Brief history of the Chuvash. Origin of the Chuvash people (characteristics of hypotheses)

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 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 Siberia, with a small part living 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.
On the territory of the Republic of Chuvashia there are three ethnographic groups. 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 the 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 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 studied in local schools, as well as in educational institutions of 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 the North Caucasus began, 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 accepted the power of the Russian state, but throughout history they 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 force 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 predominance 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, genetic connections between the Chuvash and neighboring peoples have been discovered. 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 in men and short in 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. By appearance shoes differed between the habitats of the people: Western Chuvash wore bast shoes with black footcloths, eastern Chuvash preferred white color. It is interesting that men wore onuchi only in winter, while women complemented their look with them all year round.
Unlike men who National costumes with ornaments were worn only for weddings and religious ceremonies; women preferred to look attractive every day. Their traditional clothes included a long shirt, similar in cut to a tunic, 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. A characteristic feature of the ornaments is the strict geometry of the forms and specularity, the 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 to parents, there are even more of them in it 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 in 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 they do not forget to instill hard work and the ability to count money from an early age. 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 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, main role Agriculture continues to play a role in the life of the Chuvash. 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. Stronger varieties were produced for holidays, but 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 Chuvash - 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. The combination of ancient beliefs, customs and traditions, adherence to the native language help preserve authenticity and transfer the accumulated knowledge to new generations.

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Balanovo culture

Log culture

Abashevo culture

Ananyinskaya culture

Gorodets culture

Hun Empire (434 - 6th century)

Khazar Khaganate (650-969)

Volga Bulgaria (X century - 1240)

Golden Horde (1240 - 1438)

Khanate of Kazan (1438 - 1552)

Kazan Kingdom (1552 - 1708)

Kazan province (1708 - 1920)

Simbirsk province (1796 - 1924)

Chuvash Autonomous Region (1920 - 1925)

Chuvash Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (1925 - 1990)
Chuvashia in the Stalin era (1920s - 1953)

Chuvash SSR (1990 - 1992)

Chuvash Republic (Since 1992)

The first people within modern Chuvashia appeared approx. 80 thousand years ago, during the Mikulin interglacial period: the Urazlinskaya site of this time was discovered on the territory of Chuvashia. Neolithic era (4-3 thousand BC) The Middle Volga region was inhabited by Finno-Ugric tribes - the ancestors of the Mari and Mordovian peoples. In Chuvashia, Mesolithic (13-5 thousand BC) and Neolithic sites have been discovered along the rivers.

• 1 Bronze Age
• 2 Origin of the Chuvash
• 3 Chuvash as part of the Russian state
• 4 Formation of statehood
• 5 Notes
• 6 Literature
• 7 See also
• 8 Links

Bronze Age

A shift in social development occurred in the Bronze Age - in 2 thousand BC. e. Cattle breeding spread.

Origin of the Chuvash

At the beginning of the new era, the Turkic-speaking tribes of the Bulgars and Suvars began to move west along Semirechye and the steppes of present-day Kazakhstan, reaching in the 2nd-3rd centuries. n. e. North Caucasus. Centuries-old communication with the Iranian-speaking Scythians, Saks, Sarmatians and Alans enriched the culture of the Chuvash ancestors - their economic activities, life, religion, clothing, hats, jewelry, ornaments.

In the 30-60s. VII century in the Northern Black Sea region there was public education Great Bulgaria, but under the attack of Khazaria, it disintegrated. 70s Bulgarians moved to the Volga-Kama region. The Suvars on the territory of modern Dagestan had their own principality, which since the 60s. 7th century until the 30s 8th century was dependent on the Khazar Kaganate. After the invasion in 732-37. The Suvars moved to their lands of the Arabs into the Middle Volga region and settled south of the Bulgarians. VIII century In the Middle Volga region, a Bulgarian union of tribes arose, which, under the leadership of the Bulgarians, included the Suvars and local Volga-Finnish tribes. end of the 9th century the union develops into the Volga Bulgaria, which occupied vast territories of the Middle Volga region from the Samara Luka in the south to the river. Vyatka in the north, from the Middle Kama in the east to the river. Sura in the West. The main economic activities in Volga Bulgaria were arable farming and animal husbandry, hunting, fishing, and beekeeping. Cities arose: Bolgar (capital in the X-XI centuries), Bilyar (capital in the XII - early XIII c.), Suvar, Oshel, Nokhrat. Crafts and internal and transit trade developed. Volga Bulgaria paid attention to the development of science and education; the official language was the Bulgarian language.

In X - beginning XIII century in the process of uniting the Bulgar and Suvar tribes, who spoke a language with “rotacism” (the use, unlike other Turkic languages, “r” instead of “z”), and their assimilation of part of the Finno-Ugric population, a new Volga-Bulgarian nationality was formed.

In 1236, Volga Bulgaria was devastated by the Mongol-Tatars under the leadership of Khan Batu (Batu). The territory of the Middle Volga region was included in the vassal Golden Horde Bulgar ulus. The population was constantly subjected to violence and physical destruction. According to historian V.D. Dimitriev, in the XIII - early XV centuries. About 80% of the inhabitants of the former Volga Bulgaria died. Some people moved to Prikazanye, Zakazanye, as well as to the central and northern regions of the modern territory of Chuvashia. In 1438, the Kazan Khanate broke away from the Golden Horde, which, in addition to the Kazan Tatars, included the ancestors of the Chuvash, Mari, Erzyans, Udmurts and Bashkirs.

