Representation of the Concept of Shulyk ‘Health / Vitality / Well-Being / Happiness’ in the Discourse of the Mari Ethnic Religion

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Introduction Linguocultural analysis, religious conceptology through the study of language as a means of communication between members of an ethnic group, methods and means of recording, preserving and transmitting the most important aspects of culture allow us to reveal the essential characteristics of such a unique object as the ethnic religion of the Mari. The religious picture of the world, verbalized by means of language, ‘becomes the cultural heritage of the people and is reflected in the linguistic picture of the world’ [1. P. 40]. The basic Mari religious concepts that form the foundation of the worldview include the following: юмо ‘god’, ото / кӱсото ‘sacred / prayer grove’, онапу ‘sacred / prayer tree’, кумалтыш ‘prayer’, перке ‘abundance, fertility, fecundity, prosperity’, шулык ‘health / vitality / well-being / happiness’, серлагыш ‘protection / mercy’. Represented primarily in the texts of prayers, as well as in descriptions of rituals, and in general in Mari folklore, they embody the spiritual and moral values of the people, the foundations of the doctrine of the Mari ethnic religion. Results and Discussion In this article, we rely on the definition of I. Postovalova, who defines a religious concept as a multidimensional mystical-semiotic formation in the unity of its three main planes - spiritual-ideological, cultural-historical and linguistic [2. P. 139]. The conceptual content of the concept ‘shulyk’ is revealed by analyzing dictionary entries. V.M. Vasiliev in ‘Марий мутэр’ presented two meanings of the word shulyk: ‘здоровье, жизненная сила’ - ‘health, vitality’ and provided the following illustrations: Шулы̌к, тазалы̌к, сьулы̌к (ӱ. м.) - health. Шулы̌к тажа илы̌шы̌м йоды̌на ‘We ask for a healthy life’; шулыкан лий - be healthy, be happy [3. P. 274]. In the multi-volume Dictionary of the Mari Language, two meanings are defined for this word. The first is interpreted through a number of words of the Russian language: happiness, good, well-being - and a reference is given to the dictionary entry for the lexeme пиал ‘happiness’. For the second meaning of the word, a reference is proposed to the word tazalyk ‘health’ [4. P. 333]. Etymological analysis leads to the conclusion that the word shulyk is of Turkic origin. Cf.: Tatar саулык ‘health, healthy state’ [5. P. 471], Turkish sağlık ‘health’, Turkmen saglyk ‘health’. Comparative analysis of lexicographic data and etymological analysis indicate that the primary meaning of the word shulyk is ‘health’. As a result of the expansion of the meaning of the word in the Mari language, the semes ‘vital force’, ‘inner strength’, ‘power, energy’, ‘harmony of divine energy’ arose, and in the meadow dialect of the Mari language the took on the meaning of ‘happiness’. This thesis is confirmed by the combinations шулык вий ‘life force’, шулыкан вий ‘life force, literally, the force of health’ from prayer texts: Шулык виетым поро пашаште чаманыде кучылтметлан тылат вуйнам савена [6. P. 33] ‘For the fact that you use your life force in good deeds without sparing, we bow our heads’; Мланде Ава дене пырля Агавайрем Кугу Юмо шулыкан вийым пуэн шогыза, вольыклан, мӱкшыжлан, пушеҥгылан, саскалан, киндылан, шийвундылан шулыкан вийым пуэн шого [6. P. 32] ‘Goddess-mother of the earth, together with the God of the holiday Agavair (Spring holiday of arable land, plow - L.A.), give life force, for cattle, for bees, for trees, for fruits, for bread, for silver, give life force’. Combinations from the texts of the prayers шулыкан пӱрымаш ‘happy fate, destiny’, шулыкан каҥаш ‘good instruction’ indicate that the word shulykan