Origin of the Finno-Ugrians. Finno-Ugric peoples: history and culture

The satellite image below shows , determined with the help of , on which the formation of proto-languages ​​related to Nostratic, which is Proto-Uralic, took place. In this section, we will analyze in more detail how, using a graphical model, the places of formation of individual Finno-Ugric languages, that is, the areas of settlements of their first speakers, were determined and verified in other ways.

NASA space image of the cradle of mankind with the designated areas of the formation of Nostratic languages.

Authoritative scientists locate the ancestral home of the Urals in Northern Siberia somewhere between the lower Ob and the Urals. It is assumed that six thousand years ago the Ural community split into two branches. the Finno-Ugric branch advanced beyond the Urals and occupied the territory in the Kama and Pechora basins. Over time, this community also broke up into Ugric and Finnish-Perm. The division process continued in the II millennium BC. e. The Finnish-Permian branch was divided into Permian and Finnish-Volga. Proto-Permian speakers occupied the basin of the lower Kama, speakers of the Finnish-Volga proto-language settled in the basins of the Middle Volga and Oka, and the settlements remained undefined. At different times, these communities also broke up ( Lytkin V.I. 1975, 84). The analysis of the ancient vocabulary of the Finno-Ugric languages ​​does not confirm such a diachronic process of their formation. The Finno-Ugric branch broke up into separate languages ​​almost simultaneously. Below we will consider this process, based on a graphical model of the Finno-Ugric languages, which will help us determine the areas of formation of the Finno-Ugric languages, which will be confirmed in other ways.

For the graphical model of the Finno-Ugric languages, the lexical material when compiling the table-dictionary was taken from the etymological dictionaries of Finnish (A. Hakkinen Kaisa. 2007), Hungarian (A. Zaicz Gabor, 2006), Udmurt (A. Alatyrev V.I. 1988) languages ​​and the Komi language (A. Lytkin V.I., Gulyaev E.S., 1970), as well as bilingual dictionaries of other Finno-Ugric languages. At the same time, the data of etymological dictionaries had to be supplemented to a large extent from these dictionaries, because the compilers of dictionaries do not always give all the correspondences to the considered Finno-Ugric roots. In some cases, these matches have not yet been found. The constructed graphical model of the kinship relations of the Finno-Ugric languages ​​made it possible to carry out targeted searches. For example, in the Finnish etymological dictionary, the Finnish word konnti"a birch bark box for wearing on the back" only the Mansi and Khanty words are brought into line. However, between the areas of formation of these languages ​​and the Finnish area, there are also areas of the Komi and Udmurt languages. Similar words must have existed in these languages ​​as well, otherwise it would be impossible to explain the existence of lexical correspondences between Finnish and Ob-Ugric languages. The search brought the expected results: Komi where and udm. where- both "basket". Such findings make it possible to clarify not only the kinship model, but also the regularities of the phonology of the Finno-Ugric languages. Another example can be cited from the etymological dictionary of the Hungarian language, where f.-u. root * aŋa-"open, dissolve" only Hung. old"dissolve", Fin. avaa-"open", muzzle. anksema"hole", Khant. aŋe"untie (knot)". In the etymological dictionary of the Finnish language, these data are supplemented by the words of the Vepsian, Estonian and Mansi languages, but during targeted searches, Mar. yongs"open place, glade", Komi yukmös, udm. yukmes"hole". There are many similar examples, although not so expressive. On the other hand, the search for cognate words is often limited in accordance with traditional views on the division of the family of Finno-Ugric languages. As an example, the assignment of Hung. oldal"side, side" to hunt. ăŋti and Mansi an"t"əl"rib", while this word is clearly of the same origin as udm. urdes"side, side" and others like it. Such facts indicate that the compilers of etymological dictionaries approached the matter not entirely carefully, setting themselves a completely different goal than establishing true relations between the Finno-Ugric languages. Therefore, compiling a dictionary table was a long and painstaking work.

The studied languages ​​included the following languages: Finnish, Estonian, Veps, Sami, Komi (Zyryan and Permyak), Udmurt, Mordovian (Erzya and Moksha), Mari, Hungarian, Khanty and Mansi. Later, the Karelian language was also involved in the study, but the analysis of its vocabulary clearly showed that it developed on a common basis with Finnish. We will not dwell on this issue in detail. In order not to identify the modern Finno-Ugric peoples with their ancestors instead of cumbersome and artificial definitions, in the further presentation of the ancestors of modern Finns, we will call the Fens, that is, as they were called by ancient historians; Let's call the ancestors of the Estonians simply Estonians; the ancestors of the Vepsians - all, that is, as they were called in the annals. We will take outdated names for other Finno-Ugric tribes, i.e. the ancestors of the Saami will be called Lapps, the ancestors of the Udmurts we will call Votyaks, the ancestors of the Mari - Cheremis, the ancestors of the Mansi - Voguls, the ancestors of the Khanty - Ostyaks, and the proto-Hungarians - Magyars. We leave the generalized names of Mordvins and Komi for the names of the Erzya and Moksha, Zyryans and Permyaks, respectively. Summary Etymological dictionaries-tables for different language families and groups, for which calculations were made, are served on my website "Alternative historical linguistics". After compiling the table-dictionary of the Finno-Ugric languages, it contained 2144 isoglosses, of which 202 were recognized as common to all of them. (Words presented in ten out of eleven languages, excluding Karelian, were considered common). Another 123 were recognized as borrowed from other languages. The results of counting common words in pairs of languages ​​are summarized in Table 4. Based on these data, a scheme of kinship of the Finno-Ugric languages ​​was built, shown in Figure 25. For this scheme, a corresponding territory was found on the geographical map in the Volga and Oka basins, where, according to the general opinion the Finno-Ugric peoples must have lived for some time.

Left: Fig. 25. Scheme of family relations of the Finno-Ugric languages, built according to the table.

The ancestral home of the Finno-Ugric peoples is usually considered the Urals, however, as V.N. Toporov, there is a tendency among scientists to expand or move the ancestral home of the Urals to the west of the Urals, to the space between the Urals and the Middle Volga and further - even to the Baltic ( Toporov V. N., 1990, 104).

In reality, the territory of the original settlements of the Finno-Ugric peoples, as can be seen from the map in Figure 26, on which the obtained scheme of kinship relations of the Finno-Ugric languages ​​is well superimposed, is clearly limited by the Volga in the north and east, and in the west it is closely adjacent to the Indo-European territory.

Right: Fig. 26. Map of ancient Finno-Ugric settlements.

