The unique language and unusual origin of the Chuvash. Chuvash people

- the name of the ethnic group inhabiting the Chuvash Republic with its capital in the city of Cheboksary, located in the European part of Russia. The number of Chuvash in the world is just over one and a half million people, of which 1 million 435 thousand live in Russia.

There are 3 ethnographic groups, namely: the upper Chuvash, inhabiting the north-west of the republic, the middle-low Chuvash, living in the north-east and the southern lower Chuvash. Some researchers also talk about a special subgroup of the steppe Chuvash living in the southeast of Chuvashia and in the neighboring areas.
The Chuvash people were first mentioned in written sources in the 16th century.

In the scientific community, the origin of the Chuvash is still controversial, but most scientists agree that they, as well as the modern Kazan Tatars, are essentially the heirs of the Volga Bulgaria and its culture. The ancestors of the Chuvash are called the tribes of the Volga Finns, who mixed in the seventh and eighth centuries with the tribes of the Turks who moved to the Volga from the steppes of the Azov region. During the time of Ivan the Terrible, the ancestors of modern Chuvash were part of the population of the Kazan Khanate, without losing, however, some isolation and independence.

Origin of the ethnic group

The origin of the Chuvash, which is based on a mixture of ethnic groups, was reflected in the appearance of the people: almost all of its representatives can be divided into Caucasians with blond hair and dark-skinned, dark-haired Mongoloids. The former are characterized by light brown hair, gray or blue eyes and fair skin, wide faces and a neat nose, while they are somewhat darker than Europeans. Distinctive features second group: narrow dark brown eyes, weakly defined cheekbones and a depressed nose. Facial features characteristic of both types: low bridge of the nose, narrowed eyes, small mouth.

The Chuvash have their own national language, which, along with Russian, is the official language of Chuvashia. The Chuvash language is recognized as the only living Turkic language of the Bulgar group. It has three dialects: high (it is also called “okayushchiy”), middle-low, and also low (“ukaya”). In the mid-nineteenth century, the enlightener Ivan Yakovlev gave the Chuvash people an alphabet based on the Cyrillic alphabet. The Chuvash language is studied in schools of the Chechen Republic and its universities, local radio and television programs are broadcast in it, magazines and newspapers are published.

Religious affiliation

Most Chuvash profess Orthodoxy; the second most important religion is Islam. However, traditional beliefs have a great influence on the formation of worldviews. Based on Chuvash mythology, there are three worlds: upper, middle and lower. The upper world is the abode of the supreme deity, and here are the immaculate souls and the souls of unborn babies. The middle world is the world of people. After death, the soul of the righteous passes first to the rainbow, and then to the upper world. Sinners are cast down into the lower world, where the souls of the wicked are boiled. The earth, according to Chuvash myths, is square and the Chuvash live in its very center. The "sacred tree" supports the firmament in the middle, while at the corners of the earth's square it rests on gold, silver, copper, and also stone pillars. Around the earth there is an ocean, the waves of which constantly destroy the land. When the destruction reaches the territory of the Chuvash, the end of the world will come. Animism (the belief in the animation of nature) and the worship of the spirits of ancestors were also popular.

The Chuvash national costume is distinguished by an abundance of decorative elements. Chuvash men wear a canvas shirt, trousers and a headdress; in the cold season, a caftan and a sheep's coat are added. On your feet, depending on the season, are felt boots, boots or bast shoes. Chuvash women wear shirts with breast medallions, wide Tatar trousers, and an apron with a bib. Women's headdresses are of particular importance: tukhya for unmarried girls and hushpu - an indicator of married status. They are generously embroidered with beads and coins. All clothing is decorated with embroidery, which serves not only as a decoration for the outfit, but also as a carrier of sacred information about the creation of the world, symbolically depicting the tree of life, eight-pointed stars and flowers. Each ethnographic group has its own favorite colors. Thus, southerners have always preferred bright colors, and northwesterners love light fabrics; Chuvash men of the lower and middle groups traditionally wear onuchi white, and representatives of the upper groups prefer black ones.

Chuvash traditions

The ancient traditions of the Chuvash have been preserved to this day. One of the most colorful rituals is a wedding. In traditional Chuvash wedding ceremony there are no official representatives of the cult (priests, shamans) or authorities. Guests witness the creation of a family. According to the canons, the bride should be about 5-8 years older than her husband. The concept of divorce does not exist in traditional Chuvash culture. After the wedding, lovers should be together for the rest of their lives. Funerals are considered an equally important rite: on this occasion, a ram or a bull is slaughtered and more than 40 people are invited to a richly laid funeral table. The holiday for many representatives of this people is still Friday, the day when they put on their best clothes and do not work.

In general, the traditions of the Chuvash emphasize the most characteristic features of the people - respect for parents, relatives and neighbors, as well as peacefulness and modesty. The very name of the ethnic group in most neighboring languages ​​means “calm”, “quiet”, which fully corresponds to its mentality.

Chuvash ( self-name - chăvash, chăvashsem) - the fifth largest people in Russia. According to the 2010 census, 1 million 435 thousand Chuvash live in the country. Their origin, history and peculiar language are considered very ancient.

According to scientists, the roots of this people are found in the ancient ethnic groups of Altai, China, and Central Asia. The closest ancestors of the Chuvash are considered to be the Bulgars, whose tribes inhabited a vast territory from the Black Sea region to the Urals. After the defeat of the Volga Bulgaria state (14th century) and the fall of Kazan, part of the Chuvash settled in the forest regions between the Sura, Sviyaga, Volga and Kama rivers, mixing there with Finno-Ugric tribes.

The Chuvash are divided into two main sub-ethnic groups according to the course of the Volga: riding (Viryal, Turi) in the west and north-west of Chuvashia, grassroots(anatari) - in the south, besides them in the center of the republic there is a group middle grassroots (anat enchi). In the past, these groups differed in their way of life and material culture. Now the differences are becoming more and more smoothed out.

The self-name of the Chuvash, according to one version, directly goes back to the ethnonym of a part of the “Bulgar-speaking” Turks: *čōš → čowaš/čuwaš → čovaš/čuvaš. In particular, the name of the Savir tribe ("Suvar", "Suvaz" or "Suas"), mentioned by Arab authors of the 10th century (Ibn Fadlan), is considered by many researchers to be a Turkic adaptation of the Bulgarian name "Suvar".

In Russian sources, the ethnonym “Chuvash” first appears in 1508. In the 16th century, the Chuvash became part of Russia, and at the beginning of the 20th century they received autonomy: since 1920, the Autonomous Region, since 1925 - the Chuvash Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Since 1991, the Republic of Chuvashia has been part of Russian Federation. The capital of the republic is Cheboksary.

Where do the Chuvash live and what language do they speak?

The bulk of the Chuvash (814.5 thousand people, 67.7% of the region’s population) live in the Chuvash Republic. It is located in the east of the East European Plain, mainly on the right bank of the Volga, between its tributaries Sura and Sviyaga. In the west, the republic borders with the Nizhny Novgorod region, in the north - with the Republic of Mari El, in the east - with Tatarstan, in the south - with the Ulyanovsk region, in the southwest - with the Republic of Mordovia. Chuvashia is part of the Volga Federal District.