On the territory of modern Chuvashia, as well as in the Prikazan-Zakazan region, in the Chuvash Daruga, as a result of the repeated mixing of the Bulgars with the Mari, the modern Chuvash nation was formed by the end of the 15th century. The basis of the nation was the Bulgars.

Chuvash as part of the Russian state

The Chuvash lands, located on the border between the Principality of Moscow and the Kazan Khanate, were often subject to attacks and raids from both sides.

In 1523, the troops of Shah Ali, a Moscow protege and pretender to the Kazan throne, marched from Nizhny Novgorod to the Mountain Side. His warriors ravaged the Chuvash and Cheremis lands between the Sura and Sviyaga rivers and began building a fortification at the mouth of the Sura in preparation for the capture of Kazan.

“Appeal of the Chuvash and Mountain Mari to Shah-Ali and the Russian governors.” Miniature from “The History of the Kazan Kingdom” (1551)

In 1545, the Kazan Khan Safa-Girey, who was extremely unpopular on the Mountain Side, was overthrown, who transferred the right to collect yasak from the Chuvash lands to the Kazan and Crimean feudal lords and thereby placed the Chuvash princes and Tarkhans in a humiliating and subordinate position. A year later, Safa-Girey, who had secured the support of the Nogais in exchange for transferring the Mountain Side to them, regained the Kazan throne. Soon after this, mass protests began by the right-bank Chuvash and mountain Mari, who did not want to submit to the Nogais. The rebels called on Russian troops for help. In the summer of 1551, during the founding of the city of Sviyazhsk by the Russians, the Chuvash of the Mountain Side were annexed into the Russian state (see Annexation of Chuvashia to Russia).

After the fall of Kazan in 1552 and the suppression of the anti-Moscow uprisings of 1552-57, the Chuvash who lived on the Lugovaya Side also became subjects of Moscow. Some believe that by becoming part of Russia, the Chuvash got rid of Islamic-Tatar assimilation and preserved themselves as a people. Chuvashia built the fortified cities of Cheboksary (first mentioned in chronicles in 1469, founded as a fortified city in 1555), Alatyr, Tsivilsk, Yadrin, which soon became trade and craft centers. In the 2nd half of the 16th and 17th centuries, the southern and southwestern parts of Chuvashia, abandoned in the 14th and early 15th centuries due to the robbery of the Nogai Tatars, were settled. Chuvashia became widespread land ownership Rus. light. and spirits. feudal lords (in the middle of the 18th century there were more than 200 landowners and 8 monastic estates in the region), the number of Russians grew (in 1795 they made up 19.2% of the total population). The right bank settlement area became the center of consolidation and growth of the Chuvash people. In the 16th-17th centuries, a significant part of the Chuvash of the Order and Zakazan moved to the Lower Trans-Kama region and Bashkiria, the other part moved to the right bank of Chuvashia, and the Chuvash who remained in place merged with the Tatars. In the 2nd half of the 16th-17th centuries, the right bank Chuvash settled in the southeastern part of Chuvashia, and in the 17th-18th centuries they moved to the Lower Trans-Kama region, Bashkiria, Simbirsk, Samara, Penza, Saratov, and Orenburg regions. 1795 out of 352.0 thousand of all Chuvash in Russia, 234.0 thousand (66.5%) lived on the territory of the future Chuvashia, and 118.0 thousand people lived outside its borders.

Chuvashia became an area of ​​relatively high agricultural culture. The main occupational traditions of the population are arable farming, animal husbandry, hop growing, and beekeeping. Crafts for processing wood, leather, wool, fiber, etc. have become widespread. In order to suppress the manufacture of weapons used in popular movements, tsarist government at the beginning of the 17th century. prohibited the Chuvash and other Volga peoples from engaging in blacksmithing and silversmithing (until the 19th century). In the 2nd half. 17th century Tanneries, distilleries, and lard distilleries arose in the cities of Chuvashia. and other entrepreneurs rus. merchants. K ser. 19th century in Chuvashia there were approx. 150 brick, copper casting, spinning, silk belt and other small enterprises. 18 - 1st floor. 19th century There were up to 15 patrimonial tanneries and cloth tanneries in the region. and other manufactories, there were glasses. and cloth. f-ki.

Chuvash. the peasants paid to the tsar. treasury of money and bread. yasak, carried out labor duties, delivered to the Russian Federation. an army of one warrior from 3 yasaks (from 6 households). 20s 18th century they were included in the category of state peasants, yasak was replaced by poll tax and quitrent, the size of which was in the 18th - 1st floor. 19th century grew systematically. Chuvash. peasants were exploited by Russians. and Tatars. merchants and moneylenders, proper. patriarchal-feudal. layer - puyans and chestnuts. 17th century Chuvash. surrounding princes, hundreds and tenths princes and Tarkhans gradually thinned out; in 1718-23, together with the serving Chuvash, by decree of Peter I they were equalized with the state. peasants and assigned to perform lashman. duties. 1830s OK. 100 thousand Chuvash. the peasants were transferred to the department of appanages - the king became serfs. surnames. The Chuvash were conscripted for military service. service in Russian army, participated in Livon. war (1558-83), the fight against the Polish-Swedish. intervention (1611-14), Polish campaigns, Russian-Turkish wars of the 18th century. Fatherland During the war of 1812, thousands of Chuvash selflessly fought against the Napoleons. hordes

In the middle of the 18th century. The Chuvash were subjected to Christianization, but until the 70s. 19th century their baptism was of a formal nature, sermons were conducted to the Old Slavs. and Russian languages ​​and were incomprehensible to the Chuvash. In fact, they remained adherents of pre-Christians. faith.