The areas of formation of individual languages ​​are mainly limited to large rivers. The area of ​​the fen lies between the Oka and the Klyazma. To the west of them, between the Moskva River and the Oka to the Ugra, there was an area of ​​Vesi, and the Ests lived to the north from the Finns and Veps between the Upper Volga, the Upper Moscow River and the Upper Klyazma. Two rivers with the same name Nerl separated the area of ​​the Estonians from the area of ​​the Lapps, which was limited from the north and east by the Volga, and from the south by the Lower Klyazma. To the southeast of the Lapps was the formation area of ​​the Komi language; this range in the west was limited by the Oka, in the north by the Volga, in the east by Sura, and in the south by Moksha and Alatyr. The range of the Voguls was between the Volga and the Sura on both banks of the Sviyaga. The small area of ​​the Ostyaks was limited by the rivers Moksha, Sura and Alatyr, and the Votyaks inhabited the area on both banks of the Vorona between Moksha, Tsna and Khopra. The range of the Magyars was almost completely limited by the Khopr and Medveditsa, and the range of the Cheremis by the rivers Don, Voronezh and Nizhny Khopr. And, finally, the Mordovians inhabited a quadrangle bounded in the west and north by the Oka, in the east by the Upper Don, and in the south by Pine.

The entire Finno-Ugric territory is clearly demarcated by the Volga and Don, acting as natural boundaries, like powerful water obstacles. Only the Mordovians crossed to the right bank of the Upper Don, that is, where it is easy to overcome, coming close to the settlements of the Indo-Europeans. As in the Indo-European region, "empty" areas can also be distinguished throughout the Finno-Ugric territory. There may be two, or rather three. One area is clearly defined between the Volga and the Medveditsa, but there are no assumptions about the Finno-Ugric ethnic group that inhabited it.

On right: Estimated ranges of Meri and Meshchera.

A large space on the right bank of the Oka to the mouth of the Moksha can be considered as two areas separated by the Pronya River. It can be assumed that the Finno-Ugric tribe, known as the Meshchera, inhabited the western one in the vicinity of the Fens and Mordvins. This assumption is based on the opinion of some historians who believed that the Meshchera inhabited the lands along the Oka ( History of the USSR, 1966, v. 1, 471). Then the ancestors of the annalistic Mary had their area between the rivers Pronya and Tsna, to the north of the area of ​​the Mari. The assumption of a possible close linguistic relationship of these ethnic groups and, accordingly, of their common ancestral home is based on the similarity of the ethnonyms Mari and Merya, which can be considered phonetic variants of one word, as well as on the connection of Meryan toponyms with Mari ( Matveev A.K., 1997, 5-17). A.K. Matveev defines the territory of the Mary settlement as follows at the end of the 1st - the beginning of the 2nd millennium:

The chronicle Merya inhabited the Volga-Oka interfluve and the Kostroma Territory, sometimes collectively called the historical Meryan lands, which include the modern Vladimir, Ivanovo, Yaroslavl regions, the eastern regions of Moscow and Tver, as well as the western part of Kostroma ( Matveev A.K.. 2015, 35-36)

Thus, taking into account the migration of the Finno-Ugric peoples, it can be assumed that the ancestors of the Meri inhabited the area limited by the Oka and Pronya in the north, the upper reaches of the Don in the west and Tsna in the east. This assumption is supported by the recoverable specifics of the Meryan language, according to which it is most closely related to the Baltic-Finnish, Mordovian and Mari languages ​​( Tkachenko O.B.. 2007, 88).

As for the other Finno-Ugric tribes, it must be assumed that these were the remnants of those peoples who migrated to new places, and their languages, like Karelian, are languages ​​of a higher order relative to the rest of the Finno-Ugric ones. To identify the range between the Volga and the Bear, there are no data for any assumptions yet.

The proposed localization of the ancient Finno-Ugric territory can be confirmed by paleobotanical data if it can be compared with the distribution areas of some plants that have common Finno-Ugric names. So far, only the name and territory of oak distribution can be used for this purpose. In almost all Finno-Ugric languages, its name is similar to the Slavic one: Fin. Tammy, est. tamm, Mar. tum, Erzya tumo, moksha fog, Komi typy, udm. stupid. In the etymological dictionary of modern Finnish, the original Finno-Ugric form of the word is defined as * tomo and the possibility of borrowing from Slavic is not considered despite the similarity to the Slavic name of oak ( Hakkinen Kaisa, 2007, 1268). However, other experts have a different opinion:

In view of the fact that the ancestral home of the Finno-Ugric peoples was located in the taiga zone, where there is no oak, the word, together with the corresponding reality, became known to the Finno-Permians only when they moved from their ancestral home to the territory occupied by the Slavs ( Tkacheno O.B. 1990, 26).

The judgment is very strange, because it was not the Finno-Ugric peoples who settled in the Slavic territory, but, on the contrary, the Slavs were newcomers to the Finno-Ugric lands, i.e. Finno-Ugric peoples were familiar with oak prior to contact with the Slavs and therefore must have had their own name for it. The northern border of the oak distribution currently stretches from St. Petersburg approximately to the latitude of Yekaterinburg, that is, it passes somewhat north of the Upper Volga, and there really is no oak beyond the Urals. In earlier times, it could have passed even further south.

Top left: Range of pedunculate oak. Rice. 74 from the Forest Library website.

Thus, on the territory of the Finno-Ugric peoples, the oak really grew. On the other hand, since there is no oak in most of the Urals, the Finno-Ugric peoples could not have settlements in the Urals and beyond the Urals. If the similarity of the Slavic and Finno-Ugric names of oak must be explained, then, most likely, the proto-form of the word is the substratum of the language of the Paleo-European population of Europe. Possibly the same origin is Proto-Celtic * tombo"bush".

The areas of formation of the Samoyed languages, to which modern Nenets, Enets, Nganasan and Selkup belong, remain uncertain. In ancient times there should have been more of them; they also included the languages ​​of Mators, Karagas, Kotovtsy, etc. ( URE, vol. 12, 505). If the question is raised about the genetic relationship of these languages ​​with the Finno-Ugric languages, then at least the primary settlements of their speakers should have been somewhere not far from the Finno-Ugric peoples. On the map of Eastern Europe, a place is left free to the north of the upper Volga. It could be assumed that here, on the basis of the population of the Laponoid anthropological type and its language, ethnic groups of Samoyeds were also formed in certain geographical areas with pronounced natural boundaries. In the Saami language, according to many scientists, a powerful layer of substrate vocabulary (up to one third) of unknown origin has been preserved ( Fromm Hans, 1990, 16). It is assumed that this vocabulary is of Samoyedic origin, but there is another view: "the idea of ​​the Samoyedic origin of the substrate vocabulary of the Sami language does not stand up to criticism" ( Napolskikh V. AT. 1990, 129).

However, according to Meinander, “in the vast territory of North-Eastern Europe from the Urals to the Gulf of Bothnia, from the Arctic Ocean to the Kazan-Riga border, there are no linguistic traces of other languages, except for the Finno-Ugric and Samoyedic languages” ( Meinander K. F., 1990, 19). Under such circumstances, it was obviously Simchenko who was closest to the truth when he wrote about the common substratum for the Sami and Samoyedic languages:

… the substratum elements of the Saami language, by their nature, cannot be considered direct borrowings from the Samoyedic languages. In this case, the identical phenomena of the Samoyedic and Lappish languages ​​should be explained by the presence in these peoples of a single Uralic-speaking ancient substrate, which had a linguistic influence on both the Saami and the northern Samoyeds ( Simchenko Y. B. 1975, 167).

