Kugu varieties

Kugu-sorts ( meadow meadow. Kugu-sorts - “Big Candle”) is a Mari syncretic sect , combining the traditional faith of the Mari (Cheremis) with elements of Russian Orthodoxy . It arose in the 70s of the XIX century. among the baptized Mari of the Yaran district of the Vyatka province . The formation of the creed of the sect was slightly affected by repeated attempts to Islamize the Mari from the Tatars .

Unlike the traditional cult bloody sacrifice, sectarians produce sacrifices in the form of burning bread. The name of the sect comes from the use in ceremonies of a large candle, weighing 15-20 kg, called "kugu-varieties" ("big candle"), with several hemp wicks. This candle is lit only during solemn services or natural disasters. Ordinary services also use large, but lighter candles, with hemp wicks for ordinary services and straw wicks for prayers before sowing rye . Pagan elements can also be traced in the fact that small candles during worship are placed in wooden linden cups filled with different grains, depending on the variety growing in the area.

The Kugu-varieties were revered by both Christian saints and the supreme Mari deity Kugu-Yumo and the pantheon of younger deities - heaven, water, life, etc. There was an idea of ​​the evil deity Keremet , which can be considered a relic of dualism . It was believed that each adherent of the sect had three guardian angels - one above his head and one behind each shoulder. The Old Testament , the Old Testament cosmogony, the myth of the first people and their fall were recognized. At the same time, there was a doctrine of “77 faiths” among the Kugu-class, consisting in the fact that God created a special faith for each nation and the Mari should profess not Tatar (Muslim) and not Russian (Orthodox), but their own faith. Thus, although the de facto sect of the Kugu cultivar has Christian (including) roots, the adherents of the sect themselves do not recognize this.

Along with traditional Orthodox holidays, Kugu-varieties were revered Friday and celebrate some of the national Mari holidays. Admission to the sect was carried out through a kind of baptism, consisting in nine times dousing with cold spring water. At the same time, peculiar prayers are read, artificially formed from pagan spells.

Kugu-varieties were also produced by the non-traditional communion, consisting of fermented honey (dill) and oatmeal, made from flour, crushed in a wooden mortar. For communion, a large table covered with hemp tablecloth was used, on which a small table woven from grass was placed. The fire required for worship was each time obtained by the friction of two linden sticks (Compare the Slavic custom of the so-called “Living Fire” ). Instead of singing, a harp is used during worship, and a drum is used instead of a bell. During the service, sectarians dressed in white hemp shirts and pants, and also used wooden (birch) knives. The service ended with a meal that was being prepared at the place of worship. Often services are not held in homes, but in special sacred groves . In this case, the meal was not prepared, but brought with you, since it was impossible to make fire in the sacred grove.

Adherents of the Kugu-varieties sought to live on subsistence farming , avoiding to acquire and use foreign products: tea , sugar , salt , matches , kerosene , etc.

In the XIX century. Kugu-grades were perceived by secular and spiritual authorities as a “harmful sect” ^[1] . The sect was active until 1917. In Soviet times, sectarians were harassed by secular authorities. By the end of the XX century. almost all sect communities merged with the Mari traditional religion .