Chuvash nationality characteristic. The question of the origin of the Chuvash people in the light of archaeological data

The Chuvash people are quite numerous, more than 1.4 million people live in Russia alone. Most occupy the territory of the Republic of Chuvashia, the capital of which is the city of Cheboksary. There are representatives of the nationality in other regions of Russia, as well as abroad. A hundred thousand people each live in Bashkiria, Tatarstan and the Ulyanovsk Region, a little less in the Siberian Territories. The appearance of the Chuvash causes a lot of controversy among scientists and geneticists about the origin of this people.

Story

It is believed that the ancestors of the Chuvash were the Bulgars - the tribes of the Turks, who lived from the 4th century BC. on the territory of the modern Urals and in the Black Sea region. The appearance of the Chuvash speaks of their relationship with the ethnic groups of Altai, Central Asia and China. In the XIV century, the Volga Bulgaria ceased to exist, the people moved to the Volga, to the forests near the rivers Sura, Kama, Sviyaga. At first, there was a clear division into several ethnic subgroups, over time it smoothed out. The name "Chuvash" in Russian-language texts occurs with early XVI century, it was then that the places where these people lived became part of Russia. Its origin is also associated with the existing Bulgaria. Perhaps it came from the nomadic Suvar tribes, who later merged with the Bulgars. The opinions of scientists were divided in explaining what the word meant: the name of a person, a geographical name, or something else.

ethnic groups

The Chuvash people settled along the banks of the Volga. The ethnic groups living in the upper reaches were called viryal or turi. Now the descendants of these people live in the western part of Chuvashia. Those who settled in the center (anat enchi) are located in the middle of the region, and those who settled in the lower reaches (anatari) occupied the south of the territory. Over time, the differences between sub-ethnic groups became not so noticeable, now they are the people of one republic, people often move, communicate with each other. In the past, the way of life of the lower and upper Chuvashs was very different: they built dwellings in different ways, dressed, and organized life. According to some archaeological finds, it is possible to determine which ethnic group the thing belonged to.

To date, there are 21 districts in the Chuvash Republic, 9 cities. In addition to the capital, Alatyr, Novocheboksarsk, Kanash are among the largest.

External features

Surprisingly, only 10 percent of all representatives of the people are dominated in appearance by the Mongoloid component. Geneticists claim that the race is mixed. It belongs mainly to the Caucasoid type, which can be said from the characteristic features of the appearance of the Chuvash. Among the representatives you can meet people with light brown hair and eyes of light shades. There are also individuals with more pronounced Mongoloid features. Geneticists have calculated that the majority of the Chuvashs have a group of haplotypes similar to that characteristic of the inhabitants of countries in northern Europe.

Among other features of the appearance of the Chuvash, it is worth noting short or medium height, stiff hair, darker eye color than Europeans. Naturally curly curls are rare. Representatives of the people often have epicanthus, a special fold at the corners of the eyes, characteristic of Mongoloid faces. The nose is usually short in shape.

Chuvash language

The language remained from the Bulgars, but differs significantly from other Turkic languages. It is still used on the territory of the republic and in nearby areas.

There are several dialects in the Chuvash language. The Turi living in the upper reaches of the Sura, according to the researchers, “okay”. The ethnic subspecies of Anatari placed more emphasis on the letter "y". However, there are currently no clear distinguishing features. The modern language in Chuvashia is rather close to that used by the Turi ethnic group. It has cases, but lacks the category of animation, as well as the gender of nouns.

Until the 10th century, the alphabet was runic. After the reforms, it was replaced by Arabic characters. And since the XVIII century - Cyrillic. Today, the language continues to "live" on the Internet, even a separate section of Wikipedia has appeared, translated into the Chuvash language.

Traditional activities

The people were engaged in agriculture, grew rye, barley and spelt (a kind of wheat). Sometimes peas were sown in the fields. Since ancient times, the Chuvash have bred bees and eat honey. Chuvash women engaged in weaving and weaving. Especially popular were patterns with a combination of red and white colors on the fabric.

But other bright colors were also common. Men were engaged in carving, carved dishes, furniture from wood, decorated dwellings with platbands and cornices. Mat production was developed. And since the beginning of the last century, Chuvashia has been seriously engaged in the construction of ships, several specialized enterprises have been created. The appearance of the indigenous Chuvash is somewhat different from the appearance of modern representatives of the nationality. Many live in mixed families, create marriages with Russians, Tatars, some even move abroad or to Siberia.

Suits

The appearance of the Chuvash is associated with their traditional types of clothing. Women wore embroidered tunics. From the beginning of the 20th century, grassroots Chuvash women dressed in colorful shirts with assemblies from different fabrics. There was an embroidered apron on the front. Of the ornaments, the Anatari girls wore tevet - a strip of fabric trimmed with coins. They wore special caps on their heads, shaped like a helmet.

Men's pants were called yem. In the cold season, the Chuvash wore footcloths. From footwear, leather boots were considered traditional. There were special outfits worn for the holidays.

Women decorated their clothes with beads and wore rings. From shoes, bast bast shoes were also often used.

original culture

Many songs and fairy tales, elements of folklore remained from the Chuvash culture. It was customary for the people to play instruments on holidays: bubble, harp, drums. Subsequently, a violin and an accordion appeared, and they began to compose new drinking songs. For a long time there have been various legends, which were partly connected with the beliefs of the people. Before joining the territories of Chuvashia to Russia, the population was pagan. They believed in various deities, spiritualized natural phenomena and objects. At a certain time, sacrifices were made, as a token of gratitude or for the sake of a good harvest. The main among other deities was considered the god of Heaven - Tura (otherwise - Thor). The Chuvash deeply honored the memory of their ancestors. The rites of remembrance were strictly observed. On the graves, usually, pillars made of trees of a certain species were installed. Limes were placed for dead women, and oaks for men. Subsequently, most of the population adopted the Orthodox faith. Many customs have changed, some have been lost or forgotten over time.

Holidays

Like other peoples of Russia, Chuvashia had its own holidays. Among them is Akatuy, celebrated in late spring - early summer. It is dedicated to agriculture, the beginning of preparatory work for sowing. The duration of the celebration is a week, during this time special ceremonies are performed. Relatives go to visit each other, treat themselves to cheese and a variety of other dishes, beer is pre-brewed from drinks. All together they sing a song about sowing - a kind of hymn, then they pray to the god of Tur for a long time, asking him for a good harvest, the health of family members and profit. Divination is common on the holiday. Children threw an egg into the field and watched whether it broke or remained intact.

Another holiday among the Chuvash was associated with the veneration of the sun. Separately, there were days of commemoration of the dead. Agricultural rituals were also common, when people caused rain or, on the contrary, wished it to stop. Large feasts with games and amusements were held at the wedding.

Dwellings

The Chuvash settled near rivers in small settlements called yals. The layout of the settlement depended on the specific place of residence. On the south side, the houses lined up along the line. And in the center and in the north, a nested type of layout was used. Each family settled in a certain part of the village. Relatives lived nearby, in neighboring houses. Already in the 19th century, wooden buildings began to appear in the style of Russian rural houses. The Chuvashs decorated them with patterns, carvings, and sometimes painting. As a summer kitchen, a special building (las) was used, made of a log house, without a roof and windows. Inside there was an open hearth, on which they were engaged in cooking. Bathhouses were often built near the houses, they were called munches.

Other features of life

Until Christianity became the dominant religion in Chuvashia, polygamy existed on the territory. The custom of levirate also disappeared: the widow was no longer obliged to marry relatives dead husband. The number of family members was significantly reduced: now it included only spouses and their children. Wives were engaged in all economic affairs, counting and sorting products. The duty of weaving was also assigned to their shoulders.

According to the existing custom, the sons were married early. Daughters, on the contrary, tried to marry later, because often in marriage wives were older than their husbands. The youngest son in the family was appointed heir to the house and property. But the girls also had the right to receive an inheritance.

In the settlements there could be a mixed type of community: for example, Russian-Chuvash or Tatar-Chuvash. In appearance, the Chuvash did not differ strikingly from representatives of other nationalities, therefore they all coexisted quite peacefully.

Food

Due to the fact that animal husbandry in the region was developed to a small extent, plants were mainly used for food. The main dishes of the Chuvash were porridge (spelt or lentil), potatoes (in later centuries), vegetable and green soups. The traditional baked bread was called hura sakar, it was baked on the basis of rye flour. It was considered a woman's duty. Sweets were also widespread: cheesecakes with cottage cheese, sweet cakes, berry pies.

Another traditional dish is khulla. This was the name of the pie in the shape of a circle; fish or meat was used as a filling. The Chuvash people were engaged in cooking various types of sausages for the winter: with blood, stuffed with cereals. Shartan was the name of a type of sausage made from a sheep's stomach. Basically, meat was consumed only on holidays. As for drinks, the Chuvash brewed a special beer. Braga was made from the obtained honey. And later they began to use kvass or tea, which were borrowed from the Russians. Chuvash from the lower reaches often drank koumiss.

For sacrifices, they used a bird that was bred at home, as well as horse meat. On some special holidays, a rooster was slaughtered: for example, when new member families. From chicken eggs even then they made scrambled eggs, omelettes. These dishes are eaten to this day, and not only by the Chuvash.

Famous representatives of the people

Among the Chuvash with a characteristic appearance, there were also famous personalities.

Near Cheboksary was born Vasily Chapaev, a famous commander in the future. He spent his childhood in a poor peasant family in the village of Budaika. Another famous Chuvash- poet and writer Mikhail Sespel. He wrote books in his native language, at the same time he was a public figure of the republic. His name is translated into Russian as "Mikhail", but Mishshi sounded in Chuvash. Several monuments and museums were created in memory of the poet.

V.L. is also a native of the republic. Smirnov, a unique personality, an athlete who became the absolute world champion in helicopter sports. The training took place in Novosibirsk and repeatedly confirmed his title. There are also famous artists among the Chuvash: A.A. Kokel received an academic education, wrote many amazing works in charcoal. He spent most of his life in Kharkov, where he taught and worked on development art education. A popular artist, actor and TV presenter was also born in Chuvashia

Introduction

Chapter 1. Religions and Beliefs

2.1 Chuvash folk religion

2.2 Chuvash gods and spirits

Conclusion

Notes

Bibliography

Introduction

In the modern world there is a large number of variety of faiths and ideologies.

Religion accompanies humanity throughout a significant part of its history and currently covers 80% of the world's population. And yet it is a sphere little understood even for ordinary people and for specialists. There are many reasons for this. It is hardly possible to give one definition of what religion is, just because it is known great amount religions past and present.

The concept of "religion" means faith, a special view of the world, a set of ritual and cult actions, as well as the unification of believers in a certain organization, which stem from the conviction of one or another variety of the supernatural.

Relevance of the topic: a person initially experiences a spiritual need to have a holistic view of the world. In the course of mastering reality, he needs to get answers to questions about what our world as a whole is. The Chuvash folk religion is the spiritual wealth of our people accumulated over the centuries, its history, cultural heritage.

There is an urgent need to reveal these hidden worldview constants and determine the forms of their awareness by the people. In the modern period, the study of religion is important for the spiritual life of society and the people, since the problem of preserving ethnic values ​​is acquiring special significance today.

Purpose: to talk about the religious beliefs of the Chuvash people.

.find out the relationship of the Chuvash religions with the religions of other peoples.

2.study the religious beliefs of the Chuvash people

.talk about the basic beliefs of the Chuvash people.

Scientific significance

Practical significance

Object: religion as pagan beliefs of the Chuvash

The work consists of an introduction, two chapters, four paragraphs, conclusion, list of references.

