Magic Songs of the West Finns, Vol. I, by John Abercromby, [1898], at sacred-texts.com
CHAPTER V
THE THIRD OR IRANIAN PERIOD.
The third or Iranian period is of special interest. Now, for the first time, the Finns and Ugrians, emerging from their sombre, impenetrable forests and trackless swamps, came in contact with a civilised people, speaking an Iranian dialect, and now for the first time it becomes possible to assign an approximate date to the epoch. The new things and the new ideas now introduced may be divided into two categories; those found in West Finnish and those confined to the East Finns and Ugrians. The first list of words, on the whole, favours the idea that these civilised foreigners had no hostile intentions, but were rather traders who wished to do business with the natives. All that the latter would have to barter at first would be the pelts of wild animals, though, after they had been taught the art of beekeeping, wax and honey may have been added to the list. The earliest trading-place would be the banks of a large river, and a survival of this fact is found in the Vogul vātakum, 'a trader,' literally 'the bank of a river man.' Small trading-posts or factories may also have been established in various parts of the country by the foreign merchants, just as used to be done a couple of centuries or so ago in the territory of the Hudson's Bay Company, of the Niger Company, and by the Russians in Siberia. But if all the
words of the second category were certain, which, however, is not the case, we should rather have to suppose that the civilised foreigners formed part of the wandering Scythians and Skolots that nomadised along the north shores of the Black Sea, of the Caspian, and for a considerable distance inland. These Scythians are believed by the most reliable authorities to have been in the main an Iranian people, a few of whom still survive as the Osets of the north central Caucasus. Wm. Tomaschek has noted over thirty words in Mordvin, and about thirteen in the Permian group, which he believes have an Iranian origin. Dr. Munkácsi gives a list of forty-two words in the Ugrian and Finnish languages which, in his opinion, are derived from a similar source. 1 Some of these are very doubtful, others are confined to the Ugrian branches, others have no cultural significance, so that it is only necessary here to give a selection.
These words, it would seem, were not all adopted exactly at the same time. Some are older loans than others, and if taken from an Iranian people, the language was at an earlier stage than any existing record of it. For instance, judging from the first vowel in the West Finnish and Mordvin words for 'honey,' these are supposed to go back to an Indo-Eur. médhu, while the other East Finnish forms might come from a Zend or Bactrian form, and therefore be of later date. So, too, the front vowels in all the words for 'name' correspond best with the O. Sl. [n]imen, though the wide diffusion of the word makes it probable that the loan is earlier than any distinctly Slav word, besides the fact that it is unknown to the Letto-Lithuanian branch of the Slavs. It may strike one at first as singular that an Iranian word for 'fly' should be uniformly accepted as an appropriate
term for 'bee.' The explanation is that in Sanskrit and Osetan, so probably in Old Bactrian as well, 'bee' is expressed by 'honey-fly'; the Finns therefore adopted the word in an apocopated form. It is hardly to be supposed that traders would bring bees with them, but they may have taught the natives how to domesticate wild bees, or at any rate how best to take their wax and honey, which may subsequently have become an article of barter as well as the skins of black foxes. As the words for '100, horn, hammer (axe)' come directly from an Iranian source at the same stage as the Zend, supposing, of course, that the latter two equations are correct, they must either be later than the words for 'honey, bee, fox,' or they were introduced by strangers speaking a different and less ancient dialect. The original meaning of the Z. vazra, 'mace, club,' is best preserved by the West Finns; whether the head was of stone or metal it is impossible to say.
The second list embraces a still larger number of words. (Table on next page.)
The special interest attached to the words in the first line is that if they really are derived from zarayañh, the borrowing must have taken place at a time when the original final s had not developed into ñh. The same remark applies to lines 3 and 4. If Vg. s´oter stands for s´oser, as it might do, the h and ñ in hazañra must have sounded s, as in the Skr. sahasra, '100'; and ahura must have been pronounced asura. Dr. Munkácsi estimates that these loan words may be placed as far back as the sixth or seventh century B.C. If that is true, the words for '10' and '100' must be quite as old, though from their present form they might easily be taken for comparatively recent loans. It is odd, though, that if the
[paragraph continues] Ostiaks had learned to count up to a thousand some 2500 years ago, their arithmetical ideas should still be so hazy; a single word does duty for 80 and 800, another for 90 and 900. A thousand, therefore, can seldom be used except as a round number, and perhaps was never more than that. In the last chapter I made a rough calculation that the West Finnish and Mordvin words for '10' may have originated about 500 B.C., but if they borrowed a term for '100' between 600 and 700 B.C. the '10'-word must be still older. On line 5 Dr. Munkácsi traces the Permian words for 'lord, master' to a Skolotan or Scythian ksai, preserved by Herodotus in the words Leipo-xais, Arpo-xais the old Bactrian equivalent of which is khšaya 'powerful, master' from khši 'to rule.' In Hübschmann's opinion the connection between Zịr. khši and Os. äχsīn 'a lady' is very problematical, so the equation of the Permian words with an Osetan or Scythian form is not thoroughly established, though the identification is attractive. The words for 'gold' in line 7 are evidently a good deal later than those in line 1, 3, 4, for now the initial O. B. z is reproduced as s, z not by š, as the older aspirated ž, from which z originated, would lead us to expect. A term for 'iron' came into use about the same time no doubt; and the new metal was introduced in the form of a 'knife or short sword,' for that is the meaning of the O. B. kareta, from which are derived most of the East Finnish and Ugrian terms for 'iron.' The Magyars have retained the original sense of the word, but the Mordvins, more peaceably inclined, have turned the sword into a 'plough-share.' The latter have a special word for 'iron,' kšn´ä which may have an East Persian origin. In the Pamir dialects we find išn, spin 'iron'; an older form of the first would be
[paragraph continues] *išpin, *ošpinā and from this by rejection of the initial vowel, by metathesis of p, š and mutation of p into k, all which phenomena are possible in Mordvin, we should obtain kšina kšnâ. The word for 'steel' is later and probably belongs to the end of the Iranian period. Professor Schrader believes the origin of the Osetan word is to be found in East Finnish, Dr. Munkácsi on the contrary regards the Osetan as the original word; but Colonel Yule has pointed out that the ondanique of Marco Polo, andanīcum in the Latin text, is to be referred to the N. P. hundwáníy, 'Indian steel' and quotes an Arabic dictionary of about 1200 A.D. in which Hunduwán is explained by ensis. 1 The identity of Os. ändón with the ondanique of Marco Polo is certain and the Osetan form is therefore from the N. P. hundwānī, hindawānī 'made of Indian steel; a sword'; Osetan always rejects initial h. The Permian words for 'otter' may go back to an Iranian form, but might equally well be referred to a European word. It is tempting to believe that in line 14 Vg. ūs-kä comes from an O. B. uχšan>ūš which became ūs in consequence of the k of the suffix (cf. pesken < R. puška) and perhaps it is so rather than the explanation given in the last chapter. But in the next line the equation is very doubtful as we can hardly suppose a Sanskrit-speaking people, even as traders, were ever in contact with the protohistoric Finns-ugrians, and the O. Bactrian equivalent is iza. Still the possibility of a Scythian original for the word is by no means excluded, for nothing is known of the Scythian dialects. Forms like Lith. ožịs 'he-goat,' oška 'she-goat' leave room for the presumption, till positive proof to the contrary is adduced, that the Finno-ugrian words for
[paragraph continues] 'sheep' and very likely for 'ox, bull' were borrowed from some of the nomads that wandered over the steppe on the north side of the Black Sea and perhaps far inland. The equation, however, of Z. mež 'sheep' with N. P. meša, hardly with an older maēša, seems tenable. Munkácsi further connects the words in line 17 with a Parthian-kerta found in place-names, but it is more likely they belong to a much later time and were borrowed from the Čuwaš or some Tatar source. The attempt to derive the Permian words for 'wheat' from a Persian word for 'white' is, I think, certainly wrong. By 'wheat-coloured' the modern Persians understand 'brown,' the colour of the grain when ready to be cut. A fuller and better Vtk. form is c´abli which is evidently borrowed from the Tatar kaplị 'spelt,' an inferior sort of wheat.
