The Finno-Ugric tribes, like most of the pagan peoples of Northern and Eastern Europe, did not have a holy scripture - the entire religious tradition was transmitted orally. Already in our days, it was captured by the Finnish epic "Kalevala" and the Estonian "Kalevipoeg". Runes were used in calendars much longer than in Sweden. They continued to be used in Estonia as early as the end of the eighteenth century (the calendar from Hinumaa dates back to 1796). Thursday was revered as a sacred day - the best food for the whole week was put on the table: on this day they ate butter and meat. The pagan calendar divided the year into four parts with the following main holidays: Kunnipaev (Plow Day, April 14, equivalent to Scandinavian Summer Day), Karuspaev (Bear Day, July 13), Kolletamisepaev (Fade Day, October 14, equivalent to Scandinavian Winter Day), and Koryusep ( Gathering Day, 14 January, later Scandinavian Midwinter Festival).

Among the Finno-Ugric deities is the heavenly god, known by many local names (Yumala in Finnish; Taevataat, "heavenly grandfather", in Estonian; Yumo in Mari; Inmar in Udmurd and Ibmel in Saami). The Lapland deities Peive (sun, female) and Mano (or Asve, moon, male) have never been anthropomorphized, Peive appears as a rhombus or circle with four rays, and Mano as a month. Akko was the main deity of the Finns. His wife Akka patronized the harvest and fertility. Estonians called Akka "Maan-emo", "mother earth", and the Udmurts - "Musem-mumi". The god of thunder among the Saami bore the name Horagalles (old man Thor), among the Estonians - Tooru / Taara, and among the Ostyaks - Torim. The national god of the Sami, Rota, is identified with Odin. Trade contacts between Scandinavia and these northern Finno-Ugric lands, as well as joint settlements, contributed to the partial assimilation of both the names and attributes of deities. The Scandinavians of the Viking Age also considered the Sami and the Finns to be "magicians", masters of the "magical art". The Saami, who lived in small groups common to communities of hunters and gatherers, and, to a lesser extent, the more sedentary Finns, retained the role of a shaman - a magician who, in a state of trance, travels from the world of everyday life to the world beyond and returns with information that brings for the benefit of the entire tribe. The Norwegian Viking Ingimund the Old sent two Saami on a shamanic astral journey, "a magical way to Iceland". He lost the silver statue of the god Frey, and the Saami, returning from the "magic journey", told him where to look for it in Iceland. According to the "Book of Settlement of the Earth", their description turned out to be absolutely accurate: Ingimund, having gone to Iceland, found a statue of a god exactly where the Sami had predicted.

In the Finno-Ugric religion, as in the beliefs of other parts of Europe, there is a cult of ancestors, spirits of the earth and specific elements of shamanic practice. The Saami revered Radie-atche, the ancestor god, accompanied by his wife Radie-akka, the son of Radie-kiedde and the daughter of Rana-neida (the patroness of spring). Consecrated spindles were placed in the sanctuaries in honor of Rana-neida. In Estonia, the cults of the patron spirits Metsika and Tonna were very popular. Among a myriad of other creatures: Estonian Uku (spirit of the house), Sami Pyegg-olmai ("master of the winds") and Veralden-olmai ("man of the universe, god of hunting and reindeer), Udmurt water spirits Obin-murt ("rain man") , "Wu-murt ("man of water") and Wu-nuna ("uncle of water"). In addition, an important place in the religion of many tribes was occupied by the cult of the bear. In addition, amulets depicting a man with an elk's head were found in Chud (Estonian) graves near Lake Ladoga; the Sami god Radie-kiedde was also depicted with horns. For the Finno-Ugric tribes, sacred groves played the same great role as for the Celts and other Baltic peoples. Among the Mari, ceremonies in honor of good deities took place in Yumon-tot, and deities dangerous to humans were propitiated in a grove called keremen, enclosed by a fence (keremen, equivalent to the Scandinavian Vebond). Even at the end of the nineteenth century, the Mari had no less than sixty-four sacred groves. The same groves, called lud, were among the Udmurts. Also, the Udmurts erected sacred buildings (kvala) and low wooden structures without windows, which were the sanctuaries of the family and the gods of the family. Inside was a wooden vessel with images of the ancestor of a family or tribe. In accordance with the common tradition of European paganism, sacred trees were decorated with images of deities and symbolic ornaments.

Ministry of General and vocational education Russian Federation Udmurt State University

As a manuscript

POLUKHINA Anna Nikolaevna

Slavic-Finno-Ugric parallels in the pagan ideas of the peoples of the Volga-Kama region

Specialty: 07.00.07 - Ethnography, ethnology and anthropology

dissertations for the degree of candidate historical sciences

Izhevsk 1998

The work was carried out at the Marisky Center for Archaeological and Ethnographic Research state university

Scientific adviser - candidate of historical sciences, associate professor Danilov Oleg Viktorovich

Official opponents:

Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor N. F. Mokshin Candidate of Historical Sciences N. I. Shutova

Leading institution - Mordovia Research Institute of Language, Literature, History and Economics

The defense will take place on June 16, 1998 at 10.00 at a meeting of the dissertation Sov! and K.064.47.05 for the defense of dissertations for the degree of candidate of historical sciences at the Udmurt State University.

Address: Izhevsk, st. Universitetskaya, 1

The dissertation can be found in the Scientific Library of the Udmurt State University

Scientific Secretary of the Dissertation Council, Associate Professor

O. M. Melnikova

General tractor work.

The relevance of the work. The pagan ideas of the Slavic and Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga-Kama region have been studied for a long time, but the degree of their study is not the same both for individual peoples and for different periods. Living together on the same territory of different ethnic groups could not but affect the spiritual culture of these peoples. Parallels in the paganism of the Slavs and the Finno-Ugrians of the Volga and Kama regions have been repeatedly noted by researchers of the 19th-20th centuries. But there are practically no works devoted to the consideration of the causes of their occurrence. The emergence and development of religious ideas is one of the most important problems in the complex of studies related to the study of the development of social consciousness. In turn, the pagan ideas of the population reflected various aspects of the economic activity of this population, so the stages of the formation of pagan cults must correspond to certain periods of social development and economic activity. It should be borne in mind that peoples living in similar climatic and geographical zones go through certain, similar stages in the development of economic life and social organization. In addition, pagan views at the dawn of civilization were inherent in all, without exception, the peoples of the globe, so we should also talk about highlighting the global stages in the development of paganism. This aspect should also be taken into account when characterizing the pagan ideas of the Slavs and Fnnno-Ugrians of the Volga-Kama region. The time of interaction of the above peoples is divided into two chronological stages: early and late. We refer to the early contacts of the ancestors of the Finno-Ugric peoples with the ancestors of the Slavs (Indo-Europeans), to the late - mutual influences and direct borrowings in the pagan ideas of the studied peoples during the period of colonization and Christianization by the Russian state and the church of the Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga-Kama region. The early period is only slightly affected when we are talking about the preservation of elements of ancient cults used to compare and identify parallels. Undoubtedly, ten centuries of Christianization of Russia left their mark on the spiritual culture of the Russian people. The researchers rightly note that the pagan Slavic ideas were forgotten to a greater extent than the pagan views of neighboring, for example, the Finno-Ugric peoples, who were baptized much later. But the remnants of the ancient faith were preserved in the spiritual culture of the Russian people for a long time. Moreover, in the words of V.O. Klyuchevsky, "folk Christian beliefs, without displacing pagan ones, were built on top of them, forming the upper layer of religious ideas that lay on a pagan basis." A common feature of the beliefs of the population of the Volga-Kama is that paganism and

Christianity is perceived by them not as opposite religions, but "only complementary parts of the same faith, relating to different orders of life, to two worlds, one - to the world above, heavenly, the other - to the underworld, to the" abyss "1. And if the religious consciousness of the Russian peasantry is usually associated with dual faith (paganism + Christianity), then the religious consciousness of the Russian population of the Volga-Kama region can be called triverity. also weird" 3.

In general, the study of the pagan views of the Slavic and Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga-Kama region makes it possible to identify specific features in the development of religious ideas, their changes, interaction and mutual influence over a long period.

Sources. The main sources for this work were ethnographic (descriptions of rituals, holidays, arts and crafts, embroidery) and ■ folklore ( folk tales, songs, conspiracies) materials. In general, by the time of writing or publication, most of the sources belong to the 19th-20th centuries, although sources more than early periods, in particular, several works of foreign travelers who visited these territories in the 16th-11th centuries. There were also reports on scientific work CAEI MarSU.

Singing and research tasks. The main goal of the study is the most complete systematization and generalization of currently known material concerning the parallels in the pagan ideas of the Slavs and the Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga-Kama region, revealing the reasons for their origin, connections with the economic and social conditions of their life. Based on this goal, the task of the work is to characterize a number of pagan cults, the most developed and significant in the worldview system of these peoples. In our opinion, they should be considered as such; the cult of vegetation and the cult of the sun. Both of these cults are multifaceted and multifunctional and include several components. Intertwining and interacting, absorbing the remnants of pagan beliefs from various stages of the formation of religious ideas, the cult of vegetation and the cult of the sun constitute a harmoniously organized picture of the world. This concept is especially evident in

1 Klyuchevsky V O. Ethnographic consequences of the Russian colonization of the Upper Volga region. The influence of the nature of the Upper Volga region on the national economy in Velikoross! And Klyuchevsky VO. historical portraits. - M.. 1990. - S. 40 - 63. - S. 52.