Chapter 1. Religions and Beliefs

1.1 Historical forms of religious beliefs. Structure and functions of religion

The main defining feature of the religious nature of certain ideas is their connection with belief in the supernatural - something that is outside the laws of the material world, disobeying and contradicting them. This includes, firstly, belief in the real existence of supernatural beings (gods, spirits), secondly, belief in the existence of supernatural connections between natural phenomena (magic, totemism) and, thirdly, belief in the supernatural properties of material objects (fetishism).

Belief in the supernatural is characterized by the following main points:

) belief in the real existence of the supernatural (unlike other forms of fantastic thinking, for example, art, where fantastic images and events, but they do not stand out behind reality);

) emotional attitude to the supernatural - a religious person not only imagines a supernatural object, but also experiences his attitude towards it;

) illusory activity, which is an integral part of any more or less mass religion. Since a religious person believes in the ability of supernatural beings, forces or properties to positively or negatively influence his life, any religion includes certain prescriptions for the believer's behavior in relation to the supernatural, which is realized in a religious cult.

So, faith is the central ideological position and at the same time the psychological attitude of all religions. It expresses a specific attitude towards real or imaginary objects, phenomena, in which the reliability and truth of these objects, phenomena are accepted without evidence. Faith has two sides, or two meanings. The first side is faith in someone or something through the recognition of their value and truth, for example, faith in the Holy Trinity. The second side is trust, i.e. the connection of faith with a personal-practical attitude, the subordination of the consciousness and behavior of a person to accepted beliefs. This belief entity value allows you to define the following types:

)naive faith that arises in a person before the awakening of the critical activity of the mind in him;

2)faith is blind, caused by a passionate feeling that drowns out the voice of reason;

)conscious faith, consisting in the recognition by reason of the truth of something.

The difficulty of defining religion as a social phenomenon lies in the fact that it is traditionally regarded as a phenomenon of human existence and culture. Therefore, each thinker defined religion, based on their own views. So I. Kant (1724 - 1804) religion is the guiding force: "Religion (considered subjectively) is the knowledge of all our duties as divine commandments", i.e. is not just a view of the world, but, in fact, strict requirements that regulate human life, indicate a person exactly how he should direct and distribute his efforts.

Russian religious philosopher and theologian S.N. Bulgakov (1871 - 1944) in his work "Karl Marx as a religious type" wrote: "In my opinion, the determining force in the spiritual life of a person is his religion - not only in the narrow, but also in the broad sense of the word, i.e. those highest and last values ​​that a person recognizes above himself and above himself, and the practical attitude in which he becomes to these values."

Thus, religion is a worldview based on the belief in the existence of God, supernatural forces that control the world.

First religious performances of our ancestors are closely connected with the emergence of early forms of spiritual life in them. Apparently, this could take place only at a certain stage in the development of Homo sapiens, which has the ability to reason and therefore is capable not only of accumulating and comprehending practical experience, but also of some abstraction, transformation of sensory perceptions in the spiritual sphere. As science testifies, the achievement of this kind of state in humans occurred about 40 thousand years ago.

More than 100 thousand years ago art, religion, tribal system arose, spiritual life was enriched.

An extremely meager stock of knowledge, fear of the unknown, which now and then corrects this meager knowledge and practical experience, dependence on the forces of nature, surprises of the environment - all this inevitably led to the fact that human consciousness was determined not so much by logical cause-and-effect relationships, but by emotional-associative, illusory-fantastic connections. In the process of labor activity (obtaining food, making tools, equipping a home), family and clan contacts (establishing marriage ties, experiencing the birth and death of loved ones), primitive primary ideas about supernatural forces that rule the world, about the patron spirits of a given clan, tribe, about magical connections between the desired and the real, were formed and strengthened.

Primitive people believed in the existence of supernatural connections between people and animals, as well as in the ability to influence the behavior of animals using magical techniques. These imaginary connections received their interpretation in the ancient form of religion - totemism.

Totemism is once an almost universal and still very widespread religious and social system, which is based on a kind of cult of the so-called totem. This term, first used by Long at the end of the 18th century, is borrowed from the North American Ojibwa tribe, in whose language totem means the name and sign, the emblem of the clan, and also the name of the animal to which the clan has a special cult. In the scientific sense, a totem is a class (necessarily a class, and not an individual) of objects or natural phenomena to which one or another primitive social group, clan, phratry, tribe, sometimes even each individual sex within the group (Australia), and sometimes the individual (North America) - render special worship, with which they consider themselves related and by whose name they call themselves. There is no object that could not be a totem, but the most common (and apparently ancient) totems were animals.

Animism (from Latin anima, animus - soul, spirit), belief in the existence of souls and spirits, i.e. fantastic, supernatural, supersensible images, which in religious consciousness are represented as agents acting in all dead and living nature, controlling all objects and phenomena of the material world, including man. If the soul appears to be associated with any particular being or object, then the spirit is attributed to independent existence, a wide scope of activity and the ability to influence various objects. Souls and spirits are presented either as amorphous, or phytomorphic, or zoomorphic, or anthropomorphic beings; however, they are always endowed with consciousness, will and other human properties. The beginnings of animistic ideas arose in ancient times, perhaps even before the advent of totemism.

Unlike totemism, animistic ideas had a broader and more general character.

Magic is the belief in the existence of supernatural connections and relationships between a person and things, animals, spirits, established with the help of a certain type of religious activity with the aim of having a desired effect on the world.

Thus, in the minds of primitive people, in the process of the formation of a tribal society, a rather clear, harmonious and extensive complex of early religious ideas was developed.

With the emergence of the state, new forms of religious beliefs appeared. Among them, national and world religions are distinguished.

National religions are such religious beliefs that cover with their influence all social strata of the population within the same nationality.

There are also religions, adherents of which become different nations. These religions are called world. They appeared somewhat later than the national ones and became an important event in the history of religion. In world religions, the cult is significantly simplified, there is no specific national ritual - the main element that prevents the spread of national religions among other peoples. Attractive to the working masses in world religions was the idea of ​​universal equality: men and women, poor and rich. However, this equality turned out to be only equality before God: everyone can believe in it and hope for otherworldly rewards for suffering on earth.

Structurally, religion is very complex. social phenomenon. Every religion has three main elements:

Religious consciousness;

Religious cult;

Religious organizations.

Religious consciousness has two interrelated and at the same time relatively independent levels: religious psychology and religious ideology. In other words, religious consciousness functions at the ideological and socio-psychological levels.

Religious psychology is a set of ideas, feelings, moods, habits, traditions shared by believers. it arises spontaneously, as a direct sensual reflection of a person's impotence in front of the surrounding reality.

Religious ideology is more or less harmonious system ideas developed and promoted by religious organizations represented by professional theologians and clergy.

Religious cult (lat. cultus - care, veneration) - a set of symbolic actions with which the believer tries to influence fictional (supernatural) or real-life objects. Religious cult includes divine services, sacraments, ceremonies, sacrifices, fasting, prayers, spells, rituals. The subjects of cult activity can be both a religious group and an individual believer. Such activity is organically connected with rituals, which are patterns of behavior in relation to sacred and supernatural forces.

A religious organization is an association of followers of a particular religion, arising on the basis of a common beliefs and rituals. The functions of religious organizations are to meet the religious needs of believers, regulate religious activities, ensure the stability and integrity of this association.

Functions of religion.

There are two approaches to realizing God: rationalistic, through reason, and irrational, through a sense of faith.

Functions are the modes of operation of religion in society, and the role is the total result that is obtained as it performs its functions. Over the centuries, the main functions of religions have been preserved, although some of them were given more emotional and psychological than sacred meaning. Religion, from the standpoint of the scientific, Soviet approach, performs the following main functions:

.Worldview - creates a special worldview, which is based on some omnipotent force - the World Spirit or Mind, which controls all processes of the Universe, Earth, flora, fauna, as well as the fate of mankind and the individual.

2.Compensatory - enables a person, by turning to God or other supernatural forces, to compensate for his impotence and get rid of suffering in front of unfavorable natural, hostile social forces, unfortunate circumstances of life.

.Integrating and differentiating - can be considered in two opposite aspects. On the one hand, this is the unity of believers, which was a very important factor in the consciousness and strengthening of the state. On the other hand, the division of people according to religion.

.Regulatory - determines the system of moral norms, gives moral, ethical and value orientations, both to clergymen and to a wide range of believers. The practice of managing the activities of individuals, small and large groups in religious parish communities, as well as ethnic groups in general, is envisaged.

Religion is a certain component of the formation of man, its significance lies in giving meaning to the value of his existence.

1.2 Relationship with other religions

The mythology and religion of the Chuvash inherited many features from common Turkic beliefs.<#"justify">Chuvash religion myth belief

According to various archaeological, epigraphic, written, folklore sources According to linguistics, the influence of the Muslim religion on the Chuvash of the Middle Volga region dates back to the 10th century. In the era of the Volga Bulgaria, the Golden Horde and the Kazan Khanate, the Chuvash borrowed certain religious ideas, Persian and Arabic religious vocabulary, certain features of the pagan cult of the Chuvash were formed, their customs, features of social organization, pagan-Muslim syncretism was formed, where the pre-Muslim remained the dominant element. Some Chuvash even converted to the Muslim faith. Throughout the ethno-cultural contacts of the Tatars and Chuvash, their coexistence in the Middle Volga region, some proximity of culture and languages ​​were the most important factors that contributed to the transition of a part of the Chuvash population to Islam. In some cases, in the conditions of living together, the ethnic boundaries between the Chuvashs and Tatars were blurred, which led to very interesting results: for example, in the Sviyazhsky district, a kind of group of Molkeev Kryashens was formed, in which the Chuvash and Tatar (presumably Mishar) ethnic component can be traced.

In the middle of the XVI century. The Middle Volga region became part of the Russian state. Since that time, the policy of Christianization of local peoples has become an important factor influencing the dynamics of their religious beliefs and the development of ethnic processes in the region. So, as a result of the forced spread of Christianity, part of the Chuvash, who did not accept the Orthodox faith, converted to Islam, and subsequently disappeared among the Tatar population. This process began in the 40s of the 18th century. The Islamization of the pagan and Orthodox Chuvashs was a kind of anti-Christian protest directed "against the national-colonial oppression."

In the 19th century under the influence of the factors noted above, some Chuvash of the Middle Volga region still converted to Islam. In the Simbirsk province, according to archival sources, the earliest references to the transition of the Chuvash to the Muslim faith date back to the 30s of the 19th century. According to the residents of the village of Staroe Shaimurzino, Buinsky district, at the turn of the 20-30s. pagans Yargunov and Batyrshin accepted Islam. And in 1838-1839. five more Chuvash families followed their example. In March 1839, they even sent a petition to the Orenburg Mufti with a request to enroll them in the Mohammedan faith. The petition, at the request of the Chuvash, was written by the decree mullah of the village of Malaya Tsilna, Ilyas Aibetov. The Chuvash explained their desire to become Muslims as a consequence of "cohabitation with the Tatars and a short, constant treatment with them, especially since they did not find anything fundamental and religious in the Chuvash faith in worship, in the absence of spiritual prayers and mentors." Probably, not without the influence of the Muslim Tatars, the newly-minted Muslim Chuvashs evaluated new religion as better than the old pagan faith.