From the above we deduce the conclusion that the Iranian period may have begun about 600 B.C., and lasted for several centuries. In the east of Russia we have already learnt that intercourse was kept up with Persia till the overthrow of the Sassanide dynasty in the seventh century. For the West Finns however its duration was very much shorter, perhaps not more than 100 or 200 years. When the Finno-ugrians first came in contact with Indo-Europeans though they had particular names for many things, they had no word for the abstract idea of 'name' apart from a particular object. The more advanced Finns, having already taught themselves a word for '10,' now learnt to count up to '100,' while the more backward Permians had even to borrow a word for '10' though apparently they and some of the Ugrians, outstripping the more advanced West Finns and Mordvins, borrowed a word for '1000' several hundred years earlier than the
latter. About the same time they took to bee-keeping and their foreign superiors were given a title of honour for which they had no native term and accordingly had to borrow one. The westerly Finns became acquainted with a new and better form of hammer or hammer-axe which I imagine was only of polished stone and all the Finns borrowed a term for 'horn,' which perhaps may be taken to mean that up to that time they had no knowledge of horned cattle. A good deal later, perhaps about 300 B.C., gold and iron were introduced among the East Finns and Ugrians, who thus became acquainted with these metals several centuries earlier than the West Finns. The trade in iron swords seems to have continued for a long time. Abu el Kassim relates that it was said the Bolgars conveyed to the Yugra (Voguls, or Ostiaks) swords fabricated in Mohammedan countries. Though these swords had no handles or ornament, and were simply blades as they left the hands of the blacksmith, they were bought at a great price by the Yugra, who threw them into the Sea of Darkness. God then causes a huge fish, the size of a mountain, to issue from the bosom of the ocean and a still larger fish to pursue it. The first fish directs its flight towards the coast of the Yugra and gets into shoal water near the shore. Those that threw the sword into the sea surround the fish in their boats and cut off its flesh. They maintain that if they did not throw a sword into the sea no fish would come and they would suffer famine. 1
We have now to consider the questions whether in all cases the East Finns and the Ugrians received the same word from the fountain-head independently, or whether only one received and then passed it on, perhaps after a
considerable lapse of time; and whether the East Finns and Ugrians were both on the east side of the Urals. Dr. Munkácsi holds that, at the beginning of the Iranian period when the Persian civilising element was introduced, the Magyars and the people nearest them, especially the Voguls, Ostiaks, Zịrians and Votiaks, formed a connected whole, and that this separation had not taken place in the sixth or seventh century B.C. And as the beginning of the Iranian influence affected the West Finns and Lapps, but did not bring them a knowledge of gold and iron, the separation of the West Finnish-Lapp branch from the original home and communion with the Ugrians cannot be later than the third century B.C. at the latest. 1 A glance down the columns of Ugrian words in two lists above, shows not only a good many words common to the Permians and the Vogul-Ostiaks that are wanting in Magyar, but that when there are corresponding words in Magyar their form is so different that the Vogul-Ostiaks and the Magyars must have borrowed at different times and presumably in different places. As it seems to me, the separation of the Magyars from the rest of the Ugrians had already taken place before the commencement of the Iranian period. The Mordvin loan-word for 'lord, master' being also found in Vogul-Ostiak, suggests that the latter were also on the west side of the Urals when they borrowed the word; though I do not suppose the whole body of them lived in Europe, only that they wandered on both sides of the Chain. Certainly the reverse could not have been the case, that the Mordvins dwelt east of the Urals. For earlier than this loan the Mordvins and West Finns had invented a word for '10,' and presumably about the
same time the Voguls, Čeremis, and Lapps agreed upon another word. Some two hundred or three hundred years later the West Finns, after adopting a word for '100,' were so far to the west, that the words for gold and iron never reached them. So short a space of time would not allow of the West Finns traversing the great extent of country that stretches between Western Siberia and the region of the Waldai Hills or thereabouts. The West Finns and Mordvins were therefore certainly in Europe before the beginning of the Iranian period. No doubt the Permians have for a long time been nearer to the general mass of the Ugrians than other members of the Finnish family, and this, together with their living on the same trade route, accounts for the greater number of words they have in common, compared with the Central Finns. Still it is possible that sometimes a word has been borrowed by the Ugrians and subsequently passed on to the Permians or vice versâ. In the term for '1000,' apparently one of the oldest loan-words, the Voguls have preserved the old form best in so far that metathesis has taken place in Ostiak and in the Permian groups. The probability is that this only once took place, and most naturally among the Ostiaks; the conclusion being that in this instance the Permians borrowed from the Ostiaks and not directly from an Iranian source. So too the exact likeness between the Ostiak and Permian words for 'gold' makes it probable that both were not drawn from the fountain-head. The fact that the Permian forms show what looks like the original initial z proves nothing, for initial s can in Permian readily become z, a sound with which no Vogul-Ostiak word can begin; and in the word for 'sea' the Zịrian form begins with s, the Votiak with z, which is
therefore to be considered a later change. The adoption of a word for 'man' by both Mordvins and Permians, though perhaps at different times, also tends to the belief that the Permians lived west of the Urals.
If we could show that the Volga and the Kama were the most likely routes by which Iranian traders penetrated among the Finns and Ugrians, we should go far to prove that on the Volga, at the beginning of the new period, there were Mordvins who may in fact have borrowed their name for it from Iranians; that there were Permians and Ugrians partly perhaps on the Volga, partly on or near the Kama. About 500 B.C. Hecatæus and, about three hundred years later, Eratosthenes were both under the impression that the Caspian was connected with the circumambient ocean. In geographical, as in other myths, there is often a substratum of truth or of physical fact. In this instance it really exists. With the exception of a short portage of a little over four miles, it is possible to travel by natural waterways from the north coast of Persia to the Arctic Ocean, by ascending the Volga, the Kama, and its tributaries, to the watershed between it and the basin of the Pečóra. The myth seems to repose on the fact that before 500 B.C. the Volga and the Kama had been previously ascended for a very considerable distance by traders, for no one else travelled in those days, who learnt from the reports of the natives, that at the north end of the world there was a great Sea of Darkness which was accessible by water. In a previous chapter it was made clear that the works of Arabian art found in the province of Perm came there by a road leading along the west side of the Urals, and the presumption was great that the Arabs followed the old route of the Persian
merchants whom they had supplanted. Arab writers hint at two routes to Bolgari—one by water, the other by land—but both of course lay west of the Urals, which is the really important point. As it is nearly certain that from the fourth century A.D. for several hundred years there was a trade between Persia and the valley of the Kama either by the Volga or by a land route a little to the east of it, but west of the Urals, it is more likely than not that any earlier traffic between these two regions must have followed the same routes. The Yugra mentioned by Abu el Kassim were probably living at the mouth of the Ob. Yet all their swords came viâ Bolgari, though actually manufactured, as another writer mentions, in Aderbaijan, where they cost four pieces of gold. The same author states it was the Isu or Zịrians of the Pečora basin who acted as middlemen and transmitted the swords to the Yugra. Here we have direct evidence that an Ugrian tribe on the east side of the Urals obtained Persian wares viâ the Volga, not viâ the Irtịš or the Ob valley.