"Zolotoy T.D.. Danilov O.V. Essays on the traditional culture of the peoples of the Volga region. - Yoshkar-Ola. 1996. - P.25.

3 Klyuchevsky V.O. Uka>. op. - S. 54.

pagan ideas of the Mari, Mordovians, Udmurts and Komi; the Russian people have a great influence of Orthodoxy, the picture of the world is based on the combination of a pagan basis and a significant layer of Christian views.

Scientific innovation work. In the thesis, for the first time, an attempt was made to generalize a wide range of material concerning the Slavic-Finno-Ugric parallels in the pagan ideas of the peoples of the Volga-Kama region. On the basis of ethnographic and written sources, the characteristics of the existing parallels in various areas of the spiritual culture of these peoples are given. Their analysis is carried out, the issues of ire origin, mutual influence, interpenetration and direct borrowing by one people from another are considered. The study of some aspects of the pagan ideas of the Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga and Kama regions makes it possible to explain the significance of a number of elements of traditional Russian rituals that have been lost or modified over the centuries of the domination of Orthodoxy in Russia.

The practical value of the work. The main provisions of the work can be used in scientific research on the history of the Middle Volga and Kama regions, in the educational work of university teachers when reading special courses on ethnography, as well as secondary school teachers when introducing students to the history and culture of the Mari region.

Approbation of the research results. The main conclusions of the work were discussed in reports at the IV All-Russian scientific and practical conference "New technologies for training, education, diagnostics and creative self-development of the individual" in Yoshkar-Ola in 1996, at the Vavilov readings in Yoshkar-Ola in 1996. , on the scientific conference"III-Tarasov readings" in Yoshkar-Ola in 1997, at the III scientific and practical conference "Mari local history" in Yoshkar-Ola in 1997, at the Second Vavilov readings in Yoshkar-Ola in 1997 ., at the scientific-practical conference "Russians in the Middle Volga multi-ethnic region" in Yoshkar-Ola in 1997, at the scientific-practical conference "European studies: problems and development prospects" in Yoshkar-Ola in 1998 ., and also presented in published works.

Work structure. The dissertation consists of an introduction, three chapters and a conclusion, a list of references, as well as notes to the text of the work.

The introduction is a brief description of the features of the development of religious ideas in the specified region, as well as the work itself with the definition of the territorial and chronological framework, goals and objectives of the study.

Chapter I is devoted to the analysis of sources on the topic of research and the history of the study in the historiography of the pagan ideas of the Russian people and the Finno-Ugric peoples living in the Volga-Kama region. A feature of the study of this topic is the presence of a significant amount of material collected mainly by ethnographers. We have analyzed over 70 different sources that were used in writing the work. This material includes various aspects of religious beliefs, descriptions of rituals of prayers and sacrifices, cosmogonic concepts, mythology, fairy folklore, ritual complexes of the annual calendar, elements of material culture.

All used sources are divided by us into 9 groups, which take into account chronological and thematic features. It should be noted that the value of individual sources is not equivalent. The sources of the first group ("The Tale of Bygone Years", "The Word of Father Igor's Campaign", "The Life of Stefan of Perm") only touch upon the spiritual culture of the Slavic and Finno-Ugric peoples, but they are important because the chronicles and lives are the earliest works on creation time. The second group of sources is the notes of foreign travelers who visited the territories of the Volga and Kama regions in the 16th-17th centuries. In the works of S. Herberstein, A. Olearny, J. Fletcher, various aspects of the life and culture of the local population are recorded, but they suffer from significant shortcomings: the use of unverified information, ignorance of the language, which led to errors in the names of pagan deities, in the interpretation of some elements of ritualism. These works, as one of the first written works on the pagan ideas of the Volga-Kama peoples, cannot be ignored. The third group includes works by Russian travelers and researchers who visited these territories in the 18th-19th centuries (G.F. Miller, A. Fuks, A. Rittikh, S. Nurminsky, G. Yakovlev, P. I. Melnikov, I.N. Smirnova). The works of this group used as sources are distinguished by a wider scope of material, depth of presentation, and a greater degree of reliability. Researchers give quite complete description pagan cults and rituals of the Mari, Mordovians, Udmurts and Komi, analyze the conditions for their emergence and development. Researchers devote their works to the study of Slavic paganism: N.I. Kostomarov, A.N. Afanasiev, A.A. Korinfsky, F.I. Buslaev, S.M. Solovyov. Of great importance for this study were the works of A. N. Afanasiev and A.A. Corinthian. Before us is revealed a majestic picture of the folk beliefs of the Russian peasantry, including legends, traditions, proverbs, sayings, conspiracies, legends. Sources are becoming more diverse

different, covering almost all aspects of traditional rituals. Systematic, in-depth research on the spiritual culture of the peoples of the Volga-Kama region is carried out in the first decades of the 20th century. These sources constituted the fourth group. This group includes some of the best works on the paganism of the Russian and Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga-Kama region, the value of which is significant for our study. In the works of D.K. Zelenina, V.M. Vasilyeva, S.K. Kuznetsova, V.P. Nalimova, A.I. Emelyanov, rich factual material is given, successful attempts are made to analyze and interpret it. From the second half of the 1930s to the mid-1960s, practically no such studies were carried out. Therefore, the remaining groups of sources belong (chronologically) to the second half of the 20th century. The fifth group of sources - one of the most representative (it includes collections of mythological and fairy-tale folklore of the Russian people, Mari, Mordovians, Udmurts, Komi) - contains many stories that reflect the formation and development of pagan ideas. Unfortunately, the folklore of the Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga-Kama region has not preserved to our time a harmonious picture of the universe, similar to the one that can be observed in the Karelian-Finnish epic "Kalevala". Some difficulty in interpreting the plots should also be noted. The sixth group of sources is just as diverse; we included examples of folk art in it, reflecting the process of formation and development of pagan ideas among a certain ethnic group and the moments of perception of this process by the people themselves. A comparative description of traditional rituals is the basis on which our study is built. But here it should be noted that the folk calendars of the Russians, Udmurts, Mordovians are presented in the most detail, less widely, the Maris, there is practically no material on the Komi peoples. The seventh group of sources is not directly related to our study (here we consider materials on the wedding rituals of the above-mentioned peoples). In the descriptions of wedding ceremonies, curious examples of survivals of ancient views that we used in our work are found. The eighth group of sources was made up of plots of traditional embroidery of the Russian and Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga-Kama region. They are interesting not only as illustrative material, but also as examples of the preservation of pagan ideas in symbolic form. The disadvantages include some difficulty in interpreting the symbols, and sometimes the loss of the ancient meaning. The ninth group includes reports from the Center for Archaeological and Ethnographic Research of the Mari State University. Using the results of ethnographic research recent years, we can try to trace the changes in traditional rituals, at least on separate examples. Under-

In general, the material on the ritual complexes of the annual calendar of the Russians and Finno-Ugrians of the Volga-Kama region, on fairy-tale and mythological folklore is most clearly presented. Things are a little worse with the description of religious beliefs, rituals of prayers and sacrifices: there is a lot of material here, but sometimes it is repeated or does not include essential elements for our study. Certain problems arise when characterizing pagan cults (vegetation and the sun), much has been preserved in vestigial features. However, a large number and variety of sources allows us to conduct a study to identify Slavic-Finno-Ugric parallels in the pagan ideas of the peoples of the Volga-Kama region and draw appropriate conclusions based on this comparison.

The historiography devoted to Slavic and Finno-Ugric paganism is very extensive, but in this literature there are very few works comparing the pagan ideas of the Slavic and Finno-Ugric peoples, including the Russians and Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga-Kama region. Although many researchers in their writings point to the existence of parallels in the paganism of these peoples and give examples of such parallels, but rather

lei cannot be explained by a simple borrowing of one or another element of culture in later periods. Attempts to find out the time and causes of their occurrence take us deep into history, to those times when the ancestors and great-ancestors of the peoples we studied could contact in one form or another. Therefore, we were forced to turn to works on the pagan ideas of the Indo European nations and prefino-Ugrians. In order to find out the possibility of contacts between these peoples, we had to turn to works on archeology. We have grouped the literature used in the study according to several issues that are most important for our study:

1. The problem of studying the religious ideas of the Slavs and Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga

2. The problem of the main stages in the development of paganism and the characteristic features of these stages.

3. The problem of borrowing ancient cult ideas or their independent development from different ethnic groups.

4. The problem of the twin myth in the pagan ideas of the Slavs and Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga-Kama region.

5. The problem of the "world tree" in the pagan ideas of the Slavic and Finno-Ugric peoples.

6. The problem of the concept of time, the change of seasons and the reflection of this in the folk calendars of the Slavs and Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga-Kama region.