In May 1839, the archbishop of the Simbirsk diocese asked the governor to find out the circumstances of the conversion to Islam of the pagan Chuvashs of the village of Staroe Shaimurzino, since, on the basis of the order of the Minister of Internal Affairs of February 18, 1839, one should "pay the strictest attention to the prosecution of such perversions." However, in 1843, the Governing Senate decided to stop the persecution of unbaptized Chuvash who had accepted the Mohammedan faith, to leave them to same place residence, and strict instill in Mulla I. Aibetov, so that he would not attract pagans to Islam in the future. Although the resolution itself does not mention the reasons that prompted the Senate to take such a decision, but in relation to the instruction of the Minister of the Interior, it looks inconsistent. Probably, such a decision was made on the basis of the decree of Catherine II on religious tolerance. In general, the position of the state in matters of confessional policy was extremely clear and precise: if possible, baptize most of the non-Russian peoples of the empire and, in this case, in the Middle Volga region, and stop their Islamization.

In August 1857, under the leadership of the specific office of the Simbirsk province, the baptism of the Chuvash who still remained in paganism began. By February 8, 1858, according to the manager of the specific office, up to a thousand pagan Chuvashs were converted to Christianity. For the conversion to the Orthodox faith, the department of appanages granted a three-year exemption from paying taxes and personal lifelong freedom from recruitment.

However, some pagan Chuvashs, deprived of the opportunity to continue to practice their faith, and contrary to the expectations of the church and state, preferred to convert to Islam. For example, in the villages of Gorodishchi and Starye Tatar Chukaly in the Buinsk district, nine Chuvash refused to be baptized and hid with local Muslim Tatars. To all the exhortations of the priests to accept the Orthodox faith, they resolutely declared that "if it is impossible for them to remain in paganism, then they rather express a desire to convert everything to Mohammedanism." The Chuvash of the villages of Old Shaymurzino and Novoe Duvanovo sent petitions to the highest name of the emperor, the Orenburg mufti and the head of the gendarme corps of the Simbirsk province, in which they called themselves unbaptized, professing Islam, and complained about the actions of the authorities who forced them to be baptized. The Chuvashs asked to be allowed to remain in the Mohammedan faith and at the same time referred to the precedent that took place in 1843, when the pagans of the village of Old Shaimurzino were supposedly allowed to profess the Muslim faith.

Complaints about forced baptism also came from the Chuvash of other villages: Old Tatar Chukaly, Middle Algashi, Gorodishchi and Three Izba Shemursha. At the same time, rumors even appeared among the pagans who did not accept the Orthodox faith, "that it would be desirable for the government to allow them to remain pagans, or to turn to the Mohammedan law.". In particular, such rumors were spread by the peasants of the village of Srednie Algashi Danila Fedotov and Semyon Vasiliev.

Soon, the complaints of the Chuvash were followed by a strict order, first by the Minister of the Interior, and then by the chairman of the department of appanages, to sort out the circumstances of the forced baptism. On February 1, 1858, the assistant manager of the specific office reported that the Chuvash villages of Staroe Shaimurzino, Novoe Duvanovo, Starye Tatar Chukaly accepted Orthodoxy voluntarily.

But still, as documents of that time testify, complaints about forced baptism were not groundless. For example, on November 5, 1857, a formidable message was sent to the Shigalinsky Prikaz from the Simbirsk specific office, which stated that until now, despite the order No. 1153 of September 26, 1857, many pagans of this department were not baptized. According to the chairman of the specific office, such delays in "such an important matter" were associated with "complete inaction and inattention of the orderly head Vasiliev." And the chairman is forced to make a "severe remark" to him, so that from now on all necessary measures for the baptism of the Gentiles will be taken.

Already on January 14, 1858, the manager of the Buinsky branch of the Simbirsk appanage office, court adviser Kaminsky, reported that, on his instructions, the Shigalinsky order began searching for pagan Chuvash hiding from baptism. A similar order applied to the families of two brothers from the village of Old Tatar Chukaly of the Parkinsky order, according to the court adviser, "stubborn in their delusion", "accustomed to Islamism" and hiding with the Tatars. In with. For three days, Kaminsky and the priest exhorted the Chuvash family to convert to Orthodoxy, since their family "cannot [be] tolerated" in the whole Christian village and "will certainly be evicted." But the brothers rejected all "persuasion." One of them ran away from the orderly head and hid in the underground. In protest, he shaved off his hair and began to wear a skullcap. And the other stubbornly refused to give his name, for which, on the orders of the court adviser, he was flogged with rods (40 strokes) and sent for six days to community service.

However, in the Simbirsk specific office, such measures were recognized as "violent" and completely unnecessary, and in orders dated January 18 and 22, 1858, the head of the Shigalinsky order and the manager of the Buinsky department were ordered to leave the stubborn pagans alone "until their own conviction in error."

During the Christianization in 1857 of the pagan Chuvashs of the Simbirsk province, not all Chuvashs who refused to be baptized converted to Islam, although they filed petitions with a request to enroll them in Mohammedanism. In fact, under this pretext, some of them wanted to continue to profess the pagan faith. Judging by the documents, seven Chuvash families in the village of Staroye Shaimurzino were the most consistent in their desire to become Muslims. Of these, the authorities eventually managed to convert six families to Christianity.

Echoes of the missionary activity of the Simbirsk specific office were not long in coming. Already in the early 60s. XIX century, the office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Simbirsk province issued the following order: "The peasants of Ilendey Ishmulin, Makhmut Ilendeev, Antip Bikkulov, Abdin Ablyazov, Alexei Alekseev, Matvey Semyonov and Emelyan Fedotov for seducing the peasants of the village of Novoye Duvanovo and the surrounding villages from Orthodoxy to Mohammedanism on the basis of 184, 19, 25 to deprive the articles of the code of punishment of all the rights of the state, to send to hard labor in the fortresses for 8 years [.]. From those who deviated from Orthodoxy, to recover the benefits that they enjoyed for three years, and to recruit." According to archival documents, it is known that of the named peasants in 1857-1858. Antip Bikkulov and Ilendey Ishmulin, in petitions to various government departments, complained about forced conversion to the Orthodox faith. In a petition dated July 15, 1864, the Chuvashs of the villages of Srednie Algashi (Simulla Simukov and Alginei Algeev), Novoe Duvanovo (Abdyush Abdelmenev) and Three Huts of Shemurshi (Marheb Mulyerov) asked to leave them in the pagan faith, as they recognized the prophet Mohammed. In a petition drawn up in the highest name, they wrote that they had been practicing paganism for a long time, and in 1857 the specific authorities began to push them into Christianity, about which they had previously filed petitions for protection more than once. According to the results of the investigation conducted in March 1865, it turned out that three Chuvashs - S. Simukhov (Semyon Vasiliev), A. Algeev (Alexander Efimov) and M. Mulyerov (Yushan Trofimov) - want to be pagans, and only A. Abdulmenev (Matvei Semenov) intends to convert to Mohammedanism. Considering themselves unbaptized, the Chuvash refused to pay the obligatory secular fee from all Christians of a religious parish (94 kopecks per soul) and deliver building material (one log from a forest cottage from three souls) to repair the church in the village. Kill. These circumstances became the main reason that prompted the Chuvash to file a petition in the name of the emperor.

In the mid 60s. XIX - early XX century, during the repeated "apostate" movements of the baptized Tatars of the Simbirsk province, baptized Chuvashs of a number of villages often joined them. This is evidenced by archival documents and observations of contemporaries. At the beginning of the twentieth century. Priest K. Prokopiev wrote that the baptized Chuvashs of the villages of Buinka, Siushevo, Chepkasy, Ilmetyevo, Chikildym, Duvanovo, Shaimurzino and Trekh-Boltaevo participated in such movements and, along with the Tatars, petitioned "for official permission for them to profess the Muslim faith." So, for example, on June 25, 1866, the foreman of the Kaisarovsky volost government reported that in the village of Novoirkeevo, two baptized Chuvashs joined the “fallen away” baptized Tatars. True, one of them, Semyon Mikhailov, soon returned to the Orthodox faith. And Philip Grigoriev, being "brought up in the Tatar way of life, cannot change it and profess the Orthodox faith, and wants to be a Mohammedan." Therefore, he is, by his own admission, in "a community with baptized Tatars by petition."

The old-baptized Chuvashs of the village of Chepkas Ilmetyevo (33 people), in a petition dated March 19, 1866 addressed to the emperor, called themselves Mohammedans and asked to be protected from harassment by the authorities in observing Muslim rites. In addition, as priest Malov noted, they also called themselves "natural Tatars." The leader of these Chuvashs was Vasily Mitrofanov, who studied at rural school six years old and considered her best student. He maintained close contacts with individual leaders of the "apostate" movement of baptized Tatars, and with some of them in 1866 he was exiled to the Turukhansk region of Eastern Siberia.

I must say that at that time, in addition to the named baptized Chuvash, who clearly converted to Islam, almost all the inhabitants of the village of Chepkas Ilmetyevo were inclined to "fall away" into the Muslim religion. In their way of life, the religious and cultural influence of the Muslim Tatars was traced. The Chuvash observed uraza, celebrated Friday, wore Tatar costumes and spoke the Tatar language in everyday life. In the future, most of these Chuvash remained in the bosom Orthodox Church, and as priest N. Krylov noted, in their religious life there have been noticeable changes. They "left the intention" to convert to Islam, stopped celebrating Friday and observance of Uraza. From the final fall into Islam, according to the testimony of the Orthodox clergyman N. Krylov, they were kept by the highest refusals of the tsar to the request of the "fallen away" Chuvashs to convert to Islam.

In the apostate movement 1866-1868. Newly baptized Chuvashs from the village of Staroe Shaymurzino, who were converted to Orthodoxy back in 1857, also participated. Their representative, Bikbav Ismeneev, went to St. Petersburg with a petition. But the trip brought absolutely nothing. In the capital, he and another baptized Chuvash Makhmut Ishmetyev from the village of Novoe Duvanovo were detained and escorted to the city police chief. After spending a week in St. Petersburg, B. Ismeneev returned to his native village and, despite the futility of the trip, told his fellow villagers that their case had been settled.

According to the participants of this petition, their conversion to Islam was influenced by the forced conversion to Christianity in 1857, the circumstances of close and cohabitation with the Muslim Tatars, their way of life with which they had already become accustomed, and, in addition, some ideas about the advantages of the "Tatar" faith over the "Russian" that appeared in the Chuvash environment. Bikbav Ismeneev, in particular, spoke eloquently about the latter, stating that "the soul does not accept the Russian faith, we know the Tatar faith more - there are Tatars around, and your Russian faith is darkness - it is impossible to fulfill." The baptized Chuvash Abdulmen Abdreev, a peasant from the village of Chepkas Ilmetyevo, said: "I and my other cohabitants met on the street, talked about faiths: Tatar and Russian, and decided to switch to Tatar, as recognized as the best."

But, there were also such cases when the Chuvash, who had already been in the Muslim and Orthodox faiths, returned to their former pagan religion. So did Emely Temirgaliev, a participant in the petition of the baptized Chuvash village of Staroe Shaimurzino. During the interrogation on September 22, 1871, he testified that five years earlier he had signed the sentence of Bikbav Ismeneev on petitioning the tsar for permission to convert to Islam. Now, he "does not want either the Tatar or Russian faith", but wants to "remain in his former Chuvash faith."

At the end of the 60s. In the 19th century, conversions of baptized Chuvashs to Islam were noted in the villages of Elkhovoozernoe, Middle Algashi, in the 70-80s. - in the villages of Trekh-Boltaevo and Bolshaya Aksa. In addition, according to the observations of contemporaries, the influence of the Muslim religion on the baptized Chuvash of the Simbirsk province took place in the villages of Novye Algashi, Alshikhovo and Tingashi.

