In today's article we are going to delve into the fascinating world of Proto-Uralic religion. From its origins to its influence on today's society, we will explore the different facets and aspects that make Proto-Uralic religion a topic of interest to a wide spectrum of audiences. We will analyze its impact in different areas, its evolution over time and the possible implications it has for the future. Join us on this journey of discovery and learning about Proto-Uralic religion, where we will seek to shed light on its most relevant aspects and delve into its meaning in the contemporary world.
Elements of a Proto-Uralic religion can be recovered from reconstructions of the Proto-Uralic language.
According to linguist Ante Aikio, although "evidence of immaterial culture is very limited" in the Proto-Uralic language, "a couple of lexical items can be seen as pointing to a shamanistic system of beliefs and practices." The concept of soul dualism, which is widely attested among Uralic-speaking peoples, probably dates back to the Proto-Uralic period: the word *wajŋi (‘breath-soul') designated the soul bound to the living body, which only left it at the moment of death, whereas *eśi (or *iśi, *ićći) referred to the 'shadow-soul', believed to be able to leave the body during lifetime, as when dreaming, in a state of unconsciousness or in a shaman's spirit journey.[1]
The Indo-Iranian loanword *pi̮ŋka designated a 'psychedelic mushroom', perhaps the one used by the shaman to enter altered states of consciousness. The verb *kixi- meant both 'to court ' and 'to sing a shamanistic song', suggesting that it referred to states of both sexual and spiritual excitement. If the etymology remains uncertain, the word 'shaman' itself may be rendered as *nojta, and the shamanic practice as *jada-, although semantic variations in the daughter languages make the reconstruction debatable (cf. Erzya Mordvinjɑdɑ- 'to conjure, do magic, bewitch', East Khantyjɔːl- 'to tell fortunes, shamanize', Ket Selkuptjɑːrә- 'to curse; quarrel').[1]
A common creation myth shared by many Finno-Ugric peoples is the earth-diver myth in which a diver, often a waterbird, dives into the sea to pick up earth from the bottom to form the lands. In the Mordvin variant, the diver is the Devil (sometimes in the form of a goose), in the Yenisey Khanty variant a red-throated loon,[2] and in at least one Finnish version a black-throated loon[3]
Several Finno-Ugric languages have a theonym that can be derived from the Proto-Finno-Ugric word *ilma meaning sky or weather. These include Udmurt Inmar, Komi-Zyrjan Jen, Khanty Num-Ilәm and Finnish Ilmarinen. These theonyms suggest an early central Proto-Finno-Ugric sky-god.[4]
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Hajdú, Péter (ed.). Uráli népek: Nyelvrokonaink kultúrája és hagyományai . Budapest: Corvina Kiadó. 1975. ISBN963-13-0900-2. (in Hungarian)
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Krupp E.C. (2000). "Sky Tales and Why We Tell Them". In: Selin H., Xiaochun S. (eds). Astronomy Across Cultures. Science Across Cultures: The History of Non-Western Science. Vol. 1. Springer, Dordrecht. pp. 20–21. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4179-6_1
Siikala, Anna-Leena. "What Myths Tell about Past Finno-Ugric Modes of Thinking". In: Siikala, Anna-Leena (Ed.). Myths and Mentality: Studies in Folklore and Popular Thought. Studia Fennica Folkloristica 8. Helsinki: SKS, 2002. pp. 15–32.