The Komi language is part of the Finno-Ugric language language family, and with the Udmurt language that is closest to it, it forms the Perm group of Finno-Ugric languages. In total, the Finno-Ugric family includes 16 languages, which in ancient times developed from a single base language: Hungarian, Mansi, Khanty (Ugric group of languages); Komi, Udmurt (Perm group); Mari, Mordovian languages - Erzya and Moksha: Baltic and Finnish languages - Finnish, Karelian, Izhorian, Vepsian, Votic, Estonian, Livonian languages. A special place in the Finno-Ugric family of languages is occupied by the Sami language, which is very different from other related languages.
Finno-Ugric languages and Samoyed languages form the Ural family of languages. The Samodian languages include Nenets, Enets, Nganasan, Selkup, and Kamasin languages. Peoples speaking Samoyed languages live in Western Siberia, except for the Nenets, who also live in northern Europe.
The question of the ancestor of the ancient Finno-Ugric peoples has long been of interest to scientists. They searched for the ancient homeland in the Altai region, on the upper reaches of the Ob, Irtysh and Yenisei, and on the shores of the Arctic Ocean. Modern scientists, based on studying the vocabulary of the flora of the Finno-Ugric languages, have come to the conclusion that the ancestral homeland of the Finno-Ugric peoples was located in the Volga-Kama region on both sides of the Ural Mountains. Then the Finno-Ugric tribes and languages separated, became isolated, and the ancestors of the current Finno-Ugric peoples left their ancient homeland. The first chronicle mentions of the Finno-Ugric peoples already find these peoples in the places of their current residence.
Hungariansmore than a thousand years ago they moved to the territory surrounded by the Carpathians. The self-name of the Hungarians Modyor has been known since the 5th century. n. e. Writing in the Hungarian language appeared at the end of the 12th century, and the Hungarians have a rich literature. Total number There are about 17 million Hungarians. In addition to Hungary, they live in Czechoslovakia, Romania, Austria, Ukraine, and Yugoslavia.
Mansi (Voguls)live in the Khanty-Mansiysk district of the Tyumen region. In Russian chronicles, they, together with the Khanty, were called Yugra. The Mansi use a written language based on Russian graphics and have their own schools. The total number of Mansi is over 7,000 people, but only half of them consider Mansi their native language.
Khanty (Ostyaks)live on the Yamal Peninsula, lower and middle Ob. Writing in the Khanty language appeared in the 30s of our century, but the dialects of the Khanty language are so different that communication between representatives of different dialects is often difficult. Many lexical borrowings from the Komi language have penetrated into the Khanty and Mansi languages. The total number of Khanty people is 21,000. The traditional occupation of the Ob Ugrians is reindeer herding, hunting, and fishing.
Udmurtsleast advanced from the territory of the Finno-Ugric ancestral home; they live on the lower reaches of the Kama and Vyatka rivers, in addition to the Udmurt Republic, they live in Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Mari El, and the Vyatka region. There were 713,696 Udmurts in 1989; writing arose in the 18th century. The capital of Udmurtia is Izhevsk.
Marilive on the territory of the Volga left bank. About half of the Mari live in the Republic of Mari El, the rest live in Bashkortostan, Tatarstan and Udmurtia. Writing in the Mari language arose in the 18th century; there are two variants of the literary language - meadow and mountain, they have the main difference in phonetics. The total number of Mari is 621,961 people (1989). The capital of Mari El is Yoshkar-Ola.
Among the Finno-Ugric peoples, it ranks 3rd in numberMordovians. There are more than 1,200 thousand people, but the Mordovians live very widely and fragmented. Their more compact groups can be found in the basins of the Moksha and Sura rivers (Mordovia), in the Penza, Samara, Orenburg, Ulyanovsk, Nizhny Novgorod regions. There are two closely related Mordovian languages, Erzya and Moksha, but the speakers of these languages communicate with each other in Russian. Writing in the Mordovian languages appeared in the 19th century. The capital of Mordovia is Saransk.
