The Udmurts occupy the second place in terms of numbers in the group of Finno-Ugric peoples. According to official statistics, more than half a million of them live in Russia - in the Republic of Udmurtia and in neighboring regions. The culture of this people has been formed over many centuries, Russian prevails in the northern part of Udmurtia, and Turkic in the southern part.
As for the question of what religion the Udmurts profess, there are several branches here, most of the people profess the Orthodox faith, but there are also those who profess Islam. Moreover, it is worth noting that paganism was widespread here for quite a long time.
Paganism in Udmurtia
Udmurtia, like other Finno-Ugric republics, was predisposed to paganism. Christianity began to penetrate in the XIII century in the northern regions of Udmurtia. However, it was not fully accepted by the local population because of the rituals of baptism they did not understand, the reading of rather long and complex prayers, and ignorance of the language of worship. Therefore, most of the population for quite a long period of time remainedpagans. But it was all in the northern part, where there was the influence of Russia.
The southern part of Udmurtia was under Turkic pressure for a very long time, until the defeat of the Kazan Khanate. Particular 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 the strong pressure of Islam, most of the population did not change their faith.
Development of Christianity
The first document testifying to the appearance of Christianity in Udmurtia is dated 1557. At that time, 17 families of Udmurtia were baptized and became Orthodox, in response to this, Ivan the Terrible granted them some privileges with a royal charter.
Then, a little over 100 years later, on the territory of Udmurtia, there was an attempt to mass-engage 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 the construction of not only churches, but also schools.
But it is worth noting that, nevertheless, the pagan religion of the Udmurts is firmly entrenched in the blood, and for several more centuries the Christianization of the population was carried out with harsh measures. Many people who worshiped paganism were subjected to repression, their cemeteries and sacred groves were destroyed, and the process of Christianization itself was very, very slow.
Orthodoxy in the 18th–19th centuries
In 1818, for the first time, a biblicalcommittee, where not only priests from Russia worked, but Udmurt priests were also involved in the affairs. Over the next five years, tremendous work was done, resulting in the translation of the four Gospels.
It is worth noting that the Udmurt population did not violently resist 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 struggle of the population. However, according to historical data, two anti-Christian communities operated on the territory of Udmurtia.
Fighters against Orthodoxy
In the 19th century, there were two movements in the republic at once, the main idea of which was to turn the local population against Christianity. One of them was a sect - Vylepyrisi. The heads of this community were priests and magicians, they were engaged in intimidation of the population and furiously urged everyone to join them. If they do not do this, then a black streak full of troubles will come in their life.
This new Udmurt religion was opposed to everything Russian, and everyone in this community was forbidden to wear red clothes, moreover, it was impossible to have any contact with Russians.
In the middle of the 19th century, another sect appeared - "Lip worshipers", which was against all other faiths, including popular paganism. This community did not recognize anything other than the use of kumyshka (national vodka) and beer near the sacredlinden, and there was also a complete ban on communicating with people of other faiths.
Tipping point in religiosity
Thanks to the "Multan case", paganism in Udmurtia began to decline. In 1892, several young people were accused of committing human sacrifice. It was then that most of the population realized that this type of worship had become obsolete.
Many convinced citizens still believe that this case was falsified by the government of that time so that the local population eventually became Orthodox. But many people changed their minds about faith, and some were still steadfast in their beliefs.
In 1917, a fairly 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, an Udmurt priest. Divine services of that time were held in Russian and Udmurt.
It is worth noting that most of the population of that time were two-believers. That is, they attended churches, but at the same time combined pagan concepts with Orthodox ones. There were not so many true fans of paganism at that time. But those who were, remained inactive and did not propagate their beliefs among the local population.
Religion of the 20th century in Udmurtia
In the 20s of the last century, the Udmurt Autonomous Republic was created. Enough educated people appear in this place, and socalled intelligence. All who are faithful to paganism are not despised, and there is no pressure on them from the authorities. However, after only about 10 years, the persecution and destruction of the local intelligentsia began again in this area. The priests instantly became enemies of the people, and everyone who fell into the hands of the authorities was repressed.
It was forbidden to organize prayers, village and family shrines were destroyed, sacred groves were cut down. During many persecutions, the state of the republic became simply deplorable. There were colossal rates 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 native Udmurts were rather low-skilled specialists.