The earliest known settlement on the Kama belonging to this period is at Anánino. Though most of the objects found there are of Central Siberian type, some are Kobanian, and it is not impossible that the place was at first a small Iranian trading post established among natives of uncertain affinities. A very late Arab writer, Sherif ed din, mentions that the old name of Elábuga, which lies close to Anánino, was suddum or sodum, and that in the Yunani language it meant a 'perch-fish,' in Tatar alabuga. 1 Though yunani means 'Greek' in Arabic, it cannot have that meaning here, but possibly it meant the language of the Bolgars, some of whom clung to the
baseless belief that Bolgari had been founded by Alexander of Macedon. Otherwise it must have referred to the natives of the neighbourhood. Though suddum, sodum does not mean 'a perch' in any Finnish or Ugrian language, Wiedemann catalogues a Zịr. šulim as 'ein Fisch (?)', a word which comes near it in form. As the name of a fish is compatible with a river-name, we may note here a Sodom-ka river in the district of Kotelnits (Viátka), and the Ostiak name for the Salịm, a tributary of the Irtịš, is the Sōdom. Though Spitsịn does not quote the word in Arabic, the double d may be a transcription of the letter dād, which does not correspond, I believe, with any Finno-ugrian dental, yet might be used perhaps to represent an Ugrian dl sound. With regard to the late tradition of the Bolgars that their chief town was founded by Alexander of Macedon, it seems just credible that when they first arrived there they found a tradition current that the spot had previously been occupied as a trading post by some Iranian people whom the Bolgars, after acquiring a knowledge of Arabic, identified with the Greeks and Alexander of Macedon. None of the above inferences to demonstrate that the Iranian influence penetrated to the Permians and Ugrians by the valley of the Volga may be very conclusive in themselves, yet on the other hand, so far as I am aware, there is no evidence, archæological or historical, to indicate the existence of any trade route northwards from Khorasmia, Sogdiana, or Bactria to the Išim, the Irtịš, or any other great tributary of the Ob, into the heart of the Ugrian territory. The ancient geographers knew nothing of these rivers.
THE FOURTH OR LITHUANIAN PERIOD.
In the Iranian period it is not necessary to believe that the West Finns ever came personally into contact with Iranians. All the words in the first list might have been transmitted to them by some intermediate tribe like the Mordvins, even though the West Finns have sometimes preserved an older form than the tribe from whom they borrowed can now show. In the fourth period it was quite different. The general mass of the West Finns seem to have shifted their centre of gravity somewhat west or northwestwards and broken away from the Mordvins before 300 B.C., or whenever it was that the words for 'iron' and 'gold' reached the latter. In course of time the West Finns had become neighbours for the first time in their history with a so-called Indo-European people speaking a Lithuanian dialect.
The Europeans whom the West Finns now met could not have been very highly civilised themselves, though in most respects they were certainly more advanced than the latter. It is not certain that the former knew iron or even bronze, for we have already seen that iron was unknown in the Baltic Provinces before the second century, and there was strictly speaking no bronze age at all in that part of the world. So the inland tribes that lived far from trade routes would most likely to all intents and purposes be still in a neolithic stage of civilisation. The Baltic people possessed flocks and herds of sheep and goats, cattle and horses, and led to a great extent a roving life. In winter they travelled in sledges, but in summer they seem to have used carts or wagons, the wheels of which no doubt were solid, being made of two or more thick
planks clamped together with wooden pegs. Such cumbrous vehicles could only have been drawn by several yoke of oxen. When a deep and narrow water-course had to be traversed, they knew how to throw a light bridge of planks across it.
Professor W. Thomsen estimates that the date of the first contact between the two peoples certainly cannot be later than the first centuries of the present era, perhaps rather earlier. And they may have been in touch till about 500 A.D., at all events not later than 800 A.D. 1 It is to his labours that we are indebted for the best and most thorough explanation of the loan words made by the Finns from the Letto-Lithuanian or Baltic peoples, and from him I have taken all those that are found in this section; 2 those marked with an * are not quite certain.
Into the nomenclature of the family several new terms were now introduced, such as 'sister,' 'daughter,' 'cousins,' 'bride,' and *'son-in-law.' None of these words were accompanied by wholly new ideas. There had always been a term for 'elder sister,' but it was associated with other meanings, while 'younger sister' may have been included under 'girl'; but now blood relationship was emphasised, and the mere rank or status that the sister held in the family fell into the background. A 'daughter,' too, was now distinguished from a mere 'girl,' and a 'bride' from a 'young daughter-in-law.' Here the first instance again shows a greater insistance on blood kinship, and the second might point to some change in the marriage ceremonies in which the bride played a more important part than before. 'Relationship' heimo; 'a comrade, a person of the same name' kaima; *'society, company' seura, and
[paragraph continues] 'a social gathering at which neighbours, in consideration of being supplied with food and drink, give their help on certain occasions' talka, were partly new ideas, partly old ones from new points of view.
The Finns had never been without a knowledge of 'fire,' though apparently without attaching any sacred quality to it; now they borrowed a fresh term (panu), which has acquired a personal and mythical character, though the original word from which it comes seems to have been of the neuter gender. The 'hut' maja, 'bath or out-house' pirtii; *'room' tupa, 'wall' seinä, all constructed of *'boards' lauta, with a 'wooden roofing' malka, outside which lay an 'enclosure' tarha, fenced round with 'stakes' seivas, as well as the wooden 'bridge' silta, were certainly additions to the civilisation of the Finns.
Some of the instruments now introduced may have been of new forms, or better in some respect than those that they supplanted, such as the 'axe' kirves, and its *'shaft' varsi, the *'ice-pick' tuura; 'distaff' kuontalo, 1 and 'comb, brush, curry-comb' suka, as well as 'string or ribbon,' for tying things together. But the 'wedge' vaaja, *'spade' lapio, 'besom' luuta, for sweeping out the house, 'ladle' kauha, and 'butter-dash' mäntä, were probably new; for though butter was known the more primitive way of making it is to shake the milk and cream in a leather bag. Though weaving was also an old occupation, the 'thrums' niisi, received a name for the first time. For transport purposes they had now a 'sledge' reki, and an unwieldy 'cart or wagon,' as the word for 'wheel' ratas has that meaning when used in the plural.
Articles of dress were the 'tall cap' kypärä, of a new
shape, *'boots of raw hide' kurpponen, and some sort of 'trimming' paarre.
Without our being able to explain exactly why, the Finns of the fourth period borrowed terms for various parts of the body, such as, 'tooth,' 'neck,' navel,' *'thigh,' 'the tendon Achilles,' 'the os sacrum,' and *'beard.'
In relation to out-door life stand words for 'forest' metsä, 'woody island' salo, 'branch' haara, 'birch-bark' tuohi, 'tar' terva, 'juniper' kataja, *'lichen' karve, *'moss' sammal, and 'burdock or thistle' takiainen. New varieties of instruments for catching birds and wild animals were the 'snare' ansa, and the 'bird-trap' lahto. Among the new names for wild animals, birds, and insects were *'elk' hirvi, petra, 'wild ox (?)' tarvas, the exact meaning of which in old Finnish is now lost, but the Lithuanian word from which it is taken means 'bos primigenius,' and sometimes the 'buffalo'; 'goose,' 'magpie,' 'cuckoo,' 'thrush,' 'heath-cock,' 'snake' käärme, though there was already a native word, 'hornet' and 'wasp.'
In connection with domestic animals the following terms were now introduced: 'ox' härkä—the Lithuanian word means 'horse'—'ram' jäärä, 'wether' oinas, 'pig' porsas, 'goat' vuohi, *'draught-ox, or horse' juhta; 'a grey animal' halli, 'an animal with a star on its forehead' laukki, 'a polled ox' mulli; *udder' utar, 'fresh milk' rieska; 'blubber, fat' ihra, 'mane' harja; 'hair, colour' karva; 'thong' hihna, 'wool' villa, and 'hide' vuota. The animals were put in charge of a 'herdsman or shepherd' paimen, who may have been provided with a *'herding-horn' torvi. During the long winters the beasts could now be fed on 'hay' heinä, in connection with making which the Finns learnt what the 'aftermath'
ätelä, meant; also the 'water-meadow' luhta, 'rushes' vihvilä, *'clover' apila, and *'dried-up grass' kulo.