Concerned about the Islamization of the Chuvash, Orthodox priests and officials of the Ministry of Public Education in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries took various measures to protect the baptized Chuvash from the Tatar-Muslim influence and strengthen them in the Orthodox faith. For example, in those Chuvash villages where the population was influenced by the Muslim religion, at the initiative of the inspector of the Chuvash schools of the Kazan educational district, missionary schools were opened. They taught the law of God, practiced church singing, read Orthodox books in the Chuvash language. The teachers held religious conversations with adults and involved them in reading religious books and church singing in the Chuvash language together with the children. Some time later, with the permission of the Ministry of Public Education, "house" churches were opened in these schools, where Chuvashs were priests.

In the 70s. XIX century, the inspector of the Chuvash schools in the Simbirsk province I.Ya. Yakovlev petitioned the local Orthodox missionary committee to open a similar missionary school in the village of Srednie Algashi. A prominent Chuvash educator believed that in the matter of religious choice, Islam is harmful to the ethnic self-identification of its people. The Simbirsk spiritual consistory supported the initiative of I.Ya. Yakovlev, ordering to allocate annually 150 rubles for the maintenance of the school and a lump sum of 60 rubles for the initial equipment.

At the beginning of the 20th century, priest K. Prokopiev noted that "thanks to the influence of the school and Christian books in the Chuvash language," the beliefs and sympathies of the Chuvash people "certainly moved towards Christianity." And an important role in this was played by the introduction of the pedagogical system of I.N. Ilminsky.

In addition, parish priests and deans of church districts carried out special anti-Muslim propaganda among the Chuvash population, explained to them the advantages of Christianity over Islam and "proved its falsity." According to priests, these events contributed to some isolation of the baptized Chuvash from the Muslim Tatars and the emergence of tensions between them. The baptized Chuvashs of a number of villages with a mixed population, on the initiative of the priests, filed petitions for separation from the Muslim Tatars into an independent society, and even for the formation of a village.

In the Simbirsk province at the end of the 19th century, a new apostate movement of baptized Tatars took place. Baptized Chuvashs from six villages took part in it: Bolshaya Aksa, Chepkas Ilmetyevo, Entuganovo, Novoe Duvanovo, Old Shaymurzino and Old Chekurskoye. Petitions were also submitted by the baptized Tatars of the villages of Trekh-Boltaevo, Elkhovoozernaya, Buinka and Chikildym, in which separate transitions of baptized Chuvashs to the Muslim faith were previously noted. True, according to the available sources, it is impossible to find out how many of them were by this time in the composition of the "fallen away" baptized Tatars. But the government once again refused to satisfy the petitions, and the baptized Tatars, along with the Chuvashs, did not receive the official status of Muslims.

Little has changed in the legal status of the Muslim Chuvash at the beginning of the 20th century. The liberal bills adopted during the first Russian revolution - the manifesto of October 17, 1905 on freedom of religion and the highest decree of April 17, 1905 - did not change the status of Orthodox Chuvash and pagan Chuvash who converted to Islam. If the “fallen away” baptized Tatars were officially allowed to convert to Islam, then the Chuvash were denied this, because according to the decree of April 17, 1905, the baptized Chuvash did not have the right to convert to Islam, since before the adoption of Christianity they were pagans, not Muslims. The decree stated that "persons who are listed as Orthodox, but in reality professing that non-Christian faith in which they themselves or their ancestors belonged to Orthodoxy before joining Orthodoxy, are subject, at their request, to exclusion from the number of Orthodox." Thus, according to the meaning of the decree, the Orthodox Chuvash should have returned to paganism, but this could not be allowed by the state and the church.

Guided by the provisions of the decree of April 17, 1905, the Simbirsk provincial government and the spiritual consistory refused applications for conversion to Islam to the baptized Chuvash villages of Tingashi and Siushevo of the Buinsky district and the village of Staroe Shaimurzino of the Simbirsk district. The Chuvashs of the last two villages tried to appeal against this decision by writing a petition to the Senate asking for a review of their case. As a result, at the request of the Chuvashs of the village of Siushevo, the Buinsky district police officer had to conduct a second investigation, which showed that these Chuvashs, "for a long time" and "stubbornly" - from the 80-90s. 19th century - evade the performance of the rites of the Orthodox faith and secretly profess Islam. But the spiritual consistory in the summer of 1907 again rejected the petition of these Chuvashs. Not resigned to such a decision, in October 1907 they sent a petition addressed to the governor, and in May 1908 - to the Governing Senate. The case was referred to the Synod, which rejected their petitions.

Nevertheless, despite all the refusals of the authorities to recognize their right to practice Islam, the peasants of the village of Siushevo in 1907 built a mosque without permission, and no longer hiding, they began to perform the rites of the Muslim religion. But soon the provincial authorities stopped all attempts of the Chuvash to organize their religious life. The construction of the mosque was declared illegal, and in 1911 it was closed. Although the attempt of the Muslim Chuvashs in the village of Siushevo to organize a religious community failed, the authorities were forced to admit that "all the fallen Chuvashs firmly adhere to the Mohammedan religion" and there is no hope for their return, especially since the children born after the final "falling away" of their parents are brought up by them "in the spirit and customs of this religion."

The fate of the baptized Chuvash, who converted to Islam back in the 50-70s, was completely different. 19th century At the beginning of the 20th century, the authorities officially referred to them in the family lists as baptized Tatars. And in 1905-1907. in their composition, they were able to legalize and become Muslims, for example, the Chuvash of the villages of Staroe Shaimurzino, Elkhovoozernoye of the Simbirsk district, Bolshaya Aksa, Staroe Chekurskoye, Novoe Duvanovo, Buinka, Trekh-Boltaevo and Chepkas Ilmetyevo of the Buinsky district. By this time, they no longer differed from the Muslim Tatars and the “fallen away” baptized Tatars in names, clothes, or language, and even called themselves Tatars.

According to various data, the number of Muslim Chuvashs in the Simbirsk province in 1905-1907 was 400-600 people. So, according to the family lists, there were 554 of them, and according to the data of the volost boards, by 1911 there were only 483 of them. It must be assumed that in reality in the second half of the XIX - early XX centuries. Chuvash Muslims of the Simbirsk province were somewhat more than indicated in the sources. Perhaps their number at that time was 600-800 people. Of the total number of the Chuvash population (159,766 people), according to the 1897 census, their share is 0.3-0.5%, respectively, of the Tatar (133,977 people) - 0.4-0.6%. Thus, there is no need to talk about large-scale Islamization and assimilation of the Chuvash by Muslim Tatars.

Muslim Chuvashs positively perceived the new self-identification and the very opportunity to openly profess the Mohammedan faith, which appeared at the beginning of the 20th century in connection with noticeable indulgences in the confessional policy of the authorities. For example, the Chuvash Imadetdin Izmailov (Ivan Fedorov), a resident of the village of Siushevo, said on this occasion: "We are very glad that we can openly pray, because we like it and that there is no need to hide anymore." His fellow villager Ibragim Shamshetdinov (Nikolai Spiridonov) confessed: “Now we can openly pray according to the Mohammedan law. We are all very pleased that we have switched to Mohammedanism: before you could not wait for Russian priests, but now you always have a mullah at hand. into Mohammedanism, then they began to live better, and the Tatars help with work and do not offend anymore. The Chuvashs, having converted to Islam and became Tatars, improved their social status in comparison with the Chuvash, who remained in paganism and Orthodoxy. However, the Orthodox Chuvash did not approve of the conversion of their fellow tribesmen to Islam, since they believed that ethnic assimilation inevitably followed after this. For example, when in 1906 the baptized Chuvash K. Stepanov, a peasant from the village of Tingashi, decided to become a Muslim, as the priest, confused by his "unworthy wife", wrote, his parents could not come to terms with the idea that their son would someday become a "Tatar".

In some cases, the Islamization of the majority of the inhabitants of a village was accompanied by tense relations in everyday life between the Chuvash who remained in Orthodoxy and those who converted to Islam. So, for example, the situation was in the village of Siushevo. Here in 1905 there were 50 households with Chuvashs who "fell away" into Mohammedanism and 20 households with Orthodox Christians. In particular, according to the testimony of the baptized Chuvash A.Z. Makarova: “For those who remained in Orthodoxy, it became difficult to live: on holidays we were given public work, offended and beat our children, offended us with land, meadows. Returning from church, we often endured ridicule from those who had deposited, and they also threw stones and dirt at us. In general, it became difficult to live among the Tatars and those who had deposited, especially with the latter. fights." Another Chuvash P.G. Zharkov noted that there were constant misunderstandings and fights between the baptized and the Muslims, and those who were deposited always won, since they were in the majority. Their neighbors, the Muslim Chuvashs, denied all these accusations as unfair. However, some of the Muslim Chuvashs really treated the baptized Chuvashs and the church with hostility. So, in 1906, a Chuvash Muslim from the village of Siushevo, Ignatius Leontyev, was found guilty and subject to arrest for one month for insulting a priest during the blessing of water in the houses of baptized Chuvash people and for striking the gospel in the hands of the boys accompanying the priest. The actions of the accused, according to his explanations cousin, an Orthodox Chuvash, were caused by the fact that the church service was held in her house, where this incident occurred. Her brother intended to convert the nephews who lived with her to the Muslim faith and therefore disapproved of the actions of the priest who decided to hold a service in this house. Thus, religion divided not only the villagers, but also some families, introducing a certain amount of conflict into the relations of relatives. The liberalization of ethno-confessional relations revealed the full complexity of religious contradictions in the Chuvash environment.

In conclusion, the following conclusions can be drawn. Documentary Islamization of the Chuvashs of the Simbirsk province can be traced from the beginning of the 19th century, during which Orthodox Chuvashs and pagan Chuvashs repeatedly converted to Islam, often together with baptized Tatars. The change of religion was due to a complex of socio-cultural and political factors, among which one can single out the closeness of the language and life of the Chuvash and Tatars, their close proximity, long-term cultural contacts and, of course, the forced Christianization of the Chuvash. According to various estimates, the number of Muslim Chuvashs in the Simbirsk province in the 19th - early 20th centuries. did not exceed 1000 people. In the ideas of Muslim Chuvashs (and not only for them), Islam was a "Tatar" faith, and the transition to the Muslim religion was perceived by them as a "transition to the Tatars" ("Epirus tutara tukhramar" - literally: "We went to the Tatars"). The Chuvash regarded Islam as a better faith than paganism or Orthodox Christianity. In the conditions of the historically established Islamic-Christian borderland in the Middle Volga and Urals, the Islamization of the Chuvash, as evidenced by the materials on the Simbirsk province, ultimately turned around ethnic assimilation, which manifested itself in a change in self-consciousness, the loss of the native language and a change in cultural and everyday features.

Chapter 2. Myths and beliefs of the ancient Chuvash

2.1 Chuvash folk religion

Chuvash traditional beliefsrepresent a mythological world outlook, religious concepts and views coming from distant epochs. The first attempts to consistently describe the pre-Christian religion of the Chuvash belong to K.S. Milkovich (late 18th century), V.P. Vishnevsky (1846), V.A. Sboev (1865). Materials and monuments related to beliefs were systematized by V.K. Magnitsky (1881), N.I. Zolotnitsky (1891) Archbishop Nikanor (1910), Gyula Messaros (translated from the Hungarian edition of 1909. Made in 2000), N.V. Nikolsky (1911, 1912), N.I. Ashmarine (1902, 1921). In the second half of the 20th - early 21st centuries. a series of works devoted to the traditional beliefs of the Chuvash appeared.

BeliefsThe Chuvash belong to the category of those religions that are called the religion of sacrifices, according to researchers who go back in their origins to the first world religion - ancient Iranian Zoroastrianism. Christianity, Islamwere known to the ancient ancestors of the Chuvash already in the early stages of the spread of these two religions. It is known that the Suvar king Alp - Ilitver in his principality (17th century) planted Christianity in the struggle against ancient religions.

