What do all Finno-Ugric languages ​​have in common? How do Ugro-Finns live? Brief history of the Finno-Ugric peoples

Section four FINNO-UGRIAN BELIEFS AND MYTHS

Finno-Ugric (Finnish-Ugric) languages Finno-Ugric (Finnish-Ugric) languages, one of the two branches of the Uralic family of languages ​​(see. Uralic languages). It is divided into the following language groups: Baltic-Finnish (Finnish, Izhorian, Karelian, Ludikovo, Vepsian, Votic, Estonian, Livonian); Sami; Mordovian (Erzya and Moksha); Mari; Perm (Komi-Zyryan, Komi-Permyak, Udmurt); Ugric (Hungarian, Mansi, Khanty). Area of ​​distribution of F. i. √ S. East. Europe (from Scandinavia to the Urals), a significant part of the Volga-Kama region, the middle and lower Ob basin, part of the Danube basin. Number of speakers of F. i. √ about 24 million people (1970, estimate), including in the USSR - about 4.5 million people. (1970, census). Hung., Fin. and est. languages ​​have a centuries-old written and literary tradition; most others F. I. are neoliterate, and some Baltic-Finnish. languages ​​are unwritten.

Similar features that are systemic in nature suggest that the Uralic (Finno-Ugric and Samoyed) languages ​​are genetically related to Indo-European, Altaic, Dravidian, Yukaghir and other languages ​​and developed from the Nostratic proto-language (see. Nostratic languages). According to the most common point of view, Proto-Finno-Ugric separated from Proto-Samoedic about 6 thousand years ago and existed until approximately the end of the 3rd millennium BC. e. (when the Finno-Perm and Ugric branches separated), being widespread in the Urals and Western regions. The Urals and, possibly, in some neighboring areas (hypotheses about the Central Asian, Volga-Oka and Baltic ancestral homelands of the Finno-Ugric peoples are refuted by modern data). The contacts with the Indo-Iranians that took place during this period are reflected in a number of borrowings in F. i. (agricultural terms, some numerals, etc.). In the 3rd-2nd millennium BC. e. settlement of Finno-Permians in the west. direction (all the way to the Baltic Sea) was accompanied by a gradual separation of the Baltic-Finnish, Mord., Mar. and Permian languages, which formed independent groups. The Sami group arose as a result of the transition of the aboriginal population of the Far North of Europe to the use of one of the languages, close to the Baltic-Finnish. proto-language. It is possible that previously there were other F. I. in the territory of Eastern Europe. and their groups (for example, the Meri and Murom languages), displaced by the end of the 1st millennium AD. e. eastern-slav. languages. The beginning of the collapse of the Ugric proto-language dates back to the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e., Baltic-Finnish proto-language √ to the first centuries AD. e., Permian proto-language √ by the 8th century. During the separate development of individual groups of F. i. Their contacts with Indo-European (Iran, Baltic, Germanic, Slavic) and Turkic (Bulgar, Kipchak, Oghuz) languages ​​played a major role.

Modern F. i. unites the common origin of many inflectional and word-forming affixes and entire systems of affixes, the presence of regular interlingual phonetic ones. correspondences; at least 1000 Proto-Finno-Ugric roots have been preserved in them. Long-term divergence and multidirectional areal interactions have, however, determined noticeable typological differences between individual F. i. Common to all F. I. There are few signs: an agglutinative structure with significant √ in the Baltic-Finnish and Sami languages, sometimes dominant √ features of inflection, absence of grammatical gender, the use of postpositions, a developed system of verbal speciation, preposition of the definition. In many F. I. the features of the Finno-Ugric proto-language have been preserved: the absence of voiced consonants and combinations of consonants at the beginning of a word, the personal-possessive declension of names, the zero ending of the nominative case, the indeclinability of adjectives and numerals in the function of definitions, the expression of negation through a special auxiliary verb, the richness of the system of impersonal forms of the verb and the use the latter in constructions corresponding in meaning to subordinate clauses. Row F. I. characteristic synharmonism, fixed (often on the first syllable) stress, opposition of two tones - high (rising) and low (descending), distinction between two types of verb conjugation (subject - transitive and objective - intransitive).

see also Finno-Ugric studies.

Lit.: Languages ​​of the Peoples of the USSR, vol. 3 √ Finno-Ugric and Samoyed languages, M., 1966; Fundamentals of Finno-Ugric linguistics, c. 1√3, M., 1974√76; Collinder V., Survey of the Uralic languages, 2 ed., Stockh., 1969; him. Comparative grammar of the Uralic languages, Stockh., 1960; his, Fennougric vocabulary, Stockh., 1955; Hajdu P., Finnugor népek és nyelyek, Bdpst, 1962; his, Bevezetés az uráli nyelvtudományba, 2 kiad., Bdpst, 1973; Decsy Gu., Einführung in die finnischugrische Sprach-wissenschaft, Wiesbaden, 1965; Itkonen E., Die Laut √ und Formenstruktur der finnisch-ugrischen Grundsprache, “Ural-Altaische Jahrbücher”, 1962, Bd 34, S. 187√210.

E. A. Khelimsky.

Great Soviet Encyclopedia. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1969-1978 .

See what “Finno-Ugric (Finnish-Ugric) languages” are in other dictionaries:

FINNO-UGRIAN (or Finno-Ugric) LANGUAGES a group of languages, the swarm includes: 1) Baltic (Finnish Suomi, Izhorian, Karelian, Vepsian, endangered Votsky, Estonian, endangered Livonian); 2) Lapps, or Sami (one on the Kola... ... Literary encyclopedia

- (Finno-Ugric) languages ​​(Finnish-Ugric family of languages). The languages ​​from which the groups are formed: 1) Ugric group: languages ​​Magyar (Hungarian), Mansi (Mansi, Vogul), Khanty (Khanty, Ostyak); 2) Finnish group: languages ​​Finnish (Suomi), ... ...

The same as the Finno-Ugric languages... Handbook of Etymology and Historical Lexicology

- (Finnish-Ugric languages) a family of related languages ​​that, together with the Samoyed languages, form a large genetic group, the Uralic languages. They are divided into 5 branches:..1) Baltic Finnish Finnish, Izhorian, Karelian, Vepsian, Votic, Estonian... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

A family of languages ​​that, together with the Samoyed languages, form a large genetic group, the Uralic languages. They are divided into 5 branches: 1) Baltic Finnish Finnish, Izhorian, Karelian, Vepsian, Votic, Estonian, Livonian languages; 2) Sami… … encyclopedic Dictionary

Same as Ugro-Finnish languages... Dictionary of linguistic terms

A complex discipline that studies the languages ​​and cultures of the Finno-Ugric peoples, or, in a broader sense, all the peoples of the Uralic language family (see Uralic languages), including Samoyedic; in this case, the concepts "F." and “uralistics”... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Ulla-Maia Kulonen, professor

Finno-Ugric Department of the University of Helsinki

Finnish is part of the group of Baltic-Finnish languages ​​belonging to the Finno-Ugric or Uralic family of languages. Finnish is the most widely spoken language in this group. It is followed by Estonian. The Baltic-Finnish group belongs to the westernmost branches of the Finno-Ugric language family; Only the Sami languages ​​extend further west in central and northern Norway. In the east, the Finno-Ugric family of languages ​​reaches the Yenisei and the Taimyr Peninsula, in the south it is represented by the Hungarians.

