1. History of the Udmurts
The Udmurts are one of the indigenous peoples of the Middle Urals. The basis for the formation of the Udmurt ethnos was the local Finno-Permian tribes, which at different times were influenced by the Scythians, Ugrians, Turks and Slavs.
The oldest self-name of the Udmurts is Ary, that is, “man”, “man”. From here comes the ancient name of the Vyatka land - the Arsk land, the inhabitants of which, almost until the very revolution, the Russians called Permyaks, Votyaks (along the Vyatka River) or the Votsk Chud. Today, Udmurts consider these names offensive.
Until the middle of the 16th century, the Udmurts were not a single people. The northern Udmurts quite early became part of the Vyatka land, which was developed by Russian settlers. After the Mongol invasion, the Vyatka land became the patrimony of the Nizhny Novgorod-Suzdal princes, and in 1489 became part of the Grand Duchy of Moscow.
The southern Udmurts fell under the rule of the Volga Bulgaria, later - the Golden Horde and the Kazan Khanate. It is generally accepted that their accession to Russia was completed by 1558.
Thus, during the life of three or four generations, the Udmurts changed their citizenship several times, and many of them were assimilated: northern Udmurts - by Russians, southern - by Tatars.
However, it was the Russian state that made it possible for the Udmurt tribes not only to survive, but also to form as a people. Here are dry figures: if only 48 thousand Udmurts were counted in the Petrine era, now there were 637 thousand people - a 13-fold increase in numbers over 200 years.
The ethnonym "Udmord" itself was first published by the Russian scientist Rychkov in 1770. Its origin has not been fully elucidated. Only the Indo-Iranian base is transparent enough - murt, mort, which means the same as "ary" - a man, a husband. Officially, the self-name of the Udmurt people was recognized in 1932, when the Votskaya Autonomous Region was renamed Udmurtskaya.
Russian philologists also created the Udmurt script - based on the Russian alphabet, but with the addition of some letters and signs. The first grammar was published in 1775. The Komi language is closest to the Udmurt language - they correlate approximately the same as the Russian and Polish languages. Today, the Udmurt language, along with Russian, is the state language of the Udmurt Republic. The indigenous population makes up about a third of its inhabitants.
2. Spiritual culture and religion of the Udmurts
Udmurt paganism is in many ways similar to the beliefs of other Ural peoples, which are characterized by a struggle between good and evil principles. The supreme deity of the Udmurts was called Inmar. His rival was an evil spirit - Shaitan.
Udmurt cosmogonic representations considered the main element - water. “There used to be water all over the world,” says one of the legends. “The wind was blowing, gathering the earth into one heap, the rain was pouring, tearing up the earth collected by the wind with water. And so the mountains and valleys happened, ”says another legend.
The mass conversion of the Udmurts to Christianity took place only in the 18th century. Most of the baptism was carried out by force. All external signs of paganism were literally burned out with a red-hot iron. As a result, the images of pagan gods disappeared without a trace. That, however, does not prevent a significant part of the people from stubbornly holding on to paganism.
A large place in the folklore of the Udmurts is occupied by epics, legends, fairy tales. The plots of many of them echo the plots of Russian folk tales. This is understandable: after all, the Udmurts have long been living in close cooperation with the Russian people. Here, for example, is the beginning of one of the fairy tales: "In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, oats did not rise." The analysis begins, why such a disaster happened. According to the priest, the peasants did not pay tax to Ilya Antonovich (Ilya the Prophet). In addition, it turns out that disorder reigns in the heavenly office: no one knows who is responsible for what, so there was no rain for a long time and the oats did not rise.
It is impossible to imagine the folk art of the Udmurts without songs - many-voiced, melodic and melodic. Most of the old Udmurt songs are sad and heartbreaking.
Probably, this is one of the most singing nations. The Udmurt wedding did not begin until one of the stewards gave the opening song. Song contests were organized to see who would sing whom. People who couldn't sing were mockingly called "pallyan kyrzas" (literally, "singing to the left"), they say, what to take from him, even if he can't sing.
3. National character and traditions of the Udmurts
In anthropological terms, the Udmurts are classified as a small Ural race, which is distinguished by the predominance of Caucasoid features with some Mongoloidity. There are many redheads among the Udmurts. On this basis, they can compete with the world champions in golden hair - the Celts-Irish.
Outwardly, the Udmurts are strong and hardy, although not of a heroic physique. They are very patient. Modesty, shyness, reaching shyness, restraint in the manifestation of feelings are considered typical features of the Udmurt character. Udmurts are laconic. “His tongue is sharp, but his hands are blunt,” they say. However, they appreciate the power of a well-aimed expression: “The wind destroys the mountains, the word of the people raises”; "A heartfelt word warms for three winters."
Travelers of the 18th century noted the great hospitality and cordiality of the Udmurts, their peacefulness and meek disposition, "the tendency to more fun than sadness."
Radishchev in his "Diary of a Journey from Siberia" noted: "The Votyaks are almost like Russians ... A common fate, common worries and hardships brought the two peoples together, gave rise to friendship and trust between them."
Perhaps the most expressive building in the Udmurt peasant yard was a two-story kenos-barns. How many daughters-in-law there were in the family, there were so many kenos in the yard. This word itself comes from the Udmurt "ken" - daughter-in-law.
The traditional Udmurt women's costume was one of the most complex and colorful in the Volga region. The Udmurts have achieved the highest mastery in "linen folklore".
In the traditional ethnic culture of the Udmurts, the classical color triad is used: white-red-black. It is no coincidence that it is she who is the basis of the Coat of Arms and the Flag of the Udmurt Republic.
During the years of collectivization and Stalinist repressions, the rural culture of the Udmurts suffered enormous damage. The most enterprising, enterprising part of the people perished. The case was completed by the famous Udmurt moonshine - "kumyshka". The Udmurts have always stubbornly defended their right to moonshine, guided by the belief that they inherited "kumyshka" from their ancestors as a ritual drink. To stop its production means to betray the faith, to betray one's gods. Therefore, the Udmurt village today, alas, looks as depressing as the Russian one.