Comparison of archaeological, linguistic and anthropological data confirms, on the whole, the correctness of the hypothesis of the existence of a single ethnic substrate in the ethnic history of the Arctic and Subpolar regions of the Old World ( Simchenko Y. B. 1975, 184).

Since we now know that the Urals (Finno-Ugric peoples) were not natives of Europe, then, accepting Simchenko's conclusion about the common substrate in the Sami and Samoyedic languages, it should be assumed that the unknown substrate in these languages ​​is part of the vocabulary of the eastern proto-language of people of the Laponoid type, a single ethnic group that inhabited Northeastern Europe in the Mesolithic (see section "").

On right: Early Neolithic Sites of the European Northeast in the Basins of the Vychegda, Pechora and Mezen Rivers
a – non-ceramic monuments
b - Chernoborsk group
in – monuments of the Enty group with trapeziums of the Anty type
G - monuments with ceramics of the "Kargopol" type.

The card copies the original ( Volokitin A.V., Karmanov V.N. 2004, 6. Fig. 1) without specifying the exact location of the monuments.

If the Samoyedic languages ​​were formed on the basis of this eastern Paleo-European proto-language under the strong influence of the Finno-Ugric ones, then it is obvious after the settlement of the Volga-Oka basin which powerful group of Finno-Ugric peoples crossed the Volga, mixed here with the descendants of the cultures of the Volga-Kama Mesolithic in the Vyatka and Vetluga basins , which existed here in the 7th - 4th millennium BC, and had a significant impact on the language of the local population. The connection of the Early Paleolithic sites indicated on the map above with the Late Melithic ones has not been established, therefore " it should be about cultural traditions, the roots of which are likely to be outside the territories under consideration" (same place, 13).

With a higher economic culture, the Finno-Ugric peoples undoubtedly had a more developed language, so not only vocabulary, but entire grammatical categories could be borrowed. In addition, the cultural influence of the Finno-Ugric peoples on the local population was also manifested in Samoyedic mythology. For example, in Nenets folklore there is a legend about a flood, during which people escaped on a large raft, on which they took one representative of each animal species. The god-demiurge Num, whose analogue is the Khanty Num-Torum, gravitates towards the pre-Samodian mythology. Later, with the wide settlement of the Finno-Ugric peoples in the basins of the Kama and Sukhona rivers, the previously formed Samoyed tribes partially assimilated among the newcomers, and for the most part moved north and east beyond the Urals, retaining their ethnic identity. The first wave of Samoyed migrants beyond the Urals could eventually give rise to the development of the Yukaghir ethnic community, whose language may also be related to the Finno-Ugric ( Simchenko Yu.B., 1975, 176; Ivanov V.V., 1990).

Knowing the territories of the settlements of Nostratic speakers in Eastern Europe, it is possible to speak more specifically about the connections of the Finno-Ugric languages ​​with other Nostratic languages. Linguists and ethnologists unanimously believe, and they are supported by archaeologists, that the most active and constant contacts were between the Finnish peoples and the Indo-Iranian part of the Indo-European community ( Khalikov A. Kh., 1990, 53). Iranian-Finno-Ugric language ties have been studied by many well-known specialists (A. Abaev V.I., 1965;Abaev V.I., 1981;Georgiev Vl., 1958;Kornilov G. E., 1973; Lytkin V.I. 1975; Harmatta J., 1981;Blazek Vaclav, 1990;Fromm Hans, 1990;Gulya Janos, 1990;Koivulehto Jorma, 1990). The results of the research cannot be brought into any system. IN AND. Lytkin gives examples of the "Proto-Aryan layer" of borrowings into the Finno-Ugric proto-language, which can refer both to the general Indo-European-Finno-Ugric fund from the time of the presence of speakers of Nostratic languages ​​in the Transcaucasus, and to borrowings from Iranian into individual Finno-Ugric languages, which he considers as common to this language family (Finno-Ugric * sata"one hundred", * aisha"shaft", * asərə"prince, lord", * orpa/*orva "orphan", * arva"price").

Basically, the prevailing opinion is that the Iranians had more contact with the Magyars and speakers of the ancient Finno-Permian languages ​​than with the speakers of the Baltic-Finnish. Lytkin substantiates this view as follows:

The ancestors of the speakers of modern Baltic-Finnish languages, having separated by the 1st millennium BC. e. from the ancestors of the Mordovians and Mari, lost direct ties with the Iranians, therefore, Iranian borrowings (not common with other Finno-Ugric borrowings) are absent in their languages. In the Volga, Perm and Ugric languages, we have a large number of borrowings, which were already accepted during the period of the isolated life of their speakers. There are especially many Iranianisms in the Hungarian language, whose speakers in the second half of the 5th century. n. e. migrated from the territory of the Kama basin to the south, to the North Caucasus, and lived there for a long time in close proximity to the Iranians Lytkin V.I. 1975, 88).

Now let's consider the received territories of the settlements of the ancient Indo-Europeans, Finno-Ugric peoples and Turks in general (see Figure 30). We see that these territories do not overlap each other anywhere, but closely adjoin one another, embracing a space clearly delimited in the east and partly in the north by a large water barrier - the Volga. Other sections of the northern border are the upper Dnieper and the Western Dvina. In the south, this space is even more clearly limited by the Don and the coast of the Azov and Black Seas. At the same time, the areas of settlements of ethnic formations here go close to this natural border. Only the long and winding western and southwestern boundary of the space partly does not have clear geographical boundaries, with the exception of the course of the lower Dnieper, as well as small sections of the Bug, Vepsha, Vistula, Nareva, Neman.

Rice. thirty. The total territory of settlements of ancient Indo-Europeans, Finno-Ugric peoples and Turks in Eastern Europe.

After determining the territories of the settlements of the Indo-Europeans, Finno-Ugric peoples and Turks, the question naturally arises: Why did none of these ethnic groups populate the territory of the North Caucasus and the Kuban region? Of course, this did not happen because this territory was already inhabited by a large ethnic group, which we conditionally call Maykopians, and therefore our migrants were forced to move further north.

If you pay attention to the map of the Russian Federation, you can find the names of rivers in the Volga and Kama basins, where the syllables “ha” and “va” occur. This confirms that Finno-Ugric tribes lived here. In their language, such syllables mean "river". Despite the fact that they had a rather wide distribution area, many historians still cannot say exactly what their way of life was.

