Recent from talks
Mishar Tatars
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Mishar Tatars
The Mishar Tatars (endonyms: мишәрләр, мишәр татарлары, romanized: mişärlär, mişär tatarları), previously known as the Meshcheryaks (Russian: мещеряки, romanized: meshcheryaki), are the second largest subgroup of the Volga Tatars, after the Kazan Tatars. Traditionally, they have inhabited the middle and western side of Volga, including the present day Mordovia, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Ryazan, Penza, Ulyanovsk, Orenburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Samara regions of Russia. Many have since relocated to Moscow. Mishars also comprise the majority of Finnish Tatars and Tatars living in other Nordic and Baltic countries.
Mishars speak the western dialect of the Tatar language and, like the Tatar majority, practice Sunni Islam. They have at least partially different ethnogenesis from the Kazan Tatars, though many differences have since disappeared. Different accounts of their origin exist to this day, but most researchers connect their ancestors to the population of the Golden Horde. The Mishar dialect is said to be "faithfully close" to the ancient Kipchak Turkic language.
In the 1897 census, their total number was 622,600. The estimates have varied greatly since, because they are often identified simply as Tatars.
Meshchera, or Meshchersky Yurt (Russian: Мещерский юрт; Tatar: Мишәр йорты / Mişär yortı) is a name used by the Russians for certain areas where the ancestors of the Mishars lived. For the first time it is mentioned in the Golden Horde and later in Kasim Khanate. Meshchera is also an ancient Finno-Ugric tribe, although it has been also claimed that it was originally Turkic.
Linguist J. J. Mikkola thought the name might come from a reconstructed Mordvinic word ḿeškär, meaning "beekeeper". Its connection to proto-Hungarian Magyars has also been suggested (mazhar, mishar).
Mishars living separately from Kazan Tatars do not call themselves Mishars, they consider themselves simply Tatars. The Tatar Turkologist of the early 19th century, Akhmarov, believed that the name "Mishar" has a geographical character and originates from the historical region of Meshchera. "Mişär" most likely comes from the Kazan Tatars. Previously, in Russian sources, they were known as the Meshcheryaki (мещеряки). In the 1926 census, 200,000 called themselves "Mishars". The Tatar name originates from the time of Golden Horde, when the feudal nobility used it for its population. Later, Russian feudals and the Tsar government started using the name, though many of them still called themselves möselman ('Muslim').[self-published source?]
In 2006, based on a single interview done in an ethnically diverse Chuvash village, the Mishars saw Islam central to their identity; they stated that Kryashens, the Christian Tatars, were not Tatars at all. They themselves identified as "Tatar", and the term Mishar only came up after repeated questioning.
Mishars are the second main subgroup of Volga Tatars, the other one being the Kazan Tatars. They differ mainly in living locations and dialect, though the Mishars also have at least partially different ethnogenesis from the Kazan Tatars.
Hub AI
Mishar Tatars AI simulator
(@Mishar Tatars_simulator)
Mishar Tatars
The Mishar Tatars (endonyms: мишәрләр, мишәр татарлары, romanized: mişärlär, mişär tatarları), previously known as the Meshcheryaks (Russian: мещеряки, romanized: meshcheryaki), are the second largest subgroup of the Volga Tatars, after the Kazan Tatars. Traditionally, they have inhabited the middle and western side of Volga, including the present day Mordovia, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Ryazan, Penza, Ulyanovsk, Orenburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Samara regions of Russia. Many have since relocated to Moscow. Mishars also comprise the majority of Finnish Tatars and Tatars living in other Nordic and Baltic countries.
Mishars speak the western dialect of the Tatar language and, like the Tatar majority, practice Sunni Islam. They have at least partially different ethnogenesis from the Kazan Tatars, though many differences have since disappeared. Different accounts of their origin exist to this day, but most researchers connect their ancestors to the population of the Golden Horde. The Mishar dialect is said to be "faithfully close" to the ancient Kipchak Turkic language.
In the 1897 census, their total number was 622,600. The estimates have varied greatly since, because they are often identified simply as Tatars.
Meshchera, or Meshchersky Yurt (Russian: Мещерский юрт; Tatar: Мишәр йорты / Mişär yortı) is a name used by the Russians for certain areas where the ancestors of the Mishars lived. For the first time it is mentioned in the Golden Horde and later in Kasim Khanate. Meshchera is also an ancient Finno-Ugric tribe, although it has been also claimed that it was originally Turkic.
Linguist J. J. Mikkola thought the name might come from a reconstructed Mordvinic word ḿeškär, meaning "beekeeper". Its connection to proto-Hungarian Magyars has also been suggested (mazhar, mishar).
Mishars living separately from Kazan Tatars do not call themselves Mishars, they consider themselves simply Tatars. The Tatar Turkologist of the early 19th century, Akhmarov, believed that the name "Mishar" has a geographical character and originates from the historical region of Meshchera. "Mişär" most likely comes from the Kazan Tatars. Previously, in Russian sources, they were known as the Meshcheryaki (мещеряки). In the 1926 census, 200,000 called themselves "Mishars". The Tatar name originates from the time of Golden Horde, when the feudal nobility used it for its population. Later, Russian feudals and the Tsar government started using the name, though many of them still called themselves möselman ('Muslim').[self-published source?]
In 2006, based on a single interview done in an ethnically diverse Chuvash village, the Mishars saw Islam central to their identity; they stated that Kryashens, the Christian Tatars, were not Tatars at all. They themselves identified as "Tatar", and the term Mishar only came up after repeated questioning.
Mishars are the second main subgroup of Volga Tatars, the other one being the Kazan Tatars. They differ mainly in living locations and dialect, though the Mishars also have at least partially different ethnogenesis from the Kazan Tatars.
Recent media