The problem of studying the religious beliefs of the Slavs and Finno-Ugrians of the Volga-Kama region is one of the most important. It has been repeatedly raised by historians since the second half of the 19th century. and until the end of the twentieth century. CM. Solovyov analyzes the worship of the Slavs to elemental deities, religious holidays. The famous ethnographer and folklorist A.N. Afanasiev examines in detail the religious and mythological picture of the world of the Slavs, emphasizing the elements of paganism that have passed into Christianity of the Russian people. Of particular interest is the concept of the researcher, when the pagan ideas of the Eastern Slavs are derived from the cults of the sky, the sun and the myth of the thunder god. Another representative of the mythological school A.A. Corinthian. D.K. Zelenin sees the roots of traditional rites not in Russian mythology, but in the peculiarities of the habitat and labor activity of the Slavic tribes. In the second half of the XX century. the number of works devoted to the study of Slavic paganism is increasing. The most significant works were written by such researchers as B.A. Rybakov, I.K. Kuzmichev, G.A. Nosov. In the works of B.A. Rybakov, we meet with an analysis of pagan ideas not only of the Slavs, but also of the Indo-Iranian and Finno-Ugric peoples. The pagan ideas of the Mari are considered by A.F. Yarygin (pantheon of gods, holidays, pagan cults), N.S. Popov (folk agricultural calendar), O.V. Danilov (general characteristics of pagan cults on the territory of the Mari Volga region, the genesis of the cult of Keremet, the stages of the formation of the religious ideas of the Mari). Mordovian paganism is reflected in the works of B.A. Latynin and N.F. Mokshina. N.F. Mokshin is a leading researcher of the ancient Mordovian religion. Analyzing various aspects of the economic life of the Mordovians, the author reveals to us a complex religious and mythological picture of the worldview of the people, which includes remnants of pagan ideas and elements of Christianity, i.e. religious syncretism. As for the study of Udmurt paganism, the works of A.I. Emelyanov, M. Atamanova and V.E. Vladykin. V.E. Vladykin analyzes the structural components of the traditional Udmurt worldview system, its formation and development, as well as the dialectical interaction of the worldview and the system of ideological attitudes of the pre-revolutionary Udmurt society. Pagan representations of the Komi peoples in literature

presented in less detail than in other studied peoples. The analyzed material makes it possible to compare the pagan views of these peoples, but there are very few similar works in historiography. We single out two works, the authors of which seek to clarify the moments of formation and development of similar features observed in the pagan ideas of the Slavs and Finno-Ugrians of the Volga-Kama region. This is the work of P.I. Melnikov-Pechersky, written back in the 19th century. Although today "Essays of the Mordovians" cause a lot of criticism, the author tries to describe Mordovian customs, comparing them with Russian ones. In line with comparative analysis, a joint work was written by T.A. Zolotova and O.V. Danilov "Essays on the traditional culture of the peoples of the Volga region". The authors note a significant number of parallels in the cult representations of the Mari and Russians, in the mythology and folklore of these peoples.

The problem of the main stages in the development of paganism constantly attracts the attention of researchers, but is still far from being resolved. In our work, we adhered to the provisions expressed at the time by D.D. Fraser, A.F. Losev, B.A. Rybakov and V.Ya. Pegg Rukhin. Despite certain differences, ta unites a common understanding of the idea of ​​the unity of the spiritual culture of mankind, the admissibility of comparing pagan ideas of different eras among neighboring peoples, correlating the stages of development of a pagan religion with specific historical eras and the idea of ​​preserving for a long time the remnants of pagan cults in traditional folk culture. On the basis of the theories proposed by these scientists, a certain rather harmonious concept is formed, which was the methodological basis of our study.

The problem of borrowing ancient cult ideas or their independent emergence and development among different ethnic groups has been repeatedly raised in the works of various authors since the second half of the 19th century. and up to the present. Most researchers, based on archaeological data (D. A. Kraikov, A. B. Zbrueva, A. P. Smirnov, E. H. Chernykh, S. B. Kuzminykh, V. V. Nikitin, G. A. Arkhipov, and others), believe that ancient cults, like those of the ancestors of the Russian people, and the Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga-Kama region, have local roots and developed independently. Moreover, these processes can be traced from the Neolithic era (possibly even earlier) to the Middle Ages. Although the borrowing factor is not excluded. So, according to E.E. Kuzmina, the cult of the horse was borrowed from the Indo-Iranians, and E.H. Kuzminykh and C.B. Chernykh suggested that the cult of the horse had local Ural-Altaic roots, but since a certain time this cult has been firmly fixed in Finno-Ugric antiquities. A number of researchers do not exclude that migration processes

The archaic times could lead to the appearance of elements of similarity in the pagan ideas of the great-ancestors of the studied peoples. However, it is quite possible that the elements of similarity appeared as a result of the similarity of the geographical habitat or economic activity. At the same time, the parallels found in later ethnographic materials, to which we include folk embroidery, wood carving, wedding rituals, as well as in folklore and mythology, most researchers (E.A. Ryabinin, V.N. Belitser, G.I. Solovyova, T.P. Fedyaovich, E.A. Tamarkina, K.A. Chetkarev, V. A. Aktsorin, I. S. Ploskoye and others) explain the result of the processes of colonization by the Russian population of the territories of the Volga-Kama region, which caused the interpenetration of cultures. The lack of literature on this issue is the lack of significant works specifically devoted to this topic.

The problem of the twin myth is also present in the literature on the pagan ideas of the Slavs and Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga-Kama region. These mythological subjects have been studied by various researchers. But our opinion is to reduce cosmogonic legends about the creation of the earth only to the reflection in the spiritual culture of the phraterial division of society, as suggested by V.A. Aktsorin, A.M. Zolotarev. L.S. Gribov, wrong. The point of view of V.V. Napolskikh: the idea of ​​the struggle between good and evil, expressed in the myth of the diving bird, appeared under popular Christian influence, in ancient times, there probably existed a legend about rivalry in obtaining land by a duck and a loon, where the duck was associated with the upper, heavenly world, and the loon - with the lower, underground. Among the Eastern Slavs, the myth of the God of Thunder can be defined as a twin myth, according to V.N. Toporov and VV Ivanov. We are talking about the confrontation between Perun and Veles, personifying the struggle of top and bottom, good and evil. This reflected the political situation that developed among the Eastern Slavs during the formation of statehood: Perun was considered the patron of the squad and the prince, and Veles - of ordinary community members. The cult of twins can also be traced in the Indo-European tradition (works by N.E. Kuzmina), therefore it can be designated as a world, universal cult, and its emergence among the Slavs and Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga-Kama region cannot be reduced to borrowing the religious ideas of these peoples from each other .

The next problem of pagan cosmogony was also reflected in the literature under consideration - the concept of the "world tree". This plot is also widespread in paganism. A.N. Afanasiev wrote that the "world tree" in the mythology of the Indo-European peoples implies a mythical cloud. D.D. Fraser did not single out this mythological

gem as a separate, self-significant entity. V.V. Evsyukov suggests that the tree mentioned in the Tale of Igor's Campaign encodes the picture of the world of the ancient Slavs. Agreeing with the point of view of V.N. Toporov, it should be recognized that in the spiritual culture of many peoples there is a special period or era of the "world tree", so we cannot talk about borrowing the plot "world tree with 2 birds on the sides" by the Slavs or Finno-Ugric peoples from their Iranian-speaking neighbors (as suggested by E.E. Kuzmina). Moreover, the importance of this concept is confirmed by the studies of V.N. Toporov in the field of cosmogonic representations. The "World Tree", being a spatial model of the universe, connects together various elements of the universe. Therefore, it can be considered the "tree of life" at the same time.

The problem of the concept of time, the change of seasons found its embodiment in the folk calendars of the Slavs and the Finco-Ugrians of the Volga-Kama region, which was repeatedly written by researchers (S.A. Tokarev, B.A. Rybakov, Yu.V. Ivanov, L.V. Pokrovskaya, E.P. Busygin, N.V. Zorin, E.V. Mikhailichenko, N.F. Mokshin, N.S. Popov). According to the researchers of this problem, people were aware of the time stages and, fearing the coming of the coming time, they tried to protect themselves and their household from harm that could be caused by evil spirits (which manifests the fear of the unknown). From here arise various magical, incantatory and other ritual actions that formed the basis of future folk calendar holidays, later under the influence of Christianity, which received official approval and consecration, but remained essentially pagan "actions. We meet the theoretical understanding of the folk calendar in the work of V NN Toporova The problem of time in pagan ideas is not exhausted by the provisions indicated here, but for our study they are the ones that matter.

In general, it can be argued that the problem of studying the religious ideas of the Slavs and Finno-Ugrians of the Volga-Kama region was repeatedly raised in the studies of ethnographers and historians both in the 19th century and in the 20th century. Of course, this problem is still far from being solved, but the collected and analyzed material makes it possible to compare the pagan views of these peoples. Most of these works are significant works of major researchers on the problems of the spiritual culture of the Slavic and Finno-Ugric peoples, so they were of great importance for our study.