Baltic-Finnish languages and peoples are so close that speakers of these languages can communicate with each other without an interpreter. Among the languages of the Baltic-Finnish group, the most widespread isFinnish, it is spoken by about 5 million people, the self-name of the Finnssuomi. In addition to Finland, Finns also live in Leningrad region Russia. Writing arose in the 16th century, and in 1870 the period of the modern Finnish language began. The epic "Kalevala" is written in Finnish, and a rich original literature has been created. About 77 thousand Finns live in Russia.
Estonianslive on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea, the number of Estonians in 1989 was 1,027,255 people. Writing existed from the 16th century to the 19th century. two developed literary language: South and North Estonians. In the 19th century these literary languages became closer based on the Central Estonian dialects.
Karelianslive in Karelia and the Tver region of Russia. There are 138,429 Karelians (1989), a little more than half speak their native language. The Karelian language consists of many dialects. In Karelia, Karelians study and use the Finnish literary language. The most ancient monuments of Karelian writing date back to the 13th century; in Finno-Ugric languages, this is the second oldest written language (after Hungarian).
IzhoraThe language is unwritten and is spoken by about 1,500 people. Izhorians live on the southeastern coast of the Gulf of Finland, on the river. Izhora, a tributary of the Neva. Although the Izhorians call themselves Karelians, in science it is customary to distinguish an independent Izhorian language.
Vepsianslive on the territory of three administrative-territorial units: Vologda, Leningrad regions of Russia, Karelia. In the 30s there were about 30,000 Vepsians, in 1970 there were 8,300 people. Due to the strong influence of the Russian language, the Vepsian language is noticeably different from other Baltic-Finnish languages.
Vodskythe language is on the verge of extinction, because there are no more than 30 people who speak this language. Vod lives in several villages located between the northeastern part of Estonia and the Leningrad region. The Votic language is unwritten.
Do youlive in several seaside fishing villages in northern Latvia. Their number has sharply decreased over the course of history due to the devastation during World War II. Now the number of Livonian speakers is only about 150 people. Writing has been developing since the 19th century, but currently the Livs are switching to the Latvian language.
Samithe language forms a separate group of Finno-Ugric languages, since there are many specific features in its grammar and vocabulary. The Sami live in the northern regions of Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Kola Peninsula in Russia. There are only about 40 thousand people, including about 2000 in Russia. The Sami language has much in common with the Baltic-Finnish languages. Sami writing develops on the basis of different dialects in Latin and Russian graphic systems.
Modern Finno-Ugric languages have diverged so much from each other that at first glance they seem completely unrelated to each other. However, a deeper study of the sound composition, grammar and vocabulary shows that these languages have many common features that prove the former common origin of the Finno-Ugric languages from one ancient proto-language.
ABOUT THE CONCEPT OF "KOMI LANGUAGE"
Traditionally, the Komi language refers to all three Komi dialects: Komi-Zyryan, Komi-Permyak and Komi-Yazvinsky. Many foreign Finno-Ugric scholars do not distinguish between the Komi-Zyryan and Komi-Permyak languages separately. However, in Soviet ethnography, two ethnic groups are distinguished - Komi-Zyryans and Komi-Permyaks, and in linguistics, accordingly, two languages. Komi-Zyryans and Komi-Permyaks communicate freely among themselves in their own languages, without resorting to Russian. Thus, the Komi-Zyryan and Komi-Permyak literary languages are very close.
This closeness is clearly visible when comparing the following two sentences:
1) Komi-Zyryan literary language -Ruch vidzodlis gogorbok and ydzhyd koz vylys addzis uros, kodi tov kezhlo dastis tshak .
2) Komi-Permyak literary language -Ruch vidzotis gogor and ydzhyt koz yilis kazyalis urokos, koda tov kezho zaptis tshakkez .
“The fox looked around and at the top of a tall spruce saw a squirrel who was storing mushrooms for the winter.”.
Studying the Komi-Zyryan literary language, in principle, makes it possible to read everything written in the Komi-Permyak literary language, as well as freely communicate with the Komi-Permyaks.
LOCATION AND NUMBER OF KOMI
A special ethnographic group of Komi are the Komi-Yazvintsy, whose language is very different from the modern Komi-Zyryan and Komi-Permyak dialects. Komi-Yazvintsy live in the Krasnovishersky district of the Perm region along the middle and upper reaches of the river. Yazva, the left tributary of the river. Vishera, flowing into the Kama. Their total number is about 4,000 people, but currently there is a rapid Russification of the Komi-Yazvintsy.
