The topic of our essay is “Gods and mythological creatures of Udmurt myths and legends.” The topic is interesting and relevant. It is curious and at the same time fascinating to immerse yourself in the mythology of your people. Imagine those who were worshiped, prayed to, and feared by the people who lived on the territory of modern Udmurtia. They believed in the myth, they believed that everything that was told in the myth happened in reality. This is the cognitive function of myth. We know that myth contributed to the emergence of a single cultural space, and this is the culture-forming function of myth.

The topic of the essay is also interesting because there is no consensus on some issues. And this is understandable, because myths about the creation of the earth arose more than a thousand years ago. Of course, not all myths are so “old”; many more relate to the history of paganism. Moreover, until 1917, on the territory of Udmurtia, along with Christianity, original forms of paganism were preserved. The upper chronological frame of the study is the pre-revolutionary stage of Udmurt history. The lower chronological boundary is difficult to determine, because many Udmurt myths have their roots in the common Permian or even Finno-Ugric era. In addition, the first descriptions of the pagan religion of the Udmurts date back only to the 18th century, when the Udmurts began to accept Christianity.

The relevance and topicality of the topic lies in the fact that now society is seriously talking about preserving the culture of its people, its roots, about education in the spirit of respect for its people and tolerance towards others. That is why we believe that the “spiritual heritage” and “centuries-old experience of the people” are not “just a nice phrase”, but without studying which the future of our small Motherland is impossible. We conducted a sample survey of children from our school. It turned out that we know the Slavic evil spirits better than the Udmurt ones. The results of the survey are given in Appendix 1. In various television programs and in the media you often hear about Greek, Slavic, and Roman gods; the gods of the Udmurt people are not mentioned.

Udmurt myths and legends are written in clear, fascinating language. We were able to find only four different publications with Udmurt myths and legends in the libraries of the village:

1. Melody of heavenly dew = Invu utchan gur. – Izhevsk: Udmurtia, 1988;

2. Myths, legends and fairy tales of the Udmurt people: Literary processing by N. Kralina. - Izhevsk: Udmurtia, 1995;

3. Udmurt folk tales. – Izhevsk: Udmurtia, 1976

4. Vladykin V. E. Religious and mythological picture of the world of the Udmurts. – Izhevsk: Udmurtia, 1994.

But, after reading a number of articles, we learned that there were few publications of books with myths and legends of the Udmurt people.

The task of our work is to read, analyze, systematize all myths and legends in order to compile a detailed description for each god or mythological creature. Get acquainted with scientific research literature in this area.

Much of the mythological picture of the world has disappeared, lost forever, so there are a lot of contradictions in this picture. And yet it would be very interesting and instructive to restore and decipher this system of images and ideas. In Appendix 2 we tried to compile a dictionary - a reference book of all famous mythological heroes who were found on the pages of scientific research literature.

Gods and mythological creatures

In this chapter of our essay we will present the characteristics of the main triad of gods and mythological creatures, which we were able to compile during the study of myths, legends and fairy tales of the Udmurt people and the study of scientific literature on this issue.

The most striking component of any religion is its pantheon. The Udmurts revered a considerable number of gods, deities, spirits and all kinds of mythological creatures (about 40): Inmar - God of Heaven, Kyldysin - Creator, God of the Earth, Kuaz - God of the Atmosphere, Weather; Nyulesmurt - goblin, vumurt - water creature, Vozho - bath creature, etc. were also revered. But from the huge number of different mythological gods and creatures, we will consider those that are found in collections of myths, legends, and fairy tales.

“Udmurt mythology,” writes V. Napolskikh, “is characterized by ideas about a three-part vertical division of the picture of the world. The upper world is the sky, the abode of the gods; the middle one is the earth where people live, the lower one is the underworld where the souls of the dead go.” One of the first explorers of the Udmurts, the famous traveler Peter Simon Pallas, was invited to Russia by Catherine II (1768 – 1776). In his “Journey” Namar (Inmar) is mentioned, Mu – Kyldysin. Among the most complete studies on the Udmurts are the works of the first Udmurt ethnographer G. E. Vereshchagin. His monographs “Votiaks of the Pine Land” and “Votyaks of the Sarapul District” have not yet lost their value as a collection of very rich ethnographic material. A major expert in archeology and ethnography of the Udmurt region was the inspector of public schools for the Glazov district N. G. Pervukhin. He considers the main deities of the Udmurts to be Inmar, Kyldysin and Kvaz (Kuaz). The authors describe in great detail the sacrifices dedicated to these deities.

At the top of the Udmurt Olympus rises the mighty Inmar. Researchers translate the word “Inmar” in different ways: “in” - sky, “mar” - what, i.e. “what” in the sky.

The main one in the mythological hierarchy of the Udmurts is Inmar. He lives in the sky and his throne is the sun. Inmar provides light and warmth. The Udmurt Inmar fatherly took care of the awkward giants - the first inhabitants of the earth, the stupid, clumsy Alangasars. He is the creator of all good things.

Many myths and legends of different collections differ significantly from each other. For example, in the legend “On the Creation of the World,” Inmar ordered Shaitan to “dive under the water and get earth from the bottom.” In the book “Melody of Heavenly Dew,” Shaitan, on the orders of Inmar, “grabbed sand from the bottom,” and in the book “Myths, Legends and Fairy Tales of the Udmurt People,” in the literary adaptation of N. Kralina, Inmar ordered his younger brother Vukuzyo to “get the earth from the bottom.” But due to Shaitan’s disobedience (according to another version of Vukuzyo), the naughty one hid part of the earth (sand) behind his cheek, and when it began to grow, he spat it out, and so the unevenness of the earth was formed. According to T. Perevozchikova, the motive of the creation of the earth by the supreme god and his assistant is known to almost all Finno-Ugric peoples. The motif “arose on the basis of mythological ideas dating back to the era of the Finno-Ugric community, which, according to scientists, existed approximately in the 3rd - 2nd millennium BC.” e. Experts also believe that the prototype of the heavenly gods in various traditions was the Proto-Finnic-Ugric deity, whose name was associated with the name of the sky, air (ima, ĵuma). And therefore, the Udmurt Inmar is the brother of the Finnish and Karelian Ilmarinen (Yumal), the Sami Ilmaris (Yumbel), the Komi En (Yomal), the Estonian Yummal, and the Mari Yumo.” This myth was found among many peoples of Siberia and North America; it was apparently present in Proto-Ural mythology.

Inmar is considered a powerful god, he personifies the good, bright beginning in the world, and opposes Shaitan (Keremet, Lud), the symbol of evil. “From their relationships and reactions, everything that exists in the world arises: the earth, mountains and valleys, man, people, animals and plants, creatures and misfortunes.”

Inmar, according to myth, blinded a man (uroma - friend, adami - man) from the earth (in other myths - from red clay). To amuse the man, he gave him kumyshka (an intoxicant), which Shaitan ruined. When Adami told Inmar that he needed a wife, he created a woman and ordered Uroma not to drink kumyshka for a year. Shaitan instilled curiosity in the woman, and she took a sip of the drink, treating her husband. Shaitan put death and sins in the bag. Inmar doomed women to the pains of childbirth, and men to hard work.

In “The Tale of the Dog and the Man,” Inmar blinded a man from the earth, and he himself ascended to heaven for his soul. And to protect him from Shaitan, he placed a dog with him. Shaitan deceived the dog, spat poisonous saliva on the man - this is how all sorts of diseases appeared in the man.

The Udmurt legend “Heaven” tells that a long time ago the beautiful heavens were extremely close to the earth, and the gods descended to people and explained how to live. They taught people wisdom, and during prayer people put their gifts directly on the clouds. “The sky was clear as snow, white as birch trees.” But people began to show disrespect, “they were ready to gnaw each other’s throats, wild anger awoke in them and gave no rest. And they began to curse the sky and the gods for no reason whatsoever.” And one woman, in mockery of the sky, hung baby diapers on the clouds (according to another version, she put defiled bread there). “The gods did nothing to her, only the white skies turned blue with insult and slowly, slowly rose up.” So the heavens rose, so the gods left people, without revenge, without curses, leaving people to sort out their own affairs. And before, they “climbed into the sky as if on a plane.”

Inmar hunts Shaitan, sending lightning bolts one after another. Hiding from lightning, Shaitan is able to transform and penetrate empty, hollow objects (sheaths, pestles, eggshells). In the myth “Inmar gives birth to Shaitan with lightning,” a man was caught in a thunderstorm and began to search everything. He looked “into the sheath - and a roach’s tail was sticking out.” It turns out that Shaitan was hiding, turning into a roach. When the man threw the roach aside, lightning immediately struck the fish.

Descriptions of Inmar's appearance are not found in myths and legends. The book “Myths, Legends and Tales of the Udmurt People” gives us literary processed material. Here we find interesting comparisons: “although Vukuzyo’s beard was longer, Inmar was considered older among them, and therefore the owner of the water had to obey him”; the sky “hung so close to the water that Inmar, without descending, scooped up water with a golden ladle with a long handle and watered the clouds so that they would not dry out from the sun,” etc. But we understand that these are the author’s characteristics, and not a representation of our ancestors

Kyldysin

The next in the triad of gods is Kyldysin.

