The Mokshas (also Mokshans, Moksha people; ) comprise a Mordvins ethnic group belonging to the Volga Finns branch of the Finno-Ugric peoples.
Their native language is Moksha language, one of the two surviving members of the Mordvinic branch of the Uralic language family. According to a 1994 Russian census, 49% of the autochthonal Volga Finns population in Mordovia identified themselves as Mokshas, totaling more than 180,000 people.[
] and paganism.
Name
According to popular tradition, the Russians first used the term "Mordva" to refer only to the
Erzyas people,
[Jaimoukha p.12] but later used it for both the Erzyas and the Mokshas. The term "Moksha" () begins to appear in Russian sources in the 17th century.
Local ethnonym for the Mokshas include:
History
Prehistory
The breakup of the Volga Finns into separate groups is believed to have begun around 1200 BC.
The Moksha people cannot be traced earlier because they did not possess a distinctive burial tradition before that time. According to archeological data, bodies in early Mokshan burials were oriented with their heads to the south. Herodotus also describes the Scythian-Persian war of 516–512 BC, which involved the entire population of the Middle Volga. During this war the
Sarmatians forced out the
Scythians and subdued some Moksha clans. During the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD,
Antes people,
Slavs, Mokshas and Erzyas became the most numerous and powerful population in East Europe.
By the end of the 4th century, most Mokshas had joined the Hunnic tribal alliance, taken part in the defeat of the Ostrogothic Empire in 377, and subsequently moved eastward and settled in Pannonia. Evidence of the Hunnic connection includes Mokshan battle harnesses, especially the bits and psalia, which are identical to early Hunnic battle harnesses.
Archeological data show that the boundaries of Moksha territory did not change between the fourth and 8th centuries. In 450, the Mokshas were in alliance with a people of the Middle Volga known as the
Burtas, who were possibly
Alans.
Middle Ages
During the second Arab-Khazar War in 737, Arab armies under the command of Marwan ibn Muhammad reached the right bank of the Volga and came into conflict with the Burtas on their way to the left or "Khazar" bank of Volga.
Circa 889–890, the
Khazars were at war with the Burtas, the
Oghuz Turks and the
Pechenegs. In 913, after a war between the
Arsiyah and the Rus' at
Atil began, five thousand Rus' survivors escaped up the Volga where most of them were killed by the Burtas. In 932, the Khazar King Aaron formed a war alliance with the Oghuz. Circa 940, during the reign of King Joseph, the Khazars entered into an alliance with the Burtas.
Afterwards the Burtas Seliksa principality became a vassal of the Khazar khanate.
In 965, Sviatoslav I of Kiev “attacked the Khazars' allies, captured Sarkel and Bulgaria, and reached Semender” according to Ibn Haukal.
Two years later, after the Great Flood, he seized and destroyed Atil.
At the beginning of the 10th century
Almush the king of
Volga Bulgaria took control of the "Khazar tribute". He converted to
Islam, formed an alliance with the caliph of
Baghdad Al-Muktafi, and founded a trading post at the mouth of the
Oka river. The Kievan prince Vladimir seized
Bolghar in 985. King Almush and Prince Vladimir signed a peace and trade treaty in 1006 which was the beginning of an "eternal peace" that lasted for 80 years. War for domination of the
Oka River and the Erzyan fortress Obran Osh started again in 1120. Prince Yury of the city of Vladimir seized
Oshel in 1220 and demanded a reduction of Bulgarian influence over the Erzyan kingdom (Purgas Rus). The latter was allied with Volga Bulgaria. Vladimirian princes captured and destroyed Obran Osh in 1221 and founded
Nizhny Novgorod on the site. The Erzyan King
Purgaz and the Mokshan King
Puresh were at war and while Purgaz was allied with Volga Bulgaria, Puresh was an ally of Prince Yury.
In 1230 Purgaz laid siege to Nizhny Novgorod but was defeated. After that Puresh's son Prince Atämaz with his
Polovtsi allies raided into Purgaz's lands and completely destroyed his kingdom.
