Wednesday, March 25, 2026 · 天火 · tianmu.org
Komi
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Texts
Disease Spirits and Healers — From Harva's Survey of Permian ReligionDisease spirits and the tuno (shaman-seer) of the Votjak (Udmurt) and Komi-Zyrian peoples — translated from Uno Harva's 1914 Finnish-language survey of Permian religion. First English translation of Holmberg's account of spirit-sent illness, vampiric night-walkers, plague-driving ceremonies, divination by spindle and bean, and the tuno's ecstatic trance — including the only surviving ethnographic description of the Permian shaman's election ritual.Forest Spirits and the Sacred Bear — From Harva's Survey of Permian ReligionThe forest spirits, sacred bear, and malign beings of Votjak (Udmurt) and Komi-Zyrian tradition — translated from Uno Harva's 1914 Finnish-language survey of Permian religion. First English translation of Holmberg's ethnographic accounts of the nules-murt, the bear as sacred ancestor, forest sacrifice rituals, and the origins of forest spirit worship among the Permian peoples.Household Spirits and the Birth-Deity — From Harva's Survey of Permian ReligionThe household spirits and birth-deity of the Votjak (Udmurt) and Komi-Zyrian peoples — translated from Uno Harva's 1914 Finnish-language survey of Permian religion. First English translation of Holmberg's ethnographic accounts of the korka-murt (house spirit), gid-murt (barn spirit), sauna spirit, threshing-barn spirit, and the birth-deity Kilt'shin — the white-clothed intermediary between humans and Inmar.Komi-Zyrian and Votjak Sacred Cosmology — From Harva's SurveySelections from Uno Harva's 1914 Finnish-language survey of Permian religion, translating his accounts of the Votjak sky god Inmar, the Komi-Zyrian sky god Jen, the spirit world cosmology, and the dualistic mythology of the evil spirit Omel' — first English translations from the Finnish.Memorial Feasts and the Cult of the Ancestors — From Harva's Survey of Permian ReligionThe elaborate memorial feast customs of the Komi-Zyrian and Votjak peoples — from the first offerings beside the coffin through the great val-suan bone processions and spring spirit-driving ceremonies, including the dead's role as protectors and punishers of the living, translated from Chapter II of Uno Holmberg's Permalaisten uskonto (Helsinki, 1914).Nature Deities and Seasonal Rites — From Harva's Survey of Permian ReligionThe nature deities of the Votjak (Udmurt) and Komi-Zyrian peoples — sun-mother, thunder-mother, earth-mother, grain-soul, river-mothers, wind, and frost — translated from Uno Harva's 1914 Finnish-language survey of Permian religion. First English translation of Holmberg's full account of the Permian seasonal rites, rain-making ceremonies, new-fire festivals, and the grain-soul search, with embedded prayer texts.The Sacred Grove — From Harva's Survey of Permian ReligionThe sacred grove (lud) of the Votjak people — its physical form, strict taboos, clan-based worship, the grove-keeper priesthood, elaborate sacrifice ceremonies with fire and offering-table, the nature of the grove-spirit, and the origins of grove-worship among the Permian peoples, translated from Chapter IV of Uno Holmberg's Permalaisten uskonto (Helsinki, 1914).The Soul, Death, and Burial — From Harva's Survey of Permian ReligionThe soul, death, and burial customs of the Votjak (Udmurt) and Komi-Zyrian peoples — translated from Uno Harva's 1914 Finnish-language survey of Permian religion. First English translation of Holmberg's account of the two souls (urt and lul), soul-butterflies, soul-bats, tin divination, burial with grave goods, the three-layered afterworld, purification rites, and the ancient Permian understanding of the body's journey after death.