The Erzyan native religion ( myv, эрзянь пазнэнь озноматe, translit=erzań pazneń oznomate), also called Erzyan neopaganism, is the modern revival of the

ethnic religion In religious studies, an ethnic religion is a religion or belief associated with a particular ethnic group. Ethnic religions are often distinguished from universal religions, such as Christianity or Islam, in which gaining converts is a pri ...

of the Erzya Mordvins, peoples of

Volga Finnic The Volga Finns (sometimes referred to as Eastern Finns) are a historical group of List of larger indigenous peoples of Russia, indigenous peoples of Russia living in the vicinity of the Volga, who speak Uralic languages. Their modern representa ...

ethnic stock dwelling in the

republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

of Mordovia within

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, or in bordering lands of Russia. The name of the originating god according to the Erzya tradition is Ineshkipaz. The Mordvins have been almost fully

Christianised Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...

since the times of

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...

, although Pagan customs were preserved in the folklore and a few villages completely preserved the native faith at least until further missionary activities of the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

in the 17th century and in the early 20th century. The Neopagan revival was started in 1990,Schnirelmann, Victor:
“Christians! Go home”: A Revival of Neo-Paganism between the Baltic Sea and Transcaucasia
'. Journal of Contemporary Religion, Vol. 17, No. 2, 2002. p. 206.
archived
alongside that of many other native religions in Russia, as the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

was on the brink of dissolution. According to scholar

Victor Schnirelmann Victor Alexandrovich Schnirelmann (russian: Виктор Александрович Шнирельман, b. 18 May 1949, Moscow; frequently spelled Shnirelman in his English-language publications) is a Russian historian, ethnologist and a member o ...

, 2% of the Erzya adhere to the native faith and do not practice Christianity,. Adherents of the ''Erzyan Mastor'' organisation organise the Ras'ken' Ozks (), a national Erzyan worship service held yearly, with participation also of members of the ''Mastorava'' organisation and other ones.

History

The revival of the Erzyan native religion has grown alongside, and with the support, of Mordvin

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

which started in the last years of the Soviet regime.Filatov, Shchipkov,
Religious Developments Amongst the Volga Nations
', p. 236. The revival of the national consciousness of the Mordvins was difficult at first, since they were a minority in their country and the press, which was very influential, took a tough

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

line. The Russian democrats and communists were hostile towards Mordvin nationalists. At the start of the ''

perestroika ''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...

'' the Mordvin national intelligentsia waged a vigorous and successful campaign against

Russian Orthodoxy Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most C ...

, called "the religion of occupation", "the

Russifying Russification (russian: русификация, rusifikatsiya), or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians, whether involuntarily or voluntarily, give up their culture and language in favor of the Russian cultur ...

ideological force". Later the Saransk Ministry of Culture endorsed the revival of Mordvin culture and Paganism, arousing outcry from local Orthodox bishops. This was the circle that produced the first Neopagans, the ''Mastorava'' organisation led by the local poet Raisa Kemaikina, a group within the Saransk intelligentsia whose aim was the complete

reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

of a Pagan worldview and religious services reworking folkloric, ethnographic and linguistic study.

Mastorava - Erzyan Society for National Rebirth

The ''Mastorava'' organisation was established in 1990 with the aim of "restoring the Erzyaethnic communities", also fostering a revival of Paganism. The association is officially registered in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

since 2002. The current president is Nikolay Vasilyevich Butilov.

Erzyan Mastor

The ''Erzyan Mastor'' ( Erzya for: "Erzyan Land") is a more recent organisation splintering from the ''Mastorava'' association. At first it was headed by Raisa Kemaykina (

Mariz Kemal Mariz Kemal is an Erzya language The Erzya language (, , ), also Erzian or historically Arisa, is spoken by approximately 300,000 people in the northern, eastern and north-western parts of the Republic of Mordovia and adjacent regions of Nizhn ...

; Маризь Кемаль). The group is focused on the Erzya, has political aims for the spread of Erzya Paganism, and is militant against Christianity.Erzyan Mastor website
Christianisation
. In 1992 Kemaykina released the following declarations to the Chuvash newspaper ''Atlas'', answering to a question about her attitude towards Christianity: In 1992 Kemaykina organised the first Pagan national ritual after decades or even centuries, sponsored by Erzyan businessmen.Filatov, Shchipkov. p. 237. Neighbouring villages learned long-forgotten Pagan prayers and Kemaikina was proclaimed the first priestess of the Erzya people. Television reports of that and following national worship ceremonies caused enthusiasm throughout the republic, and now the "Pagan question" is discussed from the remotest villages to university auditoria.

References

Bibliography

* Schnirelmann, Victor:
“Christians! Go home”: A Revival of Neo-Paganism between the Baltic Sea and Transcaucasia
'. Journal of Contemporary Religion, Vol. 17, No. 2, 2002. * Filatov, Sergei; Shchipkov, Aleksandr.
Religious Developments among the Volga Nations as a Model for the Russian Federation
'. Religion, State & Society, Vol. 23, No. 3, 1995. pp. 234–237

External links

Erzyan Mastor
official website {{Neopaganism Uralic modern paganism Modern paganism in Russia Mordvin people