Mythologies of the Vepsian Tribe

Veps, or Vepsians (Veps: vepsläižed), are a Baltic Finnic people who speak the Veps language, which belongs to the Finnic branch of the Uralic languages. According to the 2002 Russian census, there were 8,240 Veps in Russia. Of the 281 Veps in Ukraine, 11 spoke Vepsian according to the 2001 Ukrainian census. The self-designations of these people in various dialects are vepslaine, bepslaane and (in northern dialects, southwest of Lake Onega) lüdinik and lüdilaine. Almost all Vepsians are fluent in Russian. The younger generation, in general, does not speak Vepsian; however, many have an understanding of the language. In modern times, they live in the area between Lake Ladoga, Lake Onega and Lake Beloye – in the Russian Republic of Karelia in the former Veps National Volost, in Leningrad Oblast along the Oyat River in the Podporozhsky and Lodeynopolsky Districts and further south in the Tikhvinsky and Boksitogorsky Districts, and in Vologda Oblast in the Vytegorsky and Babayevsky Districts. Archeological and linguistic studies suggest that Vepsians lived in the valleys of the Sheksna, the Suda, and the Syas rivers, developing, according to Kalevi Wiik, from the proto-Vepsian Kargopol culture to the east of Lake Onega. They probably also lived in East Karelia and on the northern coast of Lake Onega. It is possible that the earliest mention of the Veps dates to the sixth century CE, when the Gothic historian Jordanes mentioned a people called Vasina broncas, which may have indicated the Vepsians. One of the eastern routes on which the Vikings went through their area, and the bjarm people mentioned by the Vikings as inhabiting the coast of the White Sea may have referred to the Veps. Evidence from tombs proves that they had contact with Staraya Ladoga, Finland and Meryans, other Volga Finnic tribes and later with the Principality of Novgorod and other Russian states. Later Vepsians also inhabited the western and eastern shores of Onega.

Veps (also Vepsians) call themselves vepslaine, bepslaane, lüdilaine. Their language is called vepsän kel’, vepsän keli, also lüdikel. The latter may be derived from the Russian word lyudi (‘people’). Russians refer to the Veps as Chuds. The name Chud may originate from the Saami language, where the word čuđđe signified a strange and hostile people. The ancient territory of the Veps is much larger than that of today. It comprised the area between Lake Ladoga, Lake Onega and Lake Beloye. The dispersed settlement of the Veps extended to the Northern Dvina River and the White Sea in the east. These days, the Veps live in small groups in two separate areas: on the southwestern coast of Lake Onega and in the Veps Upland. The Veps live in the Republic of Karelia and in Vologda and Leningrad Oblasts, where Veps village groups are situated. Usually a group of villages (Veps: külä) has a name of Veps origin while a smaller village within it (Veps: deroun) is often of Russian origin. Frequently Veps villages have three names: Veps, Russian in the local colloquial language, and the official name in Russian. In the 1940s, the Veps population was 30,000 – 40,000, while in 1989 it had declined to 12,501. According to the last census from 2010, there were 5,936 Veps, a 28% decline from 2002 when their number was 8,240. There were 3,613 speakers of the Veps language in 2010, a 37.2% decline from 2002 (5,753 speakers). Today, many Veps villages have been either Russified or abandoned. The Veps language belongs to the northern group of Finnic languages alongside Finnish, Karelian and Izhorian languages. Veps has been called the Sanskrit of the Finnic languages due to its archaic nature – for instance, there is no consonant gradation as a result of which the language is very rule-based.

The Vepsian region begins just five hours by car from Petersburg. The Veps (alternately, Vepsians) are a minority ethnic group who seem to have miraculously survived near the metropolis, despite wars, revolutions, and centuries of assimilation. Petersburg journalists Elena Mikhina and Yulia Paskevich went in search of “the last of the Vepsians” to hear their still living language and meet their sorcerers—the noids. Who are the Veps? We are not talking, of course, about the Yakut shaman who set out to save Moscow from Putin, but the story of the Veps is also well known. They are mentioned in school textbooks on the ancient history of Russia: “The neighbors of the Eastern Slavs were the tribes of the Chud [Veps], the Vod, and the Izhora.” In the summer of 2019, the Russian president read out an “unusual question” during a live TV call-in show: “Where have the Chud people gone?” He answered, “They have been assimilated. But I’m sure they haven’t completely disappeared yet.” In the regions where the Veps live, a bad joke appeared soon after Putin’s televised comment about “assimilation.” When it is told, the tellers change the name of the regional governor in question. Since the ninth century, the Veps have lived in the region between Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega, in the present-day Republic of Karelia, Vologda Region, and Leningrad Region. According to the 2010 census, almost six thousand people identified themselves as Veps, which is not such a tiny number in comparison with the Kereks, of whom there were only four ten years ago. There were many more Veps in the late nineteenth century—25,000 in Petersburg Province alone. Now there are 1,380 of them left in Leningrad Region.

