TheVolga Finns[a] are a historical group of peoples living in the vicinity of theVolga, who speakUralic languages. Their modern representatives are theMari people, theErzya and theMoksha (commonly grouped together asMordvins)[4][5] as well as speakers of the extinctMerya,Muromian andMeshchera languages.[6]
The modern representatives of Volga Finns live in the basins of theSura andMoksha rivers, as well as (in smaller numbers) in the interfluve between the Volga and theBelaya rivers. TheMari language has two dialects, theMeadow Mari and theHill Mari.
Traditionally the Mari and theMordvinic languages (Erzya andMoksha) were considered to form aVolga-Finnic orVolgaic group within the Uralic language family,[7][8] accepted by linguists likeRobert Austerlitz (1968), Aurélien Sauvageot & Karl Heinrich Menges (1973) andHarald Haarmann (1974), but rejected by others likeBjörn Collinder (1965) and Robert Thomas Harms (1974).[9]This grouping has also been criticized by Salminen (2002), who suggests it may be simply ageographic, not aphylogenetic, group.[10]
TheMari orCheremis (Russian:черемисы,romanized: cheremisy;Tatar:Çirmeş) have traditionally lived along theVolga andKama rivers in Russia. The majority of Maris today live in theMari El Republic, with significant populations in theTatarstan andBashkortostan republics.The Mari people consists of three different groups: the Meadow Mari, who live along the left bank of the Volga, the Mountain Mari, who live along the right bank of the Volga, and Eastern Mari, who live in the Bashkortostan republic. In the2002 Russian census, 604,298 people identified themselves as "Mari," with 18,515 of those specifying that they were Mountain Mari and 56,119 as Eastern Mari. Almost 60% of Mari lived in rural areas.[11]
TheMerya people (Russian:меря,merya; alsoMerä) inhabited a territory corresponding roughly to the present-day area of theGolden Ring orZalesye regions ofRussia, including the modern-dayMoscow,Yaroslavl,Kostroma,Ivanovo, andVladimir oblasts.[12] In the modern Vepsian language, the wordmeri means'sea'.[13] It is likely that they were peacefully assimilated by theEast Slavs after their territory was incorporated intoRus' in the 10th century.[14]
In the 6th centuryJordanes mentioned them briefly (asMerens); later thePrimary Chronicle described them in more detail. Soviet archaeologists believed that the capital of the Merya wasSarskoe Gorodishche near the bank of theNero Lake to the south ofRostov. The annalists also mention the Merya people in connection with some notable events: in 859 they were taxed by theVikings, and in 862 they took part in the battle against them. In 882 they accompaniedOleg to Kiev, where he established his power, and in 907 they were among the participants in Oleg'sByzantine campaign.[15] In 1235, theFriar Julian sets out to visit theHungarians who remain in the east. In his second travelogue, he mentions that theTatars have conquered a country called Merovia.[15]
One hypothesis classifies the Merya as a western branch of theMari people rather than as a separate tribe. Their ethnonyms are basically identical,Merya being aRussian transcription of the Mari self-designation,Мäрӹ (Märӛ).[16]
The unattestedMerya language[17] is traditionally assumed to have been a member of the Volga-Finnic group.[14][18] This view has been challenged:Eugene Helimski supposes that the Merya language was closer to the"northwest" group of Finno-Ugric (Balto-Finnic andSami),[19] andGábor Bereczki supposes that the Merya language was a part of the Balto-Finnic group.[20]
The Meryans were stated to have fought with theBulgars in wars againstTatars.[21]
Some of the inhabitants of several districts ofKostroma andYaroslavl oblasts present themselves as Meryan, although, in recent censuses, they were registered asRussians. The modern Merya people have their websites[22][23] displaying their flag, coat of arms and national anthem,[24] and participate in discussions on the subject in Finno-Ugric networks.
2010 saw the release of the filmOvsyanki (literal translation: 'TheBuntings', English title:Silent Souls), based on the novel of the same name,[25] devoted to the imagined life of modern Merya (or Meadow Mari) people.
In the early 21st century, a new type of social movement, the so-called "Meryan ethnofuturism", has emerged. It is distributed across central regions of Russia, for example, inMoscow,Pereslavl-Zalessky,Kostroma Oblast, andPlyos. In May 2014, theNew Gallery in the city ofIvanovo opened the art project materVolga, Sacrum during the "Night of Museums".[26] In October 2014, a presentation of "Merya Language" was held at the III Festival of Languages at Novgorod University.
TheMeshchera (Russian:мещера,meshchera orмещёра,meshchyora) lived in the territory lying between theOka River and theKlyazma River. It was a land of forests,bogs and lakes. The area is still called theMeshchera Lowlands.
The first Russian written source that mentions them is theTolkovaya Paleya, from the 13th century. They are also mentioned in several later Russian chronicles from the period before the 16th century. This is in stark contrast to the related 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 1358 will, 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.