In the book “Udmurt Republic. Encyclopedia" gives the following definition: "Kyldysin, Kylchin (from the udm. kyldytis - creative, creator), god - creator, promoting the offspring of livestock, later - god of fertility (Mu - Kyldysin), patron of childbirth, in general of children (Nuny Kylchin)."

According to linguists, the word “Kyldysin” is common Permian, perhaps even more ancient. “This is indicated by his analysis: “kyldis - creating, creating, fertilizing + “in” in the Komi languages, Vodi and Sami languages ​​- means wife, woman, mother-in-law, uterus, female, i.e. originally “Kyldis + in” could denote fruit-bearing, creative feminine power. Apparently, during the maternal race, ideas arose that characterized it as a deity - a woman. Later, these ideas are replaced by others: Kyldysin, who looks like the elder of the family.

The image of Kyldysin, one of the most ancient, was initially associated in general with creativity, creation.

From scientific literature we learned that Kyldysin taught people cattle breeding, farming, weaving and other skills. He lived at a time on earth when the human race flourished, in those days the heavens were close to the earth and the prayers of people easily reached Inmar.

After reading the myth “Kyldysin”, we learned that in ancient times this god lived among people. His image is well drawn. “Grey-haired, in long white clothes, tall.” He watched with a smile as the fields were cultivated by the Udmurts, “dressed in the same white clothes as Kyldysin himself.” “He picked up every fallen grain lovingly and carefully walked around every spikelet that grew on the boundary so as not to trample it.”

He walked through the fields of the Udmurts and monitored their crops. However, people became more numerous and stopped appreciating Kyldysin and his behests. The Udmurts plowed open their borders, stopped listening to God, and besides, they began to wear dyed clothes rather than white ones. The offended Kyldysin “left the people, retiring, according to some stories, to heaven. According to the stories of others - inside the earth.”

The legend “About Ears of Ears” is interesting. Legend says that earlier, when Kyldysin lived on earth, bread was extremely rich in grains. On hot days, Udmurt women did not want to dirty their diapers, but “teared bunches of filling ears in the field and wiped the children with them.” Kyldysin saw such disrespect for grain grains, became very angry and ordered all grain plants not to produce a single grain. Only after the dog asked for food, softened by the repentance of people and their sacrifices, most of all touched by the dog’s love for man, did the god of fertility order grains to be brought “at the very top of a straw, no longer than a dog’s nose,” “and man does not receive all of the earth.” your share, and the dog’s share.”

We were interested in “The Tale of How Kyldysin Appeared on Earth.” “The Udmurts heard from the old people that when Kyldysin lived on the earth, then the harvests were richer, and hunting for animals and birds was more successful under a large birch tree; they decided not to disperse until Kyldysin was called.” People begged for a long time, and Kyldysin appeared on the birch tree in the form of a beautiful squirrel. People wanted to get God forever, but “only the squirrel skin fell, and a hazel grouse was already flying across the field into the forest.” The hazel grouse turned into a black grouse, the black grouse turned into a perch and disappeared into the river.

Kuaz is the god of atmosphere and weather.

Having reread the myths and legends of the Udmurt people, we did not meet this god on the pages of books. In some scientific publications, only two gods Inmar and Kyldysin are mentioned. “Imaginations about Kuaz existed mainly among the northern Udmurts. He was responsible for the middle tier of the universe.” His habitat is between the heavenly (upper) and earthly (lower) spheres.

We did not find any information about what the weather god looked like.

V. E. Vladykin states “The opinion of N. G. Pervukhin that Kvaz was a special deity deserves interest, because other researchers held a different view: in particular, Vereshchagin believed that Kvaz is the weather (usually they say: “Kvaz zor - It is raining)". Obviously, at one time Kvaz really was a deity, then ideas about him as a deity were forgotten.

“Shaitan (from Tat. Shaitan - devil), devil, the deity of evil, opposes the supreme god Inmar. According to legend, Inmar's brother, cast out of heaven for disobedience. He participated with him in the creation of all things: he took out the earth from the bottom of the world ocean; gave birth to “unclean” animals (goats, pigs), diseases and pestilences. Inmar has been pursuing him since the creation of the world: the punishing right hand is lightning, released onto the earth during a thunderstorm.”

Reading various collections of myths and legends of the Udmurt people, we noticed that in the book with literary adaptation by N. Kralina, all of the above tricks were committed not by Shaitan, but by Vukuzyo. Among other things, Vukuzyo also created a vumurta (myth “The Second Creation of Vukuzyo”) from knotty snags from the bottom of the river, long shaggy algae, rotten bits, cosmos and other rubbish. In the collections “Melody of Heavenly Dew” and “Udmurt Folk Tales”, all the bad tricks were committed by Shaitan. We explain this by the fact that N. Kralina took upon herself the courage to literary process the myths, to introduce into them an element of authorship and literature. In scientific research literature, the names Lud and Keremet are equated with the name Shaitan. In the book “Udmurt Republic. Encyclopedia" there is no article dedicated to Vukuzyo.

It was believed that Shaitan “replaces newborns, takes away children cursed by their parents and keeps them in his service.”

V. E. Vladykin says that Shaitan is a borrowed image. Shaitan is Satan, the devil, the antipode of Inmar (cf.: Tat., Kazakh., Kyrgyzstan, Tur. Shaitan). Keremet is the evil spirit of Satan (Cf.: Tat., Chuv., Bash., Mar.).

Mythological creatures

From the heights of pagan religion, from the triad of gods, we descend to mythological creatures that belonged neither to the underworld nor to heaven, their place was next to people, that is, in famous reservoirs, in dwellings and outbuildings, in nearby forests.

Each such mythological creature was represented, unlike the gods, not in the singular (like Inmar or Kyldysin), but in mass numbers: there were as many Vumurts as there were reservoirs, there were as many Vozhos as there were bathhouses and abandoned dwellings, etc. So T. Perevozchikova writes about this process: “The historical basis for the emergence and long-term preservation of such narratives was the pre-Christian beliefs of the Udmurts, which survived until recently along with the Christian faith. All nature, according to the Udmurts, was inhabited by living creatures capable of helping or hindering a person.”

If the power of the gods extended, according to pagan concepts, to the whole world, then these creatures were the masters of limited territories. Nylesmur, palasmurt and yagperi were masters of their forests and were jealous of their work and their plot. The ancient Udmurt was surrounded by danger at every step in his everyday affairs. People turned to the triad of gods for serious reasons, and they dealt with mythological creatures every day; relationships with them permeated their entire daily life.

Our ancestors, who lived on the territory of Udmurtia, had a very specific idea of ​​their appearance. We can call all these creatures anthropomorphic, that is, having a human appearance, but often with special non-human characteristics: fish, animal.

Scientists divide the middle world around humans into two zones: developed by humans and wild. Using the same principle, we will divide those mythological creatures that are found on the pages of myths and legends of the Udmurt people.

We know that man’s dependence on nature was especially strong in ancient times, and as we approach our time it becomes weaker. But in ancient times, man’s dependence on the natural environment was not stronger, but more direct and immediate. In order for a person to survive, he had to be resilient, strong, courageous, and hardworking. And most importantly - peace-loving, because without the support of relatives, there is no way to do it alone, because it was necessary to lay hunting trails, uproot the forest, build dams. The forest and the river, all the nature that surrounded man, gave people food, clothing, and warmth. But it also happened to severely punish carelessness: a lonely traveler lost his way in winter and froze to death, a hunter who forgot about precautions wandered into such a wilderness that it was not always possible to get out, river whirlpools, bogs, and cold springs also did not release their victims. As you know, the natural environment (climate, soil, relief, flora, fauna) serves as the background against which a mythological picture is created.

Udmurtia is rich in forests, and therefore our ancestors, who lived among dense forests, enjoyed their benefits, but also constantly encountered something mysterious, invisible, terrible, incomprehensible. This is probably why in Udmurt myths there are a huge number of Nyulesmurts, Palesmurts, and Yagperi.

Spirits of the Wild

Nylesmurt

“Nyulesmurt (from the udm. nyules - forest and murt - man). A humanoid creature with a long beard and hair covered by a hat with an open crown. He is able to change his appearance depending on the circumstances: in the forest he is level with the trees, in the meadow - with the grass, among people he is slightly taller than human height. He rules over the inhabitants of the forest: animals and birds can mix at his command. Sometimes he himself drives away flocks of squirrels or hare, losing them to the nyulesmurt of neighboring forests.”

Nyulesmurt (Nyuleskuzyo) is the owner of the forest, and since the forest practically made up the entire natural environment of the Udmurts, he was also in charge of all this with animals, he is the owner of animals.

In the myth “Udmurt in the battle of the Nyulesmurts and the Vumurts” we see the enmity of the owners of the forest and the water: the Nyulesmurts uprooted large trees and beat the Vumurts with them, this speaks of the extraordinary strength of the owner of the forest. A distinctive quality of Nyulesmurt is its ability to move quickly. He has unusual fast horses. He gives these horses to the Udmurt for a while for his help: “as soon as the Udmurt sat down on the cart, the horses rose up and rose up and raced over the trees.”

In the myth “Nylesmurt and the Bears,” the bears themselves came to him to ask if it was time for them to lie down in their dens. “And if it’s time, then where should anyone stay for the winter.” Nyulesmurt, like a true master, not only respected their request, but “showed everyone their place.”