Modern Finno-Ugric languages ​​and territories of their distribution

The languages ​​belonging to the Finno-Ugric family are spoken by a total of about 23 million people. But many of these languages, with the exception of Finnish, Estonian and Hungarian, are the languages ​​of national minorities of the Russian Federation and are on the verge of extinction. The territory of Russia is also limited to the Karelian, Vepsian, Ludyk languages, remnants of the Izhorian dialects and the Votic language (all of them belong to the Baltic-Finnish group). Although Karelians have their own republic, part of the Russian Federation, they make up only 10 percent of the population of Karelia, and a significant part of Karelians live outside the republic, in the Tver region. The creation of a unified Karelian written language has until now been significantly complicated by the division of the language into several dialects that are very different from each other. When creating a literary language, many Uralic languages ​​face the same problem.

So, the Baltic-Finnish language group includes seven languages, but the most widespread and therefore the most viable are only Finnish and Estonian. These languages ​​are close relatives, and a little training is enough for, for example, a Finn and an Estonian to learn to understand each other to some extent, although to a Finn the Estonian language at first seems simply incomprehensible. These two languages ​​are not as close to each other as, for example, Scandinavian languages. But still, this group consists of successors to languages ​​that are more or less close to each other.

The group of Sami languages ​​constitutes a single geographical and linguistic whole. In the coastal zone (100-200 km wide), their distribution area extends from the North Sea coast in central Norway to the east of the Kola Peninsula. Consequently, the Sami live in four countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. There are ten Sami languages ​​in total. The largest number of speakers is Northern Sami, widespread in the territories of all three Scandinavian countries. There is, in essence, only one clear boundary between the Sami languages, dividing the Sami languages ​​into Western and Eastern. Apart from this dividing line, the languages ​​of adjacent territories are close to each other and allow neighbors to understand each other.

It is impossible to indicate the exact number of Sami, since the definition of Sami differs in different countries. Estimates range from 50,000 to 80,000 people. Most of them live in Norway, the least in Russia (about 4,000 people, among whom there are only about 1,500 native Sami speakers). Many small Sami languages ​​are on the verge of extinction (Ume and Pite in Sweden, Babinsky in Russia).

In central Russia, three main groups of Finno-Ugric languages ​​can be distinguished: Mari, Mordovian and a group of Permian languages. Mari is divided into three main dialects, which can also be considered separate languages. It was not possible to create a single written language for them. There are two Mordovian languages: Erzya and Moksha, with a total of about a million speakers. Thus, after the Finns and Hungarians, the Mordovians constitute the third largest linguistic group: almost the same as the Estonian one. Erzya and Moksha have their own written language. There are three Perm languages: Komi-Zyryan, Komi-Permyak and Udmurt.

Mordovians, Mari, Komi and Udmurts have their own republics, but they live in them as national minorities. Two thirds of the inhabitants of the Mordovian Republic are representatives of other nationalities, primarily Russians and Tatars. The bulk of the Mordovians live on a vast territory east of their republic, right up to the Urals. There are only about 670,000 Mari people, half of whom live in the Mari-El Republic. The largest single group of Mari outside the republic (106,000 people) lives in the east, in Bashkiria. Only 500,000 people out of one and a half million residents of Udmurtia are ethnic Udmurts. Another quarter of the representatives of this ethnic group live outside the republic, primarily in the neighboring Kirov and Perm regions, as well as in the Tatar and Bashkir republics.

Based on both linguistic and cultural characteristics, the Komi can be divided into two groups: the Komi-Zyryans and the Komi-Permyaks, each of which has its own territory: the Komi-Zyryans - the Komi Republic, which exceeds the territory of Finland by about a third, and the Komi-Permyaks - national district on the southern outskirts of the Republic

Komi. The total number of Komi is approximately half a million people, including 150,000 Komi-Permyaks. About 70% of both population groups speak their native language.

If linguistically the group of Ugric languages ​​is united, then geographically it is very scattered. The linguistic connection of Hungarian with the Ob-Ugric languages, whose speakers live in Siberia, was often considered (and continues to be considered) doubtful, but on the basis of facts relating purely to the history of the language, it is possible to identify the indisputable relationship of these languages. The Ugric group includes, in addition to Hungarian, the Ob-Ugric languages ​​- Khanty and Mansi, whose speakers live over a vast territory in western Siberia along the Ob River and its tributaries. There are a total of less than 30,000 Khanty and Mansi people, of whom less than half speak their native language. The geographical distance of these languages ​​from each other is explained by the fact that the Hungarians, during the migration of peoples, went south and found themselves far from their ancient habitats, located in the Urals. The Ob Ugrians, in turn, apparently settled relatively late in the vast taiga territories of the north, and the northernmost Khanty reached the tundra, where they mastered reindeer husbandry, taking it over from the Samoyeds, who had long lived there. The Khanty and Mansi have their own national district, among the inhabitants of which the share of these original peoples is only a few percent.

Currently, the Samoyedic group includes four northern and one southern languages. Previously, there were more southern Samoyedic languages, but by the beginning of the last century they had mostly merged with the Turkic languages ​​of Siberia. Currently, the southern Samoyeds are represented by only 1,500 Selkups living on the Yenisei east of the Khanty. The largest group of northern Samoyeds are the Nenets, who number about 30,000.

Common structural features and common vocabulary

So, the roots of the Finnish language go back to the so-called. Finno-Ugric proto-language, from which all the above-mentioned languages ​​historically emerged. In favor of a common proto-language, first of all, the structural features of these languages, as well as their common basic vocabulary, speak.

In the structural features of the Finno-Ugric languages, a foreigner can easily recognize the peculiarities of the Finnish language: first of all, when words are declined, endings that have grammatical functions are added to them, while prepositions are not used, as, for example, in English and other Germanic languages. Let's give an example: autossa (auto-ssa) - “in the car”, autolla (auto-lla) - “by car”. The abundance of case endings in Finnish is often seen as a specific feature that unites Finnish and Hungarian; in Hungarian there are about twenty case endings, in Finnish - 15. Peculiarities of word modification include personal endings of verbs during conjugation, for example, tanssin (tanssi-n) - “I’m dancing”, tanssit (tanssi-t) - “you’re dancing”, hyang tanssi ( tansi-i) - “he/she is dancing”, as well as possessive suffixes derived from the same basic elements, for example autoni (auto-ni) - “my car”, autosi (auto-si) - “your car”, and , moreover, connected with case endings: autollani - “on my car”, autossasi - “in your car”. These features are common to all Finno-Ugric languages.