This oppression lasted for about 50 years, and only with the onset of the 80s did a large number of cultural movements appear in the republic that want to revive their nation. The search for religion is going on in the restoration of the nationality, for several years there was some uncertainty in this regard in the republic, but with the onset of 1989, a wave of Orthodoxy still begins 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 task. After 4 years, the diocese was headed by Archbishop Nikolai, who achieved incredible success in a few years.
In just three years, the number of parishioners has grown exponentially,educated people appeared, also at that time three convents were opened, which still work today. Moreover, a Sunday school was launched, and the first issues of the newspaper "Orthodox Udmurtia" 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 going through its best times.
Culture of Udmurtia
As already reported, the culture of this people was formed under the influence of two different factors. Thanks to this, this region has special costumes, traditions and customs.
National costumes
As early as 100 years ago, the national costumes of this people were made at home from materials such as sheepskin and cloth. An Udmurt woman from the northern region wore a white linen shirt with an embroidered bib (somewhat similar to a tunic). She wore a large robe with a belt.
In the southern part of the republic, the national dress is different. A linen shirt is also present here, but sleeveless jackets or a camisole are put on it. Pants must be worn under the shirt. All clothes must be colored, as white was only for special occasions. It could be decorated with embroidery on the arms and chest.
Headwear
Women's hats are distinguished by their diversity. You can tell a lot about the wearer from these clothes: age, marital status, status.
Women who are married must wear "yyrkerttet" - a head towel with rolled up ends. Distinctive featuresuch a headdress - the ends of the towel should go down to the back. Also, married women can wear a high birch bark hat with a bedspread, it should be sheathed with canvas, and also decorated with coins.
Girls wear a headband - "ukotug", or a canvas hat (it should be small).
Kitchen of Udmurtia
The most common food among 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. Various vegetables were also popular, they were consumed in almost any form: raw, boiled, baked, stewed.
If there was any holiday, then honey, sour cream and eggs were served on the table. By the way, one of the most popular Udmurt dishes, which has survived to this day, is dumplings.
It is worth noting that thanks to the Eurovision Song Contest and the performances of Buranovskiye Babushki, several national recipes, such as rebaking, which previously could only be tasted in Udmurtia, came out into the world.
The national drink of this people was bread and beet kvass, beer and mead. Of course, each nationality has its own national alcoholic drink, the Udmurts have kumyshka (bread moonshine).
Religion and customs of the Udmurts
It is worth noting that Udmurtia is a republic in which there were a lot of pagans who existed throughout the entire time, they succumbed to persecution and repression, but never gave up. At present, the religion of the Udmurts is Orthodoxy, but in the countryside you can still finda fairly large number of the population, which to this day are pagans.
People with such faith perform various ritual acts. So, for example, before each family had a “kuala” building in the yard. The local population believed that a vorshud lives in it - the patron spirit of the clan. All families sacrificed various foods to him.
On holidays in Kuala, priests performed various rituals to honor the gods, and families also participated in them. During their ritual, the priests asked the gods for good weather, harvest, he alth, material well-being, and much more. After that, ritual porridge was prepared on the cauldron, which was first sacrificed to the gods, and then it was eaten by all participants in this ritual. This action is quite popular in Udmurtia, and it is believed that every family should ask the spirits for well-being and sacrifice various gifts to them.
Be sure to have a sacred grove in every village, where various rituals and prayers could be held several times throughout the year. It was possible to visit it only on specially allotted days, and it was strictly forbidden to collect berries and other fruits from it. It was also not allowed to graze cattle in the sacred grove, in general, no one was allowed to visit this place, only for rituals, on specially designated days.
In the center of this place was a tree, to the roots of which various gifts were buried for sacrifice to their spirits living underground. Usually the victims were birds or animals. It is worth noting that insome villages still hold prayer days in sacred groves.
Conclusion
Udmurtia is a republic that has been moving towards the formation of Orthodoxy for a long time. However, the head of the Udmurt Republic (Alexander Brechalov is currently in this post temporarily) states that paganism has recently been reviving again, according to statistics, today 7% of the population are pagans.
Therefore, the church is trying not to miss what it has achieved over the centuries, in every possible way trying to protect modern youth from old beliefs. The head of the Udmurt Republic also said that such a trend is not observed in the cities, and paganism is being revived only in small settlements.