Description of the Finno-Ugric tribes

Since Finno-Ugric tribes lived in a significant part of Russia, their names are very diverse. They can be divided into five main groups:

1. Karelians living in the Republic of Karelia. They communicate in several dialects, but the main language is Finnish. They also know Russian.
2. Lapps or Sami people living in Northern Scandinavia. Previously, their numbers were much larger, but over time they were pushed to the north, as a result of which poor living conditions began to steadily reduce the quantitative composition of the people.
3. Mordvins and Mari living on the territory of Mordovia, as well as in many Russian regions. Of all the groups, it is this one that is considered to be quickly Russified; the peoples immediately adopted the Christian faith and the corresponding language.
4. Komi and Udmurts inhabiting the Komi Republic. This group is the most educated; they had no equal in terms of literacy until the revolution.
5. Hungarians, Khanty and Mansi living in the Northern Urals and the lower reaches of the Ob. But initially the banks of the Danube were considered the capital of this nation.

Thus, the Finno-Ugric tribes throughout their history marched in the same ranks with the Russians. And, therefore, their cultures were intertwined, they learned new things from each other.

Where did the Finno-Ugric peoples come from?

Speaking about where the Finno-Ugric tribes settled, let's delve into the question of the origin of the nationality. The fact is that their place of residence covers large areas, but there is no exact data on where it all began.

It is believed that they represent the original In the IV-III millennium BC. e. they occupied not only Russian territories completely, but also spread to Europe. There are two opinions about why the tribes went to the West. First, it could be a normal migration. Secondly, the possibility of their being pushed back by the conquerors is allowed.

Historians consider the second option more likely, since in the II millennium BC. e. tribes from Turkey, India, Asia Minor and so on began to penetrate into the territory of Russia. However, it can be said for sure that the Finno-Ugric peoples played an important role in the formation of the Slavic people.

Pre-Slavic population

The Finno-Ugric and Baltic tribes are considered the indigenous population of the Russian land before the Slavs. They began to develop these territories VI thousand years ago. Gradually they moved to the west of the Ural Mountains, then to the East European Plain, and then reached the coast of the Baltic Sea. However, the Urals have always been considered the birthplace of these peoples.

Unfortunately, most of the Finno-Ugric tribes have not survived to this day. Today their number is minimal. But we can definitely say that the descendants of such a vast and numerous nationality in the past live on the territory of the entire planet.

Habitat

The resettlement of the Finno-Ugric tribes cannot be called unambiguous. This is due to the fact that the process began on but subsequently captured other territories. To a greater extent, they were attracted to the north and west.

By the 1st millennium, virtually the entire territory of the Baltic states was occupied by Finno-Ugric tribes. The place of settlement is not the only one, since some groups of people went towards Northern Scandinavia.

But excavations show that all these peoples had much in common with the Slavs, ranging from housekeeping, religion and ending with appearance. Consequently, although most of the tribes went north, some of them remained on the territory of modern Russia.

First encounters with Russians

In the XVI-XVIII centuries, Russian settlers began to rush to those territories where the Finno-Ugric tribes lived. The list of military skirmishes was minimal, since for the most part the settlement was carried out quite peacefully. Only occasionally did the accession of new lands to the Russian state meet with resistance. The Mari were the most aggressive.

Religion, writing and the language of the Russians rather quickly began to crowd out the local culture. But even from the Finno-Ugric side, some words and dialects entered the language. For example, some Russian surnames, like Shukshin, Piyasheva and others, have nothing to do with our culture. They go back to the name of the Shuksha tribe, and the name Piyash is generally pre-Christian. Thus, the connection of the two cultures takes place harmoniously, complementing each other.

Colonization

The ancient Finno-Ugric tribes lived in large areas, which was the reason for their displacement. It should be noted that not all of them could defend themselves against armed colonizers. But this did not need to be done, since many lands joined Russia quickly and without resistance.

However, those places where the Finno-Ugric tribes lived attracted not only Russians. The Turks were also interested in expanding their territories. Therefore, part of the nationality accepted not the Christian, but the Muslim faith.

It should be noted that, despite the fact that the Finno-Ugrians literally dissolved in those cultures that appeared on their lands, they retained their anthropological type. These are blue eyes, blond hair and a wide face. Also, many words were borrowed from their language, for example, tundra or sprat.

economy

In fact, it is impossible to single out any features of the economic activity carried out by the Finno-Ugric tribes. Their occupations for the most part were reindeer herding, fishing and hunting. Only some of the tribal subgroups had differences.

For example, the Mari, who reacted negatively to joining the Russian state, resisted until the revolution. This negatively affected them. They could not trade, and few of them could carry out handicraft activities. Living in villages and villages forced them to earn a living only through cattle breeding and agriculture.

The Komi subgroup, which is distinguished by education, could earn money in a different way. Among them there were many merchants and entrepreneurs, which made it possible to abandon hard work.

Religion

Orthodoxy was the religion of most of the peoples that made up the Finno-Ugric tribes. The religion of some of them differs quite strongly due to the fact that during the colonization of territories, part was conquered by the Turks. Therefore, individual settlements were forced to turn to Islam and Islam.

But far from all Finno-Ugric tribes profess Orthodoxy. The list of peoples who have turned to other religions is minimal, but still it takes place.

The Udmurts accepted Orthodoxy, but this did not become the reason for following Christian traditions. Many of them were baptized only to be left alone by the Russian nobility. Their main religion is paganism. They worship deities and spirits. Many of the Komi people retained their former faith and remained Old Believers.

The Khanty and Mansi also did not accept Christianity as their main religion. They turned to the old faith, and did not even try to hide it, baptism was alien to them. But due to the fact that they lived far from the Russian princes, no one could force them to accept Orthodoxy. Probably for this reason, the old faith remained for the Khanty and Mansi the only one they knew about. They simply had nothing to compare with.

Writing

Unfortunately, the Finno-Ugric tribes include those groups of people who considered the transmission of written information to be sinful. As a result, any literary sources are simply excluded. The transfer of information in writing is prohibited.

However, the use of hieroglyphs was available. It began in the 4th millennium BC. e. and continued until the 14th century. Only then did the Metropolitan of Perm appropriate his own letter to the Komi tribe. It is likely that this is why they became more educated than their blood brothers.

The Finno-Ugric tribes, unlike the Slavs, did not have a specific language. Each settlement used its own dialect. Often, within the same nationality, people could not understand each other. Probably, this also became the reason for the lack of writing.

Literature and languages

All Finno-Ugric tribes, whose names cannot be counted due to their large numbers, spoke their own dialects. Moreover, even one nationality often could not understand its blood neighbor without an interpreter. But, contrary to popular belief, the most common languages ​​have not disappeared.

On the territory of modern Russia, you can find where schools teach in two languages ​​- Russian and native - the one that was spoken by ancestors many thousands of years ago. So, for example, in Mordovia there is a study of Russian and

Before the reign of Peter I, modern Russia was not distinguished by forcing the entire population to speak exclusively in Russian. It was used only in large cities or large administrative institutions (tax and so on). The Russian language penetrated into villages and small settlements gradually, at first it was used to explain only with the landowners and bailiffs.

The Moksha, Meryan and Mari languages ​​were considered the main literature. Moreover, they even talked to cabbies, traders in the market, and so on. That is, it was simply unprofitable for various people involved in entrepreneurial activities not to know the dialects of their customers.

