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The Mishar Tatars (endonyms: мишәрләр, мишәр татарлары, mişärlär, mişär tatarları), previously known as the Meshcheryaki (мещеряки), are the second largest subgroup of the Volga Tatars, after the Kazan Tatars. Traditionally, they have inhabited the middle and western side of Volga region, including the nowadays Mordovia, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Ryazan Oblast, Penza Oblast, Ulyanovsk Oblast, Orenburg Oblast, Nizhny Novgorod and Samara Oblast regions of Russia. Many have since relocated to Moscow.Leitzinger 1996, p. 6 (S. Ishkhakov) Mishars also comprise the majority of Finnish Tatars and Tatars living in other Nordic countries and Baltic states countries.
Mishars speak the western dialect of the Tatar language and like the Tatar majority, practice Sunni Islam. They have at least partially different ethnogenesis from the Kazan Tatars, though many differences have since disappeared. Different versions about their origin exist to this day, but most researchers connect their ancestors to the population of Golden Horde. The Mishar dialect is said to be "faithfully close" to the ancient Cuman language.
In the 1897 census, their total number was 622,600. The estimates have varied greatly since, because they are often identified simply as Tatars.
Linguist J. J. Mikkola thought the name might come from a reconstructed Mordvinic word ḿeškär, meaning "beekeeper".Fasmer, Maks: Etimologitšeski slovar russkogo jazyka, tom 2, p. 616, 630. Moskva: Progress, 1986. Its connection to proto-Hungarian Magyars has also been suggested (mazhar, mishar).
Mishars living separately from Kazan Tatars do not call themselves Mishars, they consider themselves simply Tatars. The Tatar Turkologist of the early 19th century, Akhmarov, believed that the name "Mishar" has a geographical character and originates from the historical region of Meshchera. "Mişär" most likely comes from the Kazan Tatars. Previously, in Russian sources, they were known as the Meshcheryaki (мещеряки). Narody mira: Narody jevropeiskoi tšasti SSSR, II, p. 638. Moskva: Nauka, 1964.Leitzinger 1996, pp. 33-34 In the 1926 census, 200,000 called themselves "Mishars". The Tatar name originates from the time of Golden Horde, when the Feudalism nobility used it for its population. Later, Russian feudals and the Tsar government started using the name, though many of them still called themselves möselman. Narody jevropeiskoi tšasti SSSR II, s. 636. Moskva: Nauka, 1964.Halikov, A. H. 1991: Tataarit, keitä te olette? Suomeksi tekijän täydentämänä toimittaneet Ymär Daher ja Lauri Kotiniemi. Abdulla Tukain Kulttuuriseura r.y.
In 2006, based on a single interview done in an ethnically diverse Chuvashia village, the Mishars saw Islam central to their identity; they stated that Kryashens, the Christian Tatars, were not Tatars at all. They themselves identified as "Tatar", and the term Mishar only came up after repeated questioning.
According to R. G. Mukhamedova, the Mishar Tatars are ethnic relatives of the Kazan Tatars, descendants of the Kipchaks, some of whom may be of ancient Hungarian origin.Leitzinger 1996, p. 28 Mukhamedova presented that "the role of the Kipchaks in the formation of the Mishars was somewhat greater than in the formation of the Kazan Tatars". According to Allen J. Frank, the Mishar Tatars "have the same language and religion as the Kazan Tatars, but differ from them in their ethnic and political history". He emphasizes the Mishar's "long association with the Russian state".
Yevfimi Aleksandrovich Malov, a missionary who was active in Kazan, compared the two groups in question in his 1885 writing as follows: "The Mishar Tatars have bushier beards, they don't show off their clothes. They speak loudly, as if shouting, and add Russian expressions to their speech".Leitzinger 1996, p. 36 A mullah named Ahsän, from the village of Yendovich interviewed by Malov, said that they came from Kasimov and differed from the Kazan Tatars in terms of language and customs.
As the Mishar and Kazan Tatars have become closer as a result of migration, the differences between them have decreased.
The ethnic character of the Mishars was mostly finally formed during 1400–1500 in Qasim Khanate, though principality of Temnikov is also named as an important factor. After migration waves from late 1500s to 1700s, they settled especially on the right bank of Volga and Urals. Increased contacts with Kazan Tatars made these two groups even closer, and thus, the "Tatar nation" was born; eventually replacing previously used regional names. Narody Rossii: entsiklopedija, p. 322. Moskva: Bolšaja Rossijskaja entsiklopedija, 1994. .
Historian Alimzhan Orlov thinks the Mishars of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast are "real Mishars". G. Akhmarov says that Mishars arrived in Novgorod in early 1600s, though some of them might have already been on the territory before; Tatars who called themselves the Meshcheryaks had settled to the deserts in the eastern part of the region already before the Invasion of Kazan (1552). In remaining texts, they recall “with great longing the happy life of their ancestors in the Kazan Khanate".
