Wednesday, March 25, 2026 · 天火 · tianmu.org
Mordvin
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Texts
Death Rides — The Parents CurseErzya Mordvin death song from the 1882 Orthodox Missionary Society collection — 'The Parent's Curse.' A young man who never called his father 'father' or his mother 'mother' is cursed to seven years of illness. Death comes riding a bay horse, carrying a copper jug and a sharp knife. The dying man asks Death to wait while he consults his parents. They tell him: die your own death, child. But a brother speaks: I will die for you. First English translation from the Erzya original.Mother Volga — Erzya Sacrifice SongErzya Mordvin cosmological and sacrificial song from the 1882 Orthodox Missionary Society collection — 'Mother Volga' (Расъ ава). Opens with the three world-fish who hold the land, then unfolds a dialogue between a young man and the river-goddess: she rejects silver, gold, possessions, and demands kin. Father brings fire. Mother brings hunger. Wife brings nakedness. Only the youngest brother answers with strength and comfort. First English translation from the Erzya original.Sacred Songs from the 1882 CollectionTwo Erzya Mordvin sacred songs from the 1882 collection Obraztsy mordovskoi narodnoi slovesnosti — 'How the Gods Divided Fortune' and 'The Feast of the Gods.' The first presents the Erzya divine triad dividing fortune among peoples from a cosmic oak. The second envisions the gods' feast beneath a world-tree apple with candles on its leaf-tips. First English translations.The Sacred Wax Fire of the Mordvins and CheremisFirst English translation of Albert Hämäläinen's 1937 monograph on the sacred wax fire cult among the Mordvins and Cheremis (Mari), covering ritual candle ceremonies, fire worship, brotherhood feasts, sun veneration, ancestor cults, and the Kugu Sorta reform movement, with comparative analysis spanning North/Central Asian, Russian-Slavic, Baltic Finnish, and Indo-European fire cult parallels.The Slain Youth and the Soul-BirdsErzya Mordvin soul-bird poem from the 1882 Orthodox Missionary Society collection — the slain young man lies in a far forest under a white birch, and five birds sit upon him: the cuckoo at his head is his mother, the dove at his feet his father, the swallows on his breast his children, the nightingale on his right hand his sister, and the magpie on his left hand is his dear wife — his villain wife. First English translation from the Erzya original.The Three Fish that Hold the LandErzya Mordvin cosmological song from the 1882 Orthodox Missionary Society collection — 'The Three Fish that Hold the Land.' Three white fish in the deepest water uphold the world; when a fish wags its tail, the years and customs overturn. First English translation from the Erzya original.The White Duck — Erzya Creation SongErzya Mordvin cosmogonic song from the 1882 Orthodox Missionary Society collection — 'The White Duck' (Ашо Утине). A cosmic mother-bird sits on her nest of eggs full of life; when hunters kill her, the earth shakes, blood fills the valleys, feathers cover the earth, and down fills the sky — a Mordvin version of the pan-Uralic cosmic bird creation myth. First English translation from the Erzya original.Tsar TyushtyaErzya Mordvin heroic song from the 1882 Orthodox Missionary Society collection — 'Tsar Tyushtya.' The legendary Mordvian king gathers his people, parts the sea with his cloak, leads the faithful to safety, and curses those who stayed behind to eternal serfdom. The Mordvian Moses narrative. First English translation from the Erzya original.Wedding Ritual Songs from the 1882 CollectionFive wedding ritual songs (Songs XXXVI a–д) and the apple-tree lament (Song XXXVII) from the 1882 Erzya Mordvin collection published by the Orthodox Missionary Society in Kazan — first English translations from the Erzya original.