General vocabulary consists, first of all, of basic concepts related to man (including names of communities, relatives), the human body, basic functions, and the surrounding nature. Basic concepts also include root grammatical words such as pronouns, prepositions and postpositions expressing direction and location, as well as small numbers. Words associated with culture and crafts reflect the concepts of hunting, fishing and collecting the gifts of nature (for example, yousi - “bow”, nuoli - “arrow”, yanne - “string”; pato - “dam”, eimya - “needle”). The peculiarities of spiritual culture are embodied in the word noita, which means a shaman, although in modern Finnish it means “witch”.

Indo-European contacts: shared past and present

There are only about three hundred root words in the modern Finnish language that go back to the Finno-Ugric proto-language, but if we take into account their derivatives, the number of ancient vocabulary will increase many times. Many core vocabulary words came into Finnish from Indo-European language systems, which shows that Finnish and its predecessors were at all stages of development in contact with Indo-European languages. Some of the borrowed vocabulary is common to several Finno-Ugric languages, and the oldest established cases of borrowing can be attributed to the period of the Finno-Ugric and Indo-European proto-languages. The number of such words is small, and there are only a few reliable cases: perhaps the most indisputable is the word nimi - “name”. This layer of borrowed vocabulary also includes the words vesi – “water”, muudya – “sell”, nainen – “woman”. So, the oldest borrowed words date back to the period before the collapse of the Indo-European proto-language - probably in the first half of the fourth millennium BC.

Finns never "came" to Finland because Finns, Finnish identity or the Finnish language in the true sense never existed anywhere outside of Finland. What is now considered "Finnish" has been formed here over thousands of years, influenced by many peoples, languages ​​and cultures.

Many Finns learned in school that our ancestors arrived from the east (where languages ​​related to Finnish are still spoken) approximately 2,000 years ago. This was a plausible theory at the time, but no more: contrary to what was believed in the first half of the 20th century, Finland has been continuously inhabited since the last Ice Age, i.e. our first ancestors lived here already about 9,000 years ago. Very little is known about these first people of Finland: we do not know where they came from (from the south, of course...) and what language they spoke (it could have been Finno-Ugric or even some other language with a completely unknown ancestry ). Of course, after this Finland experienced many cultural and linguistic influences from many directions.

Several decades ago, the Finno-Ugric family tree was interpreted as a map showing how Finno-Ugric peoples migrated to their current habitats. Modern archaeological evidence does not support such extensive movements. In addition, recent research into loanwords has shown the presence of very ancient Indo-European loanwords, especially in Finnish and the westernmost branch of the FU languages; this means that some "proto-form" of the Finnish language must have been functioning in the Baltic Sea region for a very long time.

On the other hand, the Finnish language is of course related to the languages ​​spoken in central Russia and Western Siberia. This means either that the area of ​​the Finno-Ugric (Uralic) proto-language was very vast, stretching perhaps from the Baltic Sea to the Urals, or that we must find alternative models to explain the spread of these languages.

Some scholars suggest that the Uralic languages ​​must have functioned much further west, even in the areas that are now Northern Germany and Denmark. In particular, Kalevi Wiik, professor of phonetics, states that the Germanic languages ​​were originally “spoken by Indo-Europeans with a Uralic accent.” However, Wiik's hypothesis met with serious criticism from Finnish Indo-Europeanists. There is no hard evidence to help us identify the languages ​​that were probably spoken in northern Europe before the rise of the modern Indo-European and Uralic languages.

One of the best ways to make Finn jump up is to tell him/her that Finns have slanted eyes and speak Russian or a similar language. In fact - as almost any Finn will answer - English and almost all European languages, including Russian and other Slavic languages, belong to the great and powerful Indo-European family of languages ​​- but not Finnish. The Finnish language, together with Estonian, Hungarian, Sami (“Laplandic”) and many others (see below), belong to the Finno-Ugric (or Uralic) family of languages.

Of course, the Russians have been our eastern neighbors for a thousand years or so. Before the East Slavic tribes came to what is now Northern (Central) Russia, the area was probably inhabited by Finno-Ugric tribes who spoke languages ​​now long extinct. Some names of these peoples and languages ​​are mentioned in old chronicles, but no other evidence remains. It has been established, for example, that Moscow is located on ancient Finno-Ugric territory. Later, Finnish root languages ​​(Finnish and its closest relatives) clearly influenced neighboring northwestern Russian dialects. East Finnic languages ​​(like Karelian) were also deeply imbued with Russian loanwords and other influences. Finnish speakers, however, were mainly subject to Swedish influence (until 1809) and received most of their vocabulary and cultural influences from the West.

Finnish has some Russian loanwords, and somewhat later influences can be seen, for example, in Helsinki slang (words like place"place" or snaijata"to know" were used on the streets of trilingual Helsinki in the 19th century), but, generally speaking, the influence of the Russian language in Finnish was rather weak compared to the influence of Swedish. Even now, although Finland often claims to have been an important gateway between East and West, there are surprisingly few Finns who know Russian (in fact, far fewer than Finns who know, for example, German or French).

No, that's not true. No serious student of the Finno-Ugric languages ​​has ever doubted their common origin. Of course, there are different opinions as to how this common origin and the relationship between FU languages ​​should be specifically explained and interpreted.

What was really wrong was probably an outdated idea regarding the cultural or even racial ties of the Finno-Ugrians. In addition, there are people who have more or less crazy ideas about the connection of their native language with some very prestigious or exotic languages ​​(for example, Hungarian with Sumerian). There may be political or nationalist motives, as in 19th century Hungary, when some Hungarians, who did not want to be related to the "most primitive peoples of Eurasia", tried to prove that the Hungarian language was related to the Turkic languages ​​- which would make them descendants or relatives of the powerful warriors of the East.

The FU languages ​​still share some central characteristics and vocabulary elements, allowing us to reconstruct many features and details of a common proto-language.

From this parent language, existing FU languages ​​have developed in different directions, subject to both internal drifts and foreign influences. Traditionally this has been illustrated with a family tree model, which is of course a rough and simplified description. Currently, many linguists paint a bush-like model, with the main branches (Finnish, Sami, Mordovian, Mari, Permian, Ugric, Samoyedic) as equals; their internal relationships cannot be satisfactorily described in terms of the family tree model.

The proto-language was spoken at least about six thousand years ago (about the same time as the Indo-European proto-language); this means that the most distant branches of the FU family of languages ​​are very distantly related. The kinship between Finnish and Hungarian can be compared to the kinship between English and Hindi. (This means that there is, in any case, no more than racial or cultural similarity between Finns and Hungarians...)

Languages ​​are genetically related if their common characteristics - words, affixes, features - can be explained by inheritance from a common proto-language.