Outside the republic, a significant part of the Chuvash live compactly in Tatarstan(116.3 thousand people), Bashkortostan(107.5 thousand), Ulyanovskaya(95 thousand people) and Samara(84.1 thousand) regions, in Siberia. A small part is outside the Russian Federation,

The Chuvash language belongs to Bulgarian group of the Turkic language family and represents the only living language of this group. In the Chuvash language, there is a high ("pointing") and a lower ("pointing") dialect. On the basis of the latter, a literary language was formed. The earliest was the Turkic runic alphabet, replaced in the X-XV centuries. Arabic, and in 1769-1871 - Russian Cyrillic, to which special characters were then added.

Features of the appearance of the Chuvash

From an anthropological point of view, most Chuvash belong to the Caucasian type with a certain degree of Mongoloidity. Judging by research materials, Mongoloid features dominate in 10.3% of the Chuvash. Moreover, about 3.5% of them are relatively pure Mongoloids, 63.5% belong to mixed Mongoloid-European types with a predominance of Caucasoid features, 21.1% represent various Caucasoid types, both dark-colored and fair-haired and light-eyed, and 5.1 % belong to the sublaponoid type, with weakly expressed Mongoloid characteristics.

From a genetic point of view, the Chuvash are also an example of a mixed race - 18% of them carry the Slavic haplogroup R1a1, another 18% carry the Finno-Ugric N, and 12% carry the Western European R1b. 6% have the Jewish haplogroup J, most likely from the Khazars. The relative majority - 24% - bears haplogroup I, characteristic of northern Europe.

Elena Zaitseva

The Chuvash folk religion refers to the pre-Orthodox Chuvash faith. But there is no clear understanding of this faith. Just as the Chuvash people are not homogeneous, the Chuvash pre-Orthodox religion is also heterogeneous. Some Chuvash believed in Thor and still do. This is a monotheistic faith. There is only one Torah, but in the Torah belief there is Keremet. Keremet- This is a relic of the pagan religion. The same pagan relic in the Christian world as the celebration of the New Year and Maslenitsa. Among the Chuvash, keremet was not a god, but an image of evil and dark forces, to which sacrifices were made so that they would not touch people. Keremet when literally translated it means “faith in (god) Ker.” Ker (name of god) to have (faith, dream).

Perhaps some believe in Tengrism; what it is is not entirely clear. Tengriism, in Chuvash tanker, actually means ten(faith) ker(name of god), i.e. “faith in the god Ker.”

There was also a pagan religion with many gods. Moreover, each settlement and city had its own main god. Villages, cities, and peoples were named after these gods. Chuvash - sounds Chuvash Syavash (Sav-As literally means “aces (god) Sav”), Bulgars - in Chuvash pulhar ( pulekh-ar- literally means “people (of God) pulekh”), Rus - Re-ace(literally means “aces (god) Ra”), etc. In the Chuvash language, in myths, there are references to pagan gods - Anu, Ada, Ker, Savni, Syatra, Merdek, Tora, Ur, Asladi, Sav, Puleh, etc. These pagan gods are identical with the gods ancient Greece, Babylonia or Rus'. For example, the Chuvash god Anu (Babylonian -Anu), Chuv. Ada (Babylon. - Adad), Chuv. Torah (Babylon. - Ishtor (Ash-Torah), Chuv. Merdek (Babylon. Merdek), Chuv. Savni (Babylon. Savni), Chuv. Sav (Greek Zeus -Sav- as, Russian Savushka).

Many names of rivers, cities and villages are named after gods. For example, the Adal (Volga) River ( Ada-ilu means the god of Hell), the river Syaval (Civil) ( Sav –ilu- god Sav), river Savaka (Sviyaga) ( Sav-aka- meadows of the god Sav), the village of Morkash (Morgaushi) ( Merdek-ash- god Merdek), city of Shupashkar (Cheboksary) ( Shup-ash-kar- the city of the god Shup), the village of Syatrakassi (street (of the god) Syatra) and much more. All Chuvash life is permeated with relics of pagan religious culture. Today we do not think about religious culture, and religion in life modern man does not take first place. But to understand ourselves, we must understand the people's religion, and this is impossible without restoring the history of the people. In my small homeland (the village of Tuppai Esmele, Mariinsky Posad district), Orthodoxy was forcibly adopted in the mid-18th century, which led to a decrease in the village population by 40%. The Chuvash have always been adherents of their antiquity and did not accept the forced imposition of another culture and religion.

An examination of folk religion shows a layering of three types of religions:

• Monotheistic belief in the god Thor.
• An ancient pagan faith with many gods - Sav, Ker, Anu, Ada, Pulekh.
• Monotheistic faith Tengrinism is a belief in the god Tenker, nothing more than a belief in the god Ker, which is possibly the result of the development of a pagan religion with its transformation into a monotheistic one with the god Ker.

IN different parts In Chuvashia and the Russian Federation there are relics of these types of religion, respectively, rituals differ and there is cultural diversity. Moreover, this diversity is also accompanied by linguistic diversity. Thus, there is evidence to suggest that this diversity is due to the influence different cultures or peoples. But as shown historical analysis that this assumption is incorrect. In fact, such diversity is due to the fact that in ethnogenesis Chuvash people Only one culture, one people participated, but different tribes of this people, who went through different historical paths.

The ancestors of the Chuvash are the Amorites, the biblical people; three or four waves of migration of the Amorites in different eras settled on the middle Volga, following different historical paths of development. To understand the history of the Chuvash, it is necessary to trace the history of the Amorites from the 40th century BC. to 10th century AD In the 40th century BC. our ancestors, the Amorites, lived in the territory of western Syria, from there, for almost 5 thousand years, the Amorites settled throughout the world, spreading their pagan faith and culture, which was the most progressive at that time. The Amorite language is considered a dead language. Until the beginning of AD. On the vast Eurasian continent, two main religions dominated - Celto-Druid and pagan. The bearers of the first were the Celts, the bearers of the second were the Amorites. The border of the spread of these religions ran along Central Europe- the Druids dominated in the West, in the East up to the Pacific and Indian Ocean- pagans.

Modern Chuvash culture and language are the result of thousands of years of history of the Amorite people, whose descendants are the Chuvash people. The history of the Chuvash is very complex and varied. There are many hypotheses and theories of the origin of the Chuvash, which at first glance are contradictory. All historians agree that the ancestors of the Chuvash were Savirs (Suvaz, Suvars). Many historical documents speak about this people, but geographically they are located in all parts of the Eurasian continent - from the Barents Sea to the Indian Ocean, from the Atlantic to Pacific Oceans. Modern Russian spelling the name of the Chuvash people, and the self-name of the people is Syavash, which consists of two parts Sav and Ash. The first part denotes the name of the god, the second part denotes the type of people - the Ases. (You can read in detail about the aces in the Scandinavian epic). In the Chuvash language the sound is often With is replaced by w. Thus, the Chuvash always considered themselves subjects of the god Sav, or the Chuvash can be called Sav aces. Often these myths mentioned words that were not used in ordinary life. Coming home, I asked my father the meaning of these words and why they are not used now. For example, rotatkan, as the father explained, this is an old Chuvash word for squirrel; in the modern Chuvash language the word paksha is used. Spanekappi was originally from the Chuvash from the Mari Trans-Volga region, where ancient Chuvash words and pagan myths were probably preserved. For example, the ancient Chuvash word meshkene, means slave, also not found in modern language, but was used in ancient Babylon and is also an Amorite word. I did not come across this word in conversation, but heard it only from the lips of Spanecappi.

