TheMeshchera orMeshchyora (Russian:Мещёра) were aFinno-Ugric tribe in the Volga region between theOka River and theKlyazma river, today called theMeshchera Lowlands, who assimilated with the neighbouring tribes around the 16th century.[1][2][3]
The first Russian written source which mentions them is theTolkovaya Paleya, from the 13th century.[3] They are also mentioned in several later Russian chronicles from the period before the 16th century. This is in stark contrast to the related tribesMerya andMuroma, which appear to have been assimilated by theEast Slavs by the 10th and the 11th centuries.
Ivan II, prince of Moscow, wrote in his will, 1358, about the village Meshcherka, which he had bought from the native Meshcherian chieftainAlexander Ukovich. The village appears to have been converted to theChristian Orthodox faith and to have been a vassal ofMuscovy.
Several documents mention the Meshchera concerning theKazan campaign byIvan the Terrible in the 16th century. These accounts concern a state of Meshchera (known under a tentative name ofTemnikov Meshchera, after its central town ofTemnikov) which had been assimilated by theMordvins and theTatars.
PrinceA. M. Kurbsky wrote that aMordvin language was spoken in the lands of the Meshchera. TheMeshchera language[4] is unattested, and theories on its affiliation remain speculative.[5]
In theOka River valley, the Meshchera culture appears to have disappeared by the 11th century. In the marshy north, they appear to have stayed and to have been converted into theOrthodox faith. The Meshchera nobility appears to have been converted and assimilated by the 13th century, but the common Meshchera huntsman and fisherman may have kept elements of their language and beliefs for a longer period. In the 16th century, the St Nicholas monastery was founded inRadovitsky in order to convert the remaining Meshchera pagans. The princely familyMestchersky in Russia derives its nobility from having originally been native rulers of some of these Finnic tribes.[6]
In the village ofZhabki (Egorievsk district,Moscow Oblast), Meshchera burial sites were found in 1870. Women's bronze decorations identified asFinno-Ugric were found and dated to the 5th-8th centuries. Very similar finds soon appeared in theRyazan Oblast and theVladimir Oblast, enabling archaeologists to establish what characterized the material culture of the Meshchera. 12 such sites were found from theMoskva River, along theOka River to the townKasimov. The general opinion is nowadays, that the Oka-Ryazan culture is identical to that of the Meshchera.
The graves of women have yielded objects typical of the Volga Finns, of the 4th-7th centuries, consisting ofrings, jinglingpendants,buckles andtorcs. A specific feature was round breast plates with a characteristic ornamentation.
Some of the graves contained well-preservedcopper oxides of the decorations with long black hair locked into small bells into which were woven pendants.
It appears from the remains thatSlavic tribes arrived into Meshcheran territories in the period of the 10th-12th centuries.
In theOka river valley, the Meshchera culture appears to have disappeared by the 11th century. There are no indications of genocide, but the fast changes appear to show that the Meshchera were partially pushed away by the Slavs.
In themarshy north, they appear to have stayed and to have been converted into theOrthodox faith. The Slavs were not as interested in the wetlands and allowed the Meshchera to stay for some time. The Meshchera nobility appears to have been converted and assimilated by the 13th century, but the common Meshchera huntsman and fisherman may have kept elements of their language and beliefs for a longer period. In the 16th century, the St Nicholas monastery was founded inRadovitsky in order to convert the remaining Meshchera pagans. It is possible that they still spoke their old language.
The princely familyMeschersky in Russia derives its nobility from having originally been native rulers of some of these Finnic tribes.
Ethnographers treat the modern Meshchera as a local group within the Russian ethnos. These Russian-speakers live in the massive forests on the frontier between theMoscow,Ryazan andVladimir Oblasts. Some Meshchera also appear in the regions ofTambov,Penza andSaratov Oblasts. They are generally dark and of medium height and they continue to live as fishermen, bee-keepers and huntsmen.
It is believed that the Mishars, a subgroup of theTatars, inherited the nameMeshchera, but it remains unclear whether the ethnonym derives from the name of the region in which the group originally lived or actually indicates that the group traces its descent from the original Finno-Ugric tribe.
The Meschera were primarily fishermen, beekeepers, hunters and bronze craftsmen. They knew of agriculture, but they only used it in limited amounts. Prior to assimilation from the Russians, they held toanimistic beliefs.[1]
Some linguists think that Meschera might have been a dialect ofMordvinic,[7] while Pauli Rahkonen has suggested on the basis oftoponymic evidence that it was aPermic or closely related language.[2] Rahkonen's speculation has been criticized by other scientists, such as by the Russian UralistVladimir Napolskikh.[8]
Some toponyms which Rahkonen suggested as Permic are thehydronymic stems: Un-, Ič-, Ul and Vil-, which can be compared to Udmurt uno 'big', iči 'little', vi̮l 'upper' and ulo 'lower'. Rahkonen also theorized the name Meshchera itself could be a Permic word, and its cognate be Komi mösör 'isthmus'.[9]