It is not easy to discover such common characteristics. We must take into account:

• Random similarities. Since the sound systems of all the world's languages ​​use a relatively small number of sounds (usually about thirty) assembled on fairly universal principles, it is statistically very likely that different languages ​​have very similar words - especially if those languages ​​have similar sound systems and if those words descriptive in nature.
• Typological connections. Turkic languages ​​have many structural features similar to Finnish, for example, such as vowel harmony and suffix morphology (endings added to the end of words). However, this only shows that some features often coincide: Turkic and FU languages ​​(like some other languages ​​of the world) simply coincidentally belong to the same type - agglunate.
• Later influences. Similar sounding words are not necessarily common heritage: e.g. vunukka"grandson" (in some East Finnish dialects) is not originally related to Hungarian unoka, but both are borrowings from Slavic languages.
• Change in sound. Over hundreds and thousands of years, words and sounds can change beyond recognition: would you have noticed that Sanskrit chakra related to English wheel"wheel", or Finnish ydin"essence" with Hungarian velo? Or might you know that Hungarian fiú"boy" and ház"house" is not related to Romanian fiu and German house, but related to Finnish poika And kota, respectively? (See more Indo-European examples: "Do hippos have feathers?")

You can't prove genetic relatedness by simply finding similarities in word lists and dictionaries. Instead, you must find systematic correspondences, reconstruct common proto-forms, explain the course of their changes, and relate all this to what is known about the history of the languages ​​in question and languages ​​in general. Moreover, the similarity of words is not enough, because words change and are replaced: You must find matches also in grammar and affixes.

Most Finno-Ugric scholars would answer: we don’t know, at least nothing has been proven yet. Some linguists have suggested connections between the Finno-Ugric and Indo-European families of languages, but it is more likely that Indo-Europeans are simply our old neighbors: FU languages ​​have some very ancient Indo-European loanwords.

Some other hypotheses have also been proposed (Ural-Altaic, Ural-Dravidian, Finno-Basque, Hungarian-Sumerian, etc., etc.); as a rule, they are either based on outdated ideas or created without the expertise of one (or both) of the groups of languages ​​in question. The Ural-Altaic hypothesis is still alive in some places as the generally accepted belief that "Finnish and Turkish are related." However, as stated earlier, the structural similarities between Finnish (or other Finno-Ugric languages) and Turkish (or other Turkic or "Altaic" languages) are typological: these languages ​​belong to the same type. The basic vocabularies in these languages ​​are very different and do not allow for the reconstruction of a common proto-language. In addition, the existence of the "Altaic" family of languages ​​(Turkic, Mongolian and Tungusic languages, possibly also Korean) is also questioned by many scientists.

(While not genetically related, Turkish has some connections to the Finno-Ugric languages. Some FU languages ​​spoken in Central Russia and Western Siberia were influenced by neighboring Turkic languages, and Hungarian has many layers of loanwords from various Turkic-speaking tribes.)

Unfortunately, it is very likely that genetic relationships outside the currently known language families will never be proven. There have been some attempts, such as the Nostratic theory (a macro-family including many families of Old World languages), as well as the "Prime World" hypothesis, which, however, must be regarded as wild fantasy (more information is contained in the excellent FAQ sci.lang ).

This question, together with the eternal "Where did the Finns come from?", is the mother of all Finno-Ugric FAQs. After years of studying etymological dictionaries and other exotic material, I have finally compiled a new page dedicated to this question, along with a new bibliography ...

The Finno-Ugric or Uralic (like Tapani Salminen, I use these two words interchangeably) family of languages ​​consists of the following branches:

• Finnish(Finnic), or "Baltic-Finnish" languages: Finnish and his immediate family: Karelsky, Lyudikovsky(in Russian-language sources it is considered as a dialect of Karelian, along with Livvikovsky - V.K.), Vepsian, Ingrian(in Russian-language sources it is not mentioned as a separate language, but refers to dialects of Finnish - V.K.), Vodian, Estonian, Livonian.
• Sami(“Laplandic”): approximately ten languages, the largest of which is North Sami("Norwegian-Lappish", "Fjell Lapp").
• Mordovian: two standard languages: Erzya And Moksha.
• Mari(Cheremis language): two standard languages, West(Mountain Marie) and Oriental(Lugovoy Marie). The Mordovian and Mari branches are sometimes lumped together as the "Volgaic languages", although they are not particularly closely related.
• Perm languages:
• Komi(“Zyryansky” and Permyatsky (Komi-Permyatsky)).
• Udmurt(the language of "Votyakov", in world literature this ethnonym (Votyak), unfortunately, is often confused with Votic (Votic or Votian) of the Finnish branch).
• Ugric languages:
• Hungarian
• Ob-Ugric languages ​​in Western Siberia: Khanty(Ostyak language) and Muncie("Vogulov" language), both with very deep dialect variations
• Samoyed languages(in western Siberia):
• Northern: Nenets(Yurakov language), Enetsky(language of the "Yenisei Samoyeds"), Nganasan(language of the Tavgi people)
• Southern: Selkup(language of the "Ostyak-Samoyeds"), some extinct languages ​​(the last representative of the nationality Kamasin died 1988).

(Names in parentheses and quotation marks, such as "Ostyak" or "Zyryansky", used primarily in the Western world, as well as in pre-Soviet Russia, were originally given by neighbors and are often considered incorrect by the peoples themselves. Some scholars still use them because the use of names, used by the peoples themselves, like "Khanty" or "Komi", is, in their opinion, only a "democratic" relic of Soviet hypocrisy. However, it seems that the use of one's own ethnonyms will nevertheless become a standard. Some "exonyms" also have the danger of introducing misleading: the name "Ostyak" was used for three different peoples and languages, i.e. the Khanty of the Ugric branch, the Selkup of the Samoyed branch, as well as the Kets or "Yenisei Ostyaks", speaking one of the "Paleo-Siberian" languages ​​​​not included in Uralic language family, and this term still confuses local authorities and their statistics, and even the local residents themselves!)

Finnish, Estonian and Hungarian are the official languages ​​of the majority in independent states and are thus relatively safe. Other FU languages ​​(like, in fact, most languages ​​of the world) are more or less endangered.

The Volga and Permian languages ​​have hundreds of thousands of speakers, but the majority of people who speak them fluently are elderly and live in rural areas. Most urban residents and young people tend to prefer Russian. These peoples had their own titular republics already in the Soviet Union. However, these republics have a Russian-speaking majority, and Russian dominates in most areas of language use. In addition, the territories of the titular republics do not cover all areas inhabited by these peoples. In recent years, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, national awakening has brought about some positive developments, especially in the Komi and Mari republics.

Of the less common FU languages, for example, Votic, Livonian and several of the smaller Sami languages ​​are almost extinct. Even languages ​​spoken by thousands of people are in great danger, since no one is helping children and young people to become full-fledged speakers of their languages.

Much depends on

• Financial realities: the possibilities of national education, the press and cultural events (local authorities and organizations are supported, for example, by the M. A. Castren Society), the people’s own will and their endurance in difficult conditions;
• Environmental policies: the future of the northern FU languages ​​is connected with the preservation of the traditional way of life (reindeer herding, hunting, fishing). Particularly in Siberia and the Kola Peninsula, it is now threatened by environmental pollution caused by mining, oil and gas industries and nuclear testing;
• Language policy and the level of knowledge: do people themselves consider bilingualism a wealth, or do the authorities or even parents themselves encourage children to renounce the language of their ancestors “for their own good”?