This forest man has a very interesting occupation, we learned about him from the myth “Nyulesmurt”: “he sits on a spruce tree with a broken top and weaves his own bast shoes. Nyulesmurt itself is huge: taller than the forest.” Nyulesmurt sleeps unusually. He confesses to the hunter that when he sleeps, “both his eyes are closed and foam comes out of his mouth.” In this myth, he wanted to burn a sleeping hunter with an iron rod at night, but the man guessed this and put a block of wood in his place.

And in the myth “The Hunter and Nyulesmurt” it is said that Nyulesmurt can tickle a person to death. True, the hunter turned out to be smarter and put a snag in his place. This means that we can say that Nyulesmurt is a creature hostile towards humans. Although he is sometimes favorable if he receives a propitiatory sacrifice or help from a person. Then he helps in the hunt, guides in the search for treasures, and also returns livestock lost in grazing.

Our ancestors explained the rubble in the forest as the movement of the Nyulesmurt wedding train. The Udmurts believed that the owners of the forest lived in families and held their weddings with terrible noise. This confirms the interesting tale “About the wedding of the Nyulesmurts.” Nyulesmurt, like the Wumurt, can harm people, and can also help. Cases of mutual guesting occur very often.

In clothing and lifestyle, he is similar to people. What distinguishes him from humans is his height and black skin color.

Palesmoort

“Palesmurt (lit. half man), a mysterious mythical creature of unknown origin. Unlike Nyulesmurt, he is always hostile to humans. You can only hide from the palesmurt behind a rowan bush. It is impossible to destroy in a special way, since from every drop of the palesmurt’s blood his brothers appear.”

The half forest spirit appears as the right or left half of a person, attacking people.

We found very interesting information about palasmurt in the book “Melody of Heavenly Dew”. In the “Instructions on how to get rid of palesmurt” it is said that this half person has one eye, one arm, one leg. In the forest he goes out to the fire, and it will be bad for those who do not remember Inmar at this time. But if Inmar is remembered, then Palesmurt leaves angry, scattering the firebrands.

An interesting way to get rid of palesmurt is offered by instructions. Since bullets don’t hit him, “you need to shoot with a sliver.”

Reading the myths about Palesmurt, we came to the conclusion that it is in many ways similar to Nyulesmurt. He can also tickle to death, and he also takes away cattle released for grazing. “Instructions on How to Get Rid of Palesmoorth” offers an interesting way to find livestock released for grazing that got lost three or four weeks ago. You need to weave a bast shoe three inches long (an inch is a measure of length, equal to 4.45 cm) and go into the forest, then hang the bast shoe with the words: “Here, Palesmurt, I wove a bast shoe for you, if you hid my horse, let it out, please.” .

In the myth “The Fearless Man and the Palesmurt” the one-eyed man lives in a small hut, he has his own farm - sheep, which he takes care of. He is very gluttonous: “The one-eyed one grabbed the second man and ate him.”

We learn about another quality - unusual strength - from the myth “Palesmurt and the Man”. One-Eyed can knock down a pine tree with one blow.

There is an interesting version from the book by V.E. Vladykin: perhaps the legends about Palesmurt reflected ancient information about some aboriginal forest tribe, whose custom was to tattoo half of their body.

Yagperi is a mythological creature, the spirit of the forest (bor is a coniferous forest). It is known that the Udmurt region is rich in coniferous forests, so the appearance of yagperi is quite natural. In the reference book “Udmurt Republic: Encyclopedia” we did not find information about this spirit, although, of course, it is of interest for our work.

The myth "Yagperi" provides interesting information about this mythological creature. The yagperi suddenly appears, causing sudden wild fear in people: “Out of nowhere, an old man stood in front of him: he was all green, with a long beard. He didn’t hit him, but looked at him with anger. The boy didn’t remember how he ran away from him.” He also disappears suddenly: “he led them to the pit and immediately disappeared from their eyes.” Like Nyulesmurt, it has enormous power: “the whole forest shook, trees were being torn up by the roots, crackling and roaring sounds were heard from all sides.” Yagperi does not like it when his lands are disturbed, which is why he punished the hunters this way. As we have seen, the spirit of the forest loves to play an insidious joke on the Udmurts: it led them to God knows where, and then disappeared. He is characterized by rudeness, violence, and wildness of actions.

“Vumurt (from Finnish - Ugric *wetε - water and Indo-Iranian *mertε - man), spirit, master of water, merman - demonological character. A creature with long, dark hair, sometimes perceived as having one eye on its back. From time to time his fingers fall off and new ones grow.”

Vumurts live in families: a Vumurt has a wife and children. The myth “On the Life of the Vumurts” says that they are found in the deep waters of a large river or lake, and on small rivers they prefer the pools in mill ponds. They settle as a full farm in their favorite places and raise livestock.

Vumurt daughters take great care of their appearance. “Sometimes at dusk, and in remote places during the day, you can see them sitting on the shore, combing their long black braids, conspicuous from a distance with their white body.”

From this myth we learned that weddings are celebrated more in the spring and autumn, “while the merry train travels as far as possible on the water, breaking mill dams on its way and raising the water in the rivers.”

In the legend “Black Lake,” the Udmurts saw a whole family of Vumurts near a large lake. “The Wumurts sat on the leaves of grass covered with fresh dew and washed themselves. Sensing the scent of a person, they immediately disappeared into the black lake.” There were a lot of fish in this lake, but they splashed and were not caught. Then it was decided to hold a prayer service, after which the fish began to be caught very well.

The myth of “Vumurta” is very interesting in content. From it we learn that Vumurts are not averse to becoming related to people; in general, they often appear among people. In the myth, an Udmurt girl was wooed by Vumurts in human form. When the grandmother went to visit her granddaughter, “she found herself in the river, but did not drown: there is the same road in the water as on land.” The Vymurts have a special ointment: “the grandmother took it and smeared it on her right eye, and suddenly a miracle happened: she became free in the water and on the water,” among other things, she became invisible to strangers.

According to other myths, vumurts visit fairs; they can be distinguished from the crowd by the wet left side of their clothes, but most often they are invisible.

In the myth “The Girl and the Wumurt”, the girl Anna was ordered by the Wumurt not to feed the horses under any circumstances before sunrise. It turns out that “instead of horses, three girls were tied to a hitching post.” It was the Wumurt who lured them and forced them to serve instead of horses. “According to beliefs, cursed children and pawned dead live in the form of a horse in the service of the Wumurts.”

Vumurt is capable of turning into a huge pike. In “The Tale of How a Wumurt Turned into a Pike” it is said: “You will see a large pike on the shore at night, lying with its head towards the shore, don’t touch it, don’t hit it with a spear - the Wumurt will attract you to itself.”

Vumurt can be good for an Udmurt, help him, come to his aid, or he can harm, cause considerable harm. In myths we have encountered cases of partnership and visiting. Vumurt is rich and rewards the people he loves with wealth: he drives fish into the net to the fisherman, and brings beggars to the miller. If he dislikes someone, he drowns that person’s cattle in a swamp or river.

In Udmurt mythology, several images have been preserved that personify the element of water. “Variations of mainly one mythological image have been recorded - vumumy (mother of water), vumurt (master of water), vukuzyo, vuperi - the deity of water (peri - Arabic borrowing from the Turkic people). The anthropomorphic image should, apparently, be preceded by a zoomorphic image. According to archaeologists, the process of anthropomorphization of deities in the Urals among the predecessors of the Udmurts and Komi began early, back in the 1st millennium BC. e.". The fact that the resettlement of lakes is a relic of the mythological worldview is confirmed by the legend of the Black Lake." The gypsy washed her diapers in the lake. At night the bulls came out of it and dragged it to another place.

Spirits living within the developed world

“Vozho (from the common Perm. Vεž - envy, malice), an evil spirit, the deity of the transitional time - the winter and summer solstices (vozhodyr, invozho), twilight and night. Vozho is the creator of fear and diseases arising from fear. Two periods of the year are named after this creature - after the summer and winter solstice. In “Vozhodyr” (that’s what this time is called) you can’t make noise near the water (swimming, dancing in circles, doing laundry, crossing the river singing) so as not to be exposed to various kinds of misfortunes.

They live in bathhouses and abandoned houses. Dangerous for a person who does not comply with the instructions and taboos of the winter and summer solstice; punishes those who defile the water by bathing or washing at noon, visiting the bath after midnight"

In the myth “The Soldier is a Werewolf and the Vozho,” we discovered the typical behavior of the Vozho when night comes. “A lot of drivers came to the hut, they started jumping and pushing. Hide in corners, climb on benches and beds, sing and squeal in different voices.” But the leaders disappear with the appearance of the first roosters, they rush into the water.

And in the myth “Vozho and the Marriage of an Udmurt,” when a guy threw his bride, Vozho, from a bridge into the river, she turned into a block of wood.

Vozho has a special appearance. These are small, shaggy, black creatures. But there are times when Vozho helps a person. The myth “Vozho is the orphan’s benefactor” tells how a mother sent her unloved daughter to the bathhouse at dusk to get a cross that her beloved daughter had forgotten. “The girl opened the window, slowly, so as not to disturb the driver, felt the cross and wanted to go back. Suddenly he wrapped a whole bunch of gold pieces around her hand.” And the beloved daughter, who went to the bathhouse with abuse, barely remained alive.