Christianity, IsLamas, Judaism coexisted side by side in the Khazar state, at the same time, the masses were very committed to the worldview of their ancestors. This is confirmed by the absolute dominance of pagan funeral rites in the Saltov-Mayak culture. In the culture and beliefs of the Chuvash, researchers also found Judaic elements (Malov, 1882). In the middle of the century, when the Chuvash ethnos was being formed, traditional beliefs experienced a long-term influence of Islam. After the accession of the Chuvash Territory to the Russian state, the process of Christianization was lengthy and did not end only with an act of forced baptism. The Chuvash Bulgars adopted elements of the traditional beliefs of the Mari, Udmurts, possibly Burtases, Mozhors, Kypchaks and others. ethnic communities with whom they have been in contact.

Adherence to Islam after its adoption in 922 by the Bulgars under Khan Almush, on the one hand, to ancient beliefs, on the other, becomes an ethno-confessional and ethno-separating sign of the population of the Volga Bulgaria, where the nobility and the main part of the townspeople became Muslims (or Besermens), rural residents mainly remained fans of the pre-Islamic religion. In Bulgaria, Islam was established not as an orthodox model, but as a syncretic one, enriched with elements of traditional cultures and beliefs. There is reason to believe that transitions from one state to another (from the Chuvash to the Besermian and vice versa) among the population, especially the rural population, took place throughout the entire Bulgar period. It is believed that before the formation of the Kazan Khanate, official Islam did not persecute non-Muslims too much, who, despite the syncretization of traditional beliefs, remained faithful to pre-Muslim canons, social and family life. The complex processes that took place during the period of the Golden Horde left a trace in the religious and ritual practice of the ancient Chuvash. In particular, gods and spirits were reflected in the pantheon in the images of the khans and the officials who served them.

In the Kazan Khanate, the ruling class and the Muslim clergy preached intolerance towards non-believers - the so-called. yasak Chuvash. Hundreds of sickles and tenths of Wunpu princelings, Tarkhans and Chuvash Cossacks, having converted to Islam, fled. Traditions testify that the yasak Chuvash were also forced to accept Islam. The facts of the return to the bosom of the bearers of traditional beliefs are also known. After the capture of Kazan in 1552, when the positions of Islam were greatly weakened, part of the Muslim villagers passed into the "Chuvash" pre-Muslim state. This took place back in the period of the Golden Horde in connection with the strife in the Trans-Kama region, from where the population of the Bulgar ulus (vilayet) went north - to the Order and north-west - to the Volga region, as a result of these migrations there was a break from the Muslim centers. Adherents of non-Muslim beliefs, according to the researchers, made up the majority of the inhabitants of the Order and the Volga region. However, with the strengthening of Islam, starting from the 17th century, in the ethno-contact Chuvash-Tatar zone, there was an overflow of pagans (part or all families) into Islam in the Chuvash villages. This process continued until the middle of the 19th century. (for example, in the village of Artemyevka, Orenburg province).

Until the middle of the 18th century. Adherents of traditional beliefs retained canonized forms, they were subjected to violent acts of baptism on a small scale (the service Chuvash accepted Orthodoxy). The bulk of the Chuvash remained faithful to the pre-Christian religion even after their baptism in 1740. By force, when with the help of soldiers, members of the New Baptism Office drove the villagers to the river, performed the rite of baptism and wrote down their Orthodox names. Under the influence of Orthodoxy, its developed, including rural areas, church organization in the late 18th - first half of the 19th centuries. syncretization of traditional beliefs. For example, the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (Mozhaisk) became revered, which was a rare example of a wooden sculpture of the 16th century (located in the Nikolsky convent), which turned into Mikul Tura and entered the Chuvash pantheon. Chuvash rituals and holidays are approaching Christian ones, but the trend of convergence was not simple and smooth.

During the period of mass forced baptism in the 18th and the first quarter of the 19th centuries, they were subjected to severe destruction. sacred places public prayers and tribal prayers (kiremetey), baptized Chuvash were forbidden to perform traditional customs and rituals in these places. Often churches and chapels were erected here. Violent actions, spiritual aggression of Orthodox missionaries caused protests and mass movements in defense of folk beliefs, rituals and customs, and in general - original culture. Erected Orthodox churches, chapels, monasteries were poorly visited (although many chapels arose on the site of ancient sanctuaries in different areas of the Chuvash settlement), with the exception of a few well-known churches, including Ishakovskaya (Cheboksary region), which became multi-ethnic and interregional.

In the middle of the 19th century, the Kazan province remained near them, according to official statistics, there were much more. In fact, judging by the data of 1897, 11 thousand "pure pagans" lived in the right-bank districts of the Kazan province. As a transitional state in religious terms, the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries is characterized. This period is associated with the introduction of N.I. Ilminsky, Christian and educational activities of I.Ya. Yakovlev and the Chuvash Orthodox missionaries, young people were drawn to Orthodoxy through education, as a result of which the process of Christianization of the Chuvash people accelerated. The victory of Orthodoxy over ethnic religions was also accelerated by bourgeois reforms. Orthodox figures of this period, on the whole, respected the Chuvash traditions and mentality, enjoyed the trust of the masses. Orthodoxy on Chuvash soil was consolidated rapidly, albeit on a syncretic basis.

During the 20th century, the number of adherents of the Chuvash beliefs who did not accept baptism (they call themselves chan chavash - "true Chuvash") gradually decreased, because the generation of people of the Soviet era grew up outside the religious soil. However, in peasant environment thanks to the stability of folk ritual culture, which Soviet rituals and holidays could not supplant, an ethno-confessional community was preserved, localized mainly outside the Chuvash Republic in multinational regions - in the Ulyanovsk, Orenburg, Samara regions, Tatarstan and Bashkortostan. Due to the lack of statistical data, one can only speak about the number of Chuvashs of this group - it is several thousand people, but not less than 10 thousand, and two-thirds of them live in Zakamye, especially in the Bolshoy Cheremshan and Sok basins.

At the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, the tendency of "pagans" to convert to Orthodoxy intensified, in particular, in families where spouses belong to different confessions.

The Orthodox religion, which has established itself as the official religion among the Chuvash, has absorbed significant elements of traditional beliefs that are associated with folk customs and rituals, the ritual calendar, and the names of religious holidays. The term Tura denoted the Chuvash supreme heavenly god, and later - Jesus Christ. The Chuvash also call Christ turash, as well as images of other Christian gods and saints. This is due to the consolidation of the veneration of icons as gods (turash - "icon"). In the 20th century, it was common to refer to the icon and pagan gods simultaneously. During this century, despite atheistic propaganda Soviet era, functioned, and in many cases actively existed folk (nevertheless real Chuvash, associated with beliefs) religious rites and holidays, primarily associated with the cult of ancestors and production rituals - this is the first pasture of cattle, the rites of consecration of the new harvest chukleme and others. The traditional Chuvash holidays of the winter, spring, summer and autumn cycles coincided or merged with the Christian ones: Kasharni - Epiphany, Mankun - Easter, Kalam - with Holy Week and Lazarus Saturday, Virem - with Palm Sunday, Simek - with the Trinity, Sinse - with Spiritual Day, Kerr Sari - with patronal holidays.

The traditional beliefs of the Chuvash, as noted above, have become the object of attention of researchers, missionaries, and everyday writers since the 18th century. And even then, a pronounced dualism with a sharp distinction between the good and evil principles of their religion served as the basis for its classification as a branch of Zoroastrianism. In the Chuvash pantheon and the pre-Christian concept of the consciousness of the world and the creation of man, researchers find similarities with ancient Iranian mythology. For example, the following names of the Chuvash gods echo the pantheon of the Indo-Iranian circle: Ama, Amu, Tura, Asha, Pulekh, Pikhampar. Yanavar.

The beliefs of the Chuvash associated with fire worship, cosmogonic ideas, the multiplicity of gods of the hearth and nature, rituals in honor of ancestors, the construction of anthropomorphic stone and wooden monuments gave rise to researchers back in the 19th century to conclude that the Chuvash adhered to the teachings of Zoroastrianism.

At the head of the Chuvash pantheon, complex in its structure, stands the supreme heavenly god Sulti Tura, who rules the whole world, acts as the main person of religious worship and faith. This main character of the Chuvash religion coincides with the riding gods of many Indo-European, Turkic and Finno-Ugric peoples, including etymology, functions and other parameters.

In a solemn form, a thanksgiving sacrifice was made to the god Tura during public ceremonies, the family and clan rite of chukleme, when new bread was baked in his honor from the new crop and beer was brewed. Tura was addressed in many ceremonies, including public, family and individual ones, the prayer was specific in each case.

In a solemn form, thanksgiving was performed to the god of Tur.

What is the Chuvash folk religion? Under the Chuvash folk religion the pre-Orthodox Chuvash faith is understood. But there is no clear understanding of this belief. Just as the Chuvash people are not homogeneous, the Chuvash pre-Orthodox religion is also heterogeneous. Part of the Chuvash believed in Thor and now believe. This is a monotheistic faith. There is only one Torah, but in the belief of the Torah there is Keremet. Keremet is a relic of a pagan religion. The same pagan relic in the Christian world as the celebration of the new year and Shrovetide. For the Chuvash, keremet was not a god, but an image of evil and dark forces, to which they made sacrifices so that they would not touch people. Keremet in literal translation means belief in (god) Ker . Ker (name of god) has (faith, dream).

World structure

Chuvash paganism is characterized by a multi-tiered view of the world. The world consisted of three parts: the upper world, our world and the lower world. And there were only seven layers in the world. Three layers in the upper, one in ours, and three more in the lower worlds.

In the Chuvash structure of the universe, a common Turkic division into aboveground and underground tiers can be traced. In one of the heavenly tiers lives the chief Pireshti<#"center">2.2 Chuvash gods and spirits

In Chuvash mythology according to V.K. Magnitsky<#"center">Conclusion

A person initially experiences a spiritual need to have a holistic view of the world. The problem of the origin of philosophy, its separation from myth and its transformation into an independent sphere of spiritual life is among the most important philosophical problems.

The theme of my research is "Ancient Chuvash gods and the cult of ancestors". Why did we choose this topic? The choice of our topic is not accidental. Last year marked the 140th anniversary of the birth of Nikolai Ivanovich Ashmarin, an outstanding Turkologist and linguist, the founder of modern scientific linguistics, the author of the 17-volume Dictionary of the Chuvash Language, which also reflects the religion, beliefs, mythology, rituals of the Chuvash people.

The understanding of culture as a set of traditions, customs of a particular people in the process of development turns into an understanding of it as a system of patterns, paradigms of activity hidden in the life of a people. There is an urgent need to identify these hidden worldview constants and determine the forms of their awareness by the people. Of particular importance today is the problem of preserving and increasing ethnic values ​​in order to properly regulate the activities and behavior of members of society. Acquaintance with mythology, traditions and rituals allows you to attach the spiritual values ​​​​of the Chuvash to the system universal values, makes it possible to understand the vision of the world by our ancestors and determine the prospects for the development of national culture.

The purpose of the work is to study the Chuvash world outlook and the formation of their philosophical culture on the basis of N.I. Ashmarin. Who did the ancient Chuvash consider their gods, and where have these customs been preserved to this day?