In the Afanasyevsky district of the Kirov region live the so-called “Zyuzda” Komi, whose dialect stands, as it were, between the Komi-Zyryan and Komi-Permyak dialects. In the 50s, there were over 5,000 people from Zyuzda, but then their numbers began to decrease.
Komi-Zyryanslive in the Komi Republic in the basins of the Luza, Vychegda and its tributaries Sysola, Vym, in the basins of the Izhma and Pechora rivers, which flow into the White Sea. Mezen and its tributary Vashka. Accordingly, they are divided by rivers ethnographic groups Komi - Luzsky Komi, Sysolsky, Vychegda, Vymsky, Udorsky, Izhemsky, Verkhne-Pechora Komi, etc. About 10% of the Komi-Zyryans live outside the republic: in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug of the Arkhangelsk region, in the north of the Tyumen region, in many villages of the lower Ob and along its tributaries, on the Kola Peninsula in the Murmansk region in Omsk, Novosibirsk and other regions of Siberia.
Komi-PermyaksThey live in isolation from the Komi-Zyryans, to the south, in the Perm region, in the Upper Kama region, on its tributaries Kose and Inve. The capital of the Komi-Permyak Autonomous Region is the city of Kudymkar.
The total number of the Komi population (Komi-Zyryans and Komi-Permyaks), according to population census data, was constantly increasing: 1897 - 254,000; 1970 - 475,000; 1926 - 364,000; 1979 - 478,000; 1959 - 431,000; 1989 - 497,081.
Demographers have noticed a trend of sharp decline in Komi population growth in last decades. If for 1959-1970. the increase was 44,000 people, then in 1970-1979. - only 3,000 people. As of 1979 in the USSR there were 326,700 Komi-Zyryans and 150,768 Komi-Permyaks. There were 280,797 Komi-Zyryans living in the Komi SSR, which amounted to 25.3% of the republic’s population.
In 1989, among the population of the Komi SSR, Komi made up 23%. According to the 1989 census, 345,007 Komi-Zyryans and 152,074 Komi-Permyaks lived in the USSR. However, the number of people who speak the Komi language is decreasing. Thus, in 1970, 82.7% of Komi-Zyryans and 85.8% of Komi-Permyaks called the Komi language their native language. In 1979, 76.2% of Komi-Zyryans and 77.1% of Komi-Permyaks named the Komi language as their native language. Over 10 years, the Komi language community has decreased by 33,000 people. The number of Komi language speakers continues to decline. According to the 1989 population census, among all Komi in the USSR, 70% called the Komi language their native language, i.e. now every third Komi no longer speaks their mother’s language.
From the book "KOMI KYV: Self-teacher of the Komi language" E. A. Tsypanov 1992 (Syktyvkar, Komi book publishing house)
Finno-Ugric languages are related to modern Finnish and Hungarian. The peoples who speak them make up the Finno-Ugric ethnolinguistic group. Their origin, territory of settlement, commonality and differences in external features, culture, religion and traditions are the subjects of global research in the field of history, anthropology, geography, linguistics and a number of other sciences. This review article will try to briefly cover this topic.
Peoples included in the Finno-Ugric ethnolinguistic group
Based on the degree of similarity of languages, researchers divide the Finno-Ugric peoples into five subgroups.
The basis of the first, Baltic-Finnish, are Finns and Estonians - peoples with their own states. They also live in Russia. Setu - a small group of Estonians - settled in the Pskov region. The most numerous of the Baltic-Finnish peoples of Russia are the Karelians. In everyday life they use three autochthonous dialects, while Finnish is considered their literary language. In addition, the same subgroup includes the Vepsians and Izhorians - small peoples who have preserved their languages, as well as the Vod (there are less than a hundred people left, their own language has been lost) and the Livs.
The second is the Sami (or Lapp) subgroup. The main part of the peoples who gave it its name are settled in Scandinavia. In Russia, the Sami live on the Kola Peninsula. Researchers suggest that in ancient times these peoples occupied a larger territory, but were subsequently pushed further north. Then their replacement took place own language one of the Finnish dialects.