In the XVI-XVII centuries. the territory of Chuvashia was governed by the Order of the Kazan Palace, in the beginning. XVIII century included in the Kazan and Nizhny Novgorod provinces; according to the administrative reform of 1775, it became part of the Kazan and Simbirsk provinces. Exploitation, arbitrariness and excesses of officials, the forced imposition of Orthodoxy led to resistance from the population. Chuvash participated in all major performances masses affecting the Middle Volga region in the 16th-19th centuries: in 1571-1573, in early XVII c., in 1634, peasant uprisings of S. T. Razin and E. I. Pugachev. In 1842, there was an armed uprising of the Chuvash and Mari peasants (the so-called Akramov War) against the reforms of P. D. Kiselev of the state administration. peasants, up to 10 thousand people took part in the uprising.

In the 19th century, especially after the abolition of the fortress. rights, capitalist relations are developing in Chuvashia, social stratification of the village is taking place, and a small trade and industrial sector is emerging. bourgeoisie. However, compared to the central regions of Russia, this process was much slower, with a predominance of primary cap forms. entrepreneurship. By the time of the abolition of serfdom, the industry of the Chuvash region was represented by two cloth factories and three distilleries, which, with the exception of one cloth factory, belonged to landowners. In addition to them, there were small potash, glass, and silk belt manufactories. late XIX - early XX centuries. Up to three dozen factories and factories were operating, a small proletariat was formed: approx. 6 thousand people

In the timber industry and logging at the end of the 19th century. Tens of thousands of people were employed annually in seasonal work. Since the 80s XIX century Factory sawmilling is developing, up to mid. 90s XIX century 6 sawmills operated. More than 8% of the male working population of the region was employed in waste trades.

The transport network developed. The Druzhina steamship company founded a mechanical plant in 1860 in the Zvenigovsky backwater of the Cheboksary district for the construction and repair of ships. Cheboksary pier in the 1860s. sold more than 28,000 tons of goods, and at the beginning of the 20th century. - OK. 16,700 t. 1891-1894 The construction of the Alatyr - Shikhrany (Kanash) - Kazan railway line of the Moscow-Kazan Railway was underway. Woodworking enterprises arose along it, which late XIX V. became the main industry sector of the Chuvash region. 1894 The Alatyr railway workshops came into operation, becoming the largest enterprise in the region.

The absolute majority of the population of Chuvashia (approx. 96%) lived in rural areas. Its number increased from 436 thousand in 1859 to 660 thousand in 1897. During the post-reform period, agriculture gradually acquired the features of a capitalist economy. In 1905, the treasury and appanage owned 36.4% of the land, landowners and clergy - 5.4%, merchants and burghers - 1%, communal peasants - 54%, peasant owners - 2.7%, others - 0.5 %. Allotment peasant land was at the disposal of the rural community, which hampered the development of capitalist relations. The results of the Stolypin agrarian reform in Chuvashia were insignificant.

At the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. in Nar. Social Democratic ideas penetrate the masses. The revolutionary unrest of 1905-1907 and the subsequent decade were marked by protests by workers and peasants against the autocracy, the abolition of arrears and indirect taxes, and against the implementation of the Stolypin agrarian reform. A movement for national uplift is emerging, the national self-awareness of the people is growing. This was facilitated by the first Chuvash newspaper “Khypar” (“News”), published in 1906-1907.

During the First World War, the peasantry experienced great difficulties. Farms whose heads were mobilized went bankrupt. Dissatisfaction with the war grew. In the fall of 1916, anti-war protests began.

After the February coup, Soviets were organized in the cities and some volosts of Chuvashia, together with the bodies of the Provisional Government, most of which were headed by the Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks. In June 1917 in Simbirsk, at the all-Chuvash congress, the Chuvash National Society (CHNO) was established, which supported the Provisional Government. The Socialist-Revolutionaries were at the head of the Black Ops. The other wing of the national movement did not have a complete organizational structure and was mainly represented by national organizations soldiers and sailors at the place of service who adhered to Bolshevik views. These two directions diverged after the October Revolution and during the Civil War.

Formation of statehood

The formation of Chuvash statehood is associated with the name of the Chuvash social and politician D. S. Elmenya (1885-1932). At a meeting of Chuvash communists held on January 12, 1919 in Kazan, Elmen called on representatives of the Chuvash intelligentsia to join the work of the Chuvash department at the People's Commissariat for Nationalities of the RSFSR, of which Stalin was the people's commissar, to develop cultural construction. On January 3, 1920, a memorandum from the Chuvash department was sent to the commissariat, which officially raised the issue of autonomy for the Chuvash. In February 1920, the First All-Russian Congress of Chuvash Communists took place, discussing the issue of organizing Soviet autonomy for the Chuvash people.

