The Mari religion ( Mari: Чимарий йӱла, ''Čimarii jüla''), also known as Mari paganism, is 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 pr ...

of the

Mari people The Mari ( chm, мари; russian: марийцы, mariytsy) are a Finnic peoples, Finnic people, who have traditionally lived along the Volga and Kama River, Kama rivers in Russia. Almost half of Maris today live in the Mari El republic, with si ...

, a Volga Finnic ethnic group based in the republic of

Mari El The Mari El Republic (russian: Респу́блика Мари́й Эл, ''Respublika Mariy El''; Meadow Mari: ; Hill Mari: ) is a republic of Russia. It is in the European Russia region of the country, along the northern bank of the Volga Rive ...

, in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

. The religion has undergone changes over time, particularly under the influence of neighbouring monotheisms. In the last few decades, while keeping its traditional features in the countryside, an organised

Neopagan Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...

-kind revival has taken place. The Mari religion is based on the worship of the forces of nature, which man must honour and respect. Before the spread of

monotheistic Monotheism is the belief that there is only one deity, an all-supreme being that is universally referred to as God. Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxfor ...

teachings amongst the Mari, they worshipped many gods (the ''jumo'', a word cognate to the Finnish '' Jumala''), while recognising the primacy of a "Great God", ''Kugu Jumo''. In the 19th century, influenced by monotheism, the Pagan beliefs altered and the image of a ''Osh Kugu Jumo'', literally "Great God of Light", was strengthened. Subject to persecution in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, the faith has been granted official status since the 1990s by the government of Mari El, where it is recognized as one of the three traditional faiths along with Orthodox Christianity and Islam. Some activists claim that the Mari native religion believers are subject to pressure by Russian authorities as part of a wider campaign to Russify Mari culture. Vitaly Tanakov, an adherent of the faith, was charged with inciting religious, national, social and linguistic hatred after publishing the book ''The Priest Speaks''.

Organisation

Followers of the Mari native religion perform public rituals and mass prayers and conduct charitable, cultural and educational activities. They train and educate the younger generation and publish and distribute religious literature. Currently, there are four regional Mari native religion organizations. Prayer meetings and mass prayers are held in accordance with the traditional calendar; it always takes into account the position of the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width ...

and Sun. Public prayers are held, usually in the sacred groves (küsoto). Ceremonies are held by a rank of priests. There is a significant discrepancy between the pantheons of the Lowlands Mari, who worship roughly 140 gods, and Highlands Mari, who worship about 70 gods. However most of these deities are different forms of other gods. Nine deities are the most important ones, and these are often said to be

hypostases Hypostasis, hypostatic, or hypostatization (hypostatisation; from the Ancient Greek , "under state") may refer to: * Hypostasis (philosophy and religion), the essence or underlying reality ** Hypostasis (linguistics), personification of entities ...

of the high god Osh Kugu Jumo. The Mari native religion includes tree worship and animal sacrifices.

Following

The religion is one of Europe's indigenous religions of unbroken lineage which have survived Christianisation, although it has co-existed with

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 ...

for generations. Many Mari today are baptized as Christians yet they attend traditional prayers rather than Church services. A sociological survey conducted in 2004 found that about 15 percent of the population of Mari El consider themselves adherents of the Mari native religion. Since Mari make up just 45 percent of the republic's population of 700,000, this figure means that probably more than a third claim to follow the old religion. The percentage of pagans among the Mari of Bashkortostan and the eastern part of Tatarstan is even higher (up to 69% among women). Mari fled here from forced Christianization in the 17th to 19th centuries. A similar number was claimed by

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 ...

, who found that between a quarter and a half of the Mari either worship the Pagan gods or are adherents of Neopagan groups. Mari intellectuals maintain that Mari ethnic believers should be classified in groups with varying degrees of Russian Orthodox influence, including syncretic followers who might even go to church at times, followers of the Mari native religion who are baptized, and nonbaptized Mari.

Gods

Many gods in Mari have counterparts in ancient Hinduism and European religions. Some gods and spirits in the Mari pantheon: * Kugu Jumo, the main god, often seen as a monistic godhead. Also called ''Kugurak'', the "Elder". He is associated with a duck. *

Tul Tul is a Korean martial art form. Tul or TUL may also refer to: * Tul, Hormozgan, Iran * Tuł, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland * TUL corporation, a Taiwanese computer products manufacturer * Technical University of Liberec, Czech Republic * Lodz U ...

, god of fire, attribute of Kugu Jumo. * Surt, spirit of the household, attribute of Kugu Jumo. *

Saksa Saksa is a village in Kehtna Parish, Rapla County in northern-central Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from ...

, god of fertility, attribute of Kugu Jumo. * Küdryrchö Jumo, god of thunder. * Tutyra, god of fog, attribute of Kugu Jumo. And other attributes of the godhead. * Püryshö, the god of fate, the caster and the creator of the future of all men. Cognate with Purush * Azyren, the god of death. * Shüdyr-Shamych, the god of the stars. * Tylmache, worker of the divine will. * Tylze, the god of the Moon. Also known as Tõlze. * Uzhara, the god of the dawn. Cognate with Usha * Mlande, the god of earth. * Shochyn-Ava, the goddess of childbirth. * Tünya, the god of the universe * Keremet, evil spirit Many of these gods, especially those controlling natural phenomena, have female counterparts, with the name ending in ''ava'' ("mother"), like Tul-Ava, goddess of fire, Mlande-Ava, goddess of earth, Kudurcho-Ava, goddess of thunder, etc.

References

Resources

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External links