There is no such thing as "Finno-Ugric culture" or "Finno-Ugric way of life." FU languages ​​live on the lips of peoples living in different environments.

When you think of Finno-Ugric languages, most Finns picture exotic hunters and reindeer herders living in wigwam-like huts on the Arctic tundra. This picture, to some extent, corresponds to the northern Finno-Ugrians (Sami, Ob Ugrians, Samoyeds), whose history and way of life have many analogies with the (better known) destinies of some indigenous peoples of North America.

However, the Finnish, Volga and Permian peoples do not fit into this picture: they were farmers for thousands of years, and their lives were similar to those of their Russian-, Swedish-, Latvian- or Turkic-speaking neighbors. (Replace the cabin with a log house, and the tundra with forests and fields; You can also imagine apple trees or beehives with bees around the house.) The Hungarians, before settling in Hungary (according to old chronicles, this happened exactly in 896 AD), were , probably by nomadic horsemen in the steppes of what is now Ukraine or southern Russia.

In the last hundred years, urbanization and industrialization have also affected the Finno-Ugric countries. In some cases this meant a loss of language and identity. In Russia, factories and growing cities also brought in a largely Russian-speaking population, which is one of the reasons (though far from the only one) why the Finno-Ugric peoples in Russia are a minority even in their titular regions.

Even similar questions are sometimes asked. Of course, all languages ​​are constantly changing, but Finnish is, in some respects (especially in the sound system), very conservative: it even retained some Indo-European borrowings in a form very close to the original. Finnish kuningas closer to ancient Germanic kuningaz than modern "descendants": English king, German könig or Swedish k(on)ung(or Russian prince, borrowing from the same Germanic root).

On the other hand, standard Finnish can be called a young language. The first books written in Finnish appeared in the 16th century, but modern standard Finnish was created only in the 19th century, as a mixture of words and properties from different dialects.

Because Finnish differs from Indo-European languages ​​in many visible respects, it appears even more exotic than it actually is. In fact, FU languages ​​are quite typical northern Eurasian languages. Especially the Baltic-Finnish languages ​​were deeply imbued with Indo-European (especially Baltic and Germanic, as well as Slavic) influence, both in vocabulary and grammar.

Finns themselves often believe that their language is "exclusive" because all the foreign languages ​​they know are Indo-European, and they consider Indo-European features to be universal. Indeed, the absence of grammatical gender (FU languages ​​have only one word for "he" and "she"), the absence of the verb "to have" (Finnish uses structures like "book with me" to say "I have a book") or the absence of grammatical expressive future tense causes some tension - but in fact this is quite common.

Standard Finnish, like most other written languages, has an "official" grammar and rules. These rules, of course, are not dictated by heavenly inspiration, but are formulated by people. These people try to make the rules as good as possible based on what is native and known to most Finns (traditions of written Finnish, dialects), or what they think is clear, logical or even beautiful if possible. However, things may be controversial; sometimes they are just a matter of taste. This means that forms that deviate from the standard are not necessarily "worse" or "more un-Finnish" than other forms.

The idea of ​​"good Finnish" is a matter of equality. Our traditions of Scandinavian democracy require a neutral, standard language that can serve all citizens equally well. (The situation in England, where - as they say - a person's speech reveals his social background and what school he graduated from, is often cited as a terrifying example in this regard ;-).) In Finland, the Finnish Language Research Center includes the Finnish Language Agency, which gives advice on questions of "correctness".

Of course, having a standard language does not mean that all Finns must use the standard language in all cases. Finnish, like all other languages, has many dialects. Although schools and the media have smoothed out many of the features of the original dialects spoken at the beginning of this century, areal differences still remain - some scholars use the term "areal spoken languages". In everyday use, Standard Finnish, being a relatively artificial formation based on many different dialects, is gradually giving way to colloquial varieties of Finnish, and they are used in increasingly formal contexts.

Our most ancient words, dating back to the Uralic (Finno-Ugric) proto-language, which was spoken at least 6000 years ago, are, for example, elää"live", uida"swim", kala"fish", nuoli"arrow", suksi"skis", numbers from 1 to 6: yksi, kaksi, kolme, neljä, viisi, kuusi(more examples on the new Finno-Hungarian page.) Some of these may be ancient borrowings from an Indo-European proto-language, e.g. nimi"title" ("name") or tehdä"do". "Younger" words include descriptive formations and loanwords. Finnish has many means of forming words from other words, and some loanwords have become completely independent. For example, no Finn (except a linguist) would think that the word toinen"second, other" derived from tuo"This".

The Finnish language has many layers of Indo-European borrowings. The oldest probably belong to the Proto-Indo-European stage. Finnish later received loanwords from Baltic (for example, morsian"bride", silta"bridge", kirves"axe", härkä"ox", etc.) and Germanic languages. Many Germanic loanwords are technical terms (for example, rauta"hardware" and laiva"ship") or associated with organized society and power (for example, kuningas"king", ruhtinas"prince", hallita"manage", tuomita"judge"). The influx of Germanic loanwords continued from modern Swedish; Until the last century, Swedish was the language of education and administration in Finland and gave us hundreds of loanwords. The influence of Russian was clearly more modest, although there are some (ancient) Russian loanwords common to all dialects of Finnish (and related languages), e.g. vapaa"free", risti"cross", pappi"priest", lusikka"spoon". Now, of course, English is an important source of loanwords.

The Sami languages ​​gave borrowings mainly to the northern Finnish dialects (from Sami words, tundra And mursu"walrus" also spread to other European languages). The Estonian language received hundreds of Finnish borrowings, but gave us only a couple of neologisms: lavastaja"scene designer" lennokki"airplane model".

Many Finnish words have no analogues in related languages ​​(outside the Finnish group). It has been suggested that they may be borrowings from an unknown language spoken here before the arrival of our linguistic ancestors, but it is also possible that they are ancient Uralic words whose analogues simply do not survive in other Uralic languages, or that they are Indo-European loanwords that have yet to be discovered.

Looking at the geographical map of Russia, you can see that in the basins of the Middle Volga and Kama river names ending in “va” and “ha” are common: Sosva, Izva, Kokshaga, Vetluga, etc. Finno-Ugrians live in those places, and translated from their languages "va" And "ha" mean "river", "moisture", "wet place", "water". However, Finno-Ugric toponyms{1 ) are found not only where these peoples make up a significant part of the population, form republics and national districts. Their distribution area is much wider: it covers the European north of Russia and part of the central regions. There are many examples: the ancient Russian cities of Kostroma and Murom; the Yakhroma and Iksha rivers in the Moscow region; Verkola village in Arkhangelsk, etc.

Some researchers consider even such familiar words as “Moscow” and “Ryazan” to be Finno-Ugric in origin. Scientists believe that Finno-Ugric tribes once lived in these places, and now the memory of them is preserved by ancient names.

{1 } Toponym (from the Greek “topos” - “place” and “onima” - “name”) is a geographical name.