On June 24, 1920, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR adopted a decree on the formation of the Chuvash Autonomous Region within the RSFSR with its center in the city of Cheboksary, which included 7 districts of the Kazan and Simbirsk provinces. The resolution was signed by the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR V. I. Lenin, the Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee M. I. Kalinin and the Secretary of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee A. S. Enukidze. On the same day, the Organizing Bureau of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) considered the issue of the composition of the Chuvash Revolutionary Committee (Revkom), the chairman of which was D.S. Elmen. The Revolutionary Committee was approved as the Soviet body to lead the new administrative unit. On July 1, 1920, the Organizing Bureau of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) formed a temporary Chuvash regional committee of the RCP (b), whose executive secretary was also Elmen, who held this position intermittently until 1924. On August 20, 1920, on the initiative of the Revolutionary Committee in Cheboksary, in honor of the proclamation of the Chuvash Autonomous Region, a rally was held with the participation of public organizations, guests from the Tatar ASSR formed on May 27, 1920 and a number of provinces of the RSFSR.

The I Chuvash Regional Congress of Trade Unions (September 6-7, 1920) and the I Chuvash Regional Conference of the RKSM (October 1920) formalized the trade union and Komsomol organizations of the Chuvash Autonomous Okrug. On October 6-9, 1920, the First Chuvash Regional Party Conference was held, which completed the formalization of the regional party organization.

On June 24, 1920, by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR, the Chuvash Autonomous Region was formed, and on April 21, 1925, by decree of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, it was transformed into the Chuvash Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. In June of the same year, the city of Alatyr with three volosts was included in its composition.

In the 1920s, the idea of ​​changing the name of the Chuvash Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic into the Bulgarian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and renaming the Chuvash into Bulgarians, following the renaming of the Cheremis into Mari, was discussed. The proposal of local historians did not receive the support of the leadership and population of the republic.

“... Chuvash bourgeois nationalists who sought to use the Bulgarian theory of the origin of the Chuvash people for their own hostile political purposes.

In a number of works published by them in the 1920s, they propagated the assertion that the Chuvash are the only, direct and pure descendants of the Volga-Kama Bulgarians, and allowed for a bourgeois-nationalist idealization of the era of the state of Volga Bulgaria.

In the works of D. P. Petrov (Yuman), M. P. Petrov, A. P. Prokopiev-Milli and other local historians, the Bulgarian period was depicted as a “golden age” in the history of the Chuvash people, social-class contradictions and the presence of oppression of exploiters in this state. During these same years, bourgeois nationalists launched a campaign to rename the Chuvash as Bulgarians, and they proposed calling the Chuvash Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic “Bulgarian.”

Denisov P.V. Ethnocultural parallels of the Danube Bulgarians and Chuvashs. - Cheboksary, 1969. - P. 10

The first years of the existence of the ChuvAO, and then the Czech Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, were marked by difficulties and trials, the peak of which occurred in 1921: first, a peasant uprising, brutally suppressed by the Bolsheviks, then a disastrous crop failure and a terrible famine. The Civil War in Russia caused enormous damage. With a total population of less than 1 million people. About 200 thousand people were mobilized for the war. (almost the entire working-age male population after the mobilization of the 1st World War) and about 100 thousand did not return.

In 1929-1936, the Chuvash Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was part of the Nizhny Novgorod (from 1932 - Gorky) region. After the restoration of the national economy, devastated by the civil war, it was subordinated to the formation of a powerful industrial sector. potential. During the pre-war five-year plans, Chuvashia experienced to the full all the hardships of industrialization and collectivization. In the republic, woodworking, chemical, food industry, and mechanical engineering enterprises were built (Kanash Car Repair Plant, Kozlovsky House-Building Plant (now a van plant), the Sumerlinsky Tanning Extract Plant (chemical plant) and a furniture plant (van plant). In 1939, the construction of a single-track railway was completed. branch of Kanash-Cheboksary. The share of Chuvash among industrial workers reached 44% against 9.5% in 1926. By the end of the 30s, literacy of the population was about 90%, there were about 7.5 thousand representatives of the “intelligentsia” "Up until the 30s, the strengthening of national statehood was going on, there were Chuvash sections and departments in the central party, state, cultural institutions. Places of compact settlement of the Chuvash in other republics and regions, magazines and newspapers were published in the Chuvash language, preparations were made for teaching staff, Chuvash theaters are functioning 1935 The Chuvash Republic was awarded the Order of Lenin for outstanding achievements in the development of the national economy and culture.

At the same time, in the 30s. The formation of administrative teams was actively completed. control system, and Chuvashia became its constituent element. Supporters of other views were brutally persecuted. It is assumed that in the republic. from the end 20s By 1953, more than 14 thousand people were repressed. As in plural national-state formations, most of the victims were accused of bourgeois-nationalist actions.

During the Great Patriotic War, more than 208 thousand natives of Chuvashia fought the Nazis. Of these, St. 100 thousand died. OK. 54 thousand people awarded orders and medals. Chuvashia occupies a prominent place in the number of Heroes Soviet Union. More than 80 natives of the Czechoslovak Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic were awarded this high title. Natives of the Czech Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic fought selflessly in various sectors of the front. For example, according to data that has not yet been fully clarified, about 1,000 natives of the Czech Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic arrived to serve in the garrison of the Brest Fortress on the eve of the fighting. Almost all of them laid down their lives in that unequal duel. A large number of natives of the Chuvash Republic participated in the partisan movement. Many of them fought against fascist invaders on the territory of other states. From the western and central regions of the USSR, 70.5 thousand people were accepted into Chuvashia, more than 20 industrial workers were relocated. enterprises. During the war years, the Chuvash Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic received the challenge Red Banner of the State Defense Committee three times.