The self-name of the Udmurt people is a composite, the second component of which - murt means “man, man; alien”, and about the first component, ud-, it should be said that, in all likelihood, this is the ancient self-name of the people, reflected in exoethnonyms, cf. Mari odo (mari), Russian (v) otyak, (v) otin. The origin of this name gave rise to many hypotheses, of which the most reliable is the version of Sergei Belykh and Vladimir Napolsky, according to which the name of the Udmurts is a composite entirely borrowed from some Iranian language, which in the source language could look like *ant (a) -mart(a) and literally meant "a man of the outskirts, a resident of the border". Written sources of Udmurts are fixed late. Except for the obviously erroneous ones (such as identifying the people of the Veda with them “The Word about the Destruction of the Russian Land”, under which the Mordovian name of the Chuvash is actually hidden - a branch (veden in the genitive case) or very dubious assumptions, the first mention of the Udmurts, more precisely, of the Udmurt land (Voyattskaya land), subject to the Kazan khan, should be considered a Russian chronicle story about the campaign of Ivan III to Kazan in 1469. From the middle of the 16th century, southern Udmurts under the name (v) otyaks or even cheremis, calling otyaks, have already constantly appeared in Russian documents relating to to the territory of the Kazan Khanate.The northern Udmurts (more precisely, the Lower Chepetsk) are mentioned under the name (v)otyaks in Russian documents relating to the Vyatka land since 1521. The Tatars called the Udmurts Ar. Russian documents of the 15th-16th centuries in the Lower Kama region - Order and on the Lower Chepts, Udmurts, based on the similarity of these names with the Tatar name of the Udmurts ar, are untenable: these names clearly mean the Arsk and Karin (Chepetsk) Tatars, residents or immigrants from the city area Arska (Tat. Archa - from * artcha "rear, rear") - the old specific center of the Volga Bulgaria, and then the Kazan Khanate. Of course, one cannot exclude the possibility of the presence of some groups of Udmurts among the Ar people, but there are no direct indications of this in the sources. The formation of the Udmurts took place (if we start from archaeological data) in the Vyatka basin. It is on the right bank of the Vyatka and in the Vyatka-Vetluzh interfluve that the ancient contacts of the Mari with the Odo people are localized. Udmurt tribal legends also testify to the Vyatka basin as the original habitat of the Udmurts. Even in the last century, many groups of Udmurts retained the memory of their belonging to one of the two large Udmurt territorial associations - Vatka and Kalmez (today the names of these associations and the memory of the border between them have been preserved almost only among some groups of northern Udmurts, in particular - among living in the Uninsky district of the Kirov region, according to which the Vatka live in villages located along the tributaries of the Cheptsa River (primarily in the basin of the Kosa River), and the Kalmez live along the tributaries of the Kilmez River). Vatka in the 19th century was inhabited by the Cheptsy basin and, according to their legends, came there from the lower reaches of this river, from the middle Vyatka (this is also indicated by the very name of the association - literally translated “Vyatka”). In the legends of the Kalmezes, the memory of the struggle of their heroes with the people of Por has been preserved (for example, “Mari; alien, hostile people”). Kalmez originally settled in the basin of the Kilmez River, by the 19th century they spread quite widely: from the middle reaches of the Cheptsa in the north to the southern (southwestern) regions of Udmurtia in the south. Judging by some toponyms, it was the Kalmezes who originally used the ethnonym od (o) as a self-name - perhaps due to the settlement of the Kalmezes, who retreated under pressure from the Mari from the lower Vyatka, this ethnonym, southern in origin (see above), penetrated at the end of the first - the beginning of the second millennium AD to all groups of Udmurts and eventually became the self-name of a consolidating nationality. In the isolation of the ancestors of the Udmurts from their northern relatives in language, the ancestors of the Komi, the most important role was played by the connections of the South Permian (proto-Udmurt) groups with the Turks. Contacts with the Bulgars and their direct linguistic descendants the Chuvash (see the section on the Mari) continued from the time they appeared in the Middle Volga region in the 7th-8th centuries. AD and at least until the XIV century and were reflected in the presence of about two hundred "Bulgarian" (Bulgaro-Chuvash) borrowings in the Udmurt language (at the same time, no more than three dozen such borrowings penetrated into the Komi languages, which indicates either that the final "decay" of the Permian proto-language occurred already in the era of early Bulgar-Permian contacts, or - more likely - that Bulgarisms penetrated into the Old Komi dialects through the Old Udmurt, and already in the first centuries of the 2nd millennium AD in the north of the Permian area, non-Turkic became dominant , but the Old Russian cultural and linguistic influence, which prevented the assimilation of Turkisms from the south). Contacts of the Udmurts with the Turks speaking the languages of the Kipchak group, primarily the Volga Tatars, began no later than the 14th century and continue to this day. Initially, these contacts took place in two centers: in the south, in the Order, near the city of Arsk (see above), relative to which the Zavyat Udmurts (living on the right bank of the lower Vyatka, in the Kukmor and Baltasinsky regions of Tatarstan and the Mari-Turek region of Mari El ) legends have been preserved that an Udmurt exei "Udmurt king" lived there, which may indicate the former stay of a part of the Udmurts in feudal dependence on the Tatar princes of Arsk; and in the north, in the lower and middle reaches of the Cheptsa River, where, at least since the beginning of the 15th century, Arsk princes have been documented - the ancestors of the Karin or Chepetsk Tatars, who had local Udmurts in dependence until 1588. It is possible that the penetration of Turkic feudal lords from the Arsk up the Vyatka to Cheptsa took place even in the Bulgar era - in any case, this is evidenced by a find in the Cheptsa basin, in the village of Gordino, Balezinsky district of Udmurtia, of a stone with a Bulgar epitaph of 1323. With the Udmurt-Turkic contacts on the Arsko-Chepetsk route, obviously, also connected the origin of the Besermians - an ethnographic group (in 1993 officially considered a separate people), living in the north and north-west of Udmurtia. The dialect of the Udmurt language spoken by the Besermen stands apart in the system of modern Udmurt dialects, approaching in various ways with the northern (neighboring), southern and peripheral southern dialects. Features of the material culture of the Besermens (first of all, the traditional women's costume) indicate their extremely close ties in the past with the Chuvashs. Therefore, it is obviously not accidental that in the 16th-17th centuries the ancestors of the Besermians who lived along the river. A bonnet, called the Chuvash in Russian documents. At the same time, some features of the spiritual culture of the Besermians (for example, the use of the Arabic formula of addressing Allah in traditional pagan Besermian prayers) may indicate their close contacts in