WHO ARE THE FINNO-UGRICS

Finns called people inhabiting Finland, neighboring Russia(in Finnish " Suomi "), A Ugrians in ancient Russian chronicles they were called Hungarians. But in Russia there are no Hungarians and very few Finns, but there are peoples speaking languages ​​related to Finnish or Hungarian . These peoples are called Finno-Ugric . Depending on the degree of similarity of languages, scientists divide Finno-Ugric peoples into five subgroups . Firstly, Baltic-Finnish , included Finns, Izhorians, Vodians, Vepsians, Karelians, Estonians and Livonians. The two most numerous peoples of this subgroup are Finns and Estonians- live mainly outside our country. In Russia Finns can be found in Karelia, Leningrad region and St. Petersburg;Estonians - V Siberia, Volga region and Leningrad region. A small group of Estonians - setu - lives in Pechora district of Pskov region. By religion, many Finns and Estonians - Protestants (usually, Lutherans), setu - Orthodox . Little people Vepsians lives in small groups in Karelia, Leningrad region and in the north-west of Vologda, A water (there are less than 100 people left!) - in Leningradskaya. AND Veps and Vod - Orthodox . Orthodoxy is professed and Izhorians . There are 449 of them in Russia (in the Leningrad region), and about the same number in Estonia. Vepsians and Izhorians have preserved their languages ​​(they even have dialects) and use them in everyday communication. The Votic language has disappeared.

The biggest Baltic-Finnish people of Russia - Karelians . They live in Republic of Karelia, as well as in the Tver, Leningrad, Murmansk and Arkhangelsk regions. In everyday life, Karelians speak three dialects: Karelian, Lyudikovsky and Livvikovsky, and their literary language is Finnish. Newspapers and magazines are published there, and the Department of Finnish Language and Literature operates at the Faculty of Philology of Petrozavodsk University. Karelians also speak Russian.

The second subgroup consists Sami , or Lapps . Most of them are settled in Northern Scandinavia, but in Russia Sami- inhabitants Kola Peninsula. According to most experts, the ancestors of this people once occupied a much larger territory, but over time they were pushed to the north. Then they lost their language and adopted one of the Finnish dialects. The Sami are good reindeer herders (in the recent past they were nomads), fishermen and hunters. In Russia they profess Orthodoxy .

In the third, Volga-Finnish , subgroup includes Mari and Mordovians . Mordva- indigenous population Republic of Mordovia, but a significant part of this people live throughout Russia - in Samara, Penza, Nizhny Novgorod, Saratov, Ulyanovsk regions, in the republics of Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, in Chuvashia etc. Even before the annexation in the 16th century. Mordovian lands to Russia, the Mordovians had their own nobility - "inyazory", "otsyazory"", i.e. "owners of the land." Inyazory They were the first to be baptized, quickly became Russified, and later their descendants formed an element in the Russian nobility that was slightly smaller than those from the Golden Horde and the Kazan Khanate. Mordva is divided into Erzya and Moksha ; each of the ethnographic groups has a written literary language - Erzya and Moksha . By religion Mordovians Orthodox ; they have always been considered the most Christianized people of the Volga region.

Mari live mainly in Republic of Mari El, as well as in Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, Udmurtia, Nizhny Novgorod, Kirov, Sverdlovsk and Perm regions. It is generally accepted that this people has two literary languages ​​- Meadow-Eastern and Mountain Mari. However, not all philologists share this opinion.

Even ethnographers of the 19th century. noted the unusually high level of national self-awareness of the Mari. They stubbornly resisted joining Russia and baptism, and until 1917 the authorities forbade them to live in cities and engage in crafts and trade.

In the fourth, Permian , the subgroup itself includes Komi , Komi-Permyaks and Udmurts .Komi(in the past they were called Zyryans) form the indigenous population of the Komi Republic, but also live in Sverdlovsk, Murmansk, Omsk regions, in the Nenets, Yamalo-Nenets and Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrugs. Their original occupations are farming and hunting. But, unlike most other Finno-Ugric peoples, there have long been many merchants and entrepreneurs among them. Even before October 1917 Komi in terms of literacy (in Russian) approached the most educated peoples of Russia - Russian Germans and Jews. Today, 16.7% of Komi work in agriculture, but 44.5% work in industry, and 15% work in education, science, and culture. Part of the Komi - the Izhemtsy - mastered reindeer husbandry and became the largest reindeer herders in the European north. Komi Orthodox (partly Old Believers).

Very close in language to the Zyryans Komi-Permyaks . More than half of this people live in Komi-Permyak Autonomous Okrug, and the rest - in the Perm region. Permians are mainly peasants and hunters, but throughout their history they were also factory serfs in the Ural factories, and barge haulers on the Kama and Volga. By religion Komi-Permyaks Orthodox .

Udmurts{ 2 } concentrated mostly in Udmurt Republic, where they make up about 1/3 of the population. Small groups of Udmurts live in Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, the Republic of Mari El, in the Perm, Kirov, Tyumen, Sverdlovsk regions. The traditional occupation is agriculture. In cities, they most often forget their native language and customs. Perhaps this is why only 70% of Udmurts, mostly residents of rural areas, consider the Udmurt language as their native language. Udmurts Orthodox , but many of them (including the baptized) adhere to traditional beliefs - they worship pagan gods, deities, and spirits.

In the fifth, Ugric , subgroup includes Hungarians, Khanty and Mansi . "Ugrimi "in Russian chronicles they called Hungarians, A " Ugra " - Ob Ugrians, i.e. Khanty and Mansi. Although Northern Urals and lower reaches of the Ob, where the Khanty and Mansi live, are located thousands of kilometers from the Danube, on the banks of which the Hungarians created their state; these peoples are their closest relatives. Khanty and Mansi belong to the small peoples of the North. Muncie live mainly in X Anti-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, A Khanty - V Khanty-Mansi and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrugs, Tomsk Region. The Mansi are primarily hunters, then fishermen and reindeer herders. The Khanty, on the contrary, are first fishermen, and then hunters and reindeer herders. Both of them confess Orthodoxy, however, they did not forget the ancient faith. The industrial development of their region caused great damage to the traditional culture of the Ob Ugrians: many hunting grounds disappeared and the rivers became polluted.

Old Russian chronicles preserved the names of Finno-Ugric tribes that have now disappeared - Chud, Merya, Muroma . Merya in the 1st millennium AD e. lived in the area between the Volga and Oka rivers, and at the turn of the 1st and 2nd millennia merged with the Eastern Slavs. There is an assumption that modern Mari are descendants of this tribe. Murom in the 1st millennium BC. e. lived in the Oka basin, and by the 12th century. n. e. mixed with the Eastern Slavs. Chudyu modern researchers consider the Finnish tribes that lived in ancient times along the banks of the Onega and Northern Dvina. It is possible that they are the ancestors of the Estonians.

{ 2 )Russian historian of the 18th century. V.N. Tatishchev wrote that the Udmurts (formerly called Votyaks) perform their prayers “beside any good tree, but not near pine and spruce, which have no leaves or fruit, but aspen is revered as a cursed tree... ".