The third subgroup that makes up the Finno-Ugric peoples - the Volga-Finnish - includes the Mari and Mordovians. The Mari are the main part of Mari El; they also live in Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, Udmurtia and a number of other Russian regions. They have two literary languages (with which, however, not all researchers agree). Mordva - autochthonous population of the Republic of Mordovia; at the same time, a significant part of the Mordvins are settled throughout Russia. This people consists of two ethnographic groups, each with its own literary written language.
The fourth subgroup is called Permian. It also includes the Udmurts. Even before October 1917, in terms of literacy (though in Russian), the Komi were approaching the most educated peoples of Russia - Jews and Russian Germans. As for the Udmurts, their dialect has been preserved for the most part in the villages of the Udmurt Republic. Residents of cities, as a rule, forget both the indigenous language and customs.
The fifth, Ugric, subgroup includes the Hungarians, Khanty and Mansi. Although the lower reaches of the Ob northern Urals separated from the Hungarian state on the Danube by many kilometers, these peoples are actually the closest relatives. The Khanty and Mansi belong to the small peoples of the North.
Disappeared Finno-Ugric tribes
To the Finnish Ugric peoples also included tribes, mentions of which are currently preserved only in chronicles. Thus, the Merya people lived between the Volga and Oka rivers in the first millennium AD - there is a theory that they subsequently merged with the Eastern Slavs.
The same thing happened with Muroma. This is even more ancient people Finno-Ugric ethno-linguistic group that once inhabited the Oka basin.
The long-vanished Finnish tribes that lived along the Northern Dvina are called Chudya by researchers (according to one hypothesis, they were the ancestors of modern Estonians).
Commonality of languages and culture
Having declared the Finno-Ugric languages as a single group, researchers emphasize this commonality as main factor, uniting the peoples who speak them. However, the Ural ethnic groups, despite the similarity in the structure of their languages, still do not always understand each other. Thus, a Finn will certainly be able to communicate with an Estonian, an Erzyan with a Moksha, and an Udmurt with a Komi. However, the peoples of this group, geographically distant from each other, must make quite a lot of effort to identify in their languages common features that would help them carry on the conversation.
The linguistic kinship of the Finno-Ugric peoples is primarily traced in the similarity of linguistic constructions. This significantly influences the formation of the thinking and worldview of peoples. Despite the differences in cultures, this circumstance contributes to the emergence of mutual understanding between these ethnic groups.
At the same time, the unique psychology determined by the thought process in these languages enriches universal human culture their unique vision of the world. Thus, unlike the Indo-Europeans, the representative of the Finno-Ugric people is inclined to treat nature with exceptional respect. Finno-Ugric culture also largely contributed to the desire of these peoples to peacefully adapt to their neighbors - as a rule, they preferred not to fight, but to migrate, preserving their identity.
Also, a characteristic feature of the peoples of this group is openness to ethnocultural exchange. In search of ways to strengthen relationships with related peoples, they maintain cultural contacts with all those who surround them. Basically, the Finno-Ugric people managed to preserve their languages and basic cultural elements. The connection with ethnic traditions in this area can be traced in their national songs, dancing, music, traditional dishes, clothes. Also, many elements of their ancient rituals have survived to this day: wedding, funeral, memorial.
Brief history of the Finno-Ugric peoples
Origin and early history Finno-Ugric peoples remain the subject of scientific debate to this day. The most common opinion among researchers is that in ancient times there was a single group of people who spoke a common Finno-Ugric proto-language. The ancestors of the current Finno-Ugric peoples until the end of the third millennium BC. e. maintained relative unity. They were settled in the Urals and the western Urals, and possibly also in some adjacent areas.
In that era, called Finno-Ugric, their tribes came into contact with the Indo-Iranians, which was reflected in myths and languages. Between the third and second millennia BC. e. The Ugric and Finno-Permian branches separated from each other. Among the peoples of the latter, who settled in westward, independent subgroups of languages gradually emerged and became distinct (Baltic-Finnish, Volga-Finnish, Permian). As a result of the transition of the autochthonous population of the Far North to one of the Finno-Ugric dialects, the Sami were formed.
