The Mari emerged as an independent people from the Finno-Ugric tribes in the 10th century. Over the millennium of its existence, the Mari people have created a unique culture.

The book tells about rituals, customs, ancient beliefs, folk arts and crafts, blacksmithing, the art of song-storytellers, guslars, folk music, includes texts of songs, legends, fairy tales, traditions, poems and prose of classics of the Mari people and modern writers, talks about theatrical and musical art, and outstanding representatives of the culture of the Mari people.

Included are reproductions of the most famous paintings by Mari artists of the 19th-21st centuries.

Excerpt

Introduction

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

Externally, the Mari are quite different from other Finno-Ugric peoples. As a rule, they are not very tall, with dark hair and slightly slanted eyes. Mari girls at a young age are very beautiful and they can even often be confused with Russians. However, by the age of forty, most of them become very old and either dry out or become incredibly plump.

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

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

In ancient times, the Mari people were ruled by princes, whom the Mari called Oms. The prince combined the functions of both a military leader and a high priest. The Mari religion considers many of them saints. Holy in Mari - shnui. It takes 77 years for a person to be recognized as a saint. If after this period, when praying to him, healings from illnesses and other miracles occur, then the deceased is recognized as a saint.

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

Modern Mari live in the territories between 45° and 60° north latitude and 56° and 58° east longitude in several rather closely related groups. The autonomous Republic of Mari El, located along the middle reaches of the Volga, declared itself in its Constitution in 1991 a sovereign state within the Russian Federation. The declaration of sovereignty in the post-Soviet era means adherence to the principle of preserving the uniqueness of the national culture and language. In the Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, according to the 1989 census, there were 324,349 residents of Mari nationality. In the neighboring Gorky region, 9 thousand people called themselves Mari, in the Kirov region - 50 thousand people. In addition to the listed places, a significant Mari population lives in Bashkortostan (105,768 people), Tatarstan (20 thousand people), Udmurtia (10 thousand people) and in the Sverdlovsk region (25 thousand people). In some regions of the Russian Federation, the number of scattered, sporadically living Mari reaches 100 thousand people. The Mari are divided into two large dialectal and ethnocultural groups: the mountain Mari and the meadow Mari.

History of the Mari

We are learning more and more fully and better about the vicissitudes of the formation of the Mari people based on the latest archaeological research. In the second half of the 1st millennium BC. e., and also at the beginning of the 1st millennium AD. e. Among the ethnic groups of the Gorodets and Azelin cultures, one can assume the ancestors of the Mari. The Gorodets culture was autochthonous on the right bank of the Middle Volga region, while the Azelinskaya culture was on the left bank of the Middle Volga, as well as along the course of the Vyatka. These two branches of the ethnogenesis of the Mari people clearly show the double connection of the Mari within the Finno-Ugric tribes. The Gorodets culture for the most part played a role in the formation of the Mordovian ethnic group, but its eastern parts served as the basis for the formation of the mountain Mari ethnic group. The Azelin culture can be traced back to the Ananyin archaeological culture, which was previously assigned a dominant role only in the ethnogenesis of the Finno-Permian tribes, although this issue is currently considered by some researchers differently: perhaps the proto-Ugric and ancient Mari tribes were part of the ethnic groups of new archaeological cultures - successors that arose on the site of the collapsed Ananino culture. The Meadow Mari ethnic group can also be traced back to the traditions of the Ananyin culture.

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

Collection of yasak. Reproduction of a painting by G.A. Medvedev

Batu Khan founded a state entity called the Golden Horde in the territories captured and subordinated to them. Its capital until the 1280s. was the city of Bulgar, the former capital of Volga Bulgaria. The Mari were in allied relations with the Golden Horde and the independent Kazan Khanate that subsequently emerged from it. This is evidenced by the fact that the Mari had a stratum that did not pay taxes, but was obliged to perform military service. This class then became one of the most combat-ready military formations among the Tatars. Also, the existence of allied relations is indicated by the use of the Tatar word “el” - “people, empire” to designate the region inhabited by the Mari. Mari still call their native land Mari El.

The annexation of the Mari region to the Russian state was greatly influenced by the contacts of some groups of the Mari population with the Slavic-Russian state formations (Kievan Rus - northeastern Russian principalities and lands - Muscovite Rus) even before the 16th century. There was a significant limiting factor that did not allow the rapid completion of what began in the 12th–13th centuries. the process of becoming part of Rus' is the close and multilateral ties of the Mari with the Turkic states that opposed Russian expansion to the east (Volga-Kama Bulgaria - Ulus Jochi - Kazan Khanate). This intermediate position, as A. Kappeler believes, led to the fact that the Mari, as well as the Mordovians and Udmurts who were in a similar situation, were drawn into neighboring state formations economically and administratively, but at the same time retained their own social elite and their pagan religion .

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

There is information about the dependence of the Mari on Vladimir Monomakh. According to the “Tale of the Destruction of the Russian Land”, “the Cheremis... fought against the great Prince Volodymer.” In the Ipatiev Chronicle, in unison with the pathetic tone of the Lay, it is said that he is “especially terrible at the filthy.” According to B.A. Rybakov, the real reign, the nationalization of North-Eastern Rus' began precisely with Vladimir Monomakh.

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

The rapid pace of Russian colonization caused opposition from the local Finno-Ugric population, which found support from the Volga-Kama Bulgaria. In 1120, after a series of attacks by the Bulgars on Russian cities in the Volga-Ochye in the second half of the 11th century, a retaliatory series of campaigns began by the Vladimir-Suzdal and allied princes on lands that either belonged to the Bulgar rulers or were simply controlled by them in order to levy tribute from the local population. It is believed that the Russian-Bulgar conflict broke out primarily due to the collection of tribute.

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

The Slavic-Russians gradually either assimilated or displaced the Mari, forcing them to migrate east. This movement has been traced by archaeologists since about the 8th century. n. e.; the Mari, in turn, came into ethnic contact with the Permian-speaking population of the Volga-Vyatka interfluve (the Mari called them Odo, that is, they were Udmurts). The newcomer ethnic group prevailed in the ethnic competition. In the 9th–11th centuries. The Mari basically completed the development of the Vetluzh-Vyatka interfluve, displacing and partially assimilating the previous population. Numerous legends of the Mari and Udmurts testify that there were armed conflicts, and mutual antipathy continued to exist for quite a long time between representatives of these Finno-Ugric peoples.

As a result of the military campaign of 1218–1220, the conclusion of the Russian-Bulgar peace treaty of 1220 and the founding of Nizhny Novgorod at the mouth of the Oka in 1221 - the easternmost outpost of North-Eastern Rus' - the influence of the Volga-Kama Bulgaria in the Middle Volga region weakened. This created favorable conditions for the Vladimir-Suzdal feudal lords to conquer the Mordovians. Most likely, during the Russian-Mordovian war of 1226–1232. The “Cheremis” of the Oka-Sur interfluve were also involved.

The Russian Tsar presents gifts to the mountain Mari

The expansion of both Russian and Bulgarian feudal lords was also directed into the Unzha and Vetluga basins, which were relatively unsuitable for economic development. The Mari tribes and the eastern part of the Kostroma Meri lived here mainly, between which, as established by archaeologists and linguists, there was a lot in common, which to some extent allows us to speak about the ethnocultural community of the Vetluga Mari and the Kostroma Merya. In 1218, the Bulgars attacked Ustyug and Unzha; under 1237, another Russian city in the Volga region was mentioned for the first time - Galich Mersky. Apparently, there was a struggle here for the Sukhon-Vychegda trade and fishing route and for collecting tribute from the local population, in particular the Mari. Russian domination was established here too.

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

The development of the Mari lands was most likely carried out not only by force and military methods. There are such types of “cooperation” between Russian princes and the national nobility as “equal” matrimonial unions, company of companies, complicity, hostage-taking, bribery, and “doubling.” It is possible that a number of these methods were also used against representatives of the Mari social elite.

If in the 10th–11th centuries, as archaeologist E.P. Kazakov points out, there was “a certain commonality of Bulgar and Volga-Mari monuments,” then over the next two centuries the ethnographic appearance of the Mari population - especially in Povetluzhye - became different. The Slavic and Slavic-Merian components have significantly strengthened in it.

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

The situation changed in the 30s and 40s. XIII century as a result of the Mongol-Tatar invasion. However, this did not at all lead to the cessation of the growth of Russian influence in the Volga-Kama region. Small independent Russian state formations appeared around urban centers - princely residences, founded during the period of the existence of the united Vladimir-Suzdal Rus'. These are the Galician (appeared around 1247), Kostroma (approximately in the 50s of the 13th century) and Gorodets (between 1269 and 1282) principalities; At the same time, the influence of the Vyatka Land grew, turning into a special state entity with veche traditions. In the second half of the 14th century. The Vyatchans had already firmly established themselves in the Middle Vyatka and in the Pizhma basin, displacing the Mari and Udmurts from here.

In the 60–70s. XIV century Feudal unrest ensued in the horde, which temporarily weakened its military and political power. This was successfully used by the Russian princes, who sought to break out of dependence on the khan's administration and increase their possessions at the expense of the peripheral regions of the empire.

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

Soon, the possessions of the Nizhny Novgorod princes began to appear on the right bank of the Sura (in Zasurye), where the mountain Mari and Chuvash lived. By the end of the 14th century. Russian influence in the Sura basin increased so much that representatives of the local population began to warn the Russian princes about the upcoming invasions of the Golden Horde troops.

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

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

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

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

In 1399, the appanage prince Yuri Dmitrievich took the cities of Bulgar, Kazan, Kermenchuk, Zhukotin, the chronicles indicate that “no one remembers only that far away Rus' fought the Tatar land.” Apparently, at the same time the Galich prince conquered the Vetluzh region - the Vetluzh chronicler reports about this. Kuguz Keldibek admitted his dependence on the leaders of the Vyatka Land, concluding a military alliance with them. In 1415, the Vetluzhans and Vyatchans made a joint campaign against the Northern Dvina. In 1425, the Vetluga Mari became part of the many-thousand-strong militia of the Galich appanage prince, who began an open struggle for the grand-ducal throne.

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

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

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

By the time of the emergence of the Kazan Khanate, the Mari of the following regions were involved in the sphere of influence of Russian state formations: the right bank of the Sura - a significant part of the mountain Mari (this can also include the Oka-Sura “Cheremis”), Povetluzhie - northwestern Mari, the Pizhma River basin and the Middle Vyatka - northern part of meadow mari. Less affected by Russian influence were the Kokshai Mari, the population of the Ileti River basin, the northeastern part modern territory Republic of Mari El, as well as Lower Vyatka, that is, the main part of the meadow mari.

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

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

In the winter of 1467/68. an attempt was made to eliminate or weaken Kazan's allies - the Mari. For this purpose, two trips to Cheremis were organized. The first, main group, which consisted mainly of selected troops - the “court of the great prince’s regiment” - attacked the left bank Mari. According to the chronicles, “the army of the Grand Duke came to the land of Cheremis, and did much evil to that land: they cut people off, took some into captivity, and burned others; and their horses and every animal that could not be taken with them was cut up; and what was in their bellies, he took everything.” The second group, which included soldiers recruited in Murom and Nizhny Novgorod lands, “conquer the mountains and barats” along the Volga. However, even this did not prevent the Kazan people, including, most likely, the Mari warriors, already in the winter-summer of 1468 from destroying Kichmenga with adjacent villages (the upper reaches of the Unzha and Yug rivers), as well as the Kostroma volosts and, twice in a row, the outskirts of Murom. Parity was established in punitive actions, which most likely had little effect on the state of the armed forces of the opposing sides. The matter came down mainly to robberies, mass destruction, and the capture of civilians - Mari, Chuvash, Russians, Mordovians, etc.

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

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

In addition to the Bulgaro-Tatar population (Kazan Tatars) on the territory of the Khanate, according to information from A.M. Kurbsky, there were also Mari (“Cheremis”), southern Udmurts (“Votiaks”, “Ars”), Chuvash, Mordovians (mostly Erzya), and Western Bashkirs. Mari in sources of the 15th–16th centuries. and in general in the Middle Ages they were known under the name “Cheremis”, the etymology of which has not yet been clarified. At the same time, this ethnonym in a number of cases (this is especially typical for the Kazan Chronicler) could include not only the Mari, but also the Chuvash and southern Udmurts. Therefore, it is quite difficult to determine, even in approximate outlines, the territory of settlement of the Mari during the existence of the Kazan Khanate.

A number of fairly reliable sources of the 16th century. - testimonies of S. Herberstein, spiritual letters of Ivan III and Ivan IV, the Royal Book - indicate the presence of Mari in the Oka-Sur interfluve, that is, in the region of Nizhny Novgorod, Murom, Arzamas, Kurmysh, Alatyr. This information is confirmed by folklore material, as well as toponymy of this territory. It is noteworthy that until recently among the local Mordvins, who professed a pagan religion, the personal name Cheremis was widespread.

The Unzhensko-Vetluga interfluve was also inhabited by the Mari; This is evidenced by written sources, toponymy of the region, and folklore material. There were probably also groups of Meri here. The northern border is the upper reaches of the Unzha, Vetluga, the Pizhma basin, and the Middle Vyatka. Here the Mari came into contact with the Russians, Udmurts and Karin Tatars.

The eastern limits can be limited to the lower reaches of the Vyatka, but separately - “700 versts from Kazan” - in the Urals there already existed a small ethnic group of Eastern Mari; chroniclers recorded it in the area of ​​the mouth of the Belaya River back in the middle of the 15th century.

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

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

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

The number of Mari by the 17th–18th centuries. ranged from 70 to 120 thousand people.

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

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

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

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

The socio-political system of medieval Mari society is reflected in written sources rather poorly.

It is known that the main unit of Mari society was the family (“esh”); Most likely, “large families” were most widespread, consisting, as a rule, of 3–4 generations of close relatives in the male line. The property stratification between patriarchal families was clearly visible back in the 9th–11th centuries. Parcel labor flourished, which mainly extended to non-agricultural activities (cattle breeding, fur trading, metallurgy, blacksmithing, jewelry). There were close ties between neighboring family groups, primarily economic, but not always consanguineous. Economic ties were expressed in various kinds of mutual “help” (“vyma”), that is, mandatory related gratuitous mutual assistance. In general, the Mari in the 15th–16th centuries. experienced a unique period of proto-feudal relations, when, on the one hand, individual family property was allocated within the framework of a land-kinship union (neighborhood community), and on the other, the class structure of society did not acquire its clear outlines.

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

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

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

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

The anti-Moscow armed uprisings of the peoples of the Middle Volga region after the fall of Kazan are usually called the Cheremis Wars, since the Mari (Cheremis) were most active in them. The earliest mention among the sources available in scientific circulation is an expression close to the term “Cheremis war”, found in the quitrent letter of Ivan IV to D.F. Chelishchev for rivers and lands in the Vyatka land dated April 3, 1558, where, in particular, it is indicated that the owners of the Kishkil and Shizhma rivers (near the city of Kotelnich) “in those rivers... did not catch fish and beavers for the Kazan Cheremis war and did not pay rent.”

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

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

All waves of the resistance movement died out as a result of large-scale punitive operations by the troops of Ivan IV. In a number of episodes, the insurgency developed into a form of civil war and class struggle, but the struggle for the liberation of the homeland remained the character-forming one. The resistance movement ceased due to several factors: 1) continuous armed clashes with the tsarist troops, which brought countless casualties and destruction to the local population, 2) mass famine, a plague epidemic that came from the Volga steppes, 3) the meadow Mari lost support from their former allies - the Tatars and southern Udmurts. In May 1557, representatives of almost all groups of Meadow and Eastern Mari took an oath to the Russian Tsar. Thus the annexation of the Mari region to the Russian state was completed.

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

The final entry of the Mari region into Russia occurred after 1557, as a result of the suppression of the people's liberation and anti-feudal movement in the Middle Volga region and the Urals. The process of gradual entry of the Mari region into the system of Russian statehood lasted hundreds of years: during the period of the Mongol-Tatar invasion it slowed down, during the years of feudal unrest that engulfed the Golden Horde in the second half of the 14th century, it accelerated, and as a result of the emergence of the Kazan Khanate (30-40- e years of the 15th century) stopped for a long time. However, having begun even before the turn of the 11th–12th centuries, the inclusion of the Mari in the system of Russian statehood in the middle of the 16th century. has approached its final phase - direct entry into Russia.

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

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

Beliefs

The Mari traditional religion is based on faith in the forces of nature, which man must honor and respect. Before the spread of monotheistic teachings, the Mari revered many gods known as Yumo, while recognizing the primacy of the Supreme God (Kugu Yumo). In the 19th century, the image of the One God Tun Osh Kugu Yumo (One Bright Great God) was revived.

The Mari traditional religion contributes to strengthening the moral foundations of society, achieving interfaith and interethnic peace and harmony.

Unlike monotheistic religions created by one or another founder and his followers, the Mari traditional religion was formed on the basis of an ancient folk worldview, including religious and mythological ideas associated with man’s relationship to the surrounding nature and its elemental forces, the veneration of ancestors and patrons of agricultural activities. The formation and development of the traditional religion of the Mari was influenced by the religious views of the neighboring peoples of the Volga and Urals regions, and the fundamentals of the doctrine of Islam and Orthodoxy.

Admirers of the traditional Mari religion recognize the One God Tyn Osh Kugu Yumo and his nine assistants (manifestations), read a prayer three times daily, take part in collective or family prayer once a year, and conduct family prayer with sacrifice at least seven times during their lives, They regularly hold traditional commemorations in honor of their deceased ancestors, and observe Mari holidays, customs and rituals.

Before the spread of monotheistic teachings, the Mari revered many gods known as Yumo, while recognizing the primacy of the Supreme God (Kugu Yumo). In the 19th century, the image of the One God Tun Osh Kugu Yumo (One Bright Great God) was revived. The One God (God - Universe) is considered to be the eternal, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, and omnirighteous God. He manifests himself in both material and spiritual guise, appearing in the form of nine deity-persons. These deities can be divided into three groups, each of which is responsible for:

Calmness, prosperity and empowerment of all living things - the god of the bright world (Tunya yumo), the life-giving god (Ilyan yumo), the deity of creative energy (Agavairem yumo);

Mercy, righteousness and harmony: the god of fate and predestination of life (Pursho yumo), the all-merciful god (Kugu Serlagysh yumo), the god of harmony and reconciliation (Mer yumo);

All-goodness, rebirth and inexhaustibility of life: the goddess of birth (Shochyn Ava), the goddess of the earth (Mlande Ava) and the goddess of abundance (Perke Ava).

The Universe, the world, the cosmos in the spiritual understanding of the Mari are presented as a continuously developing, spiritualizing and transforming system from century to century, from era to era, a system of multi-valued worlds, spiritual and material natural forces, natural phenomena, steadily striving towards its spiritual goal - unity with the Universal God , maintaining an inextricable physical and spiritual connection with the cosmos, the world, and nature.

Tun Osh Kugu Yumo is an endless source of being. Like the universe, the One Light Great God is constantly changing, developing, improving, involving the entire universe, the entire surrounding world, including humanity itself, in these changes. From time to time, every 22 thousand years, and sometimes earlier, by the will of God, the destruction of some part of the old and the creation of a new world occurs, accompanied by a complete renewal of life on earth.