Chapter P is devoted to the consideration of the elements of the cult of vegetation in the system of pagan ideas of the Slavs and Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga-Kama region. The cult of vegetation includes several components: the cult of the forest and trees, the worship of the owners of the forest

(anthropomorphic spirits of the forest), agricultural cults, agricultural holidays. The cult of the forest and trees developed over a long period of time. The first should include people's superstitious fear of the forest surrounding them, fear often generated by a real threat, for example, from predators, and also due to the peculiarities of religious practice (the forest as a place of secret rites). But on the other hand, the forest gave food (forest game, fruits of trees), clothes, sheltered from enemies, from bad weather. Therefore, the forest is a place of prayer and sacrifices. The second element of the cult of a tree (forest) is beliefs and rituals associated with one tree: the cult of sacred groves, belief in the special properties of this tree. The latest element is the mythologization of trees, that is, a generalization of everything primitive social experience. This should also include the idea of ​​a "world tree". Worship of the owners - the spirits of the forest also went through a number of stages. D. D. Fraser distinguishes the first two: the tree is the body of the tree spirit (animism); the tree is only the dwelling of the forest spirit (polytheism). The third stage is connected with the synthesis of the functions of the spirits of individual tracts into generalized images of the deities of the forest.

With the development of agriculture, man found himself even more dependent on nature, on the fruit-bearing power of plants, and also on the influence of natural elements. The consequence of this impotence of the primitive farmer was the emergence of landowning cults. The first stage - the Great Mother of Birth is transformed into the goddess of earthly fertility, which is partially forced out at the second stage, replaced with the onset of patriarchy by the male deities of the earth and fertility. The myth of the dying and resurrecting god is also connected with agricultural cults. Under the influence of Christianity, at the third stage, some cults of the male gods of the earth and fertility are divided into two hypostases: good and evil or Christian and devilish (Veles, for example). The fear and powerlessness of the primitive farmer before nature gave rise to primitive agrarian rituals in the form of agricultural magic, which are replaced by a special agricultural religion with the emergence of its social carrier - the rural community. It should be noted that the agrarian holidays in their rituals were closely connected with the general cult of vegetation and trees. Thus, agrarian ritualism goes through two stages in its development.

In the course of the study, we noted interesting parallels. The Russians and the Finno-Ugrians of the Volga-Kama region also have prayers and sacrifices associated with trees. Some trees are honored with special reverence among all peoples, while others - only a few. The cult of the birch is ubiquitous, although among the Russians it is seen only in one holiday, which indicates the extinction of the cult. Oak is worshiped by Russians, Mordovians and

Mari, but the cult of oak is most widespread among the Russian people. Probably, the cult of the oak was borrowed by the Finno-Ugric peoples from the Indo-European peoples through the Balts. Coniferous trees are honored with special attention among the Udmurts, and other peoples (Mari, Mordovians, Komi) do not count these trees among the most revered ones, in some places they associate them with evil spirit. Among the Russians, the cult retained a vestigial significance. In addition to the main cult trees, the elm, linden, mountain ash and apple tree can be named as sacred among the various Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga-Kama region. But there is a possibility that the concept of the apple tree as a "sacred" tree was borrowed by the Mordovians from the Russian people.

Greenery in the rituals of Russians, Mordovians, Maris, Udmurts and Komi peoples has several symbolic meanings. Birch is a symbol of rebirth, a symbol of a flowering tree. Among the Mari, in addition, there is a connection between the tree and the cult of the dead. The branches of coniferous trees, as well as mountain ash, alder, viburnum, are a means of protection and purification from evil spirits, and among the Mari and Udmurts, spruce and fir branches personify the patron spirit of the house. Willow has several meanings, where the main thing is protection from evil spirits and the transfer of health and well-being to animals and people. It was suggested that in the rites of "green Christmas time" among the Mordovians and Russians mutual influences are noted, and the spring rites with willow among the Finno-Ugric peoples are similar to Russian ones and can be considered a consequence of Christianization. In general, on the example of the collected material on the rituals of the Russians and Finno-Ugrians of the Volga-Kama region, the second element of the cult of the forest and trees is well traced - beliefs and rituals associated with the tree, as well as greenery. Curious parallels can be drawn, which are explained either by similar natural habitats, or by contacts at the level of substrates (oak cult), or by direct mutual borrowing at a cultural level at later stages (the period of colocization and the influence of Christianity).

The latest element of the cult of the forest and trees is the mythologization of trees, that is, the generalization of all primitive social experience. The quintessence of these ideas, by right, can be considered ideas about the "world tree". "World tree" - mythological image a tree growing from the earth to the sky and, as it were, with a vertical axis connecting the three worlds: the upper (heaven), the middle (earth) and the lower (underground world). Animals, people, spirits and gods are located in these three worlds. In addition to the "world tree" in pagan cosmology, there are also "tree of life" and "tree of death". In the pagan ideas of both the Slavs and the Finno-Ugrians of the Volga-Kama region, there are motifs of the "world tree", they are also reflected in folklore, national embroidery and carving. But in this case we cannot talk about borrowing, we are dealing with an

rum of stage similarity. In the history of culture, a whole cosmic period or the era of the "world tree" stands out - the time when the 3rd member model of the world arises: heaven, earth, underworld. In our opinion, we can only talk about the late borrowing of the oak as a "world tree" by the Mordovians, the Mari and Komi peoples from the Russians and the apple tree - the Mordovians. Among the Udmurts (I think also among other Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga-Kama region), only spruce, birch and pine could claim the role of the cosmic "world tree". Thus, having considered the parallels in the pagan ideas of the Slavs and the Finno-Ugrians of the Volga-Kama region on the issue of the cult of the tree (forest) in all three of its constituent elements, we can draw the following conclusions. The parallels in the pagan ideas of these peoples are numerous, but the reasons for the emergence of these parallels, just like the time of occurrence, are different. The first reason for the similarity of worshiping sacred groves and praying in them is the similarity of the natural habitat (forest). The time of occurrence refers to the moment of the birth of the cult of the forest itself: IV-III millennium BC. - among the Indo-Europeans, III-II millennium BC - the ancestors of the Finno-Ugric peoples. The second is the idea of ​​the forest as a realm of spirits, another world (the forest is a place of initiation); time - the era of patriarchy (Slavs - the middle of the 1st millennium AD; Finno-Ugric peoples - the turn of the 1st millennium AD). The first reason for the similarity of beliefs and rituals associated with a single tree and with greenery has already been determined - a similar natural habitat, the second reason can be seen on the example of the oak cult - contacts at the level of substrates (II millennium BC). The third reason is direct borrowing at the cultural level at later stages (the period of colonization and the influence of the Christian church) -II half. XVI century - XIX century. And, finally, the parallels in the ideas about the "world tree" are explained by the stage similarity and the separation of the era of the "world tree" in the history of culture in the era of class formation (among the Slavs VlII-IX centuries AD, among the Finno-Ugric peoples - XVII-XVIII centuries .)

The second component of the cult of vegetation is the worship of the spirits (owners) of the forest. A number of characteristic stages can be distinguished in its development. The first stage - the idea that a tree is the body of a tree spirit - is very ancient, and we can only compare the echoes of these ideas that appear in archaeological material: this is the custom of burying the deceased, when the body is wrapped in birch bark, bast, later covered with boards, and then in a coffin; it is the belief that after death the soul of a person moves into a tree; and also - fairy tales about magic trees that can fulfill wishes, help the hero; this is the worship of idols carved from wood. Similar ideas are present in parallel in the paganism of Russians, Maris, Mordovians, Udmurts, Komi peoples, and in our opinion, they are explained primarily by a similar habitat (forests), although

it is impossible to exclude the mutual influence of individual plots of fairy-tale folklore. The second stage of the idea that trees are only a habitat for the spirits of the forest is also more revealed on the examples of folklore. This is observed both in the legends and fairy tales of the Russian people and the Finno-Ugrians of the Volga-Kama region. The presence of such parallels can be explained by the stage similarities in the development of Russian and Finno-Ugric paganism. But it should be noted that the surviving features of worshiping the spirits of the forest (stages I and II) were more fully and longer preserved precisely in the paganism of the Finno-Ugric peoples, especially among the Komi and Udmurt peoples, and among the Russians in these representations there is an interweaving of pagan and Christian views. The third stage is the emergence of generalizing images of the deities of the forest. But here, in our opinion, it is necessary to single out general images and specific ones. The first include ideas about the female inhabitants of the forests - "Baba Yaga" (in the plural), but along with this, there are widespread views about the mistress of forests and forest animals, a particular Baba Yaga - among the Russians, Ioma - among the Komi, Kukre-Baba - among Udmurts, and the listed images are united by a number of similar features (appearance and functions). The reason for the similarity is probably the mutual influence of the folklore of these peoples of the period of colonization. The result of a comparison of the Russian Baba Yaga and the Mari Ovda may be the conclusion that these characters arose on local roots, practically without affecting each other (they have more differences than similarities). The general images include, in our opinion, ideas about male forest spirits, expressed by the collective term "goblin". The presence of female and male images among the forest spirits among the Russian and Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga-Kama region testifies to the phasic similarity in the development of the paganism of these peoples (a reflection of the change of matriarchy by patriarchy). In addition to the "goblin" as collective images of forest spirits, each of the above-mentioned peoples has the main characters in the hierarchy of forest deities: the Russians have a "forest king" ("forester"); among the Komi peoples - "lint"; among the Udmurts - Nyulesmurt. There is a striking similarity between these characters in the description of their external appearance and functions, which may be explained by long-term contacts between the Russian, Udmurt population and the Komi peoples. The image of the Mordovian goddess of the forests Vir-ava is interesting, combining the features of the "woman yaga" and the "goblin" among the above-mentioned peoples; the presence of a female character should be interpreted as vestigial traits of matriarchy. In Mari paganism, the functions of the forest deity - patron, apparently belonged to Vodyzh, although this figure is one of the most controversial figures of Mari paganism. Without a doubt, ideas about Vodyzh are very ancient and arose on a local basis. With the Russian "forest tsar" of the Mari Vodyzh, they combine the functions of patronage of the forest and forest inhabitants, which can be explained simultaneously