Researchers such as Velyaminov-Zernov, Radlov and Mozharovski believed that the Mishar Tatars descended from the "Tatarized" Finno-Ugric Meshchera tribe.Leitzinger (Salavat Ishakov) 1996, p. 7 M. Zekiyev, G. Akhmarov and A. Orlov challenge this idea. Zekiyev says: "If this theory (Meschera) turns out to be true, there must be clear traces of Finno-Ugric tribes in the Tatars, but they are not there at all."M. Z. Zekiyev Mişerler, Başkurtlar ve dilleri / Mishers, Bashkirs and their languages . In Türkiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi 73–86 According to historian Damir Khayretdinov, genetic studies seem to also be against this theory.
The theory of A. Orlov is as follows then: The ancestors of Mishar Tatars are formed by Cumans and Meshchera. However, Orlov denies the Finnic background of the tribe. He thinks Meshchera was all along a Turkic tribe (Polovtsian), that by Ivan the Terrible, were named as Mari people. Orlov states, that Mishars originate from "ancient Meshchera", which is first mentioned in Golden Horde. He also proposes, that these Turkic Meshchera largely formed the Don Cossacks, also allegedly known as the "Meschera Cossacks", even before the time of Kasim Khanate. A. Gordeyev connects the formation of Cossacks to Golden Horde and Tatishev made a connection between "Meshchera Tatars" and Don Cossacks. Nikolay Karamzin, according to him, wrote the following: "Cossacks are just Meschera Tatars". Orlov also states, that not all ancestors of Nizhny Novorod Mishars are from Meshchera, rather, some can be traced back to Volga Bulgaria, and others to Siberia.Рахимзянов Б. Р. Касимовское ханство (1445—1552 гг.): Очерки истории. — Казань: Татарское книжное издательство (Идел-пресс), 2009. — 208 с
The Hungarian theory exists also. Friar Julian describes Eastern Hungarians he found in Bashkortostan in 1235. They spoke to him Hungarian and their language remained mutually intelligible. Some scientists of the 19th and 20th centuries, based on equivalency of the Turkic ethnonym Madjar (variants: Majgar, Mojar, Mishar, Mochar) with the Hungarian self-name Magyar, associated them with Hungarian speaking Magyars and came to a conclusion that Turkic-speaking Mishars were formed by a Turkization of those Hungarians who remained in the region after their main part left to the West in the 8th century.Mirfatyh Zakiev. (1995) ETHNIC ROOTS of the TATAR PEOPLE. In: TATARS: PROBLEMS of the HISTORY and LANGUAGE. Kazan.Кушкумбаев А.К. «По Преданиям древних они знают, что те венгры произошли от них…» К вопросу о восточных мадьярах. 3. NEMZETKÖZI KORAI MAGYARTÖRTÉNETI ÉS RÉGÉSZETIKONFERENCIA, Budapest 2018. The shift magyar>mozhar is natural for Hungarian phonology and this form of the ethnonym was in use until they shifted to Tatar language in 15-16th centuries. The existence of the ethnic toponyms mozhar, madjar to the east of Carpathian region proves this.Шушарин, В. П. Ранний этап этнической истории венгров. Проблемы этнического самосознания. Москва, 1997 The presence of early medieval Hungarian culture is attested by archeological findings in Volga-Ural region.Olga V. Zelencova ’Magyar’ jellegű övdíszek Volga menti finn nyelvű népek temetőiből a Volga jobb partvidékéről. 3. NEMZETKÖZI KORAI MAGYARTÖRTÉNETI ÉS RÉGÉSZETIKONFERENCIA, Budapest 2018. The influence of Hungarian language resulted in forming definite conjugation in Mordvinic languages which is found only in Ugric languages. Medieval Hungarian loans are found in Chuvash language and Mordvinic languages.Серебренников Б.А. Исторические загадки // Советское финноугроведение. –1984. – № 3. – Москва: Наука. – p. 69–72 Ethnologist R.G. Kuzeyev says that the Mishars by their origin "go back to one of the ancient Ugric tribes of the Magyar union", and this ethnonym itself "has a Ugric-Magyar basis".