Spanekappi told myths about a world tree with two peaks, an owl sits on one peak, an eagle sits on the other, how there is a sacred spring at the roots of this tree, running along the branches rotatkan, and gnaws the leaves pumpkin. The top of the tree touches the sky. (In our village on Cape Tanomash there is such a tree, a sacred spring flows at the roots.) God lives in the sky Anu, people, animals live on the earth, and reptiles live underground. This myth is very similar to the Scandinavian epic. It's also called a squirrel rotatkan. World tree - ash ikktorsil, if translated from the Chuvash language, this literally means two-vertex.

Spanecappi told me about the hero Chemen. Having matured, I began to look for the historical prototype of the hero Chemen and came to the conclusion that this was the commander Semen, in whose honor the city of Semender was named.

Spanecappi told about a hero (I don’t remember his name), who performed feats, traveled to the underworld, where he fought and defeated various monsters, traveled to the heavenly world to the gods and competed with them. I remembered all these myths several decades later, when I read about the exploits of Gilgamesh from Mesopotamian mythology, they were so similar.

But I always had a question to which I could not find an answer, why the Chuvash do not have a full-fledged pagan epic. Studying historical material and reflection led me to the conclusion that this is the result of the complex history of the people. The tales, myths and legends that Spanecappi told us as a child were much richer than those recorded and printed in books. But these myths are characteristic only of the Chuvash of the Mari Trans-Volga region, who differed from the rest of the Chuvash, both in mythology, language, and appearance- fair-haired and tall.

Attempts to understand, reflection and study of historical material allowed me to come to certain conclusions, which I want to present here.

The modern Chuvash language contains a large number of Turkic words from the Bulgarian language. In the Chuvash language, there are often two parallel words that have the same meaning - one from Turkic, the other from ancient Chuvash. For example, the word potato is denoted by two words - sier ulmi (Chuv) and paranka (Turks), cemetery - syava (Chuv) and masar (Turks). The appearance of a large number of Turkic words is due to the fact that when the Bulgars accepted Islam, part of the Bulgars refused to convert to Islam and remained in the old religion, and mixed with the pagan Chuvash.

Many researchers classify the Chuvash language as a Turkic language group, but I do not agree with this. If the Chuvash language is purified from the Bulgar component, then we will get the ancient Chuvash language, which turns out to be an Amorite language.

Here I want to give my point of view about the history of the Chuvash, which begins in the 40th century BC. In the 40th century BC. The ancestors of the Chuvash Amorites lived in the territory of modern western Syria. (Remember the mention of frescoes in Syria). From the 40th century BC. Amorite tribes begin to intensively settle throughout the world. There is information about the migration of the Amorites in the 40th century BC. to the west, to northern Africa, where they, together with the Luwian tribes, participated in the formation of the first Egyptian kingdoms.

In the 30th century BC. the following Amorian tribes called Carians(the main god of the Ker tribe) invaded the Mediterranean, settled the Mediterranean islands, part of the Balkan Peninsula and the Etruscan tribe (Ada-ar-as - means the people of the god Hell) - part of modern Italy. There are common elements of the culture of the Etruscans and the Caucasian Savirs. For example, the Etruscans have a ritual battle of warriors (gladiators) over the grave of the deceased, and the Savirs have a ritual battle of relatives with swords over the deceased.

In the 16th century BC. next Amorite tribe Thorians(who are called the Northern Greek tribe, the main god is Thor) invaded the north of the Balkan Peninsula. All these tribes, together with the Indo-European tribes (Pelasgians, Achaeans), participated in the creation of the Cretan, Greek and Roman civilizations with pagan religion and culture. Scientists are still struggling with the solution to Cretan writing. Last year, Americans came to the conclusion that Cretan writing is a variety of Greek. But in fact it is one of the varieties of Amorite writing and is written in the Amorite language.

Between the 30th and 28th centuries BC. The Amorite tribes migrated east, passed through Mesopotamia without stopping, where there was a strong Sumerian state, moved further east and reached northwestern China. Arriving in the Tufyan depression, they created the civilization of the Turfyan chamois (Turkhan Sier) and settled Tibet. These same Amorites captured the entire territory of China, created the first Chinese state and the first royal dynasty in China, ruled for about 700 years, but were then overthrown. The Amorites who arrived differed in appearance from the Chinese - tall, fair-haired. Subsequently, the Chinese, having come to power, decided to crowd out memories of the rule of the aliens from their memory; it was decided to destroy all references to the rule of the Amorites. Already in later times in the 14th century BC. The Amorites were forced to leave the Turfian depression. Due to tectonic movements (new mountain building), the appearance of northwestern China changed, and the depressions were flooded. The Amorites migrated to the north - to Siberia, to the West - to Altai, and to the south. Centuries later, after the cessation of tectonic movements, the Amorites again populated northwestern China and already at the beginning of our era came to Europe as part of a union of tribes called the Huns, main role the Savirs occupied this union. The Huns brought faith - Tengrism, which is the development of the pagan religion of the Amorites and its transformation into a monotheistic one, where there was one god Tenker (Tenker - from Chuvash means god Ker). Only part of the Savirs settled in the middle Volga, where the Amorites of the first wave of migration, who came from Mesopotamia, already lived; part went to Western Europe.

In the 20th century BC. a more powerful flow of Amorite migration was again directed to the east. Under the pressure of this migration, the weakened Sumerian-Akkadian state fell. Arriving in Mesopotamia, the Amorites created their own state with Babylon as its capital. Before the arrival of the Amorites, there was only a small village on the site of Babylon. But the Amorites did not destroy the Sumerian-Akkadian cultural heritage; as a result of the synthesis of the Sumerian-Acadian and Amorite cultures, a new one emerged - the Babylonian culture. The first Amorite kings took Akkadian names for themselves. Only the fifth Amorite king took the Amorite name - Hamurappi, which is translated from Chuvash as “elder of our people.” Writing and correspondence were conducted in Akkadian, a language related to Amorite. Therefore, practically no documents in the Amorite language have survived. The modern Chuvash language and culture have a lot in common with the Amorite culture and the language of Babylonia from the 20th to the 10th centuries BC. In the 10th century BC. The Amorites were driven out of Mesopotamia by the more warlike Aramean tribes. The departure of the Amorites from Mesopotamia was associated with a change in the culture and economic structure of this region, a change in diet, etc. For example, the Amorites brewed beer, with their departure brewing was replaced by winemaking.