The adoption of several of these new terms which are not evidence of increased civilisation may be explained by a change in the mode of life of many of the Finns. They had become more pastoral, and now observed things that formerly escaped their notice. It was not necessary to be in the neighbourhood of the Baltic to hear the thrush and the cuckoo; in the valley of the Volga they might have listened to the song of these birds. And if they had looked they might have observed hornets and wasps, clover, burdocks, juniper, rushes, and water-meadows, ages ago. But evidently they had cared for none of these things; they were of no use.
In agricultural matters improvements were also effected. A regular 'furrow' vako, was now made, into which the 'seed' siemen, of some kind of corn or grain' jyvät, was sown. The grain had a 'beard' oka, and outside the kernel was the 'husk' pelut. 'Peas' herne, were quite a new article of food and now came into use. After the sowing was completed the furrows may have been filled in with a *'harrow' äes, or a 'bush-harrow' hara. Out of barley or millet they may also have brewed *'ale' olut, which Professor Thomsen now refers to the Lithuanian period, though formerly and, I think, with greater probability, to the Proto-Scandinavian or fifth period, when they learnt the use of 'hops' and how to make 'malt.' According to Wulfstan the Eastas knew mead, but not ale, and the final t is better explained by a Teutonic than by a Lithuanian original.
Connected with boating and fishing we find terms for such words as 'sea' meri, 'ship' laiva, 'sail' 'purje,'
[paragraph continues] *'coracle' karvas, *'the side of a ship' laita; 'crab,' 'eel,' and 'salmon' which could now be caught with a 'leister' and 'torch' or by a new sort of 'fish wear' toe, and perhaps *'a pole for driving fish into the net' tarpa, was also employed. The first three words, however, do not necessarily imply that the Finns had reached the sea, for the Lithuanian mares can be applied to a large inland lake, and in fact usually means the Frische Haf. For the 'sea' the Lithuanians use a different word.
With regard to external nature, the Finns now noticed things from a different point of view and began to differentiate. They had always known the sun, but the word also meant 'day'; now they seem to have borrowed a word that meant *'dawn' or the *'morning star' and used that for 'the sun' aurinko, alone. So, too, they had always known night frosts and hoar frost, but till they took more seriously to agriculture such natural phenomena hardly attracted notice; at any rate they were harmless. But now all this was changed; premature 'night frost' halla, and 'hoar frost' härmä, resulting in hard 'frozen ground' routa, could, and often did, ruin their prospects of harvest in a single night; the new experience demanded a new set of terms. Having good sleighs, too, they now noticed whether 'the state of the road' keli, was propitious for travelling upon or the reverse. From time immemorial they had seen the sky above their heads and had given it a name that perhaps always included a personality or spirit inhabiting it. But at the very beginning of the fourth period the physical aspect of the sky seems to have dropt out of sight and they now borrowed from the Lithuanians a new word that meant 'god,' but which is now used by the Finns simply as the 'physical sky or firmament' taivas. No
doubt the Lithuanian word implied 'the god that dwells in the sky,' and was therefore at first almost synonymous with F. Jumala and Ilmari; but the personality implied by the native words prevailed in the native mind, so that eventually nothing was left of the foreign divinity but his tabernacle, the physical sky. Another personal name of foreign origin has also entirely changed its meaning without leaving a trace of its ancient signification. F. perkele 'devil,' is borrowed from L. perkunas, the thunder-god of the Baltic peoples, who is still regarded as a beneficent being. To the Letts he is of little less importance than God himself; he drives away evil spirits; is invoked to strike and destroy a stitch in the side; to hurl forth lightning and close a dam that has been made to stop the bleeding of a wound; to break and reduce a swelling or tumor; and in a song he is addressed quite like a national god and the defender of his people
Split the bridge o’er the Daugava, (Dvina)
Lest the Poles and the Lithuanians
Should cross to my father-land.' 1
Various abstract terms, adjectives, etc., were also introduced during the fourth period, such as 'custom, manner' tapa, 'order, state, condition, quality' laita, 'a turn, a time' kerta, 'narrow, tight' andas, 'greyish, green' halea, 'grey' harmaa, 'yellow' kelta, loose, unbound' irtainen, 'thin,' lazy,' 'flat,' 'wet,' *'skew' karsas, empty,' 'all,' 'always,' 'still, yet,' and the important word for '1000.'
A Lithuanian influence can also be traced among the Mordvins and Čeremis. Professor W. Thomsen gives a
list of twenty Lithuanian words which seem to be found a loan words in one or other or both the above peoples. Of these all but three were also adopted by the West Finn: The more important Mordvin loans are 'daughter,' 'younger sister'—the original of which is simply 'sister'—'stall, courtyard,' 'pig,' 'udder,' 'thong,' 'knife,' 'millet'—neither of these two last are found in W. Finnish;—'goose,' and '1000.' The Čeremis have also borrowed *'heath-cock' and 'out-house' pört, a word that has travelled as far east as the country of the Čuvaš. 1 Whether these words came directly or indirectly to the East Finns is necessarily uncertain. Some of the links that once served to connect the East and West Finns, such as the Meriens and the people of Murom no longer exist. There is nothing improbable in supposing that the words were transmitted mediately through these now vanished tribes. Articles like knives and millet, which are easily carried, may have found their way to the Mordvins directly through the medium of Lithuanian traders though, possibly, as Professor Thomsen suggests, in a southerly direction the Lithuanians and Mordvins ma; once have been in contact.
THE FIFTH OR PROTO-SCANDINAVIAN PERIOD.
Though, as Professor W. Thomsen supposes, the Lithuanian and the Proto-Scandinavian or East Teutonic influence may have been partly contemporaneous, both belonging to the early centuries of the present era, the former certainly began earlier and the new civilisation it introduced was far less important. In loan-words of the fourth period the voiceless explosives k, t, p, and the voices
g, d, b, were treated as identical and reproduced in the Finnish by k, t, p. But in the fifth period a difference made itself felt. Now a Teutonic g, d, b, was rendered in Finnish by k, t, p, while a Teutonic k, t, p, was, when possible, doubled, appearing as kk, tt, pp, each explosive being sounded twice. This gemination also took place exceptionally in the fourth period, showing that its duration was considerable. In the fourth period there are several examples of a passage from ti to si, as in F. silta<L. tiltas 'a bridge,' a phonetic change which is not found in loan-words of the fifth period. 1 But though on the whole the Proto-Scandinavian loan-words are later than the Lithuanian, they nevertheless belong to a stage of East Teutonic as old, often older than the Gothic of the fourth century. They show no trace of the vowel change caused by i or u in the second syllable reacting on the vowel or diphthong in the root syllable; the original diphthongs ai, au, iu, as well as initial j, v, are retained; where a Gth. ë answers to O. N. ā, the Finnish agrees with the former; and in a word like F. autuas < Gth. áudags < *audagas 'blessed,' the original final -as is retained, while in the Gothic the a has disappeared. Dialectically however the vowel maintained itself much later than in Gothic; in the runic inscription on the By stone, Buskerud Amt, in the south of Norway, attributed by Professor Bugge to about the middle of the seventh century, the nominative of masculine nouns still ends in -aR. 2 According to Professor Bugge the umlaut caused by i had already taken place about 500 A.D.; the final z did not become r till after that time; initial j was already lost in the sixth century, and initial v had vanished by the middle of the
seventh century. 1 It may be assumed then that most of the loan-words about to be enumerated 2 are earlier than 600 A.D. or thereabouts.
For the first time in their history the West Finns began to acquire the notion of a 'king' with persons of lower dignity, such as 'princes' and 'local governors' (haltia), whose prerogative it was 'to govern' and to judge' the 'nation and the state,' which for convenience was divided into smaller 'provinces or administrative districts' (kihlakunta), the various villages of which were bound together for mutual protection by giving 'pledges or hostages' (kihla) to that effect. In connection with these dignitaries was the 'herald' and the 'guard.' The judge dealt with cases of 'murder,' had to pass sentence on the 'thief,' perhaps on the 'harlot,' had to decide on the merits of the case when two men were at 'strife' and one brought an 'action' against the other, and had authority to inflict a 'fine.' If a 'trader' in order to promote and augment 'trade' obtained a 'loan' from a 'rich' neighbour he had now to pay 'interest' for it. Communication was rendered easier over marshy ground by laying down a 'bridge of felled trees or planks' and 'rafts of timber' were now floated down stream. In the family circle it was now considered derogatory to use the old native word for mother, as that was also used for the females of animals, and a new term for 'mother,' free from such a stigma, was accordingly adopted. The 'bride' was also distinguished from the new daughter-in-law and a more formal 'betrothal' (kihla) belongs perhaps to this period, though it is not the earliest sense in which the word was used.