The Ugric group of languages disintegrated by the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. The Baltic-Finnish division occurred at the beginning of our era. Perm lasted a little longer - until the eighth century. Contacts of Finno-Ugric tribes with Baltic, Iranian, Slavic, Turkic, and Germanic peoples played a major role in the separate development of these languages.
Settlement area
Finno-Ugric peoples today mainly live in Northwestern Europe. Geographically, they are settled over a vast territory from Scandinavia to the Urals, Volga-Kama, lower and middle Tobol region. Hungarians - the only people Finno-Ugric ethno-linguistic group, who formed their own state away from other related tribes - in the Carpathian-Danube region.
Number of Finno-Ugric peoples
The total number of peoples speaking Uralic languages (these include Finno-Ugric and Samoyed) is 23-24 million people. The most numerous representatives are Hungarians. There are more than 15 million of them in the world. They are followed by Finns and Estonians (5 and 1 million people, respectively). Most other Finno-Ugric ethnic groups live in modern Russia.
Finno-Ugric ethnic groups in Russia
Russian settlers flocked en masse to the lands of the Finno-Ugrians in the 16th-18th centuries. Most often, the process of their settlement in these areas occurred peacefully, but some indigenous peoples (for example, the Mari) for a long time and fiercely resisted the annexation of their region to the Russian state.
Christian religion, writing, urban culture, introduced by the Russians, over time began to displace local beliefs and dialects. People moved to cities, moved to Siberian and Altai lands - where Russian was the main and common language. However, he (especially his northern dialect) absorbed many Finno-Ugric words - this is most noticeable in the field of toponyms and names of natural phenomena.
In some places, the Finno-Ugric peoples of Russia mixed with the Turks, converting to Islam. However, a significant part of them were still assimilated by the Russians. Therefore, these peoples do not constitute a majority anywhere - even in those republics that bear their name.
However, according to the 2002 population census, there are very significant Finno-Ugric groups in Russia. These are the Mordovians (843 thousand people), Udmurts (almost 637 thousand), Mari (604 thousand), Komi-Zyryans (293 thousand), Komi-Permyaks (125 thousand), Karelians (93 thousand). The number of some peoples does not exceed thirty thousand people: Khanty, Mansi, Vepsians. The Izhorians number 327 people, and the Vod people number only 73 people. Hungarians, Finns, Estonians, and Sami also live in Russia.
Development of Finno-Ugric culture in Russia
In total, sixteen Finno-Ugric peoples live in Russia. Five of them have their own national-state entities, and two have national-territorial ones. Others are dispersed throughout the country.
In Russia, considerable attention is paid to the preservation of original cultural traditions inhabiting it. At the national and local level, programs are being developed with the support of which the culture of the Finno-Ugric peoples, their customs and dialects is being studied.
Thus, Sami, Khanty, Mansi are taught in primary school, and Komi, Mari, Udmurt, Mordovian languages - in secondary schools in those regions where large groups of the corresponding ethnic groups live. There are special laws on culture and languages (Mari El, Komi). Thus, in the Republic of Karelia there is a law on education that enshrines the right of Vepsians and Karelians to study in their native language. The priority for the development of the cultural traditions of these peoples is determined by the Law on Culture.
Also, the republics of Mari El, Udmurtia, Komi, Mordovia, and the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug have their own concepts and programs for national development. The Foundation for the Development of Cultures of Finno-Ugric Peoples has been created and operates (on the territory of the Mari El Republic).
Finno-Ugric peoples: appearance
The ancestors of the current Finno-Ugrians were the result of a mixture of Paleo-European and Paleo-Asian tribes. Therefore, the appearance of all the peoples of this group contains both Caucasoid and Mongoloid features. Some scientists even put forward a theory about the existence of an independent race - the Ural, which is “intermediate” between Europeans and Asians, but this version has few supporters.
