Religion Udmurts: Christianity, paganism, Islam. Culture of Udmurtia

The Udmurts occupy the second place in the group of Finno-Ugric peoples in the group. According to official statistics, in Russia they live more than half a million - in the Republic of Udmurtia and in neighboring regions. The culture of this people was formed over many centuries, in the northern part of Udmurtia the Russian predominates, and in the southern part - the Turkic one.

As for the question of which religion the Udmurts profess, there are several ramifications, most of the people profess the Orthodox faith, but there are also those who profess Islam. Moreover, it is worth noting that paganism was extended here for a long time.

Paganism in Udmurtia

Udmurtia, like other Finno-Ugric republics, was predisposed to paganism. Christianity began to penetrate as far back as the 13th century to the northern regions of Udmurtia. However, it was not accepted to the end by the local population because of incomprehensible rituals of baptism, reading long enough and complicated prayers, ignorance of the language of worship. Therefore, most of the population for a long time remained pagan. But this was all in the northern part, where there was the influence of Rus.

The southern part of Udmurtia for a long time was under Turkic pressure, until the defeat of the Kazan Khanate. Special pressure on religion was felt by the Udmurts, who were part of the Volga Bulgaria, and a little later they were part of the Golden Horde. But the Udmurts were so devoted to paganism that even with strong pressure from Islam, most of the population did not change their faith.

The development of Christianity

The first document, evidencing the appearance of Christianity in Udmurtia, is dated 1557. At that time, 17 families of Udmurtia immediately received baptism and became Orthodox, in reply to this Ivan the Terrible granted them some royal privileges with a royal certificate.

Then, after a little more than 100 years, there was an attempt in the territory of Udmurtia to mass involve this people in Orthodoxy. The government of that time decided to build a fairly large number of Orthodox churches in Udmurtia. Missionaries were sent to the settlements, who were engaged in propaganda and building not only churches, but also schools.

But it is worth noting that nevertheless the pagan religion of the Udmurts was firmly entrenched in blood, and for several centuries the Christianization of the population was carried out by strict measures. Many people who worshiped paganism were subjected to repression, their cemeteries and sacred groves were destroyed, and the process of Christianization itself went very, very slowly.

Orthodoxy in the XVIII-XIX centuries

In 1818, the first time a biblical committee was opened here, where not only priests from Russia worked, but also Udmurt priests were brought to work. Over the next five years, a tremendous amount of work was done, resulting in the translation of the four Gospels.

It is worth noting that the Udmurt population did not resist violently against Orthodoxy, as, for example, it was in Mordovia. Most of the population remained pagans, but the resistance was passive and closed.

In these years there was a gradual Christianization without serious obstacles and the struggle of the population. However, according to historical data, two anti-Christian communities operated on the territory of Udmurtia.

Wrestlers against Orthodoxy

In the XIX century in the republic there were just two movements, the main idea of which was to set up the local population against Christianity. One of them was a sect - "Vylepyrisi". The heads of this community were priests and magi, they were engaged in intimidation of the population and angrily urged everyone to join them. If they do not, they will have a black band in their life, full of misfortunes.

This new religion of the Udmurts was the enemy of all Russian, and everyone in this community was forbidden to wear red clothes, moreover, it was impossible to have any contact with the Russians.

In the middle of the XIX century there was another sect - "Lypopoklonniki", which was against all other faiths, including popular paganism popular among the people. This community recognized nothing but the use of kumyshki (national vodka) and beer near the sacred linden, and there was a complete ban on communicating with people of another faith.

The turning point in religiosity

Thanks to the "Multan case", paganism in Udmurtia has declined. In 1892 several young people were accused of committing human sacrifices. It was then that most of the population realized that this kind of worship had outlived itself.

Many convinced citizens still believe that this case was falsified by the government of that time, so that the local population finally became finally Orthodox. But many people changed their minds about faith, and some still were persistent in their beliefs.

In 1917, a large number of Russian settlers lived on the territory of modern Udmurtia. Thanks to this, among the Udmurt people there were even more people who were Christians. A very popular person at that time was Grigory Vereshchagin, a Udmurt priest. Divine services of that time were conducted in Russian and Udmurt.

It is worth noting that most of the population of that time was two-fold. That is, they visited the church, but at the same time combined and pagan concepts with the Orthodox. True worshipers of paganism at that time were already not so many. But those who were, were inactive and did not propagate their beliefs among the local population.

Religion of the XX century in Udmurtia

In the 1920s the Udmurt Autonomous Republic was created. In this place there are enough educated people and the so-called intelligentsia. All those who are faithful to paganism are not despised, and there is no pressure on them by the authorities. However, after only about 10 years in this locality the persecution and destruction of the local intelligentsia again begin. Priests in an instant became enemies of the people, and all who fell into the hands of the authorities were repressed.

