Approximate ethno-linguistic map of European Eastern Rus in the 9th century: The five Volga Finnic groups of the Merya, Mari, Muromians, Meshchera and Mordvins are shown as being surrounded by the Slavs to the west, the (Finnic) Veps to the northwest, the Permians to the northeast, and the (Turkic) Bulghars and Khazars to the southeast and south.
The modern representatives of Volga Finns live in the basins of the Sura and Moksha rivers, as well as (in smaller numbers) in the interfluve between the Volga and the Belaya rivers. The Mari language has two dialects, the Meadow Mari and the Hill Mari.
Traditionally the Mari and the Mordvinic languages (Erzya and Moksha) were considered to form a Volga-Finnic or Volgaic group within the Uralic language family,[6][7][8] accepted by linguists like Robert Austerlitz (1968), Aurélien Sauvageot & Karl Heinrich Menges (1973) and Harald Haarmann (1974), but rejected by others like Björn Collinder (1965) and Robert Thomas Harms (1974).[9] This grouping has also been criticized by Salminen (2002), who suggests it may be simply a geographic, not a phylogenetic, group.[10]
The Mari or Cheremis (Russian: черемисы, cheremisy; Tatar: Çirmeş) have traditionally lived along the Volga and Kama rivers in Russia. The majority of Maris today live in the Mari El Republic, with significant populations in the Tatarstan and Bashkortostan republics. The Mari people consists of three different groups: the Meadow Mari, who live along the left bank of the Volga, the Mountain Mari, who live along the right bank of the Volga, and Eastern Mari, who live in the Bashkortostan republic. In the 2002 Russian census, 604,298 people identified themselves as "Mari," with 18,515 of those specifying that they were Mountain Mari and 56,119 as Eastern Mari. Almost 60% of Mari lived in rural areas.[11]
The Merya people (Russian: меря, merya; also Merä) inhabited a territory corresponding roughly to the present-day area of the Golden Ring or Zalesye regions of Russia, including the modern-day Moscow, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Ivanovo, and Vladimir oblasts.[12] In the modern Vepsian language, the word meri means "sea".[13] It is likely that they were peacefully assimilated by the East Slavs after their territory became incorporated into Rus' in the 10th century.[14]
In the 6th century Jordanes mentioned them briefly (as Merens); later the Primary Chronicle described them in more detail. Soviet archaeologists believed that the capital of the Merya was Sarskoe Gorodishche near the bank of the Nero Lake to the south of Rostov. The annalists also mention the Merya people in connection with some notable events: in 859 they were taxed by the Vikings, and in 862 they took part in the battle against them. In 882 they accompanied Oleg to Kiev, where he established his power, and in 907 they were among the participants in Oleg's Byzantine campaign.[15] In 1235, the Friar Julian sets out to visit the Hungarians who remain in the east. In his second travelogue, he mentions that the Tatars have conquered a country called Merovia.[15]
One hypothesis classifies the Merya as a western branch of the Mari people rather than as a separate tribe. Their ethnonyms are basically identical, Merya being a Russian transcription of the Mari self-designation, Мäрӹ (Märӛ).[16]
The Meryans were stated to have fought with the Bolghars in wars against Tatars.[21]
Some of the inhabitants of several districts of Kostroma and Yaroslavl oblasts present themselves as Meryan, although in recent censuses, they were registered as Russians. The modern Merya people have their websites[22][23] displaying their flag, coat of arms and national anthem,[24] and participate in discussions on the subject in Finno-Ugric networks.
2010 saw the release of the film Ovsyanki (literal translation: 'The Buntings', English title: Silent Souls), based on the novel of the same name,[25] devoted to the imagined life of modern Merya (or Meadow Mari) people.
In the early 21st century, a new type of social movement, the so-called "Merya Ethnofuturism", has emerged. It is distributed across central regions of Russia, for example, in Moscow, Pereslavl-Zalessky, Kostroma Oblast, and Plyos. In May 2014, the New Gallery in the city of Ivanovo opened the art project mater Volga, Sacrum during the "Night of Museums".[26] In October 2014, a presentation of "Merya Language" was held at the III Festival of Languages at Novgorod University.