The last creation of the world occurred 7512 years ago. After each new creation of the world, life on earth improves qualitatively, in better side Humanity is changing too. With the development of humanity, there is an expansion of human consciousness, the boundaries of world- and God-perception are expanded, the possibility of enriching knowledge about the universe, the world, objects and phenomena of the surrounding nature, about man and his essence, about ways to improve human life is facilitated.

All this ultimately led to the formation of a false idea among people about the omnipotence of man and his independence from God. Changing value priorities and abandoning the divinely established principles of community life required divine intervention in people's lives through suggestions, revelations, and sometimes punishments. In the interpretation of the foundations of knowledge of God and worldview important role Saints and righteous people, prophets and God's chosen ones began to play, who in the traditional beliefs of the Mari are revered as elders - ground deities. Having the opportunity to periodically communicate with God and receive His revelation, they became conductors of invaluable human society knowledge. However, they often communicated not only the words of revelation, but also their own figurative interpretation of them. The divine information obtained in this way became the basis for the emerging ethnic (folk), state and world religions. There was also a rethinking of the image of the One God of the Universe, and the feelings of connectedness and direct dependence of people on Him were gradually smoothed out. A disrespectful, utilitarian-economic attitude towards nature or, conversely, reverent veneration of elemental forces and natural phenomena, represented in the form of independent deities and spirits, was affirmed.

Among the Mari, echoes of a dualistic worldview have been preserved, in which an important place was occupied by faith in the deities of forces and natural phenomena, in the animation and spirituality of the surrounding world and the existence in them of a rational, independent, materialized being - the owner - a double (vodyzh), soul (chon, ort) , spiritual hypostasis (shyrt). However, the Mari believed that the deities, everything around the world and man himself are part of the one God (Tun Yumo), his image.

Nature deities in popular beliefs, with rare exceptions, were not endowed with anthropomorphic features. The Mari understood the importance of man's active participation in the affairs of God, aimed at preserving and developing the surrounding nature, and constantly sought to involve the gods in the process of spiritual ennoblement and harmonization of everyday life. Some leaders of Mari traditional rituals, possessing heightened inner vision and the effort of their will, were able to receive spiritual enlightenment and restore the image of the forgotten one God Tun Yumo at the beginning of the 19th century.

One God - the Universe embraces all living things and the whole world, expresses itself in revered nature. The living nature closest to man is his image, but not God himself. A person is able to form only a general idea of ​​the Universe or its part, on the basis and with the help of faith, having cognized it in himself, experiencing a living sensation of the divine incomprehensible reality, passing through his own “I” the world of spiritual beings. However, it is impossible to fully understand Tun Osh Kugu Yumo - the absolute truth. The Mari traditional religion, like all religions, has only approximate knowledge of God. Only the wisdom of the Omniscient embraces the entire sum of truths within itself.

The Mari religion, being more ancient, turned out to be closer to God and absolute truth. There is little influence of subjective aspects in it, it has undergone less social modification. Taking into account the perseverance and patience in preserving the ancient religion transmitted by the ancestors, dedication in observing customs and rituals, Tun Osh Kugu Yumo helped the Mari preserve true religious ideas, protected them from erosion and thoughtless changes under the influence of all kinds of innovations. This allowed the Mari to maintain their unity, national identity, survive under the conditions of social and political oppression of the Khazar Khaganate, Volga Bulgaria, the Tatar-Mongol invasion, the Kazan Khanate and defend their religious cults during the years of active missionary propaganda in the 18th–19th centuries.

The Mari are distinguished not only by their divinity, but also by their kind-heartedness, responsiveness and openness, their readiness to come to the aid of each other and those in need at any time. The Mari are at the same time a freedom-loving people who love justice in everything, accustomed to living a calm, measured life, like the nature around us.

The traditional Mari religion directly influences the formation of the personality of each person. The creation of the world, as well as man, is carried out on the basis and under the influence of the spiritual principles of the One God. Man is an inextricable part of the Cosmos, grows and develops under the influence of the same cosmic laws, is endowed with the image of God, in him, as in all of Nature, the bodily and divine principles are combined, and kinship with nature is manifested.

The life of every child, long before his birth, begins in the celestial zone of the Universe. Initially, it does not have an anthropomorphic form. God sends life to earth in materialized form. Together with man, his angels-spirits - patrons - develop, represented in the image of the deity Vuyymbal yumo, the bodily soul (chon, ya?) and doubles - figurative incarnations of man ort and syrt.

All people equally possess human dignity, strength of mind and freedom, human virtue, and contain within themselves the entire qualitative completeness of the world. A person is given the opportunity to regulate his feelings, control his behavior, realize his position in the world, lead an ennobled lifestyle, actively create and create, take care of the higher parts of the Universe, protect the animal and plant world, the surrounding nature from extinction.

Being a rational part of the Cosmos, man, like the constantly improving one God, in the name of his self-preservation is forced to constantly work on self-improvement. Guided by the dictates of conscience (ar), correlating his actions and deeds with the surrounding nature, achieving the unity of his thoughts with the co-creation of material and spiritual cosmic principles, man, as a worthy owner of his land, with his tireless daily work, inexhaustible creativity, strengthens and zealously runs his farm, ennobles the world around him, thereby improving himself. This is the meaning and purpose of human life.

Fulfilling his destiny, a person reveals his spiritual essence and ascends to new levels of existence. Through self-improvement and the fulfillment of a predetermined goal, a person improves the world and achieves the inner beauty of the soul. The traditional religion of the Mari teaches that for such activities a person receives a worthy reward: he greatly facilitates his life in this world and his fate in the afterlife. For a righteous life, deities can endow a person with an additional guardian angel, that is, they can confirm the existence of a person in God, thereby ensuring the ability to contemplate and experience God, the harmony of divine energy (shulyk) and the human soul.

A person is free to choose his actions and actions. He can lead his life both in the direction of God, the harmonization of his efforts and aspirations of the soul, and in the opposite, destructive direction. A person’s choice is predetermined not only by divine or human will, but also by the intervention of the forces of evil.

The right choice in any life situation can be made only by knowing yourself, balancing your life, everyday affairs and actions with the Universe - the One God. Having such a spiritual guideline, a believer becomes a true master of his life, gains independence and spiritual freedom, calmness, confidence, insight, prudence and measured feelings, steadfastness and perseverance in achieving his goal. He is not disturbed by life's adversities, social vices, envy, selfishness, selfishness, or the desire for self-affirmation in the eyes of others. Being truly free, a person gains prosperity, peace of mind, a reasonable life, and protects himself from any encroachment by ill-wishers and evil forces. He will not be frightened by the dark tragic sides of material existence, the bonds of inhuman torment and suffering, or hidden dangers. They will not prevent him from continuing to love the world, earthly existence, rejoicing and admiring the beauty of nature and culture.

In everyday life, believers of the traditional Mari religion adhere to such principles as:

Constant self-improvement by strengthening the inextricable connection with God, his regular involvement in all the most important events in life and active participation in divine affairs;

Aiming at ennobling the surrounding world and social relations, strengthening human health through the constant search and acquisition of divine energy in the process of creative work;

Harmonization of relations in society, strengthening collectivism and cohesion, mutual support and unity in upholding religious ideals and traditions;

Unanimous support of your spiritual mentors;

The obligation to preserve and pass on to subsequent generations the best achievements: progressive ideas, exemplary products, elite varieties of grain and livestock breeds, etc.

The traditional religion of the Mari considers all manifestations of life to be the main value in this world and calls for the sake of preserving it to show mercy even towards wild animals and criminals. Kindness, good-heartedness, harmony in relationships (mutual assistance, mutual respect and support for friendly relations), respect for nature, self-sufficiency and self-restraint in the use of natural resources, the pursuit of knowledge are also considered important values ​​in the life of society and in regulating the relationship of believers with God.

In public life, the traditional Mari religion strives to maintain and improve social harmony.

The Mari traditional religion unites believers of the ancient Mari (Chimari) faith, admirers of traditional beliefs and rituals who have been baptized and attend church services (marla faith) and adherents of the “Kugu Sorta” religious sect. These ethno-confessional differences were formed under the influence and as a result of the spread of the Orthodox religion in the region. The religious sect “Kugu Sorta” took shape in the second half of the 19th century. Certain inconsistencies in beliefs and ritual practices that exist between religious groups do not play a significant impact in the daily life of the Mari. These forms of traditional Mari religion form the basis of the spiritual values ​​of the Mari people.

The religious life of adherents of the traditional Mari religion takes place within the village community, one or more village councils (lay community). All Mari can take part in all-Mari prayers with sacrifice, thereby forming a temporary religious community of the Mari people (national community).

Until the beginning of the 20th century, the Mari traditional religion acted as the only social institution for the cohesion and unity of the Mari people, strengthening their national identity, and establishing a unique national culture. Together with that, folk religion never called for the artificial separation of peoples, did not incite confrontation and confrontation between them, and did not assert the exclusivity of any people.

The current generation of believers, recognizing the cult of the One God of the Universe, is convinced that this God can be worshiped by all people, representatives of any nationality. Therefore, they consider it possible to attach to their faith any person who believes in his omnipotence.

Any person, regardless of nationality and religion, is part of the Cosmos, the Universal God. In this respect, all people are equal and worthy of respect and fair treatment. The Mari have always been distinguished by religious tolerance and respect for the religious feelings of people of other faiths. They believed that the religion of every people has the right to exist and is worthy of reverence, since all religious rituals are aimed at ennobling earthly life, improving its quality, expanding people’s capabilities and contributing to the introduction of divine powers and divine mercy to everyday needs.

A clear indication of this is the lifestyle of adherents of the ethno-confessional group “Marla Vera”, who observe both traditional customs Both rituals and Orthodox cults visit the temple, chapels and Mari sacred groves. They often conduct traditional prayers with sacrifices in front of an Orthodox icon specially brought for this occasion.

Admirers of the Mari traditional religion, respecting the rights and freedoms of representatives of other faiths, expect the same respectful attitude towards themselves and their religious actions. They believe that the worship of the One God - the Universe in our time is very timely and quite attractive for the modern generation of people interested in spreading the environmental movement and preserving pristine nature.

The traditional religion of the Mari, including in its worldview and practice the positive experience of centuries of history, sets as its immediate goals the establishment of truly fraternal relations in society and the education of a person of an ennobled image, protects itself with righteousness and devotion to a common cause. It will continue to defend the rights and interests of its believers, protect their honor and dignity from any encroachment on the basis of the legislation adopted in the country.

Admirers of the Mari religion consider it their civil and religious duty to comply with the legal norms and laws of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Mari El.

The traditional Mari religion sets itself the spiritual and historical tasks of uniting the efforts of believers to protect them vital interests, the nature around us, the animal and plant world, as well as the achievement of material wealth, everyday well-being, moral regulation and a high cultural level of relations between people.

Sacrifices

In the seething Universal cauldron of life, human life proceeds under the vigilant supervision and with the direct participation of God (Tun Osh Kugu Yumo) and his nine hypostases (manifestations), personifying his inherent intelligence, energy and material wealth. Therefore, a person should not only reverently believe in Him, but also deeply reverence, strive to receive His mercy, goodness and protection (serlagysh), thereby enriching himself and the world around him with vital energy (shulyk), material wealth (perke). A reliable means of achieving all this is the regular holding of family and public (village, lay and all-Mary) prayers (kumaltysh) in sacred groves with sacrifices to God and his deities of domestic animals and birds.

Svechnikov S.K.

History of the Mari people of the 9th-16th centuries. Toolkit. - Yoshkar-Ola: GOU DPO (PK) With “Mari Institute of Education”, 2005. - 46 p.

Preface

The 9th-16th centuries occupy a special place in the history of the Mari people. During this period, the formation of the Mari ethnic group was completed, and the first written mentions of this people appeared. The Mari paid tribute to the Khazar, Bulgar, and Russian rulers, were under the rule of the Golden Horde khans, developed as part of the Kazan Khanate, and then, having been defeated in the Cheremis Wars of the second half of the 16th century, became part of the great power - Russia. This is the most dramatic and fateful page in the past of the Mari people: being between the Slavic and Turkic worlds, they had to be content with semi-freedom, and often defend it. However, IX-XVI centuries. - it's not just wars and blood. These are still large “fortresses” and small ilems, proud puddles and wise cards, the tradition of mutual assistance in the Vÿma and the mysterious signs of the Tiste.

Modern science has a considerable amount of knowledge about the medieval past of the Mari people, but much will never be known to descendants: the Mari did not have their own written language at that time. The Tatars who had it failed to save almost nothing that was written by them before the 17th century. Russian scribes and European travelers learned and recorded not everything. Non-written sources contain only grains of information. But our task is not absolute knowledge, but preserving the memory of the past. After all, the lessons of the events of those years will help answer many pressing questions of today. And simply knowing and respecting the history of the Mari people is the moral duty of any resident of the Republic of Mari El. Besides, this is such an interesting piece of Russian history.

In the proposed methodological manual the main topics are named, their brief content is stated, the topics of the abstracts, a bibliography are given, the publication also contains a dictionary of outdated words and special terms, chronological table. Texts that represent reference or illustrative material are surrounded by a frame.

General bibliography

1. History of the Mari region in documents and materials. The era of feudalism / Comp. G. N. Ayplatov, A. G. Ivanov. - Yoshkar-Ola, 1992. - Issue. 1.
2. Ayplatov G. N. History of the Mari region from ancient times to the end of the 19th century. - Yoshkar-Ola, 1994.
3. Ivanov A. G., Sanukov K. N. History of the Mari people. - Yoshkar-Ola, 1999.
4. History of the Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. In 2 vols. - Yoshkar-Ola, 1986. - T. 1.
5. Kozlova K. I. Essays on the ethnic history of the Mari people. M., 1978.

TOPIC 1. Sources and historiography of the history of the Mari people of the 9th - 16th centuries.

Sources on the history of the Mari people of the 9th-16th centuries. can be divided into five types: written, material (archaeological excavations), oral (folklore), ethnographic and linguistic.

Written sources contain the bulk of information on this period of Mari history. This type of sources includes such types of sources as chronicles, writings of foreigners, original Old Russian literature(military stories, journalistic works, hagiographic literature), act material, grade books.

The most numerous and informative group of sources are Russian chronicles. The largest amount of information on the medieval history of the Mari people is contained in the Nikon, Lvov, Resurrection Chronicles, the Royal Book, the Chronicler of the Beginning of the Kingdom, and the Continuation of the Chronograph of the 1512 edition.

The works of foreigners are also of great importance - M. Mechovsky, S. Herberstein, A. Jenkinson, D. Fletcher, D. Horsey, I. Massa, P. Petrey, G. Staden, A. Olearius. These sources contain rich material on various issues in the history of the Mari people. Ethnographic descriptions are extremely valuable.

Of particular interest is “Kazan History,” a military story presented in chronicle form. Certain issues of the medieval history of the Mari people were also reflected in the “History of the Grand Duke of Moscow” by Prince A. M. Kurbsky, as well as in the petitions of I. S. Peresvetov and other monuments of ancient Russian journalism.

Some unique information on the history of Russian colonization of the Mari lands and Russian-Mari relations is available in the lives of the saints (Makariy of Zheltovodsk and Unzhensky, Barnabas of Vetluzh, Stefan of Komel).

The documental material is represented by several letters of commendation, ecclesiastical deeds, bills of sale and other documents of Russian origin, which contain a variety of reliable material on this issue, as well as office documents, of which instructions to ambassadors, interstate correspondence, reports of ambassadors on the results of their missions and other monuments of diplomatic relations stand out Russia with the Nogai Horde, the Crimean Khanate, the Polish-Lithuanian state. A special place among office documents is occupied by grade books.

Of exceptional interest is the official material of the Kazan Khanate - the labels (tarkhan letters) of the Kazan khans, as well as the contractual record of the Sviyazhsk Tatars of the 2nd quarter of the 16th century. and a deed of sale for the side plot dated 1538 (1539); in addition, three letters from Khan Safa-Girey to the Polish-Lithuanian king Sigismund I (late 30s - early 40s of the 16th century), as well as a written message from Astrakhan H. Sherifi to the Turkish Sultan dated 1550, have been preserved. To this group sources can also include the letter of the Khazar Kagan Joseph (960s), which contains the first written mention of the Mari.

Written sources of Mari origin have not survived. This deficiency can be partially compensated for by folklore material. Mari oral narratives, especially about Tokan Shura, Akmazik, Akpars, Boltush, Pashkan, have amazing historical authenticity, largely echoing written sources.

Additional information is provided by archaeological (mainly from monuments of the 9th - 15th centuries), linguistic (onomastics), historical and ethnographic studies and observations from different years.

The historiography of the history of the Mari people of the 9th - 16th centuries can be divided into five stages of development: 1) mid-16th - early 18th centuries; 2) II half of the XVIII - beginning of the XX centuries; 3) 1920s - early 1930s; 4) mid-1930s - 1980s; 5) since the early 1990s. - Until now.

The first stage is highlighted conditionally, since the next second stage did not follow significant changes in approaches to the problem under consideration. However, unlike the works of a later time, the early works contained only descriptions of events without their scientific analysis. Questions concerning the medieval history of the Mari were reflected in the official Russian historiography of the 16th century, which appeared fresh in the wake of events. (Russian chronicles and original ancient Russian literature). This tradition was continued by historians of the 17th - 18th centuries. A. I. Lyzlov and V. N. Tatishchev.

Historians of the late XVIII - I half of the XIX centuries. M. I. Shcherbatov, M. N. Karamzin, N. S. Artsybashev, A. I. Artemyev, N. K. Bazhenov) did not limit themselves to a simple retelling of chronicles; they used a wide range of new sources and gave their own interpretation of the events in question. They followed the tradition of apologetic coverage of the policies of Russian rulers in the Volga region, and the Mari, as a rule, were portrayed as “fierce and wild people" At the same time, the facts of hostile relations between the Russians and the peoples of the Middle Volga region were not hushed up. One of the most popular in the works of historians of the 2nd half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. became the problem of Slavic-Russian colonization of the eastern lands. At the same time, as a rule, historians pointed out that the colonization of the Finno-Ugric settlement territories was a “peaceful occupation of land that did not belong to anyone” (S. M. Soloviev). The most complete concept of the official historical science of Russia in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. in relation to the medieval history of the Mari people is presented in the works of the Kazan historian N. A. Firsov, the Odessa scientist G. I. Peretyatkovich and the Kazan professor I. N. Smirnov, the author of the first scientific study devoted to the history and ethnography of the Mari people. It is necessary to point out that in addition to traditional written sources, researchers from the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. They also began to attract archaeological, folklore, ethnographic, and linguistic material.

From the turn of the 1910-1920s. the third stage of development of the historiography of the history of the Mari began in the 9th - 16th centuries, which lasted until the early 1930s. In the first years of Soviet power, historical science was not yet subject to ideological pressure. Representatives of the old Russian historiography S.F. Platonov and M.K. Lyubavsky continued to conduct their research activities, touching on the problems of the medieval history of the Mari in their works; original approaches were developed by Kazan professors N.V. Nikolsky and N.N. Firsov; The influence of the school of the Marxist scientist M.N. Pokrovsky, who considered the annexation of the Middle Volga region to the Russian state as “absolute evil,” increased; Mari local historians F.E. Egorov and M.N. Yantemir covered the history of their people from a Maricentric position.