Notes

Kudryashov G.E. Dynamics of polysyncretic religiosity. Cheboksary, 1974, pp. 38, 333; Dimitriev V.D. M.P. Petrov: life and scientific activity// Historical and ethnographic research in the Chuvash ASSR. Cheboksary, 1990. S. 8-10; Koblov Ya.D. About the Tatarization of foreigners of the Volga region. Kazan, 1910; Mozharovsky A.F. Statement of the course of missionary work on the enlightenment of Kazan foreigners from 1552 to 1867. M., 1880; Runovsky N. Essays on the history of enlightenment of foreigners of the Volga-Kama region in connection with the history of translations into their languages ​​until the first half of the 19th century // Simbirsk Diocesan Gazette. 1901. No. 2, 4, 7; He, Office of Newly Baptized Affairs // Simbirsk Diocesan Gazette. 1903. No. 11; Chicherina S.V. Among the Volga foreigners. Travel notes. St. Petersburg, 1905; Prokofiev K. On the history of enlightenment of foreigners of the Kazan region in the XVIII century. // Simbirsk Diocesan Gazette. 1905. No. 2.

Morozov I.L. The economy of the Tatar post-reform village and the mass movement of the Tatar peasantry in the 50-70s. 19th century // Materials on the history of Tataria in the second half of the XIX century. M.; L., 1936; Grigoriev A.N. Christianization of non-Russian nationalities as one of the methods of the national-colonial policy of tsarism in Tataria (from the half of the 16th century to February 1917) // Materials on the history of Tataria. Kazan, 1948. Issue 1; Chernyshev E.I. Tataria in the period of the decomposition of serfdom // Materials on the history of Tataria. Kazan, 1948. Issue 1; Gritsenko N.G. Specific peasants of the Middle Volga region. - Terrible. 1959; Denisov P.V. Religious beliefs Chuvash. Historical and ethnographic essays. - Cheboksary. 1959; Smykov Yu.I. Peasants of the Middle Volga region in the struggle for land and freedom. Kazan. 1973; Dimitriev V.D. Chuvashia in the era of feudalism. Cheboksary, 1986.

Kakhovsky V.F. Ethnogenesis of the peoples of the Middle Volga region and religious syncretism // Problems of the development of atheism in modern conditions. Cheboksary, 1973; Kudryashov G.E. Dynamics of polysyncretic religiosity. Cheboksary, 1974; Dimitriev V.D. The spread of Christianity and the Chuvash masses in the period of feudalism // Problems of religious syncretism and the development of atheism in the Chuvash ASSR. Cheboksary, 1978. Issue 86; Kakhovsky V.F. Ethnogenesis of the Chuvash people and religious syncretism // Problems of religious syncretism and the development of atheism in the Chuvash ASSR. Cheboksary, 1978. Issue 1; Denisov P.V. The manifestation of pagan-Orthodox syncretism in the religious beliefs of the Chuvash peasantry in the late XIX - early XX century // Problems of religious syncretism and the development of atheism in the Chuvash ASSR. Cheboksary, 1978. Issue 86; Kudryashov G.E. Ethnospecificity of everyday religiosity // Problems of religious syncretism and the development of atheism in the Chuvash ASSR. - Cheboksary, 1978. Issue 86.

Dimitriev V.D. On the dynamics of the Tatar and Chuvash population of the Kazan province in the late 18th - early 20th centuries // Uchenye zapiski ChNII. Cheboksary, 1969. Issue 47. S. 242-246; Kakhovsky V.F. The ethnonym "Chuvash" in written sources // Actual problems archeology and ethnography of the Chuvash ASSR. Cheboksary, 1982, pp. 75-94.

Iskhakov D.M. Settlement and number of Tatars in the Volga-Urals historical and ethnographic region in the XVIII-XIX centuries. // Soviet ethnography. 1980. No. 4. S. 25-39; He, O ethnic situation in the Middle Volga region in the XVI-XVII centuries. (a critical review of hypotheses about the "yasak" Chuvashs of the Kazan region) // Soviet ethnography. 1988. No. 5. S. 141-146.

Kabuzan V.M. The peoples of Russia in the XVIII century. Number and ethnic composition. M., 1990; He, The peoples of Russia in the first half of the XIX century. M., 1992.

Taimasov L.A. Christianization of the Chuvash people in the first half of the 19th century. Cheboksary, 1992.

Chicherina S.V. Among the Volga foreigners. Travel notes. St. Petersburg, 1905; Gritsenko N.G. Specific peasants of the Middle Volga region. - Terrible. 1959.

Denisov P.V. Religious beliefs of the Chuvash. Historical and ethnographic essays. Cheboksary, 1959, pp. 63-64, 66-67, 75-77; Kakhovsky V.F. Ethnogenesis of the peoples of the Middle Volga region and religious syncretism // Problems of the development of atheism in modern conditions. Cheboksary, 1973, p. 34; Kudryashov G.E. Dynamics of polysyncretic religiosity. Cheboksary, 1974. S. 40, 64-65, 195; Dimitriev V.D. The spread of Christianity and the Chuvash masses in the period of feudalism // Problems of religious syncretism and the development of atheism in the Chuvash ASSR. Cheboksary, 1978. Issue 86. P. 82; Mikhailov E.P. Golden Horde and Kazan-Khan periods in the history of Chuvashia according to archaeological data // Research on the history of Chuvashia during the period of feudalism. Cheboksary, 1986, pp. 17-18. In these works, the forcible imposition of Islam in the 10th-16th centuries is noted. among the peoples of the Middle Volga region, carried out by the authorities of the Volga Bulgaria, the Golden Horde and the Kazan Khanate. But there is also an opposite opinion expressed by M.G. Khudyakov. He believed that complete religious tolerance was maintained in the Kazan Khanate in accordance with the commercial nature of the urban population and the traditions of the Volga Bulgaria, and missionary preaching was carried out peacefully (Khudyakov M.G. Essays on the history of the Kazan Khanate. - Kazan, 1990. S. 197-198); Zakiev M.Z., Kuzmin-Yumanadi Ya.F. Volga Bulgars and their descendants. Kazan, 1993. S. 21-28.

Kakhovsky V.F. Ethnogenesis of the Chuvash people and religious syncretism // Problems of religious syncretism and the development of atheism in the Chuvash ASSR. Cheboksary, 1978. Issue 1. S. 62-63; History of the Chuvash ASSR. Cheboksary, 1983, vol. 1, p. 57; Taimasov L.A. Christianization of the Chuvash people in the first half of the 19th century. - Cheboksary, 1992, p. 86

Iskhakov D.M. Molkeevsky Kryashens: the problem of formation and demographic development in the 18th - early 20th centuries. // Molkeyevsky Kryashens. Kazan, 1993. S. 4-25.

Kabuzan V.M. The peoples of Russia in the first half of the XIX century. M., 1992. S. 197; Kabuzan V.M. The peoples of Russia in the XVIII century. Number and ethnic composition. M., 1990. S. 142; Mozharovsky A.F. Presentation of the course of missionary work and education in the Kazan region from 1552 to 1867. M., 1880. S. 89. In addition, according to V.F. Kakhovsky and V.D. Dimitriev, in the XVI-XVII centuries. hundreds of Chuvash villages in the Kazan and Sviyazhsk districts were assimilated by the Tatars (Dimitriev V.D. On the dynamics of the Tatar and Chuvash population of the Kazan province in the late 18th - early 20th centuries // Scientific notes of the ChNII. Cheboksary, 1969. Issue 47. P. 242-246; Kakhovskiy V.F. The ethnonym "Chuvash" in writing sources // Actual problems of archeology and ethnography of the Chuvash ASSR, Cheboksary, 1982, pp. 75-94). At the same time, D.M. Iskhakov believes that the state of Russian-language sources of the XVI-XVII centuries. according to the Sviyazhsky district does not allow one to unambiguously distinguish "the Chuvash proper from those groups that were called Chuvash until the middle of the 17th century, and later became known as Tatars." As for the Kazan uyezd, the earlier hypotheses about ethnic background"yasak Chuvashs" (1. "yasak Chuvashs" of the Kazan district - these are the Chuvashs proper, 2. Tatars, 3. groups of the Bulgar population, in whose language the Kipchak elements did not win a final victory, and 4. southern Udmurts) are not sufficiently argued (Iskhakov D.M. About the ethnic situation in the Middle Volga region in the XVI-XVII centuries. // Soviet ethnography. 1988. No. 5. S. 141-146). Therefore, the issue of large-scale assimilation of the Chuvash by the Tatars during the indicated period in this territory remains controversial.

Kirillov R.S. Missionary activity of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Middle Volga region in the second half of the 19th century // History of the Christianization of the peoples of the Volga region. Critical judgments and evaluations. Interuniversity collection of scientific papers. Cheboksary, 1989, p. 60; Denisov P.V. Religious beliefs of the Chuvash. Historical and ethnographic essays. Cheboksary, 1959, p. 238; Taimasov L.A. Christianization of the Chuvash people in the first half of the 19th century. Cheboksary, 1992, p. 86; Dimitriev V.D. Chuvashia in the era of feudalism. Cheboksary, 1986. P. 133.

There is an opinion that it was at this time that the Muslimization of the Chuvash reached its culmination (Kudryashov G.E. Dynamics of polysyncretic religiosity. Cheboksary, 1974, p. 74).

GAUO (State archive of the Ulyanovsk region), f. 318, op. 3, d. 230, l. 6-6 rev., 10, 11 rev.

There, l. 10 rev., 20, 24-24 rev.

There, l. 6-6 rev., 43-45.

There, l. 12, 19-20.

There, l. 6-6 rev., 11.

There, l. 1

There, l. 89.

There, op. 1, d. 1082, l. 218 rev.

There, l. 218 rev.

There, l. 95.

There, l. 177-179, 183-186, 189-191v.; house 1083, l. 10-10 vol.

Ibid., d. 1082, l. 213-213 revs, 264-264 revs, 289-289 revs

Ibid. 1083, l. 286-286 rev.

There, l. 179, 182, 209-209 rev., 212.

There, l. 215 rev. - 217 rpm, 290-292 rpm

Ibid., d. 1083, l. 1-1 vol.

There, l. 79.

There, l. 79 vol.

There, l. 79 vol. - 80.

There, l. 81 vol.; house 1082, l. 192.

Ibid., d. 1083, l. 10-10 vol., 63 rev.; house 1082, l. 289-289 rev.

There, l. 183-186, 189-191 rev.

There, l. 215 rev. - 217 about.

Cit. Quoted from: Kudryashov G.E. Dynamics of polysyncretic religiosity. Cheboksary, 1974, p. 73.

GAUO, f. 318, op. 1, d. 1082, l. 213-213 rev., 264-264 rev., 289-289 rev.; house 1083, l. 10-10 vol.

There, f. 76, op. 1, d. 22, l. 16-17.

Baptized names are given in parentheses.

There, l. 15-15 about.

There, l. 9-10.

Chicherina S.V. Among the Volga foreigners. Travel notes. SPb. 1905. S. 142.

GAUO, f. 134, op. 7, d. 149, l. 24-24 rev.

Ibid., d. 70, l. 9-10.

There, l. 23 vol.

Ibid., d. 302, l. 3; f. 108, op. 1, d. 50, l. 119-119 rev.

There, f. 134, op. 7, d. 302, l. 3-4 vol.

There, f. 108, op. 50, d. 10, l. 3, 14-14 rev.

There, l. 14 vol. - 15 about.

There, l. 18 vol. - 20 vol.

There, l. 19-19 rev.

There, f. 134, op. 7, d. 70, l. 6.

There, f. 108, op. 50, d. 10, l. 18-18 about.

Chicherina S.V. Decree. op. pp. 335, 382; Attitude of the Inspector of the Chuvash schools of the Kazan educational district No. 209 of September 17, 1877 // Journals of the regular and emergency Simbirsk district zemstvo meetings. Simbirsk, 1877, p. 16; GAUO, f. 134, op. 7, d. 578, l. 121-121 about .; d. 839, l. 34.