the past with Muslims or even (which, however, is unlikely) about the former confession of Islam by their ancestors. At the same time, it is important that despite the small number and dispersed settlement of this group, they very clearly separate themselves (more precisely, they distance themselves to a certain extent) from the surrounding peoples - the Udmurts and Tatars. In the self-name of Besermians - Beserman - one should see a distorted tyu. *busurman / *b?s?rmen, originating from Persian. mosalm?n< араб. muslim(un) «мусульманин» - ср. рус. бусурман «мусульманин». Это слово попало к волжским булгарам из Средней Азии (ср. название Besermini, применяемое к жителям Хорезма у папского нунция брата Иоанна де Плано Карпини в XIII веке) в период принятия ими ислама в IX веке и служило вплоть до XV века обозначением части населения Волжской Булгарии и Казанского ханства (бесермены русских источников XIV-XV веков), скорее всего - потомков булгар. Какая-то часть булгарских бесермен вошла в состав каринских (чепецких) татар, как об этом свидетельствуют исторические документы и данные татарских генеалогических преданий-шеджере. Их происхождение следует связывать с районами Заказанья (г. Арск), откуда бесермены в XIV-XVI веках, спасаясь от феодальной усобицы в Золотой Орде, набегов русских ушкуйников и князей и, наконец, вследствие разгрома Золотой Орды и - в том числе - территории бывшей Волжской Булгарии Тамерланом в конце XIII века, переселились вверх по Вятке, в низовья Чепцы. Уже с 1511 года наряду с арянами (видимо - предки чепецких татар, выходцы из Арской земли) и (чуть позже) вотяками (то есть с удмуртами) в качестве зависимого от арских князей населения окрестностей села Карино на нижней Чепце упоминаются в русских документах чуваша или (с 1547 г.) чуваша арские; в XVII веке это название постепенно заменяется на бесермяне - речь идёт уже о предках современных бесермян. Очевидно, ещё на территории Арской земли булгары-бесермены должны были иметь тесные контакты с южными группами удмуртов, древними жителями этих мест. Не исключено, что какая-то часть южных удмуртов, находившаяся с бесерменами в особо тесном контакте, переняла у господствующей группы определённые черты материальной и духовной культуры (в том числе и какие-то элементы ислама) и этноним, начав называть себя бесерман. Именно такая удмуртская группа могла быть известна под именем чуваши арской русских документов, относящихся как к Арской земле, так и к нижней Чепце, и именно с ней можно связывать происхождение бесермян.Если с юга удмурты имели тесные связи с тюрками, то на севере, на средней Вятке (район городов Вятка, Слободской, Никулицын) они довольно рано вошли в соприкосновение с русскими. Судя по археологическим данным, проникновение русских на территорию Вятской земли началось еще в домонгольское время. И русские, и удмуртские предания свидетельствуют о том, что города Вятской земли были основаны на месте удмуртских «городков». По-видимому, уже с XIII века именно давление русских вынуждает удмуртов объединения Ватка уходить с Вятки вверх по Чепце на восток. Хотя в ранних русских источниках, относящихся к Вятке и более северным регионам (прежде всего Перми), удмурты ни под каким именем специально не упоминаются (о первом упоминании см. выше), следует думать, что в составе многонационального населения Вятской земли - возникшего на Средней Вятке к концу XIII века независимого государства с вечевой формой правления - северные удмурты присутствовали, тем более, что и сегодня удмурты проживают в ряде деревень Слободского, Унинского и соседних с ними районов Кировской области. С этого времени можно говорить о начале русского влияния на северных удмуртов, сопоставимомого с тюркским (примерно с того же времени - уже собственно татарским) влиянием на южных удмуртов, что в конечном счёте привело к окончательному оформлению заметных различий в языке и культуре северных и южных удмуртов.Естественно, при этом нельзя забывать и о взаимодействии южных удмуртов с русскими (первые контакты с группами восточных славян, жившими на територии Волжской Булгарии, могли иметь место ещё в булгарское время), и о связях северных удмуртов с чепецкими татарами. Следует отметить, что вплоть до XVIII века реальных попыток христианизации удмуртов даже на севере, не предпринималось, подавляющее большинство их оставалось язычниками. После покорения Москвой Вятки в 1489 году и после взятия русскими Казани в 1552 году все удмуртские земли были объединены в составе Московского государства. После 1552 года часть южных удмуртов (преимущественно - завятских, то есть живущих на правом, западном берегу Вятки), спасаясь от опасности насильственной христианизации, подобно марийцам (а вероятно - совместно с ними) переселилась на восток, в основном на земли северо-востока современной Башкирии. Так формируются группы закамских удмуртов, живущих сегодня на юге Пермской области, в Башкирии, в Бавлинском районе Татарстана и в Красноуфимском районе Екатеринбургской области, говоры которых вместе с говорами завятских удмуртов составляют периферийно-южное наречие удмуртского языка. Значительная часть этих удмуртов не была даже формально крещена, они придерживались язычества, и их культура и язык развивались под сильнейшим тюркским (татарским и башкирским) влиянием. Массовое обращение удмуртов в христианство произошло лишь в XVIII веке, при этом, не коснувшись вовсе некоторых южных групп, оно имело формальный характер. Практически повсеместно сохранялось двоеверие. Вплоть до начала XX века (кое-где и до сих пор) большая часть удмуртов сохраняла память о своей принадлежности к территориально-родовым религиозным объединениям, кланам- воршудам.Реакцией на усиливающееся социальное и национальное угнетение в середине XIX - начале XX веков стали неоднократные случаи перехода удмуртов в ислам, попытки возврата к реформированной языческой религии (секты «липопоклонников» , «вылепырисей» - от удм. выле пырись "входящий в новое"). В конце XIX века удмурты приняли участие в миграции крестьянского населения России на Урал и в Сибирь, эти миграции продолжались и в XX веке. Сегодня имеются удмуртские деревни и целые кусты деревень на Урале, в Сибири и Северном Казахстане.После революции 1917 года, в 1920 году была создана Удмуртская (первоначально - Вотская) автономная область, в 1934 году преобразованная в автономную республику (ныне - Удмуртская Республика). В России насчитывается 637 тыс. удмуртов (ок. 70% - в той или иной степени удмуртоязычны) и 3 тыс. бесермян (2002); в городах проживают 297 тыс., а на селе - 340 тыс. удмуртов.Links
Udmurts live in the regions of the Western Urals, located in the Kama and Vyatka basins. Self-name - Udmurt, or Udmort (Ud is a proper name, murt is a person). In Russian written monuments of the XVI-XVII centuries. The Udmurts are referred to under the names "Ari", "Aryans", "Otyaks". In tsarist Russia they were called votyaks.
The number of Udmurts, according to the 1959 census, is 624,794 people, of which 76% live in the Udmurt Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Outside the republic, the Udmurts live in small groups in the Tatar, Mari, Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics, in the Kirov and Perm regions. The Udmurt language belongs to the Permian group of Finno-Ugric languages and is close to the language of the Komi and Komi-Permyaks; it is divided into two dialects - southern and northern, the differences between which are insignificant. In Soviet times, a literary language was formed from intermediate dialects between the northern and southern dialects and a written language was created, which was based on the Russian alphabet.