1930-1980s - the fourth period of development of the historiography of the medieval history of the Mari people. In the early 30s. As a result of the establishment of a totalitarian regime in the USSR, a strict unification of historical science began. Works on the history of the Mari of the 9th - 16th centuries. began to suffer from schematism and dogmatism. At the same time, during this period, research into the medieval history of the Mari people, as well as other peoples of the Middle Volga region, proceeded through the identification, analysis and application of new sources, the identification and study of new problems, and the improvement of research methods. From this point of view, the works of G. A. Arkhipov, L. A. Dubrovina, K. I. Kozlova are of undoubted interest.

In the 1990s. the fifth stage began in the study of the history of the Mari people in the 9th - 16th centuries. Historical science freed from ideological dictates and began to be considered depending on the worldview, way of thinking of researchers, their commitment to certain methodological principles from various positions. Among the works that laid the foundation for a new concept of the medieval history of the Mari, especially the period of annexation to the Russian state, the works of A. A. Andreyanov, A. G. Bakhtin, K. N. Sanukov, S. K. Svechnikov stand out.

History of the Mari people IX - XVI centuries. Foreign researchers also touched upon this in their works. This problem was developed most fully and deeply enough by the Swiss scientist Andreas Kappeler.

Abstract topics

1. Sources on the history of the Mari people of the 9th - 16th centuries.

2. Studying the history of the Mari people of the 9th - 16th centuries in domestic historiography.

Bibliography

1. Ayplatov G. N. Questions of the history of the Mari region of the mid-16th - 18th centuries. in pre-revolutionary and Soviet historiography // Questions of historiography of the history of the Mari ASSR. Kirov; Yoshkar-Ola, 1974. pp. 3 - 48.

2. It's him."Cheremis Wars" of the second half of the 16th century. in domestic historiography // Questions of the history of the peoples of the Volga and Urals regions. Cheboksary, 1997. pp. 70 - 79.

3. Bakhtin A. G. Main directions in the study of colonization of the Middle Volga region in domestic historiography // From the history of the Mari region: Abstracts of reports. and message Yoshkar-Ola, 1997. pp. 8 - 12.

4. It's him. Written sources about the early history of the Mari region // Sources and problems of source study of the history of Mari El: Materials of reports. and message rep. scientific conf. 27 Nov 1996 Yoshkar-Ola, 1997. pp. 21 - 24.

5. It's him. pp. 3 - 28.

6. Sanukov K. N. Mari: problems of studying // Mari: problems of social and national-cultural development. Yoshkar-Ola, 2000. pp. 76 - 79.

TOPIC 2. Origin of the Mari people

The question of the origin of the Mari people is still controversial. For the first time, a scientifically substantiated theory of the ethnogenesis of the Mari was expressed in 1845 by the famous Finnish linguist M. Castren. He tried to identify the Mari with the chronicle measures. This point of view was supported and developed by T. S. Semenov, I. N. Smirnov, S. K. Kuznetsov, A. A. Spitsyn, D. K. Zelenin, M. N. Yantemir, F. E. Egorov and many others researchers of the 2nd half of the 19th - 1st half of the 20th centuries. A new hypothesis was made in 1949 by the prominent Soviet archaeologist A.P. Smirnov, who came to the conclusion about the Gorodets (close to the Mordovians) basis; other archaeologists O.N. Bader and V.F. Gening at the same time defended the thesis about Dyakovsky (close to measure) origin of the Mari. Nevertheless, archaeologists were already able to convincingly prove that the Merya and Mari, although related to each other, are not the same people. At the end of the 1950s, when the permanent Mari archaeological expedition began to operate, its leaders A. Kh. Khalikov and G. A. Arkhipov developed a theory about the mixed Gorodets-Azelinsky (Volga-Finnish-Permian) basis of the Mari people. Subsequently, G. A. Arkhipov, developing this hypothesis further, during the discovery and study of new archaeological sites, proved that the mixed basis of the Mari was dominated by the Gorodets-Dyakovo (Volga-Finnish) component and the formation of the Mari ethnos, which began in the first half of the 1st millennium AD, generally ended in the 9th - 11th centuries, and even then the Mari ethnos began to be divided into two main groups - the mountain and meadow Mari (the latter, compared to the former, were more strongly influenced by the Azelin (Perm-speaking) tribes). This theory is generally supported by the majority of archaeological scientists working on this problem. Mari archaeologist V.S. Patrushev put forward a different assumption, according to which the formation of the ethnic foundations of the Mari, as well as the Meri and Muroms, took place on the basis of the Akhmylov-type population. Linguists (I.S. Galkin, D.E. Kazantsev), who rely on language data, believe that the territory of formation of the Mari people should be sought not in the Vetluzh-Vyatka interfluve, as archaeologists believe, but to the southwest, between the Oka and Suroy. Archaeological scientist T. B. Nikitina, taking into account data not only from archeology, but also from linguistics, came to the conclusion that the ancestral home of the Mari is located in the Volga part of the Oka-Sur interfluve and in Povetluzhie, and the advance to the east, to Vyatka, occurred in VIII - XI centuries, during which contact and mixing took place with the Azelin (Perm-speaking) tribes.

The question of the origin of the ethnonyms “Mari” and “Cheremis” also remains complex and unclear. The meaning of the word “Mari”, the self-name of the Mari people, is derived by many linguists from the Indo-European term “mar”, “mer” in various sound variations (translated as “man”, “husband”). The word “Cheremis” (as the Russians called the Mari, and in a slightly different, but phonetically similar vowel, many other peoples) has big number various interpretations. The first written mention of this ethnonym (in the original “ts-r-mis”) is found in a letter from the Khazar Kagan Joseph to the dignitary of the Cordoba Caliph Hasdai ibn-Shaprut (960s). D. E. Kazantsev, following the historian of the 19th century. G.I. Peretyatkovich came to the conclusion that the name “Cheremis” was given to the Mari by the Mordovian tribes, and translated this word means “a person living on the sunny side, in the east.” According to I.G. Ivanov, “Cheremis” is “a person from the Chera or Chora tribe,” in other words, neighboring peoples subsequently extended the name of one of the Mari tribes to the entire ethnic group. The version of Mari local historians of the 1920s and early 1930s, F.E. Egorov and M.N. Yantemir, is widely popular, suggesting that this ethnonym goes back to the Turkic term “warlike person.” F. I. Gordeev, as well as I. S. Galkin, who supported his version, defend the hypothesis about the origin of the word “Cheremis” from the ethnonym “Sarmatian” through the mediation of Turkic languages. A number of other versions were also expressed. The problem of the etymology of the word “Cheremis” is also complicated by the fact that in the Middle Ages (up to the 17th - 18th centuries) this was the name in a number of cases not only for the Mari, but also for their neighbors - the Chuvash and Udmurts.

Abstract topics

1. G. A. Arkhipov on the origin of the Mari people.

2. Merya and Marie.

3. Origin of the ethnonym “Cheremis”: different opinions.

Bibliography

1. Ageeva R. A. Countries and peoples: origin of names. M., 1990.

2. It's him.

3. It's him. The main stages of the ethnogenesis of the Mari // Ancient ethnic processes. Archeology and ethnography of the Mari region. Yoshkar-Ola, 1985. Vol. 9. pp. 5 - 23.

4. It's him. Ethnogenesis of the Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga region: current state, problems and objectives of study // Finno-Ugric Studies. 1995. No. 1. pp. 30 - 41.

5. Galkin I. S. Mari onomastics: Local history polysh (in Mar.). Yoshkar-Ola, 2000.

6. Gordeev F. I. On the history of the ethnonym Cheremis// Proceedings of MarNII. Yoshkar-Ola, 1964. Vol. 18. pp. 207 - 213.

7. It's him. On the question of the origin of the ethnonym Marie// Questions of Mari linguistics. Yoshkar-Ola, 1964. Vol. 1. pp. 45 - 59.

8. It's him. Historical development of the vocabulary of the Mari language. Yoshkar-Ola, 1985.

9. Kazantsev D. E. Formation of dialects of the Mari language. (In connection with the origin of the Mari). Yoshkar-Ola, 1985.

10. Ivanov I. G. Once again about the ethnonym “Cheremis” // Questions of Mari onomastics. Yoshkar-Ola, 1978. Vol. 1. pp. 44 - 47.

11. It's him. From the history of Mari writing: To help the teacher of cultural history. Yoshkar-Ola, 1996.

12. Nikitina T. B.

13. Patrushev V.S. Finno-Ugrians of Russia (2nd millennium BC - beginning of the 2nd millennium AD). Yoshkar-Ola, 1992.

14. Origin of the Mari people: Materials of a scientific session held by the Mari Research Institute of Language, Literature and History (December 23 - 25, 1965). Yoshkar-Ola, 1967.

15. Ethnogenesis and ethnic history of the Mari. Archeology and ethnography of the Mari region. Yoshkar-Ola, 1988. Vol. 14.

TOPIC 3. Mari in the 9th-11th centuries.

In the IX - XI centuries. In general, the formation of the Mari ethnic group was completed. At the time in question, the Mari settled over a vast territory within the Middle Volga region: south of the Vetluga and Yuga watershed and the Pizhma River; north of the Piana River, the upper reaches of Tsivil; east of the Unzha River, the mouth of the Oka; west of Ileti and the mouth of the Kilmezi River.

The Mari economy was complex (farming, cattle breeding, hunting, fishing, gathering, beekeeping, crafts and other activities related to the processing of raw materials at home). There is no direct evidence of the wide spread of agriculture among the Mari; there is only indirect evidence indicating the development of slash-and-burn agriculture among them, and there is reason to believe that in the 11th century. the transition to arable farming began. Mari in the 9th - 11th centuries. almost all grains, legumes and industrial crops cultivated in the forest belt of Eastern Europe at the present time were known. Swidden farming was combined with cattle breeding; Stall housing of livestock in combination with free grazing predominated (mainly the same types of domestic animals and birds were bred as now). Hunting was a significant help in the economy of the Mari, and in the 9th - 11th centuries. fur production began to have a commercial character. Hunting tools were bows and arrows; various traps, snares and snares were used. The Mari population was engaged in fishing (near rivers and lakes); accordingly, river navigation developed, while natural conditions (dense network of rivers, difficult forest and swampy terrain) dictated the priority development of river rather than land routes of communication. Fishing, as well as gathering (primarily forest products) were focused exclusively on domestic consumption. Beekeeping became significantly widespread and developed among the Mari; they even put signs of ownership on the beet trees - “tiste”. Along with furs, honey was the main item of Mari export. The Mari did not have cities; only village crafts were developed. Metallurgy, due to the lack of a local raw material base, developed through the processing of imported semi-finished and finished products. Nevertheless, blacksmithing in the 9th - 11th centuries. among the Mari it had already become a special specialty, while non-ferrous metallurgy (mainly blacksmithing and jewelry - the production of copper, bronze, and silver jewelry) was mainly carried out by women. The production of clothing, shoes, utensils, and some types of agricultural implements was carried out on each farm in the time free from agriculture and livestock raising. Weaving and leatherworking were in first place among the domestic industries. Flax and hemp were used as raw materials for weaving. The most common leather product was shoes.

In the IX - XI centuries. The Mari conducted barter trade with neighboring peoples - the Udmurts, Meryas, Vesya, Mordovians, Muroma, Meshchera and other Finno-Ugric tribes. Trade relations with the Bulgars and Khazars, who were at a relatively high level of development, went beyond natural exchange; there were elements of commodity-money relations (many Arab dirhams were found in the ancient Mari burial grounds of that time). In the territory where the Mari lived, the Bulgars even founded trading posts such as the Mari-Lugovsky settlement. The greatest activity of Bulgarian merchants occurred at the end of the 10th - beginning of the 11th centuries. There are no obvious signs of close and regular connections between the Mari and the Eastern Slavs in the 9th - 11th centuries. has not yet been discovered, things of Slavic-Russian origin are rare in the Mari archaeological sites of that time.

Based on the totality of available information, it is difficult to judge the nature of the contacts of the Mari in the 9th - 11th centuries. with their Volga-Finnish neighbors - Merya, Meshchera, Mordovians, Muroma. However, according to numerous folklore works The Mari developed tense relations with the Udmurts: as a result of a number of battles and minor skirmishes, the latter were forced to leave the Vetluga-Vyatka interfluve, retreating east, to the left bank of the Vyatka. At the same time, among the available archaeological material, no traces of armed conflicts between the Mari and the Udmurts were found.

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

Abstract topics

1. Occupations of the Mari in the 9th - 11th centuries.

2. Relations of the Mari with neighboring peoples in the 9th - 11th centuries.

Bibliography

1. Andreev I. A. Development of farming systems among the Mari // Ethnocultural traditions of the Mari people. Archeology and ethnography of the Mari region. Yoshkar-Ola, 1986. Vol. 10. pp. 17 - 39.

2. Arkhipov G. A. Mari IX - XI centuries. On the question of the origin of the people. Yoshkar-Ola, 1973.

3. Golubeva L. A. Mari // Finno-Ugrians and Balts in the Middle Ages. M., 1987. S. 107 - 115.

4. Kazakov E. P.

5. Nikitina T. B. Mari in the Middle Ages (based on archaeological materials). Yoshkar-Ola, 2002.

6. Petrukhin V. Ya., Raevsky D. S. Essays on the history of the peoples of Russia in ancient times and the early Middle Ages. M., 1998.

TOPIC 4. Mari and their neighbors in the XII - early XIII centuries.

From the 12th century in some Mari lands the transition to fallow farming begins. The funeral rites of the Mari were unified and cremation disappeared. If earlier swords and spears were often found in the everyday life of Mari men, now they have been replaced everywhere by bows, arrows, axes, knives and other types of light bladed weapons. Perhaps this was due to the fact that the new neighbors of the Mari were more numerous, better armed and organized peoples (Slavic-Russians, Bulgars), which could only be fought with partisan methods.

XII - early XIII centuries. were marked by a noticeable growth of Slavic-Russian and a decline in Bulgar influence on the Mari (especially in Povetluzhye). At this time, Russian settlers appeared in the area between the Unzha and Vetluga rivers (Gorodets Radilov, first mentioned in chronicles in 1171, fortifications and villages on Uzol, Linda, Vezlom, Vatom), where there were still settlements of the Mari and Eastern Merya, as well as on Verkhnyaya and Middle Vyatka (the cities of Khlynov, Kotelnich, settlements on Pizhma) - on the Udmurt and Mari lands. The territory of settlement of the Mari, in comparison with the 9th - 11th centuries, did not undergo significant changes, however, its gradual shift to the east continued, which was largely due to the advance from the west of the Slavic-Russian tribes and the Slavicizing Finno-Ugric peoples (primarily the Merya) and, possibly, the ongoing Mari-Udmurt confrontation. The movement of the Meryan tribes to the east took place in small families or their groups, and the settlers who reached Povetluga most likely mixed with related Mari tribes, completely dissolving in this environment.

The material culture of the Mari came under strong Slavic-Russian influence (obviously through the mediation of the Meryan tribes). In particular, according to archaeological research, instead of traditional local molded ceramics comes dishes made on a potter's wheel (Slavic and “Slavonic” ceramics); under Slavic influence, the appearance of Mari jewelry, household items, and tools changed. At the same time, among the Mari antiquities XII - beginning of XIII centuries there are much fewer Bulgarian things.

No later than the beginning of the 12th century. The inclusion of the Mari lands into the system of ancient Russian statehood begins. According to the Tale of Bygone Years and the Tale of the Destruction of the Russian Land, the Cheremis (probably the western groups of the Mari population) were already paying tribute to the Russian princes. In 1120, after a series of Bulgar attacks on Russian cities in Volga-Ochye, which took place in the second half of the 11th century, a series of retaliatory campaigns began by the Vladimir-Suzdal princes and their allies from other Russian principalities. The Russian-Bulgar conflict, as is commonly believed, flared up due to the collection of tribute from the local population, and in this struggle the advantage steadily leaned towards the side of the feudal lords of North-Eastern Rus'. There is no reliable information about the direct participation of the Mari in the Russian-Bulgar wars, although the troops of both warring sides repeatedly passed through the Mari lands.

Abstract topics

1. Mari burial grounds of the XII-XIII centuries. in Povetluzhye.

2. Mari between Bulgaria and Russia.

Bibliography

1. Arkhipov G. A. Mari XII - XIII centuries. (On the ethnocultural history of Povetluga region). Yoshkar-Ola, 1986.

2. It's him.

3. Kazakov E. P. Stages of interaction between the Volga Bulgarians and the Finns of the Volga region // Medieval antiquities of Volga-Kama. Archeology and ethnography of the Mari region. Yoshkar-Ola, 1992. Vol. 21. pp. 42 - 50.

4. Kizilov Yu. A.

5. Kuchkin V. A. Formation of the state territory of North-Eastern Rus'. M., 1984.

6. Makarov L. D.

7. Nikitina T. B. Mari in the Middle Ages (based on archaeological materials). Yoshkar-Ola, 2002.

8. Sanukov K. N. Ancient Mari between the Turks and Slavs // Russian civilization: Past, present, future. Collection of articles VI student. scientific conference 5 Dec. 2000 Cheboksary, 2000. Part I. P. 36 - 63.

TOPIC 5. Mari as part of the Golden Horde

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

The Mari were subordinate to the Golden Horde through the Bulgar feudal lords and khan darugs. The bulk of the population was divided into administrative-territorial and tax-paying units - uluses, hundreds and tens, which were led by centurions and foremen - representatives of the local nobility - accountable to the khan's administration. The Mari, like many other peoples subject to the Golden Horde Khan, had to pay yasak, a number of other taxes, and carry out various duties, including military. They mainly supplied furs, honey, and wax. At the same time, the Mari lands were located on the forested northwestern periphery of the empire, far from the steppe zone; it did not have a developed economy, so strict military and police control was not established here, and in the most inaccessible and remote area - in Povetluzhye and the adjacent territory - the power of the khan was only nominal.

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

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

Abstract topics

1. Mongol-Tatar invasion and the Mari.

2. Malo-Sundyrskoye settlement and its surroundings.

3. Vetluzhskoe kuguztvo.

Bibliography

1. Arkhipov G. A. Fortifications and villages of Povetluzhye and Gorky Trans-Volga region (on the history of Mari-Slavic contacts) // Settlements and dwellings of the Mari region. Archeology and ethnography of the Mari region. Yoshkar-Ola, 1982. Vol. 6. P. 5 - 50.

2. Bakhtin A. G. XV - XVI centuries in the history of the Mari region. Yoshkar-Ola, 1998.

3. Berezin P. S.. Zavetluzhye // Nizhny Novgorod Mari. Yoshkar-Ola, 1994. pp. 60 - 119.

4. Egorov V. L. Historical geography of the Golden Horde in the XIII - XIV centuries. M., 1985.

5. Zeleneev Yu. A. The Golden Horde and the Volga Finns // Key problems of modern Finno-Ugric studies: Materials of the I All-Russian. conference Finno-Ugric scholars. Yoshkar-Ola, 1995. pp. 32 - 33.

6. Kargalov V. IN. Foreign policy factors in the development of feudal Rus': Feudal Rus' and nomads. M., 1967.

7. Kizilov Yu. A. Lands and principalities of North-Eastern Rus' during the period feudal fragmentation(XII - XV centuries). Ulyanovsk, 1982.

8. Makarov L. D. Old Russian monuments of the middle reaches of the Pizhma River // Problems of medieval archeology of the Volga Finns. Archeology and ethnography of the Mari region. Yoshkar-Ola, 1994. Vol. 23. pp. 155 - 184.

