UDC

39(470.51)(045)

Authors

Kosareva Irina Alekseevna
Institute of Art and Design, Udmurt State University korp. 6, 1 Universitetskaya St., Izhevsk, 426034, Udmurtskaya Respublika, Russian Federation;
e-mail: ira.kosareva.60@mail.ru

Abstract

The Udmurt people have received little attention from ethnographers. In particular, their historically established and objectively existing ethnographic subdivisions were not identified until recently. This article covers the new studies of the author, who revealed endogamous ethnographic subdivisions of the Udmurt people living in the Izh River basin. These subdivisions have specific features of traditional culture and are related in kinship and by marriage. Three ethnographic subdivisions are living in the Izh River basin, a large right-bank tributary of the Kama River. In the upper reaches of the river we find the Upper-Izh Sharkan Udmurts, whose land stretches along the eastern edge of the Udmurt ethnic territory. In the past, Bashkir nomads had their camps on the adjacent land. No wonder that the traditional culture of the Upper-Izh Sharkan Udmurts bears certain traces of nomadic traditions of the Turkic peoples. Examples of this influence are the particular weaving technique and the special woman’s headdress, a fabric cap with an open top, similar to the headgear of the Bashkirs, Tatars and Chuvash. To the south from the Upper-Izh Sharkan Udmurts there live the so-called Southern Udmurts Proper, a large ethnic group with a number of specific features of their traditional culture. This group can be divided into two subgroups living in the Izh River basin: the Middle-Izh Left Bank Udmurts and Alnash-Kiyasovo Udmurts. Their traditional decorations and pattern weaving have some specific features as well. The Middle-Izh Left Bank Udmurts used to have tough restrictions on marriage to Upper-Izh Sharkan Udmurts and Alnash-Kiyasovo Udmurts. People living in the villages on the borders of these ethnographic subdivisions still remember this prohibition. The Alnash-Kiyasovo Udmurts are living in the southern edge of the Udmurt ethnic territory and, in addition to their patricular weaving techniques and traditional decorations, are also bearers of a special religious cult of Bulda. It should also be noted that dialectological data confirm the existence of these ethnographic subdivisions.

Keywords

ethnic history, endogamous ethnographic subdivisions of the Udmurts, Middle-Izh Left Bank Udmurts, Alnash-Kiyasovo Udmurts, Upper-Izh Sharkan Udmurts

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