As recorded by Rashid-al-Din in his
Jami al-Tawarikh, 4 September 1236 was the date on which the sons of
Jochi -
Batu Khan,
Orda Khan, and
Berke,
Ugedei son
Kadan,
Chagatai Khan grandson Büri, and
Genghis Khan son Kulkan declared war on the Mokshas, Burtas and Erzyas. This war ended on 23 August 1237 with a crucial victory for the Mongols at the Black Forest close to the border of the Principality of Ryazan.
King Puresh of the Mokshans submitted to Batu Khan and was required personally to lead his army as a vassal in Mongol-Tartar military campaigns.[Itinerarium fratris Willielmi de Rubruquis de ordine fratrum Minorum, Galli, Anno gratia 1253. ad partes Orientales.] It is known that Subutai ordered the punishment of the conspirators; thousands of Mokshas were put to death, but approximately a third escaped and returned to their homeland. Another third remained in the vanguard of the Mongol army and marched into Hungary through the Verecke Pass in March 1242, according to the Hungarian bishop Stephan II[Sinor D. Un voyageur du treizieme siecle: le Dominicain de Hongrie. — Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. University of London, 1952, vol. XIV, part 3, p. 599)] and Matthew of Paris.[Paris, Matthew; Roger, of Wendover; H. R. Luard (editor). Chronica majora in Rerum Britannicarum Medii Aevi Scriptores; or, Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland During the Middle Ages (London: Great Britain Public Record Office, 1858-1911). 57.]
Geographic distribution
Mokshas live mostly in the central and western parts of the
Mordovia, and neighbouring areas of
Tambov Oblast and in the western and central parts of
Penza Oblast. Populations of Mokshas also live in
Orenburg Oblast,
Bashkortostan,
Tatarstan,
Altai Krai, as well as in diaspora communities in
Estonia,
Kazakhstan, the
United States, and
Australia.
Culture
Language
Mokshas speak the
Moksha language, which is a member of the Mordvinic branch of the
Uralic languages.
Mythology
In traditional Mokshan mythology the world was created by
Ińe Narmon (Great Bird), referred to in folklore as
Akša Loksti (White Swan). The first thing
Ińe Narmon created was water.
Yakśarga (Duck) brought sand from the bottom of the sea and
Ińe Narmon took the sand and with it formed the earth with
Ińe Šufta (The Great Tree) on it.
Ińe Narmon made its nest on
Ińe Šufta, which is usually referred to as
Kelu (birch) in folklore.
Akša Kal (White Sturgeon) carried the earth with the roots of
Ińe Šufta on its back.
Ińe Narmon had three nestlings:
Tsofks (Nightingale),
Kuku (Cuckoo), and
Ožarga (Skylark).
Tsofks chose bushes and willows for his home,
Kuku settled in the forest, and
Ožarga went to the meadows. Another of the old deities mentioned in Mokshan folklore was
Mešavane (Mother Bee). Since the Christianization of the Mokshans the Mokshan Supreme God has usually been called
Värden Škai (Supreme Creator).
According to later legends the creation of the world went through several stages: first the Idemevs (Devil) was asked by the God to bring sand from the bottom of the great sea. Idemevs hid some sand in his mouth. When Värden Škai started creating the earth, this hidden sand started to grow in the mouth of Idemevs. He had to spit it out and thus chasms and mountains appeared on the previously level and beautiful earth. The first humans created by Värden Škai could live for 700–800 years and were giants 99 arshins (yards) tall. The underworld in Mokshan mythology was ruled by Mastoratia. The souls of heroes, clan elders and warriors slain in battle travelled after death to the emerald green isle of Usiya, where they sat at a long table together with the great Tyushtya drinking pure mead.
Physical anthropology
The first to write about the anthropological characteristics of Moksha and Erzya was the German encyclopedist, naturalist and traveler in the Russian service Peter Simon Pallas (1773), according to whose observations there were fewer light-blond and red-haired Mokshas than Erzyans, however, the latter also had dark blond hair.
In 1912, a course of lectures by was published, which notes the anthropological characteristics of the Mokshans and Erzyans, which states that the Mokshans have a greater variety of anthropological types. Compared to the Erzyans, who have a greater predominance of fair-haired, gray-eyed and light-skinned individuals, the Mokshas have a predominant number of people with black hair and eyes, dark, yellowish skin color.