Munchomurt, munchokuzo, munchokuknik, kuz yirsi, tody murt are a special anthropomorous spirit. The Udmurts believed that he lived in a dark corner behind the heater. The northern Udmurts saw the bannik as a middle-aged man dressed in white clothes, while the southern Udmurts saw it as a shapeless mass like jelly, without bones, with long hair, “with one huge eye like the moon.” He can scream and cry like a baby. The character of Gidmurt is not easy. He has a habit of making fun of those washing: he hides his clothes, turns them inside out, and ties his sleeves. He does not like those who come to the bathhouse after midnight, since “others”, that is, representatives of another world, are already washing.

Gidmurt

An important part of the Udmurt economy was the breeding of livestock: horses, cows, sheep, pigs and a small number of goats

Gidmurt is a mythical creature who lives in a barn (shed is a place for livestock). In the dictionary “Udmurt Republic: Encyclopedia” we did not find information about this spirit, but it is found in Udmurt myths.

The main concern of the Gidmurt are horses and cows. He may be the culprit of all the troubles that befall the cattle. Gidmurt can drive a horse all night long, causing them to lose weight and become weaker.

In the myth of the same name, Gidmurt disliked one black horse and rode it all the time. Then the owner rubbed the horse’s back and sides with resin so that the gimurt would stick. And so it happened. On his horse sat “a little old man, no more than half an arshin tall (an arshin is a measure of length equal to 0.71 cm).”

“It can be assumed,” writes Volkova L.A., “that the anthropomorphized image of the gidmurt appeared much later, almost as a result of contacts with the Russians, while the mythologized image of the bear seems very ancient. He probably “moved” from the forest, in which a very real predator was plundering food supplies (the wealth of Lud or Nylesmurt) stored in buildings - storerooms or hunting huts, and bullying livestock grazing in the forest.” There was a confusion of images, functions, and the destroyer turned into a preserver.” Volkova L. A claims that if a gidmurt is favorable to animals, then he waters and feeds them, even steals food from neighboring barns. Love for a horse is expressed by combing and braiding the mane and tail. If he doesn’t like the owner or his cattle, then don’t expect any good, he won’t look after him or feed him, “the cattle will be as thin as a skeleton,” the horse’s mane will be matted, because his barn owner torments him “either by riding around all night, or by carrying various weights.” »

Every nation has something special that is of general interest. Studying the myths and legends of one’s people is not only interesting, fascinating and educational, it is a discovery of one’s people, and through one’s people humanity becomes dearer and more understandable.

The ecological niche of the Udmurt ethnic group is quite complex. This is predominantly a zone of northern coniferous forests, which were then still impenetrable, with harsh, long winters, sudden temperature changes, and unbalanced precipitation. The forest influenced and even determined many aspects of their economic activity, life, material and spiritual culture, and even character traits. Harmonious integration into a very inharmonious habitat, almost optimal life activity in far from optimal conditions, in a complex ecological niche of a zone of risky agriculture contributed to the development of such traits among the Udmurts as amazing resilience, perseverance, unpretentiousness, the ability to be content with little, frugality and endless and boundless patience. Here are the origins of the great Udmurt patience, one of the most important components of their tolerance.

All this affected the life, culture, physical appearance and psychological make-up of the people, and therefore the images of the Udmurt pantheon. As pre-revolutionary researchers noted, “the Udmurts were not noted for their heroic physique, but they were surprisingly strong and hardy, unpretentious in food and clothing.” They are also noted for their peacefulness, honesty, hospitality, simple-heartedness, superstitiousness and taciturnity.

We discovered that all the gods and mythological creatures behave like people, miraculously incorporating the life and psychological way of life of the Udmurt people. The gods are hardworking, they teach, give advice, they are caring mentors, they help like parents to their children - people. We can say that the people endowed their gods with humanity, love of humanity, and ingenuity; they do not have aggression, arrogance, arrogance, resourcefulness, cunning, or selfishness. But as soon as people break their covenants, the gods get offended and punish people. This applies to both Inmar and Kyldysin.

Mythological creatures also have their own character. Some are petty and envious, some are stupid and angry, some are smart but prone to meanness. Mythological creatures hostile towards the Udmurts behave like modern criminals. They can deceive, play cruel jokes, they can make attempts on life, and in isolated myths a person is killed.

But most of all, what both gods and mythological characters have in common with humans is that they constantly work and labor. They do the same things as people: keep pets, salt fish, sew bast shoes, clean up their lands and homes. We can say with absolute confidence that the ancestors who lived on the territory of modern Udmurtia were extremely hardworking. This is one of the main features of the people; their way of life is based on this. Not sitting idle, being in constant motion is the core of our way of life.

Nowadays, the Udmurt region occupies one of the leading places in terms of suicide. There are different explanations for this phenomenon. We think that the violent disruption of the way of life, the dramatic deformation of consciousness, tore the symbol of faith and broke the backbone of spirituality. The people became seriously ill because the connection between times and generations had broken down, and as a consequence - lack of faith, social apathy, mass alcoholism and suicide.

The modernity and relevance of the work is that globalization leads to the fitting of all peoples into one common template; the consequences of this phenomenon can lead to the loss of identity, one’s own identity and loss of roots, loss of ethnocultural potential.

Our ancestors, standing on the threshold of civilization, do not have the passions of Greek mythology; the Udmurt pantheon is less warlike than the Slavic. But we can say that the Udmurt pantheon has its analogy in the Slavic pantheon: Inmar = Perun, Kyldysin = Veles, vumurt = water, yagperi + palesmurt + nyulesmurt = goblin, gidmurt = barn, vozho = bannik. Representatives of Udmurt and Slavic mythology have a lot in common. Unfortunately, based on the available sources, we were not able to make a good comparative description of the pantheon of the two cultures.

This work will be useful in local history lessons, as the material on Udmurt mythology is analyzed and systematized. We are confident that our work will be of interest not only to local history teachers, but also to those who are interested in the literature and mythology of other peoples.

Dictionary - reference book of mythological heroes

The mythological creatures listed below do not exhaust the pantheon of the Udmurts. Over the course of a thousand-year history, the system of paganism has developed such a number of images that they have filled almost all natural, ecological and sociocultural “niches.”

Vorshud is the patron saint of clan and family.

Vumurt, Vukuzyo, Vuperi - master of water

Korkamurt - brownie

Korkakuzo - brownie

Gondyr (bear) is a relative of the korkamur. Manages supplies, lives underground, in barns.

Gidkuamurt (lit.: courtyard man, manor man)

Obinmurt - a guilty person

Munchomurt, munchokuzo, munchokuknik, kuz yirsi, tody murt - bath man

Obinmurt (barn man) - creatures that “inhabit” the Udmurt courtyard itself

Ludmurt - field worker, meadow worker

Nylesmurt, Nyleskuzo - forest man

Tölperi – spirit of the wind

Tedimurt (tedi - white) is a spirit that lives in a dark corner on a shelf in a bathhouse. His activity is making fun of people in the bathhouse

I was looking for a pydo murt - a creature, the upper half is human, the lower half is cow

Kuz pinyo murt is a bloodthirsty creature with long teeth, lives in the forest and feeds on human flesh.

Kukri - baba - something like Baba Yaga

Albasty – demonic female creature

Aktash – evil spirit, lit. White stone

Akshan - evil spirit of twilight

Busturgan - witch

Keremet - evil spirit, Satan, enemy of Inmar

Offense - a goblin, often in the form of a woman, with huge breasts, long hair and shaggy fur

Shaitan - Satan, devil

Shayan - good or evil spirit of the dead

Yagperi - mythological creature, spirit of the forest

A group of spirits associated with various diseases

Kutys (kuyny - to catch) lives in the sources of rivers and streams, sending diseases, mainly scabs.

Kyzh - something dirty, unclean (to be sick, to suffer, to wither)

Kyl - evil spirit

Male - illness, damage, regarding a sacrifice that was promised by someone

Day is a spirit in charge of such diseases as boils, hernias

Cher (Chur) – the evil spirit of contagious, serious diseases, epidemics.

Udmurt mythology existed many years ago and protected not only culture, faith, but also folklore.

In Udmurt mythology, there are a large number of negative creatures and gods who send troubles to the Udmurt people, for example, spirits of disease can send: damage, paralysis, the evil eye.

Also in their mythology there are brownies - Korkakuz, banniks - Minchokuze, garden ones - Bakchakuze. Ludmurt was considered the master of wild nature; he was the master of meadows and fields; people turned to him with requests for good hunting, preservation of livestock and abundance of honey, and successful fishing.

In ancient times, priests were divided into higher servants and lower ones; the lower ones served the higher ones and carried out orders.

The chief priest did not take any part in the rituals, he was only present during them, sanctified the ritual with his presence, and monitored the sequence of actions during the rituals. During the ritual, all ministers dressed in snow-white clothes.

The main sanctuary, in which all rituals were carried out, was built from tree logs; the floor was also covered with wood; the most valuable relics that belonged to the patron of the clan, the main spirit, were kept in it.

Depending on the ritual, it was necessary to make a sacrifice; in all rituals there had to be a tree and a sacrifice (cattle of different colors and breeds).

Today, the Udmurts glorify the Orthodox faith with elements of pre-Christian beliefs.

They still perform ancient rituals, follow ancient customs and do not want to adapt to the modern world and its trends.

The Udmurts have three places of worship:

• neither worship the ancestral patron;
• owner of wild nature;
• burial places and funeral rituals.