TheMeschiera (along withMordua,Sibir, and a few other harder-to-interpret groups) are mentioned in the "Province of Russia" on theVenetianFra Mauro Map (ca. 1450).[27]
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 theMordvin language was spoken in the lands of the Meshchera.
TheMeshchera language[28] is unattested, and theories on its affiliation remain speculative.[29] Some linguists think that it might have been a dialect ofMordvinic,[14] while Pauli Rahkonen has suggested on the basis oftoponymic evidence that it was aPermic or closely related language.[30] Rahkonen's speculation has been criticized by other scientists, such as by the Russian UralistVladimir Napolskikh.[31]
Some toponyms which Rahkonen suggested as Permic are thehydronyms stems: Un-, Ič-, Ul and Vil-, which can be compared to Udmurt uno 'big', iči 'little', vi̮l 'upper' and ulo 'lower'. Rahkonen also theorized the name Meshchera itself could be a Permic word, and its cognate be Komi mösör 'isthmus'.[32]
The Mordvins (alsoMordva,Mordvinians) remain among thelarger indigenous peoples of Russia. Less than one third of Mordvins live in the autonomous republic ofMordovia,Russian Federation, in the basin of theVolga River. They consist of two major subgroups, theErzya andMoksha, besides the smaller subgroups of theQaratay,Teryukhan andTengushevo (orShoksha) Mordvins who have become fullyRussified orTurkified during the 19th to 20th centuries.
The Erzya Mordvins (Erzya:эрзят,Erzyat; alsoErzia,Erzä), who speakErzya, and the Moksha Mordvins (Moksha:мокшет,Mokshet), who speakMoksha, are the two major groups. The Qaratay Mordvins live in Kama Tamağı District ofTatarstan, and haveshifted to speakingTatar, albeit with a large proportion of Mordvin vocabulary (substratum). The Teryukhan, living in theNizhny Novgorod Oblast of Russia, switched toRussian in the 19th century. The Teryukhans recognize the termMordva as pertaining to themselves, whereas the Qaratay also call themselvesMuksha. The Tengushevo Mordvins are a transitional group between Moksha and Erzya. They are also calledShoksha (orShokshot). They are isolated from the bulk of the Erzyans, and their dialect/language has been influenced by the Mokshan dialects.
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TheMuromians (Russian:Мурома,romanized: Muroma) lived in theOka River basin. They are mentioned in thePrimary Chronicle and theRogozh Chronicler. The Muromas, as an ethnic group, were formed around the seventh century AD, according to the dating of the Muroma cemeteries.[15] The old town ofMurom still bears their name. The Muromians paid tribute to theRus' princes and, like the neighbouringMerya tribe, wereassimilated by theEast Slavs in the 11th to 12th century as their territory was incorporated into the Rus'.[33] A group of them migrated to theCarpathian Basin with theHungarians, orBulgars, as they are listed by theRogozh Chronicler, among the peoples who inhabited the Carpathian Basin in 897.[34]
During the excavation of the Muroma tombs, archaeologists uncovered a rich archaeological legacy. Weapons were among the best in the surrounding areas in terms of workmanship, and the jewellery, which is found in abundance in the burials, is remarkable for its ingenuity of form and meticulous workmanship. The Muroma were characterised by arc-shaped head ornaments woven from horsehair and strips of leather, which were spirally braided with bronze wire. This is interesting because it is not observed in other Volga Finnic peoples.[35]
Like other medieval Volga Finns, animal bones were present in the burials as funeral food. Horses were buried separately, bridled and saddled, giving them a pose imitating a living animal lying on its belly with legs tucked up and head raised (it was placed on a step in the grave).[36]
In 2023, 13 Muroma tombs were excavated on the banks of the Oka River, accompanied by a number of artefacts - one of which was a belt buckle, which was most similar to the belt buckles of theconquering Hungarians.[37] Weapons such as spears and axes, as well as coins (dirhams) and five lead weights, among other things, were recovered from the grave of one of the presumably noble men.[38]
The Muroma settlements were located on high ground above the floodplain meadows. Livestock farming formed the basis of the Muroma economy, with pigs, large horned cattle, and to a lesser extent, sheep being raised. Horses played a special role, and they were also bred for meat. Theslash-and-burn agriculture played a minor role in their economy. Their commercial hunting was aimed atfur hunting.[35]
ThePrimary Chronicle provides details about the Muromians: "Along the riverOka, which flows into theVolga, theMuroma, the Cheremisians, and the Mordva preserve their native languages."[39] TheRogozh Chronicler says: "In the year 6405 (897) there wereSlavs living along theDanube, as well as theUgrics,Muromas and theDanubian Bulgars."[34]
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This article contains content from theOwl Edition ofNordisk familjebok, a Swedish encyclopedia published between 1904 and 1926, now in thepublic domain.