The Udmurt people include an ethnographic group of Besermens who live in the Glazovsky and Balezinsky districts of the Udmurt Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. The Besermyans speak the Udmurt language, but with the inclusion of a significant amount of Tatar words, as in the southern dialect of the Udmurt language. They retain their self-name Besermen and, until recently, differed from the Udmurts in some features of material and spiritual culture. Their costume and ornament were especially peculiar. The cut of clothes, embroideries and headdresses of the Besermians are somewhat reminiscent of the Chuvash ones. The songs and melodies of the Besermyans are original. In the terminology of kinship, Turkic features are traced. In folk beliefs, along with ancient animistic ideas and magic, the influence of Islam was felt.
The Udmurt Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, which is part of the RSFSR, is located in the northeast of the European part of the Soviet Union and borders in the north and west on the Kirov region, in the east on the Perm region, in the south on the Bashkir and Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics.
The climate of the Udmurt ASSR is continental. It is characterized by frosts in late spring and early autumn. Soils in most areas are podzolic and loamy, in the central part - sandy and sandy loam, in river floodplains - silt and peat. Of the minerals, peat deposits are the most significant; there are deposits of oil shale, copper ores, brown iron ore, quartz sand, limestone and red clays, as well as coal and oil. In recent years, oil fields suitable for industrial development have been searched for.
There are no large navigable rivers on the territory of the republic, with the exception of the Kama, a small section of which washes Udmurtia from the east. The largest rivers - Cheptsa, Kilmez, Vala - are used mainly for timber alloy. Forests occupy 43% of the total area of the republic. Coniferous species predominate: spruce, fir, pine, birch, aspen and linden are common among deciduous species. The main forest area is concentrated in the central part of the republic. Fauna - typical for the forest regions of Eastern Europe.
In addition to the Udmurts, Russians and Tatars live in the republic; among the workers employed in industry, there are many visitors from Belorussia, Ukraine and other republics and regions of the Soviet Union.
Brief historical outline
The first information about the Udmurts in Russian written sources dates back to the end of the 15th century. At that time, the Udmurts occupied approximately the same territory of the Kama-Vyatka interfluve, where they are settled now. The data of Soviet historical science allow us to see the ancestors of the Udmurts in the natives of the Vyatka region. Connections traced in the material culture of the Udmurts of the 9th-10th centuries. n. e. with earlier cultures of the same area, they say that the Udmurts formed in the Vyatka and Cheptsa basins on the basis of the most ancient population that created the Ananyino and Pyanobor cultures of the 1st millennium BC. e. and first centuries AD. e. The territory on which the monuments of the Ananyino culture were found occupies the basins of the middle and upper reaches of the Kama, Vyatka, lower reaches of the river. Belaya, extends to part of the Volga region to the river. Vetluga and enters the right bank of the Volga in the Kazan region. The area of the Pyanobor culture is somewhat smaller than that of the Ananyin culture. This is also evidenced by the data of the language, indicating that the Udmurt language, which was part of the Permian linguistic community, at that time separated from the language of the Komi peoples.
In IV-VIbb.h. e. The influx of pastoral tribes from the South Ural and Volga steppes to the Kama left bank caused a partial displacement of the ancient population in the Vyatka and Kama basins. As archaeological data indicate, it was during this period and somewhat later, in the 6th-7th centuries. d Cheptse, Kilmezyu, Izhu and Valya settlements arose whose inhabitants, descendants of the bearers of the Pyanobor culture, can be considered the ancestors of modern Udmurts.
Archaeological materials of the VIII - IX centuries. allow you to identify areas with local differences in the culture of the population (in particular, in clothing, hats, jewelry). These differences were due to the process of formation of the peoples of the Urals and their separation from the general earlier cultural environment.
In the X-XIV centuries. the settlements of the ancestors of the northern Udmurts were concentrated on the territory of the modern Glazov region, as evidenced by the splits of the settlements of Dondy-Kar, Gurya-Kar, Idna-Kar, etc. The ancestors of the southern Udmurts during this period lived along the Kama and its tributary Izha, partly along the Vale rivers and Kilmezu. The settlements in which the ancestors of the Udmurts lived were fortified with ramparts and ditches. Log buildings with hearths inside served as dwellings. The basis of the economy of the population was arable farming, which in the forest regions of the region developed on the basis of the slash-and-burn system; An important role in the economy was also played by cattle breeding and hunting, mainly for fur-bearing animals. The remains of forges and numerous finds of iron objects in the monuments of the X-XV centuries. indicate that the ancestors of the Udmurts in this period were familiar with the smelting of iron. They also knew pottery making and weaving.
At the head of the administration was a council of elders, which included representatives of the most influential families; when solving important issues, a people's assembly was convened - kenesh, in which adult male warriors took part.
Approximately in the XII-XIII centuries. the population of the Kama region was in the process of disintegration of the tribal system. Separate families began to stand out, who settled together with families from another clan in open, unfortified settlements. The tribal community was gradually replaced by a territorial, neighboring community.
In the memory of the people, legends have been preserved about the clashes that took place between ordinary farmers and the tribal elite - tribal elders and military leaders. However, developed feudal relations did not develop among the Udmurts.
The disintegration of tribal relations among the Udmurt tribes proceeded far more evenly. So, on Chepts and Kama, the population lived in their family nests - fortified settlements - until the 14th century, on Vyatka the settlements were abandoned in the 13th century, and on the Kama right bank, near the mouth of the river. Vyatka - back in the XII century. Such unevenness is explained by the degree of economic and cultural impact on individual tribal groups of the Udmurts from the Volga-Kama Bulgaria and the principalities of North-Eastern Rus'.
The Bulgarian state, which, as is known, at the end of the 1st - the beginning of the 2nd millennium AD. e. existed on the territory along the middle reaches of the Volga, for several centuries maintained close ties with the surrounding tribes: Mordovian, Mari, etc., and extended its political and economic influence to them. The Udmurts were also included in the sphere of Bulgar influence. They were tributaries of the Bulgars, supplied them with a military militia, traded with them, for which they enjoyed freedom of movement in the Bulgar lands and protection of the borders by the Bulgars from the attacks of the steppe nomads. On the territory of the Udmurt ASSR, monuments of the Bulgar period have been preserved in the form of settlements, tombstones and burial grounds, in which there are Bulgar coins and other objects of Bulgar origin.