namely, a similar habitat (forests) and stage similarity (synthesis of the spirits of individual tracts into generalizing images of the main deities).

With the change in the economic life of the ancestors of the Slavs and the ancestors of the Finno-Ugric peoples - with the transition from a hunting - gathering economy to an agricultural one - there are changes in religious ideas: part of the hunting cults and cults of vegetation are transformed into agricultural cults. There are a number of steps here. Among the Slavs, ancient women in childbirth pass into agricultural cults of goddesses of fertility, on the basis of which Makosh is formed - the ancient goddess of the earth and fertility, which is accompanied by women in childbirth. Apparently, even in the era of the Eneolithic (Neolithic), the era of matriarchy, a syncretic image of the Great Goddess takes shape, which is divided into images of specific goddesses in the era of patriarchy. In the paganism of the Mari, Mordovians and Udmurts, evidence of such processes should be considered the presence of both syncretic cults of the Great Goddesses and their specific incarnations. In addition, the ancient features of hunting cults and the symbol of the mother earth goddess, a stylized figure of a woman, merging with the image of the tree of life in the embroidery of these peoples, are related to the Slavic female goddesses of the Finno-Ugric goddesses. In the Middle Ages, new changes occur in the composition of the divine pantheons of the Volga-Kama peoples, both Finno-Ugric and Slavic: female goddesses lose their significance, the era of male deities of the earth and fertility begins. We propose to consider these deities in three groups: deities of the earth, patrons and guardians of the harvest, dying and resurrecting gods; and two-valued deities: good and evil. In the first group of deities, higher and lower deities are distinguished, if the presence of similarities among the higher deities can be explained by the importance of agriculture in the life of these peoples, then for the lower deities we suggest that the image of the Slavic deity Simargl (Pereplut) turned out to be borrowed, at least by mythology Komi Zyryan. In the pagan beliefs of the Finno-Ugrians of the Volga-Kama region, as in Slavic ideas, there are dying and resurrecting deities, reflecting the change of seasons, the power of fertility and the rebirth of nature in the spring. In this case, the Slavic and Finno-Ugric deities continue a single series of dying and resurrecting deities that are present in the religion of almost all agricultural peoples, these ideas are determined by their roots in ancient hunting myths about a dying and resurrecting animal and observations of the death and revival of vegetation. The third group is formed much later, although the deities themselves also have a very ancient origin. In the era of class formation (and also under the influence of Christianization), the ancient deities are divided into two categories.

mountains: good and evil, or "clean" and "unclean". We have considered the representatives of this second group - Veles (Slavic) and Keremet (not only the Mari deity, but also the Udmurt, Mordovian). Numerous parallels are observed in the cults of these deities: antiquity of origin, connection with the earth, with the forest. Thus, the material we have examined allows us to conclude that the third component of the vegetation cult also reveals numerous parallels in the pagan ideas of the Slavs and Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga-Kama region. main reason the presence of these parallels is the similarity of economic life and the sphere of habitation, which influenced the stage similarity in the development of the pagan religions of these peoples. But other reasons cannot be ruled out: the influence that the Indo-European tribes had on the development of the producing economy among the Finno-Ugric peoples also affected the formation of some agricultural cults; as well as borrowings at the cultural level of the period of colonization and Christianization: Christianity is gradually winning in the Volga region, and, perhaps, this is where Keremet and Veles are identified and endowed with new functions of evil spirits.

The reason for the emergence of agricultural magic lay in the great dependence of the ancient farmer on environment, soil fertility, climate. Therefore, there was a transformation of hunting magic into agricultural magic. We distinguish two stages: primitive agrarian magic and agricultural holidays. In the ritual complexes of Russians, Mari, Mordovians, Udmurts, the remains of primitive magical acts have long been preserved. These rites are mainly associated with the spirit of vegetation, especially bread. Parallels in pagan ideas in this case should be explained not only by similar conditions of habitat and economic activity, but also by the ancient views of primitive man on the surrounding nature and the animation of plants. Agrarian holidays are formed much later, with the registration of the agricultural community itself. They can be divided into two large cycles: spring-summer, dedicated to the success of the upcoming agricultural work, summer-autumn, with the goal of thanking the deities for a good harvest, past harvest and successful completion of agricultural work. In the first cycle, holidays are especially distinguished, which contain parallels with the Russian "green Christmas time". In these holidays, in addition to agricultural purposes, one can determine the rites of commemoration of the dead and divination about the success of the future married life. The significance of these holidays is strengthened not only by the antiquity of origin, but also by the very time of holding - they were timed to coincide with important dates of the solar calendar - the days summer solstice.

The above materials allow us to conclude that there are a significant number of parallels in the agrarian holidays of Russians, Maris, Mordovians and Udmurts. The main reason for the similarity, in our opinion, lies in the unity of the genesis of the Finno-Ugric peoples and the commonality of the processes of phasic development of neighboring ethnic groups. Although it is impossible to exclude a certain mutual influence of the cultures of these neighboring nations during the period of colonization of the Volga-Kama region and up to the 20th century, (for example: the rituals of weaving birch wreaths are not observed during such holidays either among the Mari or the Udmurts, perhaps the Mordovians borrowed this custom from the Russians).

Chapter III is devoted to a comparative analysis of the pagan ideas of the Slavs and the Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga-Kama region in the cult of the sun. The cult of the sun in its development went through several stages, experienced a number of transformations, and like the cult of vegetation, it includes several components of different times, in the form of remnants that have come down, practically, to our days. They served as the material for this study. We propose to consider the following components: 1) worship of the sun as such, the connection between the sun and fire; 2) the connection of the sun with a deer (moose.m), a bear, a horse (zoomorphic appearance), with the cult of birds and the "world egg"; 3) anthropomorphic appearance: the sun rider, the gods of the sun and light, the main gods; 4) the cosmological picture of the world and the role of the sun in it, the world tree and the sun, the opposition of good and evil; 5) reflection of the solar cult in annual folk holidays.

In the pagan ideas of the Slavs and the Finno-Ugrians of the Volga-Kama region, there are parallels in the worship of the sun as such, and these parallels are noted not only in the ethnographic materials of these peoples, but are also rooted in their archaeological antiquity. Probably, here the reason for the similarity of ideas on the cult of the sun may be the preservation in the primary form of the residual features of the most ancient stage in the formation of the cult of the sun (and paganism in general) - the animation and mythologization of the surrounding nature. Such ideas have been reflected in arts and crafts for a long time, solar signs in the wooden decor of houses and the tradition of depicting sun symbols in folk embroidery of Russians, Maris, Mordovians, and Udmurts have survived to this day. In addition, we note the undoubted connection between the cult of the sun and the cult of fire. Especially often in the religious beliefs of the aforementioned peoples we came across the interpretation of fire as an intermediary, a connecting link between the earthly and heavenly worlds, with which the ideas of heavenly fire or fire bestowed on the earth from the sun echo. The connection between fire lighting rituals and annual holidays and solar cycles is more fully seen in Russian.

