Marij YumyjjulaMari traditional religion is based on the faith in the powers of nature, which man must deify and respect. Before the beginning of the propagation of monotheistic studies Mari people deified many well-known Gods by the name Jumo, considering in this case the supremacy of the Main God (Kugu Yumo). The figure of the Unique God Of Tjung Osh Kugu Yumo (A Unique Great Bright God) was revived in the XIX century.
The existence during many centuries and a wide acceptance of the Mari Traditional Religion is confirmed by both historical and modern sources. The references about it in various forms are encountered in Russian chronicles of XVI - XVII centuries. A russian scientist N.P.Rychkov wrote in 1770 about the cult of ancestors, which existed among Maris: “This is the best of all thoughts: because to become similar to your ancestors and to preserve their chaste dispositions is meritoriously for other nations”.
Mari Traditional Religion unites religious people who confess a traditional creed of Maris from the ancient times to the present.
The adepts of the Mari Traditional Religion carry out in practice religious rituals, mass prayings, do charity and take part in many cultural and educational activities. They teach and bring up the growing generation, they publish and extend religious literature. At present time there are four registered district religious organizations.
Prayer meetings and mass prayings are held in an accordance with the traditional calendar, in this case the position of The Moon and The Sun is always considered. As a rule, public prayings are conducted in the sacred groves (kjusjoto). The praying is led by Onaeng, a kart [kart] (A hierophant kugyza).
Mari traditional religion is a promotive of strengthening the moral abutments of the society, achieving confessions' international peace and agreement.