Finno-Ugrians are heterogeneous in anthropological terms. However, any representative of the Finno-Ugric people possesses characteristic “Ural” features to one degree or another. This is usually of average height, very light color hair, wide face, thin beard. But these features manifest themselves in different ways. Thus, the Erzya Mordvins are tall, have blond hair and blue eyes. Mordvins-Moksha - on the contrary, are shorter, with wide cheekbones, and darker hair. The Udmurts and Mari often have characteristic “Mongolian” eyes with a special fold at the inner corner of the eye - epicanthus, very wide faces, thin beard. But at the same time, their hair, as a rule, is blond and red, and their eyes are blue or gray, which is typical for Europeans, but not Mongoloids. The “Mongolian fold” is also found among the Izhorians, Vodians, Karelians and even Estonians. Komi people look different. Where there are mixed marriages with the Nenets, representatives of this people have braided hair and black hair. Other Komi, on the contrary, are more like Scandinavians, but have wider faces.
Finno-Ugric traditional cuisine in Russia
Most of the dishes of traditional Finno-Ugric and Trans-Ural cuisines, in fact, have not been preserved or have been significantly distorted. However, ethnographers manage to trace some general patterns.
The main food product of the Finno-Ugrians was fish. It was not only processed in different ways (fried, dried, boiled, fermented, dried, eaten raw), but each type was also prepared in its own way, which would better convey the taste.
Before the appearance firearms The main method of hunting in the forest was snares. They caught mainly forest birds (grouse, wood grouse) and small animals, mainly hares. Meat and poultry were stewed, boiled and baked, and much less often, fried.
For vegetables they used turnips and radishes, and for herbs - watercress, hogweed, horseradish, onions, and young mushrooms growing in the forest. Western Finno-Ugric peoples practically did not consume mushrooms; at the same time, for the eastern ones they constituted a significant part of the diet. Oldest species grains known to these peoples are barley and wheat (spelt). They were used to prepare porridges, hot jelly, and also as a filling for homemade sausages.
The modern culinary repertoire of the Finno-Ugric people contains very few national traits, since it has been strongly influenced by Russian, Bashkir, Tatar, Chuvash and other cuisines. However, almost every nation has preserved one or two traditional, ritual or festive dishes that have survived to this day. In total they allow us to make general idea about Finno-Ugric cooking.
Finno-Ugric peoples: religion
Most Finno-Ugrians profess the Christian faith. Finns, Estonians and Western Sami are Lutherans. Catholics predominate among Hungarians, although you can also meet Calvinists and Lutherans.
Finno-Ugrians living in are predominantly Orthodox Christians. However, the Udmurts and Mari in some places managed to preserve the ancient (animistic) religion, and the Samoyed peoples and inhabitants of Siberia - shamanism.
People living in the Cheptsa basin (tributary of the Vyatka) within the Balezinsky, Glazovsky, Yukamensky, Yarsky districts Udmurt Republic, as well as in adjacent areas of the Kirov region of the Russian Federation. The Besermyan language is a dialect of the Udmurt language.
Finno-Ugric peoples are one of the largest ethno-linguistic communities in Europe. In Russia alone there live 17 peoples of Finno-Ugric origin. The Finnish Kalevala inspired Tolkien, and Izhora fairy tales inspired Alexander Pushkin.
Who are the Finno-Ugrians?
Finno-Ugrians are one of the largest ethno-linguistic communities in Europe. It includes 24 nations, 17 of which live in Russia. The Sami, Ingrian Finns and Seto live both in Russia and abroad.
Finno-Ugric peoples are divided into two groups: Finnish and Ugric. Their total number today is estimated at 25 million people. Of these, there are about 19 million Hungarians, 5 million Finns, about a million Estonians, 843 thousand Mordovians, 647 thousand Udmurts and 604 thousand Mari.
Where do Finno-Ugric people live in Russia?
Taking into account the current labor migration, we can say that everywhere, however, the most numerous Finno-Ugric peoples have their own republics in Russia. These are peoples such as Mordovians, Udmurts, Karelians and Mari. There are also autonomous okrugs of the Khanty, Mansi and Nenets.
The Komi-Permyak Autonomous Okrug, where the Komi-Permyaks were in the majority, was merged with Perm region V Perm region. The Finno-Ugric Vepsians in Karelia have their own national volost. Ingrian Finns, Izhoras and Selkups do not have an autonomous territory.
Is Moscow a Finno-Ugric name?