The Udmurts are an ancient Turkic people who present their own mythology, which is very similar to the myths and ideas of neighboring peoples. Their beliefs were greatly influenced by Islamic overtones and some aspects of the above-mentioned religion.

So, among the Udmurts, the main deity was named Inmar, and he performed the functions of the creator of the world, the creator who was “to blame” for the emergence of literally everything on Earth. If you delve deeper into theological and linguistic research, you will notice that the name of this deity is very similar to other main gods from nearby religions.

The mythology of the Udmurts says that Inmar had to monitor the normal functioning of the elements, so that the rain would fall and the sun would shine on time, and that the climate in the world would be optimal and comfortable. As elsewhere, the Udmurts also had a negative deity, Keremet (an analogue can be considered the Islamic Shaitan), who is responsible for evil forces. According to legend, at the very beginning the gods were friends, but Keremet deceived Inmar, after which they quarreled.

Udmurt mythology has changed over time and in accordance with emerging world religions, in particular Christian principles. In particular, as they say, after “communication” with them, a legend arose about a huge bull that holds our planet on its horns, and which is responsible for all the tremors of the firmament.

According to the Udmurts, and the traditions of the Finns and some other peoples close to them, the world is divided into 3 regions, heaven, the place of residence of earthlings - the planet, and hell, which was cold and dark. In many variants, you can find a central axis that holds all these areas together, which could be a tree (like the Slavs), a rock, and other similar objects. Accordingly, deities lived at the top, and only the top ones from the pantheon; in the middle part, the beautiful halves of the divine society were usually found, as well as demigods, patrons of the natural elements - in particular, water creatures, goblins, etc. In hell there were dark forces - and directly the symbol of the devil , Keremet, as well as dead souls.

As we have already said, the main god of the Udmurts was called Inmar; their system of religion is dual, i.e. There is a confrontation between good and evil, with Keremet playing the role of the latter. But they also have one more god from among the most noticeable and important - this is Kyldysin, who is responsible for our world, for nature, for the harvest, etc. Usually, by the way, in other religions, similar functions are performed by a lady - for example, Hera among the Greeks, etc., but the Udmurts appointed a man to this position.

Many demigods inhabited the earth - there were both good and bad among them, Keremet fought with the good ones, and Inmar fought with the bad ones. The demigods were responsible for diseases, natural phenomena, epidemics, etc.

You will find all this in the ancient beliefs and judgments of the people of Udmurtia, captured in unusual folklore, rituals and works of folk art. In conscious mythology, family, clan and tribal (territorial) holy places took the place of domesticated symbols. The traditions of sacrifice were also associated with this. They were in the nature of economic requirements (the beginning of sowing, harvesting), preventive measures against natural disasters and diseases (drought, pestilence of domestic animals, famine), and everyday needs (the birth of children, a successful marriage).

Later, one can find variants of double beliefs, when residents who converted to Orthodoxy, making sacrifices, did so with Christian prayers. The explanation for this is the late Christianization of the Turkic people, compared to other nationalities. At the present time, there is a noticeable tendency among the Udmurts to revive mythological beliefs through the prism of pagan ideas about the structure of interaction between people and the forces of the elements. A significant role in this is still played by the traditions of spiritualizing the surrounding nature, which is a strong indicator of “Udmurtness”, one of the defining features of the ethnic group of Udmurt culture.

In principle, the mythology of the Udmurts is quite standard and similar to Islam - Shaitan is also found here, but only in the form of small demigods, there are also peri - female genies or something like that, and many others. But the Udmurts also took a lot from the Slavs, which testifies to their closeness and commonality in mentality and human self-awareness.

Myths and legends

Udmurt people

The presentation was prepared by the head of the library of Municipal Budgetary Educational Institution “Secondary School No. 90”, Izhevsk, Svetlana Vladimirovna Volynina, 2012

Between the gray Urals and the blue Volga

in the land of springs and forest rivers

Hunters and farmers - the ancestors of the Udmurt people - have long settled

This land was beautiful in its own way. The forest not only threatened with danger, but also bestowed generous gifts.

To survive here, you had to be resilient, strong, courageous

In ancient times, the Udmurts believed that spirits and gods accompany a person everywhere and always, helping or hindering him, depending on the harmony in which he lives with the world and people.

Underwater kingdom

The highest deities of the Udmurts: Imnar, Kyldysim, Kuaz .

These gods occupy the main places in the life of the Udmurt people

Inmar

creator of the sky, creator of the world, creator of the earth. He lives constantly in the sun and is so kind that people are not afraid of him. Only thanksgiving sacrifices are offered to him.

Pine –sacred tree

place of worship of the ancient Udmurts to the god Inmar. They asked him for rain and a good harvest. Various rituals were performed near the pine tree.

The Legend of the Creation of the World

Having decided to create the world, Inmar sends Shaitan to get earth from the bottom of the world's oceans. Having given the earth to Inmar, Shaitan hides its grains behind his cheeks, but when the earth, at Inmar’s command, begins to grow, he is forced to spit it out. and mountains, swamps, and hummocks formed on the ground. If Shaitan had not deceived Inmar, the earth would have remained level and smooth.

In ancient times, according to the legends of the Udmurts,

giants lived on earth - alangasars.

The dense forest was like nettles for them. Where the giant's foot stepped, a ravine appeared, where he shook sand out of his bast shoes, hills formed.

The Alangasars entertained themselves by throwing cast-iron balls and weaving ropes from pine trees, and fighting with uprooted trees. A man hollowing out a bee board is mistaken for a woodpecker;

look at it in the palm of your hand, put it in your pocket or put it in your bosom

The second deity is Kyldysin or Kylchin - this is a creator god who takes care of the earth, the god of fertility,

patron of children.

He appeared in the form of an old man in white clothes and walked along the borders, straightening the fallen ears of corn, watching over the crops.

Kuaz - lord of the weather,

atmospheric phenomena.

Kuaz prayed under a spruce tree, which was perceived as the tree of this god, and they sacrificed a horse or foal to him.

The ancestors of the Udmurts were revered

In-moms goddess of fertility, mother of Inmar himself

Shunds-mumas (mother of the Sun)

Gudyri-mumy (Mother of Thunder)

Invu - mums (Mother of heavenly water)

Muzyom-mumy - (Goddess of the earth)

Vorshud (shud wordys) –

spirit is the patron and guardian of the clan, family, home.

Lives in the chapel (kuale)

In Udmurt mythology, lower spirits are very numerous: vumurt - water, gidmurt - spirit of the stable, nudesmurt - Spirit of the forest, tӧlperi - Spirit of the Wind, corkamurt - brownie, yagperi - spirit of boron, Ludmurt - the spirit of meadows and fields, etc. In addition to the deities and semi-deities who patronize people and can give them happiness and misfortune, the Votyaks believe in spirits that cause people only troubles and misfortunes, evil spirits. Among them is Kutys, Cher and Vozho.

Nyulesmurt (“nyules” - forest, thicket) - goblin, master of the forest, master of animals.

Lives in the forest, has his own farm and family. In clothing and lifestyle, he is similar to people; he has a long beard and hair. He is able to change his appearance: in the forest he is level with the trees, in the meadow - with the grass, among people - slightly taller than a person.

Nyulesmurts allow animals to lie down in holes and dens; They send prey to hunters, food to cattle, and help the army win.

VOUKUZO – (“master of water”)

Vukuzyo (vu-water, kuzyo - master) is the ruler of the water element, an inhabitant of the primary ocean. Imitating Inmar's creation - a dog, he creates a goat, then water creatures - woo-murts. Vukuzyo was represented as an old man with a long beard

Vumurt -water (wu- “water”, murt – “man”)

A spirit with long hair, sometimes in the form of a pike. Lives in lakes, rivers, ponds. He has an incredibly beautiful wife, sons and daughters.

Vumurts are almost no different from ordinary people. They can be distinguished by the fact that the left side of Vumurt's coat is certainly raw. Vumurt is very rich and rewards with wealth those people whom he loves, but if he does not love, he drowns cattle in the swamp and inflicts various diseases.

Korkamurt (crust - hut) - brownie. Lives behind the stove or underground. He is in charge of the work taking place in the hut and everything that is stored in it. Where he is respected and treated, he protects family members, but if the brownie is offended or disrespected (they make noise, whistle in the house or throw pieces of bread on the floor), he tickles at night, tangles the hair on his head and beard.

At Korkamurt many names:

kuze crust(home owner),

beche crust(neighbor, friend),

crust syuzette(neighbor),

Gulbech Murt(master of the underground).

Gondyr (udm. Bear) - Korkamurt’s closest assistant. Lives in the underground, cellar, barn and manages the household supplies stored there. In appearance it is indistinguishable from a bear. If Gondir did not like something or the owners did not please, then the supplies in the house decrease with unnatural speed.

Gidmurt (“guide”-stable)

– spirit of stables and barns

Gidmurt - assistant to the brownie (Korkamurta), patron of stables and barns.

If he loves a horse, he will comb and braid its mane, and even transfer hay and oats from neighboring horses.

If Gidmurt dislikes a horse, then he can ride it all night long and exhaust it with heavy loads.

Telkuzo - goblin, spirit of the forest.

Tolmurt (tӧlperi - spirit of the wind) - he kidnapped girls.

