The second largest in the group of Finno-Ugric peoples is the Udmurts. 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 was formed over many centuries, in the northern part of Udmurtia, Russian dominates, and in the southern - Turkic.
As for the question of what religion the Udmurts practice, there are several branches, most of the people profess the Orthodox faith, but there are those who practice Islam. Moreover, it is worth paying attention 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 northern regions of Udmurtia in the 13th century. However, it was not fully accepted by the local population due to baptismal rituals incomprehensible to them, recitation of rather long and complex prayers, and lack of knowledge of the language of worship. Therefore, a large part of the population for quite a long period of time remained pagans. 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, right up to the defeat of the Kazan Khanate. The Udmurts, who were part of the Volga Bulgaria, felt a special pressure on religion, 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.
Christian development
The first document testifying to the emergence of Christianity in Udmurtia is dated 1557. At that time, 17 families of Udmurtia were baptized immediately and became Orthodox, in response to this, Ivan the Terrible granted them some privileges with a royal letter.
Then, after a little over 100 years, in the territory of Udmurtia there was an attempt to massively involve this people in Orthodoxy. The government of that time decided to build a fairly large number of Orthodox churches in Udmurtia. Missionaries were sent to the settlements, who were engaged in the promotion and construction of not only churches, but also schools.
But it is worth noting that, nevertheless, the pagan religion of the Udmurts firmly entrenched in blood, and for several centuries the Christianization of the population was carried out by tough measures. Many people who worshiped paganism were subjected to repression, their cemeteries and sacred groves were destroyed, and the process of Christianization was very, very slow.
Orthodoxy in the XVIII – XIX centuries
In 1818, the Bible Committee was first opened here, where not only priests from Russia worked, but Udmurt priests were also brought to work. Over the next five years, colossal work was done, the result of which was the translation of the four Gospels.
It is worth noting that the Udmurt population did not resist violently against Orthodoxy, as, for example, it was in Mordovia. Most of the population remained pagans, but the resistance was passive and closed.
During these years, there was a gradual Christianization without serious obstacles and the struggle of the population. However, according to historical data, two anti-Christian communities functioned in Udmurtia.
Fighters against Orthodoxy
In the 19th century, there were two movements in the republic at once, the main idea of which was to set up the local population against Christianity. One of them was a sect - "Vylepirisi". The leaders of this community were priests and magicians, they were intimidating the population and furiously urged everyone to join them. If they do not, then in their life will come a black streak, overwhelmed by troubles.
This new religion of the Udmurts was an opponent of all Russian, and everyone in this community was forbidden to wear red clothes, moreover, it was impossible to have any contact with the Russians.
In the middle of the 19th century, another sect appeared - the Lip-worshipers, which was against all other faiths, including paganism popular among the people. This community did not recognize anything except the use of kumyshka (national vodka) and beer near the sacred linden, and there was also a complete ban on communicating with people of a different faith.
The turning point in religiosity
Thanks to the "Multan case", paganism in Udmurtia declined. In 1892, several young people were charged with human sacrifices. It was then that a large part of the population realized that this type of worship had outlived itself.
Many convinced citizens still believe that this case was falsified by the government of that time, so that the local population finally became Orthodox. But many people changed their minds about faith, and some were still persistent in their beliefs.
In 1917, a rather large number of Russian immigrants lived in the territory of modern Udmurtia. Thanks to this, even more people who were Christians became among the Udmurt people. A very popular personality at that time was Grigory Vereshchagin - a Udmurt priest. Divine services of that time were held in Russian and Udmurt language.
It is worth noting that most of the population of that time was dual-armed. That is, they attended churches, but at the same time combined pagan concepts with the Orthodox. There were not so many true pagan fans at that time. But those who were, became 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. Enoughly educated people and the so-called intelligentsia appear in this place. 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, persecution and annihilation of the local intelligentsia again began in this area. The priests instantly became enemies of the people, and all who fell into the hands of the authorities were repressed.