The Amorites went north - they populated the territory of the Caucasus and further to the north of the European Plain and to the east - the Iranian Plateau. On European plain The Amorites are mentioned by Herodotus (5th century BC) under the name Sauromats (sav-ar-emet), which literally translated from Chuvash means “the people who believe in (the god) Sav.” Emet in the Chuvash language means dream, faith. It was the Sauromats, from my point of view, who made up the first wave of migrants, our ancestors, who settled on the Volga. The Sauromatians were pagans; the Sauromatians settled over a vast Eurasian territory. It was they who brought to the Eurasian territory the names of rivers, mountains, and places, the meaning of which is now unclear. But they are understandable from the Amorite language. Moscow (Me-as-kekeek – from Amorite “homeland of the Ases (god) Me, kevek -homeland)”, Dnieper (te en-eper – “road of the country (god) Te”, eper - road), Oder, Vistula, Tsivil, Sviyaga, etc. The Amorite name is Kremlin (Ker-am-el from Amorean “sacred land (of god) Ker”), the Slavic name of the fortress is Detinets. The Chuvash of the Mari Trans-Volga region, who are different from the rest of the Chuvash, may not have mixed with the Amorites of the later migration to the Volga (Huns and Savirs) from other regions.

It is with this stream of Amorite migrants (Sauromats) that paganism is associated in the Chuvash culture, but it was forced out of life by the Amorites of later and numerous migration streams. Therefore, I learned Chuvash pagan mythology only from the lips of Spanecappi, who was from the Chuvash Mari Trans-Volga region, where the influence of later Amorite migrants had no effect.

The next wave of Amorite migrants who came to the Volga were the Huns, some of whom settled in the territory of related tribes, brought Tengrism, and some went west. For example, a tribe called the Suevi, led by the leader Cheges, went west and settled in the south of France and Spain; the Suevi later participated in the ethnogenesis of the French and Spaniards. It was they who brought the name Sivilya (Sav-il, means the god Sav).

The next wave of Amorite migration was the resettlement of the Savirs, who lived in the northern Caucasus. Many people identify the Caucasian Savirs as the Hunnic Savirs, but they probably settled in the Caucasus when they were forced out of Mesopotamia back in the 10th century BC. By the time of the resettlement, the Savirs had already abandoned the pagan religion and adopted Christianity. The Savir princess Chechek (flower) became a wife Byzantine Emperor Isaurian V, adopted Christianity and the name Irina. Later, after the death of the emperor, she became empress and actively took part in the canonization of Orthodoxy. In the Caucasus (Chuvash name Aramazi), the Savirs converted to Christianity in 682. The adoption of Christianity was forced, the king of all Savir Elteber (in Chuvash this title sounded yaltyvar, literally from Chuvsh means “to carry out customs”) Alp Ilitver cut down sacred trees and groves, destroyed idols, executed all the priests, and made crosses from the wood of sacred trees. But the Savirs did not want to convert to Christianity. The disunited Savirs, with the adoption of a new religion, could not resist the Arab invasion after 24 goals in 706. Before the adoption of Christianity, the Savirs were a very warlike people, constantly participating in wars with the Arabs and Persians and emerging victorious. The basis of the belligerence and courage of the Savirs was their religion, according to which the Savirs were not afraid of death, only warriors who died in battle with enemies went to heaven in the divine country. With the adoption of Christianity, the psychology and ideology of the people changed. A similar process occurred with the Norwegians and Swedes (Vikings) after the adoption of Christianity.

The Arabs marched through the country of the Savirs with sword and fire, destroying everything, especially destroying the Christian faith. The Savirs were forced to go north, settling from the Dnieper to the Volga and further to the Aral Sea. And within a decade, these Savirs created a new state - Great Khazaria, which occupied the territory of settlement of the Caucasian Savirs, Hunnic Savirs and their allies (Magyars). In the 9th century, a military coup took place in Khazaria, the military and the Jews came to power, and Judaism became the state religion. After this, the state of Khazaria became an alien and hostile state for the Savirs, and civil war. The Oguzes were called in to maintain power. Without the support of the population, Khazaria did not exist for long.

The invasion of the Arabs led to the Savirs moving away from the pagan religion due to the destruction of the priests who were in charge of the customs, but the new Christian religion did not have time to gain a foothold among the people and took the form of a monotheistic religion of faith in the Torah. The last wave of migration was the most numerous. The resettlement of the Savirs from the Caucasus (from the Aramazi Mountains - translated from Chuvash as - “land (am) of the people (ar) ases (az)”) is spoken of in myths. In the myth, the Chuvash hastily left their place of residence along the Azamat Bridge, which rested at one end on the Aramazi Mountains and at the other on the banks of the Volga. The Savirs, having migrated with their still unsettled religion, forgot about Christ, but moved away from the pagan religion. Therefore, the Chuvash practically do not have a full-fledged pagan mythology. The pagan myths told by Spanecappi were probably introduced by the Amorites of the first wave of migration (Sauromatians), and were preserved only in inaccessible areas, such as the Mari Trans-Volga region.

As a result of the mixing of three streams of descendants of the Amorites and synthesis, they received the pre-Orthodox faith of the Chuvash. As a result of the synthesis of three waves of migration of the descendants of the Amorites (Sauromatians, Savirs, Huns), we have a variety of language, differences in appearance, and culture. The predominance of the last wave of migration over others led to the fact that paganism and Tengrism were practically forced out. Savirs from the Caucasus migrated not only to the Volga, a large group migrated and settled on the vast territory of modern Kyiv, Kharkov, Bryansk, Kursk regions, where they created their own cities and principalities (for example, the principality of Novgorod of Siversky). They, together with the Slavs, participated in the ethnogenesis of Russians and Ukrainians. Back in the 17th century AD, they were mentioned under the name of stellate sturgeon. The Russian cities of Tmutarakan, Belaya Vezha (translated literally from Chuvash as “the land of (god) Bel”), Novgorod Siversky were Savir cities.

There was another wave of Amorite migration, at the turn of two eras. This wave may not have led to the settlement of the Amorites on the Volga. The Amorites went far to the north of the European continent - to the north of Russia and to Scandinavia under the name Svear, partly from Scandinavia they were forced out by the Germanic tribes of the Goths, who crossed to the continental part of Europe in the 3rd century AD. created the state of Germanrich, which later fell under the onslaught of the Huns (Savirs). The Svears with the remaining Germanic tribes participated in the ethnogenesis of the Swedes and Norwegians, and the Svears on the European territory of Russia, together with the Finno-Ugrians and Slavs, participated in the ethnogenesis of the Russian people of the north, in the formation of the Novgorod principality. The Chuvash call the Russians “roslo,” which literally means “mountain aces” (along the upper reaches of the Volga), and the Chuvash call themselves “aces” who believe in the god Sav. It was the participation of the Savirs in the ethnogenesis of the Russian people that brought many Chuvash words into the Russian language - top (Russian) - vir (Chuv.), lepota (Russian) - lep (Chuv.), pervy (Russian) - perre (Chuv.) , table (Russian) - setel (Chuv.), cat (Russian) - sash (Chuv.), city (Russian) - map (Chuv.), cell (Russian) - keel (Chuv.), bull ( Russian) - upkor (Chuv.), edge (Russian) - upashka (Chuv.), honey mushroom (Russian) - uplyanka (Chuv.), thief (Russian) - voro (Chuv.), prey (Russian) ) - tuposh (Chuv.), cabbage (Russian) - kuposta (Chuv.), father (Russian) - atte (Chuv.), kush (Russian) - kushar (Chuv.), etc.