has a broader meaning than it is noted in the aforementioned ten-volume dictionary of the Mari language. The word-formation nest of the lexeme-name shulyk includes the adjective шулыкан ‘1. happy; 2. (Hill Mari) healthy’; verb шулыкланаш ‘(Hill Mari, book var.) to say hello, wishing someone to be happy’: Шулыкан лий, кум тӱрлӧ вольык перке гыч Юмо тыйым ынже кӱрылтыктӧ [7. P. 204] ‘Be happy, let Yumo not deprive you of the abundance of three different types of cattle’; (Яшпай) вӓтӹ доно пурынок шулыкланыш. V. Petukhov. ‘Yashpay greeted the woman warmly’ [4. P. 333]. When identifying the conceptual content of a religious concept, definitional analysis based solely on linguistic dictionaries seems limited, so let us turn to the works of religious scholars and ministers of the traditional Mari religion. The religious scholar N.S. Popov defines shulyk in the following context: ‘For a righteous life, deities can endow a person with an additional guardian angel, confirm the existence of a person in God, thereby ensuring the ability to contemplate and experience God, the harmony of divine energy (shulyk) and the human soul’ [8. P. 137]. He also deduces the meaning of the word шулык from such concepts as тазалык (tazalyk) ‘health’, кӧргӧ вий (kӧrgӧ viy) ‘inner strength’, куат (kuat) ‘power / energy’ [7. P. 249]. When interpreting the meanings embedded in these concepts since ancient times, one cannot help but turn to the works of clergymen. V. M. Mamaev gives the following interpretation: Шулык - тиде вий-куат, Перке - ваш кылдалт шогышо нимучашдыме поянлык, Серлагыш - илыш ласкалык [9. P. 12] ‘Шулык’ is strength and power, Перке is the interconnected manifestations of endless wealth, Серлагыш is life’s well-being / tranquility. In lexicographic and religious studies interpretations, there is no complete coincidence of semantic features of the main representative of the analyzed concept, however, native speakers have fairly stable ideas about its components. For clarity and completeness, we will consider the functioning of the word шулык and its synonyms for each of the dictionary meanings in prayer texts. Representatives of the concept шулык ‘health / vitality / well-being / happiness’ and their implementation in the texts of prayers The meaning of ‘correct, normal functioning of the body, its complete physical and mental well-being’ in the Mari language is also expressed by the word tazalyk ‘health’, borrowed from the Turkic languages. This word is also productive in the texts of prayers: Тылеч вара илаш тазалыкым йодына. Ешланат, вольыкланат, суртланат, кугу серлагышым, кугу тазалыкым йодына [7. P. 158-159] ‘After this, in order to live, we ask for health. And for the family, and for the cattle, and to protect the home, we ask for good health.’ In the collection of prayers compiled by N.S. Popov, it appears as more frequent: 96 uses of the word tazalyk and 48 uses of shulyk were noted. The word tazalyk is commonly used and neutral, while the lexeme shulyk is present in the Hill Mari language and mainly in the religious discourse of the Meadow Mari people. In the texts of prayers pleonastic combinations шулык таза илыш, шулык тазалык are used to intensify semantics: а таче у кечет дене, ару могыр дене кӧ кумал шога гын, тудлан поро шулык тазалыкым, илышаш кужу ӱмырым, шочшо-влакшылан тазалыкым, пиалым, серлагышым пуэн шогыза [7. P. 63] ‘And today, on a new day, whoever is clean in body and prays, give him good (lit. healthy) health, longevity, give his children health, happiness, protection.’ The meaning of ‘a state of absolute satisfaction with life, a feeling of the highest pleasure, joy’ in the Mari language is expressed by the commonly used literary word пиал (pial) ‘happiness’ and the Eastern Mari dialect of Turkic origin рыскал (ryskal) ‘happiness’. Both lexemes are found in the texts of prayers, in particular in the collection ‘Марий кумалтыш мут’ the word pial - 70 times, ryskal - 22 times: Перке ден перкем ваш ыштенат, пиал ден пиалым ваш ыштенат [7. P. 135] ‘You have united abundance with abundance, you have united happiness with happiness’; …кӱшыл тӱтырам ӱлыкӧ волтен, ӱлыл тӱтырам кӱш кӱзыктен, кок тӱтырам ваш конден, нылле ик пачаш чаршаутым почылтарен, кӱрылтдымӧ резыкетым пуэн, пытыдыме рыскалым пуэн, кум тӱрлӧ еш гычын, тӱрлӧ вольык гычын, кум тӱрлӧ шурно чот гычын, кум тӱрлӧ пакча кӧргӧ мӱкш чот гычын, кум тӱрлӧ ший казна дене илаш, Кугу Юмо, ыҥгайлыкым пу! [7. P. 107] ‘Lowing the upper fog down, raising the lower fog up, connecting two fogs, opening forty-one curtains, giving continuous sustenance, giving endless happiness, with three different families, with different cattle, three different types of bread, with bees in three different apiaries, with three reserves of silver, Great Yumo, give the opportunity to live!’ The lexemes pial, tazalyk, shulyk in the texts of prayers are used in the same context in texts of prayers: Ынде ты тичмаш ӱмбачын пореш пиалым пу! Тиде тичмаш ӱмбачын, ой Кугече Юмо, кӱшнӧ юмын сура почылтын, ӱлнӧ мланде сура почылтын, кок тӱтыра коклаште варсеҥге гае вычыматен, умла гае оварген, порсын гае ӱмыр шуен илаш, поро кугу шулык перкем пу, шулык дене ыштыме поро еш перкем пу, ешыже-влакым ушан-акылан ыште… [7. P. 143] ‘Now, by prayer with this whole gift, grant happiness in goodness. By prayer with this whole gift, God of the Kugeche holiday (spring holiday of remembrance of ancestors, lit. Great day - L.A.), the divine castle opened above, the earthly castle opened below; to live between two fogs like swallows, rejoicing like hops, multiplying like silk, prolonging life, give good, great abundance of health, created by health, give well-being to the family, let everyone in the family be smart, reasonable’; А Вуйӱмбал Кугу Юмо, шке Пиямбарет дене, чыла ешет дене, мемнан сӧрымым колын, чыла осалым поктен колто. Поро шулыкым да тазалыкым пуэн, илаш полшен шого [7. P. 9] ‘And the Great Yumo above our heads, with his Prophet, with his whole family, having heard our promise, drive away all evil. Giving good happiness and health, help us to live’. The polysemantic word эсенлык of Turkic origin has a similar semantic content to the word shulyk: Cf.: эсе́нлык 1. health; normal vital activity of the organism; the presence of strength, fortitude of the organism. 2. well-being; calm, successful course of life, affairs; contentment, security; good, kind’ [10. P. 141] and исәнлык health, as well as исәнлык-саулык [5. P. 178]. This representative of the analyzed concept is found in the prayers of the Eastern Mari: Мер калык йодын кумалеш сурт кӧргӧ ямагатшылан эсенлыкым, кум тӱрлӧ вольыкшылан эсенлыкым йодын, кум тӱрлӧ ӱдымӧ шурныжлан эсенлыкым йодын, пакча кӧргӧ мӱкшыжлан эсенлыкым йодын, сӧйыш кайыше салтакше-влаклан эсенлыкым йодын, сондык кӧргӧ ший окса дене илаш ыҥгайлыкым йодын, кавыл ыште манын [7. P. 92] ‘The people pray, asking for well-being for the family, well-being for three different types of livestock, well-being for three different types of sown grain, well-being for the bees in the apiary, well-being for the soldiers who have gone into battle to live with silver in their chests, saying: accept’; …илаш-касаш эсенлыкым, шулыкым, кӱрылтдымӧ поро порылыкым пу, Поро Кӱдыратле Кугу Юмо [7. P. 112] ‘To live and prosper, well-being, health, endless goodness, grant me, Kind Mighty Great Yumo.’ Attributive combinations with the word шулык allow us to determine the properties and features of the analyzed concept. In the texts of prayers, the word shulyk is combined with the epithets-adjectives кугу (kugu) ‘big’, кӱжгӧ (kӱzhgӧ) ‘thick, dense’, поро (poro) ‘kind’: …ош порсын гане ӱмыр сулен илаш кугу шулыкым тый дечет, Кугу Юмо, йодын кумалына [7. P. 81] ‘To live like white silk, prolonging life, we ask for great happiness from you, Great Yumo, and pray’; Ий гыч ийыш, талук гыч талукыш, тылзе гыч тылзыш, кече гыч кечыш, эр кече гай нӧлталтын, варсеҥге гай вычыматен, порсын гай ярымалтын, умла гай оварен, шыште гай печкалтын, илаш кӱжгӧ шулыкым пуэн шого [7. P. 14] ‘From year to year, from summer to summer, from month to month, from day to day, like the morning sun, rising; like swallows, rejoicing; like silk, blossoming; like wax, illuminating, live, give us great happiness’; Эр ӱжара гай волгалтын, чевер кече гай нӧлталтын, тылзе гай нӧлталтын, шӱдыр гай тӱлен илышаш поро шулыкым пу! [7. P. 216] ‘To live, like the morning dawn, shining; like the red sun, rising; like the moon, rising; like the stars, multiplying, give good health.’ One of the above epithets is a permanent epithet of the characters of the Mari pantheon. Among them are Ош Поро Кугу Юмо ‘Bright, Kind, Great Yumo’. According to the beliefs of the Mari believers, such deities as Кугу Шулык (Kugu Shulyk) ‘Great Happiness/Health’, Кугу Серлагыш (Kugu Serlagysh) ‘Great Savior/ Guardian/Defender’, Кугу Перке (Kugu Perke) ‘Great Abundance’ exist in unity, harmony, and constant creation. In prayerful addresses this unity is emphasized in a special way: Шулык дене ыштыме еш перкем, еш дене ыштыме вольык перкем, вольык дене ыштыме кинде перкем, кинде дене ыштыме мӱкш перкем, шийвундо перкем пу [7. P. 26] ‘The well-being of the family created by health, the abundance of livestock created by the family, the abundance of bread produced by livestock, the abundance of bees created by bread, give us silver’; Серлагыш вач кугу шулыкым йодына [7. P. 129] ‘We kindly ask for good health’. Their unity receives a symbolic material embodiment in the pinches that are made with three fingers of the right hand (thumb, index and middle) on the gift of bread before it is baked. The priest sends this part into the fire for the god in whose honor the prayer is being performed. Each of the pinches symbolizes the prayer requests of believers for health (happiness) - shulyk, for abundance - perke, for protection, mercy - serlagysh. According to the beliefs of the Mari believers, Тӱня юмо ‘God of the bright world’, Агавайрем юмо ‘God of the Агавайрем holiday’, Илян Кугу юмо ‘Great life-giving god’ manifest themselves in maintaining health and happiness, endowing all living things with health, well-being, and vitality. In the Mari religious discourse, шулык is harmoniously and inextricably linked with such categories as тичмаш (tichmash) ‘fullness’, перке (perke) ‘abundance’, уш-акыл (ush-akyl) ‘lit. mind-mind’: А тиде тичмаш вач илаш, Поро Кугу Юмо, шулыкым пу. Шулык дене кучымо еш перке гыч йывыртыкте [7. P. 191] ‘And in order to live with this whole goodness, Great Good Yumo, give me health. Bring joy to a large family created by health.’ The figurative component of the concept is formed by comparisons and is revealed in comparative constructions that function as part of chains of 3, 5, 7 or 9 members, which expresses the full manifestation of shulyk ‘health, happiness’: Сурт кӧргӧ еш денат иган варсеҥге гай вычыматен, порсын гай шарлалтын, ош шыште гай кувылтын, саска пеледыш гай илашат поро шулык перкем пуэн шого тиште кӧргӧ калыклан, родо пошкудо-шамычлан [7. P. 64] ‘So that we and our families in our houses live rejoicing like swallows, spreading like silk, separating like white wax, like flowers, bestow an abundance of health on the people of the area, relatives and neighbors.’ The chains of comparative constructions are expanded by the following variable figurative-symbolic comparisons: эр ӱжара гай волгалтын ‘like the morning dawn, shining’, Юмын волгыдо гае волгалтын ‘like God’s light, shining’; чевер кече гай нӧлталтын ‘like the red sun, rising’, эр кече гае нӧлтын ‘like the morning sun, rising’; тылзе гай нӧлталтын ‘like the moon, rising’, тылзе гае темын ‘like the moon, filling’; шӱдыр гай тӱлен ‘like stars, multiplying’, шӱдыр гай чолгыжын ‘like stars, shining’. The construction can be supplemented with the following comparisons: шыште гай печкалтын ‘like wax, illuminating’, пыл гай оварен ‘like a cloud, filling up’, эр чолпан гай нӧлтын ‘like the morning dawn, rising’, шуршо гай тӧрштыл ‘like a flea, jumping’, умдыр гане погым поген ‘like a beaver, collecting the good’, пурса гай тӧрштыл ‘like peas, bouncing’, саска гай пеледын ‘like flowers, blooming’. Of the folk ideas about happiness and health, each of the images highlights the most significant component: a prosperous life is seen as bright, long, fulfilling, cheerful: Эр ӱжара гай волгалтын, чевер кече гай нӧлталтын, тылзе гай нӧлталтын, шӱдыр гай тӱлен илышаш поро шулыкым пу! [7. P. 216] ‘Like the morning dawn, shining, like the red sun, rising, like the moon, rising, like the stars, multiplying, give me good health / happiness to live!’. A prosperous and happy life as desired in traditional religious views of the Mari is presented in detail. The idea of procreation, of children, is given special significance: Кугу Юмо, шочшо икшывылан йоҥлыдымо уш-акылым пуэн, каван гане капан ыштен, умла гане овартен, эр тӱтыра гане нӧлтыктен, шушо кинде гане пеҥгыде ыштен, пеҥгыдылыкым пуэн, кече гане иян-кечан ыштен, тылзе гане тичмашлыкым пуэн, шӱдыр гане волгыдылыкым пуэн, шыште печкен гане тӧр илышым пуэн, вараксим гане вычыматен, ош порсын гане ӱмыр сулен илаш кугу шулыкым тый дечет, Кугу Юмо, йодын кумалына [7. P. 81] ‘Great Yumo, giving unclouded reason to the children who are born; making them as tall as a haystack; like hops, raising; like the morning mist, raising; like ripe grains, making them firm; like the sun, making them long-lived; like the moon, giving fullness; like the stars, giving light; like wax, giving an even life; like swallows, rejoicing; to live like white silk, prolonging life, we pray to you, Great Yumo, asking for great happiness.’ Conclusion The concept of shulyk, actively presented in the Mari religious discourse, is manifested as polysemantic, reflecting the evolution of religious ideas of the ethnic group. In the ethno-religious concept of шулык such semantic features as light, rise, fullness, growth, joy, vitality, energy, longevity, happiness are actualized. Synonyms of the word шулык, their differentiation by dialects is an indicator of the significance of the concept both for the people as a whole and for all ethnic groups. Systemic connections of the analyzed concept with the concepts of perke ‘abundance’, serlagysh ‘protection, mercy’, tichmash ‘fullness, integrity’ clearly demonstrate the antiquity of the concept, the peculiarities of not only religious views, but also the mentality of the Mari. Further analysis of Mari religious concepts, the religious picture of the world as a whole, must be carried out taking into account that in the context of believers turning to the lost traditions of the Mari ethnic religion, new elements arise in it [11]. The key concepts of the Mari ethnic religion reveal the peculiarities of the Mari views on the nature of the divine, and allow us to comprehend and come closer to understanding the spiritual values of the people.

About the authors

Lyubov A. Abukaeva

Mari State University

Author for correspondence.
Email: sylne@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-9622-6770

Doctor of Philology, Head of the Center of Uralic Languages Studies

1 Lenin Sq, 424000,Yoshkar-Ola, Russian Federation

References

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