The Bulgars carried on a lively trade with their neighbors, including the Udmurts, exchanging imported oriental fabrics, ornaments and tools for leather, honey and furs. The latter was especially valued, as it was the main subject of trade with other peoples. The names "ares", "Arsk land" were given to the Udmurts and their territories by the Kama Bulgars. The Udmurt tribes had close ties with the city of Bilyar, which in the XII century. became the capital of the Volga-Kama Bulgaria. The term "bilyar" (in the pronunciation of the Udmurts biger) was extended by the Udmurts to the entire Turkic population of the Volga-Kama Bulgaria, and later to the Kazan Tatars. The term “biger” is used by the Udmurts to this day to call the Tatars.
The Udmurts, who lived on the territory bordering on the Bulgars, under the onslaught of the latter, often left their settlements and moved north into the depths of the forests. One of these settlements, known as "Devil's Settlement", the Bulgars turned into their fortified outpost.
The Bulgars, who already had feudal relations, not only contributed to the decomposition of the tribal system among the Udmurts, but also influenced their way of life and language.
Relations between the Udmurt tribes and the Slavs can be traced from the 9th-13th centuries. A significant number of objects of Slavic origin of this time, found in the settlements and burial grounds in Vyatka, testify to the early and extensive exchange ties between the natives of the region and the Russians. Fortified in the 12th century Russians began to penetrate the Vladimir-Suzdal principality to the northeast.
Apparently, the origin of the Besermians is connected with the Bulgars, although this issue is still a subject of dispute between scientists and has not been finally resolved. An analysis of the old culture of the Besermians allows us, it seems to us, to consider them the descendants of some ancient Turkic, in all likelihood, the Bulgar population, who lived in small groups among the natives of the region in the basin of the river. Caps. The existence of ancient Bulgar settlements in the basin of this river is confirmed by archaeological monuments of Bulgar origin, found in the areas of modern habitation of the Besermians (for example, the Bulgar burial in the village of Gordino).
The ethnonym "Besermen" appears in written sources from the middle of the 13th century. According to Plano Carpini, among the peoples conquered by the Tatar-Mongols were Trukhmens, Mordvins and Besermens. According to the Russian chronicles, in the Battle of Kulikovo (1380), Mamai also had a Besermen army in the army sent by the conquered peoples.
Living for a long time on the territory of the Vyatka-Kama interfluve, the Besermyans were exposed to cultural influence from the Udmurts and partly Tatars for a number of centuries, mixed with them, adopted the Udmurt language, many elements of their culture and now represent an ethnographic group that has almost completely merged with the Udmurt people.
At the end of the XIII - beginning of the XIV century. the Udmurts became tributaries of the Tatar-Mongols. Having settled along the middle reaches of the Volga, the Tatar-Mongols at first had little interest in the Udmurts and did not seek to penetrate into the northern Kama region, but gradually, like all of Rus', the Udmurts became dependent on the Tatar-Mongols and became the object of cruel exploitation on their part. On the territory of Udmurtia, the Tatars created feudal principalities, which retained their independence until the defeat of Kazan, and in fact much longer. The southern part of Udmurtia was a special administrative-taxable unit for the Tatars - the Arskaya daruga; the Tatar murzas who ruled here were called Arsk princes. In the Vyatka land, in Karino, located 15-20 km from the mouth of the river. Caps, settled at the end of the XIV century. (1391) Karin murzas, who extended their power to the entire surrounding Udmurt population.
The Udmurts were taxed with yasak, but, in addition to the contribution of yasak, the population performed numerous other duties in favor of the Tatars: the supply of fodder, yamshchina, etc. The Udmurts had to perform military service and fight in the detachments of the khan and murz.
The legends and songs that have come down to us often tell about the humiliations and insults that the Tatar feudal lords subjected the local Udmurt population to.
By the end of the XV century. almost all the Udmurt tribes have already completed the disintegration of the tribal system. Udmurts yashli in settlements - herds of large families, not related to each other by consanguinity. To manage such a neighboring community, a bro was elected, usually from a more affluent family. Such representatives of rural communities communicated with the central government. From about that time on, one can speak of the Udmurts as an established people.
Territorially and administratively Udmurts in the XV-XVI centuries. did not represent a single whole, but were divided into several groups. Northern Udmurts (Karinsky and Chepetsky), who lived in the Cheptsa basin along its right and left tributaries, were part of the Vyatka land; the southern ones, which occupied the territory along the middle reaches of the Kama and Izhu, partly Vyatka and Kilmezyu, were part of the Kazan Khanate.
Vyatka land in 1489 became part of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Together with the Russians, the Udmurts also became part of this principality. They were involved in the construction and defense of cities, participated in the campaigns of the Grand Duke against the Kazan Khan. Settled in the bulk on the territory of Khlynovsky, Slobodsky and partially Kotelnichesky camps (counties) of the Vyatka province, the Udmurts were equated with the black-haired draft peasantry and were ruled by the grand princely governor.
The Udmurts, who lived in the neighborhood, but on the territory of the Karinsky camp, were in feudal serf dependence on the Tatar murzas. Having annexed the Vyatka land, the Moscow princes, wishing to attract the Karin Tatars to their side and use them as service people, retained their feudal rights to “judge and control” the Udmurts who lived on these lands.
Under Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, by a letter of 1588, one part of the northern Udmurts was finally freed from serfdom from the Karinsky murzas, and the other part - the black-haired peasantry - was separated from the Vyatka administration in terms of taxes and service. Instead of the previous, quite numerous duties, the Udmurts were subject to a certain monetary dues, the layout of which they themselves did, from 1619 they began to pay dues in Moscow. In all court cases (with the exception of robbery and red-handed litigation), it was also decided not to apply to local authorities, but to hold court in Moscow, the Udmurts were supposed to come to the UD once a year - on February 2. These features in the management of the northern Udmurts persisted throughout the 17th century. up to the reforms of Peter the Great.
The southern Udmurts, who were part of the Kazan Khanate, after the fall of Kazan (1552), went to the Muscovite state and began to pay Moscow the same yasak as before to the Kazan khans. The collection of yasak was usually assigned to service people from the Tatars, who for this purpose traveled around the Udmurt lands and, threatening with weapons, mercilessly robbed the population.
At the beginning of the XVIII century. the tsarist government equalized the Udmurts with the Russian population in tax terms. In 1717-1718. the Udmurt households were rewritten, and a household tax was imposed on the Udmurts, which, from 1723, was replaced by a poll tax. Other duties also spread to the Udmurts. Especially difficult was lashmanstvo - work on the harvesting of ship timber. In 1719, the supply of recruits was introduced. And much earlier, shortly after the fall of Kazan, the Russian authorities took measures to strengthen the Kama region: they began to build fortresses (Sarapul, etc.). guarded by garrisons, distribute land to Russian colonists and especially generously to monasteries. Up to 50 thousand peasants were assigned to the monasteries, who were subjected to cruel exploitation. In the second half of the XVIII century. with the development of the mining and metallurgical industry, the distribution of Udmurt lands intensified.