It is necessary to note the invasion of the Amorites from the Iranian plateau into India. This invasion occurred in the 16th-15th century BC. The invasion may have taken place in conjunction with Indo-European peoples and is referred to in history as the Aryan Invasion. With the arrival of the Amorites, the weakened Harappan state fell and the newcomers created their own state. The Amorites brought a new religion and culture to India. In the Mahabharata there is an early mention of the Savirs together with the Sindhis. In ancient times, the territory of the Sinds was known as Sovira. In the ancient Vedas there are many words similar to Chuvash, but modified. (For example, how the name of the city Shupashkar was modified in the Russian spelling of Cheboksary). The sacred pillar is called yupa, among the Chuvash it is also called yupa. The fifth book of the Vedas about biography is Puran (Puran from Chuvash - life), the book of the Vedas Atharva about treatment from Chuvash means (Ut - horvi, from Chuvash - protection of the body), another book of the Vedas is Yajur (yat-sor - earthly name).

Chuvash are one of the most numerous nationalities living on the territory of the Russian Federation. Of the approximately 1.5 million people, more than 70% are settled on the territory of the Chuvash Republic, the rest in neighboring regions. Within the group there is a division into upper (viryal) and lower (anatri) Chuvash, differing in traditions, customs and dialect. The capital of the republic is the city of Cheboksary.

History of appearance

The first mention of the name Chuvash appears in the 16th century. However, numerous studies indicate that the Chuvash people are direct descendants of the inhabitants ancient state Volga Bulgaria, which existed on the territory of the middle Volga in the period from the 10th to the 13th centuries. Scientists also find traces of Chuvash culture dating back to the beginning of our era on the Black Sea coast and in the foothills of the Caucasus.

The data obtained indicate the movement of the ancestors of the Chuvash during the Great Migration of Peoples to the territory of the Volga region occupied at that time by Finno-Ugric tribes. Written sources have not preserved information about the date of appearance of the first Bulgarian public education. The earliest mention of the existence of Great Bulgaria dates back to 632. In the 7th century, after the collapse of the state, part of the tribes moved to the northeast, where they soon settled near the Kama and the middle Volga. In the 10th century, Volga Bulgaria was a fairly strong state, the exact borders of which are unknown. The population was at least 1-1.5 million people and was a multinational mixture, where, along with the Bulgarians, Slavs, Maris, Mordovians, Armenians and many other nationalities also lived.

The Bulgarian tribes are characterized primarily as peaceful nomads and farmers, but during their almost four hundred year history they had to periodically encounter conflicts with the armies of the Slavs, the Khazar tribes and the Mongols. In 1236, the Mongol invasion completely destroyed the Bulgarian state. Later, the Chuvash and Tatar peoples were able to partially recover, forming the Kazan Khanate. The final inclusion into the Russian lands occurred as a result of the campaign of Ivan the Terrible in 1552. Being in actual subordination to Tatar Kazan, and then to Rus', the Chuvash were able to maintain their ethnic isolation, unique language and customs. In the period from the 16th to the 17th centuries, the Chuvash, being predominantly peasants, participated in the popular uprisings that swept the Russian Empire. In the 20th century, the lands occupied by these people received autonomy and became part of the RSFSR in the form of a republic.

Religion and customs

Modern Chuvash are Orthodox Christians; only in exceptional cases are there Muslims among them. Traditional beliefs represent a unique type of paganism, where the supreme god Tour, who patronized the sky, stands out against the background of polytheism. From the point of view of the structure of the world, national beliefs were initially close to Christianity, so even close proximity to the Tatars did not affect the spread of Islam.

The worship of the forces of nature and their deification led to the emergence of a large number of religious customs, traditions and holidays associated with the cult of the tree of life, the change of seasons (Surkhuri, Savarni), sowing (Akatuy and Simek) and harvesting. Many of the festivities remained unchanged or were mixed with Christian celebrations, and are therefore celebrated to this day. A striking example of the preservation of ancient traditions is the Chuvash wedding, which is still worn today. national costumes and perform complex rituals.

Appearance and folk costume

The external Caucasian type with some features of the Mongoloid race of the Chuvash is not much different from the inhabitants of central Russia. General features Faces are considered to have a straight, neat nose with a low bridge, a rounded face with pronounced cheekbones and a small mouth. The color type varies from light-eyed and fair-haired to dark-haired and brown-eyed. The height of most Chuvash people does not exceed the average.

The national costume is generally similar to the clothing of the peoples of the middle zone. The basis of a woman’s outfit is an embroidered shirt, complemented by a robe, apron and belts. A headdress (tukhya or hushpu) and jewelry generously decorated with coins are required. The men's suit was as simple as possible and consisted of a shirt, pants and a belt. Shoes were onuchi, bast shoes and boots. Classic Chuvash embroidery is a geometric pattern and a symbolic image of the tree of life.

Language and writing

The Chuvash language belongs to the Turkic linguistic group and is considered the only surviving language of the Bulgar branch. Within the nationality, it is divided into two dialects, distinguished depending on the territory of residence of its speakers.

It is believed that in ancient times the Chuvash language had its own runic writing. Modern alphabet was created in 1873 thanks to the efforts of the famous educator and teacher I.Ya. Yakovleva. Along with the Cyrillic alphabet, the alphabet contains several unique letters that reflect the phonetic differences between languages. The Chuvash language is considered the second official language after Russian, is included in the compulsory educational program in the republic and is actively used by the local population.

Remarkable

1. The main values ​​that determined the way of life were hard work and modesty.
2. The non-conflict nature of the Chuvash is reflected in the fact that in the language of neighboring peoples its name is translated or associated with the words “quiet” and “calm.”
3. The second wife of Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky was the Chuvash princess Bolgarbi.
4. The bride's value was determined not by her appearance, but by her hard work and the number of skills, so her attractiveness only grew with age.
5. Traditionally, upon marriage, the wife had to be several years older than her husband. Raising a young husband was one of the woman's responsibilities. Husband and wife had equal rights.
6. Despite the worship of fire, the ancient pagan religion of the Chuvash did not provide for sacrifices.

The Chuvash are a unique people who have been able to carry their authenticity through the centuries. It is the fifth largest nation in Russia, most of whose representatives speak the Chuvash language - the only living one of the extinct Bulgar group. They are considered the descendants of the ancient Sumerians and Huns, however modern history The Chuvash gave a lot. At a minimum, the homeland of the symbol of the revolution Vasily Ivanovich Chapaev.

Where do they live?

More than half of the representatives of the Chuvash people - 67.7%, live on the territory of the Chuvash Republic. It is a subject of the Russian Federation and is located on the territory of the Volga Federal District. The republic borders on the Ulyanovsk and Nizhny Novgorod regions, Tatarstan, Mordovia and the Republic of Mari El. The capital of the Chuvash Republic is the city of Cheboksary.