Ludmurt (lud - field) - Meadow, Polevik

This is a small man in charge of meadows and fields.

He protected the animals

monitored the crops

Sometimes Ludmurt was called Mushvozmas (udm. - guarding bees

Todymurt (tody - white) - a spirit living in a dark corner on a shelf in a bathhouse. According to the stories of his ancestors, he likes to make fun of people in the bathhouse.

PALACEMOORTH (fell-half, "half-man")

Palesmurt is a half-man: a one-armed, one-legged, one-eyed evil creature who lives in the forest. Popular fairy tale character

Palesmurts are enormously tall, they are somewhat stupid, very funny, they love to make others laugh: they can tickle them to death, they love to ride horses grazing in the meadow at night. They love to scare lonely travelers, especially in the forest.

Iskal-Pydo-Murt(searched - cow; pyd - leg) - a spirit with cow legs.

Baba Obyda -goblin in the form of a woman with long hair, shaggy, tall.

In fairy tales, Baba Obyda, if she wants, helps people.

Kuz-Pine-Murt- a man with long teeth

Evil spirit of epidemic diseases

• personifying the house and outbuildings:
  • Korkamurt (Korka kuzyo) - brownie
  • Gidkuamurt (Guide Kuzyo) - manor man
  • Munchomurt (Muncho kuzyo) - bath man

Ideas about mother spirits:

• By mumy - mother of water
• Pyzep mumy, Chupchi mumy - mothers of the rivers Pyzep and Chupchi
• Vozho muma is the mother of a special transitional time - the summer and winter solstice;
• Muzyem muma - mother of the earth
• Puzhmer muma - the mother of frost and wind

Celestial Mothers:

• In mumy - mother of the sky
• Shunda muma - mother of the sun
• Tolez mumy - mother of the moon
• Gudyri muma - mother of thunder
• Inwu mumi - mother of heavenly water

Higher deities

At the top of the Udmurt Olympus stood a powerful god Inmar. Researchers translate the word “Inmar” in different ways: “in” - sky, “mar” - what, i.e. “what is in the sky”.

Obviously, the image of the Udmurt Inmar goes back to the Proto-Finno-Ugric deity, whose name is associated with the name of the sky, air (ilma, yuma): 1) Finnish, Kar. - Ilmarinen, Sami. - Ilmaris, Komi - Yon, Khant. - Ilem, mans. - Elem; 2) Finnish - Yuma-la, est. - Yummal, Sami. - Yubmel, Mar. - Yumo.

Initially, Inmar was simply one of the deities representing the upper tier of the world - the celestial sphere. Apparently there were even a few inmars: Kaba-inmar(ka-, ba, kava, in some Udmurt dialects means the clearing of the sky at night, such as the northern lights, the deity of fate; Alyak-inmar- intercessor of people, bringing news about earthly affairs - later they were perceived as helpers Bydym Inmara- Great Inmar, who became the owner of many epithets: vylys, yugyt, muso, bydym - supreme, bright, white, dear, great. Very often Inmar was pronounced in combination Kozma(meaning lost) - Kozma-inmar, Kylchin-inmar(Creator Inmar), sometimes Badӟym vorshud Inmar- great ancestral Inmar.

The rise of Inmar over other deities is a later phenomenon; it occurred under the influence of Islam and Christianity, it was they who contributed to the formation of the Udmurts’ ideas about a single god. The baptism of the Udmurts was of great importance in this process; it was during this period that Inmar acquired the features of a Christian god. But the transformation of Inmar - the god of air - into the single supreme god was a long process, it was not completed even by the 19th century.

Along with Inmar, the supreme triad included Kyldysin/Kylchin - a good spirit who promotes the offspring of livestock. . The image of Kyldysin, one of the oldest, was initially associated, obviously, in general with the creative principle, creation (hence “kyldyny” - create, create) and goes back to the root “kyl” - word. It was the word that was given the magical function of creation, creation; the world was created in the process of naming. Gradually, the image of Kyldysin acquired complex mythological content. Being one of the most popular in the religious-mythological system, he had a fairly significant number of incarnations: Vukylchin - the Creator of water, Yurtkylchin, Gidkylchin - the keeper of the house, stable, barnyard, Nunykylchin - the deity who patronizes childbirth or children in general. However, the most famous are the ideas about two Kyldysins: 1) Kyldysin, living in the sky; 2) Mukyldysin (close to him is Yukyldysin, in charge of grain crops), living underground.

Together with Inmar and Kyldysin, the northern Udmurts and Besermians revered Kuaz - the deity of the atmosphere and weather phenomena. The triad of gods Inmar, Kyldysin, Kuaz was sometimes perceived as a kind of unity.

The concept of vorshud occupied a special place in the beliefs of the Udmurts.

Vorshud- a complex concept that meant: 1) a ancestral or family shrine kept in a kuala. Usually this is a vorshudny box that contained several silver coins, a squirrel skin, hazel grouse wings, a pike jaw, black grouse feathers, ritual utensils, a piece of sacrificial bread, flour, cereal, and a tree branch. In a word, a kind of materialized objective information about the surrounding world was concentrated here at all its most important structural levels, this is a symbolic model of the world, its microcosm, a kind of “Noah’s Ark”; 2) an abstract patron deity of a clan or family and a set of ideas and ideas associated with it; 3) a specific ornitho-, zoo-, anthropomorphic image of a deity: a goose with a silver beak, a bull with golden horns, some kind of idol, etc.; 4) an exogamous association of maternal relatives who have one patron. Each vorshud had his own name. Researchers have recorded about 70 such names (Mozhga, Bigra, Purga, Kaksya, Bonya, Vortcha, etc.), apparently originating from totemic ancestors. In honor of the patron saint, prayers were held on every occasion of any importance.

Having apparently taken shape in the era of maternal-clan organization as a totem group, Vorshud, losing its socio-economic functions, gradually turned into a purely cultic institution, which later became part of other forms of religious formations. All Udmurts knew which Vorshud they belonged to. If representatives of several Vorshuds lived in the village, there were correspondingly the same number of ancestral sanctuaries - bydym kua/ or religious buildings in honor of Vorshud, which were built in the priest’s courtyard or, more often, in the forest near a stream or spring not far from the village.

This diversity of gods required appropriate comprehension, interpretation, and the development of norms of cult etiquette - all these issues were in charge of the clergy. They were, to a large extent, the direct creators of certain religious and mythological ideas, their disseminators among their fellow tribesmen, as well as original intermediaries between the deities and the general mass of believers.

Evil spirits

In the religious and mythological system of the Udmurts, a very unique place was occupied by Iskal pydo murt - a creature whose upper half is human and the lower half is cow, Kuz pinyo murt - a bloodthirsty creature with long teeth, Kukri Baba - something like Baba Yaga, Palesmurt - half a man : one-armed, one-legged, one-eyed creature.

Palesmurts have enormous growth (or the ability to change body size, just like Nyulesmurt and Ludmurt), they are somewhat stupid, very funny, they love to make others laugh: they can tickle them to death, they love to ride horses grazing in the meadow at night. They are not particularly dangerous to people, they only frighten lonely travelers, especially in the forest. There was a belief that Palesmurt could not be killed: every drop of his blood turns into a new Palesmurt.

Obviously, mainly through long-term Turkic mediation, such images as Albasty, a demonic female creature of enormous stature, penetrated to the Udmurts (cf. Tat., Bashk., Chuv., Kazakh., Leg., Kumyk., Albasly, Mar., Uzbek, Uig. Alvasta, Abaz Albasty, Taj. Aktash - evil spirit, literally, white stone (cf.: Tat. aktash, karatash - spirits mentioned in conspiracies); Akshan - evil spirit of twilight; Busturgan - witch (cf.: Chuv., Tat. bastyrgan, Russian dial. busturgan, Hung. boscorkan, boscorkany); Keremet - an evil spirit, Satan, the enemy of Inmar (cf.: Tat., Chuv., Bash., Mar., Komi Kiremet, also found among all Muslim ml clans of Central Asia, Kazakhstan and the Caucasus), Obyda - goblin, often in the image of a woman with huge breasts, long hair and shaggy fur (cf.: Tat. atapa, Chuv. upata, Mar. ovyda, other Uyg. abita, amita, Sanskrit amithaba); Ubir - ghoul, witch, cannibal (cf.: Tat. Ubyr, Chuv. Vupar, m;f. Vuver, Uver, Russian ghoul); Shaitan - Satan, devil, the antipode of Inmar (cf.: Tat., Kazakh., Kyrgyzstan, Turkish. Shaitan); Shayan - good or evil spirit of the dead (cf.: Tat., Chuv., Mar., Komi, Mordvinian. Nayan, Nayan; Zhayan, Zayan).