9. Nikitina T. B. Yulyalskoe settlement (on the issue of Mari-Russian ties in the Middle Ages) // Interethnic connections of the population of the Mari region. Archeology and ethnography of the Mari region. Yoshkar-Ola, 1991. Vol. 20. pp. 22 - 35.

10. It's her. On the nature of the settlement of the Mari in the 2nd millennium AD. e. on the example of the Malo-Sundyr settlement and its surroundings // New materials on the archeology of the Middle Volga region. Archeology and ethnography of the Mari region. Yoshkar-Ola, 1995. Vol. 24. pp. 130 - 139.

11. It's her. Mari in the Middle Ages (based on archaeological materials). Yoshkar-Ola, 2002.

12. Safargaliev M. G. The collapse of the Golden Horde // At the junction of continents and civilizations... (from the experience of the formation and collapse of empires of the 26th centuries). M., 1996. S. 280 - 526.

13. Fedorov-Davydov G. A. Social system of the Golden Horde. M., 1973.

14. Khlebnikova T. A. Archaeological sites of the 13th - 15th centuries. in the Gornomarisky region of the Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic // Origin of the Mari people: Materials of a scientific session held by the Mari Research Institute of Language, Literature and History (December 23 - 25, 1965). Yoshkar-Ola, 1967. pp. 85 - 92.

TOPIC 6. Kazan Khanate

The Kazan Khanate arose during the collapse of the Golden Horde - as a result of the appearance in the 30s - 40s. XV century in the Middle Volga region, the Golden Horde Khan Ulu-Muhammad, his court and combat-ready troops, who together played the role of a powerful catalyst in the consolidation of the local population and the creation of a state entity equivalent to the still decentralized Rus'. The Kazan Khanate bordered in the west and north with the Russian state, in the east with the Nogai Horde, in the south with the Astrakhan Khanate and in the southwest with the Crimean Khanate. The Khanate was divided into sides: Mountain (Right Bank of the Volga east of the Sura River), Lugovaya (Left Bank of the Volga north and north-west of Kazan), Arsk (Kazanka basin and adjacent areas of the Middle Vyatka), Poberezhnaya (Left Bank of the Volga south and south-east of Kazan, Lower Kama region). The parties were divided into darugs, and those into uluses (volosts), hundreds, dozens. In addition to the Bulgaro-Tatar population (Kazan Tatars), the Mari (“Cheremis”), southern Udmurts (“Votyaks”, “Ars”), Chuvash, Mordovians (mostly Erzya), and Western Bashkirs also lived on the territory of the Khanate.

Middle Volga region in the XV - XVI centuries. was considered a land of economic development and rich in natural resources. The Kazan Khanate was a country with ancient agricultural and livestock-raising traditions, developed craft (blacksmithing, jewelry, leather, weaving) production, with internal and external (especially transit) trade gaining accelerated momentum during periods of relative political stability; the capital of the Khanate, Kazan, was one of the largest cities in Eastern Europe. In general, the economy of the majority of the local population was complex; hunting, fishing and beekeeping, which were of a commercial nature, also played a significant role.

The Kazan Khanate was one of the variants of eastern despotism; to a large extent, it inherited the traditions of the state system of the Golden Horde. The head of the state was a khan (in Russian - “tsar”). His power was limited to the council of the highest nobility - the diwan. The members of this council bore the title "Karachi". The khan's court retinue also included ataliks (regents, educators), imildashis (foster brothers), who seriously influenced the adoption of certain government decisions. There was a general meeting of Kazan secular and spiritual feudal lords - kurultai. The most important issues in the field of foreign and domestic policy were resolved at it. The Khanate had an extensive bureaucratic apparatus in the form of a special palace-patrimonial management system. The role of the office, which consisted of several bakshi (identical to Russian clerks and clerks), grew in it. Legal relationships were regulated by Sharia and customary law.

All lands were considered the property of the khan, who personified the state. Khan demanded rent-in-kind and cash rent (yasak) for the use of land. The yasak was used to replenish the khan's treasury and support the apparatus of officials. The khan also had personal possessions like palace land.

In the Khanate there was an institute of conditional awards - suyurgal. Suyurgal was a hereditary land grant, subject to the condition that the person who received it performed military or other service in favor of the khan along with a certain number of horsemen; at the same time, the owner of the suyurgal received the right to judicial, administrative and tax immunity. The Tarkhan system was also widespread. The feudal Tarkhans, in addition to immunity and personal freedom from judicial liability, also had some other privileges. The title and status of Tarkhan, as a rule, was awarded for special merits.

A large class of Kazan feudal lords was involved in the sphere of suyurgal-tarkhan awards. Its leadership consisted of emirs, hakims, and biks; the middle feudal lords included the Murzas and Oglans (Uhlans); The lowest stratum of service people consisted of city ("ichki") and rural ("isnik") Cossacks. A large layer within the feudal class was the Muslim clergy, which had significant influence in the Khanate; He also had land holdings (waqf lands) at his disposal.

The bulk of the Khanate's population - farmers ("igencheler"), artisans, traders, the non-Tatar part of Kazan subjects, including the bulk of the local nobility - belonged to the category of tax-paying people, "black people" ("kara khalyk"). In the Khanate there were more than 20 types of taxes and duties, among which the main one was yasak. Duties of a temporary nature were also practiced - logging, public construction work, permanent service, maintaining communications (bridges and roads) in proper condition. The combat-ready male part of the tax-paying population had to participate in wars as part of the militia. Therefore, “kara halyk” can be considered as a semi-service class.

In the Kazan Khanate stood out and social group personally dependent people - kollar (slaves) and churalar (representatives of this group were less dependent than kollar; this term often appears as a title for serving military nobility). Mostly Russian captives became slaves. Those prisoners who converted to Islam remained on the territory of the Khanate and were transferred to the position of dependent peasants or artisans. Although slave labor was used quite widely in the Kazan Khanate, the bulk of the prisoners, as a rule, were exported to other countries.

In general, the Kazan Khanate did not differ much from the Moscow state in its economic structure, level of economic and cultural development, but it was significantly inferior to it in its area, in the size of natural, human and economic resources, in the scale of agricultural and handicraft products produced, and was less homogeneous in ethnically. In addition, the Kazan Khanate, unlike the Russian state, was weakly centralized, so internecine clashes more often occurred there, weakening the country.

Abstract topics

1. Kazan Khanate: population, political system and administrative-territorial structure.

2. Land legal relations in the Kazan Khanate.

3. Economy and culture of the Kazan Khanate.

Bibliography

1. Alishev S. Kh.

2. Bakhtin A. G. XV - XVI centuries in the history of the Mari region. Yoshkar-Ola, 1998.

3. Dimitriev V. D. About yasak taxation in the Middle Volga region // Questions of history. 1956. No. 12. pp. 107 - 115.

4. It's him. On the socio-political system and governance in the Kazan land // Russia on the paths of centralization: Collection of articles. M., 1982. S. 98 - 107.

5. History of the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. (From ancient times to the present day). Kazan, 1968.

6. Kizilov Yu. A.

7. Mukhamedyarov Sh. F. Land legal relations in the Kazan Khanate. Kazan, 1958.

8. Tatars of the Middle Volga and Urals. M., 1967.

9. Tagirov I. R. History of the national statehood of the Tatar people and Tatarstan. Kazan, 2000.

10. Khamidullin B. L.

11. Khudyakov M. G.

12. Chernyshev E. I. Villages of the Kazan Khanate (according to scribe books) // Questions of ethnogenesis of the Turkic-speaking peoples of the Middle Volga region. Archeology and ethnography of Tataria. Kazan, 1971. Issue. 1. pp. 272 ​​- 292.

TOPIC 7. Economic and socio-political situation of the Mari as part of the Kazan Khanate

The Mari were not included in the Kazan Khanate by force; dependence on Kazan arose due to the desire to prevent armed struggle with the aim of jointly opposing the Russian state and, in accordance with the established tradition, paying tribute to the Bulgar and Golden Horde government officials. Allied, confederal relations were established between the Mari and the Kazan government. At the same time, there were noticeable differences in the position of the mountain, meadow and northwestern Mari within the Khanate.

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

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

The meadow Mari, unlike the mountain Mari, did not have close and regular contacts with the Russian state; they were more connected with Kazan and the Kazan Tatars politically, economically, and culturally. In terms of the level of their economic development, the meadow Mari were not inferior to the mountain Mari. Moreover, the economy of the Left Bank on the eve of the fall of Kazan developed in a relatively stable, calm and less harsh military-political environment, therefore contemporaries (A. M. Kurbsky, author of “Kazan History”) describe the well-being of the population of the Lugovaya and especially the Arsk side most enthusiastically and colorfully. The amounts of taxes paid by the population of the Mountain and Meadow sides also did not differ much. If on the Mountain Side the burden of regular service was felt more strongly, then on Lugovaya - construction: it was the population of the Left Bank that erected and maintained in proper condition the powerful fortifications of Kazan, Arsk, various forts, and abatis.

The northwestern (Vetluga and Kokshai) Mari were relatively weakly drawn into the orbit of the Khan’s power due to their distance from the center and due to their relatively low economic development; at the same time, the Kazan government, fearing Russian military campaigns from the north (from Vyatka) and north-west (from Galich and Ustyug), sought allied relations with the Vetluga, Kokshai, Pizhansky, Yaran Mari leaders, who also saw benefits in supporting the aggressive actions of the Tatars in relation to the outlying Russian lands.

Abstract topics

1. Life support of the Mari in the XV - XVI centuries.

2. Meadow side as part of the Kazan Khanate.

3. Mountain side as part of the Kazan Khanate.

Bibliography

1. Bakhtin A. G. Peoples of the Mountain Side as part of the Kazan Khanate // Mari El: yesterday, today, tomorrow. 1996. No. 1. pp. 50 - 58.

2. It's him. XV - XVI centuries in the history of the Mari region. Yoshkar-Ola, 1998.

3. Dimitriev V. D. Chuvashia in the era of feudalism (XVI - early XIX centuries). Cheboksary, 1986.

4. Dubrovina L. A.

5. Kizilov Yu. A. Lands and peoples of Russia in the XIII - XV centuries. M., 1984.

6. Shikaeva T. B. Economic inventory of the Mari of the XIV - XVII centuries // From the history of the economy of the population of the Mari region. Archeology and ethnography of the Mari region. Yoshkar-Ola, 1979. Vol. 4. pp. 51 - 63.

7. Khamidullin B. L. Peoples of the Kazan Khanate: Ethnosociological study. - Kazan, 2002.

TOPIC 8. “Military democracy” of the medieval Mari

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

Mari patriarchal families were united into patronymic groups (nasyl, tukym, urlyk), and those into larger land unions (tiste). Their unity was based not on consanguineous ties, but on the principle of neighborhood, and, to a lesser extent, on economic ties, which were expressed in various kinds of mutual “help” (“voma”), joint ownership of common lands. Land unions were, among other things, unions of mutual military assistance. Perhaps the Tiste were territorially compatible with the hundreds and uluses of the Kazan Khanate period. Hundreds, uluses, and dozens were led by centurions or centurion princes (“shÿdövuy”, “puddle”), foremen (“luvuy”). The centurions appropriated for themselves some part of the yasak they collected in favor of the khan's treasury from the subordinate ordinary members of the community, but at the same time they enjoyed authority among them as intelligent and courageous people, as skillful organizers and military leaders. Centurions and foremen in the XV - XVI centuries. They had not yet managed to break with primitive democracy, but at the same time the power of the representatives of the nobility increasingly acquired a hereditary character.

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

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

The northwestern Mari showed the greatest activity in raids among all groups of the Mari population. This was due to their relatively low level of socio-economic development. The meadow and mountain Mari, engaged in agricultural work, took a less active part in military campaigns; moreover, the local proto-feudal elite had other ways than the military to strengthen their power and further enrich themselves (primarily through strengthening ties with Kazan).

Abstract topics

1. Social structure of Mari society XV - XVI centuries.

2. Features of the “military democracy” of the medieval Mari.

Bibliography

1. Bakhtin A. G. XV - XVI centuries in the history of the Mari region. Yoshkar-Ola, 1998.

2. It's him. Forms of ethnic organization among the Mari and some controversial problems in the history of the Middle Volga region in the 15th - 16th centuries // Ethnological problems in a multicultural society: Materials of the All-Russian school-seminar “National Relations and Modern Statehood”. Yoshkar-Ola, 2000. Vol. 1. pp. 58 - 75.

3. Dubrovina L. A. Socio-economic and political development of the Mari region in the XV - XVI centuries. (based on materials from the Kazan Chronicler) // Questions of the pre-revolutionary history of the Mari region. Yoshkar-Ola, 1978. pp. 3 - 23.

4. Petrov V. N. Hierarchy of Mari cult associations // Material and spiritual culture of the Mari. Archeology and ethnography of the Mari region. Yoshkar-Ola, 1982. Vol. 5. pp. 133 - 153.

5. Svechnikov S.K. The main features of the social system of the Mari in the 15th - first half of the 16th centuries. // Finno-Ugric studies. 1999. No. 2 - 3. P. 69 - 71.

6. Stepanov A. Statehood of the ancient Mari // Mari El: yesterday, today, tomorrow. 1995. No. 1. pp. 67 - 72.

7. Khamidullin B. L. Peoples of the Kazan Khanate: Ethnosociological study. Kazan, 2002.

8. Khudyakov M. G. From the history of the relationship between Tatar and Mari feudal lords in the 16th century // Poltysh - Prince of Cheremis. Malmyzh region. Yoshkar-Ola, 2003. pp. 87 - 138.

TOPIC 9. Mari in the system of Russian-Kazan relations

In 1440 - 50s. Equality of power remained between Moscow and Kazan; subsequently, relying on the successes of gathering Russian lands, the Moscow government began the task of subjugating the Kazan Khanate, and in 1487 a protectorate was established over it. Dependence on the grand ducal power ended in 1505 as a result of a powerful uprising and a successful two-year war with the Russian state, in which the Mari took an active part. In 1521, the Crimean Girey dynasty, known for its aggressive foreign policy towards Russia, reigned in Kazan. The government of the Kazan Khanate found itself in difficult situation, when it was constantly necessary to choose one of the possible political lines: either independence, but confrontation with a strong neighbor - the Russian state, or a state of peace and relative stability, but only under the condition of subordination to Moscow. Not only in Kazan government circles, but also among the subjects of the Khanate, a split began to emerge between supporters and opponents of rapprochement with the Russian state.

The Russian-Kazan wars, which ended with the annexation of the Middle Volga region to the Russian state, were caused by both defense motives and the expansionist aspirations of both warring parties. The Kazan Khanate, carrying out aggression against the Russian state, sought, at a minimum, to carry out robbery and capture prisoners, and, at a maximum, to restore the dependence of the Russian princes on the Tatar khans, modeled on the order that existed during the period of the power of the Golden Horde Empire. The Russian state, in proportion to its existing forces and capabilities, tried to subjugate to its power the lands that had previously been part of the same Golden Horde empire, including the Kazan Khanate. And all this happened in the conditions of a rather acute, protracted and debilitating conflict between the Moscow state and the Kazan Khanate, when, along with aggressive goals, both opposing sides also solved the problems of state defense.

Almost all groups of the Mari population took part in military campaigns against Russian lands, which became more frequent under Giray (1521 - 1551, with interruptions). The reasons for the participation of Mari warriors in these campaigns most likely boil down to the following points: 1) the position of the local nobility in relation to the khan as service vassals, and ordinary community members as semi-service class; 2) features of the stage of development of social relations (“military democracy”); 3) obtaining military booty, including captives for their sale in slave markets; 4) the desire to prevent Russian military-political expansion and people's monastic colonization; 5) psychological motives - revenge, the dominance of Russophobic sentiments as a result of the devastating invasions of Russian troops and fierce armed clashes on the territory of the Russian state.

In the last period of the Russian-Kazan confrontation (1521 - 1552) in 1521 - 1522 and 1534 - 1544. the initiative belonged to Kazan, which sought to restore the vassal dependence of Moscow, as it was during the time of the Golden Horde. In 1523 - 1530 and 1545 - 1552. The Russian state led a broad and powerful attack on Kazan.

Among the reasons for the annexation of the Middle Volga region and, accordingly, the Mari to the Russian state, scientists mainly indicate the following points: 1) the imperial type of political consciousness of the top leadership of the Moscow state, which arose during the struggle for the “Golden Horde inheritance”; 2) the task of ensuring the security of the eastern outskirts; 3) economic reasons (the need for fertile land for feudal lords, tax revenues from a wealthy region, control over the Volga trade route and other long-term plans). At the same time, historians, as a rule, give preference to one of these factors, relegating the others to the background or completely denying their significance.

Abstract topics

1. The Mari and the Russian-Kazan War of 1505 - 1507.

2. Russian-Kazan relations in 1521 - 1535.

3. Campaigns of Kazan troops on Russian lands in 1534 - 1544.

4. Reasons for the annexation of the Middle Volga region to Russia.

Bibliography

1. Alishev S. Kh. Kazan and Moscow: interstate relations in the XV - XVI centuries. Kazan, 1995.

2. Bazilevich K.V. Foreign policy of the Russian centralized state (second half of the 15th century). M., 1952.

3. Bakhtin A. G. XV - XVI centuries in the history of the Mari region. Yoshkar-Ola, 1998.

4. It's him. Reasons for the annexation of the Volga and Urals regions to Russia // Questions of history. 2001. No. 5. pp. 52 - 72.

5. Zimin A. A. Russia on the threshold of a new time: (Essays on the political history of Russia in the first third of the 16th century). M., 1972.

6. It's him. Russia at the turn of the XV - XVI centuries: (Essays on socio-political history). M., 1982.

7. Kappeler A.

8. Kargalov V.V. On the steppe border: Defense of the “Crimean Ukraine” of the Russian state in the first half of the 16th century. M., 1974.

9. Peretyatkovich G. I.

10. Smirnov I. I. Eastern policy of Vasily III // Historical notes. M., 1948. T. 27. P. 18 - 66.

11. Khudyakov M. G. Essays on the history of the Kazan Khanate. M., 1991.

12. Schmidt S. O. Eastern policy of Russia on the eve of the “Capture of Kazan” // International relations. Policy. Diplomacy of the 16th - 20th centuries. M., 1964. S. 538 - 558.

TOPIC 10. Accession of the mountain Mari to the Russian state

The entry of the Mari into the Russian state was a multi-stage process, and the first to be annexed were the mountain Mari. Together with the rest of the population of the Mountain Side, they were interested in peaceful relations with the Russian state, while in the spring of 1545 a series of large campaigns of Russian troops against Kazan began. At the end of 1546, the mountain people (Tugai, Atachik) attempted to establish a military alliance with Russia and, together with political emigrants from among the Kazan feudal lords, sought the overthrow of Khan Safa-Girey and the installation of the Moscow vassal Shah-Ali on the throne, thereby preventing new invasions Russian troops and put an end to the despotic pro-Crimean internal policy of the khan. However, Moscow at this time had already set a course for the final annexation of the Khanate - Ivan IV was crowned king (this indicates that the Russian sovereign was putting forward his claim to the Kazan throne and other residences of the Golden Horde kings). Nevertheless, the Moscow government failed to take advantage of the successful rebellion of the Kazan feudal lords led by Prince Kadysh against Safa-Girey, and the help offered by the mountain people was rejected by the Russian governors. The mountainous side continued to be considered by Moscow as enemy territory even after the winter of 1546/47. (campaigns to Kazan in the winter of 1547/48 and in the winter of 1549/50).