Outside the Republic, the Chuvash live mainly in neighboring regions and in Siberia, a small part - outside the Russian Federation. One of the largest Chuvash diasporas in Ukraine - about 10 thousand people. In addition, representatives of the nationality live in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
There are three ethnographic groups on the territory of the Republic of Chuvashia. Among them:

1. Horse Chuvash. They live in the northwestern part of the region, have local names turi or virial.
2. Middle-bottom Chuvash. Their location is the northeast of the Republic, dialect name anat enchi.
3. Grassroots Chuvash. They live in the southern part of the region, in the Chuvash language they have the name anatri.

Number

The Chuvash are the fifth largest ethnic group in Russia: about 1,400,000, according to the 2010 census. Of these, more than 814 thousand people live on the territory of the Chuvash Republic. About 400 thousand Chuvash are located in neighboring regions: Bashkortostan - 107.5 thousand, Tatarstan - 116.3 thousand, Samara - 84.1 thousand and Ulyanovsk - 95 thousand regions.
It is worth noting that the number of Chuvash by 2010 decreased by 14% compared to the 2002 census. Negative dynamics brought this indicator to the level of 1995, which ethnographers perceive as a negative result of assimilation.

Name

The main version of the origin of the name is associated with the ancient tribe “Suvars” or “Suvazy”. It was first mentioned in the 10th century in the memoirs of the traveler of Arab origin Ibn Fadlan. The author wrote about a tribe that was part of the Volga Bulgaria and refused to convert to Islam. Some researchers believe that it was the Suvars who became the ancestors of the Chuvash, who went to the upper reaches of the Volga in order to avoid the imposition of an alien religion.

In chronicles, this name was first mentioned only in the 16th-17th centuries, during the period of the Chuvash Daruga joining the Russian state after the fall of the Kazan Khanate. One of the earliest evidence is the description of the mountain Cheremis (modern Mari) and Chuvash by Andrei Kurbsky, who spoke about the campaign against Kazan in 1552.
The self-name of the people is Chavash, which is considered the traditional definition of nationality. The name of the nationality in other languages ​​is similar in sound: “chuash” and “chuvazh” - among the Mordovians and Tatars, “syuash” - among the Kazakhs and Bashkirs.
Some researchers believe that the roots of the name and the people go back to the ancient Sumerians, but geneticists have not found confirmation of this theory. Another version is associated with the Turkic word javas, which means “peaceful, friendly.” By the way, such character traits, along with decency, modesty and honesty, are characteristic of modern Chuvash people.

Language

Until the 10th century, the language of the Suvazian tribes existed on the basis of ancient runic writing. IN X-XV centuries, during the close proximity to Muslim tribes and the Kazan Khanate, the alphabet was replaced by Arabic. However, the sound of the language and the definition of local dialects became increasingly distinctive during this period. This allowed the formation of an authentic, so-called Middle Bulgarian language by the 16th century.
Since 1740, a new page in the history of the Chuvash language began. During this period, Christian preachers and priests from among the local population began to appear in the region. This led to the creation in 1769-1871 of a new version of writing based on the Cyrillic alphabet. The basis of the literary language was the dialects of the lower Chuvash. The alphabet was finally formed by 1949, and consists of 37 letters: 33 of them are characters of the Russian alphabet and 4 additional Cyrillic characters.
In total, the Chuvash language has three dialects:

1. Grassroots. It is distinguished by an abundance of “hooking” sounds and is widespread downstream of the Sura River.
2. Horse. “Outlining” phonetics, characteristic of the inhabitants of the upper reaches of the Sura.
3. Malokarachinsky. A separate dialect of Chuvash, characterized by changes in vocalism and consonantism.

Modern Chuvash language belongs to the Turkic language language family. Its unique feature is that it is the only living language of the extinct Bulgarian group in the world. This is the official language of the Chuvash Republic, which, along with Russian, is the state language. It is taught in local schools, as well as educational institutions some regions of Tatarstan and Bashkiria. According to the 2010 census, the Chuvash language is spoken by more than 1 million Russian citizens.

Story

The ancestors of the modern Chuvash were the nomadic tribe of Savirs, or Suvars, who lived in the Western Caspian region since the 2nd century AD. In the 6th century, its migration to North Caucasus, where part of it formed the Hunnic kingdom, and part was defeated and driven out to Transcaucasia. In the 8th-9th centuries, the descendants of the Suvars settled in the Middle Volga region, where they became part of the Volga Bulgars. During this period, there was a significant unification of culture, religion, traditions and customs of peoples.

In addition, researchers note a significant influence on the language, objects of material and spiritual culture of the ancient farmers of Western Asia. It is believed that the southern tribes, who migrated during the Great Migration of Peoples, partially settled in the Volga region and assimilated with the Bulgarian-Suvar peoples.
However, already at the end of the 9th century, the ancestors of the Chuvash separated from the Bulgarian kingdom and migrated further north due to their rejection of Islam. The final formation of the Chuvash people ended only in the 16th century, when the assimilation of the Suvars, Tatars from the neighboring Kazan kingdom and Russians took place.
During the reign of the Kazan Khanate, the Chuvash were part of it, but they remained separate and independent, despite the need to pay tribute. Soon after the capture of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible, the Chuvash took power Russian state, however, throughout history they have defended their rights. Thus, they participated in the uprisings of Stenka Razin and Emelyan Pugachev, opposed the arbitrariness of officials in 1571-1573, 1609-1610, 1634. Such self-will caused problems for the state, therefore, until the 19th century, a ban on blacksmithing was in effect in the region to stop the production of weapons.

Appearance

The appearance of the Chuvash was influenced by the long history of migration of the ancestral people and significant mixing with representatives of the Bulgar and Asian tribes. Modern Chuvash people have the following types of appearance:

• Mongoloid-Caucasian type with a predominance of European features - 63.5%
• Caucasian types (with light brown hair and light eyes, as well as with darker skin and hair, brown eyes) - 21.1%
• pure Mongoloid type - 10.3%
• sublaponoid type or Volga-Kama race with mildly expressed Mongoloid characteristics - 5.1%

From a genetic point of view, it is also impossible to distinguish a pure “Chuvash haplogroup”: all representatives of the nation are of mixed race. According to the maximum correspondence among the Chuvash, the following haplogroups are distinguished:

• Northern European - 24%
• Slavic R1a1 - 18%
• Finno-Ugric N - 18%
• Western European R1b - 12%
• Jewish J inherited from the Khazars - 6%

In addition, it was discovered genetic connections Chuvash with neighboring peoples. Thus, the Mari, who in the Middle Ages lived in the same region with the Bulgarian-Suvars and were called the Mountain Cheremis, share with the Chuvash a mutation of the LIPH chromosome gene, which causes earlier baldness.
Among the typical appearance features it is worth noting:

• average height for men and short for women;
• coarse hair that naturally rarely has a curl;
• darker skin tone and eye color in Caucasians;
• short, slightly depressed nose;
• the presence of epicanthus (a characteristic fold in the corner of the eyes) in representatives of mixed and Mongoloid types;
• the shape of the eyes is almond-shaped, slightly slanting;
• wide face;
• prominent cheekbones.

Ethnographers of the past and present noted soft facial features, a good-natured and open expression associated with character traits. The Chuvash have bright and agile facial expressions, easy movements, and good coordination. In addition, representatives of the nation were mentioned in all testimonies as neat, clean, well-built and neat people who created a pleasant impression with their appearance and behavior.