Among the new arms introduced were the 'spear' and the sword' (miekka). As the Gothic mēkeis translates μάχαιρα the new weapon must have been a short, one-edged sword about two feet long, such as was used in Scandinavia and the East Baltic area during the first four centuries of the present era. The natural complement of a sword was its 'sheath.'
Besides giving each article of dress a special name, a general term for 'clothes' was now introduced as well as words for 'coat, petticoat,' 'shirt,' 'breeches,' 'gloves,' the 'upper shoe-leather' of a boot as well as its sole.' The 'combs' and rings' now introduced were doubtless improvements on the old ones, were more ornamental, were of new shapes, and far more fashionable.
The 'farm-house' (kartano) was now built of 'beams,' contained 'rooms' and 'sleeping-rooms,' was provided with a 'floor,' a 'hearth' of improved construction, and if need be the door could be fastened with a 'lock.' Inside the house stood a 'chest' or two for keeping clothes; at the head of the bed lay a 'bolster,' and on the hearth was the 'kettle.' In other parts of the house stood the 'churn' which might have 'hoops' round it, the 'milk-pail,' the 'weaver's reed,' and, if the house belonged to a small merchant, 'weighing scales' which registered a 'pound weight.' Outside the house was the 'well,' and on the roof of the house the 'stork' may now have perched. It is hardly likely the 'hawk' was trained for hawking as the country was too forested. In summer when the house was oppressively hot they could take refuge in a 'tent.'
Among the instruments that came into use were the 'axe-hammer,' which was certainly of iron and so required a new name, the *'wedge,' 'borer,' 'saw,' and needle,'
all of which would now be of metal. In connection with the needle was the 'seam.'
Fresh names were adopted for the 'he-goat,' the 'bullock' and the 'sheep,' which was now 'shorn' instead of being plucked, as was probably the case in the fourth period. Plucking, it may be remarked, instead of shearing was resorted to by the Shetlanders as late as the last century. The horse was already known, but the 'headstall,' 'halter,' and 'saddle' made riding more comfortable. By means of a 'yoke' the oxen were attached to a 'plough' of a better description than the old native one, the coulter being doubtless of iron. 'Uncultivated or desert' land was now distinguished from the 'field,' on which 'manure' was also thrown, and after being ploughed could be sown with 'oats,' 'rye,' 'hops,' 'flax,' or 'hemp,' from which last 'ropes' and 'hawsers' were manufactured. In the 'mould' of the garden, which was already known, they planted 'leeks' and borrowed a general term for a 'shoot or sprout.' After being threshed and freed from 'chaff' the grain was gathered into a 'barn.' In hay-making, after cutting the grass it was piled up in 'hay-cocks.' Barley was already known; now they learnt to make 'malt,' and with the addition of 'hops' to brew it into 'ale.' The 'wine' must have been imported. From 'dough' they made a better kind of 'bread' than before, and it could also be eaten with 'honey,' though this certainly was no new luxury.
Although the 'cod' frequents the Baltic, the 'whale,' I believe, is unknown in those waters. The introduction of the latter term seems to show that some of the West Finns had by this time penetrated as far as the 'shore' of the White Sea and the Arctic Ocean. Boats had
now 'seats,' well-defined 'bows,' and were propelled by regular oars.' Fishing was practised with a 'line or with a 'net.' Now they became acquainted with the special dangers of the sea, its great 'waves,' its 'rocks,' and 'reefs,' its narrow 'sounds' and 'high tides,' as well as with its more or less fabulous 'monsters' (tursas).
The new metals were 'iron,' 'gold,' and 'tin,' and it may be observed that the Finns did not borrow the ordinary word for iron, but one that meant 'red iron ore, hæmatite.' It looks rather as if the West Finns first learnt to know the ore before seeing the metal, which was ultimately extracted from it, and that may mean that the Scandinavians compulsorily employed their Finnish captives in the hæmatite mines. The prisoners, after becoming familiar with the term for ore, subsequently transferred the meaning to the metal extracted from the hæmatite, for at first they would not know that a metal could be obtained from it. On the escape or release of some of the captives, the word gradually would reach the main body of the West Finns. Besides learning these new metals the heat of the 'forge fire' was augmented by the use of 'bellows.'
To various parts of the body were now given fresh names, such as 'bosom,' 'the back of the shoulders,' 'belly,' the 'hips,' And the body became subject, though not for the first time in the history of the Finns, to 'disease,' 'pain,' 'sudden spasms,' 'wounds' and the 'scars' that accompany them. If, in course of time, pursued by a remorseless fate, the 'sick man' died, the lot of the 'deceased' (vainaja) was regarded as wretched, for Professor Setälä derives the word from the Gth. vainags 'unhappy, miserable. 1' The Finns were no pessimists,
they preferred to live as long as possible; the life beyond the grave was anticipated with anything but pleasure.
Some confused notion of a spirit distinct from the body the Finns always possessed; towards the end of the period they adopted a more distinctive word for 'soul.' Various abstract terms also became current, such as 'necessity'; the notion of making a 'mistake' or falling into 'error'; asking 'permission' from a superior and 'vexation' of any kind. By natural disposition it was recognised that a man might be 'just,' 'wise,' 'merciful,' 'gracious,' 'willing,' 'assiduous or eager'; that he might be 'blessed,' deserve 'merit' and be worthy of 'renown'; on the other hand, he might also be 'timid.' Other abstract terms were applicable to man, and to natural or artificial objects such as 'rich,' 'abundance,' 'worth,' 'precious,' 'beautiful,' 'unique.' Though some sort of singing must have accompanied the zither in the previous period, a new word was introduced for a 'song' runo.
The word for 'Russia' (Venäjä) is very interesting as it represents the Venedi of Tacitus, the A. Sax. Wined and the modern Wend. In Ohthere's time Wendland meant Pomerania, but in the second century there were Venedi on the east side of the Vistula and along the north of the Carpathians. By the sixth century some of these had pressed northwards, though without corning into contact with the West Finns. As the word Wend is not applied by the Slavs to themselves, but only by Teutons to their Slav neighbours, the Finns borrowed the term from the East Teutons, and originally, though not now, F. venäjä must have meant the Wendish people as well as Wendland. The Scandinavians in their journeys to and fro between their native land and the country occupied by the Goths,
that lay north of the lower Danube, or in the south-west corner of modern Russia, would have to pass through the land of the Wends, In this way it came to pass that the Finns heard of Wends and a great Wendland to the south of themselves, and in course of time, as the Slavs or Wends pressed closer upon them from the south, the idea of Venäjä expanded, till it included the whole area occupied by the people they had learnt to call Wends from the Eastern Teutons, but whom we call Russians.