In 1729, the merchant Grigory Vyazemsky founded in the Vyatka province on the river. Kirsi is the first iron-making - Kirsinsky - plant. In 1759, in the north of Udmurtia, the Pudemsky plant arose, and in the more southern, Kamsky, region, in the same year, P.I. Shuvalov founded on the river. Votka Botkinsky plant; a year later he built on the river. Izhe Izhevsk ironworks, which later became one of the largest plants in the Urals.
Ural breeders were large landowners. In Udmurtia, Shuvalov's Kama factories, by decree of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, were allotted about 700 thousand acres of forest for a period of 100 years. Serfs and ascribed peasants worked at the factories; in the 1760s, there were up to 18 thousand peasants at the Kama factories. Entire Udmurt volosts were assigned to the factories; Udmurts were used by breeders for the most difficult jobs: logging, charcoal burning, iron ore mining. Numerous extortions from the tsarist government, bribery of the administration, heavy factory work, cruelty of the factory authorities, humiliation of national dignity, persecution of religion, national culture - all this created unbearable living conditions and repeatedly prompted the Udmurts to revolt. More than once the Udmurts acted together with the Russian peasantry. So, for example, unrest occurred among the Udmurts during the uprising of Ivan Bolotnikov (1606-1607). Udmurts participated in peasant wars led by Stepan Razin (1670-1671) and Emelyan Pugachev (1773-1775).
In the first half of the XIX century. Udmurts, together with the Russian peasantry, took an active part in the so-called potato riots.
The reform of 1861 worsened the position of the Udmurt peasantry. As a result of the reform, the Udmurts lost 44% of their pre-reform allotments, while at the same time taxes from the peasants increased.
The process of class stratification of the Udmurt countryside intensified noticeably: due to the ruin of the bulk of the peasantry, the kulaks were enriched and strengthened. Arrears and other debts of peasants in the Vyatka region in the 1880s amounted to over 16 million rubles. The discontent of the peasants grew, pouring out into mass uprisings. A major unrest of the peasants broke out in 1888 in the Malmyzh district, it covered 68 villages. However, this uprising, like others that preceded it, as well as disparate actions ended in cruel reprisals against the rebels.
Popular unrest was exacerbated by protest against the 17th century. increased implementation of Orthodoxy among the Udmurts. The Christianization of the Udmurts took on a particularly large scale in the 18th century. since the organization in 1740 of a special "office of newly baptized affairs" in Kazan. Parishes were created and cadres of missionaries who knew the Udmurt language were selected. The newly baptized received a number of benefits: they were exempted from taxes, duties and recruitment. While creating the appearance of a voluntary conversion to Christianity of the "sighted pagans", the missionaries at the same time used violent measures to eradicate popular beliefs: they destroyed religious buildings (kuala), cut down sacred groves (lud), etc. Ultimately, missionary activity among the Udmurts gave few results. Orthodoxy forever remained alien to the worldview of the Udmurts, and they stubbornly continued to perform their rituals and prayers in sacred groves and kuals, sometimes replacing the names of old deities with the names of Orthodox saints and timing their prayers to the church calendar.
The religious beliefs of the Udmurts included a diverse set of beliefs that arose at different stages of social development. Along with the remnants of totemism, expressed in the veneration of certain animals and birds - a horse, a bull, a bear, a swan - the Udmurts developed worship of the forces of nature. In the sacred box of the vorshud, which was considered the place of residence of the spirit of the ancestral ancestor, squirrel skins, hazel grouse and black grouse feathers, dried fish, and sometimes metal plates depicting animals were kept as relics. Pre-Christian Udmurt names often coincided with the names of animals and birds: Dukya - capercaillie, Yus - swan, Hubert - starling, Koiyk - elk, Gondyr - bear, Zhaki - jay, etc.
In the religious beliefs of the Udmurts, echoes of tribal relations were preserved. So, the names of Vorshud - a tribal deity - coincided with the names of the genera. In some tribal groups, the idea of a female tribal deity was identified with the concept of Vorshud, which was associated with the remnants of the maternal clan. Each tribal group in the past had its own kuala, in which prayers were performed. Ritual treats at the holidays were distributed according to tribal groups. Members of the clan came to the tribal prayers from very remote places (up to 100 km or more). When a part of the family moved to another place, they took ashes from the family kuala to lay a new one.
An important role in the religious beliefs of the Udmurts was played by the cult of ancestors. The Udmurts believed that the dead lead the same life in the afterlife as living people on earth. Therefore, various things that the deceased used during his lifetime were put in the coffin: a bowler hat, an ax, a knife; dead women were given needles and threads. With the dead, clothes and food were also buried in the grave: bread, salt, meat, pancakes, home-made vodka (kumyshka). It was believed that members of the same clan and family continued to live together after death, so the deceased relatives were buried in family cemeteries, while visitors were buried in separate plots. The tradition obligated living relatives to take care of the dead, celebrating a wake for them in the cemetery. In addition to commemorations for the recently deceased, on certain days of the year - on the eve of some holidays - a general commemoration was held for all the dead. Previously, all members of a certain tribal group took part in the commemoration, later they were performed by individual families at the graves of their loved ones.
The pantheon of the Udmurt deities reflected the dualism of the Udmurt religious views. Inmar was considered the main good deity, who, according to the ideas of the Udmurts, lives in the sun; he was opposed to the evil deity, or shaitan, supposedly bringing harm to people, he had to be cajoled by sacrifices. In addition to the main deities, in the ideas of the Udmurts, there were secondary deities inhabiting the surrounding nature. They believed that Vumurt (water) lives in the water, Nyulesmurt lives in the forest. They also revered two goddesses - Shunda Mu we and Gudyri Mu we (mothers of the sun and thunder).
The ritual side of the cult was very complex. Priestly duties were performed first by the eldest in the clan, and with the disintegration of the clan and the establishment of the rural community, the position of priest (vdsyas) became elective. Over time, in connection with the property differentiation of the peasants, the functions of the priests passed in most cases to the most prosperous. The priests were in a privileged position: they were exempted from all public duties, enjoyed the right of priority public assistance in agricultural work, and it was forbidden to lynch them, unlike ordinary members of the rural community.
The tsarist government and the Orthodox clergy failed to eradicate the ancient beliefs of the Udmurts. Repeatedly, the performances of the Udmurts, their struggle for national culture took on the character of religious movements. There were cases of mass refusal of baptized Udmurts from the Orthodox Church (for example, during the peasant war under the leadership of Emelyan Pugachev). They hid in the forests to escape religious persecution.