Cloth

IN everyday life Chuvash men dressed simply: a loose shirt and trousers made of homespun cloth, which was made from hemp and flax. The look was completed with a simple hat with a narrow brim and shoes made of bast or leather. The habitats of the people were distinguished by the appearance of the shoes: the Western Chuvash wore bast shoes with foot wraps in black, while the Eastern Chuvash preferred white. It is interesting that men wore onuchi only in winter, while women complemented their look with them all year round.
Unlike men, who wore national costumes with ornaments only for weddings and religious ceremonies, women preferred to look attractive every day. Their traditional clothing included a long, tunic-like shirt made of white store-bought or homespun cloth and an apron.
Among the Western Viryalas, it was complemented by a bib, traditional embroidery and appliqués. Eastern Anatri did not use a bib, but made an apron from checkered fabric. Sometimes there was an alternative option, the so-called “modesty apron.” It was located on the back of the belt and reached mid-thigh. An obligatory element of the costume is a headdress, of which Chuvash women had many variations. In everyday life they used light-colored scarves, canvas surpans or headbands similar to an Arab turban. The traditional headdress, which has become one of the symbols of the people, is the tukhya cap, resembling a helmet in shape and richly decorated with coins, beads and beads.

Chuvash women also hold other bright accessories in high esteem. Among them were ribbons embroidered with beads, which were passed over the shoulder and under the arm, neck, waist, chest and even back decorations. Feature ornaments - strict geometry of shapes and specularity, an abundance of rhombuses, eights and stars.

Housing

The Chuvash settled in small villages and villages, which were called yaly and were located near rivers, lakes and ravines. In the southern regions the type of settlement was linear, and in the northern regions it was the traditional cumulus-cluster type. Usually, related families settled at different ends of the yawl and helped each other in everyday life in every possible way. The increase in population in the villages, as well as the traditional modern formation of streets, appeared in the region only in the 19th century.
The home of the Chuvash was a solid house made of wood, for insulation of which straw and clay were used. The hearth was located indoors and had a chimney; the house itself had a regular square or quadrangular shape. During their neighbors with the Bukharans, many Chuvash houses had real glass, but in the future most of them were replaced with specially made glass.

The courtyard had the shape of an elongated rectangle and was traditionally divided into two parts. The first contained the main living house, a summer kitchen with an open fireplace and all the outbuildings. Products were stored in dry cellars called nukhreps. In the back part they laid out a vegetable garden, equipped a corral for livestock, and sometimes there was a threshing floor there. There was also a bathhouse located here, which was available in every yard. Often an artificial pond was dug next to it, or they preferred to locate all buildings near a natural reservoir.

Family life

The main wealth of the Chuvash is family relationships and respect for elders. Traditionally, three generations lived in a family at the same time, the elderly were carefully looked after, and they, in turn, raised their grandchildren. Folklore is permeated with songs dedicated to love for parents; there are even more of them than ordinary love songs.
Despite the equality of the sexes, the mother, “api,” is sacred for the Chuvash. Her name is not mentioned in abusive or vulgar conversations or ridicule, even if they want to offend a person. It is believed that her word is healing, and a curse is the worst thing that can happen. The Chuvash proverb eloquently testifies to the attitude towards the mother: ““Treat your mother with pancakes baked in your own palm every day - you still won’t repay her with kindness for kindness, or labor for labor.”

Children are no less important family life than parents: they are loved and welcomed regardless of the degree of relationship. Therefore, in traditional Chuvash settlements there are practically no orphans. Children are pampered, but not forgotten early years instill hard work and the ability to count money. They are also taught that the main thing in a person is kămăl, that is, spiritual beauty, the inner spiritual essence that can be seen in absolutely everyone.
Before the widespread spread of Christianity, polygamy was allowed, and the traditions of sororate and levirate were practiced. This means that after the death of her husband, the wife had to marry her husband's brother. Sororat allowed the husband to sequentially or simultaneously take one or more of his wife’s sisters as his wife. The tradition of minorat, that is, the transfer of inheritance to the youngest in the family, is still preserved. In this regard, the youngest of the children often remains for the rest of their lives in their parents’ house, caring for them and helping with the housework.

Men and women

The Chuvash husband and wife have the same rights: the man is responsible for everything that happens outside the home, and the woman takes full responsibility for everyday life. Interestingly, she can independently manage the profit she receives from the sale of products from the yard: milk, eggs, fabrics. It values ​​hard work, honesty and the ability to have children most of all.

It is especially honorable to give birth to a boy, and although girls are loved no less in Chuvash families, their appearance means additional troubles, since each of them has to be paid a substantial dowry. The Chuvash believed that the later a girl gets married, the better: this will allow her to accumulate more dowry and thoroughly learn all the intricacies of housekeeping. Young men were married as early as possible, so in traditional families the husband is often several years younger. However, women had the right of inheritance from their parents and husband, so they often became the head of the family.

Life

Today, as throughout history, the Chuvash continues to play a major role in the life of agriculture. Since ancient times, people have been actively engaged in agriculture, using three-field or slash-and-burn systems. The main crops were wheat, rye, oats, spelt, peas, and buckwheat.
Flax and hemp were grown to create fabrics, and hops and malt were grown to produce beer. The Chuvash have always been famous as excellent brewers: every family has its own beer recipe. For holidays, stronger varieties were produced, and in everyday life they drank low-alcohol varieties. Intoxicating drinks were produced from wheat.

Livestock farming was not so popular because there was a lack of suitable forage land in the region. Households raised horses, cows, pigs, sheep, and poultry. Another traditional occupation of the Chuvash is beekeeping. Along with beer, honey was one of the main export goods to neighboring regions.
The Chuvash have always been involved in gardening, planting turnips, beets, onions, legumes, fruit trees, and later potatoes. Among the crafts, wood carving, basket and furniture weaving, pottery, weaving and handicrafts flourished brightly. The Chuvash achieved great success in woodworking handicrafts: the production of matting, ropes and ropes, carpentry, cooperage, carpentry, tailoring, and wheelwork.

Religion

Today, more than half of the Chuvash formally profess Christianity, but there are still associations of adherents of traditional paganism, as well as religious syncretism. A few groups of Chuvash profess Sunni Islam.
In ancient times, the Chuvash believed that the world was a cube, in the center of which were the Chuvash. Along the shores the land was washed by oceans, which gradually destroyed the land. It was believed that as soon as the edge of the earth reached the Chuvash, the end of the world would come. On the sides of the cube were the heroes guarding it, below was the kingdom of evil, and above were the deities and spirits of those who died in infancy.

Despite the fact that the people professed paganism, they had only one supreme god, Tour, who ruled the lives of people, sent disasters to them, and emitted thunder and lightning. Evil was personified with the deity Shuittan and his servants - evil spirits. After death, they tortured sinners in nine cauldrons, under which they maintained a fire for eternity. However, the Chuvash did not believe in the existence of hell and heaven, just as they did not support the idea of ​​​​rebirth and transmigration of souls.