By 1551, a plan had matured in Moscow government circles to annex the Kazan Khanate to Russia, which provided for the separation of the Mountain Side and its subsequent transformation into a support base for the capture of the rest of the Khanate. In the summer of 1551, when a powerful military outpost was erected at the mouth of Sviyaga (Sviyazhsk fortress), it was possible to annex the Mountain Side to the Russian state.

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

There is no consensus among historians regarding the nature of the annexation of the Mountain Side to the Russian state. Some scientists believe that the peoples of the Mountain Side joined Russia voluntarily, others argue that it was a violent seizure, and still others adhere to the version about the peaceful, but forced nature of the annexation. Obviously, in the annexation of the Mountain Side to the Russian state, both reasons and circumstances of a military, violent, and peaceful, non-violent nature played a role. These factors complemented each other, giving the entry of the mountain Mari and other peoples of the Mountain Side into Russia an exceptional uniqueness.

Abstract topics

1. “Embassy” of the mountain Mari to Moscow in 1546

2. Construction of Sviyazhsk and adoption of Russian citizenship by the mountain Mari.

Bibliography

1. Ayplatov G. N. Forever with you, Russia: On the annexation of the Mari region to the Russian state. Yoshkar-Ola, 1967.

2. Alishev S. Kh. The accession of the peoples of the Middle Volga region to the Russian state // Tataria in the past and present. Kazan, 1975. pp. 172 - 185.

3. It's him. Kazan and Moscow: interstate relations in the XV - XVI centuries. Kazan, 1995.

4. Bakhtin A. G. XV - XVI centuries in the history of the Mari region. Yoshkar-Ola, 1998.

5. Burdey G.D.

6. Dimitriev V. D. Peaceful accession of Chuvashia to the Russian state. Cheboksary, 2001.

7. Svechnikov S. K. The entry of the mountain Mari into the Russian state // Current problems of history and literature: Materials of the republican interuniversity scientific conference V Tarasov readings. Yoshkar-Ola, 2001. pp. 34 - 39.

8. Schmidt S. Yu. Eastern policy of the Russian state in the middle of the 16th century. and “Kazan War” // 425th anniversary of the voluntary entry of Chuvashia into Russia. Proceedings of ChuvNII. Cheboksary, 1977. Vol. 71. pp. 25 - 62.

TOPIC 11. Annexation of the left-bank Mari to Russia. Cheremis War 1552-1557

Summer 1551 - spring 1552 The Russian state exerted powerful military-political pressure on Kazan, and the implementation of a plan for the gradual liquidation of the Khanate through the establishment of a Kazan governorship began. However, anti-Russian sentiment was too strong in Kazan, probably growing as pressure from Moscow increased. As a result, on March 9, 1552, the Kazan people refused to allow the Russian governor and the troops accompanying him into the city, and the entire plan for the bloodless annexation of the Khanate to Russia collapsed overnight.

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

During the Kazan War of 1545 - 1552. Crimean and Turkish diplomats were actively working to create an anti-Moscow union of Turkic-Muslim states to counter the powerful Russian expansion in the eastern direction. However, the unification policy failed due to the pro-Moscow and anti-Crimean position of many influential Nogai Murzas.

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

In the first days after the capture of Kazan, Ivan IV and his entourage took measures to organize the administration of the conquered country. Within 8 days (from October 2 to October 10), the Prikazan Meadow Mari and Tatars were sworn in. However, the majority of the left-bank Mari did not show submission, and already in November 1552, the Mari of the Lugovaya Side rose up to fight for their freedom. The anti-Moscow armed uprisings of the peoples of the Middle Volga region after the fall of Kazan are usually called the Cheremis Wars, since the Mari showed the greatest activity in them, at the same time, the insurgent movement in the Middle Volga region in 1552 - 1557. is, in essence, a continuation of the Kazan War, and the main goal of its participants was the restoration of the Kazan Khanate. People's liberation movement 1552 - 1557 in the Middle Volga region was caused by the following reasons: 1) defending one’s independence, freedom, and the right to live in one’s own way; 2) the struggle of the local nobility to restore the order that existed in the Kazan Khanate; 3) religious confrontation (the Volga peoples - Muslims and pagans - seriously feared for the future of their religions and culture as a whole, since immediately after the capture of Kazan, Ivan IV began to destroy mosques, build Orthodox churches in their place, destroy the Muslim clergy and pursue a policy of forced baptism ). The degree of influence of the Turkic-Muslim states on the course of events in the Middle Volga region during this period was negligible; in some cases, potential allies even interfered with the rebels.

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

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

The resistance movement was suppressed as a result of large-scale punitive operations by the troops of Ivan IV. In a number of episodes, insurrectionary actions took the form of civil war and class struggle, but the main motive remained the struggle for the liberation of one’s land. The resistance movement ceased due to several factors: 1) continuous armed clashes with the tsarist troops, which brought countless casualties and destruction to the local population; 2) mass famine and plague epidemic that came from the Volga steppes; 3) the left bank Mari lost the support of their former allies - the Tatars and southern Udmurts. In May 1557, representatives of almost all groups of meadow and northwestern Mari took an oath to the Russian Tsar.

Abstract topics

1. The fall of Kazan and the Mari.

2. Causes and driving forces of the First Cheremis War (1552 - 1557).

3. Akpars and Boltush, Altysh and Mamich-Berdey at the turning point of Mari history.

Bibliography

1. Ayplatov G. N.

2. Alishev S. Kh. Kazan and Moscow: interstate relations in the XV - XVI centuries. Kazan, 1995.

3. Andreyanov A. A.

4. Bakhtin A. G. On the question of the causes of the insurgency in the Mari region in the 50s. XVI century // Mari Archaeographic Bulletin. 1994. Vol. 4. pp. 18 - 25.

5. It's him. On the question of the nature and driving forces of the uprising of 1552 - 1557. in the Middle Volga region // Mari Archaeographic Bulletin. 1996. Vol. 6. pp. 9 - 17.

6. It's him. XV - XVI centuries in the history of the Mari region. Yoshkar-Ola, 1998.

7. Burdey G.D. Russia’s struggle for the Middle and Lower Volga region // Teaching history at school. 1954. No. 5. pp. 27 - 36.

8. Ermolaev I. P.

9. Dimitriev V. D. Anti-Moscow movement in the Kazan land in 1552 - 1557 and the attitude of its Mountain side towards it // People's School. 1999. No. 6. pp. 111 - 123.

10. Dubrovina L. A.

11. Poltysh - Prince of Cheremis. Malmyzh region. - Yoshkar-Ola, 2003.

TOPIC 12. Cheremis wars of 1571-1574 and 1581-1585. Consequences of the Mari joining the Russian state

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

The next armed uprising of the peoples of the Volga and Urals region, which began in 1581, was caused by the same reasons as the previous one. What was new was that strict administrative and police supervision began to extend to the Lugovaya Side (the assignment of heads (“watchmen”) to the local population - Russian servicemen who exercised control, partial disarmament, confiscation of horses). The uprising began in the Urals in the summer of 1581 (an attack by the Tatars, Khanty and Mansi on the Stroganovs' possessions), then the unrest spread to the left-bank Mari, soon joined by the mountain Mari, Kazan Tatars, Udmurts, Chuvash and Bashkirs. The rebels blocked Kazan, Sviyazhsk and Cheboksary, made long campaigns deep into Russian territory - to Nizhny Novgorod, Khlynov, Galich. The Russian government was forced to urgently end the Livonian War, concluding a truce with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1582) and Sweden (1583), and devote significant forces to pacifying the Volga population. The main methods of fighting against the rebels were punitive campaigns, the construction of fortresses (Kozmodemyansk was built in 1583, Tsarevokokshaisk in 1584, Tsarevosanchursk in 1585), as well as peace negotiations, during which Ivan IV, and after his death the actual Russian ruler Boris Godunov promised amnesty and gifts to those who wanted to stop resistance. As a result, in the spring of 1585, “they finished off the Sovereign Tsar and Grand Duke Fyodor Ivanovich of all Rus' with a centuries-old peace.”

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

Abstract topics

1. Second Cheremis War 1571 - 1574

2. Third Cheremis War 1581 - 1585

3. Results and consequences of the annexation of the Mari to Russia.

Bibliography

1. Ayplatov G. N. Socio-political movement and class struggle in the Mari region in the second half of the 16th century (On the question of the nature of the “Cheremis wars”) // Peasant farming and village culture of the Middle Volga region. Yoshkar-Ola, 1990. pp. 3 - 10.

2. Alishev S. Kh. Historical destinies of the peoples of the Middle Volga region. XVI - early XIX century. M., 1990.

3. Andreyanov A. A. The city of Tsarevokokshaysk: pages of history ( end XVI- beginning of the 18th century). Yoshkar-Ola, 1991.

4. Bakhtin A. G. XV - XVI centuries in the history of the Mari region. Yoshkar-Ola, 1998.

5. Ermolaev I. P. Middle Volga region in the second half of the 16th - 17th centuries. (Management of the Kazan region). Kazan, 1982.

6. Dimitriev V. D. National-colonial policy of the Moscow government in the Middle Volga region in the second half of the 16th - 17th centuries. // Bulletin of the Chuvash University. 1995. No. 5. pp. 4 - 14.

7. Dubrovina L. A. The first peasant war in the Mari region // From the history of the peasantry of the Mari region. Yoshkar-Ola, 1980. P. 3 - 65.

8. Kappeler A. Russia - a multinational empire: Emergence. Story. Decay / Transl. with him. S. Chervonnaya. M., 1996.

9. Kuzeev R. G. Peoples of the Middle Volga region and Southern Urals: An ethnogenetic view of history. M., 1992.

10. Peretyatkovich G. I. Volga region in the 15th and 16th centuries: (Essays on the history of the region and its colonization). M., 1877.

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DICTIONARY OF OBSOLETE WORDS AND SPECIAL TERMS

Bakshi - an official involved in office work in the offices of central and local institutions of the Kazan Khanate.

The struggle for the “Golden Horde inheritance” - the struggle between several Eastern European and Asian states (Russian state, Kazan, Crimean, Astrakhan khanates, Nogai Horde, Polish-Lithuanian state, Turkey) for lands that were previously part of the Golden Horde.

Beekeeping - collecting honey from wild bees.

Bik (beat) - the ruler of a district (region), usually a member of the khan's divan.

Vassal - subordinate, dependent person or state.

Voivode - commander of troops, head of the city and district in the Russian state.

Vÿma (mÿma) - a tradition of free collective mutual assistance in Mari rural communities, usually practiced during periods of large-scale agricultural work.

Homogeneous - homogeneous in composition.

Mountain people - population of the Mountain side of the Kazan Khanate (mountain Mari, Chuvash, Sviyazhsk Tatars, eastern Mordovians).

Tribute - natural or monetary exaction levied on a conquered people.

Daruga - a large administrative-territorial and taxation unit in the Golden Horde and the Tatar khanates; also the governor of the khan, collecting tribute and duties.

Ten - small administrative-territorial and taxation unit.

Foreman - elective position in the peasant community, leader of the dozen.

Clerks and clerks - clerks of the offices of central and local institutions of the Russian state (clerks were lower in their position on the career ladder and were subordinate to clerks).

Life - in the Russian Orthodox Church, a moral narrative about the life of a saint.

Ilem - a small family settlement among the Mari.

Imperial - associated with the desire to annex other countries and peoples and keep them in various ways as part of one large state.

Kart (arvuy, yoktyshö, onaeng) - Mari priest.

Support - fortress, fortification; difficult place.

Kuguz (kugyza) - elder, leader of the Mari.

Puddle - centurion, prince of a hundred among the Mari.

Murza - feudal lord, head of a separate clan or horde in the Golden Horde and Tatar khanates.

Raid - sudden attack, short-term invasion.

Oglan (lancer) - representative of the middle layer of feudal lords of the Kazan Khanate, a mounted warrior with a pike; in the Golden Horde - a prince from the family of Genghis Khan.

Parcel - family-individual.

Protectorate - a form of dependence in which a weak country, while maintaining some independence in internal affairs, is actually subordinate to another, stronger state.

Proto-feudal - pre-feudal, intermediate between primitive communal and feudal, military-democratic.

Centurion, centurion prince - elective position in the peasant community, leader of hundreds.

A hundred - administrative-territorial and taxation unit uniting several settlements.

Side - one of the four large geographical and administrative-territorial regions of the Kazan Khanate.

Tiste - a sign of ownership, a “banner” among the Mari; also a union of several Mari settlements located next to each other.

Ulus - administrative-territorial unit in the Tatar khanates, region, district; originally - the name of a group of families or tribes subordinate to a particular feudal lord and nomadic on his lands.

Ushkuiniki - Russian river pirates who sailed on ushkiy (flat-bottomed sailing and rowing boats).

Hakim - ruler of a region, city, ulus in the Golden Horde and Tatar khanates.

Kharaj - land or poll tax, usually not exceeding a tithe.

Sharia - a set of Muslim laws, rules and principles.

Expansion - a policy aimed at subjugating other countries and seizing foreign territories.

Emir - leader of the clan, ruler of the ulus, holder of large land holdings in the Golden Horde and Tatar khanates.

Ethnonym - name of the people.

Shortcut - diploma in the Golden Horde and Tatar khanates.

Yasak - the main tax in kind and money, which was levied on the population of the Middle Volga region as part of the Golden Horde, then the Kazan Khanate and the Russian state until the beginning of the 18th century.

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE

IX - XI centuries- completion of the formation of the Mari ethnic group.

960s- the first written mention of the Mari (“ts-r-mis”) (in a letter from the Khazar Kagan Joseph Hasdai ibn-Shaprut).

End of the 10th century- the fall of the Khazar Kaganate, the beginning of the dependence of the Mari on the Volga-Kama Bulgaria.

Beginning of the 12th century- mention of the Mari (“Cheremis”) in the “Tale of Bygone Years”.

1171- the first written mention of Gorodets Radilov, built on the territory of settlement of the Eastern Meri and Western Mari.

End of the 12th century- the appearance of the first Russian settlements in Vyatka.

1221- foundation of Nizhny Novgorod.

1230 - 1240s- conquest of the Mari lands by the Mongol-Tatars.

1372- foundation of the city of Kurmysh.

1380, September 8- participation of hired Mari warriors in the Battle of Kulikovo on the side of Temnik Mamai.

1428/29, winter- raid of the Bulgars, Tatars and Mari led by Prince Ali Baba on Galich, Kostroma, Pleso, Lukh, Yuryevets, Kineshma.

1438 - 1445- formation of the Kazan Khanate.

1461 - 1462- Russian-Kazan War (attack of the Russian river flotilla on Mari villages along the Vyatka and Kama, raid of the Mari-Tatar army on the volosts near Veliky Ustyug).

1467 - 1469- the Russian-Kazan war, which ended with the signing of a peace treaty, according to which the Kazan Khan Ibrahim made a number of concessions to Grand Duke Ivan III

1478, spring - summer- unsuccessful campaign of Kazan troops against Vyatka, siege of Kazan by Russian troops, new concessions by Khan Ibrahim.

1487- siege of Kazan by Russian troops, establishment of a Moscow protectorate over the Kazan Khanate.

1489- march of Moscow and Kazan troops to Vyatka, annexation of Vyatka Land to the Russian state.

1496 - 1497- the reign of the Siberian prince Mamuk in the Kazan Khanate, his overthrow as a result of a popular uprising.

1505, August - September- unsuccessful campaign of Kazan and Nogai troops to Nizhny Novgorod.

1506, April - June

1521, spring- anti-Moscow uprising in the Kazan Khanate, accession of the Crimean Girey dynasty to the Kazan throne.

1521, spring - summer- raids of the Tatars, Mari, Mordovians, Chuvash on Unzha, near Galich, on Nizhny Novgorod, Murom and Meshchera places, participation of Kazan troops in the campaign of the Crimean Khan Muhammad-Girey to Moscow.

1523, August - September- the campaign of Russian troops on the Kazan lands, the construction of Vasil-city (Vasilsursk), the (temporary) annexation of the mountain Mari, Mordovians and Chuvash, who lived near Vasil-city, to the Russian state.

1524, spring - autumn- an unsuccessful campaign of Russian troops against Kazan (the Mari took an active part in the defense of the city).

1525- opening of the Nizhny Novgorod fair, ban on Russian merchants trading in Kazan, forced relocation (deportation) of the border Mari population to the Russian-Lithuanian border.

1526, summer - the unsuccessful campaign of Russian troops against Kazan, the defeat of the vanguard of the Russian river flotilla by the Mari and Chuvash.

1530, April- July - an unsuccessful major campaign of Russian troops against Kazan (the Mari warriors actually saved Kazan with their decisive actions, when at the most critical moment Khan Safa-Girey left it with his retinue and guard, and the fortress gates were wide open for several hours).

1531, spring- raid of the Tatars and Mari on Unzha.

1531/32, winter- attack of Kazan troops on the Trans-Volga Russian lands - on Soligalich, Chukhloma, Unzha, the volosts of Toloshma, Tiksna, Syangema, Tovto, Gorodishnaya, on the Efimev Monastery.

1532, summer- anti-Crimean uprising in the Kazan Khanate, restoration of the Moscow protectorate.

1534, autumn- raid of the Tatars and Mari on the outskirts of Unzha and Galich.

1534/35, winter- devastation of the outskirts of Nizhny Novgorod by Kazan troops.

1535 September- coup d'etat in Kazan, the return of the Gireys to the khan's throne.

1535, autumn - 1544/45, winter- regular raids by Kazan troops on Russian lands up to the outskirts of Moscow, the outskirts of Vologda, Veliky Ustyug.

1545, April - May- attack of the Russian river flotilla on Kazan and settlements along the Volga, Vyatka, Kama and Sviyaga, the beginning of the Kazan War of 1545 - 1552.

1546, January - September- a fierce struggle in Kazan between supporters of Shah-Ali (Moscow party) and Safa-Girey (Crimean party), mass flight of Kazan residents abroad (to Russia and the Nogai Horde).

1546, early December- the arrival of a delegation of mountain Mari to Moscow, the arrival of Prince Kadysh’s messengers in Moscow with the news of the anti-Crimean uprising in Kazan.

1547, January - February- the crowning of Ivan IV, the campaign of Russian troops led by Prince A. B. Gorbaty to Kazan.

1547/48, winter- the campaign of Russian troops led by Ivan IV to Kazan, which was disrupted due to a sudden strong thaw.

1548 September- unsuccessful attack of the Tatars and Mari led by Arak (Urak) the hero on Galich and Kostroma.

1549/50, winter- an unsuccessful campaign of Russian troops led by Ivan IV to Kazan (the capture of the city was prevented by a thaw, significant isolation from the nearest military-food base - Vasil-city, as well as the desperate resistance of the Kazan people).

1551, May - July- the campaign of Russian troops against Kazan and the Mountain Side, the construction of Sviyazhsk, the entry of the Mountain Side into the Russian state, the campaign of mountain people against Kazan, the gifting and bribery of the population of the Mountain Side.

1552, March - April- refusal of Kazan residents from the project of peaceful entry into Russia, the beginning of anti-Moscow unrest on the Mountain Side.