Contacting the otherworldly and earthly worlds

Contacts between the otherworldly and earthly worlds occur as a result of a person’s violation of behavioral stereotypes, tacitly established within space-time boundaries, as a prediction of the future in particularly important life circumstances (ill health, personal relationships). Of the time periods, dawn (ӟardon), midnight (uishor), and twilight (akshan) were endowed with “terrible” properties. It was believed that then the likelihood of meeting with representatives of another world increases:

Uncle vukoe wenem. Izsa took kylem. Miller soy kӧlny kosem: ber ni, pe. Kalym (nyuk nim) pӧrtmaske ni. 12 o'clock luem. Kalym nyuk syury potem no, pumitaz kyz ӝuzhda mark ke, pe, vaska. Val "sor-r" ne kare<....>Father went to the mill. There he was late. The miller persuaded him to spend the night: it was already late, and in the ravine Kalym was already imagining. It's midnight. As soon as he crossed the Kalym ravine, someone as tall as a spruce was moving towards him. And the horse sensed something was wrong and began snoring.<....>(FE UdSU - 78)

A dangerous place that could affect a person's fate was the space outside the village. The spirits of the forest and water were clearly hostile. The motif of wandering people is one of the most common in epics and stories at the present time:

<....>Mamaelen suzerez ozy luem uk<....>Yshem sooslen yzzy<....>Tare so yizh utchany mynsa, yyromem kad luem. Soe Nules Nynya tolez mynda nulllem.<....> - <...>This happened to my mother's sister once<....>Their sheep went missing<....>She went to look for her. And I kind of got lost. The goblin led her through the forest for a month<....>(FE IYAL-95, no. 530, l. 82)

People endowed spirits with the ability to imitate human behavior. Representatives of the other world could manifest themselves through tactile sensations (touch):

<....>Memey tani milyam veraz. Mynchoyn eton shukkysa pukisko lapcha yilyn. Pyd bordam, pe, kutskiz nebyt kiyn, nebyt, pe, kiyz but, kezyt. -<.... >Mother told me. In the bathhouse on the shelf, flax was crushed. Someone touched the leg with a soft hand, the hand was soft but cold. (FE IYAL - 95, no. 530, l.20)

By touch, according to beliefs, one could learn about the relationship of a mythological creature to a person. They believe that if a brownie touches the owner with a bare, cold hand, it means that he does not like him, and if the touch is soft, warm, he loves him and wishes him well.

Another world could also appear in visual images (vision, ghost):

Shap vadysen vale dugdӥz. Otysen tuzh: ӝuzhyt adamyez adӟi.So syӧd dӥsen val, ymnyrze ӧy adӟy.<....>- Suddenly the horse stopped near the cemetery. I saw a very tall man dressed all in black, but I didn’t see his face.<....>(FE UdGU-90)

Most often, the other world made itself known through sound signals. It could be laughter, crackling, screaming, rustling, calling out, playing musical instruments, dancing, direct conversation, etc.:

Chokal gurte vit vil monyaos kunoe vetllam. Tare soos ӝyt berto yin. Paymyt luem. Gurte vuim ni shusa, pe, we’ll pierce the crust<....>Korkan balalaika, argan shude. Pyrsa ektelliam, kalyk, pe, rope. Ektykuzy kin ke but usem but "Osto", pe, shuilliam but - typy ule kyilliam<....>- Five people from New Monya went to visit the village of Chokal. They drove home too late; it became completely dark on the way. Thinking that we had already reached the village, we went into the house. They play the balalaika and accordion there. They also danced; there were a lot of people in the house. While dancing, one of them fell, and they said, “Lord,” and they found themselves under an oak tree.<....>(FE UDGU-78)

The range of sounds from another world is varied: from individual sounds to the ability to reproduce human speech:

Atay kulyku, vyzhulyn cheryk pyrdaskiz. Pyriskom - nomyr ӧvӧl. - It was before my father died. The sound of breaking glassware came from underground. We went in and there was nothing there. (FEUdGU-90)

Tanya Gurezmy Van. Otyn Akmar Yakolen lulyz potez. So vadsyn shula, tazi ik, pe. shula. - Here we have a slide. That's where Yakov Akmarov gave up his ghost. They say there's a whistle there, a real whistle<....>(FE IYAL-95, d. Ns 530, l. 51)

Representatives of another world can imitate a familiar voice and call out:

Saraiyn mark ke no les'tosko val. "Memkey!" Shusa Toma keskiz, ozy ik "memkey" shusa. "Ew!" - shui no pomӥ. Otӥ-tatӥ uchki, nokytyn but Tome ӧvӧl. Tӥni collect the card kuliz. - I worked in the barn. "Memkey!" - Tom’s granddaughter called out to me. “Hey!” I responded and left. I looked everywhere in the yard, but Toma was nowhere to be found. After this, the husband died. (FE IYAL - 95, no. 530, l. 81)

Representatives of another world can enter into direct dialogue with a person. They often appear in the form of a familiar person and take the person who gets in their way to dangerous places.

In situations of contact, the dependent party is always a person, and therefore he must have some knowledge of neutralizing the influence of representatives of another world. For example, there is such a belief: “Nyuleski yiromid ke, dӥsez myddorin dӥsyano (If you get lost in the forest, you need to turn your clothes inside out).” In the world of spirits, on their territory or in their presence, it is considered dangerous to show your human essence. Clothing turned inside out is already a sign of otherness, so the spirits of the forest can no longer harm a person, since he has accepted their “game” and acts according to their “laws.”

In some situations, silence is also a means of neutralization. “A person who refuses to speak is perceived as a non-human, as a “stranger.” Great importance is attributed to verbal spells, among which the simplest and most common are the exclamations “Osto, Inmare!” or simply “Osto!”, prayers and even their reverse reading.

Odӥg ӝyt munchoe ognam wheatgrass. Munchoys potykum, olokin aldaz - korkame ug adiski<....>Ozy mone ӵaӵӵamurt aldam. “I believe” prayer lydyi, kuaretyo soe no, soku ik tylyos hellish. - One evening I went to the bathhouse alone. I started to leave the bathhouse, something happened - I don’t see my house<...>So the goblin played a joke on me. I read the “I Believe” prayer, cursed, and only then did the lights appear. (FEUdGU-91)

The assimilation of knowledge to neutralize the influence of representatives of another world occurs in the process of mastering the rules of behavior enshrined in beliefs (edifications and taboos), tales and experiences that affirm existing beliefs.

Literature

1. Vereshchagin G.E. Votyaks of the Sarapul district of the Vyatka province / Notes of the Russian Geographical Society. - St. Petersburg 1889. - T.XI, issue 3. - P.73.
2. Lytin V.I., Gulyaev E.S. Brief etymological dictionary of the Komi language. - M.: Nauka, 1970. - P. 95.

The Udmurt people have a rich cultural heritage. Many people - scientists, local historians, teachers, students and schoolchildren - collected and described the oral folk art of the Udmurts in order to preserve and convey it to future generations.

Udmurt mythology is an extremely interesting system of heroes, spirits, giants and heroes. It consists of a huge number of legends and tales. And in the same way, Udmurt mythology is the cultural heritage of the Udmurt people, which is a source of themes and inspiration for artists, playwrights, sculptors and the whole world for study by philologists, ethnographers and linguists.

Fairy tale heroes

fairy-tale hero of the Udmurts.

According to legend, a long time ago there lived a man in one of the Udmurt villages. Life was difficult for him, but fun, because one day he learned the secret of life. The Udmurts know that long ago they had a Holy Book, according to which they built their lives. Over time, it was lost, and the leaves of the Holy Book scattered all over the world.

During his next walk around his family, he was lucky enough to find one of the pages of this wise book, on which it was written: “Don’t take everything to heart, look at everything cheerfully, and luck will not bypass you.”

From then on, any work in his hands was a success, and he became a source of inexhaustible humor, wit, and worldly cunning. People called him Lopsho Pedun.

Batyrs - frequent characters in Udmur fairy tales and heroic epics. There are legends about batyrs.

When warriors began to appear on earth, then Eshterek was one of the first. Tall, broad-shouldered, strong - he was a real hero Pazyal. Not just anywhere - just in our area, once upon a time, two brothers, two warriors lived. The eldest of them was called Micol, junior - Danil. Mardan and Tutoy. In ancient times, batyrs had to defend themselves from enemy attacks. It was then that their leader appeared Yadigar. Once upon a time, to the north of the possessions of the Donda tribe, the tribe's warriors lived Kalmez. Idna-batyr, the son of Donda, lived in the area, which later began to be called Idnakar after him. Idna was engaged in one hunt. Batyrs from the tribe Chud were characterized as “they were very tall in stature, exorbitant in strength, and independent in character.”

Creation Myth

in Udmurt mythology - the supreme god, the creator of all that is good and kind in the world. The name Inmar is related to the names of other demiurges of Finno-Ugric mythology - En and, possibly, Ilma (Ilmarinen, etc.). The heavenly god takes care of the clouds: he draws water with a golden ladle and waters them so that they do not dry out from the sun's rays. This good god confronts his brother Keremet(Lud, or Shaitan, sometimes - “master of water” Vukouzo), the creator of evil. Initially, both gods were good. At the behest of Inmar, Keremet retrieved earth from the bottom of the World Ocean, bringing it in his mouth. He spat out some of the earth, and hid some of it. When the earth, by the will of Inmar, began to grow, Keremet was forced to spit out the rest, which is why mountains appeared on the flat surface of the land. Inmar also created plants and animals.

Another myth talks about how Inmar sails a boat on the World Ocean. Suddenly, out of nowhere, appears Shaitan. At the behest of Inmar, he dives to the bottom of the ocean for land: under the water, Shaitan meets a crayfish, and he assures the diver that he has not seen any land. Shaitan dives even deeper and finally gets out some sand. He hides part of it in his mouth and creates mountains on the earth, which tear the clouds with their peaks. Inmar had to raise the sky higher - it became unattainable. The first creature Inmar created was a dog, but it had no skin. Shaitan skins her.