In the 50-80s. The average annual growth rate of the total volume of industrial output in Chuvashia was ahead of the all-Russian rate. 50-60s Chuvashia from agrarian-industrial. became industrial-agrarian. republic. By 1970, 26 large industrial plants had been built and put into operation. enterprises in Cheboksary: ​​cotton mill, electrical factories. performer mechanisms, electrical measuring instruments plant, tractor spare parts plant. parts, "Chuvashkabel", Alatyr plants "Electropribor", "Electroavtomat", Kanash factories of electric forklifts, paint and varnish and plastic products, etc. In 1970, the construction of the Cheboksary hydroelectric power station began, in 1972 - the Cheboksary industrial plant. tractors. These same years are notable for the strengthening of the directive nature of economics. relationships. People's reforms households did not touch upon the foundations of strict centralized planning. K con. 90s St. 80% of production capacity turned out to be concentrated. in Cheboksary and Novocheboksarsk. In rural areas, industry is mainly represented. small food and wood processing enterprises. industries. the industrial structure remained high. weight of production of means of production, which amounted to 78% in 1985 in the machine-building complex. the weight of products at the global level in 1985 was 8%.

Intensive the growth of industry led to significant population migration to cities, especially to Cheboksary. Some “unpromising” villages were liquidated. It was constantly going, especially in the mountains. terrain, narrowing of the functions of the Chuvash. language From the beginning 60s schools rep. We switched to teaching students from grades 5-7 in Russian. language This innovation helped some schoolchildren to better master Russian. language, made it easier to study in technical schools and universities. But the sudden withdrawal of the native language. from education process led to the loss of the basics of literacy by the majority of its speakers, among many. I retained the ability to explain myself only at the everyday level. Representatives of the Chuvash found themselves in a particularly difficult position. diaspora. In 2013, UNESCO experts classified the Chuvash language as endangered.

The search for a way out of the current situation, which began actively, but ill-considered, in April. 1985, did not produce tangible results in the economy. Since 1991, production volumes began to decline in absolute terms. expression. Failure. attempts to root reforms of the country's economy undertaken in the beginning. 90s, brought people. economy to a systemic crisis. esp. Regions that do not have rich natural resources find themselves in a difficult situation. resources and enterprises for their processing.

Unresolved and aggravated socio-economic, national, cultural and everyday problems in the context of the weakening of strict ideological. and state dictatorship contributed to the emergence of societies. movements that advocated expanding the rights of republics and peoples. con. 1989 Chuvash was created. social-cultural center (CHOKTs), in March 1991 - the Chuvash party. National Revival (CHAP), 8-9 Oct. 1993 organized the Chuvash National Congress (CHNC), whose delegates represented the Chuvash. population of the republic and Chuvash. diaspora. At the beginning 2001 in Chuvash. Rep. 39 registered polit. associations, there are 12 national cultural societies. centers, but their activities did not prevent a further rapid decrease in the number of Chuvash. as a result of the socio-economic processes that took place in the period from 1991 to 2010. the number of Chuvash in the Russian Federation decreased by almost 446 thousand people (24% of the 1989 level). The number of Chuvash in the Russian Federation decreased especially quickly in the period from 2002 to 2010 - by almost 202 thousand. people (by 14% over 8 years - up to 1,435,872 people, i.e. up to the level of 1955), incl. in the Czech Republic by 75 thousand people. This is comparable to the losses of the Czech Republic in the 2nd World War or the Civil War (for comparison: the losses of the USSR in the Second World War were 13.6% -27 million people).

Notes

1. Dimitriev V.D. Main milestones in the history of the Chuvash people and region of the X-XVII centuries.

   “In the second half of the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. 32 cities and about 2000 villages of the Bulgarian land were destroyed by the Golden Horde khans and emirs, nomadic hordes, Tamerlane, who made campaigns here in 1391 and 1395, but mainly by the nomadic Mangyt yurt of Edigei in 1391-1419. According to calculations taking into account archaeological, written and numismatic information, no more than one fifth of the Bulgarians survived. The elite and the urban population were almost completely destroyed. The territory of the Bulgarian land turned into a wild field where the Mangyts (Nogais) began to roam.”

2. 1 2 Dimitriev, V. D. Entry of Chuvashia into the Russian state. Chuvash Encyclopedia. Retrieved October 31, 2012. Archived from the original on December 4, 2012.

   “On the Mountain Side, the Chuvash and Mountain Mari suffered from continuous wars. clashes between Russians and Kazan. troops."

3. Ryabchikov, Maxim. Voluntary annexation of the Mountain Side is a myth, Irӗklӗ Sӑmakh (10.22.2012). Retrieved October 31, 2010.
4. Denisov P.V. Ethnocultural parallels of the Danube Bulgarians and Chuvashs / ​​author. preface I. D. Kuznetsov. - Cheboksary: ​​Chuvash. book publishing house, 1969. - 176 pp.: fig.
5. In February 1918, the national congress of the Mari decided to abolish the name “Cheremisy” due to its non-national origin and replace it with the historical national self-name “Mari” (Formation of the Mari Autonomous Region - Yoshkar-Ola, 1966. - P. 39).