The Meshchera (Russian: мещера, meshchera or мещёра, meshchyora) lived in the territory between the Oka River and the Klyazma River. It was a land of forests, bogs and lakes. The area is still called the Meshchera Lowlands.
The first Russian written source which mentions them is the Tolkovaya Paleya, from the 13th century. They are also mentioned in several later Russian chronicles from the period before the 16th century. This is in stark contrast to the related tribes Merya and Muroma, which appear to have been assimilated by the East Slavs by the 10th and the 11th centuries.
Ivan II, prince of Moscow, wrote in his will, 1358, about the village Meshcherka, which he had bought from the native Meshcherian chieftain Alexander Ukovich. The village appears to have been converted to the Christian Orthodox faith and to have been a vassal of Muscovy.
The Meschiera (along with Mordua, Sibir, and a few other harder-to-interpret groups) are mentioned in the "Province of Russia" on the VenetianFra Mauro Map (ca. 1450).[27]
Several documents mention the Meshchera concerning the Kazan campaign by Ivan the Terrible in the 16th century. These accounts concern a state of Meshchera (known under a tentative name of Temnikov Meshchera, after its central town of Temnikov) which had been assimilated by the Mordvins and the Tatars. Prince A. M. Kurbsky wrote that the Mordvin language was spoken in the lands of the Meshchera.
In the village of Zhabki (Egorievsk district, Moscow Oblast), Meshchera burial sites were found in 1870. Women's bronze decorations identified as Finno-Ugric were found and dated to the 5th to 8th centuries. Very similar finds soon appeared in the Ryazan Oblast and the Vladimir Oblast, enabling archaeologists to establish what characterized the material culture of the Meshchera. 12 such sites were found from the Moskva River, along the Oka River to the town Kasimov. The general opinion is nowadays, that the Oka-Ryazan culture is identical to that of the Meshchera. The graves of women have yielded objects typical of the Volga Finns, of the 4th to 7th centuries, consisting of rings, jingling pendants, buckles and torcs. A specific feature was round breast plates with a characteristic ornamentation.[citation needed] Some of the graves contained well-preserved copper oxides of the decorations with long black hair locked into small bells into which were woven pendants.[citation needed]
In the Oka River valley, the Meshchera culture appears to have disappeared by the 11th century. In the marshy north, they appear to have stayed and to have been converted into the Orthodox faith. The Meshchera nobility appears to have been converted and assimilated by the 13th century, but the common Meshchera huntsman and fisherman may have kept elements of their language and beliefs for a longer period. In the 16th century, the St Nicholas monastery was founded in Radovitsky in order to convert the remaining Meshchera pagans. The princely family Mestchersky in Russia derives its nobility from having originally been native rulers of some of these Finnic tribes.