It was forbidden to hold prayers, village and family shrines were destroyed, sacred groves were cut down. Over the course of many persecutions, the state of the republic became simply deplorable. Colossal indicators of alcoholism among the local population were observed here, the birth rate was lower than that of Russians. In the cities, everything possible was done to Russify them, and the indigenous Udmurts were quite low-skilled specialists.
Such oppression lasted about 50 years, and only with the onset of the 80s did a large number of cultural movements appear in the republic who want to revive their nation. In the restoration of nationality, the search for religion is underway, for several years there has been some uncertainty in the republic, but with the advent of 1989, a wave of Orthodoxy still begins here.
Archbishops of the Republic
At that time, Archbishop Palladium came to the diocese, who began the restoration of Orthodoxy, but was not very active in this difficult matter. After 4 years, the diocese was headed by Archbishop Nicholas, who for several years achieved incredible success.
In just three years, the number of parishioners increased exponentially, educated people began to appear, and 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 Nikolai has established cooperation with local authorities and most of the intelligentsia. The Orthodox religion of the Udmurts of that time was experiencing its best times.
Culture of Udmurtia
As already reported, the culture of this people was formed under the influence of two different factors. Thanks to this, this region has special costumes, traditions and customs.
National costumes
Even 100 years ago, the national costumes of this people were made at home from materials such as sheepskin and cloth. The Udmurt Republic of the northern region wore a white canvas shirt with an embroidered bib (something like a tunic). She was wearing a large robe with a belt.
In the southern part of the republic, national clothes are different. There is also a canvas shirt, but they put on sleeveless jackets or a camisole. Pants should be worn under the shirt. All clothing should be colored, as white was only for special occasions. She could be decorated with embroidery on her arms and chest.
Hats
Women's hats are distinguished by their diversity. These clothes can be used to determine a lot about the owner: age, marital status, status.
Women who are married should wear a yırkerttat, a head towel with rolled up ends. A distinctive feature of such a headgear is that the ends of the towel should go down to the back. Married women can also wear a high birch bark hat with a bedspread, it should be lined with canvas and decorated with coins.
The girls wear a headband - “ukotug”, or canvas hat (it should be small in size).
Udmurtia cuisine
The most common food for 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 the fall and winter. Various vegetables were also popular, they were consumed in almost any form: cheese, 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 due to Eurovision and the performances of “Buranovsky grandmothers” several national recipes came to the world, for example, crosses, which previously could only be tasted on the territory of Udmurtia.
The national drink of this nation was bread and beet kvass, beer and mead. Of course, each nationality has its own national alcoholic drink, while 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 that existed throughout the whole time, they succumbed to persecution and repression, but they never gave up. Currently, the religion of the Udmurts is Orthodoxy, but in the countryside you can still meet a fairly large number of the population, which to this day is pagan.
People with such faith carry out various ritual deeds. So, for example, before every family in the yard was the construction of "kuala". The local population believed that the vorshud lived in it - the patron spirit of the clan. All families sacrificed various foods to him.
On holidays, priests performed various rituals in worshiping the gods in Kuala, and families also participated in them. Carrying out their ritual, the priests asked the gods for good weather, harvest, health, material well-being and much more. After that, a ritual porridge was prepared on the boiler, which was first sacrificed to the gods, and then all the participants of this ritual ate it. This action is quite popular in Udmurtia, and it is believed that every family should ask the spirits for prosperity and sacrifice various gifts to them.
Be sure that in every village there was a sacred grove where several rituals and prayers could be held several times during the year. Visiting it was possible 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 allotted 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 birds or animals were the victims. It is worth noting that in some villages to this day prayer days are held in sacred groves.
Conclusion
Udmurtia is a republic that for a long time went to the formation of Orthodoxy. However, the head of the Udmurt Republic (now Alexander Brechalov is temporarily at this post ) claims that paganism has been reviving recently, according to statistics, today 7% of the population are pagans.
Therefore, the church is trying not to miss what it has sought for centuries, in every possible way seeking to protect modern youth from old beliefs. The head of the Udmurt Republic also said that such a trend is not observed in cities, and paganism is reviving only in small settlements.