Conclusion

Literature was also enriched by the culture of this people. The Finno-Ugric peoples always buried the dead in oak coffins. They needed to be guarded. The role of guards was taken by cats, in which, according to legend, the soul of a sorcerer or sorcerer of the tribe was infused. And also chains were hung on the oak, if it was intended for a quick cut and processing. Accordingly, even such a great Russian classic as Pushkin could not abandon the Finno-Ugric culture. And, probably, his learned cat is none other than a shaman who came from the afterlife.

Who are the Finno-Ugric peoples?

It is believed that the ancestral home of the Finno-Ugric peoples is located to the west of the Ural Mountains, in the region of Udmurtia, Perm, Mordovia and Mari El. By 3000 B.C. e. the Baltic-Finnish subgroup did not move west along the coast of the Baltic Sea. Around the same time, the Sami moved inland to the northeast, reaching the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. The Magyars (Hungarians) made the longest and most recent journey from the territory of the Ural Mountains to their real homeland in central Europe, only in 896 AD. e.

What is the age of the Finno-Ugric peoples?

The culture of pit-comb ceramics (The name was given by the method of decorating ceramic finds characteristic of this culture, which looks like imprints of combs.), which flourished in 4200-2000 BC. e. between the Urals and the Baltic Sea, in general, it is presented as the oldest clear evidence of early Finno-Ugric communities. The settlements of this culture are always accompanied by burials of representatives of the Ural race, in the phenotype of which a mixture of Mongoloid and Caucasian elements is found.

But does the culture of pit-comb ceramics represent the beginning of the life of the Finno-Ugric people, or is this distinctive pattern just a new artistic tradition among the already old Finno-Ugric civilization at that time?

So far, archaeologists have no answer to this question. They found settlements in the area that date back to before the end of the last ice age, but so far scientists do not have sufficient evidence to suggest that these were settlements of Finno-Ugric or other peoples known to us. Since two or more peoples can live in the same territory, geographical information alone is not enough. In order to establish the ownership of these settlements, it is necessary to show a certain connection, for example, similar artistic traditions, which are an indicator of a common culture. Since these early settlements are 10,000 years old, archaeologists simply don't have enough evidence to make a guess, so the origin of these settlements remains a mystery. What is the age of the Finno-Ugric peoples? At present, it is not possible to give an exact answer to this question. We can only say that the Finno-Ugric peoples appeared west of the Ural Mountains between the end of the last ice age and 8000-4200 BC. e.

Let's look at this time period in perspective:
Writing was invented by the Sumerians around 3800 BC. e.
The Egyptian pyramids were built in 2500 BC. e.
Stonehenge in England was built in 2200 BC. e.
The Celts, the ancestors of the Irish and Scots, landed in the British Isles around 500 BC. e.
The British landed in the British Isles after 400 AD. e.
Turks began to move into what is now Turkey around 600 AD. e.

As a result, anthropologists call the Finno-Ugric peoples the oldest permanent inhabitants of Europe and the oldest surviving inhabitants of northeastern Europe.

However, it is no longer possible to separate the history of the Finno-Ugric peoples from the history of another people, the Indo-European Slavs.

By 600 A.D. e. there was a division of the Slavs into three branches: southern, western and eastern. A slow process of resettlement and resettlement began. In the 9th century, the Eastern Slavs formed a center in Kievan Rus and Novgorod. By the middle of the 16th century, with the conquest of the Kazan Khanate by Russia, almost all Finno-Ugric peoples, not counting the Saami, Finns, Estonians and Hungarians, came under the control of Russia.

Today, the majority of Finno-Ugric peoples live on the territory of the Russian Federation, and their future is forever connected with their large Slavic neighbor.

Finno-Ugric languages

“Language diversity is an integral part of human heritage. Each language embodies the unique cultural wisdom of a people. Thus, the loss of any language is a loss for all mankind.”
UNESCO, United Nations Educational Science and Culture Organization

Estonian philologist Mall Hellam found only one sentence that is understandable in the three most common Finno-Ugric languages: Hungarian, Finnish and Estonian. Live fish swim in the water

"Eleven hal úszkál a víz alatt." (Hungarian)
"Elava kala ui veden alla." (Finnish)
"Elav kala ujub vee all." (Estonian)

To these languages, you can add the Erzya "Ertstsya Kaloso ukshny after all Alga" (Erzya)

As part of the Finno-Ugric languages, the following groups and languages ​​are usually distinguished:

Compare Finno-Ugric languages

As in any family, some members are more similar to each other, and some have only a distant resemblance. But we are united by a common language roots, this is what defines us as a family and creates the basis for discovering cultural, artistic and philosophical ties.

Account in Finno-Ugric languages

The Finno-Ugric languages ​​are related to modern Finnish and Hungarian. The peoples who speak them make up the Finno-Ugric ethno-linguistic group. Their origin, territory of settlement, commonality and difference in external features, culture, religion and traditions are the subjects of global research in the field of history, anthropology, geography, linguistics and a number of other sciences. This review article will briefly cover this topic.

The peoples included in the Finno-Ugric ethno-linguistic group

Based on the degree of proximity of languages, researchers divide the Finno-Ugric peoples into five subgroups.

The basis of the first, the Baltic-Finnish, are the Finns and Estonians - peoples with their own states. They also live in Russia. Setu - a small group of Estonians - settled in the Pskov region. The most numerous of the Baltic-Finnish peoples of Russia are the Karelians. In everyday life they use three autochthonous dialects, while Finnish is considered their literary language. In addition, the same subgroup includes Veps and Izhors - small peoples who have retained their languages, as well as Vods (there are less than a hundred of them left, their own language has been lost) and Livs.

The second is the Sami (or Lappish) subgroup. The main part of the peoples who gave it its name is settled in Scandinavia. In Russia, the Saami live on the Kola Peninsula. Researchers suggest that in ancient times these peoples occupied a larger territory, but were subsequently pushed back to the north. At the same time, their own language was replaced by one of the Finnish dialects.

The third subgroup that makes up the Finno-Ugric peoples - the Volga-Finnish - includes the Mari and Mordovians. The Mari are the main part of Mari El, they also live in Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, Udmurtia and a number of other Russian regions. They distinguish two literary languages ​​(with which, however, not all researchers agree). Mordva - the autochthonous population of the Republic of Mordovia; at the same time, a significant part of the Mordvins settled throughout Russia. This people includes two ethnographic groups, each with its own literary written language.

The fourth subgroup is called the Permian. It includes as well as the Udmurts. Even before October 1917, in terms of literacy (albeit in Russian), the Komi were approaching the most educated peoples of Russia - Jews and Russian Germans. As for the Udmurts, their dialect has been preserved for the most part in the villages of the Udmurt Republic. Residents of cities, as a rule, forget both the indigenous language and customs.

The fifth, Ugric, subgroup includes Hungarians, Khanty and Mansi. Although many kilometers separate the lower reaches of the Ob and the northern Urals from the Hungarian state on the Danube, these peoples are actually the closest relatives. Khanty and Mansi belong to the small peoples of the North.