Literature

• Historia ecclesiastica Zachariae Bhetori vulgo adscripta edidit E. W. Brooks, v. II, 1.12, cap. 7, r. 214; Corpus scriptorum christianorum orientalium. Scriptores Syri, series tertia, t. VI
• Procopius of Caesarea. War with the Persians
• Theophanes the Confessor. Chronography.
• Theophylact Simocatta. Story.
• Movses Kalankatuatsi. History of the country Aluanq.
• Nina Pigulevskaya. A NOTE ON THE RELATIONS BETWEEN BYZANTIUM AND THE HUNS IN THE 6th century.
• Notes of Ahmed Ibn Fadlan
• V. P. Ivanov, V. V. Nikolaev, V. D. Dmitriev. Chuvash. Ethnic history and traditional culture. Moscow, 2000.
• V. P. Ivanov, Chuvash ethnos. Cheboksary, 1998.
• V.V. Nikolaev, History of the ancestors of the Chuvash. XXX century BC e. - XV century n. e., Cheboksary, 2005.
• V. F. Kakhovsky, Origin of the Chuvash people, Cheboksary, 2003.
• Gury Komissarov (Kuri Vanter), Chăvash halăkh istoriiĕ, Shupashkar, 1990.
• Culture of the Chuvash region, Cheboksary, 1995.
• Chuvash folk tales, Cheboksary, 1993.
• Ponomareva A., Ivanova M. Memory.-Cheboksary: ​​Chuvash Book Publishing House.-1996.-T.2.-P.17-19

see also

• Chronology of Chuvashia
• Chuvashia during the Stalinist period

Links

• http://www.archives21.ru/default.aspx?page=./4220/4227/4481/4965
• http://chuvash.gks.ru/download/VOV/Chuv%20v%20VOV.htm
• http://www.mar-pamiat.narod.ru/ctr5.htm

History of Chuvashia Information About

Until the middle of the 18th century. The Chuvash retained a folk (pagan) religion, which contained elements adopted from the Zoroastrianism of ancient Iranian tribes, Khazarian Judaism, and Islam in the Bulgarian and Golden Horde-Kazan Khan times. The ancestors of the Chuvash believed in the independent existence of the human soul. The spirit of the ancestors patronized the members of the clan and could punish them for their disrespectful attitude.

Chuvash paganism was characterized by dualism, adopted mainly from Zoroastrianism: belief in the existence, on the one hand, of good gods and spirits led by Sulti Tura (supreme god), and on the other - evil deities and spirits led by Shuittan (devil) . The gods and spirits of the Upper World are good, those of the Lower World are evil.

The Chuvash religion in its own way reproduced the hierarchical structure of society. At the head of a large group of gods stood Sulti Tura with his family. Apparently, initially the heavenly god Tura (“Tengri”) was revered along with other deities. But with the advent of the “sole autocrat” he already becomes Asla tura (Supreme God), Sulti Tura (Supreme God).
The Almighty did not directly interfere in human affairs, he controlled people through an assistant - the god Kebe, who was in charge of the destinies of the human race, and his servants: Pulyokhsyo, who assigned people's fate, happy and unlucky lots, and Pihampara, who distributed spiritual qualities to people, who communicated prophetic visions to the yumzyas. was also considered the patron saint of animals. In the service of Sulti Tur there were deities whose names reproduced the names of the officials who served and accompanied the Golden Horde and Kazan khans: Tavam yra - the good spirit who sat in the divan (chamber), Tavam sureteken - the spirit in charge of the affairs of the divan, then: guard, gatekeeper, keeper and etc.

Funeral rites
The complex of memorial and funeral rites among the pagan Chuvash testifies to the developed cult of ancestors. The dead were buried with their heads facing west, a temporary monument made of flat wood in the form of a figure was placed on the grave (salam yupi - “farewell column”), in the fall in Yupa Uyakh (“month of pillar, monument”) an anthropomorphic yupa was built on the grave of the deceased during the past year - monument made of stone or wood - male - oak, female - linden. Funerals among the pagan Chuvash were accompanied by ritual songs and dances accompanied by a bubble (shapar) or bagpipes (kupas) in order to appease the deceased, to make his stay in the grave pleasant; fires were lit, sacrifices. Scientists (A. A. Trofimov and others) have found out that the funeral and memorial rituals of the Chuvash, the construction of cemeteries (masar) with an indispensable bridge laid across a stream or ravine (a bridge for the transition to the world of ancestors), and the construction of grave monuments yupa in the form of a pillar (the act of creation of the universe), lighting a bonfire during funerals and wakes (where they threw not only sacrificial food, but also embroidered surpan headdresses, alka, ama decorations, etc.), finally, the compositional and figurative structure of cult sculptures have a more than expressive connection with the ethnic groups of the Indo-Iranian cultural circle and are fully consistent with the teachings of Zara-tushtra. Apparently, the main defining features of the pagan religion of the Chuvash were formed by their ancestors - the Bulgarian-Suvar tribes - even during their stay in the territory Central Asia and Kazakhstan and subsequently in the North Caucasus.

Evil deities and spirits were independent of Sulti Tur: other gods and deities and were at enmity with them. The god of evil and darkness, Shuittan, was in the abyss and chaos. Directly from Shuittan “descended”:

Esrel is the evil deity of death, carrying away the souls of people, Iye is a brownie and a bone crusher, Vopkan is a spirit that inflicts epidemics, and Vupar (ghoul) caused severe illnesses, night suffocation, lunar and solar eclipses.

A certain place among the evil spirits was occupied by Iyoroh, whose cult dates back to matriarchy. Iyoroh was a doll in the form of a woman. It was passed down from generation to generation through the female line. Iyoroh was the patron of the family.