By the end of the XIX century. all the Udmurts of the Vyatka lips. formally considered to be Orthodox, in fact, they developed a religious syncretism - a combination of the rites of the Orthodox Church and pre-Christian beliefs. The Udmurts who lived in the Perm and Ufa provinces did not accept Christianity.
Part of the Udmurts who lived in the border regions with the modern Tatar and Bashkir republics, as well as the Besermyans, were exposed to Islam, which affected some rituals. They invited the dead mullah, celebrated Friday and other Muslim holidays, observed Muslim fasts.
The tsarist government, in an effort to divert the masses of Russia from the ever-growing revolutionary movement, deliberately fomented national hatred, resorted to blatant slander against the oppressed peoples, and staged lawsuits against them. Such a court case, in which the accusation was thrown at the whole people, was the Multan case, which was examined from 1892 to 1896. It gained wide popularity and excited the entire advanced society of tsarist Russia. The essence of the Multan process was that 10 Udmurts from the village. Old Multan of the Malmyzhsky district of the Vyatka province. were accused of killing the beggar Matyunin, allegedly committed for a ritual purpose - to be sacrificed in order to "propitiate" the gods. The case was reviewed three times in remote district towns of tsarist Russia: Malmyzhe, Yelabuga, Mamadysh. The defendants were twice sentenced to hard labor and only after the third trial were they acquitted. Representatives of the advanced public of tsarist Russia took part in their defense, among them the writer V. G. Korolenko, ethnographers S. K. Kuznetsov and Gr. Vereshchagin, attorney at law N. P. Korabchevsky, correspondents O. M. Zhirnov, A. N. Baranov and many others.
At the beginning of the 20th century, when the labor movement led by the Bolsheviks developed widely in Russia, the struggle of the Udmurt workers entered a new stage. In 1904-1905. in Glazov, Vyatka, Izhevsk, and then in Votkinsk, Sarapul, Yelabuga, Malmyzh and some Udmurt villages, Social Democratic circles began to work. In 1905, the Bureau of the Kama Group was organized, renamed in 1906 into the Bureau of the Kama Union of the RSDLP, which united the social democratic organizations of Udmurtia. In October 1905 political demonstrations were held in Izhevsk, Votkinsk, Sarapul, Yelabuga, Malmyzh and in several villages against the false tsar's manifesto of 17 October. In November 1905, the workers of Izhevsk elected a Soviet of Workers' Deputies consisting of 146 people. In the revolution of 1905-1907. the Udmurt peasantry and the Udmurt working class, which had begun to take shape, also took part. In with. Kai (now the Kirov region), where in 1898-1899. F. E. Dzerzhinsky was in exile, the peasants, having disarmed the police, seized power and formed the “Kai Republic”, which lasted for some time. In the same year, the peasants of the Malmyzhsky, Sarapulsky and Glazovsky districts at meetings and rallies demanded the transfer of forests and lands to them, the abolition of the guards, the restriction of the arbitrariness of the priests and the election of their representatives to the volost, zemstvo and other bodies without distinction of nationality. The peasants refused to pay taxes to the treasury and to supply recruits for the royal service. The government brutally cracked down on the rebellious peasants.
During the years of the revolutionary upsurge, Bolshevik work in the region became significantly more active. In February 1917, under the leadership of the Bolsheviks, a general strike of Izhevsk workers took place, which engulfed the entire working population of the city. The Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies was organized in Izhevsk in March 1917; at first, the majority were Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries, but in August the leadership of the Executive Committee of the Izhevsk Soviet passed into the hands of the Bolsheviks.
At the First All-Russian Workers' and Peasants' Congress of the Udmurts in Yelabuga (June 1918), the Udmurt workers expressed their desire to establish autonomy within the Russian Federation. Under the People's Commissariat for Nationalities Affairs, the Udmurt Department was established, which, together with the party organizations of Udmurtia, began to create the autonomy of the Udmurt people. This work became more complicated during the years of the civil war, when the territory of Udmurtia became the scene of hostilities. Only in 1919 the Red Army, with the active support of the Udmurt people under the leadership of the Communist Party, cleared the territory of Udmurtia from the rebels and White Guards. During the defeat of the Kolchak troops in the battles for Sarapul, Agryz and Izhevsk, the famous 28th Infantry Division under the command of V. Azin, which included many Udmurts, operated.
In September 1919, the II All-Russian Workers' and Peasants' Congress of the Udmurts took place in Sarapul, which decided to transfer the Udmurt department from Moscow to Sarapul and to organize a Commissariat to develop issues of Udmurt autonomy. On November 4, 1920, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR issued a decree on the formation of an autonomous region of the Udmurt people with a center in the city of Glazov; it included five districts of the Vyatka lips. (without a few hairs). In 1921 the regional center was moved to Izhevsk.
The first years of the existence of the Udmurt (Votsk) Autonomous Region were difficult. The region was depleted by the civil war. The difficult situation was exacerbated by a drought that caused famine. The first measures of the Soviet government were aimed at restoring the economy and eliminating the consequences of the civil war and famine. The region was allocated large sums of money for this.
The selfless struggle of the working people of Udmurtia under the leadership of the Communist Party and with the support of the Soviet government by the 1930s was crowned with great successes in all areas of socialist construction. Throughout Udmurtia, the collectivization of agriculture was successfully carried out. By 1934, 81.3% of the peasant households had united in collective farms. Great shifts have taken place in the field of culture. On December 28, 1934, the region was transformed into the Udmurt Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.
With the formation of the republic, the Udmurts received new opportunities for raising the economy and culture. During the years of the pre-war five-year plans, hundreds of new industrial enterprises appeared in the Udmurt Republic, the life of the collective farm village and cities changed. A national working class was formed, and the cadres of the Udmurt intelligentsia grew. During the Great Patriotic War, the development of industry in Udmurtia not only did not stop, but became even more powerful. The working people of Udmurtia exerted every effort to ensure the victory of the Red Army. The people of the Udmurt Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic took an active part in the struggle against the Nazi barbarians not only with the supply of weapons, bread and fodder, but also with the exploits of their sons and daughters. Over 60 thousand warriors - natives of Udmurtia - were awarded orders and medals of the Soviet Union for courage, valor and courage. 79 soldiers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
04/05/06
Udmurts, they are Votyaks - one of the nationalities of our vast motherland. This species nests mainly within Udmurtia (where unfortunately I live). They can be immediately distinguished from the rest: freckled faces, protruding ears, red hair (sometimes the color of fresh diarrhea), a flattened nose, and a low forehead. Growth is small, the character is bad. Their hybrids with Tatars are also possible (a more progressive look). I hate them for their lack of intelligence, for their clumsy appearance, their ugly language and the fact that they litter the TV air with their programs (*Chagyr-chagyr dedeko*, *Ivoryoz*). True, in the capital of Udmurtia, they almost degenerated as a species (they are found only in small groups) and most of them live in villages. Hope they die soon...