Disappeared Finno-Ugric tribes

The Finno-Ugric peoples also included tribes, the mention of which is currently preserved only in the annals. So, the Merya people lived in the interfluve of the Volga and Oka in the first millennium of our era - there is a theory that they later merged with the Eastern Slavs.

The same thing happened with Muroma. This is an even more ancient people of the Finno-Ugric ethno-linguistic group, who once inhabited the Oka basin.

The long-disappeared Finnish tribes that lived along the Northern Dvina are called Chud by researchers (according to one of the hypotheses, they were the ancestors of modern Estonians).

Commonality of languages ​​and culture

By declaring the Finno-Ugric languages ​​as a single group, the researchers emphasize this commonality as the main factor that unites the peoples who speak them. However, the Uralic ethnic groups, despite the similarity in the structure of their languages, still do not always understand each other. So, a Finn, of course, will be able to communicate with an Estonian, an Erzya resident with a Moksha resident, and an Udmurt with a Komi. However, the peoples of this group, geographically distant from each other, should make quite a lot of effort to identify common features in their languages ​​that would help them to carry on a conversation.

The linguistic relationship of the Finno-Ugric peoples is primarily traced in the similarity of linguistic structures. This significantly affects the formation of thinking and worldview of peoples. Despite the difference in cultures, this circumstance contributes to the emergence of mutual understanding between these ethnic groups.

At the same time, a peculiar psychology, conditioned by the thought process in these languages, enriches the universal culture with their unique vision of the world. So, unlike the Indo-European, the representative of the Finno-Ugric people is inclined to treat nature with exceptional respect. The Finno-Ugric culture in many ways also contributed to the desire of these peoples to peacefully adapt to their neighbors - as a rule, they preferred not to fight, but to migrate, preserving their identity.

Also, a characteristic feature of the peoples of this group is their openness to ethno-cultural interchange. In search of ways to strengthen relationships with kindred peoples, they maintain cultural contacts with all those around them. Basically, the Finno-Ugric peoples managed to preserve their languages, the main cultural elements. The connection with ethnic traditions in this area can be traced in their national songs, dances, music, traditional dishes, and clothes. Also, many elements of their ancient rituals have survived to this day: wedding, funeral, memorial.

A Brief History of the Finno-Ugric Peoples

The origin and early history of the Finno-Ugric peoples are still the subject of scientific discussions. Among researchers, the most common opinion is that in ancient times there was a single group of people who spoke a common Finno-Ugric proto-language. The ancestors of the current Finno-Ugric peoples until the end of the third millennium BC. e. maintained relative unity. They were settled in the Urals and the western Urals, and possibly also in some areas adjacent to them.

In that era, called the Finno-Ugric, their tribes were in contact with the Indo-Iranians, which was reflected in myths and languages. Between the third and second millennium BC. e. the Ugric and Finno-Permian branches separated from each other. Among the peoples of the latter, who settled in a western direction, independent subgroups of languages ​​(Baltic-Finnish, Volga-Finnish, Permian) gradually stood out and became isolated. As a result of the transition of the autochthonous population of the Far North to one of the Finno-Ugric dialects, the Saami were formed.

The Ugric group of languages ​​fell apart by the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. The separation of the Baltic-Finnish occurred at the beginning of our era. Perm existed a little longer - until the eighth century. The contacts of the Finno-Ugric tribes with the Baltic, Iranian, Slavic, Turkic, and Germanic peoples played an important role in the course of the separate development of these languages.

Territory of settlement

Finno-Ugric peoples today mainly live in North-Western Europe. Geographically, they are settled on a vast territory from Scandinavia to the Urals, the Volga-Kama, the lower and middle Tobol region. The Hungarians are the only people of the Finno-Ugric ethno-linguistic group that formed their own state away from other related tribes - in the Carpatho-Danube region.

The number of Finno-Ugric peoples

The total number of peoples speaking the Uralic languages ​​(these include Finno-Ugric along with Samoyed) is 23-24 million people. The most numerous representatives are Hungarians. There are more than 15 million of them in the world. They are followed by Finns and Estonians (5 and 1 million people, respectively). Most of the other Finno-Ugric ethnic groups live in modern Russia.

Finno-Ugric ethnic groups in Russia

Russian settlers massively rushed to the lands of the Finno-Ugric peoples in the 16th-18th centuries. Most often, the process of their settlement in these parts took place peacefully, however, some indigenous peoples (for example, the Mari) long and fiercely resisted the annexation of their region to the Russian state.

The Christian religion, writing, urban culture, introduced by the Russians, eventually began to displace local beliefs and dialects. People moved to the cities, moved to the Siberian and Altai lands - where the main and common language was Russian. However, he (especially his northern dialect) absorbed a lot of Finno-Ugric words - this is most noticeable in the field of toponyms and names of natural phenomena.

In places, the Finno-Ugric peoples of Russia mixed with the Turks, adopting Islam. However, a significant part of them were still assimilated by the Russians. Therefore, these peoples do not constitute a majority anywhere - even in those republics that bear their name.

However, according to the 2002 census, there are very significant Finno-Ugric groups in Russia. These are Mordovians (843 thousand people), Udmurts (almost 637 thousand), Mari (604 thousand), Komi-Zyryans (293 thousand), Komi-Permyaks (125 thousand), Karelians (93 thousand). The number of some peoples does not exceed thirty thousand people: Khanty, Mansi, Veps. The Izhors number 327 people, and the Vod people - only 73 people. Hungarians, Finns, Estonians, Saami also live in Russia.

Development of Finno-Ugric culture in Russia

In total, sixteen Finno-Ugric peoples live in Russia. Five of them have their own national-state formations, and two - national-territorial. Others are dispersed throughout the country.

In Russia, considerable attention is paid to the preservation of the original cultural traditions of its inhabitants. Programs are being developed at the national and local levels, with the support of which the culture of the Finno-Ugric peoples, their customs and dialects are studied.

Thus, Sami, Khanty, Mansi are taught in primary grades, and Komi, Mari, Udmurt, Mordovian languages ​​are taught in secondary schools in those regions where large groups of the respective ethnic groups live. There are special laws on culture, on languages ​​(Mari El, Komi). Thus, in the Republic of Karelia, there is a law on education that secures the right of Vepsians and Karelians to study in their native language. The priority of the development of the cultural traditions of these peoples is determined by the Law on Culture.

Also in the republics of Mari El, Udmurtia, Komi, Mordovia, in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, there are their own concepts and programs of national development. The Foundation for the Development of the Cultures of the Finno-Ugric Peoples (on the territory of the Republic of Mari El) has been created and is operating.

Finno-Ugric peoples: appearance

The ancestors of the current Finno-Ugric peoples occurred as a result of a mixture of Paleo-European and Paleo-Asiatic tribes. Therefore, in the appearance of all the peoples of this group, there are both Caucasoid and Mongoloid features. Some scientists even put forward a theory about the existence of an independent race - the Urals, which is "intermediate" between Europeans and Asians, but this version has few supporters.

