The Komi are a Finnic-speaking people, classified among the Finno-Ugrians. They lived in present-day east-central and north-central European Russia. Their ancestral core territory is considered the region around the Kama River descending from the Ural Mountains. The Komi tribes split into two groups in about 500 C. E. Those who stayed behind in the Kama basin became known as Komi-Permyaks (or Permyaks); their homeland later became organized as Permyakia (the Komi-Permyak Autonomous Okrug). Those who migrated northward to the Vychegda and Pechora Rivers became known as the Komi-Zyrians (or Syryenians); their homeland later became organized as the Kama Republic, a small portion of which is north of the Arctic Circle. Another group migrated southeastward to the Middle and Upper Jazva, part of the Kama watershed, and were known as the Komi-Jazva (or Komi-Yazua or Komi-Yazvas); their homeland is now part of the Perm Oblast. The Komi have since settled in adjoining regions as well.
ORIGINS
According to linguistic theory the Permic branch of the Finnic populations of Russia is considered to have split off from other groups, possibly between 2500 and 2000 b. c.e. It is thought that sometime during the first millennium B. C.E. the Komi tribe separated from the UDMURTS and eventually settled in the Middle and Upper Kama River region. Their name may be derived from the name of the river. Other possible source words are Kommu, “homelands”; kom, “grayling” (the totem of the Komi); Kama, “white.”
LANGUAGE
The Komi language is in the Permic group of Finnic in the Finno-Ugric language family The closest linguistic relatives to the Komi are the UDMURTS. The various Komi dialect languages are written with the Russian alphabet, with two extra letters.
HISTORY
In 1187 Russian Slavs out of Novgorod first traveled to the Ural Mountains to collect furs and taxes, as attested by the first reference to the Perm settlement in Russian sources. Moscow continued to establish its influence over the homeland of the Komi and initiated sporadic military campaigns. In 1463 some Komi began to move to the Upper Vychegda and Pechora River basins. By 1472 Moscow had gained control over their territories, which became a hub for trade with Siberia and later the starting point for the conquest of Siberia by the Cossacks.
From the 16th century Russians began extensive settlements in the area, and a salt and mining industry was established. Many Komi-Permyaks migrated to Siberia rather than suffer exploitation as cheap labor in these industries. Those who remained in their homeland experienced poverty and a loss of their traditional way of life. The severity of the frigid climate and their inaccessible geographic location kept the Komi-Zyrians culturally isolated until after World War II (1939-45).
CULTURE (see also Finno-Ugrians)
The traditional economy of the Komi was based on agriculture, breeding, hunting, and fishing. Archaeological evidence also provides evidence of the extensive smelting of copper and bronze. They had trade contacts with neighboring peoples. The economic activities of the Komi now vary significantly: Reindeer herding, hunting, fishing, and lumbering are typical among northern groups, and agriculture, industry, and mining among southern groups.
In 1379 Saint Stephen of Perm out of Byzantium constructed the Komi alphabet, or abur, and translated a series of religious texts into Komi. Since about that time the Komi have been nominally Eastern Orthodox Christians, although some of their animistic pre-Christian beliefs and rituals have endured.
Further Reading
N. D. Konakov. Komi Mythology: Encyclopaedia of Uralic Mythologies (Budapest: Akademiai Kiado, 2003).
Karoly Redei. Zyrian Folklore Texts (Budapest: Akademiai Kiado, 2002).
Koriondi See Coriondi.
World History