paganism (as well as Slavic, Indo-European) paganism, while among the Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga-Kama region, it is represented to a lesser extent. The roots of this rite can be derived from the Indo-European environment, and penetration into the Finno-Ugric environment - through Russian influence. Approximately from the Neolithic era (the period of matriarchy), the cult of the sun begins to be associated with the cults of a number of animals, a deer (elk), a bear, as well as a bird, and a little later, a horse. These beings already in the early stages act as deities of a higher order, having universal significance and relation to almost all nature and the world. This cult (and rituals associated with it) is preserved in the folklore of Russians and Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga-Kama region to this day. We concluded that Russian mythology contains only echoes of this cult, the views of the Finno-Ugrians of the Volga-Kama region are characterized by half-heartedness and the loss of many features, and only the folklore of the Komi peoples reveals stable traditions of the deer (elk) cult and its connection with the heavenly world. The cult of the deer (moose) is eventually supplanted or supplemented by the cult of the bear. The cult of the bear was widespread in the forest zone of Eastern Europe among both Slavic and Finno-Ugric tribes. It can be assumed that already in the early stages of its existence, this cult was associated with the sun, the bear personified the sun. The idea of ​​hibernation and the spring awakening of the beast is reflected in the bear festivals and can be counted among the myths about the dying and resurrecting deity, this idea is also reflected in the agrarian spring rituals and beliefs about the turn of the bear on the other side on the day of the winter solstice. The folklore of the Russian people, like the folklore of the Mari, Mordovians, Udmurts, Komi, keep ancient ideas arising from the hunting life of the great-ancestors of these peoples, where the bear plays important role. With the development of manufacturing industries and the strengthening of the importance of the horse in everyday life and economy, there is a certain replacement of the cult of the deer (elk) and the cult of the bear in the personification of the sun by the cult of the horse. Most researchers agree that the Finno-Ugrians of the Volga-Kama region borrowed the cult of the horse-sun from the Indo-Iranians, while the Slavs received it from their Indo-European ancestors. In addition, we noted that the data we collected on the cult of the sun-horse among the Russian people and the Finno-Ugrians of the Volga-Kama region are very similar, so we can assume the presence of contacts between these peoples and the mutual influence of cultures at a relatively late time (from the end of the 1st millennium BC). AD). Thus, by examples, we have traced the development of zoomorphic incarnations of the sun. In addition to zoomorphic images, we noted ornithomorphic ones. This is a swan - a white bird - the bird of the gods. The rooster is the bird-sun, the firebird is the embodiment of the sun god. Griffin - fantastic predatory bird, a symbol of the sun. The researchers note that the concept of

Birds of prey and their connection with the sun appeared among the Finno-Ugric peoples under the influence of Iranian-speaking neighbors, and ideas about waterfowl - the creators of the world - have Ural-Altai roots, and penetrated into the Slavic environment as a result of ancient contacts between the great-ancestors of the Slavs and the Finno-Ugric peoples. The sun, among other things, can be symbolized by an egg. Here we are faced with manifestations of a wandering, world plot - the myth of the "world" egg, the roots of which are difficult to establish, but the presence of such ideas both among the Russians and the Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga-Kama region suggests contacts at the level of substrates of these tribes in the Bronze Age . In addition, “the deer, bear, horse and bird can act as symbols of the sun itself, they can also play the role of an intermediary, a crossing between the worlds: earthly and heavenly (afterlife).

With the transition to a productive economy, the sun in the pagan views of the Slavs and Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga-Kama region acquires an anthropomorphic appearance. But this process takes a long period, reflecting the stages of the formation of society itself and paganism as a whole, and the process goes in several directions. The "solar horseman" over time is transformed among the Slavs into Perun, Yarnla, then St. George; among the Finno-Ugric peoples, this process is delayed, although we can note several striking examples: the Udmurt holiday Guzhdor, legends about national heroes, the transformation of the "sun rider" into the creator god of the universe, the patron of people among the Khanty and Mansi. In addition to the myth of the "solar rider", examples of the anthropomorphization of the image of the sun can be ideas about the gods of the sun and light, and among them both the main ones (the creators of the world who have the hypostasis of the solar god) and the secondary ones - specific gods of the sun stand out. Moreover, the fabulous folklore of the Russians and Finno-Ugrians of the Volga-Kama region contains legends about the habitat of the sun, when human relations and life are transferred to the divine luminary. We can explain such parallels only by similar worldview concepts, where the sun, as a luminary, played an extremely important role and was associated with the main gods, as well as stage similarities, when the stage of decline of paganism as a whole begins, the process of demythologization, self-negation of the myth takes place. In addition, we have put forward the assumption that the Slavic cult of Perun is an example of a late concept of the sun god, which arises during the period of military democracy, with increased military role prince and squad. As a result of the comparison, we come to the conclusion that this period did not find such a vivid reflection in the paganism of the Udmurts and Mari as in the Mordovian or Russian paganism. There are extremely interesting parallels in the cult of the dying and resurrecting god, both among the Slavs (Yarilo) and the Finno-Ugric peoples (Keremet). Yarilo is close not only to the gods of the earth and

earthly fertility in the religions of the Mordovians, Udmurts, but also the extremely controversial character of the Mari paganism - Keremet, who, in turn, is similar (even identical) to the Vyansk Veles. But Yarilo is also similar to Perun, their images are combined into a cult! St. George, and Belee is the opponent of Perun. Such intricate connections may have been the result of a long time period in the development of specific images, as well as certain relationships between neighboring ethnic groups from the period of Slavic colonization of Finno-Ugric lands until the beginning of the 20th century. The development of paganism in the era of the collapse of the tribal system, the first era of the class formation of the Slavic and Finno-Ugric tribes of the Volga-Kama, leads to the further development of dualistic concepts and their inclusion in cosmogonically “ideas about the 3x-particular model of the world. This, in turn, contributed to the further development of the cult of the sun, the complication of the pagan's views on the world around him and put the sun in a strict hierarchized system of religious and mythological ideas of the Russians and Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga-Kama region.

There is no doubt that the solar cult was reflected in the folk calendars of both the Russians and the Finno-Ugrians of the Volga-Kama region. This is especially evident in the holidays dedicated to the three solar phases: the days of the winter solstice, spring equinox and summer solstice. The day of the autumnal equinox in this regard received less; reflection. The days of the winter solstice were celebrated as Svyatki and Christmas among the Russians Svyatki - among the Mordovians, Shoryk-yol - among the Mari, Vozhodyr - among the Udmurts. Soothsaying and incantation rites were dated for such an important astronomical event, then) that the time of the winter solstice was perceived as the beginning of the New Year and, according to the law) of initial magic, such magical actions should have affected the period of the whole next year. There is no doubt that the origin of these holidays is very ancient;< вдет речи о заимствовании. Можно сказать, что у русских к XIX веку обрядовый смыс.г большинства ритуальных действий оказался позабыт, сами действия выродились в веселые игры и забавы, в то время как у финно-угров Волго-Камья обряды зимнего праздника солнца в значительной степени сохранили древний языческий смысл. День весеннего равноденствия в календаре русского народа вследствие христианского влияния оказался приуроченным к трем праздникам - Масленице, Благовещению и Пасхе. Хотя первые два известны г финно-угорским народам исследуемой территории, но не отмечаются столь широко, как е русских деревнях, по видимому, являясь заимствованными у русского народа, но это заимствование, вполне возможно, наложилось на древнюю самобытную основу. В отличие от этого, Пасха для русских - праздник, без сомнения, христианский, хотя и включающий рял

pagan elements, is not so clearly associated with the solar cult, while the Finno-Ugrians of the Volga-Kama region revered Easter (or their holidays coinciding with it) as the day of the spring equinox and the day of the beginning of the New Year, as evidenced by the rites of the spell - wearable magic and divination or rites of "change of fire". It can be assumed that the Russians gradually lost the pagan overtones of this event, putting forward its Christian interpretation in the first place, and the beliefs of the Mordovians, Maris and Udmurts to a greater extent retained its ancient pagan meaning. The most expressive solar holiday, of course, is the holiday in honor of the days of the summer solstice, known to Russians as the day of Ivan Kupala. The holiday has clear ancient pagan roots, and in the literature there is no single point of view on its origin. Kupala games include many elements of the cult of the sun. Among the Finno-Ugric peoples, the veneration of the summer solstice also took place, but the data here are more scarce. Although we have found certain elements that connect local holidays with the sun. For example, it has been suggested that the Mari holiday Surem includes solar symbols and may be associated with the days of the summer solstice. But the probable origin of the Russian holiday of Kupala is Indo-European antiquities. This holiday, perhaps, of all the above in Russia, has retained its pagan meaning for the longest and most complete, despite centuries of attempts Orthodox Church eradicate it or cover it up with Christian symbols