Partly to account for the Proto-Scandinavian influence several writers on the subject have supposed that the Baltic Provinces were inhabited by Scandinavians, at any rate in part, but the most recent results of archæology lend a very uncertain support to this theory. With much greater show of reason, archæology can point to the south-west of Finland as having been inhabited by a prehistoric Scandinavian people from a very early date down to about the sixth century. It also leads us to conclude that before they took their departure—they may have gone south to join their kinsmen the Goths—they had taught so much metallurgy to the West Finns that there is no absolute breach of continuity between the civilisation of the first and second periods of iron in that region. The passage is gradual, clearly showing the Finns had entered far enough into Finland to get within reach of the new civilisation at an early date, perhaps as early as the second or third century A.D. Before reaching Finland the Finns had lived further south, had apparently touched on Lithuanians in Esthonia and eventually dispossessed them altogether, though they may have migrated with the East Teutons of Finland to the sunny south, to the great Eldorado where plunder was easily obtained. But this event, if it ever
really took place, is still very obscure. How far inland the West Finns were spread cannot of course be determined, but probably as far as the Waldai Hills. It is not necessary to suppose that more than the outer fringe of the main body were in actual contact either with the Lithuanians or with the East Teutons. If a sufficient length of time is allowed, all the culture-words of the new civilisations would gradually permeate and leaven the whole mass of the people. The Finns still lived an unsettled, half-roving life, and no doubt annually there were great gatherings for some special object to which some members of the most remote clans inevitably flocked. To people that live such a mode of life, a journey of several weeks’ duration to attend a national festival is nothing; time has absolutely no value. Another way in which new ideas with corresponding new words could travel very far from their source is to suppose that escaped prisoners, or even such as voluntarily had entered the service of the foreigners, eventually returned to their native homes. Again, the Finns, when they had an opportunity, would make prisoners of their enemies, who might be sent far inland, and from them the Finns living at a distance would learn many new arts of civilisation.
THE SIXTH OR EARLY SLAV PERIOD.
Although there are no actual records of the event, it is certain that for several centuries after the present era various Slav tribes, subsequently known collectively as Russians, were gradually pushing up from the south in the direction of Lake Ilmen. In course of time they met some of the West Finns, such of them as still lived outside
[paragraph continues] Finland and formed the southern fringe of the nation. The date of this occurrence cannot of course be accurately fixed, but it was later than the fifth period and earlier than the earliest literary documents of the Slavs. The test of the antiquity of the loan-words of the sixth period lies in the retention of a vowel +n instead of the nasal vowel of the earliest manuscripts and the treatment of the vowels yerŭ, yerĭ. Mr. Mikkola, who has collected and discussed the loan-words of this period, and from whom I have taken all the words given below, 1 is of opinion that they were borrowed before the Finns entered Finland, an event which was completed at any rate about A.D. 800. 2 This statement is, I believe, far too sweeping. If there is any truth in what has been advanced in the last section, some of the West Finns were in Finland perhaps as early as the second or third century, while the more southerly tribes may have extended as far as the Waldai Hills and Lake Ilmen. According to my interpretation these more southerly Finns borrowed a considerable number of new words from the Slavs, but ultimately were pushed northwards, partly into Finland to amalgamate with the earlier settlers there, partly north-westwards to swell the numbers of the Esthonians, and partly perhaps to the north-east in the direction of Lake Bielózero. The result of this late movement was that a number of words of Slav origin passed into all groups of the West Finns much quicker than they otherwise would have done.
As a social body the Finns lived in different 'communities or parishes,' separated from each other by definite 'boundaries.' From time to time they assembled in the 'market-place,' which might be several 'versts' from their
respective homes, and there transacted business, not by barter, but in silver currency, using the old Russian grivna (F. riuna). Originally this was a silver torque, or collar, worn round the neck; then it was used as a unit of value with a weight, at Novgorod, of thirteen ounces; finally it became a coin, and now has a value of only ten kopeks, or about threepence. For buying and selling there was a definite 'measure' of quantity or of weight; 'goods' were distinguished by their 'quality or sort,' and agricultural produce could be kept or transported in 'sacks.'
The house was now provided with a regular 'window' and an outside 'gate'; besides stools there was the 'bench' and the 'bench fixed into the wall' in the vicinity of the 'stove.' As an offset to this increasing comfort they had now to put up with 'cockroaches.' Outside in the courtyard was the 'cow-house,' and the 'sparrow' for the first time seems to have attracted notice. Inside the house the women plied the 'distaff,' the 'spindle,' and a new sort of 'weaver's reed,' with which they wove 'linen,' and perhaps *'home-spun cloth' and *'sackcloth.' It would be their business, too, to make the 'footless socks' to protect the feet in walking through snow, the 'linen drawers' and 'cloaks' that now became the fashion. 'Boots' were now sewed with 'waxed or pitched thread,' and for summer wear 'bast-shoes' were found advantageous.
The only new weapon was a 'battle-axe' of iron; for lopping off branches 'twigs' and 'rods' they used a 'billhook'; for carpenters’ work a *'chisel'; for reaping a 'sickle,' and for spearing fish a new kind of 'leister.' The hunter was followed by some new breed of 'hunting dog.'
The boatmen perhaps navigated the inland waters and narrow 'sounds' in *'barges,' and learnt the use of the
[paragraph continues] 'fire beacon.' The 'walrus' could only have been known by hearsay, though they may have seen its tusks or the strong ropes and tackle that were made from its hide.
Although the Finns had already borrowed a number of words for various parts of the body, they now augmented the number by re-naming the 'throat.'
New articles of food from the kitchen garden were 'beans' and 'carrots.' On feast days the bill of fare was increased by the addition of a 'pie or pasty.' After a drinking bout they learnt, hardly for the first time in their history, the disastrous effects of 'drunkenness and hot coppers.'
Murder as a crime was known in the previous epoch, now they borrowed a term for the 'thief' and the 'wizard.' A new ailment, or one with a fresh name, was the 'itch.'
Among the new abstract ideas were the sensations of feeling 'free,' of being 'clean and decent' or 'sorrowful'; the deeper-seated sensations of 'pity' and 'anguish'; and the more advanced conceptions involved in the notions of 'insight, comprehension,' and 'counsel, reflection.'
Among the very latest of the loan-words are several ecclesiastical terms, showing that Christianity had been preached at a fairly early date, though hardly before the beginning of the tenth century. The words are 'cross,' to 'christen,' 'priest,' the 'Holy Scriptures,' and 'heathen.'
THE SEVENTH OR TATAR PERIOD.
Between the third or Iranian, and the seventh or Tatar Period, there seems to have been an interregnum of stagnation among the East Finns, though the former may have lasted to the fall of the Sassanide empire. The oldest
[paragraph continues] Mordvin loan-words of this period, according to Mr. Paasonen, to whom I am indebted for all the loan-words given below, 1 seem to have been taken from the Čuvaš, some of them when it was at an older stage than at present. 2 Dr. Radloff, Vambéry, and Paasonen all hold that the Čuvaš are descendants of the ancient Bolgars. They speak a strongly marked Tatar dialect, presenting certain phonetic peculiarities which led Dr. Radloff to believe that they are a Tatarised people; the physical aspect of the people points to the same conclusion. Several Arab authors aver that the language of the Bolgars and Khozars was the same, and was different from the Turkish and Persian. The former first appeared in Europe in the fifth century, and, if they called themselves Bolgars or Bulgars, must have been Tatarised before entering Europe. They may have settled on the central Volga as early as the sixth or seventh century, where they maintained themselves till the capture of Bolgari in 1238 by the Mongols. The earlier Čuvaš loans are about sixteen in number, and are indicated below by a (Č.) in brackets; the later ones date from the thirteenth century onwards, and were made from the Mišär Tatars, now found in the governments of Nižni, Simbirsk, Penza, and Saratov.
The Mordvins now adopted two fresh terms for dignitaries, the 'prince' and the 'Kān.' The 'assembly of the community' took place in the street, for that is the meaning of the Tatar original. Hospitality seems to have been a new 'custom,' and was marked by receiving the 'stranger' and treating him as a 'guest' or as a 'friend or comrade.' As a counterpoise to the exercise of this virtue the 'glutton' came into existence.
Merchants and traders, braving 'storms' and 'waves,' assembled in the 'market-place or bazar,' and had scales' weighing up to a 'weight of 10 lbs.' They 'tested' the quality of an article to see if it was 'bad or spoilt,' and it was 'good luck' for them to buy 'cheap.' Among the foreign articles they traded in were 'pepper,' 'paper,' 'brass,' 'chains,' 'silk,' and many other articles.