1552, May - June- suppression of the anti-Moscow uprising of mountain people, entry of a 150,000-strong Russian army led by Ivan IV onto the Mountain Side.

1552, October 3-10- swearing in the oath to the Russian Tsar Ivan IV of the Prikazan Mari and Tatars, the legal entry of the Mari region into Russia.

1552, November - 1557, May- The First Cheremis War, the actual entry of the Mari region into Russia.

1574, spring - summer- foundation of Kokshaysk.

1581, summer - 1585, spring- Third Cheremis War.

1583, spring - summer- foundation of Kozmodemyansk.

1584, summer - autumn- foundation of Tsarevokokshaisk.

1585, spring - summer- foundation of Tsarevosanchursk.

National character of the Mari

Mari (self-name - “Mari, Mari”; outdated Russian name - “Cheremis”) are a Finno-Ugric people of the Volga-Finnish subgroup.

The number in the Russian Federation is 547.6 thousand people, in the Republic of Mari El - 290.8 thousand people. (according to the 2010 All-Russian Population Census). More than half of the Mari live outside the territory of Mari El. They are compactly settled in Bashkortostan, Kirov, Sverdlovsk and Nizhny Novgorod regions, Tatarstan, Udmurtia and other regions.

are divided into three main subethnic groups: mountain Mari inhabit the Right Bank of the Volga, meadow Mari live in the Vetluzh-Vyatka interfluve, and eastern Mari live mainly in the territory of Bashkortostan.(Meadow-Eastern and Mountain Mari literary languages) belong to the Volga group of Finno-Ugric languages.

Mari believers are Orthodox and adherents of ethnoreligion (“”), which is a combination of polytheism and monotheism. Eastern Mari mostly adhere to traditional beliefs.

In the formation and development of the people, ethnocultural ties with the Volga Bulgars, then the Chuvash and Tatars were of great importance. After the Mari entered the Russian state (1551–1552), ties with the Russians also became intense. The anonymous author of “The Tale of the Kingdom of Kazan” from the time of Ivan the Terrible, known as the Kazan Chronicler, calls the Mari “farmers-workers,” that is, those who love work (Vasin, 1959: 8).

The ethnonym “Cheremis” is a complex, multi-valued sociocultural and historical-psychological phenomenon. Mari never call themselves “Cheremis” and consider such treatment offensive (Shkalina, 2003, electronic resource). However, this name became one of the components of their identity.

IN historical literature The Mari were first mentioned in 961 in a letter from the Khazar Kagan Joseph under the name “Tsarmis” among the peoples who paid him tribute.

In the languages ​​of neighboring peoples, consonant names have been preserved today: in Chuvash - sarmys, in Tatar - chirmysh, in Russian - cheremis. Nestor wrote about the Cheremis in The Tale of Bygone Years. In the linguistic literature there is no single point of view regarding the origin of this ethnonym. Among the translations of the word “Cheremis”, which reveal Ural roots in it, the most common are: a) “a person from the Chere tribe (char, cap)”; b) “warlike, forest man” (ibid.).

The Mari are truly a forest people. Forests occupy half the area of ​​the Mari region. The forest has always fed, protected and occupied a special place in the material and spiritual culture of the Mari. Together with real and mythical inhabitants, he was deeply revered by the Mari. The forest was considered a symbol of people's well-being: it protected them from enemies and the elements. It was this feature of the natural environment that had an impact on the spiritual culture and mental makeup of the Mari ethnic group.

S. A. Nurminsky back in the 19th century. noted: “The forest is Cheremisin’s magical world, his entire worldview revolves around the forest” (Quoted from: Toydybekova, 2007: 257).

“From ancient times, the Mari were surrounded by forest, and in their practical activities they were closely connected with the forest and its inhabitants.<…>In ancient times, among the plant world, the Mari enjoyed special respect and veneration for oak and birch. Such an attitude towards trees is known not only to the Mari, but also to many Finno-Ugric peoples” (Sabitov, 1982: 35–36).

Those living in the Volga-Vetluzh-Vyatka interfluve and the Mari in their own way national psychology and culture are similar to the Chuvash.

Numerous cultural and everyday analogies with the Chuvash appear in almost all spheres of material and spiritual culture, which confirms not only the cultural and economic, but also the long-standing ethnic ties of the two peoples; First of all, this applies to the mountain Mari and the southern groups of meadows (cited from: Sepeev, 1985: 145).

In a multinational team, the behavior of the Mari is almost no different from the Chuvash and Russians; perhaps a little more restrained.

V. G. Krysko notes that in addition to being hardworking, they are also prudent and economical, as well as disciplined and efficient (Krysko, 2002: 155). “The anthropological type of Cheremisin: black glossy hair, yellowish skin, black, in some cases, almond-shaped, slanted eyes; nose depressed in the middle.”

The history of the Mari people goes back centuries, full of complex vicissitudes and tragic moments (See: Prokushev, 1982: 5–6). Let's start with the fact that, according to their religious and mythological ideas, the ancient Mari settled loosely along the banks of rivers and lakes, as a result of which there were almost no connections between individual tribes.

As a result of this, the single ancient Mari people were divided into two groups - the mountain and meadow Mari with distinctive features in language, culture, and way of life that have survived to this day.

The Mari were considered good hunters and excellent archers. They maintained lively trade relations with their neighbors - the Bulgars, Suvars, Slavs, Mordvins, and Udmurts. With the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars and the formation of the Golden Horde, the Mari, along with other peoples of the Middle Volga region, fell under the yoke of the Golden Horde khans. They paid tribute in martens, honey and money, and also performed military service in the army of the khan.

With the collapse of the Golden Horde, the Volga Mari became dependent on the Kazan Khanate, and the northwestern, Vetluga Mari became part of the northeastern Russian principalities.

In the middle of the 16th century. The Mari opposed the Tatars on the side of Ivan the Terrible, and with the fall of Kazan, their lands became part of the Russian state. The Mari people initially assessed the annexation of their region to Rus' as the greatest historical event, which opened up the path for political, economic and cultural progress.

In the 18th century The Mari alphabet was created on the basis of the Russian alphabet, and written works appeared in the Mari language. In 1775, the first “Mari Grammar” was published in St. Petersburg.

A reliable ethnographic description of the life and customs of the Mari people was given by A. I. Herzen in the article “Votyaks and Cheremises” (“Vyatka Provincial Gazette”, 1838):

“The character of the Cheremis is already different from the character of the Votyaks, that they do not have their timidity,” the writer notes, “on the contrary, there is something stubborn in them... The Cheremis are much more attached to their customs than the Votyaks...”;

“The clothes are quite similar to those of the Vots, but much more beautiful... In winter, women wear an outer dress over their shirts, also all embroidered with silk, their conical-shaped headdress is especially beautiful - shikonauch. They hang a lot of tassels on their belts” (quoted from: Vasin, 1959: 27).

Kazan Doctor of Medicine M. F. Kandaratsky in late XIX V. wrote a work widely known to the Mari community entitled “Signs of extinction of meadow cheremis in the Kazan province.”

In it, based on a specific study of the living conditions and health status of the Mari, he drew sad picture past, present and even sadder future of the Mari people. The book was about the physical degeneration of the people under the conditions of Tsarist Russia, about their spiritual degradation associated with the extremely low material standard of living.

True, the author made her conclusions regarding the entire people based on a survey of only part of the Mari living mainly in the southern regions located closer to Kazan. And, of course, one cannot agree with his assessments of the intellectual abilities and mental makeup of the people, made from the position of a representative of high society (Solovyov, 1991: 25–26).

Kandaratsky’s views on the language and culture of the Mari are the views of a man who has only visited Mari villages on short visits. But with emotional pain, he drew public attention to the plight of people who were on the verge of tragedy, and proposed his own ways to save the people. He believed that only resettlement to fertile lands and Russification could provide “salvation for this cute, in his humble opinion, tribe” (Kandaratsky, 1889: 1).

The socialist revolution of 1917 brought freedom and independence to the Mari people, like all other foreigners of the Russian Empire. In 1920, a decree was adopted on the formation of the Mari autonomous region, which in 1936 was transformed into an autonomous Soviet socialist republic within the RSFSR.

The Mari have always considered it an honor to be warriors, defenders of their country (Vasin et al., 1966: 35).

Describing A. S. Pushkov’s painting “Mari Ambassadors with Ivan the Terrible” (1957), G. I. Prokushev draws attention to these national characteristics of the character of the Mari ambassador Tukai - courage and the will to freedom, as well as “Tukai is endowed with determination, intelligence, endurance" (Prokushev, 1982: 19).

The artistic talent of the Mari people found expression in folklore, songs and dances, and applied arts. The love for music and interest in ancient musical instruments (bubbles, drums, flutes, harps) have survived to this day.

Wood carvings (carved frames, cornices, household items), paintings of sleighs, spinning wheels, chests, ladles, objects made of bast and birch bark, from willow twigs, typesetting harness, colored clay and wooden toys, sewing with beads and coins, embroidery indicate imagination, observation, subtle taste of the people.

The first place among crafts, of course, was occupied by wood processing, which was the most accessible material for the Mari and required mainly manual work. The prevalence of this type of craft is evidenced by the fact that the Kozmodemyansk regional ethnographic open-air museum displays more than 1.5 thousand items of exhibits made by hand from wood (Soloviev, 1991: 72).

Embroidery occupied a special place in Mari artistic creativity ( tour)

Genuine art of Mari craftswomen. “In it, the harmony of composition, the poetry of patterns, the music of colors, the polyphony of tones and the tenderness of fingers, the fluttering of the soul, the fragility of hopes, the shyness of feelings, the trembling dreams of a Mari woman merged into a single unique ensemble, creating a true miracle” (Soloviev, 1991: 72).

Ancient embroideries used a geometric pattern of rhombuses and rosettes, an pattern of complex interweavings of plant elements, which included figures of birds and animals.

Preference was given to sonorous color scheme: red color was taken for the background (in the traditional view of the Mari, red color was symbolically associated with life-affirming motifs and was associated with the color of the sun, which gives life to all life on earth), black or dark blue - for outlining, dark green and yellow - for coloring pattern.

National embroidery patterns represented the mythological and cosmogonic ideas of the Mari.

They served as amulets or ritual symbols. “Embroidered shirts had magical powers. Mari women tried to teach their daughters the art of embroidery as early as possible. Before marriage, girls had to prepare a dowry and gifts for the groom's relatives. Lack of mastery of the art of embroidery was condemned and considered the girl’s biggest drawback” (Toydybekova, 2007: 235).

Despite the fact that the Mari people did not have their own written language until the end of the 18th century. (there are no annals or chronicles of its centuries-old history), folk memory has preserved the archaic worldview, the worldview of this ancient people in myths, legends, tales, rich in symbols and images, shamanism, methods of traditional healing, in deep veneration of sacred places and the word of prayer.

In an attempt to identify the foundations of the Mari ethnomentality, S. S. Novikov (chairman of the board of the Mari social movement of the Republic of Bashkortostan) makes interesting remarks:

“How did the ancient Mari differ from representatives of other nations? He felt like a part of the Cosmos (God, Nature). By God he understood the entire world around him. He believed that the Cosmos (God) is a living organism, and such parts of the Cosmos (God), such as plants, mountains, rivers, air, forest, fire, water, etc., have a soul.

<…>The Mari citizen could not take firewood, berries, fish, animals, etc., without asking permission from the Bright Great God and without apologizing to the tree, berries, fish, etc.

The Mari, being part of a single organism, could not live in isolation from other parts of this organism.

For this reason, he almost artificially maintained a low population density, did not take too much from Nature (Cosmos, God), was modest, shy, resorting to the help of other people only in exceptional cases, and he also did not know theft” (Novikov, 2014, el. .resource).

“Deification” of parts of the Cosmos (elements environment), respect for them, including other people, made unnecessary such institutions of power as the police, the prosecutor's office, the bar, the army, as well as the bureaucracy class. “The Mari were modest, quiet, honest, gullible and dutiful, they conducted a diversified subsistence economy, so the apparatus of control and suppression was unnecessary” (ibid.).

According to S.S. Novikov, if the fundamental features of the Mari nation disappear, namely the ability to constantly think, speak and act in unison with the Cosmos (God), including Nature, to limit one’s needs, to be modest, to respect the environment, to push away from each other from each other in order to reduce oppression (pressure) on Nature, then the nation itself may disappear along with them.

In pre-revolutionary times, the pagan beliefs of the Mari were not only of a religious nature, but also became the core of national identity, ensuring the self-preservation of the ethnic community, so it was not possible to eradicate them. Although most Mari were formally converted to Christianity during a missionary campaign in the mid-18th century, some managed to avoid baptism by fleeing east across the Kama River, closer to the steppe, where the influence of the Russian state was less strong.

It was here that the enclaves of the Mari ethnoreligion were preserved. Paganism among the Mari people has existed to this day in a hidden or open form. Openly pagan religion was practiced mainly in places where Mari people lived densely. Recent research by K. G. Yuadarov shows that “the universally baptized mountain Mari also preserved their pre-Christian places of worship (sacred trees, sacred springs, etc.)” (cited from: Toydybekova, 2007: 52).

The adherence of the Mari to their traditional faith is a unique phenomenon of our time.

The Mari are even called “the last pagans of Europe” (Boy, 2010, online resource). The most important feature of the mentality of the Mari (adherents of traditional beliefs) is animism. In the worldview of the Mari there was a concept of a supreme deity ( Kugu Yumo), but at the same time they worshiped a variety of spirits, each of which patronized a certain aspect of human life.

In the religious mentality of the Mari, the most important among these spirits were considered keremets, to whom they made sacrifices in sacred groves ( kusoto), located near the village (Zalyaletdinova, 2012: 111).

Specific religious rituals at general Mari prayers are performed by an elder ( kart), endowed with wisdom and experience. The cards are elected by the entire community, for certain fees from the population (livestock, bread, honey, beer, money, etc.) they hold special ceremonies in sacred groves located near each village.

Sometimes many village residents were involved in these rituals, and private donations were often made, usually with the participation of one person or family (Zalyaletdinova, 2012: 112). National “peace prayers” ( Tunya Kumaltysh) were carried out rarely, in the event of the outbreak of war or natural disaster. During such prayers, important political issues could be resolved.

The “Prayer of Peace,” which brought together all the Kart-priests and tens of thousands of pilgrims, was and is still being held at the grave of the legendary Prince Chumbylat, a hero revered as a protector of the people. It is believed that regular holding of world prayers serves as a guarantee of a prosperous life for the people (Toydybekova, 2007: 231).

The reconstruction of the mythological picture of the world of the ancient population of Mari El allows the analysis of archaeological and ethnographic religious monuments with the involvement of historical and folklore sources. On objects of archaeological monuments of the Mari region and in Mari ritual embroidery, images of a bear, duck, elk (deer) and horse form complex plots that convey ideological models, understanding and ideas about the nature and world of the Mari people.

In the folklore of the Finno-Ugric peoples, zoomorphic images are also clearly recorded, with which the origin of the universe, the Earth and life on it is associated.

“Having appeared in ancient times, in the Stone Age, among tribes of the probably still undivided Finno-Ugric community, these images have existed to the present day and were entrenched in Mari ritual embroidery, and were also preserved in Finno-Ugric mythology” (Bolshov, 2008: 89– 91).

The main distinguishing feature of the animist mentality, according to P. Werth, is tolerance, manifested in tolerance towards representatives of other faiths, and commitment to one’s faith. Mari peasants recognized the equality of religions.

As an argument, they gave the following argument: “In the forest there are white birches, tall pines and spruces, and there is also a small moss. God tolerates them all and does not order the brainstem to be a pine tree. So here we are among ourselves, like a forest. We will remain brainwash” (quoted from: Vasin et al., 1966: 50).

The Mari believed that their well-being and even their lives depended on the sincerity of the ritual. The Mari considered themselves “pure Mari,” even if they accepted Orthodoxy in order to avoid trouble with the authorities (Zalyaletdinova, 2012: 113). For them, conversion (apostasy) occurred when a person did not perform “native” rituals and, therefore, rejected his community.

Ethno-religion (“paganism”), which supports ethnic self-awareness, to a certain extent increased the resistance of the Mari to assimilation with other peoples. This trait markedly distinguished the Mari from other Finno-Ugric peoples.

“The Mari, among other related Finno-Ugric peoples living in our country, preserve their national identity to a much greater extent.

The Mari, to a greater extent than other peoples, retained a pagan, essentially national religion. A sedentary lifestyle (63.4% of the Mari in the republic are rural residents) made it possible to preserve the main national traditions and customs.

All this allowed the Mari people to become today a kind of attractive center of the Finno-Ugric peoples. The capital of the republic became the center International Fund development of the culture of the Finno-Ugric peoples" (Soloviev, 1991: 22).

The core of ethnic culture and ethnic mentality is undoubtedly the native language, but the Mari, in fact, do not have a Mari language. The Mari language is only an abstract name, because there are two equal Mari languages.

The linguistic system in Mari El is such that Russian is the federal official language, Mountain Mari and Meadow-Eastern are regional (or local) official languages.

We are talking about the functioning of precisely two Mari literary languages, and not about one Mari literary language (Lugomari) and its dialect (Mountain Mari).

Despite the fact that “sometimes in the means mass media, and also in the mouths of certain individuals there are demands for non-recognition of the autonomy of one of the languages ​​or the predetermination of one of the languages ​​as a dialect" (Zorina, 1997: 37), "ordinary people who speak, write and study in two literary languages, Lugomari and Mountain Mari, perceive this (the existence of two Mari languages) as a natural state; truly the people are wiser than their scientists” (Vasikova, 1997: 29–30).

The existence of two Mari languages ​​is a factor that makes the Mari people especially attractive to researchers of their mentality.

The people are one and united and they have a single ethnic mentality, regardless of whether their representatives speak one or two closely related languages ​​(for example, the Mordovians close to the Mari in the neighborhood also speak two Mordovian languages).

The oral folk art of the Mari is rich in content and diverse in types and genres. Legends and traditions reflect various moments of ethnic history, features of ethnomentality, and glorify the images of folk heroes and heroes.

Mari tales in allegorical form tell about social life people, praise hard work, honesty and modesty, ridicule laziness, bragging and greed (Sepeev, 1985: 163). Oral folk art was perceived by the Mari people as a testament from one generation to another; in it they saw history, a chronicle of people's life.

The main characters of almost all the most ancient Mari legends, traditions and fairy tales are girls and women, brave warriors and skilled craftswomen.

Among the Mari deities, a large place is occupied by mother goddesses, patroness of certain natural elemental forces: Mother Earth ( Mlande Ava), Mother Sun ( Keche-ava), Mother of the Winds ( Mardezh-ava).

The Mari people, by their nature, are poets; they love songs and stories (Vasin, 1959: 63). Songs ( muro) are the most widespread and original type of Mari folklore. There are labor, household, guest, wedding, orphan, recruit, memorial, songs, and songs of reflection. The basis of Mari music is the pentatonic scale. To the line folk song musical instruments are also adapted.

According to ethnomusicologist O. M. Gerasimov, the bubble ( Shuvir) is one of the oldest Mari musical instruments, deserving close attention not only as an original, relict Mari instrument.

Shuvir is the aesthetic face of the ancient Mari.

Not a single instrument could compete with the shuvir in the variety of music performed on it - these are onomatopoeic tunes dedicated to for the most part images of birds (the clucking of a chicken, the singing of a river sandpiper, the cooing of a wild pigeon), figurative (for example, a melody imitating a horse race - either a light run or a gallop, etc.) (Gerasimov, 1999: 17).