Traditions

After the Christianization of society, pagan holidays were correlated with Orthodox ones. Most of the ritual celebrations occurred in the spring and were associated with agricultural work. Thus, the holiday of the winter equinox Surkhuri marked the approach of spring and the increase in sunny days. Then came the analogue of Maslenitsa, the sun festival of Savarni, after which Mancun was celebrated for several days, coinciding with the Orthodox Radonitsa. It lasted several days during which sacrifices were made to the sun and ceremonies of veneration of ancestors were carried out. The month of remembrance was also in December: the culture believed that the spirits of ancestors could send curses and blessings, so they were placated regularly throughout the year.

Famous Chuvash

One of the most famous natives of Chuvashia, born near Cheboksary, is the famous Vasily Ivanovich Chapaev. He became a real symbol of the revolution and a hero of national folklore: they not only make films about him, but also come up with witty jokes about Russian ingenuity.

Andriyan Nikolaev was also from Chuvashia - the third Soviet citizen to conquer space. Among his personal achievements is working in orbit without a spacesuit for the first time in world history.

The Chuvash have a rich historical and cultural past, which they have been able to preserve to this day. A combination of ancient beliefs, customs and traditions, commitment native language help preserve authenticity and pass on accumulated knowledge to new generations.

Video

There is some truth in this statement. Any change of ethnonym is associated with the genetic drift of the people. Today's Chuvash are not only Suvars, they are also Bulgars - descendants of the Huns (Vunnogurs, etc.), they are also the awakened Mari (Viryal) and fragments of various nations that have merged into the sphere of Chuvash culture. Geneticists have recognized that the middle Chuvash are genetically close to the early Turks, that is, the Huns. But what about the rest of the Chuvash? Today the anthropological school of Chuvashia has been destroyed, but it was the anthropologists who claimed: “The Chuvash are 98% Caucasian; Mari, Mordovians by 82%, and Tatars and Bashkirs by 60%.” If the Chuvash are Turks, then why is there such a big difference in the indicators of Caucasianness in relation to the Turks (Tatars and Bashkirs)?
Watching a film about the Chuvash-Turks, the following thoughts arise:
- the film postulates the idea that the Turks are not anthropological, but cultural community, this explains the difference in the anthropology of the Chuvash and other Turkic peoples. But in this case, how can we explain the powerful cultural difference between the Chuvash and the Turkic peoples: in religion, art, way of life? In addition, historically the Turks descend from a very specific ancestor - the Hun tribe Tyukue (Tyugyu), which means, after all, anthropology is key indicator unity of the Turkic community.
- The film shows the rituals around the Abashevo mounds. From an archaeological point of view, the Abashevites are not the ancestors of the Chuvash. True, from the point of view of the attitude of the Chuvash to the mounds, as to “Ulăp tapri”, such filming is possible, but the Chuvash did not perform rituals near such places, except perhaps only in those cases when there was a kiremet on the hill.
- During the rituals, beer was not thrown into the fire. Beer, as well as offerings, were left at the cult site. The Mari offer sacrifices to the fire.
- The film tells about the developed hop growing in Chuvashia, but everyone should understand that there is no longer any need to talk about any industrial farming in the republic after the reign of the former Head of the Administration of Chuvashia. It would be worth saying that every village farmstead used to have its own brewery. All Russian names associated with brewing are Bulgaro-Chuvash: hops, malt, wort, etc.
- The ritual of “nime” (mutual assistance) was usually carried out during the construction of a house or during field work and was associated with personal participation in the work. Under the former Head of the Administration of Chuvashia, this ritual was reduced to the level of “voluntary-forced” monetary collections. The connection between the “nime” ritual and the autumn gatherings “kĕr sari” is not clear.
- Historically, yeast began to be added to beer at a later time, during the period of the nation’s drinking.
- It is believed that beer is a common Turkic drink. Judging by the name “săra” among the Chuvash and Altai, it may indeed seem so, however, who influenced whom? It is known that brewing originated in Mesopotamia in the 5th millennium BC, and not in the Far East. Name at least one Turkic people where brewing was also widely developed?
- If the Chuvash are Turkic-speaking, then why do the basic words of the people not fit into the Turkic vocabulary: for example: hevel (“sun” Chuv.) – helios (Greek). Why are the Turks nomads and the Chuvash ancient farmers? (D.F. Madurov. Type of way of life of the Chuvash people and its role in the ecosystem of the Volga-Kama region // Ecological Bulletin of the Chuvash Republic. - Cheboksary: ​​2000. - Issue 20. D.F. Madurov. Verification of the way of the Chuvash people using the example of cultural artifacts // From the history of nature to the history of society: the past in the present and the future: Appendix to the Bulletin of the Russian Philosophical Society. M.: 2000. - Part 1) Why all the Turks worshiped Tengrikhan, but the Chuvash have no traces of this cult. The Chuvash worship Tura. This is the name of a god of Central Asian origin. More details about this in the article (D.F. Madurov. Near Asian-Chuvash cultural parallels. P.360-382 // Scientific and pedagogical heritage of V.F. Kakhovsky and problems of history and archeology. Materials of the scientific-practical conference. December 19-20 2006 Book 2. – Cheboksary, ChGIGN, 2009).
- Listening to the Chuvash song in the film, I involuntarily remembered the Ukrainian one: “A birch tree grew on my pidvirya, Give us vodka hey ho, give us vodka hey ho. A birch tree grew on my pidvirya.” So who copied this song from whom?
- It’s a pity that the silver jewelry of the Chuvash people is poorly represented in the film. Embroideries with flowers embroidered with aniline threads look terrible. The height of vulgarity, this tradition appeared in the 50s, during the period of cultivation of denial national culture and imitation of the Russian. A woman in a girl’s headdress simply looks funny, and the combination of glasses and an ethnographic costume also looks ridiculous.
- The film claims that the Chuvash who converted to Islam began to be called Tatars. This phrase reveals the meaning of the kinship of the Turkic-speaking Chuvash and Tatars. One should be aware that these processes took place during the period of Tatar domination in the region and their maximum cultural influence. Exactly the same processes are taking place today, and from this point of view, most of the Orthodox Russian-speaking population can also point to their Chuvash (Bulgaro-Suvar) roots. At the same time, in the Chuvash environment there are traces of genetic input from neighboring peoples.
- I am surprised to learn that the Chuvash language exists and will exist thanks to the translation of the Bible into it. Actually scriptures in the “Hunnic language” were published back in 530, but this in no way affected the preservation of the language and the translations themselves. Of course, we can only thank the Russian Institute of Bible Translation for another large (by our standards) financial contribution. Let us remember that with a grant from the English Bible Society, missionary-educator I.Ya. Yakovlev built the Chuvash Simbirsk school. Only the main goal of this mission was not the development of the national culture of the Chuvash, but purely missionary tasks, not for nothing, according to the recollections of the students of the Simbirsk school, it was forbidden to sing Chuvash folk songs. And from the point of view of the Orthodox (Orthodox) Church, even folk costume is “pagan”, as the Cheboksary News newspaper has already written about in its propaganda articles. So, it turns out that they slipped us another “Trojan” (“Trojan horse”).
After watching the film, you get the feeling that this film was created to further divide our people, or that it was created by people incompetent in these matters.