According to one hypothesis, the oikonym Moscow is of Finno-Ugric origin. From the Komi language “mosk”, “moska” is translated into Russian as “cow, heifer”, and “va” is translated as “water”, “river”. Moscow in this case is translated as “cow river”. The popularity of this hypothesis was brought by its support by Klyuchevsky.
Russian historian of the 19th-20th centuries Stefan Kuznetsov also believed that the word “Moscow” was of Finno-Ugric origin, but assumed that it came from the Meryan words “mask” (bear) and “ava” (mother, female). According to this version, the word “Moscow” is translated as “bear”.
Today, these versions, however, are refuted, since they do not take into account the ancient form of the oikonym “Moscow”. Stefan Kuznetsov used data from the Erzya and Mari languages; the word “mask” appeared in the Mari language only in the 14th-15th centuries.
Such different Finno-Ugrians
The Finno-Ugric peoples are far from homogeneous, either linguistically or anthropologically. Based on language, they are divided into several subgroups. The Permian-Finnish subgroup includes the Komi, Udmurts and Besermyans. The Volga-Finnish group is the Mordovians (Erzyans and Mokshans) and the Mari. The Balto-Finns include: Finns, Ingrian Finns, Estonians, Setos, Kvens in Norway, Vods, Izhorians, Karelians, Vepsians and descendants of the Meri. Also, the Khanty, Mansi and Hungarians belong to a separate Ugric group. The descendants of the medieval Meshchera and Murom most likely belong to the Volga Finns.
The peoples of the Finno-Ugric group have both Caucasian and Mongoloid characteristics. The Ob Ugrians (Khanty and Mansi), part of the Mari, and the Mordovians have more pronounced Mongoloid features. The rest of these traits are either equally divided, or the Caucasoid component dominates.
What do haplogroups say?
Genetic studies show that every second Russian Y chromosome belongs to haplogroup R1a. It is characteristic of all Baltic and Slavic peoples (except for the southern Slavs and northern Russians).
However, among the inhabitants of the North of Russia, haplogroup N3, characteristic of the Finnish group of peoples, is clearly represented. In the very north of Russia, its percentage reaches 35 (the Finns have an average of 40 percent), but the further south you go, the lower this percentage is. In Western Siberia, the related N3 haplogroup N2 is also common. This suggests that in the Russian North there was not a mixing of peoples, but a transition of the local Finno-Ugric population to the Russian language and Orthodox culture.
What fairy tales were read to us?
The famous Arina Rodionovna, Pushkin’s nanny, is known to have had a strong influence on the poet. It is noteworthy that she was of Finno-Ugric origin. She was born in the village of Lampovo in Ingria.
This explains a lot in understanding Pushkin's fairy tales. We have known them since childhood and believe that they are originally Russian, but their analysis suggests that storylines Some Pushkin fairy tales go back to Finno-Ugric folklore. For example, “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” is based on the fairy tale “Wonderful Children” from the Vepsian tradition (Vepsians are a small Finno-Ugric people).
First great work Pushkin, poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila". One of its main characters is Elder Finn, a wizard and sorcerer. The name, as they say, speaks volumes. Philologist Tatyana Tikhmeneva, compiler of the book “The Finnish Album,” also noted that the connection of the Finns with witchcraft and clairvoyance was recognized by all nations. The Finns themselves recognized the ability for magic as superior to strength and courage and revered it as wisdom. It is no coincidence that main character“Kalevals” Väinemöinen is not a warrior, but a prophet and poet.
Naina, another character in the poem, also bears traces of Finno-Ugric influence. In Finnish, woman is "nainen".
Another interesting fact. Pushkin, in a letter to Delvig in 1828, wrote: “By the New Year, I will probably return to you in Chukhlyandia.” This is what Pushkin called St. Petersburg, obviously recognizing the primordiality of the Finno-Ugric peoples on this land.
The peoples of the Finno-Ugric group have inhabited the territories of Europe and Siberia for more than ten thousand years, since Neolithic times. Today, the number of speakers of Finno-Ugric languages exceeds 20 million people, and they are citizens of Russia and a number of European countries - modern representatives of the peoples of the Finno-Ugric group live in Western and Central Siberia, Central and Northern Europe. The Finno-Ugric peoples are an ethno-linguistic community of peoples, including the Mari, Samoyeds, Sami, Udmurts, Ob Ugrians, Erzyans, Hungarians, Finns, Estonians, Livs, etc.