The family life, customs and traditions of the Mari were regulated by their ancient religion. Mari families were multi-level and had many children. Characteristic are patriarchal traditions with the dominance of the older man, the subordination of the wife to her husband, the younger ones to the elders, and the subordination of children to parents.

Researcher of the legal life of the Mari T.E. Evseviev noted that “according to the norms of the customary law of the Mari people, all contracts on behalf of the family were also concluded by the householder. Family members could not sell yard property without his consent, except for eggs, milk, berries and handicrafts” (quoted in: Egorov, 2012: 132). A significant role in a large family belonged to the eldest woman, who was in charge of organizing the household and distributing work between daughters-in-law and daughters-in-law. IN

In the event of her husband’s death, her position increased and she served as the head of the family (Sepeev, 1985: 160). There was no excessive care on the part of the parents, the children helped each other and adults, they prepared food and built toys from an early age. Medicines were rarely used. Natural selection helped especially active children who wanted to get closer to the Cosmos (God) to survive.

The family maintained respect for elders.

In the process of raising children, there were no disputes between elders (see: Novikov, electronic resource). The Mari dreamed of creating an ideal family, because a person becomes strong and strong through kinship: “Let the family have nine sons and seven daughters. Taking nine daughters-in-law with nine sons, giving seven daughters to seven petitioners and becoming related to 16 villages, give an abundance of all blessings” (Toydybekova, 2007: 137). Through his sons and daughters, the peasant expanded his family kinship - in children the continuation of life

Let us pay attention to the records of the outstanding Chuvash scientist and public figure of the early twentieth century. N.V. Nikolsky, made by him in “Ethnographic Albums”, which captured in photographs the culture and life of the peoples of the Volga-Ural region. Under the photo of Cheremisin the old man it is written: “He does not do field work. He sits at home, weaves bast shoes, watches the children, tells them about the old days, about the courage of the Cheremis in the struggle for independence” (Nikolsky, 2009: 108).

“He doesn’t go to church, like everyone else like him. He was in the temple twice - during his birth and baptism, the third time - he will be deceased; will die without confessing or receiving Holy Communion. sacraments" (ibid.: 109).

The image of the old man as the head of the family embodies the ideal of the personal nature of the Mari; This image is associated with the idea of ​​an ideal beginning, freedom, harmony with nature, and the height of human feelings.

T. N. Belyaeva and R. A. Kudryavtseva write about this, analyzing the poetics of Mari drama at the beginning of the 21st century: “He (the old man. - E.N.) is shown as an ideal exponent of the national mentality of the Mari people, their worldview and pagan religion.

Since ancient times, the Mari worshiped many gods and deified some natural phenomena, so they tried to live in harmony with nature, themselves, and family. The old man in the drama acts as an intermediary between man and the cosmos (gods), between people, between the living and the dead.

This is a highly moral person with a developed strong-willed beginning, an active supporter of the preservation of national traditions and ethical standards. The proof is the entire life the old man lived. In his family, in his relationship with his wife, harmony and complete mutual understanding reign” (Belyaeva, Kudryavtseva, 2014: 14).

The following notes by N.V. Nikolsky are of interest.

About the old Cheremiska:

“The old woman is spinning. Near her are a Cheremis boy and a girl. She will tell them a lot of fairy tales; will ask riddles; will teach you how to truly believe. The old woman is not very familiar with Christianity because she is illiterate; therefore, children will be taught the rules of the pagan religion” (Nikolsky, 2009: 149).

About the Cheremiska girl:

“The frills of the bast shoes are connected symmetrically. She must keep an eye on this. Any omission in the costume will be her fault” (ibid.: 110); “The bottom of the outerwear is elegantly embroidered. This took about a week.<…>Especially a lot of red thread was used. In this costume, Cheremiska will feel good in church, at a wedding, and at the market” (ibid.: 111).

About Cheremisok:

“They are pure Finnish in character. Their faces are gloomy. The conversation concerns more household chores and agricultural activities. All Cheremiks work, doing the same as men, except for arable land. Cheremiska due to its performance is not released from parents' house(in marriage) earlier than 20–30 years” (ibid.: 114); “Their costumes are borrowed from the Chuvash and Russian” (ibid.: 125).

About the Cheremis boy:

“From the age of 10–11, Cheremisin learns to plow. Plow of an ancient device. It's hard to follow her. At first, the boy is exhausted from the exorbitant work. The one who overcomes this difficulty will consider himself a hero; will become proud in front of his comrades” (ibid.: 143).

About the Cheremis family:

“The family lives in harmony. The husband treats his wife with love. The children's teacher is the mother of the family. Not knowing Christianity, she instills Cheremis paganism in her children. Her ignorance of the Russian language distances her from both the church and the school” (ibid.: 130).

The well-being of family and community had a sacred meaning for the Mari (Zalyaletdinova, 2012: 113). Before the revolution, the Mari lived in neighboring communities. Their villages were characterized by having few yards and the absence of any plan in the placement of buildings.

Usually related families settled nearby, forming a nest. Usually two log residential buildings were erected: one of them (without windows, floor or ceiling, with an open fireplace in the middle) served as a summer kitchen ( kudo), was associated with her religious life families; second ( port) corresponded to a Russian hut.

At the end of the 19th century. the street layout of villages prevailed; the order of arrangement of housing and utility buildings in the courtyard became the same as that of Russian neighbors (Kozlova, Pron, 2000).

The peculiarities of the Mari community include its openness:

it was open to accepting new members, so there were many ethnically mixed (in particular, Mari-Russian) communities in the region (Sepeev, 1985: 152). In the Mari consciousness, the family appears as a family home, which in turn is associated with a bird’s nest, and children with chicks.

Some proverbs also contain a phytomorphic metaphor: a family is a tree, and children are its branches or fruits (Yakovleva, Kazyro, 2014: 650). Moreover, “family is associated not only with home like a building, with a hut (for example, a house without a man is an orphan, and a woman is the support of three corners of the house, and not four, as with a husband), but also with a fence behind which a person feels safe and secure. And a husband and wife are two fence posts; if one of them falls, the whole fence will fall, that is, the life of the family will be in jeopardy” (ibid.: P. 651).

The bathhouse has become the most important element of Mari folk life, uniting people within the framework of their culture and contributing to the preservation and transmission of ethnic behavioral stereotypes. From birth to death, the bathhouse is used for medicinal and hygienic purposes.

According to the ideas of the Mari, before social and responsible economic affairs one should always wash oneself and cleanse oneself physically and spiritually. The bathhouse is considered the family sanctuary of the Mari. Visiting the bathhouse before prayers, family, social, and individual rituals has always been important.

Without washing in the bathhouse, a member of society was not allowed to participate in family and social rituals. The Mari believed that after purification physically and spiritually they gained strength and luck (Toydybekova, 2007: 166).

Among the Mari, great attention was paid to growing bread.

For them, bread is not just a staple food product, but also the focus of religious and mythological ideas that are realized in people’s everyday lives. “Both the Chuvash and the Mari developed a caring, respectful attitude towards bread. An unfinished loaf of bread was a symbol of prosperity and happiness; not a single holiday or ritual could be done without it” (Sergeeva, 2012: 137).

Mari proverb “You cannot rise above bread” ( Kinde dech kugu ot li) (Sabitov, 1982: 40) testifies to the boundless respect of this ancient agricultural people for bread - “the most precious of what is grown by man.”

In the Mari tales about the Dough Bogatyr ( Nonchyk-Patyr) and the hero Alym, who gains strength by touching rye, oat and barley stacks, the idea can be traced that bread is the basis of life, “it gives such strength that no other force can resist, man, thanks to bread, wins dark forces nature, defeats opponents in human form”, “in his songs and fairy tales, the Mari claimed that man is strong through his labor, strong through the result of his labor - bread” (Vasin et al., 1966: 17–18).

Mari people are practical, rational, calculating.

They were “characterized by a utilitarian, purely practical approach to the gods”, “the Mari believer built his relationship with the gods on material calculations, turning to the gods, he sought to derive some benefit from this or avoid trouble”, “a god who did not bring benefit, in the eyes of the believing Mari, he began to lose confidence” (Vasin et al., 1966: 41).

“What the believing Mari promised to God was not always fulfilled by him willingly. At the same time, in his opinion, it would be better, without harm to oneself, not to fulfill the promise given to God at all, or to delay it for an indefinite period” (ibid.).

The practical orientation of the Mari ethnomentality is reflected even in proverbs: “He sows, reaps, threshes - and all with his tongue”, “If a people spits, it becomes a lake”, “The words of an intelligent person will not be in vain”, “He who eats does not know grief, but he who bakes knows it”, “ Show your back to the master”, “The man looks high” (ibid.: 140).

Olearius writes about the utilitarian-materialistic elements in the worldview of the Mari in his notes dating back to 1633–1639:

“They (the Mari) do not believe in the resurrection of the dead, and then in the future life, and they think that with the death of a person, as with the death of cattle, everything is over. In Kazan, in my owner’s house there lived one Cheremis, a man of 45 years old. Hearing that in my conversation with the owner about religion, I, among other things, mentioned the resurrection of the dead, this Cheremis burst out laughing, clasped his hands and said: “Whoever dies once remains dead to the devil. The dead are resurrected in the same way as my horse and cow, who died several years ago.”

And further: “When my master and I told the above-mentioned Cheremis that it was unfair to honor and adore cattle or some other creation as a god, he answered us: “What is good about the Russian gods that they hang on the walls? This is wood and paints, which he would not at all want to worship and therefore thinks that it is better and wiser to worship the Sun and that which has life” (quoted from: Vasin et al., 1966: 28).

Important ethnomental features of the Mari are revealed in the book by L. S. Toydybekova “Mari Mythology. Ethnographic reference book" (Toydybekova, 2007).

The researcher emphasizes that in the traditional worldview of the Mari there is a belief that the race for material values ​​is destructive to the soul.

“A person who is ready to give everything he has to his neighbor is always on friendly terms with nature and draws his energy from it, knows how to rejoice in giving and enjoy the world around him” (ibid.: 92). In the world he imagines, a Mari citizen dreams of living in harmony with the natural and social environment in order to preserve this peace and just to avoid conflicts and wars.

At each prayer, he turns to his deities with a wise request: a person comes to this earth with the hope of living “like the sun, shining like a rising moon, sparkling like a star, free like a bird, like a swallow chirping, stretching life like silk, playing like a grove, like rejoicing in the mountains” (ibid.: 135).

A relationship based on the principle of exchange has developed between the earth and man.

The earth gives a harvest, and people, according to this unwritten agreement, made sacrifices to the earth, looked after it and themselves went into it at the end of their lives. The peasant farmer asks the gods to receive rich bread not only for himself, but also to generously share it with the hungry and those asking. By nature, a good Mari does not want to dominate, but generously shares the harvest with everyone.

IN rural areas the deceased was seen off by the entire village. It is believed that the more people participate in seeing off the deceased, the easier it will be for him in the next world (ibid.: 116).

The Mari never captured foreign territories; for centuries they lived compactly on their lands, therefore they especially preserved the customs associated with their home.

The nest is a symbol of the native home, and out of love for the native nest grows love for the homeland (ibid.: 194–195). In his home, a person must behave with dignity: carefully preserve family traditions, rituals and customs, the language of his ancestors, maintain order and culture of behavior.

You cannot use obscene words or lead an indecent lifestyle in the house. In the Mari home, kindness and honesty were considered the most important commandments. To be human means to be, first of all, kind. The national image of the Mari reveals a desire to preserve a good and honest name in the most difficult and difficult circumstances.

For the Mari, national honor merged with the good names of their parents, with the honor of their family and clan. Village Symbol ( yal) is the homeland, native people. The narrowing of the world, the universe to the native village is not a limitation, but the specificity of its manifestations to the native land. A universe without a homeland has no meaning or significance.

The Russians considered the Mari people to have secret knowledge both in economic activities (farming, hunting, fishing) and in spiritual life.

In many villages, the institution of priests has survived to this day. In 1991, in crucial moment To actively awaken national consciousness, the activities of all surviving karts were legalized, the priests came out of hiding to openly serve their people.

Currently, there are about sixty Kart priests in the republic; they remember rituals, prayers, and prayers well. Thanks to the priests, about 360 sacred groves were taken under state protection. In 1993, a meeting of the Holy Council of the All-Mary Spiritual Religious Center took place.

The so-called taboo prohibitions (O to Yoro, Oyoro), which warn a person from danger. Oyoro's words are unwritten laws of veneration, developed on the basis of certain rules and prohibitions.

Violation of these words-prohibitions inevitably entails severe punishment (illness, death) from supernatural forces. Oyoro prohibitions are passed down from generation to generation, supplemented and updated with the demands of time. Since in the Mari religious system heaven, man and earth represent an inextricable unity, generally accepted norms of human behavior in relation to objects and natural phenomena were developed on the basis of reverence for the laws of the Cosmos.

First of all, the Mari were forbidden to destroy birds, bees, butterflies, trees, plants, anthills, since nature would cry, get sick and die; It was forbidden to cut down trees in sandy areas and mountains, as the soil could become diseased. In addition to environmental prohibitions, there are moral, ethical, medical, sanitary and hygienic, economic prohibitions, prohibitions related to the struggle for self-preservation and safety precautions, prohibitions related to holy groves - places of prayer; prohibitions associated with funerals, with favorable days for starting big things (cited from: Toydybekova, 2007: 178–179).

For Marie it's a sin ( sulyk) is murder, theft, witchcraft-damage, lies, deception, disrespect for elders, denunciation, disrespect for God, violation of customs, taboos, rituals, work on holidays. The Mari considered it sulik to urinate in water, cut down a sacred tree, and spit in the fire (ibid.: 208).

Ethnomentality of the Mari

2018-10-28T21:37:59+05:00 Anya Hardikainen Mari El Ethnic studies and ethnographyMari El, Mari, mythology, people, psychology, paganismNational character of the Mari The Mari (self-name - “Mari, Mari”; outdated Russian name - “Cheremis”) are a Finno-Ugric people of the Volga-Finnish subgroup. The number in the Russian Federation is 547.6 thousand people, in the Republic of Mari El - 290.8 thousand people. (according to the 2010 All-Russian Population Census). More than half of the Mari live outside the territory of Mari El. Compact...Anya Hardikainen Anya Hardikainen [email protected] Author In the Middle of Russia

And, I tell you, he still makes bloody sacrifices to God.

At the invitation of the organizers of the international conference on languages ​​in computers, I visited the capital of Mari El - Yoshkar Ole.

Yoshkar is red, and ola, I already forgot what it means, since the city in Finno-Ugric languages ​​is just “kar” (in the words Syktyvkar, Kudymkar, for example, or Shupashkar - Cheboksary).

And the Mari are Finno-Ugrians, i.e. related in language to the Hungarians, Nenets, Khanty, Udmurts, Estonians and, of course, Finns. Hundreds of years of living together with the Turks also played a role - there are many borrowings, for example, in his welcoming speech, a high-ranking official called the enthusiastic founders of the only radio broadcasting in the Mari language radio batyrs.

The Mari are very proud of the fact that they showed stubborn resistance to the troops of Ivan the Terrible. One of the brightest Mari, oppositionist Laid Shemyer (Vladimir Kozlov) even wrote a book about the Mari’s defense of Kazan.

We had something to lose, unlike some of the Tatars, who were related to Ivan the Terrible, and actually exchanged one khan for another,” he says (according to some versions, Wardaakh Uibaan did not even know the Russian language).

This is how Mari El appears from the train window. Swamps and mari.

There is snow here and there.

This is my Buryat colleague and I in the first minutes of entering the Mari land. Zhargal Badagarov is a participant in the conference in Yakutsk, which took place in 2008.

We are looking at the monument to the famous Mari - Yyvan Kyrla. Remember Mustafa from the first Soviet sound film? He was a poet and actor. Repressed in 1937 on charges of bourgeois nationalism. The reason was a fight in a restaurant with drunken students.

He died in one of the Ural camps from starvation in 1943.

At the monument he rides a handcar. And sings a Mari song about a marten.

And this is where the owners greet us. Fifth from left - legendary personality. That same radio batyr - Chemyshev Andrey. He is famous for once writing a letter to Bill Gates.

“How naive I was then, I didn’t know a lot, I didn’t understand a lot of things...,” he says, “but there was no end to the journalists, I already started to pick and choose - again the first channel, don’t you have the BBC there...”

After rest we were taken to the museum. Which was opened especially for us. By the way, in the letter the radio batyr wrote: “Dear Bill Gates, when we bought the Windows license package, we paid you, so we ask you to include five Mari letters in the standard fonts.”

It’s surprising that there are Mari inscriptions everywhere. Although they didn’t come up with any special carrot-and-sticks, and the owners do not bear any responsibility for the fact that they did not write the sign in the second state language. Employees of the Ministry of Culture say that they simply have heart-to-heart conversations with them. Well, they secretly said that the chief architect of the city plays a big role in this matter.

This is Aivika. In fact, I don’t know the name of the charming tour guide, but the most popular female name among the Mari is Aivika. The emphasis is on the last syllable. And also Salika. There is even a TV movie in Mari, with Russian and English subtitles, with the same name. I brought one of these as a gift to a Yakut Mari man - his aunt asked.

The excursion is structured in an interesting way - you can get acquainted with the life and culture of the Mari people by tracing the fate of a Mari girl. Of course her name is Aivika))). Birth.

Here Aivika seemed to be in a cradle (not visible).

This is a holiday with mummers, like carols.

The “bear” also has a mask made of birch bark.

Do you see Aivika blowing the trumpet? It is she who announces to the district that she has become a girl and it’s time for her to get married. A kind of initiation rite. Some hot Finno-Ugric guys))) immediately also wanted to notify the area about their readiness... But they were told that the pipe was in a different place))).

Traditional three-layer pancakes. Baking for a wedding.

Pay attention to the bride's monists.

It turns out that, having conquered the Cheremis, Ivan the Terrible forbade blacksmithing to foreigners - so that they would not forge weapons. And the Mari had to make jewelry from coins.

One of traditional activities- fishing.

Beekeeping - collecting honey from wild bees - is also an ancient occupation of the Mari.

Animal husbandry.

Here are the Finno-Ugric people: in a sleeveless jacket a representative of the Mansi people (taking photographs), in a suit - a man from the Komi Republic, behind him a fair-haired Estonian.

End of life.

Pay attention to the bird on the perch - the cuckoo. A link between the worlds of the living and the dead.

This is where our “cuckoo, cuckoo, how long do I have left?”

And this is a priest in a sacred birch grove. Cards or maps. Until now, they say, about 500 sacred groves - a kind of temples - have been preserved. Where the Mari sacrifice to their gods. Bloody. Usually chicken, goose or lamb.

An employee of the Udmurt Institute for Advanced Training of Teachers, administrator of the Udmurt Wikipedia Denis Sakharnykh. As a true scientist, Denis is a supporter of a scientific, non-sneaky approach to promoting languages ​​on the Internet.

As you can see, the Mari make up 43% of the population. Second in number after Russians, of whom 47.5%.

The Mari are mainly divided by language into mountainous and meadow. Mountain people live on the right bank of the Volga (towards Chuvashia and Mordovia). The languages ​​are so different that there are two Wikipedias - in the Mountain Mari and Meadow Mari languages.