The Meshchera language[28] is unattested, and theories on its affiliation remain speculative.[29] Some linguists think that it might have been a dialect of Mordvinic,[14] while Pauli Rahkonen has suggested on the basis of toponymic evidence that it was a Permic or closely related language.[30] Rahkonen's speculation has been criticized by other scientists, such as by the Russian Uralist Vladimir Napolskikh.[31]
Some toponyms which Rahkonen suggested as Permic are the hydronyms stems: Un-, Ič-, Ul and Vil-, which can be compared to Udmurt uno 'big', iči 'little', vi̮l 'upper' and ulo 'lower'. Rahkonen also theorized the name Meshchera itself could be a Permic word, and its cognate be Komi mösör 'isthmus'.[32]
Contrary to popular opinion, historian Alimzhan Orlov has contested the Finnic background of Meshchera. He thinks it was originally a Turkic, more specifically, a Polovtsian (Kipchak) tribe that appeared in the 5th-8th centuries in southeastern Europe. He states that it eventually, around 1200-1300, was formed into "two Meshchera's" - one Russian, other Tatar. Orlov claims there is archaeological findings to prove his theory. Also, according to him, Ivan the Terrible originally mistakenly identified them as Mari/Cheremis. Orlov, and researches such as G. Ahmarov and M. Zekiyev, have stated that it would not be possible for a Finnic tribe to have adopted Tatar culture, referring to a theory that Mishar Tatars descend from "Tatarized" part of the tribe. Orlov does think, however, that a Turkic Meschera forms the ancestors of Mishar Tatars.[33][34][35]
The Mordvins (also Mordva, Mordvinians) remain one of the larger indigenous peoples of Russia. Less than one third of Mordvins live in the autonomous republic of Mordovia, Russian Federation, in the basin of the Volga River. They consist of two major subgroups, the Erzya and Moksha, besides the smaller subgroups of the Qaratay, Teryukhan and Tengushevo (or Shoksha) Mordvins who have become fully Russified or Turkified during the 19th to 20th centuries.
The Erzya Mordvins (Erzya: эрзят, Erzyat; also Erzia, Erzä), who speak Erzya, and the Moksha Mordvins (Moksha: мокшет, Mokshet), who speak Moksha, are the two major groups. The Qaratay Mordvins live in Kama Tamağı District of Tatarstan, and have shifted to speakingTatar, albeit with a large proportion of Mordvin vocabulary (substratum). The Teryukhan, living in the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast of Russia, switched to Russian in the 19th century. The Teryukhans recognize the term Mordva as pertaining to themselves, whereas the Qaratay also call themselves Muksha. The Tengushevo Mordvins are a transitional group between Moksha and Erzya. They are also called Shoksha (or Shokshot). They are isolated from the bulk of the Erzyans, and their dialect/language has been influenced by the Mokshan dialects.
Muroma
Reconstruction of women's clothing and headdress metal parts from a 9th-10th century Muroma tomb.
The Muromians (Old East Slavic: Мурома, Muroma) lived in the Oka River basin. They are mentioned in the Primary Chronicle and by the Rogosk Chronicler. The Muromas as an ethnic group was formed around the seventh century AD, according to the date of the Muroma cemeteries.[15] The old town of Murom still bears their name. The Muromians paid tribute to the Rus' princes and, like the neighbouring Merya tribe, were assimilated by the East Slavs in the 11th to 12th century as their territory was incorporated into the Rus'.[36] A group of them migrated to the Carpathian Basin with the Hungarians, or Bulgars, as they are listed by the Rogosk Chronicler, among the peoples who inhabited the Carpathian Basin in 897.[37]
During the excavation of the Muroma tombs, archaeologists uncovered a rich archaeological legacy. Weapons were among the best in the surrounding areas in terms of workmanship, and the jewellery, which is found in abundance in the burials, is remarkable for its ingenuity of form and meticulous workmanship. The Muroma were characterised by arc-shaped head ornaments woven from horsehair and strips of leather, which were spirally braided with bronze wire. This is interesting because it is not observed in other Volga Finnic peoples.[38]
Like other medieval Volga Finns, animal bones were present in the burials as funeral food. Horses were buried separately, bridled and saddled, giving them a pose imitating a living animal lying on its belly with legs tucked up and head raised (it was placed on a step in the grave).[39]
In 2023, 13 Muroma tombs were excavated on the banks of the Oka River, accompanied by a number of artefacts - one of which was a belt buckle, which was most similar to the belt buckles of the conquering Hungarians.[40] Weapons such as spears and axes, as well as coins (dirhams) and five lead weights, among other things, were recovered from the grave of one of the presumably noble men.[41]
The Muroma settlements were located on high ground above the floodplain meadows. Livestock farming formed the basis of the Muroma economy, with pigs, large horned cattle, and to a lesser extent, sheep being raised. Horses played a special role, and they were also bred for meat. The Slash-and-burn agriculture played a minor role in their economy. Their commercial hunting was aimed at fur hunting.[38]
The Muromian language[42] is unattested, but is assumed to have been Uralic, and has frequently been placed in the Volga-Finnic category.[14][43][44]A. K. Matveyev identified the toponymic area upon Lower Oka and Lower Klyazma, which corresponds with Muroma.[45] According to the toponymy, the Muroma language was close to the Merya language.[46] A few words have been reconstructed in the Muroma language, based on toponyms, such as: *juga 'river', *vi̮ksa ‘river connecting two bodies of water', and *voht(V) ‘neck of land between two bodies of water’.[32] The Muroma language died out around the 10th century.[47]
↑ Also known as Volga Finnic peoples[1] and Volga Finno-Ugrians[2]
Related Research Articles
Finno-Ugric is a traditional grouping of all languages in the Uralic language family except the Samoyedic languages. Its formerly commonly accepted status as a subfamily of Uralic is based on criteria formulated in the 19th century and is criticized by some contemporary linguists such as Tapani Salminen and Ante Aikio. The three most-spoken Uralic languages, Hungarian, Finnish, and Estonian, are all included in Finno-Ugric.