The Finno-Ugric peoples are anthropologically heterogeneous. However, any representative of the Finno-Ugric people possesses characteristic "Ural" features to one degree or another. This, as a rule, is of medium height, very light hair color, broad face, sparse beard. But these features manifest themselves in different ways. So, Erzya Mordvins are tall, owners of blond hair and blue eyes. Moksha Mordvins - on the contrary, shorter, broad-cheeked, with darker hair. The Udmurts and Mari often have characteristic "Mongolian" eyes with a special fold at the inner corner of the eye - the epicanthus, very wide faces, and a thin beard. But at the same time, their hair, as a rule, is blond and red, and their eyes are blue or gray, which is typical for Europeans, but not Mongoloids. The "Mongolian fold" is also found among the Izhors, Vodi, Karelians and even Estonians. Komi look different. Where there are mixed marriages with the Nenets, the representatives of this people are slanted and black-haired. Other Komi, on the contrary, are more like Scandinavians, but more broad-faced.

Finno-Ugric traditional cuisine in Russia

Most of the dishes of the traditional cuisines of the Finno-Ugric and Trans-Urals, in fact, have not been preserved or have been significantly distorted. However, ethnographers manage to trace some general patterns.

The main food product of the Finno-Ugric peoples was fish. It was not only processed in different ways (fried, dried, boiled, fermented, dried, eaten raw), but each type was prepared in its own way, which would better convey the taste.

Before the advent of firearms, snares were the main method of hunting in the forest. They caught mainly forest birds (black grouse, capercaillie) and small animals, mainly a hare. Meat and poultry were stewed, boiled and baked, much less often - fried.

From vegetables, they used turnips and radishes, from spicy herbs - watercress growing in the forest, cow parsnip, horseradish, onions, and young goatweed. Western Finno-Ugric peoples practically did not consume mushrooms; at the same time, for the Orientals, they constituted an essential part of the diet. The oldest types of grain known to these peoples are barley and wheat (spelt). They prepared porridge, hot kissels, as well as stuffing for homemade sausages.

The modern culinary repertoire of the Finno-Ugric peoples contains very few national features, as it has been strongly influenced by Russian, Bashkir, Tatar, Chuvash and other cuisines. However, almost every nation has preserved one or two traditional, ritual or festive dishes that have survived to this day. In sum, they allow you to get a general idea of ​​\u200b\u200bFinno-Ugric cooking.

Finno-Ugric peoples: religion

Most Finno-Ugric peoples profess the Christian faith. Finns, Estonians and Western Sami are Lutherans. Catholics predominate among Hungarians, although Calvinists and Lutherans can also be found.

The Finno-Ugric peoples living in are predominantly Orthodox Christians. However, the Udmurts and Mari in some places managed to preserve the ancient (animistic) religion, and the Samoyed peoples and inhabitants of Siberia - shamanism.

Among those living on the planet today there are many unique, original and even slightly mysterious peoples and nationalities. These, of course, include the Finno-Ugric peoples, who are considered the largest ethno-linguistic community in Europe. It includes 24 nations. 17 of them live on the territory of the Russian Federation.

The composition of the ethnic group

All numerous Finno-Ugric peoples are divided by researchers into several groups:

• Baltic-Finnish, the backbone of which is quite numerous Finns and Estonians who have formed their own states. Sets, Ingrians, Kvens, Vyru, Karelians, Izhors, Vepsians, Vods and Livs also belong here.
• Saami (Lapp), which includes residents of Scandinavia and the Kola Peninsula.
• Volga-Finnish, including the Mari and Mordovians. The latter, in turn, are divided into moksha and erzya.
• Perm, which includes Komi, Komi-Permyaks, Komi-Zyryans, Komi-Izhma, Komi-Yazvins, Besermyans and Udmurts.
• Ugrian. It includes Hungarians, Khanty and Mansi separated by hundreds of kilometers.

Disappeared tribes

Among the modern Finno-Ugric peoples there are numerous peoples, and very small groups - less than 100 people. There are also those whose memory is preserved only in ancient chronicles. The disappeared, for example, include Merya, Chud and Muroma.

The Meryans built their settlements between the Volga and the Oka several hundred years before our era. According to the assumption of some historians, later this people assimilated with the East Slavic tribes and became the progenitor of the Mari people.

An even more ancient people was the Muroma, who lived in the Oka basin.

As for the Chud, this people lived along the Onega and the Northern Dvina. There is an assumption that these were the ancient Finnish tribes from which modern Estonians descended.

Settlement regions

The Finno-Ugric group of peoples today is concentrated in the north-west of Europe: from Scandinavia to the Urals, the Volga-Kama, the West Siberian Plain in the lower and middle reaches of the Tobol.

The only people who formed their own state at a considerable distance from their brethren are the Hungarians living in the Danube basin in the Carpathian Mountains.

The most numerous Finno-Ugric people in Russia are the Karelians. In addition to the Republic of Karelia, many of them live in the Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Tver and Leningrad regions of the country.

Most of the Mordovians live in the Republic of Mordva, but many of them settled in neighboring republics and regions of the country.

In the same regions, as well as in Udmurtia, Nizhny Novgorod, Perm and other regions, Finno-Ugric peoples can also be found, especially a lot of Mari here. Although their main backbone lives in the Republic of Mari El.

The Republic of Komi, as well as nearby regions and autonomous districts, are the place of permanent residence of the Komi people, and in the Komi-Perm Autonomous District and the Perm Region, the closest “relatives” live - the Komi-Permyaks.

More than a third of the population of the Udmurt Republic are ethnic Udmurts. In addition, small communities in many nearby regions.

As for the Khanty and Mansi, their main part lives in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug. In addition, large communities of Khanty live in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug and the Tomsk Region.

Appearance type

Among the ancestors of the Finno-Ugric peoples were both ancient European and ancient Asian tribal communities, therefore, in the appearance of modern representatives, one can observe features inherent in both the Mongoloid and Caucasoid races.

Common features to the distinctive features of the representatives of this ethnic group include medium height, very blond hair, a wide-cheeked face with an upturned nose.

At the same time, each nationality has its own “variations”. For example, Erzya Mordvins are much taller than average, but at the same time they are pronounced blue-eyed blonds. But the Moksha Mordvins, on the contrary, are undersized, and their hair color is darker.

The Udmurts and the Mari are the owners of the "Mongolian type" of eyes, which makes them related to the Mongoloid race. But at the same time, the vast majority of representatives of the nationality are fair-haired and light-eyed. Similar facial features are also found among many Izhors, Karelians, Vodi, Estonians.

But the Komi can be both dark-haired owners of slanting eyes, and fair-haired with pronounced Caucasoid features.

Quantitative composition

In total, about 25 million people belonging to the Finno-Ugric peoples live in the world. The most numerous of them are Hungarians, of which there are more than 15 million. Finns are almost three times less - about 6 million, and the number of Estonians is a little more than a million.

