1934-35)

Holidays related to agriculture include: Akatuy, Sinse, Simek, Pitrav and Pukrav. They are associated with the beginning and end of the sowing season, with the harvest and the arrival of winter.

The traditional Chuvash holiday is Surkhuri. On this day, the girls guessed - they caught sheep in the dark to tie a rope around their necks. And in the morning they came to look at the color of this sheep, if it was white, then the betrothed or betrothed would have blond hair and vice versa. And if the sheep is motley, then the couple will not be particularly beautiful. In different regions of Surkhuri, it is celebrated in different days- somewhere before Christmas, somewhere in the New Year, and some celebrate on the night of Epiphany.

AT different time scientists put forward various theories of the origin of the Chuvash - either from the Khazars (A. A. Fuks, P. Hunfalvi), then from the Burtases (A. F. Rittikh, V, A. Sboev), then from the Huns (V. V. Bartold) , then from the Finno-Ugric peoples (N. M. Karamzin, I. A-Firsov), then from the ancient Avars (M. G. Khudyakov), then from the Volga Bulgarians (V. N. Tatishchev, N. I. Ashmarin, 3 . Gombots), then from the Sumerians (N. Ya. Marr), etc. In total, they come down to the following concepts:

1) the basis of the Chuvash people (ethnos) is the local Finno-Ugric (Mari) population, which has experienced a strong cultural and especially linguistic influence from the alien Turkic-speaking Bulgarian-Suvar tribes;

2) as an ethnic group, the Chuvash formed mainly on the basis of the pre-Bulgarian Turks, who allegedly penetrated in large masses into the Middle Volga region until the 6th century. n. e., that is, before the appearance of the Bulgarians and Suvars here;

3) The so-called Kazan school. Some Kazan researchers are searching for evidence of the hypothesis about the beginning of the formation of the Chuvash ethnos on the basis of Turkic-speaking tribes that penetrated the region allegedly as early as the 2nd-3rd centuries. n. e. She claimed that the ancestors of the Chuvash appeared earlier than the Volga Bulgarians.

The first of these concepts ("autochthonous theory") did not stand up to criticism and is not supported by anyone now, since its supporters ignored the role of the Turkic-speaking tribes - one of the main ethnic components of the Chuvash - and in their studies were limited to the territory of the Chuvash Territory and later stages ethnic history.

As for the second concept, it has been actively developed only in the last twenty years. A number of prominent scientists (R. G. Kuzeev, V. A. Ivanov and others) attribute the time of the mass penetration of the Turks into the Volga-Ural region to the last centuries of the 1st millennium AD. e. and they attribute this precisely to the migration of the Bulgarian tribes from North Caucasus and the Sea of ​​Azov. At the same time, one of the convincing evidence of the late migration of the Turks to the Middle Volga region is the weak and indistinct allocation of ethnic groups among the newcomer Turks compared to the neighboring Finno-Ugric peoples. The ethnic differentiation of the Chuvash, Tatars, Bashkirs - that is, those peoples who were closely connected with the Volga Bulgarians in their history, into independent peoples, ended relatively late, only in the 13th-16th centuries.

The question arises, in what exactly is the Bulgarian heritage found among the Chuvash? The most fundamental argument is language, for Chuvash is the only surviving language of the Bulgarian branch. He is different from all others Turkic languages the fact that the sound "z" in them in the Chuvash language corresponds to the sound "r" (the so-called rotacism), and the sound "sh" corresponds to the sound "l" (lambdaism). Rotacism and lambdaism are also characteristic of the Bulgarian language. For example, Chuv. dick "girl" - common Turkic. kyz; Chuv. hel "winter" - common Turkic. -shoo, etc.

In the development of the Bulgarian theory of the origin of the Chuvash, the discovery Chuvash words in the texts of the Volga-Bulgarian tombstone inscriptions of the 13th-16th centuries, made in the 19th century. Kazan researcher X. Feyzhanov, and the discovery of elements of the Chuvash type language in the ancient Slavic-Bulgarian source - "Name Book of the Bulgarian Princes". Numerous archaeological studies also testify to the similarity of the economy, life and culture of the Chuvash and Bulgarians. The first inherited from their rural ancestors the types of dwellings, the layout of the estate, the location of the house inside the estate with a blank wall facing the street, a rope ornament for decorating gate posts, etc. According to experts, white women's clothing, headdresses (tukhya, khushpu, surban), decorations (bald, headdresses), which were common among the Chuvash until recently, were common among the Bulgarians, including the Danube. In the pre-Christian religion of the Chuvash, constituting the most important part of the ethnic specificity of spiritual culture, the Old Bulgarian pagan cults were traditionally and steadfastly preserved, containing some features of Zoroastrianism - the religion of the ancient ethnic groups of Iran and Central Asia.

The concept of the Bulgarian-Chuvash ethnic continuity is believed to be confirmed, further development and concretization in modern research on archeology, ethnography, linguistics, folklore and art of the peoples of the region. To date, significant material has been accumulated and partially published, characterizing the main stages of the ethnogenesis and ethnic history of the Chuvash people. Of great value are the works of V. F. Kakhovsky, V. D. Dimitriev, M. F. Fedotov and A. A. Trofimov, in which, unlike some other works, the problems of Chuvash history, culture and language are considered taking into account many factors . In recent decades, major studies by Chuvash scientists have appeared on various aspects traditional culture people, economic activity, public and family life, features folk knowledge and philosophy, artistic creativity, modern social and ethnic processes.

The ancestors of the Bulgarian tribes, like all the Turks, came from Central Asia. On this vast territory since the 3rd millennium BC. e. the ancient ancestors of the Turkic-speaking peoples, the Huns, were widely settled. Mongolian, Tungus-Manchurian, Finno-Ugric, Indo-European tribes also lived in the neighborhood, which in the III-II centuries BC. e. were conquered by the Huns. The Huns were under a strong linguistic and cultural influence China. Some scholars consider the Chuvash language of Unity to be a remnant of the language of the ancient Huns. Closer ethnic group from which the Bulgarians came, are considered the Oguro-Onogurs, who lived along the northern islands of the Tien Shan and in the upper reaches of the Irtysh. The area of ​​formation of the Sabirs (Suvars) also lay in the Irtysh regions. The time of the arrival of the ancestors of the Bulgarian and Suvar tribes in Central Asia was imprinted so clearly that it is no less reflected in the culture, especially the Chuvash language. The Chuvashs have a number of stable parallels with Turkic peoples Altai and Southern Siberia, in particular, Khakass, Uighurs, Shors, Tuvans, Altaians. It manifests itself in the commonality of elements of utensils, dwellings, ornaments, etc. In addition, the main elements ancient religion Sayan-Altai Turks are manifested in the complex pagan cult Chuvash. The Chuvash language has preserved the oldest words used in the era of weak isolation of the Turkic and Mongolian languages.