The Uralic languages form a language family of 42 languages spoken predominantly in Europe and North Asia. The Uralic languages with the most native speakers are Hungarian, Finnish, and Estonian. Other languages with speakers above 100,000 are Erzya, Moksha, Mari, Udmurt and Komi spoken in the European parts of the Russian Federation. Still smaller minority languages are Sámi languages of the northern Fennoscandia; other members of the Finnic languages, ranging from Livonian in northern Latvia to Karelian in northwesternmost Russia; and the Samoyedic languages, Mansi and Khanty spoken in Western Siberia.
The Volga is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of 3,531 km (2,194 mi), and a catchment area of 1,360,000 km2 (530,000 sq mi). It is also Europe's largest river in terms of average discharge at delta – between 8,000 m3/s (280,000 cu ft/s) and 8,500 m3/s (300,000 cu ft/s) – and of drainage basin. It is widely regarded as the national river of Russia. The hypothetical old Russian state, the Rus' Khaganate, arose along the Volga c. 830 AD. Historically, the river served as an important meeting place of various Eurasian civilizations.
Mordovia, officially the Republic of Mordovia, is a republic of Russia, situated in Eastern Europe. Its capital is the city of Saransk. As of the 2010 Census, the population of the republic was 834,755. Ethnic Russians (53.1%) and Mordvins (39.8%) account for the majority of the population.
Mordvins is an official term used in the Russian Federation to refer both to Erzyas and Mokshas since 1928.
Jumala, Jumal or Jumo (Mari) means "god" in the Finnic languages and those of the Volga Finns, both the Christian God and any other deity of any religion. The word is thought to have been the name of a sky god of the ancient Finnic-speaking peoples. Jumala as a god of the sky is associated with the related Estonian Jumal, Mari Jumo and is thought to stem from an ancient tradition of the Finnic peoples.
Chud or Chude is a term historically applied in the early East Slavic annals to several Baltic Finnic peoples in the area of what is now Estonia, Karelia and Northwestern Russia. It has also been used to refer to other Finno-Ugric peoples.
Merya or Meryanic is an extinct Finno-Ugric language, which was spoken by the Meryans. Merya began to be assimilated by East Slavs when their territory became incorporated into Kievan Rus' in the 10th century. However some Merya speakers might have even lived in the 18th century. There is also a theory that the word for "Moscow" originates from the Merya language. The Meryan language stretched to the western parts of Vologda Oblast and Moscow.
The Mordvinic languages, also known as the Mordvin, Mordovian or Mordvinian languages , are a subgroup of the Uralic languages, comprising the closely related Erzya language and Moksha language, both spoken in Mordovia.
Finno-Volgaic or Fenno-Volgaic is a hypothetical branch of the Uralic languages that tried to group the Finnic languages, Sami languages, Mordvinic languages and the Mari language. It was hypothesized to have branched from the Finno-Permic languages about 2000 BC.