It was forbidden to hold prayers, village and family sanctuaries were destroyed, sacred groves were cut down. For many persecutions, the state of the republic has become simply deplorable. Here there were colossal indicators of alcoholism among the local population, the birth rate was lower than that of Russians. In the cities, everything possible was done to Russify them, and the indigenous Udmurts were sufficiently low-skilled specialists.

Such oppression lasted about 50 years, and only with the advent of the 80s a large number of cultural movements appear in the republic, who want to revive their nation. In the restoration of the nationality, the search for religion is also under way, for several years there has been some uncertainty in this respect in the republic, but with the onset of 1989, the wave of Orthodoxy is still beginning here.

Archbishops of the Republic

At that time Archbishop Palladius came to the diocese, who began the restoration of Orthodoxy, but was not very active in this difficult matter. Four years later, Archbishop Nicholas headed the bishopric, who in a few years achieved incredible success.

In just three years, the number of parishioners grew exponentially, educated people began to appear, and at the same time, three women's monasteries were opened, which still work today. Moreover, the Sunday school was launched, and the first issues of the newspaper "Orthodox Udmurtiya" began to appear. Archbishop Nicholas established cooperation with local authorities and most of the intelligentsia. The Orthodox religion of the Udmurts of that time was experiencing its best times.

Culture of Udmurtia

As already reported, the culture of this people was formed under the influence of two different factors. Due to this the region has special costumes, traditions and customs.

National costumes

Another 100 years ago, the national costumes of this people were made at home from materials such as sheepskin and cloth. Udmurtka of the northern region wore a white linen shirt with an embroidered breastplate (something like a tunic). She was wearing a large robe with a belt.

In the southern part of the republic the national clothes are different. There is also a canvas shirt, but they wear sleeveless or camisole on it. Under the shirt should be worn pants. All clothing should be colored, since white was only for special occasions. She could be decorated with embroidery on her hands and chest.

Hats

Women's headgear is very diverse. By this clothing, you can determine a lot about the owner: age, marital status, status.

Women who are married should wear "yykircert" - head towel with rolled ends. A distinctive feature of such a headdress - the ends of the towels should go down on their backs. Also married can wear a high birch bark hat with a coverlet, it should be lined with a canvas, and also be decorated with coins.

Girls wear a headband - "kokotug", or a canvas cap (it should be small in size).

Cuisine of Udmurtia

The most common meal of this people is bread, soups and cereals. In the old days, meat and dairy dishes were considered winter food, and they were prepared only in autumn and winter. Also various vegetables were popular, they were used practically in any kind: cheese, boiled, liver, stew.

If there was any festive day, then on the table served honey, sour cream and eggs. By the way, one of the most popular Udmurt dishes, which has come to this day, is dumplings.

It is worth noting that thanks to the Eurovision and the performances of the Buranovski grandmothers, several national recipes have appeared in the world, for example pouches, which could only be tried in the territory of Udmurtia.

The national drink of this people was bread and beet kvass, beer and mead. Of course, each nationality has its own national alcoholic drink, in the case of the Udmurts there is a kumyshka (bread moonshine).

Religion and customs of Udmurts

It should be noted that Udmurtia is a republic in which there were many pagans that existed throughout the time, they succumbed to persecution and repression, but never gave up. Currently, the religion of Udmurts is Orthodoxy, but in rural areas one can still meet a fairly large number of the population, which to this day is pagan.

People with such faith conduct various ritual acts. So, for example, earlier each family in the yard had a "kuala" structure. The local population believed that in it lived vorshud - the spirit-patron of the family. All the families sacrificed various food for him.

On holidays in the Kuala priests held various rituals in honor of the gods, in them also participated families. Spending their ritual, the priests asked the gods for good weather, harvest, health, material well-being and much more. After that, the ritual porridge was prepared on the cauldron, which was first donated to the gods, and then it was eaten by all participants of this ritual. This action is quite popular in Udmurtia, and it is believed that each family should ask the spirits for well-being and sacrifice various gifts for them.

Necessarily in each village there was a sacred grove where several times throughout the year various rituals and prayers could be held. To visit it was possible only on specially for those allotted days, and it was strictly forbidden to collect berries and other fruits from it. Also, cattle were not allowed in the sacred grove, in general, this place was not allowed to anyone, except for rituals, on specially designated days.

In the center of this place was a tree, to the roots of which buried various gifts for the sacrifice of their spirits living under the earth. Typically, the victims were birds or animals. It should be noted that in some villages and to this day, prayer days are held in the sacred groves.

Conclusion

Udmurtia is a republic that for a long time has been heading toward the formation of Orthodoxy. However, the head of the Udmurt Republic (now temporarily in this post is Alexander Brechalov) declares that paganism is again reviving lately, according to statistics, today 7% of the population are just pagans.

Therefore, the church is trying not to miss what it sought for centuries, in every way trying to protect the modern youth from old beliefs. Also, the head of the Udmurt Republic reported that in cities such a trend is not observed, and paganism is reborn only in small settlements.