V'EPS, bepsya, veps, vepsya, lyudinikad, tyagalazhet (self-name), people in Russia. They live in groups in the south of the Republic of Karelia (the southwestern coast of Lake Onega), in the eastern regions of the Leningrad and western regions of the Vologda regions. The number is 13 thousand people, in Russia - 12 thousand, of which 6 thousand people live in Karelia. According to the 2002 population census, the number of Vepsians living in Russia is 8 thousand people. They speak the Veps language of the Finno-Ugric group of the Ural family. The language has three dialects: northern (Sheltozero, southwestern coast of Lake Onega), middle (northeast of the Leningrad region and Babaevsky district of the Vologda region) and southern (Yefimovsky, Boksitogorsk districts of the Leningrad region). In 2009, the Vepsian language was included in the UNESCO Atlas of Endangered Languages of the World as being under serious threat of extinction. The Russian language is also widespread. Believing Veps are Orthodox, but pagan ideas are also preserved in everyday life. Many rituals associated with fire. It is believed that with the help of fire you can protect from damage. And this was practiced, for example, in the wedding ceremony of the Veps. Holding a burning torch in his hands, the sorcerer walked around the bride and groom standing in the pan. Fumigation, as one of the most important disinfectants, was used in many Veps rituals (labor, medical, calendar and family). Before being sent for hunting or fishing, guns and nets were fumigated. The ancestors of the Vepsians are mentioned in the work of the Gothic historian Jordan (6th century AD), Arabic sources, starting with Ibn Fadlan (10th century), in the Tale of Bygone Years (11th century, all), by Western European authors - Adam of Bremen (end of the 11th century ), Saxo Grammar (early 13th century). Archaeological monuments of the ancient Veps - numerous burial mounds and separate settlements of the 10th - early 13th centuries in the southeastern Ladoga, Onezhye and Belozerye. The Veps played an important role in the ethnogenesis of the Karelians, and also participated in the formation of the northern Russians and the western Komi. At the beginning of the 18th century, the Vepsians were assigned to the Olonetsky (Petrovsky) arms factories and the Lodeynopol shipyard. In the 1930s, an attempt was made to introduce the teaching of the Vepsian language (an alphabet based on the Latin script) in elementary school. In the late 1980s, teaching of the Vepsian language began again in some schools; The Veps primer was published. The majority speaks Russian, the Vepsian language is considered native by 37.5% of Veps in Karelia and 69.8% in the Leningrad region. In the 1980s, a movement of supporters of the revival of the Vepsian ethnic group and its culture arose.

The Veps (Vepsians), a Balto-Finnic people, inhabit the region between Lake Ladoga, Lake Onego, and Lake Beloye, currently divided among the Republic of Karelia, Leningrad region, and Vologda region. As of the 2020 census, there are 4,687 Vepsians (2,066 men and 2,621 women), dispersed across various groups based on dialects or geographical landmarks, including Northern Veps, Southern Veps, Shugozero or Kapsha, Middle Shimozero Veps, and Belozero Veps. Unlike in the past, they no longer reside in a single well-defined territory but are scattered in isolated groups. In the 19th century, the Veps people, who later became more influenced by Russian culture, lived mainly in the Isaevo area of the Vytegra region in the Olonets province. The Veps langage belongs to the Finnic branch of the Uralic languages, alongside Finnish, Karelian and Izhorian. The language has earned the nickname "the Sanskrit of the Finnic languages" due to its archaic nature. For example, it lacks consonant gradation, resulting in a very rule-based language. Despite being classified as endangered, efforts are being made to preserve and promote the Veps language. Initiatives have been undertaken to teach it in schools and community centers, trying to keep the language alive. Almost all Veps are fluent in Russian and people of the younger generation often do not speak Veps but have an understanding of the language. Before 1917, the Veps were officially termed chuds by the Russians (meaning strange & hostile people) while the ethnonym "Veps" came into use in the 1920s. The ethnic flag of the Veps was designed by Vitaly Dobrynin and has been in use since 1992. It bears the design of the Nordic or Scandinavian cross. The traditional costume of the Veps people is truly captivating. These stunning garments feature vibrant colors, intricate embroidery, and traditional patterns. They are proudly worn on special occasions, festivals, and cultural occasions reflecting the rich heritage and beauty of Veps culture. Veps mythology, shaped by poetic thinking, reflects beliefs about the world and human existance, enduring through contemporary folk culture. It centers around nature, spirits, and harmonious living. With influences from Finno-Ugric, Balto-Finnic, and Veps layer, as well as Indo-European and Russian peasant worldview, it includes concepts like the soul, water spirits, and fire worship. The main deity, Jumal, governs weather, while lower Veps mythology features spirits in different spaces. Family rites, influenced by Orthodox Christianity, include baptisms, weddings, and funerals, with dirges used for communicating with the dead. Unique Veps customs encompass nighttime marriage proposals and distinct funeral traditions.