The ancestors of Mishar Tatars being part of Golden Horde, one way or another, unifies researchers. UCLA Center for Near East Studies states that Mishars most likely descent from the Kipchaks of Golden Horde, that settled on the West side of the Volga.Agnes Kefeli: "Tatar", UCLA Center for Near East Studies. Published: Khayretdinov: "The Meshchersky yurt was considered an integral part of the Golden Horde, and not only in its capital Sarai, but also in Crimea and elsewhere". Vasily Radlov noted that the Mishar-Tatar dialect is one of the closest to the Cuman language used in Codex Cumanicus. Leitzinger called their dialect "faithfully close" to ancient Kipchak.Leitzinger 1996, p. 41
The Mishars speak the western dialect of the Tatar language. (The Mishar Dialect). It is further divided into several local dialects. The Western dialect is characterized by the absence of the labialized ɒ and the uvular q and ʁ found in the Middle Tatar dialect. In some local dialects there is an affricate tʃ, in others ts. The written Tatar language (ie the Kazan dialect) has been formed as a result of the mixing of central and western dialects. The Mishar dialect, especially in the Sergach area, has been said to be very similar to the ancient Kipchak languages.Jazyki Rossijskoi Federatsii i sosednih gosudarstv. Tom 3, p. 68. Moskva: Nauka, 2005. .Jazyki mira: Tjurkskije jazyki, p. 371. Moskva: Indrik, 1997. .Bedretdin, Kadriye (toim.): Tugan Tel - Kirjoituksia Suomen tataareista. Helsinki: Suomen Itämainen Seura, 2011. . (p. 265).Leitzinger 1996, p. 35-37 Some linguists (Vasily Radlov, Samoylovich) think that Mishar Tatar belongs to the Kipchak-Cuman group rather than to the Kipchak-Bulgar group.Махмутова Л. Т. Опыт исследования тюркских диалектов: мишарский диалект татарского языка. — М.: Наука, 1978, Khayretdinov: "The Mishar dialect is incomparably closer to the Kipchak language than other languages of the Kipchak subgroup in many phonetic and especially morphological features".
Material from the second half of the 18th century on the Mishar dialect shows references to the Kasimov dialect, which has since disappeared, and especially to the Kadom area. Russian loanwords also appear.
G. N. Akhmarov noticed a similarity in the Mishar and Kazakhs cultures in the national dress of women and in the ancient Kipchak words, which are not found in the Kazan Tatar dialect, but are in the center for the Kazakhs, as well as Siberian Tatars and Altai people.
Russian and Mordvian influences have been observed in Mishar architecture, house construction and home decoration. Mishar tales often contain signs of paganism and a lot of animal motifs. Social satire has also been popular. It usually targetes the rich and spiritual leaders. Folk poetry is wistful, about the home region and miserable human fates. The wedding songs of the Mishar people are very similar to the songs of the Chuvash people. According to Orlov, the Mishars resemble the Crimean Karaites and the Balkars because of their language, traditional food, and the naming of the days of the week. A. Samoylovich writes; "The individual name system of the days of the week is observed in a wide area, from the Meshcheryaks of the Sergach region of Nizhny Novgorod province to the Turks of Anatolia and the Balkan Peninsula."Leitzinger 1996, pp. 35-37Р. Г. Мухамедова "Татары-мишари. Историко-этнографическое исследование. — М.: Наука, 1972.
Even though the Mishars present many different ethnic traits, they are (like Balkars) said to be one of the "purest representatives" of ancient Kipchaks today. Orlov states: "Nizhny Novogord Tatars are one of the original Tatar groups, who maintain the continuity of Kipchak-Turkic language, culture and tradition."
A. Leitzinger thinks Mishars have more Kipchak in their dialect, where as Bolgar influence possibly is found better among the Kazan Tatars.Leitzinger 1996, p. 37
Khayretdinov brings up the possible Iranian-Burtas theory when discussing the dark appearance of Mishar Tatars. N.D. Rusinov suggested that some in the southern and southeastern parts of the Nizhny Novgorod region may be of Iranian origin.
Mishars are known to have partaken in the Cossack army of Stenka Razin during the 1670–1671 uprising, and probably also in other revolutions in Russian Empire. In 1798-1865, they formed the "Bashkir-Meshcheryaki Army" (Башкиро-мещерякское войско), which was an irregural formation, but took part for example in the French Invasion of Russia. (1812).Leitzinger 1996, pp. 10 (Ishakov), 34 (Leitzinger)
Orlov says that "Meshchera Tatars" were in the Cossack army of Russian conquest of Siberia. Orlov has also given a simple statement relating to this; "The ancestors of Mishars are the Don Cossacks".
In some sources, Mishars are known as "Kasimov Tatars", since they were formed Qasim Khanate. However, the formation, also known as Qasıym Tatars, was eventually a separate Tatar group; according to S. Ishkhakov, an "ethnically transitional group between Kazan Tatars and Mishar Tatars." Kasimov Tatars took part in the Conquest of Kazan and in wars against Sweden with Ivan the Terrible.Leitzinger 1996, p. 8-9 (Salavat Ishkhakov)
In 1400-1500s, the Tatars of Qasim Khanate operated as representatives and translators in Russian court.Leitzinger 1996, pp. 8 (Ishakov), 35 (Leitzinger)
Traditionally, the Mishars have inhabited the western side of the Volga. Majority of the Nizhny Novgorod Mishars currently live in Moscow.Leitzinger 1996, p. 44
A project focused on Nizhny Novgorod Mishars, which historian Alimzhan Orlov calls "the pure Mishars", is tatargenealogy.ru, created by Ruslan Akmetdinov.
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