The Mordvins are a Finnic people, who live in the Mordvinian Republic of present-day western Russia, as well as in the provinces of Samara, Penza, Orenburg, Ulyanovsk, and Nizhni-Novgorod (see Finno-Ugrians; Russians: nationality). The Erza (Erzyas; Ersja) and Moksha are two subgroups that maintain ethnic identity and identify themselves by those names as opposed to the general name Mordvins or Mordvinians. The Engushav, Karatay, and Teryukhsn (Terjukhans) are former subtribes. Along with the Mari the Mordvins are known as the Volga Finnics, their ancestral homeland along the Volga and its tributaries, the Oka and sura.
MORDVINS
Location:
Volga-Oka River basin in Mordvinian Republic and neighboring regions of western Russia; also in central Asia and Siberia
Time period:
500 C. E. to present
Ancestry:
Finno-Ugrians
Language:
Volgaic (Finnic)
Mordvins time line
C. E.
C. 300 Mordvins under rule of Ostrogoths
C. 800 Mordvins under rule of Bulgars
1236 Mordvins under rule of Mongols
1552 Mordvins under rule of Russians
Seventh century Mordvins separate into Erza and Moksha.
16th century Russian colonization and economic supremacy force Mordvins to move east.
1671 First Mordvin rebellion against Russian rule 1743-45 Second Mordvin rebellion 1804 Third Mordvin rebellion
ORIGINS
Mordvins belong to the Finno-Ugrian tribes who lived in the Volga area and its tributaries, the Oka and Sura.
This area was an early homeland of Finno-Ugrians, but only the Mordvins, in addition to the Mari, still live here. There is evidence, in place-names and also skull types, that Indo-European speakers may have lived here. They may have been related to ancestors of the Scythians. The area may have received incomers during the Bronze and Iron Ages from both the eastern Mediterranean and Asia. The metal-rich Ural Mountains bordering the territory on the east had attracted traders from the eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea regions since the Bronze Age. Some of these perhaps settled in lands adjacent to their trade routes to the Urals. Skull analysis shows that people in the Volga-Kama region have traits from both Europe and Asia. People in the Volga-Oka region displays eastern Mediterranean characteristics.
Greek historian Herodotus of the fifth-century B. C.E. described a people called Budinoi in eastern Volga country; west of them he placed the Androphagoi; then the Melancheles (Black Mantles); and the farthest west, the Neuroi. The name Androphagoi (Cannibals), has the same meaning as the Iranian word Mord-Chvar, from which is possibly derived Mordva and subsequently Mordvin. Such names may be the result of ancient fears and prejudices regarding traditional enemies. The black mantle to which Herodotus referred is still a part of the national costume of Volga Finnics.
LANGUAGE
The Mordvinian language, those of the Mari and the extinct MUROMA, form the Volgaic group of the Finno-Ugric languages. The extinct languages of the Merya and Meshchera were probably also related. Mordvinian is common in the Volga-Kama region and has two literary languages, the larger eastern Erza and the smaller western Moksha. The literary versions of the languages use the same Cyrillic script but are mutually unintelligible.
HISTORY
During the first millennium B. C.E. the ancestors of the Mordvins and other Finno-Ugrians may have been in contact with the Scythians as the Scythians received gold from the Ural Mountains. In the third-fourth century C. E. the Ostrogoths controlled Mordvin territory. The Bulgars gained control by about 800. The Balts seem to have had contact with the Mordvins from the west, for Baltic words are used among Mordvins, who have never lived near the sea.
The Erza and Moksha separation was complete by the seventh century By the 12th century Erzas and Mokshas had already developed distinct cultures and languages. The next century in 1236 the Mongols ruled their homeland, followed by the Tatars the following century.
The Mordvins were farmers and carpenters so, during colonization by the Russian Slavs from 1562, they were chosen by Ivan the Terrible to build bridges and cut down forests. Many migrated eastward to avoid Russian economic exploitation and conversion to Eastern orthodox Christianity. Rebellions against the Russians in 1671 and 1743-45 failed. Nesmeyan Vasilyev, leader of the Erza, was burned at the stake in the latter. After a third revolt in 1804 Mordvin resistance ended.
During the 20th century the Mordvins continued to endure hardship. In the years between the Russian Revolution of 1917 and World War II (1939-45) famine led to relocation, and collectivization led to loss of traditional culture. Industrialization in the 1950s also contributed to a weakening of traditional tribalism. The Mordvins are now largely dispersed, and use of their language is decreasing.
CULTURE (see also Finno-Ugrians)
Until the 20th century the Mordvins were primarily an agrarian people. some of them became renowned as beekeepers and traders in honey.
During the Christian era the Mordvin people became Eastern orthodox Christians, but Ivan IV the Terrible forced them to become
Baptists. Sun worship, known as Shkay, is still practiced. The Moon, trees, water, thunder, and frost are also still considered integral to religious belief. Many Mordvins still believe that dead family members return briefly on the 40th day after death.
The Mordvin name has endured as an official designation despite the fact that the Mordvins consider themselves two different peoples, Erza and Moksha.
World History