The most harmful and evil deities were considered kiremeti, who “dwelled” in every village and brought countless misfortunes to people (illness, childlessness, fires, droughts, hail, robberies, disasters from landowners, clerks, puyans, etc.). kiremets allegedly transformed the souls of villains and oppressors after their death. The name kiremeti itself comes from the Muslim cult of saints “karamat”. Each village had at least one kiremetis, and there were kiremets common to several villages. The place of sacrifice of the kiremets was fenced off, and a small building was built inside three-walled, facing open side to the East. The central element of the kiremetische was a lonely old, often withered tree (oak, willow, birch). The peculiarity of Chuvash paganism was the tradition of propitiating both good and evil spirits. Sacrifices were made with domestic animals, porridge, bread, etc. Sacrifices were made in special temples - religious buildings, which were usually located in forests and were also called ki-remets. They were looked after by machaurs (machavar). They, together with the leaders of prayers (kyolopusyo), performed rituals of sacrifices and prayers.

Well-being in the family and household was ensured by the hurtsurt, a female spirit; a whole family of patron spirits of domestic animals lived in the barnyard.

All outbuildings had patron spirits: the guardians of the cage (koletri yra), the cellar (nukhrep khusi), and the guardian of the barn (avan ketusho). In the bathhouse huddled the malicious spirit Iye - a kind of bone-breaking brownie.
The “afterlife” was imagined by the Chuvash pagans as a continuation of earthly life. The “prosperity” of the dead depended on how generously their living relatives treated them at the funeral.

Materials taken from the book:
"Chuvash. Ethnic history and traditional culture."
Authors and compilers: V. P. Ivanov, V. V. Nikolaev,
V. D. Dmitriev. Moscow, 2000.

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 Region Socialist Republic. Since 1991 - the Republic of Chuvashia as part of the 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 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 Caucasoid 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-as(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 of 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- ace, 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 of Chuvashia and the Russian Federation there are relics of these types of religion, accordingly, 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 of different cultures or peoples. But as shown historical analysis that this assumption is incorrect. In fact, such diversity is due to the fact that only one culture, one people, participated in the ethnogenesis of the Chuvash people, but different tribes of this people who have gone 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, going through 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- Druids dominated in the West, pagans dominated in the East, up to the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

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). In many historical documents speaks about this people, but geographically placing them in all parts of the Eurasian continent - from the Barents Sea to the Indian Ocean, from the Atlantic to Pacific Oceans. The modern Russian spelling of 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, meaning slave, is 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 complex history 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 in 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). Appearance large quantity Turkic words are due to the fact that when the Bulgars accepted Islam, part of the Bulgars refused to accept Islam and remained in the old religion, and mixed with the pagan Chuvash.

Many researchers classify the Chuvash language as a Turkic language. language group, I don't 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 more late 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 an alliance of tribes called the Huns, the main role in this alliance was occupied by the Savirs. 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 culture and economic structure of this region, changes in diet, etc. For example, the Amorites brewed beer, and 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 the 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 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 the wife of the 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, state religion became Judaism. After this, the state of Khazaria became an alien and hostile state for the Savirs, and a civil war began. 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 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, large group migrated and settled on the vast territory of modern Kyiv, Kharkov, Bryansk, Kursk regions, they created their own cities and principalities there (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 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). Svears with the rest 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”, believers of 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.), opushka (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. Amorites brought to India new religion and culture. 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 life history 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).

And behavior. The Chuvash people live in the center of the European part of Russia. Character traits character are integrally linked with the traditions of these amazing people.

Origins of the people

At a distance of about 600 kilometers from Moscow is the city of Cheboksary, the center Chuvash Republic. Representatives of a colorful ethnic group live on this land.

There are many versions about the origin of this people. It is most likely that the ancestors were Turkic-speaking tribes. These people began migrating west as early as the 2nd century BC. e. Looking for better life, they came on modern territories republics back in the 7th-8th centuries and three hundred years later created a state that was known as Volga Bulgaria. This is where the Chuvash came from. The history of the people could have been different, but in 1236 the state was defeated by the Mongol-Tatars. Some people fled from the conquerors to the northern lands.

The name of this people is translated from Kyrgyz as “modest”, according to the old Tatar dialect - “peaceful”. Modern dictionaries They claim that the Chuvash are “quiet”, “harmless”. The name was first mentioned in 1509.

Religious preferences

The culture of this people is unique. Elements of Western Asia can still be traced in rituals. The style was also influenced by close communication with Iranian-speaking neighbors (Scythians, Sarmatians, Alans). The Chuvash adopted not only their everyday life and economy, but also their manner of dressing. Their appearance, costume features, character and even religion were obtained from their neighbors. So, even before joining the Russian state, these people were pagans. The supreme god was called Tura. Later, other faiths began to penetrate into the colony, in particular Christianity and Islam. Those who lived on the lands of the republic worshiped Jesus. Allah became the head of those who lived outside the area. In the course of events, Muslims became dissatisfied. Yet today, most of the representatives of this people profess Orthodoxy. But the spirit of paganism is still felt.

Merging two types

Various groups influenced the appearance of the Chuvash. Most of all - Mongoloid and Caucasian. That is why almost all representatives of this people can be divided into fair-haired Finns and representatives of dark hair. Blonde hair is characterized by light brown hair, gray eyes, pallor, a wide oval face and a small nose, the skin is often covered with freckles. At the same time, they are somewhat darker in appearance than Europeans. Brunettes' locks are often curled, their eyes are dark brown and narrow in shape. They have poorly defined cheekbones, a depressed nose and a yellow skin type. It is worth noting here that their features are softer than those of the Mongols.