Conclusion. In the pagan ideas of the Slavs and the Finno-Ugrians of the Volga-Kama region, numerous parallels are noted, which have various reasons for their emergence, formation and preservation. As a result of the study of ideas on the cult of vegetation, we identify the following reasons. The most significant, in our opinion, is the stage similarity in the development of pagan views. This is the reason for the emergence of parallels in ideas about the "world tree", in ideas about trees as habitats for spirits and in the emergence of generalizing images of deities of the forest, in ideas about female goddesses of the earth and fertility, in the cults of dying and resurrecting gods of fertility, in the appearance of two-valued deities. In second place in importance is such a reason as the similarity of the habitat - forests. It contains the roots of parallels inherent in Slavic and Finno-Ugric ideas about the cult of the forest as such, worship of the tree as such, ideas about the forest as another world - the world of spirits, the formation of generalizing deities of the forest, agricultural cults. No less important reason, in our opinion, should be considered the similarity in economic activity and social relations. From here originate parallels in agricultural cults, in the

the general role of male deities in the religious system, parallels in the cults of dying and resurrecting gods, in agricultural holidays. We believe that it is unacceptable to forget such a reason as the preservation of the vestigial features of the ancient views of primitive man on the surrounding nature and the animation of plants. This determines the special veneration of the tree, since the tree is the body of the tree spirit, then - the place of its dwelling. Here; the roots of primitive agrarian magic lie. Undoubtedly, the contacts of the ancestors of the Slavs with the ancestors of the Finno-Ugric peoples played a certain role in the emergence of parallels, but this reason is the most difficult to study, due to the lack of sufficient material and extremely controversial points of view in the literature. Nevertheless, we are trying to explain the parallels in the veneration of certain types of trees (for example, oak), some parallels in agricultural cults (for example, in the cult of the horse, where Indo-European influence on the development of the Finno-producing economy can be traced by the consequences of the contacts of the ancestors of the Slavs and the ancestors of the Finno-Ugric peoples). -Ugric). And, finally, we believe that the last reason for the emergence of Slavic-Finno-Ugric parallels is mutual influence and direct borrowing during the period of colonization and Christianization of the peoples of the Volga-Kama at the later stages. This led to the formation of parallels in the veneration of certain types of trees (willow), in the ideas of "goblin" and "women Yags", influenced the formation of similar features in specific national characters, among representatives of the lower group of male deities of the earth, patrons and protectors of the harvest, in agrarian folk calendars, and even in the formation of the very nature of the Christian religion among the peoples living on the territory of the Volga-Kama - triverity. The reflection of the process of Christianization in the pagan ideas of the Slavs and Finno-Ugric peoples and the formation of a special religious syncretism can be considered the emergence of images of two-valued deities: Beles and Keremet.

As a result of the study of the pagan ideas of the Slavs and Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga-Kama region on the cult of the sun, we believe the following are the main reasons that gave rise to numerous parallels. The most significant first reason is the stage-by-stage similarity in the development of pagan views. This led to the emergence of parallels in ideas about the connection of the cult of the sun with the cults of certain animals, about a dying and resurrecting beast, parallels in the formation of anthropomorphic images of the sun and ideas about the "solar rider", in ideas about the main gods of the sun and light, about the god of thunder, and also affected in determining the role of the sun in dualistic concepts and in the cosmogonic picture of the world. This reason explains the parallels in the veneration of the egg and its connection with the cult of the sun, since we are talking about world "wandering" stories. The second, according to

significance, we call such a reason as the similarity of socio-economic life. From here parallels originate in such ideas as the connection of the cult of the sun with the cults of the most important game animals, the connection of the cult of the sun with the cult of the horse in connection with its special role in agriculture, the dominant position of the gods of the sun and light in pagan pantheons, solar holidays dedicated to the most important events of the solar year and reflecting the peasant's concern for later life. When comparing the pagan ideas of different peoples, one should take into account such a reason as the preservation of the remnants of the ancient views of man on the surrounding nature. The noted parallels originate here, manifested in arts and crafts, as well as in connection with the cult of the sun and the cult of fire. As the fourth reason, we believe the consequences of the contacts of the ancestors of the Slavs with the ancestors of the Finno-Ugric peoples. It is this reason, in our opinion, that explains the parallels in the personification of the sun in the form of a horse in the mythology of the peoples studied, in the ideas about the relationship of waterfowl and the sun, birds of prey and the sun, in the plots of myths about the birds-creators of the world. Mutual influences and direct borrowings from the period of Russian colonization and Christianization of the peoples of the Volga-Kama region are of certain importance. This influenced the formation of parallels in the cults of Yarila and Keremet, some similarities in the annual solar holidays.

1. Studying the issues of traditional spiritual culture of the medieval Slavs at school // IV All-Russian scientific and practical conference: New technologies for teaching, educating, diagnosing and creative self-development of the individual. Abstracts of reports. - Yoshkar-Ola, 1996, - S. 50-52.

2. Problems of mutual influence of traditional cultures of the Slavs and Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga-Kama region in the process of development of ethnic groups // Bulletin of the Udmurt University. - 1996.- No. 5.-S.85 - 87.

3. Some issues of mutual influence of the traditional spiritual culture of the Slavs and the Finno-Ugrians of the Volga-Kama region // Peoples of the Commonwealth of Independent States on the eve of the third millennium: realities and development prospects. Abstracts of the International Scientific Congress. Volume IV. - St. Petersburg, 1996. - S. 31 - 33.

4. Reflection of the socio-cultural processes of the Slavic and Finno-Ugric peoples of the Middle Volga region in the spiritual sphere // Vavilov readings: Dialogue of cultures at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries and global problems modernity. Abstracts of reports. - Yoshkar-Ola, 1996. - S. 212-214.

5. On the issue of the preservation of pagan elements in folk holidays in the Kostroma and Manturovsky districts of the Kostroma region (according to the data of an ethnographic expedition) // Historical essays. Materials of the scientific conference: III Tarasov readings. Abstracts of reports. - Yoshkar-Ola, 1997. - S. 51-55.

6. Mari Shoryk-yol and Russian Svyatki: some parallels // Second Vavilov readings: Dialogue of sciences at the turn of the 20th-21st centuries and problems of modern social development. Abstracts of reports. - Yoshkar-Ola, 1997. - S.292 -294.

The peoples of the Finno-Ugric group have inhabited the territories of Europe and Siberia for more than ten thousand years, since the Neolithic. Today, the number of speakers of Finno-Ugric languages ​​exceeds 20 million people, and they are citizens of Russia and a number of European countries - modern representatives of the peoples of the Finno-Ugric group live in Western and Central Siberia, Central and Northern Europe. The Finno-Ugric peoples are an ethno-linguistic community of peoples, including the Mari, Samoyeds, Saami, Udmurts, Ob Ugrians, Erzya, Hungarians, Finns, Estonians, Livs, etc.

Some peoples of the Finno-Ugric group created their own states (Hungary, Finland, Estonia, Latvia), and some live in multinational states. Despite the fact that the cultures of the peoples of the Finno-Ugric group were significantly influenced by the beliefs of ethnic groups living with them on the same territory, and the Christianization of Europe, the Finno-Ugric peoples nevertheless managed to preserve a layer of their original culture and religion.

Religion of the peoples of the Finno-Ugric group before Christianization

In the pre-Christian era, the peoples of the Finno-Ugric group lived in isolation, on a vast territory, and representatives different peoples practically no contact with each other. Therefore, it is natural that both dialects and nuances of traditions and beliefs among different peoples of this group differed significantly: for example, despite the fact that both Estonians and Mansi belong to the Finno-Ugric peoples, it cannot be said that their beliefs and traditions contain a lot general. The formation of the religion and way of life of each ethnic group was influenced by environmental conditions and the way of life of the people, therefore it is not surprising that the beliefs and traditions of the ethnic groups living in Siberia differed significantly from the religion of the Finno-Ugric peoples living in Western Europe.

There was no Finno-Ugric group in the religions of the peoples of the Finno-Ugric group, therefore, historians take all the information about the beliefs of this ethnic group from folklore - oral folk art, which was recorded in the epics and legends of different peoples. And the most famous epics, from which modern historians draw knowledge about beliefs, are the Finnish "Kalevala" and the Estonian "Kalevipoeg", describing in sufficient detail not only gods and traditions, but also the exploits of heroes of different times.

Despite the presence of a certain difference between the beliefs of different peoples of the Finno-Ugric group, there is much in common between them. All these religions were polytheistic, and most of the gods were associated either with natural phenomena or with cattle breeding and agriculture - the main occupations of the Finno-Ugric peoples. The god of heaven was considered the supreme deity, whom the Finns called Yumala, the Estonians - Taevataat, the Mari - Yumo, the Udmurts - Inmar, and the Saami - Ibmel. The Finno-Ugric peoples also honored the deities of the sun, moon, fertility, earth and thunder; representatives of each nation called their deities in their own way, however General characteristics gods, in addition to names, did not have too many differences. In addition to polytheism and similar gods, all religions of the peoples of the Finno-Ugric group have the following common characteristics:

1. ancestor cult - all representatives of the Finno-Ugric peoples believed in the existence of an immortal human soul, and also that the inhabitants of the afterlife could influence the lives of living people and, in exceptional cases, help their descendants
2. Cults of gods and spirits associated with nature and earth (a nimism) - since the subsistence of the majority of the peoples of Siberia and Europe directly depended on the offspring of farmed animals and the harvest of cultivated plants, it is not surprising that many peoples of the Finno-Ugric group had many traditions and rituals designed to appease the spirits of nature
3. Elements of shamanism - as in, in the Finno-Ugric ethnic groups, the role of intermediaries between the world of people and the spiritual world was performed by shamans.

Religion of the peoples of the Finno-Ugric group in modern times

After the Christianization of Europe, as well as an increase in the number of adherents of Islam at the beginning of the first half of the second millennium AD, more and more people belonging to the Finno-Ugric peoples began to profess any of them, leaving the beliefs of their ancestors in the past. Now only a small part of the Finno-Ugric people profess traditional pagan beliefs and shamanism, while the majority adopted the faith of the peoples living with them on the same territory. For example, the vast majority of Finns and Estonians, as well as citizens of other European countries, are Christians (Catholics, Orthodox or Lutherans), and among the representatives of the peoples of the Finno-Ugric group inhabiting the Urals and Siberia, there are many adherents of Islam.