Questions about the Cheremis wars (30-year resistance) are asked by a Bashkir colleague. The girl in white in the background is an employee of the Institute of Anthropology and Ethnology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who calls her area of ​​scientific interest - what do you think? - identity of the Ilimpiy Evenks. This summer he is going to Tours in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and maybe even stop by the village of Essey. We wish good luck to the fragile city girl in mastering the polar expanses, which are difficult even in summer.

Picture next to the museum.

After the museum, while waiting for the meeting to start, we walked around the city center.

This slogan is extremely popular.

The city center is being actively rebuilt by the current head of the republic. And in the same style. Pseudo-Byzantine.

They even built a mini-Kremlin. Which, they say, is almost always closed.

On the main square, on one side there is a monument to the saint, on the other - to the conqueror. City guests chuckle.

Here is another attraction - a clock with a donkey (or mule?).

Mariyka talks about the donkey and how it became the unofficial symbol of the city.

Soon three o'clock will strike and the donkey will come out.

We admire the donkey. As you understand, the donkey is not an ordinary one - he brought Christ to Jerusalem.

Participant from Kalmykia.

And this is the same “conqueror”. First imperial commander.

UPD: Pay attention to the coat of arms of Yoshkar-Ola - they say it will be removed soon. Someone on the City Council decided to make the elk antlered. But maybe this is idle talk.

UPD2: The coat of arms and flag of the Republic have already been changed. Markelov - and no one doubts that it was him, although parliament voted - replaced the Mari cross with a bear with a sword. The sword faces down and is sheathed. Symbolic, right? In the picture - the old Mari coat of arms has not yet been removed.

This is where the plenary session of the conference took place. No, the sign is in honor of another event)))

A curious thing. In Russian and Mari;-) In fact, on the other signs everything was correct. Street in Mari - Urem.

Shop - kevyt.

As one colleague, who once visited us, sarcastically remarked, the landscape is reminiscent of Yakutsk. It’s sad that our hometown appears to guests in such a guise.

A language is alive if it is in demand.

But we also need to provide the technical side - the ability to print.

Our wiki is among the first in Russia.

An absolutely correct remark by Mr. Leonid Soames, CEO of Linux-Ink (St. Petersburg): the state does not seem to notice the problem. By the way, Linux Inc. is developing a browser, spell checker and office for independent Abkhazia. Naturally in the Abkhazian language.

In fact, the conference participants tried to answer this sacramental question.

Pay attention to the amounts. This is for creating from scratch. For the whole republic - a mere trifle.

An employee of the Bashkir Institute for Humanitarian Research reports. I know our Vasily Migalkin. Linguists of Bashkortostan began to approach the so-called. language corpus - a comprehensive codification of the language.

And on the presidium sits the main organizer of the action, an employee of the Mari Ministry of Culture, Eric Yuzykain. Speaks fluent Estonian and Finnish. He mastered his native language as an adult, largely, he admits, thanks to his wife. Now she teaches the language to her children.

DJ "Radio Mari El", admin of the Meadow Mari wiki.

Representative of the Slovo Foundation. A very promising Russian foundation that is ready to support projects for minority languages.

Wikimedists.

And these are the same new buildings in a quasi-Italian style.

It was the Muscovites who began to build casinos, but a decree banning them arrived just in time.

In general, when asked who finances the entire “Byzantium”, they answer that it is the budget.

If we talk about the economy, there were (and probably are) military factories in the republic producing the legendary S-300 missiles. Because of this, Yoshkar-Ola used to even be a closed territory. Like our Tiksi.

This Finno-Ugric people believes in spirits, worships trees and is wary of Ovda. The story of Marie originated on another planet, where a duck flew and laid two eggs, from which two brothers emerged - good and evil. This is how life on earth began. The Mari believe in this. Their rituals are unique, the memory of their ancestors never fades, and the life of this people is imbued with respect for the gods of nature.

It is correct to say marI and not mari - this is very important, the wrong emphasis - and there will be a story about an ancient ruined city. And ours is about the ancient unusual people Marie, who treats all living things very carefully, even plants. The grove is a sacred place for them.

History of the Mari people

Legends say that the history of the Mari began far from earth on another planet. A duck flew from the constellation of the Nest to the blue planet, laid two eggs, from which two brothers emerged - good and evil. This is how life on earth began. The Mari still call the stars and planets in their own way: the Big Dipper - the constellation Elk, the Milky Way - the Star Road along which God walks, the Pleiades - the constellation Nest.

Sacred groves of the Mari – Kusoto

In autumn, hundreds of Maris come to the large grove. Each family brings a duck or goose - this is a purlyk, a sacrificial animal for all-Mary prayers. Only healthy, beautiful and well-fed birds are selected for the ceremony. The Mari line up to the cards - the priests. They check whether the bird is suitable for sacrifice, and then ask for its forgiveness and sanctify it with smoke. It turns out that this is how the Mari express respect for the spirit of fire, and it burns bad words and thoughts, clearing the space for cosmic energy.

The Mari consider themselves a child of nature, and our religion is such that we pray in the forest, in specially designated places that we call groves,” says consultant Vladimir Kozlov. – By turning to a tree, we thereby turn to the cosmos and a connection between the worshipers and the cosmos arises. We do not have any churches or other buildings where the Mari would pray. In nature, we feel like we are part of it, and communication with God passes through the tree and through sacrifices.

No one planted sacred groves on purpose; they have existed since ancient times. The ancestors of the Mari chose groves for prayers. It is believed that these places have very strong energy.

The groves were chosen for a reason; first they looked at the sun, stars and comets,” says Arkady Fedorov, a mapmaker.

Sacred groves are called Kusoto in Mari; they are tribal, village-wide and all-Mari. In some Kusoto, prayers can be held several times a year, while in others - once every 5-7 years. In total, more than 300 sacred groves have been preserved in the Mari El Republic.

In sacred groves you cannot swear, sing or make noise. Tremendous power resides in these sacred places. The Mari prefer nature, and nature is God. They address nature as a mother: vud ava (mother of water), mlande ava (mother of earth).

The most beautiful and tall tree in the grove is the main one. It is dedicated to the one supreme God Yumo or his divine assistants. Rituals are held around this tree.

The sacred groves are so important to the Mari that for five centuries they fought to preserve them and defended their right to their own faith. First they opposed Christianization and then Soviet power. In order to divert the attention of the church from the sacred groves, the Mari formally converted to Orthodoxy. People went to church services, and then secretly performed Mari rituals. As a result, a mixture of religions occurred - many Christian symbols and traditions entered the Mari faith.

The sacred grove is perhaps the only place where women relax more than work. They only pluck and dress the birds. The men do everything else: they light fires, install cauldrons, cook broths and porridges, and arrange Onapa, which is the name of the sacred trees. Special tabletops are installed next to the tree, which are first covered with spruce branches symbolizing hands, then they are covered with towels and only then the gifts are laid out. Near Onapu there are signs with the names of the gods, the main one is Tun Osh Kugo Yumo - the One Light Great God. Those who come to prayers decide which of the deities they present bread, kvass, honey, pancakes to. They also hang gift towels and scarves. The Mari will take some things home after the ceremony, but some will remain hanging in the grove.

Legends about Ovda

...Once upon a time there lived an obstinate Mari beauty, but she angered the celestials and God turned her into a terrible creature, Ovda, with large breasts that could be thrown over her shoulder, with black hair and feet with her heels turned forward. People tried not to meet her and, although Ovda could help a person, more often she caused damage. Sometimes she cursed entire villages.

According to legend, Ovda lived on the outskirts of villages in the forest and ravines. In the old days, residents often encountered it, but in the 21st century scary woman nobody has seen. However, people still try not to go to the remote places where she lived alone. Rumor has it that she hid in caves. There is a place called Odo-Kuryk (Ovdy Mountain). In the depths of the forest lie megaliths - huge rectangular boulders. They are very similar to man-made blocks. The stones have smooth edges, and they are arranged in such a way that they form a jagged fence. Megaliths are huge, but they are not so easy to spot. They seem to be skillfully disguised, but for what? One version of the appearance of megaliths is a man-made defensive structure. Probably in the old days the local population defended itself at the expense of this mountain. And this fortress was built by hand in the form of ramparts. The sharp descent was accompanied by an ascent. It was very difficult for enemies to run along these ramparts, but the locals knew the paths and could hide and shoot with arrows. There is an assumption that the Mari could have fought with the Udmurts for land. But what kind of power did you need to have to process the megaliths and install them? Even a few people will not be able to move these boulders. Only mystical creatures can move them. According to legends, it was Ovda who could have installed stones to hide the entrance to her cave, and therefore they say there is a special energy in these places.

Psychics come to the megaliths, trying to find the entrance to the cave, a source of energy. But the Mari prefer not to disturb Ovda, because her character is like a natural element - unpredictable and uncontrollable.

For the artist Ivan Yamberdov, Ovda is the feminine principle in nature, a powerful energy that came from space. Ivan Mikhailovich often rewrites paintings dedicated to Ovda, but each time the results are not copies, but originals, or the composition will change, or the image will suddenly take on a different shape. “It cannot be otherwise,” the author admits, “after all, Ovda is natural energy that is constantly changing.

Although no one has seen the mystical woman for a long time, the Mari believe in her existence and often call healers Ovda. After all, whisperers, soothsayers, herbalists, in fact, are conductors of that same unpredictable natural energy. But only healers, unlike ordinary people, know how to manage it and thereby evoke fear and respect among the people.

Mari healers

Each healer chooses the element that is close to him in spirit. The healer Valentina Maksimova works with water, and in the bathhouse, according to her, the water element acquires extra strength, so that any disease can be treated. When performing rituals in the bathhouse, Valentina Ivanovna always remembers that this is the territory of bathhouse spirits and they must be treated with respect. And leave the shelves clean and be sure to thank them.

Yuri Yambatov is the most famous healer in the Kuzhenersky district of Mari El. His element is the energy of trees. The appointment for it was made a month in advance. It accepts one day a week and only 10 people. First of all, Yuri checks the compatibility of energy fields. If the patient’s palm remains motionless, then there is no contact, you will have to work hard to establish it with the help of a sincere conversation. Before starting treatment, Yuri studied the secrets of hypnosis, observed healers, and tested his strength for several years. Of course, he does not reveal the secrets of treatment.

During the session, the healer himself loses a lot of energy. By the end of the day, Yuri simply has no strength; it will take a week to restore it. According to Yuri, diseases come to a person from a wrong life, bad thoughts, bad deeds and insults. Therefore, one cannot rely only on healers; a person himself must make efforts and correct his mistakes in order to achieve harmony with nature.

Mari girl's outfit

Mari women love to dress up, so that the costume is multi-layered and has more decorations. Thirty-five kilograms of silver is just right. Putting on a costume is like a ritual. The outfit is so complex that it is impossible to wear it alone. Previously, in every village there were vestment craftswomen. In an outfit, each element has its own meaning. For example, in a headdress - shrapan - three layers must be observed, symbolizing the trinity of the world. A woman's set of silver jewelry could weigh 35 kilograms. It was passed down from generation to generation. The woman bequeathed the jewelry to her daughter, granddaughter, daughter-in-law, or could leave it to her home. In this case, any woman living in it had the right to wear a set for the holidays. In the old days, craftswomen competed to see whose costume would retain its appearance until the evening.

Mari wedding

...The mountain Mari have cheerful weddings: the gates are locked, the bride is locked up, matchmakers are not allowed in so easily. The girlfriends do not despair - they will still receive their ransom, otherwise the groom will not see the bride. At a Mountain Mari wedding, they hide the bride in such a way that the groom spends a long time looking for her, but if he doesn’t find her, the wedding will be upset. Mountain Mari live in the Kozmodemyansk region of the Mari El Republic. They differ from the Meadow Mari in language, clothing and traditions. The Mountain Mari themselves believe that they are more musical than the Meadow Mari.

The whip is a very important element at a Mountain Mari wedding. It is constantly flipped around the bride. And in the old days they say that even a girl got it. It turns out that this is done so that the jealous spirits of her ancestors do not spoil the newlyweds and the groom’s relatives, so that the bride is released in peace to another family.

Mari bagpipe - shuvir

...In a jar of porridge, a salted cow's bladder will ferment for two weeks, from which they will then make a magical shuvir. Already a tube and a horn will be attached to the soft bladder and you will get Mari bagpipes. Each element of the shuvir gives the instrument its own power. While playing, Shuvirzo understands the voices of animals and birds, and listeners fall into a trance, and there are even cases of healing. Shuvyr music also opens a passage to the world of spirits.

Veneration of deceased ancestors among the Mari

Every Thursday, residents of one of the Mari villages invite their deceased ancestors to visit. To do this, they usually don’t go to the cemetery; souls hear the invitation from afar.

Nowadays there are wooden blocks with names on Mari graves, but in the old days there were no identification marks in cemeteries. According to Mari beliefs, a person lives well in heaven, but he still misses the earth very much. And if in the world of the living no one remembers the soul, then it can become embittered and begin to harm the living. That's why deceased relatives are invited to dinner.

Invisible guests are received as if they were alive, and a separate table is set for them. Porridge, pancakes, eggs, salad, vegetables - the housewife should put a portion of each dish she prepared here. After the meal, treats from this table will be given to the pets.

Gathered relatives have dinner at another table, discuss problems, and ask the souls of their ancestors for help in solving difficult issues.

For our dear guests, the bathhouse is heated in the evenings. Especially for them, a birch broom is steamed and heated. The owners can take a steam bath with the souls of the dead themselves, but usually come a little later. The invisible guests are seen off until the village goes to bed. It is believed that in this way souls quickly find their way to their world.

Mari Bear – Mask

Legend has it that in ancient times the bear was a man, a bad man. Strong, accurate, but cunning and cruel. His name was hunter Mask. He killed animals for fun, did not listen to old people, and even laughed at God. For this, Yumo turned him into a beast. The Mask cried, promised to improve, asked to return his human form, but Yumo ordered him to wear a fur coat and keep order in the forest. And if he performs his service properly, then in his next life he will be born again as a hunter.

Beekeeping in the Mari culture

According to Mari legends, bees were one of the last to appear on Earth. They came here not even from the Pleiades constellation, but from another galaxy, otherwise how can one explain the unique properties of everything that bees produce - honey, wax, beebread, propolis. Alexander Tanygin is the supreme kart; according to Mari laws, every priest must keep an apiary. Alexander has been studying bees since childhood and has studied their habits. As he himself says, he understands them at a glance. Beekeeping is one of the ancient occupations Mari In the old days, people paid taxes with honey, beebread and wax.

In modern villages there are beehives in almost every yard. Honey is one of the main ways to earn money. The top of the hive is covered with old things, this is insulation.

Mari signs associated with bread

Once a year, the Mari take out the museum millstones to prepare bread from the new harvest. The flour for the first loaf is ground by hand. When the hostess kneads the dough, she whispers good wishes for those who will get a piece of this loaf. The Mari have many superstitions associated with bread. When sending household members on a long journey, specially baked bread is placed on the table and is not removed until the departed person returns.

Bread is an integral part of all rituals. And even if the housewife prefers to buy it in the store, for the holidays she will definitely bake the loaf herself.

Kugeche - Mari Easter

The stove in a Mari house is not for heating, but for cooking. While the wood is burning in the oven, housewives bake multi-layer pancakes. This is an old national Mari dish. The first layer is ordinary pancake dough, and the second is porridge, it is placed on a browned pancake and the frying pan is again sent closer to the fire. After the pancakes are baked, the coals are removed, and pies with porridge are placed in the hot oven. All these dishes are intended to celebrate Easter, or rather Kugeche. Kugeche is an ancient Mari holiday dedicated to the renewal of nature and the remembrance of the dead. It always coincides with Christian Easter. Homemade candles are a mandatory attribute of the holiday; they are made only by cards with their helpers. The Maries believe that wax absorbs the power of nature, and when it melts, it strengthens prayers.

Over several centuries, the traditions of the two religions have become so mixed that in some Mari houses there is a red corner and on holidays homemade candles are lit in front of the icons.

Kugeche is celebrated for several days. Loaf, pancake and cottage cheese symbolize the trinity of the world. Kvass or beer is usually poured into a special ladle - a symbol of fertility. After prayer, this drink is given to all women to drink. And on Kugeche you are supposed to eat a colored egg. The Mari smash him against the wall. At the same time, they try to raise their hand higher. This is done so that the hens lay in the right place, but if the egg is broken below, the hens will not know their place. The Mari also roll colored eggs. At the edge of the forest they lay out boards and throw eggs, while making a wish. And the further the egg rolls, the greater the likelihood of the plan being fulfilled.

In the village of Petyaly, near the St. Guryev Church, there are two springs. One of them appeared at the beginning of the last century, when the icon of the Smolensk Mother of God was brought here from the Kazan Mother of God hermitage. A font was installed near him. And the second source has been known since time immemorial. Even before the adoption of Christianity, these places were sacred for the Mari. Sacred trees still grow here. So both baptized Mari and unbaptized ones come to the springs. Everyone turns to their God and receives peace, hope and even healing. In fact, this place has become a symbol of the reconciliation of two religions - the ancient Mari and Christian.

Films about the Mari

Marie live in the Russian outback, but the whole world knows about them thanks to the creative union of Denis Osokin and Alexey Fedorchenko. The film “Heavenly Wives of the Meadow Mari” about the fabulous culture of a small people conquered the Rome Film Festival. In 2013, Oleg Irkabaev shot the first feature film about the Mari people, “A Pair of Swans Above the Village.” Mari through the eyes of Mari - the movie turned out to be kind, poetic and musical, just like the Mari people themselves.

Rituals in the Mari sacred grove

...At the beginning of the card prayer, candles are lit. In the old days, only homemade candles were brought into the grove; church candles were prohibited. Nowadays there are no such strict rules; in the grove no one is asked what faith he professes. Since a person came here, it means he considers himself part of nature, and this is the main thing. So during prayers you can also see Mari being baptized. Mari harp is the only one musical instrument, which is allowed to play in the grove. It is believed that the music of the gusli is the voice of nature itself. Hitting the blade of an ax with a knife resembles the ringing of a bell - this is a rite of purification by sound. It is believed that vibration in the air drives away evil, and nothing prevents a person from being saturated with pure cosmic energy. Those same personalized gifts, along with the tablets, are thrown into the fire, and kvass is poured on top. The Mari believe that the smoke from burnt food is the food of the Gods. The prayer does not last long, after which comes perhaps the most pleasant moment - a treat. The Mari put first selected seeds into bowls, symbolizing the rebirth of all living things. There is almost no meat on them, but this does not matter - the bones are sacred and will transfer this energy to any dish.

No matter how many people come to the grove, there will be enough food for everyone. The porridge will also be taken home to treat those who could not come here.

In the grove, all the attributes of prayer are very simple, no frills. This is done to emphasize that everyone is equal before God. The most valuable things in this world are human thoughts and actions. And the sacred grove is an open portal of cosmic energy, the center of the Universe, therefore, with whatever attitude the Mari enters the sacred grove, it will reward him with such energy.

When everyone has left, the cards and assistants will remain to restore order. They will come here the next day to complete the ceremony. After such large prayers, the sacred grove must rest for five to seven years. No one will come here and disturb Kusomo's peace. The grove will be charged with cosmic energy, which in a few years during prayers it will again give to the Mari in order to strengthen their faith in the one bright God, nature and the cosmos.