The Chuvash differ from neighboring groups. Characteristic for both types are a small oval head, a low bridge of the nose, narrowed eyes, and a small, neat mouth. Average height, not prone to obesity.

Casual look

Each nationality has a unique system of customs, traditions and beliefs. It was no exception, and from ancient times these people made cloth and canvas on their own in every home. Clothing was made from these materials. Men were supposed to wear a linen shirt and trousers. If it became cool, a caftan and a sheepskin coat were added to their look. The Chuvash had patterns unique to themselves. The woman’s appearance was successfully emphasized by unusual ornaments. All things were decorated with embroidery, including the wedged shirts that the ladies wore. Later, stripes and checks became fashionable.

Each branch of this group had and still has its own preferences for the color of clothing. Thus, the south of the republic has always preferred rich shades, and northwestern fashionistas loved light fabrics. Each woman's outfit included wide Tatar trousers. A mandatory element is an apron with a bib. It was especially diligently decorated.

In general, the appearance of the Chuvash is very interesting. The description of the headdress should be highlighted in a separate section.

Status determined by helmet

Not a single representative of the people could walk with his head uncovered. This is how a separate movement in the direction of fashion arose. Such things as tukhya and hushpu were decorated with special imagination and passion. The first one was worn on the head unmarried girls, the second was only for married women.

At first, the hat served as a talisman, a talisman against misfortune. Such an amulet was treated with special respect and decorated with expensive beads and coins. Later, such an object not only decorated the appearance of the Chuvash, it began to talk about social and marital status women.

Many researchers believe that the shape of the dress resembles Others provide a direct link to understanding the design of the Universe. Indeed, according to the ideas of this group, the earth had a quadrangular shape, and in the middle stood the tree of life. The symbol of the latter was a bulge in the center, which distinguished married woman from a girl. Tukhya had a pointed conical shape, hushpu was round.

The coins were chosen with special care. They had to be melodic. Those that hung from the edges hit each other and rang. Such sounds scared away evil spirits - the Chuvash believed in this. The appearance and character of a people are directly related.

Ornament code

The Chuvash are famous not only for their soulful songs, but also for their embroidery. The skill grew over generations and was passed down from mother to daughter. It is in the ornaments that one can read the history of a person, his belonging to a separate group.

The main embroidery is clear geometry. The fabric should only be white or gray. It’s interesting that girls’ clothes were decorated only before the wedding. There was not enough time for this in family life. Therefore, what they did in their youth was worn for the rest of their lives.

Embroidery on clothes complemented the appearance of the Chuvash. It contained encrypted information about the creation of the world. Thus, the tree of life and eight-pointed stars, rosettes or flowers were symbolically depicted.

After the popularization of factory production, the style, color and quality of the shirt changed. The older people grieved for a long time and assured that such changes in the wardrobe would bring disaster to their people. And indeed, over the years, true representatives of this genus are becoming fewer and fewer.

World of traditions

Customs say a lot about a people. One of the most colorful rituals is a wedding. The character and appearance of the Chuvash, traditions are still preserved. It is worth noting that in ancient times, priests, shamans or government officials were not present at the wedding ceremony. Guests of the event witnessed the creation of a family. And everyone who knew about the holiday visited the homes of the newlyweds’ parents. Interestingly, divorce was not perceived as such. According to the canons, lovers who married in front of their relatives should be true friend friend for the rest of my life.

Previously, the bride had to be 5-8 years older than her husband. When choosing a partner, the Chuvash put their appearance last. The character and mentality of these people required that, first of all, the girl be hardworking. They gave the young lady in marriage after she mastered housekeeping. Adult woman They were also tasked with raising a young husband.

Character is in customs

As previously mentioned, the very word from which the name of the people comes is translated from most languages ​​as “peaceful”, “calm”, “modest”. This meaning absolutely corresponds to the character and mentality of this people. According to their philosophy, all people, like birds, sit on different branches of the big tree of life, each is a relative of the other. Therefore, their love for each other is limitless. The Chuvash people are very peaceful and kind people. The history of the people does not contain information about attacks on the innocent and arbitrariness against other groups.

The older generation keeps traditions and lives according to the old pattern, which they learned from their parents. Lovers still get married and swear fidelity to each other in front of their families. Mass celebrations are often held, at which the Chuvash language sounds loudly and melodiously. People wear the best suits, embroidered according to all the canons. They cook traditional lamb soup - shurpa, and drink home-made beer.

The future is in the past

In modern conditions of urbanization, traditions in villages are disappearing. At the same time, the world is losing its independent culture, unique knowledge. Nevertheless, the Russian government is aimed at maximizing the interest of contemporaries in the past different nations. The Chuvash are no exception. Appearance, features of life, color, rituals - all this is very interesting. To show the younger generation the culture of the people, university students of the republic hold impromptu evenings. Young people speak and sing in the Chuvash language.

The Chuvash live in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan, so their culture is successfully breaking through into the world. Representatives of the people support each other.

Recently it was translated into Chuvash language main book Christians - the Bible. Literature is flourishing. The ornaments and clothing of the ethnic group inspire famous designers to create new styles.

There are still villages where they still live according to the laws of the Chuvash tribe. The appearance of men and women in such gray hair is traditionally folk. The great past is preserved and revered in many families.