FKB, 22/10/10
there are many raped children among the Udmurts
night, 23/10/11
I don’t hate them)) but I can’t say that I like them either) despite the fact that my father is half Ukrainian and half Udmurt, my mother is Russian
Zhenya100, 17/10/12
A client named kogirum writes that the Udmurts are a titular nation. and who, then, are the Russians who live in the UR twice as many? how can you love or respect a nation that has not retained not only its language, but also its names. Who has ever heard at least one Udmur name in their life? and what is this national local sings with the name of dummies?
vovani, 14/06/13
I don’t hate them, but there’s nothing good from them, and in general they don’t have anything of their own, they can only copy from someone and praise themselves that the Udmurts are like the best in the whole world. And the so-called girls dance all their youth and then manage to jump out and get married. Do they have such a custom, chtoli? - shame! So they are born, it is not clear who!
Petruchio, 18/06/13
I have been living in Udmurtia for 10 years, and I have never seen a worse nation. Envious, scary, stupid. They live one day - and in order to get a penny from you today - they will sacrifice tomorrow's gold piece. No values. Horrible accent. The largest percentage of suicide in Russia - as a result of national character traits. Votyanki give at a time. Never take an Udmurt's word for it and make friends with him. Of the pluses - once again - their stupidity, which can be used.
Joseph Chamberlain, 18/06/13
Really stupid and morally degenerate nation, completely devoid of any scientific, social and cultural progress, living only on primary natural needs. Вотяки это аналог африканских ниггеров, только с белым цветом кожи, по интеллекту как раз стоят с ними на одинаковой, самой низшей ступени развития. Their Udmurtia is a poor republic, cities with old and worn-out infrastructure, villages are dying out due to alcoholism. These votyaks work en masse, mainly either in Moscow or in neighboring Tatarstan, since they have practically no work at home. During the time of Queen Catherine, these white nigers were changed to nails, at the cost of one, one nail, a very fair price should be noted. It was correctly noted above that this nation is prone to suicide, since there is nothing life-affirming in them and cannot be. It is for the best, the weak and degrading must perish, clearing the way for stronger and nobler peoples. In general, a dead-end nation.
Liannochka, 21/06/14
I am indifferent to the nation itself, but I do not like the subject of the federation. I live in Izhevsk, the 19th city in terms of population in the country, but it looks like a village. Nobody cares about the city, and the republic, the budget is scarce. Neighboring Tatarstan looks much better. And here even Izhevsk looks miserable, to say nothing of smaller cities. Nothing is developing here, therefore the nation has degraded
refer to Finno-Ugric group of peoples Russia. On the territory of our country, there are about 640 thousand residents. Most of them live in their historical homeland - in Udmurtia. Part of the Udmurts live in the states of the former Soviet Union: in Uzbekistan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine.
Historical roots
Numerous Volga-Kama tribes served as the historical basis for the formation of the ancestors of the Udmurts. Mixing with representatives of other tribes - with the Ugrians and Slavs, Indo-Iranians and late Turks - was reflected in the culture of the ethnos. Noticeable changes in the structure of the Udmurt ethnic group occurred under the influence of the Russian people. Vyatka lands were developed by Russian settlers. Already in the 15th century, the Udmurts were part of the Russian state. The Udmurts living in the southern territories became dependent on the Volga Bulgaria, and only after the fall of the Kazan Khanate did they become part of the Russian state. In history, this event dates back to 1558. From a brief historical background, the conclusion easily suggests itself: the Udmurts fell under the rule of other states several times. Being under the rule of foreign citizenship, the Udmurts inevitably assimilated, i.e. "mixed": the southern tribes with the Russians, and the northern Udmurts with the Tatars. However, thanks to Russian patronage, the Udmurts survived as a nation.
Where did the word "Udmurt" come from?
The Russians gave the nickname to the Udmurts - " votyaks”, by the name of the place of their settlement. Historians still cannot determine exactly where the word "Udmurts" came from then. Some scientists have suggested that "oud" is green seedlings in the meadows, translated from the Mari dialect. " Murt” in translation from Indo-Iranian - a man, a man.
National character of the Udmurts
The ancestors of the Udmurts led a traditional way of life: men worked in the fields and in the forests, and women followed the family life, knitted, spun, embroidered. An interesting version was put forward by researchers about the psychotype of the Udmurts. In their opinion, the Udmurt is a calm, balanced person with an unflappable temperament. The historical way of occupation of the Udmurt settlements influenced the national character. For a long time I had to spend in the forest harvesting wood. The work required responsibility, a measured approach, and excluded fuss.
Holidays and rituals
Family affairs were especially revered by the Udmurts, so many customs are associated with the most significant episodes: the birth of the first child, a wedding celebration, and the commemoration of the dead. Calendar and ceremonial rituals were carried out in order to appease nature in order to subsequently receive a rich harvest. Pagan roots can be traced in many customs: spells, sacrifices, magical rites. Holiday Tolsur- This is the Udmurt Harvest Day. Funny games, songs and dances, a rich festive table with treats are in every home. Maslenitsa is popularly called howl of holes. In addition to traditional pancakes, costumed dressing up, “bear dances”, horseback riding, fortune telling are arranged here. The ritual of expelling Shaitan means fighting an evil spirit that can harm loved ones. On holiday Akayashka, which lasts three days, they try to free the dwelling from evil spirits.
Treats of the Udmurts
In the Udmurt kitchen, the hostess lovingly prepares treats for guests. Feeding a guest is a tradition of the people. The aroma of fresh bread, crispy national pancakes shanezhki”, pies with different fillings will make you hungry as soon as you cross the threshold of the Udmurt house. Pork is not popular in these places; beef, lamb, duck meat are more valued. And the story of everyone's favorite dumplings began, by the way, right here. People called them " bear's ear”, and in the capital of Udmurtia there is even a monument dedicated to this dish. In addition to the traditional minced meat, the Udmurts use different fillings for dumplings in cooking: minced mushrooms, vegetable mixture, fish pate. But there are not enough desserts and sweet treats in the national cuisine. The abundance of fragrant berries, fragrant honey, pastries filled this niche. Kvass was made from honey, honey drinks were added to flour products.
