Original article
https://doi.org/10.15507/2076-2577.017.2025.02.140-151
https://elibrary.ru/hpfqlc
УДК / UDC 2:39(470.343)
The prayer invocations of adherents of the Mari ethnic religion: forms and meanings
L. A. Abukayeva
Mari State University, Yoshkar-Ola, Russian Federation
Abstract
Introduction. The spiritual quest of humanity and the reevaluation of the role of religious factors in society, driven by global transformations, necessitate an examination of the distinctive features of religious worldviews. Interdisciplinary research conducted within the frameworks of linguistic culturology, theolinguistics, and religious conceptology enables the analysis of language as a means of recording, preserving, and transmitting the most significant aspects of culture, thereby revealing the essential characteristics of such a unique phenomenon as the Mari ethnic religion. The texts of Mari prayers have not previously been examined as objects of linguistic and culturological inquiry by scholars. The aim of this study is to identify the semantic content of words and constructions expressing devotional invocations in the prayer texts of the Mari ethnic religion.
Materials and Methods. The study used prayer texts recorded and published between the 19th and 21st centuries. A linguocultural analysis comparing the Mari people’s religious and linguistic worldviews revealed that lexical units and syntactic structures representing ritual practices reflect the distinctiveness of their ethnic religion. The application of comparative-historical and contrastive methods to a corpus of prayer texts enabled the identification of linguistic elements demonstrating the influence of Islamic and Christian traditions on the Mari religious system.
Results and Discussion. For adherents of the Mari ethnic religion, who continue to observe ancient religious rites, it is essential to use indigenous linguistic structures and forms to express their prayerful supplications, gratitude to the gods, and to experience a sense of connection with acts of the divine. A comprehensive analysis of sacred texts within the Mari traditional religion has revealed that when articulating requests in prayer texts, a categorical tone is avoided: imperative mood forms function in conjunction with linguistic devices that soften their meaning. Such forms include verbs in the subjunctive mood and compound verbs. Semantically, this emphasizes the absolute free will of the gods, underscores the enduring connection between the celestial and the earthly, and consequently, in the Mari worldview, affirms the unchanging support of individuals, families, clans, and the people by higher powers. Borrowed verbs and their modifiers serve as indicators of Mari-Turkic linguistic and cultural contacts, demonstrating that the Mari ethnic religion is an open system characterized by syncretism.
Conclusion. The findings of the study contribute to a deeper understanding of the meaning of religious rituals, as well as the role and significance of linguistic structures functioning within Mari sacred texts, while also helping to eliminate distorted interpretations of the foundational tenets of the Mari traditional religion. This, in turn, make a meaningful contribution to the fields of religious studies, theolinguistics, and linguoculturology, as well as to the strengthening of interethnic and interfaith harmony. The conclusions regarding the specific features of linguistic forms’ functioning should be taken into account when translating texts from Mari into Russian and other languages, which represents one of the prospective directions for further research.
Keywords: Mari language, Mari ethnic religion, prayer, petitionary prayer, prayer of thanks, verbs and verb phrases
Funding: The publication was prepared within the framework of the implementation of the RSF grant 25-28-00064 “Sacral texts of the Mari ethnic religion as a linguistic and cultural phenomenon”.
Conflict of interest: The author declares no conflict of interest.
For citation: Abukayeva L.A. The Prayer Invocations of Adherents of the Mari Ethnic Religion: Forms and Meanings. Finno-Ugric World. 2025;17(2):140‒151. https://doi.org/10.15507/2076-2577.017.2025.02.140-151
Information about the author:
Lyubov А. Abukayeva, Dr.Sci. (Philol.), Associate Professor, Head of the Research Center for the Study of Uralic Languages, Mari State University (1 Lenin Sq., Yoshkar-Ola 424001, Russian Federation), ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9622-6770, SPIN-code: 2749-3625, sylne@mail.ru
The author has read and approved the final manuscript.
Submitted 30.01.2025; revised 08.04.2025; accepted 14.04.2025.