The number of other nationalities does not exceed a million: Mordvins - 843 thousand; Udmurts - 637 thousand; Mari - 614 thousand; Ingrians - a little over 30 thousand; kvens - about 60 thousand; vyru - 74 thousand; setu - about 10 thousand, etc.

The smallest ethnic groups are the Livs, whose number does not exceed 400 people, and the Vot, whose community consists of 100 representatives.

An excursion into the history of the Finno-Ugric peoples

There are several versions about the origin and ancient history of the Finno-Ugric peoples. The most popular of them is the one that suggests the presence of a group of people who spoke the so-called Finno-Ugric parent language, and until about the 3rd millennium BC, remained united. This Finno-Ugric group of peoples lived in the Urals and the western Urals. In those days, the ancestors of the Finno-Ugric peoples kept in touch with the Indo-Iranians, as evidenced by all sorts of myths and languages.

Later, a single community broke up into Ugric and Finno-Perm. The Baltic-Finnish, Volga-Finnish and Perm language subgroups subsequently emerged from the second. Separation and isolation continued until the first centuries of our era.

Scientists consider the region located on the border of Europe with Asia in the interfluve of the Volga and Kama, the Urals, to be the homeland of the ancestors of the Finno-Ugric peoples. At the same time, the settlements were at a considerable distance from each other, which, perhaps, was the reason that they did not create their own single state.

The main occupations of the tribes were agriculture, hunting and fishing. The earliest references to them are found in documents from the time of the Khazar Khaganate.

For many years, the Finno-Ugric tribes paid tribute to the Bulgar khans, were part of the Kazan Khanate and Russia.

In the XVI-XVIII centuries, the territory of the Finno-Ugric tribes began to be settled by thousands of migrants from various regions of Russia. The owners often resisted such an invasion and did not want to recognize the power of the Russian rulers. The Mari resisted especially fiercely.

However, despite the resistance, gradually the traditions, customs and language of the "newcomers" began to crowd out the local speech and beliefs. Assimilation intensified during subsequent migration, when the Finno-Ugric peoples began to move to various regions of Russia.

Finno-Ugric languages

Initially, there was a single Finno-Ugric language. As the group divided and various tribes settled further and further from each other, it changed, broke up into separate dialects and independent languages.

Until now, the Finno-Ugric languages ​​have managed to be preserved both by large peoples (Finns, Hungarians, Estonians) and small ethnic groups (Khanty, Mansi, Udmurts, etc.). Thus, in the primary classes of a number of Russian schools, where representatives of the Finno-Ugric peoples study, they study the Sami, Khanty and Mansi languages.

Komi, Mari, Udmurts, Mordovians can also learn the languages ​​of their ancestors, starting from the middle classes.

Other peoples who speak Finno-Ugric languages, they can also speak dialects similar to the main languages ​​of the group they belong to. For example, Bessermen communicate in one of the dialects of the Udmurt language, Ingrian - in the eastern dialect of Finnish, Kvens speak Finnish, Norwegian or Sami.

At present, there are hardly about a thousand common words in all the languages ​​​​of the peoples belonging to the Finno-Ugric peoples. Thus, the “kinship” connection of various peoples can be traced in the word “house”, which sounds like koti among Finns, and kodu among Estonians. “Kudu” (Mord.) and “Kudo” (Mari) have a similar sound.

Living next to other tribes and peoples, the Finno-Ugrians adopted their culture and language from them, but also generously shared their own. For example, “rich and mighty” includes such Finno-Ugric words as “tundra”, “sprat”, “salaka” and even “dumplings”.

Finno-Ugric culture

Archaeologists find cultural monuments of the Finno-Ugric peoples in the form of settlements, burials, household items and jewelry throughout the entire territory of the ethnic group. Most of the monuments belong to the beginning of our era and the early Middle Ages. Many peoples have managed to preserve their culture, traditions and customs up to the present day.

Most often they are manifested in various rituals (weddings, folk holidays, etc.), dances, clothing and household arrangements.

Literature

Finno-Ugric literature is conventionally divided by historians and researchers into three groups:

• Western, which includes the works of Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian writers and poets. This literature, which was influenced by the literature of European peoples, has the richest history.
• Russian, the formation of which begins in the XVIII century. It includes the works of the authors of the Komi, Mari, Mordovians, Udmurts.
• Northern. The youngest group, developed only about a century ago. It includes the works of Mansi, Nenets, Khanty authors.

At the same time, all representatives of the ethnic group have a rich heritage of oral folk art. Each nationality has numerous epics and legends about the heroes of the past. One of the most famous works of the folk epic is the Kalevala, which tells about the life, beliefs and customs of the ancestors.

Religious preferences

Most of the peoples belonging to the Finno-Ugric peoples profess Orthodoxy. Finns, Estonians and Western Sami are Lutheran, while Hungarians are Catholic. At the same time, ancient traditions are preserved in rituals, mostly wedding ones.

But the Udmurts and Mari in some places still retain their ancient religion, just as the Samoyed and some peoples of Siberia worship their gods and practice shamanism.

Features of national cuisine

In ancient times, the main food of the Finno-Ugric tribes was fish, which was fried, boiled, dried and even eaten raw. At the same time, each type of fish had its own way of cooking.

They also used the meat of forest birds and small animals caught in snares for food. The most popular vegetables were turnips and radishes. Food was richly seasoned with spices, such as horseradish, onion, cow parsnip, etc.

Finno-Ugric peoples prepared porridges and kissels from barley and wheat. They were also used to fill homemade sausages.

The modern cuisine of the Finno-Ugric peoples, which has been strongly influenced by neighboring peoples, has almost no special traditional features. But almost every nation has at least one traditional or ritual dish, the recipe of which has been brought to our days almost unchanged.

A distinctive feature of the cooking of the Finno-Ugric peoples is that in food preparation, preference is given to products grown in the place of residence of the people. But imported ingredients are used only in the most minimal amount.

Save and multiply

In order to preserve the cultural heritage of the Finno-Ugric peoples and pass on the traditions and customs of their ancestors to future generations, all kinds of centers and organizations are being created everywhere.

Much attention is paid to this in the Russian Federation. One of these organizations is the non-profit association Volga Center of Finno-Ugric Peoples, established 11 years ago (April 28, 2006).

As part of its work, the center not only helps large and small Finno-Ugric peoples not to lose their history, but also acquaints other peoples of Russia with it, contributing to the strengthening of mutual understanding and friendship between them.

Notable Representatives

As in every nation, the Finno-Ugric peoples have their own heroes. A well-known representative of the Finno-Ugric people - the nanny of the great Russian poet - Arina Rodionovna, who was from the Ingrian village of Lampovo.

Also Finno-Ugric are such historical and modern personalities as Patriarch Nikon and Archpriest Avvakum (both were Mordvins), physiologist V. M. Bekhterev (Udmurt), composer A. Ya. Eshpay (Mari), athlete R. Smetanina (Komi) and many others.