Chicherina S.V. Decree. op. pp. 380, 142-144.

GAUO, f. 99, op. 1, d. 308, l. 1-3.

Prozorov S.L. Features of adaptation of the Chuvash in the conditions of a Russian city (on the example of Simbirsk in the 19th - early 20th centuries) // Historical and ethnographic studies of the Simbirsk Volga region: a collection of scientific articles. Ulyanovsk, 2002, p. 64.

The attitude of the Inspector of the Chuvash schools of the Kazan educational district No. 209 of September 17, 1877 // Journals of the regular and emergency Simbirsk district zemstvo meetings. Simbirsk, 1877. S. 17-18.

Chicherina S.V. Decree. op. S. 142.

GAUO, f. 134, op. 7, d. 839, l. 7, 28-28 rev., 32, 32 rev., 33, 54-54 rev., 35 rev., 52.

There, l. 28-29, 52; d. 625, l. 7-7 rev., 10-11 rev.; f. 76, op. 7, d. 1142, l. 19-20 vol.; Chicherina S.V. Decree. op. S. 142.

GAUO, f. 134, op. 7, d. 578, l. 14, 16, 20, 24, 27-28, 35-36, 9-10, 51-54, 95v, 116-123, 124-125v, 127-128, 5v - 6, 97 rev., 113-133 rev.; d. 577, l. 15-18, 66-70.

Ibid., d. 578, l. 17, 33, 37, 59-60, 98-101, 128-144 revs; d. 577, l. 53-62, 101-116.

There, f. 88, op. 4, units ridge 209, l. 108.

GAUO, f. 88, op. 1, d. 1457, l. 1, 6-11; file 1459, l. 1, 3, 8, 12; file 1460, l. 1-1 rev., 3-4, 12 rev. - 13; op. 4, d. 209, l. 101-102.

Ibid., d. 1460, l. 7-7 revs, 25-27 revs, 30-36, 38 revs, 42, 46-47, 53, 58-58 revs, 62.

There, f. 1, op. 88, d. 2, l. 18, 28, 30-31 revs; op. 93, d. 86, l. 4-4 revs, 37-37 revs; f. 88, op. 1, d. 1460, l. 34-36.; D. 1930, l. 27-27 rev., 40, 52-52 rev., 81-81 rev., 102-102 rev., 111 rev.; f. 108, op. 39, d. 25, l. 17.

There, f. 1, op. 93, d. 86, l. 18; f. 88, op. 1, d. 1930, l. , l. 16-16 rev., 27-27 rev., 37-38, 40, 48, 72, 114, 118.

There, f. 88, op. 1, d. 1457, l. 6-8; D. 1930, l. 102-102 about.

There, f. 88, op. 1, d. 1361, l. 15, 18, 20 revs, 38-40; file 1416, l. 4, 8-11; f. 134, op. 7, d. 70, l. 6-8 vol.; d. 149, l. 1, 112-113 rev.; d. 577, l. 15-18, 66-70; d. 578, l. 5 vol. - 6, 118-123 revs, 126-127 revs, 133-133 revs; d. 807, l. 26, 34-40, 85, 104-105, 137-143, 189, 258-259; d. 816, l. 40-42, 47-51; f. 318, op. 1, d. 1082, l. 164-164 rev., 180 rev. - 181 about.

GAUO, f. 1, op. 93, d. 86, l. 34, 45, 34-34 revs; f. 88, op. 1, d. 1361, l. 38-40; file 1416, l. 8-10; file 1457, l. 9; file 1459, l. 1; file 1460, l. 3-4, 11-11 rev., 12, 31-32; D. 1930, l. 56-56 rev., 64-71; f. 134, op. 7, d. 807, l. 104-105, 258-259; d. 816, l. 40-42, 47-51, 32.

The most important statistical information about the foreigners of Eastern Russia and Western Siberia, influenced Islam. Kazan, 1912. S. 62.

GAUO, f. 76, op. 7, d. 1142, l. 34.

There, l. 33-33 rev.

There, f. 88, op. 1, d. 1457, l. 6-8.

Kudryashov G.E. Dynamics of polysyncretic religiosity. Cheboksary, 1974. S. 279.

GAUO, f. 1, op. 93, d. 86, l. 45.

There, f. 76, op. 7, d. 1142, l. 15-15 about.

There, l. 21-21 rev.

There, l. 17-18 rev., 33 rev., 34 rev.

There, f. 1, op. 88, d. 1, l. 2v., 34-37, 41.

There, l. 9 rev., 58 rev., 59-61 rev., 56, 63.

Bibliography

1.Chuvash: ethnic history and traditional culture / Afthors-comp.: V.P. Ivanov, V.V. Nikolaev, V.D. Dimitriev. M.: Publishing house DIK, 2000.96 p.: ill., maps.)

2.For the preparation of this work, materials from the site http://www.chuvsu.ru were used.

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IN different time scientists put forward various theories of the origin of the Chuvash - either from the Khazars (A. A. Fuks, P. Hunfalvi), then from the Burtases (A. F. Rittikh, V, A. Sboev), then from the Huns (V. V. Bartold), then from the Finno-Ugric peoples (N. M. Karamzin, I. A-Firsov), then from the ancient Avars (M. G. Khudyakov), then from the Volga Bulgarians (V. N. Tatishchev, N. I. Ashmarin, 3. Gombots), then from the Sumerians (N. Ya. Marr), etc. In total, they boil down to the following concepts:

1) the basis of the Chuvash people (ethnos) is the local Finno-Ugric (Mari) population, which has experienced a strong cultural and especially linguistic influence from the alien Turkic-speaking Bulgarian-Suvar tribes;

2) as an ethnic group, the Chuvashs were formed mainly on the basis of the pre-Bulgarian Turks, who allegedly penetrated in large masses into the Middle Volga region until the 6th century. n. e., that is, before the appearance of the Bulgarians and Suvars here;

3) The so-called Kazan school. Some Kazan researchers are searching for evidence of the hypothesis about the beginning of the formation of the Chuvash ethnos on the basis of Turkic-speaking tribes that penetrated the region allegedly as early as the 2nd-3rd centuries. n. e. She claimed that the ancestors of the Chuvash appeared earlier than the Volga Bulgarians.

The first of these concepts ("autochthonous theory") did not withstand criticism and is not supported by anyone now, since its supporters ignored the role of the Turkic-speaking tribes - one of the main ethnic components of the Chuvash - and in their studies were limited to the territory of the Chuvash region and the later stages of ethnic history.

As for the second concept, it has been actively developed only in the last twenty years. A number of prominent scientists (R. G. Kuzeev, V. A. Ivanov and others) attribute the time of the mass penetration of the Turks into the Volga-Ural region to the last centuries of the 1st millennium AD. e. and they attribute this precisely to the migration of the Bulgarian tribes from the North Caucasus and the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov. At the same time, one of the convincing evidence of the late migration of the Turks to the Middle Volga region is the weak and indistinct allocation of ethnic groups among the newcomer Turks compared to the neighboring Finno-Ugric peoples. The ethnic differentiation of the Chuvash, Tatars, Bashkirs - that is, those peoples who were closely connected with the Volga Bulgarians in their history, into independent peoples, ended relatively late, only in the 13th-16th centuries.

The question arises, in what exactly is the Bulgarian heritage found among the Chuvash? The most fundamental argument is language, for Chuvash is the only surviving language of the Bulgarian branch. It differs from all other Turkic languages ​​in that the sound "z" in them in the Chuvash language corresponds to the sound "r" (the so-called rotacism), and the sound "sh" corresponds to the sound "l" (lambdaism). Rotacism and lambdaism are also characteristic of the Bulgarian language. For example, Chuv. dick "girl" - common Turkic. kyz; Chuv. hel "winter" - common Turkic. -shoo, etc.

In the development of the Bulgarian theory of the origin of the Chuvash, a huge role was played by the discovery of Chuvash words in the texts of the Volga-Bulgarian tomb inscriptions of the 13th-16th centuries, made in the 19th century. Kazan researcher X. Feyzhanov, and the discovery of elements of the Chuvash type language in the ancient Slavic-Bulgarian source - "Name Book of the Bulgarian Princes". Numerous archaeological studies also testify to the similarity of the economy, life and culture of the Chuvash and Bulgarians. The former inherited from their rural ancestors the types of dwellings, the layout of the estate, the location of the house inside the estate with a blank wall facing the street, a rope ornament for decorating gate posts, etc. According to experts, white women's clothing, headdresses (tukhya, khushpu, surban), jewelry (bald, headdresses), which were common among the Chuvash until recently, were common among the Bulgarians, including the Danube. In the pre-Christian religion of the Chuvash, constituting the most important part of the ethnic specificity of spiritual culture, the Old Bulgarian pagan cults were traditionally and steadfastly preserved, containing some features of Zoroastrianism - the religion of the ancient ethnic groups of Iran and Central Asia.

The concept of the Bulgarian-Chuvash ethnic continuity is believed to be confirmed, further developed and concretized in modern research on archeology, ethnography, linguistics, folklore and art of the peoples of the region. To date, significant material has been accumulated and partially published, characterizing the main stages of the ethnogenesis and ethnic history of the Chuvash people. Of great value are the works of V. F. Kakhovsky, V. D. Dimitriev, M. F. Fedotov and A. A. Trofimov, in which, unlike some other works, the problems of Chuvash history, culture and language are considered taking into account many factors. In recent decades, major studies of Chuvash scientists have appeared on various aspects of the traditional culture of the people, economic activity, social and family life, features of folk knowledge and philosophy, artistic creativity, and modern social and ethnic processes.

The ancestors of the Bulgarian tribes, like all the Turks, came from Central Asia. On this vast territory since the 3rd millennium BC. e. ancient ancestors were widely settled Turkic-speaking peoples- Huns. Mongolian, Tungus-Manchurian, Finno-Ugric, Indo-European tribes also lived in the neighborhood, which in the III-II centuries BC. e. were conquered by the Huns. The Huns were under the strong linguistic and cultural influence of China. Some scholars consider the Chuvash language of Unity to be a remnant of the language of the ancient Huns. The closest ethnic group from which the Bulgarians emerged are the Oguro-Onogurs, who lived along the northern islands of the Tien Shan and in the upper reaches of the Irtysh. The area of ​​formation of the Sabirs (Suvars) also lay in the Irtysh regions. The time of the arrival of the ancestors of the Bulgarian and Suvar tribes in Central Asia was imprinted so clearly that it is no less reflected in culture, especially in the Chuvash language. The Chuvashs have a number of stable parallels with the Turkic peoples of Altai and Southern Siberia, in particular the Khakass, Uighurs, Shors, Tuvans, and Altaians. It manifests itself in the commonality of elements of utensils, dwellings, ornaments, etc. In addition, the main elements ancient religion Sayano-Altai Turks are manifested in the complex of the pagan cult of the Chuvash. The Chuvash language has preserved the oldest words used in the era of weak isolation of the Turkic and Mongolian languages.

Sources

The main sources of information on Chuvash mythology and religion are the records of such scientists as V. A. Sboev, V. K. Magnitsky, N. I. Zolotnitsky and others. An important source of information about the traditional beliefs of the Chuvash was the book published in 1908 by the Hungarian researcher D. Meszaros "Monuments of the old Chuvash faith."

Paganism survived in its integrity only very sporadically. A pagan village is a rare occurrence. Despite this, last summer I managed to visit one such primordially pagan area for a long time.<…>And in other parts, where the Christian faith is already professed, the memory of the pagan era is alive, mainly in the mouths of the old people, who themselves, 40-50 years ago, also made sacrifices to the ancient Chuvash gods.

