Pásztor Emília (szerk.): Sámánizmus és természethit régen és ma - Bajai dolgozatok 23. (Baja, 2019)
Kerezsi Ágnes: Az állatáldozat jellegzetességei az oroszországi finnugor népeknél
The characteristics of animai sacrifice of the Finno-Ugric peoples of Russia certain parts of forest - where animal sacrifices were made - to turn them into sacred places. There, even the trees were sacred. It was not allowed to break or cut off their branches and used them for household purposes. Each deity of the Finno-Ugric peoples along the Volga-Kama rivers had its own tree in the sacred groves. This meant that every ceremony made for a deity was always performed at the same tree. Among tree species, the pine, the spruce, the linden, the oak and last but not least, the birch tree for its white trunk enjoyed special respect. White was the color of the gods in the color symbolism of most Volga-Kama peoples. The white color of their folk costume is no coincidence. According to old Mari belief, God ordered them to dress in white (KRJUKOVA 1951). Even today, Finno-Ugric peoples along the Volga-Kama rivers still present horse sacrifice which is the most valuable sacrificial animal. This ceremony was already in practice in the Middle Ages. It is not only shown by relatively late horse burials such as the Mari graves from 16-18th centuries, but also the very early ethnographic records. An Italian traveler, J. Barbara in 15th century and Noort Vitsen in the 17th century observed and recorded horse sacrifices at the Mordvin people (GREKOV, B.D. - LEBEGYEV, V.l. 1940: 183) Only certain parts of sacrificial animals were offered to the deities, such as the bones of the legs, the skin, the head, the hoof, the heart and the internal organs which are the most important parts needed for the resurrection. These parts of the body, or at least small pieces of them, were thrown into the fire. They believed that the sacrifice would get to the deities by fire as a medium. In most cases, the sacrifice was an act of atonement or thanksgiving. Strict rules guided the behavior of people in the sacred groves. It was not allowed to speak loudly, swear, women to appear without head-gears, or behave improperly. Later the forests were gradually cut out, but these places remained intact. This is how sacred groves in the middle of the field came into existence, which had several types: individual, communal, and regional, depending on the type of sacrifice they made in their territory. Individual or family sacrifices of Finno-Ugric peoples at the Volga-Kama rivers could take place inside the house, in a sacred corner, but could have happened in the area opposite to the entrance of the house or tent, or behind it like at their Siberian language relatives. Separate family prayer houses called kua, kuala were found among the Volga-Kama peoples, but these peoples could also hold sacrifices in economic buildings, on river banks, fields, plow lands or even on icy rivers. 234 /////////////////////^^^^