The Dyakovo culture is an Iron Age culture which occupied a significant part of the Upper Volga, Valday and Oka River area.
The Baltic Finnic peoples, often simply referred to as the Finnic peoples, are the peoples inhabiting the Baltic Sea region in Northern and Eastern Europe who speak Finnic languages. They include the Finns, Estonians, Karelians, Veps, Izhorians, Votes, and Livonians. In some cases the Kvens, Ingrians, Tornedalians and speakers of Meänkieli are considered separate from the Finns.
The Mokshas comprise a Mordvinian ethnic group belonging to the Volgaic branch of the Finno-Ugric peoples. They live in Russia, mostly near the Volga and Moksha rivers, a tributary of the Oka River.
Indigenous peoples of the Subarctic are the aboriginal peoples who live in the Subarctic regions of the Americas, Asia and Europe, located south of the true Arctic at about 50°N to 70°N latitude. This region includes the interior of Alaska, the Western Subarctic or western Canadian Shield and Mackenzie River drainage area, the Eastern Subarctic or Eastern Canadian Shield, and most of Fennoscandia, Northwestern Russia and Siberia. Peoples of subarctic Siberia and Greenland are included in the subarctic; however, Greenlandic Inuit are usually classified as Indigenous peoples of the Arctic.
Uralic neopaganism encompasses contemporary movements which have been reviving or revitalising the ethnic religions of the various peoples who speak Uralic languages. The movement has taken place since the 1980s and 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and alongside the ethnonational and cultural reawakening of the Finnic peoples of Russia, the Estonians and the Finns. In fact, Neopagan movements in Finland and Estonia have much older roots, dating from the early 20th century.
The Northwestern Mari are a subgroup of the Mari people and the indigenous people of the Kirov and Nizhny Novgorod oblasts of Russia. As with other Mari subgroups, they are Volga Finns. Their native language is Northwestern Mari, one of the four surviving members of the Mari branch of the Uralic language family.
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Meshchera is an extinct Uralic language. It was spoken around the left bank of the Middle Oka. Meshchera was either a Mordvinic or a Permic language. Pauli Rahkonen has suggested on the basis of toponymic evidence that it was a Permic or closely related language. Rahkonen's speculation has been criticized by Vladimir Napolskikh. Some Meshchera speaking people possibly assimilated into Mishar Tatars. However this theory is disputed.
Mordvins is an obsolete official term for the Erzyas and Mokshas as a single ethnic group in Russian Federation since 1928.
↑ Bereczki, Gábor (1996). "Le méria, une language balto-finnoise disparue". In Fernandez, M.M. Jocelyne; Raag, Raimo (eds.). Contacts de languages et de cultures dans l'aire baltique / Contacts of Languages and Cultures in the Baltic Area. Uppsala Multiethnic Papers. pp.69–76.
↑ SOUTH-EASTERN CONTACT AREA OF FINNIC LANGUAGES IN THE LIGHT OF ONOMASTICS (helsinki.fi)
↑ "Tuti questi populi, çoè nef, alich, marobab, balimata, quier, smaici, meschiera, sibir, cimano, çestan, mordua, cimarcia, sono ne la provincia de rossia"; item 2835 in: Falchetta, Piero (2006), Fra Mauro's World Map, Brepols, pp.700–701, item 2835, ISBN2-503-51726-9 ; also in the list online
↑ Rahkonen, Pauli (2009), "The Linguistic Background of the Ancient Meshchera Tribe and Principal Areas of Settlement", Finnisch-Ugrische Forschungen, 60, ISSN0355-1253
1 2 Remete, Farkas László (2010). Magyarok eredete [The origin of Hungarians] (in Hungarian). Budapest. p.37.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
1 2 Рябинин Е. А. (1997). Finno-Ugric Tribes in Ancient Russia. Publishing house of St. Petersburg State University.
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