At the end of the XX century. a large array of Chuvash myths was processed when compiling the Chuvash epic Ulyp.

world creation

According to legend, the world was created by the god Tura, "but now no one knows how he created it." At first, there was only one language and one faith on earth. Then 77 different peoples, 77 different languages ​​and 77 different faiths appeared on earth.

World structure

"Chuvash world" (drawing by Vladimir Galoshev)

Chuvash paganism is characterized by a multi-tiered view of the world. The world consisted of three parts and seven layers: a three-layer upper world, one-layer our world and a three-layer lower world.

In the Chuvash structure of the universe, a common Turkic division into aboveground and underground tiers can be traced. In one of the celestial tiers, the chief pireshti Kebe lives, who transmits the prayers of people to the god Tură, who lives in the uppermost tier. In the above-ground tiers there are also luminaries - the moon is lower, the sun is higher.

The first aboveground tier is located between the earth and the clouds. Previously, the upper bound was much lower ( "At the height of the windmills"), but the clouds rose higher as people got worse. In contrast to the underground tiers, the surface of the earth - the world of people - is called the "upper world" ( Çỹlti çantalăk). The shape of the earth is quadrangular; in conspiracies, the “four-cornered bright world” is often mentioned ( Tăvat kĕteslĕ çut çantalăk).

The earth was square. It was inhabited by different peoples. The Chuvash believed that their people lived in the middle of the earth. The sacred tree, the tree of life, which the Chuvash worshiped, supported the firmament in the middle. On the four sides, along the edges of the earthly square, the firmament was supported by four pillars: gold, silver, copper, stone. At the top of the pillars there were nests, in them there were three eggs, on the eggs - ducks.

Gods and spirits

There are several opinions about the number of gods. According to one opinion, there is only one god - the Supreme God (Ҫӳlti Tură), and the rest only serve him and are spirits. Others consider the Chuvash faith to be polytheistic.

• Albasta - an evil creature in the form of a woman with four breasts
• Arzyuri - spirit, master of the forest, goblin
• Vubar - an evil spirit, sent diseases, attacked a sleeping person
• Vite husi - the owner of the barn
• Woodash - an evil spirit that lives in water
• Iye - a spirit that lives in baths, mills, abandoned houses, barns, etc.
• Irih - the deity-guardian of the hearth; a spirit that can send people sick
• Kele is an evil spirit.
• Vupkan - an evil spirit that sends diseases, invisible or in the form of a dog.
• Kharle shchyr - a kind spirit living in heaven
• Esrel - spirit of death

Mythical creatures

Heroes

Yramas

mythical places

• Mount Aramazi, to which the Chuvash forefather Ulyp was chained.
• Mount Aratan - the mountain of the underworld. The mountain of the same name is located in the Shemurshinsky district on the territory of the Chavash Varmane National Park.
• yrsamai (kiremet) Valem Khuzya. The state kiremet of the Silver Bulgars in the capital of the Bulgars Pyuler (Bilyar).
• Setle-kul - according to a number of myths, a milky lake, on the banks of which the descendants of the last Kazan Khan live.

Relationship with other religions

The mythology and religion of the Chuvash inherited many features from common Turkic beliefs. However, they have gone much further from the common root than the beliefs of other Turkic peoples. The monotheistic nature of the Chuvash faith is sometimes explained by the strong influence of Islam. Many religious terms are Islamic (Arabic and Persian) in origin. The traditions of Islam affected the prayer, funeral and other customs of the Chuvash. Later, the Chuvash faith experienced no less strong influence from Christianity. Today, among the Chuvash living in rural areas, religious syncretism is quite widespread, where Christian traditions are closely intertwined with "pagan" (ancient Chuvash religion).

see also

Literature

• Meszaros D. Monuments of the old Chuvash faith / Per. from Hung. - Cheboksary: ​​ChGIGN, 2000. - 360 p. - ISBN 5-87677-017-5.
• Magnitsky V.K. Materials for the explanation of the old Chuvash faith. Kazan, 1881;
• Denisov P.V. Religious beliefs of the Chuvash (historical and ethnographic essays). - Cheboksary: ​​Chuvash State Publishing House, 1959. - 408 p.
• Trofimov A. A. Chuvash folk cult sculpture. Ch., 1993;

And behavior. The Chuvash live in the center of the European part of Russia. The characteristic traits of character are inextricably linked with the traditions of these amazing people.

The origins of the people

At a distance of about 600 kilometers from Moscow is the city of Cheboksary, the center Chuvash Republic. Representatives of a colorful ethnic group live on this land.

There are many versions about the origin of this people. It is most likely that the ancestors were Turkic-speaking tribes. These people began migrating west as early as the 2nd century BC. e. Seeking a better life, they came to the modern territories of the republic as early as the 7th-8th centuries and three hundred years later created a state that was known as the Volga Bulgaria. This is where the Chuvash came from. The history of the people could be different, but in 1236 the Mongol-Tatars defeated the state. Some people fled from the conquerors to the northern lands.

The name of this people is translated from Kyrgyz as "modest", according to the old Tatar dialect - "peaceful". Modern dictionaries claim that the Chuvash are "quiet", "harmless". The name was first mentioned in 1509.

Religious preferences

The culture of this people is unique. Until now, elements of Western Asia can be traced in the rites. The style was also influenced by close communication with Iranian-speaking neighbors (Scythians, Sarmatians, Alans). Not only life and household, but also the manner of dressing was adopted by the Chuvash. Appearance, features of the costume, character and even their religion are received from their neighbors. So, even before joining Russian state these people were pagans. The supreme god was called Tura. Later, other faiths began to penetrate the colony, in particular Christianity and Islam. Jesus was worshiped by those who lived on the lands of the republic. Allah became the head of those who lived outside the region. In the course of events, the bearers of Islam became Tatars. Nevertheless, today most of the representatives of this people profess Orthodoxy. But the spirit of paganism is still felt.

Merging two types

Various groups influenced the appearance of the Chuvash. Most of all - the Mongoloid and Caucasoid races. That is why almost all representatives of this people can be divided into fair-haired Finnish and representatives of the dark Blond. Fair hair, gray eyes, pallor, a wide oval face and a small nose are inherent, the skin is often covered with freckles. At the same time, they look somewhat darker than Europeans. Curls of brunettes often curl, eyes are dark brown in color, narrow in shape. They have poorly defined cheekbones, a depressed nose and a yellow skin type. It is worth noting here that their features are softer than those of the Mongols.

Chuvash differ from neighboring groups. Characteristic for both types - a small oval of the head, the bridge of the nose is low, the eyes are narrowed, a small neat mouth. Growth is average, not prone to fullness.

Everyday look

Each nationality is a unique system of customs, traditions and beliefs. It was no exception, and since ancient times, these people in every house made their own cloth and canvas. Clothes were made from these materials. Men were supposed to wear a linen shirt and trousers. If it became cool, a caftan and a sheepskin coat were added to their image. They had Chuvash patterns inherent only to themselves. The woman's appearance was successfully emphasized by unusual ornaments. All things were embroidered, including the wedged shirts worn by the ladies. Later, stripes and checks became fashionable.

Each branch of this group had and has its own preferences for the color of clothing. So, the south of the republic has always preferred saturated shades, and northwestern fashionistas have loved light fabrics. In the dress of each woman there were wide Tatar trousers. An obligatory element is an apron with a bib. It was especially elaborately decorated.

In general, the appearance of the Chuvash is very interesting. The description of the headgear should be highlighted in a separate section.

Status determined by helmet

Not a single representative of the people could walk with his head uncovered. Thus, a separate trend in the direction of fashion arose. With special imagination and passion, they decorated such things as tukhya and khushpu. The first was worn on the head by unmarried girls, the second was only for family women.

At first, the hat served as a talisman, a talisman against misfortune. Such an amulet was treated with special respect, decorated with expensive beads and coins. Later, such an object not only adorned the appearance of the Chuvash, he began to talk about the social and marital status of a woman.

Many researchers believe that the shape of the headdress resembles others. Others give a direct link to understanding the design of the universe. Indeed, according to the ideas of this group, the earth had a quadrangular shape, and in the middle stood the tree of life. The symbol of the latter was a bulge in the center, which distinguished a married woman from a girl. Tukhya was a pointed conical shape, khushpu was rounded.

Coins were chosen with particular care. They were meant to be melodic. Those that hung from the edges hit each other and rang. Such sounds scared away evil spirits - the Chuvash believed in it. The appearance and character of the people are in a direct relationship.

Ornament Code

The Chuvash are famous not only for soulful songs, but also for embroidery. Mastery grew with generations and was inherited from mother to daughter. It is in the ornaments that one can read the history of a person, his belonging to a separate group.

Home embroidery - clear geometry. Fabric must be white or gray color. It is interesting that the girls' clothes were decorated only before the wedding. In family life, there was not enough time for this. Therefore, what they did in their youth was worn for the rest of their lives.

Embroidery on clothes complemented the appearance of the Chuvash. It encoded information about the creation of the world. So, they symbolically depicted the tree of life and eight-pointed stars, rosettes or flowers.

After the popularization of factory production, the style, color and quality of the shirt changed. The older people grieved for a long time and assured that such changes in the wardrobe would bring trouble to their people. Indeed, over the years, the true representatives of this genus are becoming less and less.

World of Traditions

Customs say a lot about a people. One of the most colorful rituals is a wedding. The character and appearance of the Chuvash, traditions are still preserved. It should be noted that in ancient times wedding ceremony no priests, shamans or official representatives of the authorities were present. The guests of the action witnessed the creation of a family. And everyone who knew about the holiday visited the houses of the parents of the newlyweds. Interestingly, divorce as such was not perceived. According to the canons, lovers who combined in front of their relatives must be faithful to each other until the end of their lives.

Previously, the bride had to be 5-8 years older than her husband. In the last place when choosing a partner, the Chuvash appearance was put. The nature and mentality of these people demanded that, first of all, the girl be hardworking. They gave the young lady in marriage after she mastered the household. An adult woman was also assigned to raise a young husband.

Character - in customs

As mentioned earlier, the word itself, from which the name of the people came from, is translated from most languages ​​​​as "peace-loving", "calm", "modest". This value is absolutely consistent with the nature and mentality of this people. According to their philosophy, all people, like birds, sit on different branches. big tree life, each to another - a relative. Therefore, their love for each other is boundless. Chuvash people are very peaceful and kind people. The history of the people does not contain information about the attacks of the innocent and arbitrariness against other groups.

The older generation keeps traditions and lives according to the old scheme, which they learned from their parents. Lovers still marry and swear allegiance to each other in front of their families. Often they arrange mass celebrations, at which the Chuvash language sounds loud and melodious. People put on the best suits, embroidered according to all the canons. They cook traditional mutton soup - shurpa, and drink their own beer.

The future is in the past

In modern conditions of urbanization, traditions in the villages are disappearing. At the same time, the world is losing its independent culture and unique knowledge. Nevertheless, the Russian government aims to maximize the interest of contemporaries in the past of different peoples. The Chuvash are no exception. Appearance, features of life, color, rituals - all this is very interesting. To show young generation culture of the people, impromptu evenings are held by students of the universities of the republic. Young people speak and sing at the same time in the Chuvash language.

The Chuvash live in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, so their culture is successfully breaking through into the world. Representatives of the people support each other.

Recently translated into Chuvash main book Christians - Bible. Literature flourishes. Ornaments and clothes of the ethnic group inspire famous designers to create new styles.

There are still villages where they still live according to the laws of the Chuvash tribe. The appearance of a man and a woman in such gray hairs is traditionally folk. The great past is preserved and revered in many families.