In the family new terms were borrowed for '(Č.) mother, wife, woman,' and '(Č.) elder sister or aunt (on either side).' Marriage customs took a new turn or were conducted with greater ceremony and etiquette, for 'match-makers' appear on the stage, and haggling took place over the 'price of the bride' or the bridal feast, as the word means in the original. Fresh terms of address and respect were adopted for the 'husband's sister older than the husband,' 'husband of elder sister or brother-in-law,' 'husband of sister's wife,' 'wife's younger sister,' 'younger brother,' 'son, young man,' and 'child.' A 'sense of shame or decorum in girls' was now required, and a stigma was attached to 'leading an immoral life.'
Men wore a '(Č.) long coat or kaftan,' with a 'pocket' in it, as well as a 'cap.' The 'pretty' women adorned themselves with 'necklaces of glass beads' and 'coins worn as an ornament.' The best clothes of both sexes might be of '(Č.) silk,' embroidered with 'gold and silver thread,' and the colour of their garments was sometimes 'white.' Against 'cold, wind, or weather,' they had 'coverings of felt.'
A 'beard,' when it could be grown, was now the fashion, and fresh terms were borrowed for the 'lower part of the back,' and the 'left (hand).' They now suffered from 'skin disease' and 'itch,' and the 'blind' excited compassion;
in the old days they were perhaps put away as soon as the blindness was remarked.
The 'house' no doubt was an improvement on the older dwelling; the furniture included a 'chest' and part of the building could be partitioned off with a 'curtain.' The warmth and comfort of the establishment however invited the '(Č) bug.' Increased notions of cleanliness necessited the use of 'soap.' Outside was the 'enclosed courtyard,' where 'turkey cocks' now displayed themselves, the 'cultivated field' and the 'portion of a field or forest.' In the cultivated ground grew '(Č.) hops,' 'cucumbers,' 'horse radish,' 'male hemp,' and 'fruit' as well 'dry grass' and weeds like 'darnel.' Beyond the cultivated fields by the 'steep bank' of some stream grew the '(Č.) willow' and the '(Č.) elm or ash,' the original of which last meant the alder; a fresh term too became current for a '(Č.) branch or twig.' In the open fields the 'hare' crouched in its form and the 'mole' threw up mole-hills. With regard to wild birds they borrowed a name for the 'hawk' and two for the 'jackdaw.'
The dietary was improved by the introduction of 'dumplings,' '(Č.) round cakes' which could be eaten with 'honey-comb,' 'cream,' and 'sour milk'; 'pepper' was used as a seasoning. With the hops 'small beer' was brewed which sometimes would lead to 'intoxication' and 'fighting with 'clubs.' For holding liquids there was the 'trough.'
As the Tatars were a horse-loving people, the Mordvins adopted new terms for 'stallion,' 'gelding,' a 'refractory horse' and a 'hired horse and conveyance' as well as for a 'saddle girth' and 'halter.'
'(Č.) Brass' was the only new metal, and this as well as iron could be wrought into 'chains.'
In the religious life, besides learning 'to fast' and to keep 'pure and holy,' they were taught the existence of 'Satan,' of an 'evil spirit of Keremet,' of a 'sorcerer or evil spirit,' and they acquired some new way of 'divining' the future to see what their 'luck' would be.
Among the more abstract ideas were free will, 'freedom,' 'clean, well, strong,' to assist,' 'to prepare,' 'to despise,' and a 'contour or outline,' the original word meaning the ghost of a dead person.
The Čeremis were quite as much indebted to the Čuvaš and to the Tatars. All the loan-words below are taken from Professor Smirnov. 1 The new civilisation introduced the 'chimneyless hut' with its 'hearth' and 'escape for the smoke.' Inside the house was a 'loft' and the furniture consisted of 'stools,' 'chairs,' 'cushions,' 'featherbeds,' and even 'bed curtains' to keep out the midges and mosquitoes. New ideas of cleanliness led the people to adopt the 'tub' and the use of 'soap.' Women span thread with a 'distaff,' and learnt 'to embroider.' Round the house were distributed the 'cellar,' the 'bath house,' and the 'cattle shed,' and these were contained within a 'compound or fenced enclosure,' in one side of which was a 'gate.' They bred 'cattle,' 'horses,' and sheep,' for which there are several names. The hay was kept in a 'covered structure' for that purpose, and 'enclosures for cattle' were now made in the woods or in the fields. The 'herds' were in charge of a 'herdsman,' and a trough for the cattle to drink out of in winter was found useful.
Agriculture took a new development. The 'ploughed fields' were manured with 'dung,' and ploughed with a 'hook plough' into 'strips,' with a 'boundary' between
each, and might be sown with 'oats.' After being reaped the corn was bound into 'sheaves' and the 'straw' was separated from the grain by threshing. 'Hay' was cut with a 'scythe' and turned with a 'fork' before being housed. Near the house was the 'kitchen garden' in which vegetables and fruit such as 'onions,' 'garlic,' 'radishes,' and 'apples' were cultivated. For transporting the corn and agricultural produce there was a 'wagon' to which horses were attached by means of a 'collar,' and to separate the shafts they used a 'bow or arch' which rose immediately above the collar. The horses were ridden and driven with a 'bit' and in connection with the wagon and its harness they made use of 'nails,' 'hooks,' chains,' and 'cords.'
As a consequence of turning their attention largely to agriculture the Čeremis were now able to indulge in 'porridge' and to eat 'pancakes.'
The people were no longer on an equal level of modest competence; they had to recognise the difference between 'rich' and poor,' between 'master and mistress' an the one hand and 'work-people' on the other. A trader brought his 'goods' to the 'bazaar or market place,' put a sufficient 'price' upon them to make a 'profit' and secure himself against loss' and was 'paid' in money.' If his stock ran short he could apply to a 'usurer' for a 'loan.'
From Mohammedan missionaries, who first came to Bolgari in the tenth century, the Čeremis imbibed a number of totally new ideas, such as 'religion' and 'sin.' He trembled at the idea of the 'Judge in the other world,' of 'hell' and of 'Satan.' Their immediate surroundings, they heard, were only a small part of the 'world' and the
sky itself only formed a part of 'nature' as a whole. They adopted a word for 'man,' which placed him in a new light; which differentiated him entirely from animals and made him a special creation of the Almighty with whom he might ultimately expect to dwell in 'paradise.' For man was possessed of a 'soul' and 'spirit' which directed his 'mind' and
The Votiaks have borrowed still more largely than the Čeremis and the Mordvins from their Tatar and Čuvaš neighbours. Dr. Munkácsi, from whom I have taken all the words given below, 1 has enumerated a list of over 800 Votiak words of Tatar, Persian, and Arabic origin, many of them verbs. But as they all came through a Tatar source and belong to the same period as the loan-words in Mordvin and Čeremis, it is not necessary to separate them into three categories or to enumerate the whole of them.
In their social life the Votiaks now recognised a 'lord' and prince' in 'authority' over them, to whom they paid 'tribute' and 'taxes,' who would preside at their 'assemblies,' issue his 'commandments' and govern a 'district.' The 'judge' administered the 'law' and the 'statutes,' tried the 'robber,' and the 'thief,' the 'debtor' and the 'calumniator' that had told 'lies' about the prosecutor; and heard the 'witnesses' 'give evidence' on 'oath.'
Of lower rank than the prince was the 'master,' for which there are a couple of terms. The mass of the 'people' was still lower in the social scale and they were subdivided according to their vocation. There was now the 'artisan or handicraftsman,' the 'workman,' 'herdsman,' watchman,' 'messenger,' servant,' and also the 'harlot.' A distinction was thus drawn between 'rich'
and 'poor,' and in other ways the old social equality was impaired, for a 'strong man or hero' could now make a name for himself and raise himself above his fellows in a way that formerly had not been possible. The new laws of hospitality brought in a word for a 'guest,' who was treated as a 'friend' and 'comrade.'