K.Yu. Mark distinguishes the Sub-Ural and North Pontic type among the Mokshans, and among the Erzyans — the Sura type, close to the .
Genetic studies
As a result of singled out four main types of maps of genetic distances – "Eastern European", "North-Eastern", "North-Balkan", "South-Balkan", which included
Slavs,
Balts, some Finno-Ugric and other peoples of
Europe, however, maps of distances from Moksha do not belong to any of these types, which, according to the scientist, indicates the genetic identity of the Moksha people. The gene pool of the Finno-Ugric peoples itself has a high interpopulation diversity and a low intrapopulation diversity.
For the analysis of mitochondrial DNA, data on the frequencies of 16 were used – A, C, D, H, HV, I, J, K, T, U2, U3, U4, U5a, U5b, V, W. The analysis showed a significant difference in of Finno-Ugric populations (including the peoples of Moksha and Erzya) from the following of Europe – the population of the Russian North,
The genetic landscape of the Mokshans according to the Y chromosome haplogroups testifies to the great originality of their gene pool, since it covers a small area of the middle reaches of the Volga, limited to its right bank. The performed analysis of the Y-chromosome haplogroups indicates a significant genetic difference between Moksha not only from the gene pool of the Slavic and other neighboring peoples, but also from the Erzyas[Balanovsky, Oleg. Mapping Moksha Genetic Y-chromosome DNA Haplogroup.] data on the frequencies of 15 Y-chromosome haplogroups showed that the Moksha and Erzya populations are not included in a single cluster.
Data of population geneticists of the Y-chromosome on the haplogroups of the Mokshans of the Staroshaigovsky district of Mordovia: R1a — 26,5%, J2 — nd (20,5%), N3 (TAT) — 16,9%, R1b — 13,3%, I1 — 12%, I2b — 4,8%, N2 (P43) — 2,4%, I2 — 2,4%, K*(M9) — 1,2%.[Tambets et al. (2004), Moksha (Staroshaygovsky District of Mordovia)] Mitochondrial DNA by haplogroup: H — 41,5%, U5 — 18,9%, T — 7,6%, U2 — 5,7%, J — 5,7%, V — 5,7%, U4 — 3,8%, I — 3,8%, T1 — 1,9%, R — 1,9%, D — 1,9%, other — 1,9%.[Limborska et al. (2002), Moksha]
When it comes to autosomal DNA, Mokshas show homogeneity with Erzyas. Like other Uralic-speaking populations, they carry a Nganasan people-like Siberian component that accounts for about 11% of their admixture.
Famous people of Moksha descent
-
Rast, Prince, was a Tümen Prince of Moksha descent and Founder of the Rast dynasty
-
Vasily Shukshin, Soviet writer, actor and film director
-
Evgeny Chichvarkin, Russian businessman
-
Alexander Ovechkin, Russian ice hockey player
-
Oleg Maskaev, Russian boxer
-
Mikhail Devyataev, Soviet fighter pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union
See also
Bibliography
-
Финно-угры и балты в эпоху средневековья. (Археология СССР). М., 1987. С. 398-404, С. 411-419 (PDF) Finno-Ugrians
-
Кулаков В.И. Древности пруссов VI-XIII вв. САИ. Вып. Г1-9 М., 1990. Kulakov. Code of Archaeological Sources (CAS). Issue G1-9 Moscow, 1990]
-
Jaskanis J. Jacwiez w badaniach archeologicznych. Stan i perspektywy badawce // Rocznik biatostocki. T. XIV. Biatystok. 1981. S. 49–67.
-
Nowakowski W. Osiedia Kultury bogaczcwskiej - proba podsumowania stanu badart // WA. LI-1. 1986–1990.
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Таутавичюс А.3. Балтские племена на территории Литвы в I тысячелетии н.э. // Из древнейшей истории балтских народов (по данным археологии и антропологии). Рига, 1980. С. 81, 82 Tautavičius
-
Kevin Alan Brook. The Jews of Khazaria. 2nd ed. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc, 2010.
External links
