From the Collection of Yrjo Wichmann (1893)
The Udmurt (historically called Votiak or Wotjak) are a Finno-Ugric people of the Volga-Ural region, centred in the modern Russian republic of Udmurtia. Unlike most European peoples, the Udmurt never fully converted to Christianity. Their traditional religion — centred on the sky god Inmar, the protective spirit Vossud, and a calendar of seasonal prayer ceremonies performed in sacred groves and family prayer-houses — survived Russian Orthodox missionary pressure, Soviet persecution, and modernity, and is practised to this day.
These prayers were recorded by the Finnish linguist Yrjo Wichmann during his fieldwork among the Udmurt in 1891-92. He collected them by dictation from Udmurt elders in the districts of Malmysch-Urschum, Jelabuga, and Glasow in the Vyatka and Kazan governorates. They were published in 1893 in the Journal de la Societe Finno-Ougrienne with the original Udmurt text and German translations. They cover the full cycle of the Udmurt ritual year: the spring akashka festival, the summer solstice, the autumn threshing-floor offering, the butter-week, the ploughing blessing, the renewal of animal offerings, funeral prayers, and ancestor feasts. They are addressed to Inmar (the sky god), Kiltsin (the creator), Mu-Kiltsin (the earth-fertilising spirit), Vossud (the household guardian), and the ancestors.
These prayers have never before appeared in English. They are among the earliest direct transcriptions of Udmurt liturgical language in any Western publication.
A. Prayers from the Malmysch-Urschum District
1. Spring Festival Prayer
My osto Inmar, bless us! My great Inmar, creator Inmar! With good bread we remember you, Inmar! Pour the fullness of your blessing over our eating and drinking! Give us a good life — with family, with grain and bread, with cattle and household, with beer and kumyshka, with cream and butter! Give us the fortune and well-being to live with all our possessions!
O Vossud, give us health! Protect your house and your family! With old bread we remember you — give us new bread greater still!
Protect your herd, protect your horse, protect your bees, that they may thrive without harm from the cattle-yard spirit or the spring spirit! Give your family health! Heap blessings upon them!
2. Summer Festival Prayer
My osto Inmar, my great Inmar, creator Inmar! Give us a good year! Give your warm rain! Give your warm nights! Give your dew! Hear our prayers! We offer old bread — give us new bread in still greater measure!
3. Autumn Threshing-Floor Prayer
My osto Inmar, my great Inmar, creator Inmar! Pour your blessing over our grain that has been brought to the threshing floor! We remember you richly with bread and with broth. Give us a life without want! Pour the fullness of your blessing over our eating, our drinking! Give us boundless, abundant blessing when we eat and drink with family, neighbours, and kin!
4. Prayer at the Feast of Cosmas and Damian
My osto Inmar, my great Inmar, creator Inmar! We observe the feast of Cosmas and Damian. Give us a good year, a good existence! Let the years to come surpass this year in fruitfulness! Pour the fullness of your blessing over our eating and drinking! Give us the fortune and well-being to live with family, cattle, village, and all our possessions!
5. Butter-Week Prayer
My osto Inmar, my great Inmar, creator Inmar! We observe the butter-week. Give us a life like butter — a life as pleasant as butter itself! We remember you richly with soup and bread, with beer and kumyshka, with roast and broth. Pour your blessing over us!
6. Prayer at the Beginning of Sowing
My osto Inmar, my great Inmar, creator Inmar! May the seed I have sown and scattered thrive! May it grow as large as a hen's egg! May it turn as golden as a hen's egg! With broth and bread, with beer and kumyshka, we observe the ploughing festival. If only you would lighten our ploughing plough and fatten our ploughing horses, my Inmar!
To the great Inmar, to Kiltsin the sky-creator, to Mu-Kiltsin who fertilises the earth, and to Mudyem-Mumi the earth mother, we lay our offerings in the lap — that we may have fortune! Give us a good year! Give your warm nights! Give your warm rain! Give your dew! Give your flowers!
My thunder-mother, my sun-mother! We remember you with good broth and bread. Good warm days, a beautiful summer, warm rain — give us these!
7. Renewal Prayer at the Lake of Loza
The black ox of the lake Loza, the ram, the goose — I renew them. We pray, we renew; wait until it falls to you! A black ox, a ram, a goose are still owed.
In the lud that Matthias tends, there is a goat-ram, a grouse, a white duck. These we renew — wait until they fall to you!
In the grove of the village Dzhangurtshi there is a ram, a rooster. These too we renew.
At the edge of the lud there is a ram; him we renew. Wait until he falls to you! Give us health!
8. Funeral Prayer for the Father
Here — may this fall before you! You fed us and raised us. In return for your care, may good fortune attend you now! May the earth that falls upon your cheeks turn to gold and silver! May those you leave behind prosper! With family, with cattle and household, with broth and bread, with all our possessions, give us a good life!
9. Prayer at the Memorial Feast
Here — may this fall before you! Be not angry — we make your offering-libation! With family, with cattle and household, with broth and bread, with all our possessions, give us a good life!
10. Prayer at the Horse-Offering for the Dead Father
Here, father Mardan — to you we give and offer a horse, because you gave us good children, because you gave us good grain and bread. We thank you, father Mardan!