WHERE THE FINNO-UGRICS LIVED AND WHERE THE FINNO-UGRIANS LIVE

Most researchers agree that the ancestral home Finno-Ugrians was on the border of Europe and Asia, in the areas between the Volga and Kama and in the Urals. It was there in the IV-III millennia BC. e. A community of tribes arose, related in language and similar in origin. By the 1st millennium AD. e. the ancient Finno-Ugrians settled as far as the Baltic states and Northern Scandinavia. They occupied a vast territory covered with forests - almost the entire northern part of what is now European Russia to the Kama River in the south.

Excavations show that the ancient Finno-Ugrians belonged to Ural race: their appearance is a mixture of Caucasian and Mongoloid features (wide cheekbones, often Mongolian eye shape). Moving west, they mixed with Caucasians. As a result, among some peoples descended from the ancient Finno-Ugrians, Mongoloid features began to smooth out and disappear. Nowadays, “Ural” features are characteristic to one degree or another of everyone to the Finnish peoples of Russia: average height, wide face, nose, called “snub”, very light hair, sparse beard. But in different peoples these features manifest themselves in different ways. For example, Mordovian-Erzya tall, fair-haired, blue-eyed, and Mordovian-Moksha and shorter in stature, with a wider face, and their hair is darker. U Mari and Udmurts Often there are eyes with the so-called Mongolian fold - epicanthus, very wide cheekbones, and a thin beard. But at the same time (the Ural race!) has blond and red hair, blue and gray eyes. The Mongolian fold is sometimes found among Estonians, Vodians, Izhorians, and Karelians. Komi they are different: in those places where there are mixed marriages with the Nenets, they have black hair and braids; others are more Scandinavian-like, with a slightly wider face.

Finno-Ugrians were engaged in agriculture (in order to fertilize the soil with ash, they burned areas of the forest), hunting and fishing . Their settlements were far from each other. Perhaps for this reason they did not create states anywhere and began to be part of neighboring organized and constantly expanding powers. Some of the first mentions of the Finno-Ugrians contain Khazar documents written in Hebrew, the state language of the Khazar Kaganate. Alas, there are almost no vowels in it, so one can only guess that “tsrms” means “Cheremis-Mari”, and “mkshkh” means “moksha”. Later, the Finno-Ugrians also paid tribute to the Bulgars and were part of the Kazan Khanate and the Russian state.

RUSSIANS AND FINNO-UGRICS

In the XVI-XVIII centuries. Russian settlers rushed to the lands of the Finno-Ugric peoples. Most often, settlement was peaceful, but sometimes indigenous peoples resisted the entry of their region into the Russian state. The Mari showed the most fierce resistance.

Over time, baptism, writing, and urban culture brought by the Russians began to displace local languages ​​and beliefs. Many began to feel like Russians - and actually became them. Sometimes it was enough to be baptized for this. The peasants of one Mordovian village wrote in a petition: “Our ancestors, the former Mordovians,” sincerely believing that only their ancestors, pagans, were Mordovians, and their Orthodox descendants are in no way related to the Mordovians.

People moved to cities, went far away - to Siberia, to Altai, where everyone had one language in common - Russian. The names after baptism were no different from ordinary Russian ones. Or almost nothing: not everyone notices that there is nothing Slavic in surnames like Shukshin, Vedenyapin, Piyasheva, but they go back to the name of the Shuksha tribe, the name of the goddess of war Veden Ala, the pre-Christian name Piyash. Thus, a significant part of the Finno-Ugrians was assimilated by the Russians, and some, having converted to Islam, mixed with the Turks. That is why Finno-Ugric peoples do not constitute a majority anywhere - even in the republics to which they gave their name.

But, having disappeared into the mass of Russians, the Finno-Ugrians retained their anthropological type: very blond hair, blue eyes, a “bubble” nose, and a wide, high-cheekboned face. The type that writers of the 19th century. called the “Penza peasant”, is now perceived as typically Russian.

Many Finno-Ugric words have entered the Russian language: “tundra”, “sprat”, “herring”, etc. Is there a more Russian and beloved dish than dumplings? Meanwhile, this word is borrowed from the Komi language and means “bread ear”: “pel” is “ear”, and “nyan” is “bread”. There are especially many borrowings in northern dialects, mainly among the names of natural phenomena or landscape elements. They add a unique beauty to local speech and regional literature. Take, for example, the word “taibola”, which in the Arkhangelsk region is used to call a dense forest, and in the Mezen River basin - a road running along the seashore next to the taiga. It is taken from the Karelian "taibale" - "isthmus". For centuries, peoples living nearby have always enriched each other's language and culture.

Patriarch Nikon and Archpriest Avvakum were Finno-Ugrians by origin - both Mordvins, but irreconcilable enemies; Udmurt - physiologist V. M. Bekhterev, Komi - sociologist Pitirim Sorokin, Mordvin - sculptor S. Nefedov-Erzya, who took the name of the people as his pseudonym; Mari composer A. Ya. Eshpai.

ANCIENT CLOTHING V O D I I ZH O R T E V

The main part of the traditional women's costume of the Vodi and Izhorians is shirt . Ancient shirts were sewn very long, with wide, also long sleeves. In the warm season, a shirt was the only clothing a woman could wear. Back in the 60s. XIX century After the wedding, the young woman was supposed to wear only a shirt until her father-in-law gave her a fur coat or caftan.

Votic women long preserved the ancient form of unstitched waist clothing - hursgukset , which was worn over a shirt. Hursgukset is similar to Russian poneva. It was richly decorated with copper coins, shells, fringes, and bells. Later, when he came into everyday life sundress , the bride wore a hursgukset under a sundress to the wedding.

A kind of unstitched clothing - annua - worn in the central part Ingria(part of the territory of modern Leningrad region). It was a wide cloth that reached to the armpits; a strap was sewn to its upper ends and thrown over the left shoulder. The annua parted on the left side, and therefore a second cloth was put on under it - Khurstut . It was wrapped around the waist and also worn on a strap. The Russian sarafan gradually replaced the ancient loincloth among the Vodians and Izhorians. The clothes were belted leather belt, cords, woven belts and narrow towels.

In ancient times, Votic women shaved my head.

TRADITIONAL CLOTHING KH A N T O V I M A N S I

Khanty and Mansi clothes were made from skins, fur, fish skin, cloth, nettle and linen canvas. In the manufacture of children's clothing, they used the most archaic material - bird skins.

Men wore in winter swing fur coats made of deer and hare fur, squirrel and fox paws, and in summer a short robe made of coarse cloth; the collar, sleeves and right hem were trimmed with fur.Winter shoes It was made of fur and was worn with fur stockings. Summer made of rovduga (suede made from deer or elk skin), and the sole was made of elk skin.

Men's shirts they were sewn from nettle canvas, and the trousers were made from rovduga, fish skin, canvas, and cotton fabrics. Must be worn over a shirt woven belt , to which hung beaded bags(they held a knife in a wooden sheath and a flint).

Women wore in winter fur coat from deer skin; the lining was also fur. Where there were few deer, the lining was made from hare and squirrel skins, and sometimes from duck or swan down. In summer wore cloth or cotton robe ,decorated with stripes made of beads, colored fabric and tin plaques. The women cast these plaques themselves in special molds made of soft stone or pine bark. The belts were already men's and more elegant.