Some peoples of the Finno-Ugric group created their own states (Hungary, Finland, Estonia, Latvia), and some live in multinational states. Despite the fact that the cultures of the peoples of the Finno-Ugric group were influenced significant influence and the beliefs of the ethnic groups living with them on the same territory, and the Christianization of Europe, yet the Finno-Ugric peoples managed to preserve a layer of their original culture and religion.
Religion of the peoples of the Finno-Ugric group before Christianization
IN pre-Christian era the peoples of the Finno-Ugric group lived separately, over a vast territory, and representatives different nations There was practically no contact with each other. Therefore, it is natural that the dialects and nuances of traditions and beliefs among different peoples of this group differed significantly: for example, despite the fact that both Estonians and Mansi belong to the Finno-Ugric peoples, it cannot be said that there is much in their beliefs and traditions general. The formation of religion and way of life of each ethnic group was influenced by conditions environment and the way of life of the people, therefore it is not surprising that the beliefs and traditions of the ethnic groups living in Siberia differed significantly from the religion of the Finno-Ugric peoples living in Western Europe.
There was no Finno-Ugric group in the religions of the peoples, so all the information about the beliefs of this ethnic group historians take from folklore - oral folk art, which was recorded in the epics and legends of different peoples. And the most famous epics, from which modern historians draw knowledge about beliefs, are the Finnish “Kalevala” and the Estonian “Kalevipoeg”, which describe in sufficient detail not only gods and traditions, but also the exploits of heroes of different times.
Despite the presence of a certain difference between the beliefs of different peoples of the Finno-Ugric group, there is much in common between them. All of these religions were polytheistic, and most of the gods were associated with either natural phenomena, or with cattle breeding and agriculture - the main occupations of the Finno-Ugrians. The supreme deity was considered the god of the sky, whom the Finns called Yumala, the Estonians - Taevataat, the Mari - Yumo, the Udmurts - Inmar, and the Sami - Ibmel. Also, the Finno-Ugrians revered the deities of the sun, moon, fertility, earth and thunder; representatives of each nation called their deities in their own way, however General characteristics The gods, besides their names, did not have too many differences. In addition to polytheism and similar gods, all religions of the peoples of the Finno-Ugric group have the following common characteristics:
- Ancestor cult - all representatives of the Finno-Ugric peoples believed in the existence of the immortal soul of man, as well as in the fact that residents of the afterlife can influence the lives of living people and, in exceptional cases, help their descendants
- Cults of gods and spirits associated with nature and earth (A nimism) - since the food of most peoples of Siberia and Europe directly depended on the offspring of farmed animals and crops cultivated plants, it is not surprising that many peoples of the Finno-Ugric group had many traditions and rituals intended to appease the spirits of nature
- Elements of shamanism - as in, in the Finno-Ugric ethnic groups, the role of intermediaries between the world of people and the spiritual world was performed by shamans.
Religion of the peoples of the Finno-Ugric group in modern times
After the Christianization of Europe, as well as the increase in the number of adherents of Islam at the beginning of the first half of the second millennium AD, all more people, belonging to the Finno-Ugric peoples, began to profess any of them, leaving the beliefs of their ancestors in the past. Now only a small part of the Finno-Ugric people profess traditional pagan beliefs and shamanism, while the majority have adopted the faith of the peoples living with them on the same territory. For example, the overwhelming majority of Finns and Estonians, as well as citizens of other European countries, are Christians (Catholics, Orthodox or Lutherans), and among the representatives of the peoples of the Finno-Ugric group inhabiting the Urals and Siberia, there are many adherents of Islam.
Today, the ancient animistic religions and shamanism have been preserved in their most complete form by the Udmurts, Mari and Samoyed peoples - the indigenous inhabitants of western and central Siberia. However, it cannot be said that the Finno-Ugric people completely forgot their traditions, because they preserved a number of rituals and beliefs, and even the traditions of some Christian holidays among the peoples of the Finno-Ugric group were closely intertwined with ancient pagan customs.