Because you protected your children well, we give you a cow. Because you gave us good grain and bread, we thank you with all the people!
B. Prayers from the Jelabuga District
11. New Year's Prayer
O, my osto Inmar, bless me! Here I offer today my roasted and cooked foods for the sake of the new year. Grant that I may live among good people, cheerful and laughing! Make my well-raised sons fit for the great emperor's service! O, my osto Inmar — the seed and bread I have sown and scattered, make them equal to the silver nut and the tall reed! Grant that garbe be set against garbe, shock against shock, stack against stack! O, my osto Inmar, I thank you for feeding and raising me! Grant your fine warm, gentle rain! O, my osto Inmar, protect me from the violent storm, protect me from every kind of sickness! O, my Inmar, bless me thus!
12. Communal Prayer at the Village Offering
My osto Inmar, my great Inmar! We pray to you for the sown seed. Protect it from night-winds and gale-winds! Give your good warm, gentle rain, my Inmar! Ripen the seed I have sown! Set garbe against garbe, shock against shock, stack against stack, my Inmar! Let us eat and drink well with our families at the threshing floor! May Inmar grant that we give our sons to the emperor and pay our taxes!
We pray for the birth of Mu-Kiltsin Jesus Christ, for his death and resurrection.
We offer the halter, praying for fortune and good protection for the herd.
My sun-mother! To you we offer sacrifice for the gift of eyes and ears.
The great Vossud Inmar we worship with deep bowing, that he may protect the house. Protect my house and my family, that the evil spirit may not enter, my Vossud Inmar!
C. Prayers from the Glasow District
13. Prayer for the Dead
Here — old one — and whoever else has stepped into the grave, has gone into the earth! Drive all evil spirits beyond the field! Save us from beasts of prey and wild animals! And whomever you have stricken with illness, release them now!
14. The Meadow Prayer
My osto Inmar, my Kiltsin! Send us a beautiful spring, summer, and autumn!
Colophon
Good Works Translation from the Udmurt original with reference to the German intermediary translation by Yrjo Wichmann. Scribed by the Panchen — Neko.
Source: Wichmann, Yrjo. "Wotjakische Sprachproben I: Lieder, Gebete und Zauberspruche." Journal de la Societe Finno-Ougrienne XI, 1. Helsingfors, 1893. Pages 121-132.
The Udmurt original text was collected by dictation from Udmurt elders in the districts of Malmysch-Urschum, Jelabuga, and Glasow (Vyatka and Kazan governorates) during Wichmann's fieldwork of 1891-92. The German translations are Wichmann's own. This English rendering works from both the Udmurt text and the German, following the German where the Udmurt morphology is uncertain. Liturgical terms are preserved: osto Inmar (a form of address to the sky god, perhaps from Russian "Gospodi"); Kiltsin (creator spirit); Mu-Kiltsin (earth-fertilising spirit); Vossud (household guardian spirit); lud (sacred grove or offering-place for appeasing dangerous spirits); kuala (family prayer-house). The footnotes in Wichmann's edition, which identify the specific festivals at which each prayer was spoken, have been incorporated into the headings.
No previous English translation of these prayers exists.
🌲
Source Text (Udmurt / Wotjak)
Prayer 1 (Akashka spring festival)
O'sto irimars ko'zma, bid'dz-irimare, kitydi-inmart! dieti irim m'inen burt vaiskom, inmart! mitemli mini dutini bereket bot! esen uren, guten narien, pudoien tirliken, suren araken, tmusen voiien dzets uiiem kot! diets vanen buren uiyini sudds burds sot!
Ei vossud, tazauik bot! ei, niurtts gardt vo'ima! vuziniz burs vaiiskon tayes bad'dzimze iot! pudods vo'zma, vayde vo'ima, muiste nos vo'ima, giduen osmesiien wrontem med daytoz! esedts garedli tazauik sot, bereket kariti!
Prayer 2 (Summer festival)
O'sto irimars, bid'dz-irimart, kiudiz-irimare! dieti ards sot, sunit uude sot, sunit zorde sot, its-vuuds sot! miteskim vosaskemmes kaum bar! vuzintz vomikom, vitze taues no uno sot!
Prayer 6 (Ploughing festival)
O'sto irimars, bid'dz-irimare, kimda-irimare! kiiem patskem dmmmes bereket kari! tir Siden narien burs vaiikom. ip umemd sot! mitemli iini timini bereket sot!
Biddzim inmarli, kitidsinli, tiu-kiutdsinli, mut-kiudzinli, mudiem-mumili inaz poniskom, med daytitoz! dzets ards sot, sunit midi sot, sunit zords sot, its-vuuds sot, salikade sot!
Gudiri-mumite, sundi-mumits! dzets Siden narien buri vaiiskon, dzets sunit ninayed, dseis guzemde, sunit zords sot!
Source Colophon
Udmurt text transcribed in Wichmann's phonetic notation from dictation by Udmurt elders in the Malmysch-Urschum, Jelabuga, and Glasow districts, 1891-92. Key prayers are excerpted above; the complete Udmurt text of all fourteen prayers is in the source publication, pp. 121-132.
🌲