Christian and Muslim apocrypha (Greek apokryphos - secret, hidden) influenced the mythological picture of the world of the Udmurts. According to their beliefs, a large black (or red) bull lives underground - muzyem utis osh(“bull guarding the earth”). He stands on the back of a giant fish swimming in the World Ocean, and holds the Earth on his horns. When he moves his horns, an earthquake occurs.

Characters and cult objects of Udmurt mythology

- in Udmurt mythology, the supreme god, demiurge (Greek demiurgos - one who makes things, a worker, a creator, a master, an artisan). Inmar is the supreme deity in Udmurt mythology (or his epithet), the creator god, the creator of all good things, he opposes Keremet (Lud, Shaitan).

Alangsar- a giant whose body, cut into pieces by enemies and scattered on the ground, is sought by his wife, riding on a cart drawn by two gray-gray oxen. With their gigantic horns they tear up the ground, hence the presence of dunes and uneven surfaces. It was not possible to resurrect the giant because his wife did not find his head. Its bones, as well as the giant cauldron and tagan, protrude from the water at low tide.

Vorshud (shud vordys)- in Udmurt myths, an anthropomorphic spirit is the patron of the clan, family. He lives in a prayer house (kuala), where his idol was possibly kept in a special “Vorshud box”; in the kuala they sacrificed animals and birds, bread and pancakes - a treat for Vorshud. The owner who acquired a separate house invited him to his new kuala, organizing a feast on this occasion and transferring a handful of ash - the embodiment of Vorshud - from the hearth of the old kuala to his own; Vorshud's move was accompanied by wedding ceremonies and songs. Vorshud was asked for patronage in all enterprises (especially during illness). He can persecute those who offend Vorshud (including those who converted to Christianity), strangle them at night, send illness, etc. (analogy: Slavic brownie). Vorshud is associated with the cult of ancestors: in some prayers Vorshud was invoked along with the ancestors.

Vukuzyo ("master of water")- in Udmurt myths, the ruler of the water element, an inhabitant of the primordial ocean. In dualistic cosmogonic myths, Vukuzyo (in other versions - Keremet, Lud, Shaitan) is an opponent of the demiurge Inmar, who retrieves earth from the bottom of the ocean. Spoils (spits on) the Alangasar giants created by Inmar, deceiving the dog guarding them. Imitating Inmar's creation - a dog, he creates a goat, then water creatures - woo-murts. Vukuzyo was represented as an old man with a long beard (analogy: Slavic merman).

Vu-murt (Udmurt vu - “water”, murt - “person”)- in Udmurt myths, a water anthropomorphic spirit with long black hair, sometimes in the form of a pike. Created by the “master of water” Vukuzyo. Lives in the depths of large rivers and lakes, but likes to appear in streams and millponds. It can drown people and send diseases, wash away dams, destroy fish, but sometimes it helps people. In the water he has his own house, great wealth and a lot of livestock, a beautiful wife and daughter (analogy: Mansi Vit-kan); Vu-murt weddings are accompanied by floods, etc. Vu-murt appears among people at fairs, where he can be recognized by the wet left field of his caftan (analogy: Slavic waterman), or in the village, at dusk; its appearance portends misfortune. Vu-murt is driven away by banging sticks and axes on the ice. To pay off the vu-murt, animals, birds, and bread are sacrificed to him.

Keremet (/from Chuvash Kiremet/, Lud, Shaitan) - in Udmurt myths, the creator of evil, opposing his virtuous brother Inmar. Prayers to Keremet were performed during epidemics, etc. in sacred groves - keremets (luds), where a special priest tuno sacrificed black animals to the god. Similar ideas about Keremet (and his cult) existed in Mari mythology, where Keremet is the deity of evil, brother and opponent of the demiurge Kugu-yumo. According to the late Mari legend, Keremet detained the Mari elder Bedoya with a conversation when he was going to the god who distributed religions among the peoples of the earth; for this God forced the Mari to worship Keremet .

Yagperi- one of the creations of Vukuzyo, the spirit or creature of the bora, the pine forest. A meeting with him threatened disaster for a man of the earth.

Vozho they live in abandoned huts and bathhouses, where they rule at night, and do not like to be disturbed. In order not to anger them and not to bring trouble upon oneself, a person should not enter a bathhouse or an abandoned building at night.

Kutys - in Udmurt mythology the spirit of disease. Kutys live in ravines, at the sources of streams and rivers; they terrify people and livestock (sometimes with their terrible screams), while remaining invisible, they inflict diseases (mainly skin diseases). It was believed that you could pay him off if you threw pieces of food, rooster feathers, salt, coins into the river and left without looking back.

Kyldysin (Kyldysin-mu, Kylchin) - in Udmurt mythology god. Lives in the sky, from where he rules the universe. In ancient times, he lived on earth among people, loved to appear in the fields of farmers in the form of an old man in white clothes, walk along the boundaries and straighten ears of bread that had fallen on the boundaries (analogy: Russian ideas about Elijah the Prophet). People, consumed by greed, expanded their fields so much that Kyldysin had nowhere to walk; they stopped dressing like Kyldysin, dyeing their clothes blue, and the offended god retired to heaven (according to other versions, underground; analogy: the myth of two Kyldysins - heavenly and underground, Shaitan). People prayed for a long time to God at the sacred birch tree to come down to them again. Finally they begged him to at least appear to them in some other guise. Then Kyldysin appeared on the top of a birch tree in the form of a red squirrel. Udmurt hunters, intending to force God to stay on earth, shot a squirrel, but it, falling, turned into a hazel grouse, and when they shot the hazel grouse, it turned into a black grouse, then into a perch and disappeared into the river (analogy: shamanic myths about transformations). Among the fetishes kept by the Udmurts in a vorshudny box are squirrel skin, birch chips, hazel grouse wing, black grouse feathers and dried fish - the memory of Kyldysin’s last return. He and Inmar are gods of earth and sky; their images sometimes merged, hence Inmar-Kylchin .

Gidmurt (udm. Stable man) - the spirit of the stable and stable in the traditional beliefs of the Udmurts. Gidmurt is an assistant to the brownie (korkamurt), the patron of courtyard buildings, in particular stables and barns, as well as the cattle living there. Gidmurt can treat different horses differently. If he loves a horse, he will comb and braid its mane, and even transfer hay and oats from neighboring horses. Most often, if a gidmurt loves all horses, then he can carry neighbors’ hay and oats into the stable. If a gidmurt dislikes a horse, then he can ride it all night long and exhaust it with heavy loads.

Nylesmurt - owner of the forest . Sometimes he was called Bydzym nunya -“Great grandfather, father. Nyulesmurt is the master of animals (in particular, he decides where each bear should lie in the den), hunters turn to him for help and assistance in the hunt, and well-being depended on Nyulesmurt, sometimes he was even somehow connected with deceased ancestors. Nyulesmurt's road was called the rubble of the forest where a hurricane or tornado passed through, which is why sometimes Nyulesmurt was considered the deity of the wind. Fierce battles took place between the Nyulesmurts and the Vumurts; it was believed that they usually happened at noon, so people were afraid to swim or enter the river at this time.

Ludmurt(udm. Lugovik, Polevik) - in Udmurt mythology, a creature responsible for meadows and fields. Ludmurt appeared in the form of a small man, no taller than a child, dressed in white. He also guarded animals and monitored crops. In the field he is as tall as an ear of corn, in the meadow he is as tall as grass. Ludmurt is one of Nyulesmurt's relatives or is in his retinue. Sometimes Ludmurt was called Mushvozmas (Udm. - guarding bees), when they began to cut out honeycombs (August 1), a duck was sacrificed to him in the apiary.

Palesmoort(Udm. Palesmurt “half-man”) - a character in Udmurt folklore, an evil one-eyed man living in the forest. Popular fairy tale character. It looks like a person dissected lengthwise - with half a head, half a body, one arm and a leg, the insides are visible (according to another version, the second half is there, but “shines through”). Lives in the forest, can appear at the edge of the forest or even approach the fence around the house and go out to the fire. You cannot shout or whistle in the forest - otherwise he may respond and leave the forest. To protect against it, you need to remember the heavenly god Inmar or hide behind a rowan tree. Appears as a harbinger of misfortune. Calls a person by name, can tickle him to death, like Slavic mermaids. He can pick up animals that have gone to pasture, then they weave one bast shoe for him and hang it on a branch in the forest (donate it) so that the animal returns.

Kuaz (Kvaz)- one of the supreme deities in the traditional beliefs of the Udmurts, associated with weather and atmospheric phenomena. Character from fairy tales (“Kvaz’s Favorite”, etc.). He was the giver of rain. Kuaz is the ruler of the space between heaven and earth, that is, the atmosphere and atmospheric phenomena.

Korkamurt (udm. - house person)- brownie in traditional Udmurt beliefs. In appearance, the korkamurt looks like an elderly man in a sheepskin coat with the fur turned outward. There are tales that tell how a korkamurt was caught by a man in the dark, and after the light was turned on, it turned out that the man was holding the sleeve of a fur coat in his hands. In this regard, there is a belief: if you see a korkamurt in the light, then it will have to fulfill all the requests of the person who caught it.

Literature

1. S.Yu. Neklyudov. Mythological dictionary.

2. V. Petrukhin. Myths of the Finno-Ugrians