In the 'family' a considerable number of new terms were adopted, showing that its old constitution had undergone a change. Such were 'grandmother,' 'elder-brother,' 'brother,' 'elder sister,' 'elder sister on the father's side,' 'elder sister or aunt,' 'husband of wife's sister,' 'wife's brother or sister'; 'step-father, stepmother; 'relation.' Marriages were arranged by a 'match-maker'; the young couple were formally 'betrothed' and the 'price of the bride' was agreed upon beforehand. With the stricter marriage laws a definite, legal term for 'adultery' was added to the vocabulary. At the wedding feast and other festivities was to be heard the 'singer' accompanying himself on the 'zither,' as well as the player on the 'fiddle,' 'bagpipes,' and 'horn.'
The new 'farm-house' was built on a 'foundation,' and was provided with a 'hearth' and a 'chimney flue,' besides being divided into separate 'rooms'; a 'staircase' led to the upper chambers. As furniture there were 'mats,' 'cushions,' 'pillows,' and 'coverings.' Outside, enclosed by a 'fence' of some sort for which there are two words, was the 'courtyard,' 'bath-house,' 'shed' and 'granary,' including the 'well' and 'bucket' for drawing water. Within the yard, to which there was access by a 'gate,' could be heard the gobbling of the 'turkey-cock,' the crowing of the 'cock,' the cackling of the 'hens' and 'chickens,' the cooing of the 'dove,' the lowing of the
[paragraph continues] 'calf' and bleating of the 'sheep, lambs' and 'he-goats.' Some birds were kept in 'cages.'
As a means of transport there was the 'wagon' to which a 'gelding' could be harnessed. Some riders preferred the 'ambling horse' with 'a saddle,' 'stirrups,' and 'halter,' others the 'ass.' Excepting as a name and by vague report the 'camel' could hardly have been known. For fodder in winter they made hay which was heaped into 'hay-cocks' with a 'pitchfork.'
The 'fields,' for which there are two expressions, were tilled and might be sown with 'flax' or 'corn' of some kind such as 'millet'; when cut it was tied up in 'sheaves' and the 'grain' was separated from the 'straw' by threshing. In the 'kitchen garden' they grew 'lentils,' 'gourds,' 'radishes,' 'turnips,' 'onions' and 'garlic,' as well as 'fruit,' such as 'apples' and 'cherries.' They even took a fancy to 'roses,' perhaps to other 'flowers' by reason of their 'colour' and smell. Agriculture of a more advanced type was introduced and with it the artificial 'beehive' in which better 'honey-combs' were produced.
'Bread' was now baked and the above vegetables, including 'rice' which of course was imported, could now be made into 'soup and food' of various sorts by cooking them in a 'pan'; 'meat' was 'roasted' before the fire. The meal was washed down with 'beer' and 'brandy,' drunk out of a 'glass' or 'bowl'; the results of drinking too much led to drunkenness and hot coppers.'
Spinning and weaving had already been learnt, but a different sort of 'weaver's sley' was introduced. The dress for great occasions was of greater splendour than of yore. 'Women's cloaks' could be of 'silk,' embroidered with gold thread,' for 'gold' was now known. They also
wore 'pearls,' 'shoes,' 'stockings,' and a 'cap.' Men let their 'moustaches' grow, and new terms were substituted for various parts of the body, such as 'foot or leg,' 'loin,' 'throat,' 'cheek,' and belly.'
New instruments, all of course of metal, were 'shears,' 'saws,' 'knives,' 'wire,' 'anvils,' and 'weighing scales.' With the latter was associated a 'weight of 2½ drachms' (miskal); Munkácsi does not give the word, but it is certainly the Ar. mithdal, which weighed about 74 grains, or nearly 10 grains in excess of the modern weight. Metallic 'money' was now current and with it came the ideas of 'gain' and 'profit.' 'Paper' was used for writing and drawing upon, for some of the natives had learnt 'to read' and could recognise a 'picture or portrait.' Formerly the divisions of 'time' were of ample dimensions, nothing less than a month; now they divided the month into 'weeks.'
Though the Votiaks had always lived in a cold country and were acquainted with meteorological and other natural phenomena, they thought fit to enlarge their vocabulary by new terms such as 'frost and cold,' 'fog,' 'storms' (two words), the 'steppe,' 'steep bank,' 'island,' chalk' and 'reeds.'
So too they found it advisable to incorporate into their language several words for animals, some of which they knew before, and in certain instances they have changed the original meaning of the loan-word. Such are 'elk'; 'beaver or otter,' but musk-rat in Tatar; 'rat,' but beaver in Tatar; 'squirrel,' but hare in Tatar; 'martin' and 'lion.' New bird-names are 'eagle,' the 'great horned owl,' 'gull,' 'jackdaw,' 'crane,' 'lark,' and 'quail.' Among cold-blooded animals are the 'serpent' as a mythological fancy, 'leech,' 'frog,' besides two words for 'flies.'
A new malady may have been 'small-pox': a man might be 'deaf,' 'blind,' 'crippled,' or in 'pain' from a 'wound,' but instead of the old charms for banishing the evil spirits of disease he could now resort to the use of 'medicine.'
In the 'street' besides 'shops' could now be seen the 'mosque' with its slender and picturesque 'minaret.' Here was proclaimed the 'religion or creed' of the 'Prophet,' bringing with it new notions of the nature of 'sin' and 'guilt'; of the deceptions of 'Satan' and the manifold 'evil spirits' which pervade the 'world,' though their machinations could be thwarted by the good offices of 'angels'; of the virtues of 'fasting,' 'alms,' 'offerings,' 'prayer,' 'penance,' and 'compassion' for the 'poor.' Now they cherished a 'hope' of 'eternal life' in 'Paradise' and shuddered at the idea that their 'fate' should lead them to 'Hell' to abide with the 'accursed.' The 'place of sacrifice' of their own native gods also acquired a new name.
Lastly, the mental horizon of the Votiaks was enlarged by abstract terms such as 'honour,' 'duty,' 'true and right,' 'good,' 'righteous,' 'generous,' 'beautiful,' 'joyful,' 'peace,' 'friend,' 'friendly,' 'freedom' and 'free.' The opposites of these were 'treachery,' 'treacherous,' 'deceit,' 'deception,' 'dissolute,' 'lust,' 'wickedness,' 'hatred,' 'derision,' 'enemy' 'unclean' and 'unfree.' They also borrowed words denoting 'intelligence,' 'insight,' 'advice, counsel,' 'watchful, careful' and many verbs such as 'to remember,' 'to forgive,' 'to honour,' 'to advise,' 'to take counsel,' 'to make a vow,' 'to boast,' 'to regret,' 'to fall in love or to take up with any one,' 'to bless'; 'to rob,' 'to be vexed,' 'to curse and to swear.'
Footnotes
229:1 Tomaschek, pp. 12–14; Munkácsi, (2) pp. 191–197.
234:1 Yule, vol. i. pp. 93, 94.
236:1 Abu el Kassim, p. 83.
237:1 Munkácsi, (2) p. 88.
240:1 Spitsịn, p. 88.
243:1 Thomsen, (1) pp. 151, 152.
243:2 Ibid., (1) pp. 145–148.
244:1 Mikkola places this loan in the Proto-Slav or sixth period.
248:1 Kobert, pp. 171. 270, 245, 251, 259, 260; Sprogis, p. 316.
249:1 Thomsen, (1) p. 153.
250:1 Thomsen, (1) pp. 72–76, 151.
250:2 Ibid., (2) p. 118; Bugge, p. 115.
251:1 Bugge, pp. 107, 71, 103.
251:2 These will be found in Thomsen, (2) pp. 121, 128, 185.
254:1 Setälä, p. 60.
258:1 Mikkola, pp. 31, 36–180.
258:2 Ibid., pp. 28, 29.
261:1 Paasonen, pp. 26–57.
261:2 Ibid., p. 5.
264:1 Smirnov, (1) pp. 24.29.
266:1 Munkácsi, (3) pp. 79–151.