To date, the ancient animistic religions and shamanism have been preserved in the most complete form by the Udmurts, Mari and Samoyed peoples - the indigenous inhabitants of western and central Siberia. However, it cannot be said that the Finno-Ugric peoples have completely forgotten their traditions, because they have preserved a number of rituals and beliefs, and even the traditions of some Christian holidays in the peoples of the Finno-Ugric group are closely intertwined with ancient pagan customs.

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Mari mythology close to Mordovian. The supreme deity (yumo - the designation of the category of gods in general) in dualistic cosmogony and anthropogony - opposing the creator of evil Keremet. The highest gods were Tunya-yumo - the god of the universe, controlling the winds, clouds, etc.; Osh-Keche - the god of the sun and light, Kava-yumo - the god of the sky, Merkugu-yumo - the patron of mankind ("peace"), Volgenche-yumo - the god of lightning and Kudyrcho-yumo - a thunderer, protector of crops, man and livestock, beating evil spirits. Other mythological characters enjoyed less reverence - the personifications of natural phenomena: Uzhara ("dawn"), Tylyze (""), Shudyr-shamyg ("stars"), Mardezh-on- - the god of the winds and other evil spirits of the underworld (the god of death etc.) was headed by his lord .

Ob-Ugric mythology.
The myths of the two Ob-Ugric peoples, the Khanty and the Mansi, differed significantly even among individual tribal groups. According to the main cosmogonic myth, the earth appeared among the primary ocean from silt, which was carried out in its beak by a loon that dived to the bottom three times - luli. In one version of the myth, the loon is sent by the progenitor of all gods, in another, and the shape of the loon was taken by the ruler of evil spirits - otyr.

Separate stages of cosmogony are depicted in other, often contradictory myths. According to the Khanty legend, the evil spirit Kyn-(-otyr), taking advantage of Numi-Torum's dream, began to drag him along the ground, trying to drown him - in this case, hills, valleys, pits, bumps, swamps arose. Kyn- went to his underworld through a hole from a staff stuck in the ground. Mosquitoes-bloodsuckers and diseases have risen to the ground through the hole, but it blocks it. According to one of the myths, at first they were in the underworld -otyr, but were abducted from there Mir-susne-khumom.

In the most famous of the myths, the initiative for the creation of man is attributed to Yoli-Torum-Shan ( Kaltash-Ekva), mother earth. In another myth, people were created by Numi-Torum: at first, from larch logs, menkwa, then from the core of larch, woven with larch roots, people were created, but shaggy, and were destroyed; Finally, real people appeared, woven from willow and smeared with clay. The Eastern Khanty have myths about the origin of man from the saliva of Numi-Torum, from fish (nails are the remains of fish scales), etc.

According to the Mansi myth, the earth was originally inhabited by otyr heroes, but, enraged by their impudence, sent a fire and then a flood (yelping-vit, “sacred”); other myths mention a liquid fiery mass that almost reached the sky. bathed in fiery waters, rejuvenated and became the father of seven sons. The end of the world is depicted in a similar way: seven years before it, all coolies and menkvas will go to the underworld, devouring people along the way. During the fiery flood, those who prepare rafts of seven layers of wood will be saved: six layers will burn, and only the seventh will remain; rafting without shelter will be devoured by huge mosquitoes. The survivors will live as long as they lived before the flood, and then turn into water bugs and, finally, become dust, which will be the complete end of the world.

Elements of totemism can be traced in relation to the bear. According to ethnogonic myth, the first woman of the phratry Por(one of the two exogamous groups of Mansi and Khanty) was born to a she-bear who ate an umbrella plant.

Other versions of the myths trace the phratries of Por to two groups of ancient heroes, some of whom ate boiled meat, while others ate raw meat, or testify to a connection with the spirits and Kaltash-Ekva, and Por with the menkws.

An important place in the mythological views of the Ob Ugrians is occupied by ideas about the soul: five (or seven) souls are often mentioned for men and four (or six) for women. The Mansi differ primarily in reincarnation - the breath of a lily, and the shadow of the is, yis. Lily is inherent in a person from the moment of his birth and after death moves into the body of a child of the same kind; it has no material embodiment. Is is able to separate from the body during life - during sleep (ulum is, “sleepy”, traveling in the form of a capercaillie). After the death of a person, the is falls into the underworld - otyra, where he lives for as long as a person lived on earth; then it begins to decrease, turns into a water bug (ker homlakh) and, finally, disappears completely. In the ideas of the Eastern Khanty, the life force ilt, which endows newborns, apparently, is a manifestation of the soul of the lily, combining the properties of the Mansi lily and is. Lil is usually invisible, but can take the form of a lizard or a beetle (according to other sources, it is anthropomorphic), leaving the human body during sleep, fainting, serious illness, or death.

Of the demonic creatures, the most famous menkvi - forest cannibals. In the forest, there are also Uchi (uchi, eyes), hostile to people, with zoomorphic features. They are similar in appearance to menkws, friendly to people (mish, mys).

Heroic motives in mythology are associated both with the otyrs, who were often considered the first ancestors - the patrons of territorial groups and individual families, and especially with the sons of Numi-Torum - cultural heroes, often acting against their will. heavenly father subject to suffering and even death (albeit with a subsequent rebirth).

Hungarian mythology.
In the mythological representations of the Hungarians - the only Finno-Ugric people, territorially isolated from the area of ​​North Eurasian cultures - dominant position belongs to Christian mythology (Christianity became the official religion of the Hungarians from the 11th century) in combination with ideas borrowed from neighboring European peoples. The substratum of these later layers were ideas and images inherited from the times preceding the settlement of the Hungarians in the modern territory, and close to the mythologies of other Finno-Ugric peoples, as well as Turkic mythology.

The archaic idea of ​​the world tree (égigérö fa, “tree reaching to the sky”, tetejetlen fa, “tree without a top”, sasbfa, “eagle tree”), which occupied a central place in the mythological picture of the universe, is very stable. According to folk beliefs, this is a wonderful huge tree with seven branches, connecting the earthly world with the sky, which is supported by its top, and with underworld where it is rooted. From the foot of the tree, the source of life beats, the fruits, resin and juices of the tree give life and nourish everything that exists on earth. On the top branch of the tree is the home of the sun and his mother, and a little lower is the home of the moon and her mother. From the movement of the branches of the tree rises; sometimes on these branches a dwelling is also localized - the mother of the winds. Gifts - the fruits of this tree - are carried by fairies (tündér). The tree is guarded by a huge bird (eagle): only a shaman, a taltosh, can find the way to it.

In the mythology of the Hungarians, relics of the distinction between two human souls can be traced: the soul-breath (1élek; cf. soul lili in Mansi, lili in Khanty mythology), which leaves the body only with death, and the soul-shadow, which can leave the human body during sleep. The second is capable of taking on the image of a mouse; it is assumed that its ancient name was iz (cf. the soul-shadow is among the Ob Ugrians), which later began to denote an evil spirit (the deceased can remain on earth and torment his loved ones), and even later - the spirit of the disease and the disease itself.

The possibilities of reconstructing the pantheon of the Hungarians are very scarce. The Christian god is called Isten; in the pre-Christian era, this word probably served as the name of the supreme heavenly deity and does not have a reliable etymology (one can assume addition with the meaning “father-god”, “father-” - cf. Old Hung. ische, “father”, and Turk . , "god," Iranian etymology was also proposed, cf. Avestan ishta, yashta, "respected"). The origin of the function of the heavenly god (thunderer?) is indicated by one of the names of lightning - Isten nyila, "the arrow of the god." The cult of the virgin in Hungary and her popular name - bogdoganya or boldogasszony, "mother (woman) of happiness (wealth)" - are interpreted as the result of her syncretization with the highest female deity of the ancient Hungarians, similar to the Ob-Ugric Kaltash-ekva, and the transfer of the main functions to the virgin life-giver, patroness of women in childbirth. Interesting references to the seven virgins, correlated with the seven branches of the world tree. The seven legendary leaders of the ancient Hungarian tribes mentioned in the chronicles (Hetumoger, "seven Hungarians") can be compared with the seven sons of the Ob-Ugric Numi-Torum. The triad of deities forming highest level pantheon in many mythologies northern Eurasia, could complement the ruler of the underworld - ördög (hell,; a word of Turkic origin, cf. in Turkic mythology).

Ideas about various spirits and supernatural beings of the lower categories are similar to the corresponding images in the mythologies of neighboring European peoples: ghosts, spirit, various types of witches (; Lutsa - a ghostly creature with the gift of foresight, Vashorru-baba -), etc.

In the mythology of the ancient Hungarians there were elements of totemism. Especially famous is the mythical bird of prey Turul, the ancestor and totem of the Arpad dynasty.

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