Women covered their heads both in winter and summer scarves with wide borders and fringes . In the presence of men, especially older relatives of the husband, according to tradition, the end of the scarf was supposed to be cover your face. They lived among the Khanty and beaded headbands .

Hair Previously, it was not customary to cut hair. Men parted their hair in the middle, gathered it into two ponytails and tied it with a colored cord. .Women braided two braids, decorated them with colored cord and copper pendants . At the bottom, the braids were connected with a thick copper chain so as not to interfere with work. Rings, bells, beads and other decorations were hung from the chain. Khanty women, according to custom, wore a lot copper and silver rings. Jewelry made from beads, which were imported by Russian merchants, were also widespread.

HOW THE MARIES DRESSED

In the past, Mari clothing was exclusively homemade. Upper(it was worn in winter and autumn) was sewn from homemade cloth and sheepskin, and shirts and summer caftans- made of white linen canvas.

Women wore shirt, caftan, pants, headdress and bast shoes . Shirts were embroidered with silk, wool, and cotton threads. They were worn with belts woven from wool and silk and decorated with beads, tassels and metal chains. One of the types headdresses of married Maries , similar to a cap, was called shymaksh . It was made from thin canvas and placed on a birch bark frame. An obligatory part of the traditional costume of the Maries was considered jewelry made of beads, coins, tin plaques.

Men's suit consisted of canvas embroidered shirt, pants, canvas caftan and bast shoes . The shirt was shorter than a woman's and was worn with a narrow belt made of wool and leather. On head put on felt HATS and sheepskin caps .

WHAT IS FINNO-UGRIAN LINGUISTIC RELATIONSHIP

Finno-Ugric peoples differ from each other in their way of life, religion, historical destinies and even appearance. They are combined into one group based on the relationship of languages. However, linguistic proximity varies. The Slavs, for example, can easily come to an agreement, each speaking in his own dialect. But the Finno-Ugric people will not be able to communicate as easily with their brothers in the language group.

In ancient times, the ancestors of modern Finno-Ugrians spoke in one language. Then its speakers began to move, mixed with other tribes, and the once single language split into several independent ones. The Finno-Ugric languages ​​diverged so long ago that they have few common words - about a thousand. For example, “house” in Finnish is “koti”, in Estonian – “kodu”, in Mordovian – “kudu”, in Mari – “kudo”. The word "butter" is similar: Finnish "voi", Estonian "vdi", Udmurt and Komi "vy", Hungarian "vaj". But the sound of the languages ​​- phonetics - remains so close that any Finno-Ugric, listening to another and not even understanding what he is talking about, feels: this is a related language.

NAMES OF FINNO-UGRICS

Finno-Ugric peoples have long professed (at least officially) Orthodoxy , therefore their first and last names, as a rule, do not differ from Russians. However, in the village, in accordance with the sound of local languages, they change. So, Akulina becomes Oculus, Nikolai - Nikul or Mikul, Kirill - Kirlya, Ivan - Yivan. U Komi , for example, the patronymic is often placed before the given name: Mikhail Anatolyevich sounds like Tol Mish, i.e. Anatolyev's son Mishka, and Rosa Stepanovna turns into Stepan Rosa - Stepan's daughter Rosa. In the documents, of course, everyone has ordinary Russian names. Only writers, artists and performers choose the traditionally rural form: Yyvan Kyrlya, Nikul Erkay, Illya Vas, Ortjo Stepanov.

U Komi often found surnames Durkin, Rochev, Kanev; among the Udmurts - Korepanov and Vladykin; at Mordovians - Vedenyapin, Pi-yashev, Kechin, Mokshin. Surnames with a diminutive suffix are especially common among Mordovians - Kirdyaykin, Vidyaykin, Popsuykin, Alyoshkin, Varlashkin.

Some Mari , especially unbaptized chi-mari in Bashkiria, at one time they accepted turkic names. Therefore, the Chi-Mari often have surnames similar to Tatar ones: Anduga-nov, Baitemirov, Yashpatrov, but their names and patronymics are Russian. U Karelian There are both Russian and Finnish surnames, but always with a Russian ending: Perttuev, Lampiev. Usually in Karelia you can distinguish by surname Karelian, Finnish and St. Petersburg Finn. So, Perttuev - Karelian, Perttu - St. Petersburg Finn, A Pertgunen - Finn. But each of them can have a first and patronymic Stepan Ivanovich.

WHAT DO THE FINNO-UGRICS BELIEVE?

In Russia, many Finno-Ugrians profess Orthodoxy . In the 12th century Vepsians were baptized in the 13th century. - Karelians, at the end of the 14th century. - Komi At the same time, to translate the Holy Scriptures into the Komi language, it was created Perm writing - the only original Finno-Ugric alphabet. During the XVIII-XIX centuries. Mordovians, Udmurts and Maris were baptized. However, the Maris never fully accepted Christianity. To avoid conversion to the new faith, some of them (they called themselves “chi-mari” - “true Mari”) went to the territory of Bashkiria, and those who stayed and were baptized often continued to worship the old gods. Among among the Mari, Udmurts, Sami and some other peoples, the so-called double faith . People revere the old gods, but recognize the “Russian God” and his saints, especially Nicholas the Pleasant. In Yoshkar-Ola, the capital of the Mari El Republic, the state took under protection a sacred grove - " kyusoto", and now pagan prayers take place here. The names of the supreme gods and mythological heroes of these peoples are similar and probably go back to the ancient Finnish name for the sky and air - " ilma ": Ilmarinen - among the Finns, Ilmayline - among the Karelians,Inmar - among the Udmurts, Yong -Komi.

CULTURAL HERITAGE OF THE FINNO-UGRICS

Writing many Finno-Ugric languages ​​of Russia were created on the basis Cyrillic alphabet, with the addition of letters and superscripts that convey sound features.Karelians , whose literary language is Finnish, are written in Latin letters.

Literature of the Finno-Ugric peoples of Russia very young, but oral folk art has a centuries-old history. Finnish poet and folklorist Elias Lönrö t (1802-1884) collected the tales of the epic " Kalevala "among the Karelians of the Olonets province of the Russian Empire. The final edition of the book was published in 1849. "Kalevala", which means "the country of Kalev", in its rune songs tells about the exploits of the Finnish heroes Väinämöinen, Ilmarinen and Lemminkäinen, about their struggle with the evil Louhi , mistress of Pohjola (northern country of darkness). In a magnificent poetic form, the epic tells about the life, beliefs, customs of the ancestors of the Finns, Karelians, Vepsians, Vodi, Izhorians. This information is unusually rich, they reveal the spiritual world of farmers and hunters of the North. "Kalevala" stands on a par with the greatest epics of humanity. Some other Finno-Ugric peoples also have epics: "Kalevipoeg"("Son of Caleb") - at Estonians , "Pera the hero" - y Komi-Permyaks , preserved epic tales among the Mordovians and Mansi .