KEREMET
KEREMET (from Arabic “karamat” – miracle) 1) is the main deity of the lower world, an antipode of the Godcreator. He is the younger brother of the God cast down from the heaven for being proud. According to Mari legends, before the earth was created K. used to swim in water looking like drake. By the order of the Yumo god, he came to the earth from the ocean but he did not give it all to his brother, he hid a part of the earth in his mouth and spit it so that the mountains appeared; 2) is a kin protecting spirit; a sacred grove. The groves grew near each settlement and consisted of sacred trees – birches, lindens, oaks, firs. There is a K. near each village, some certain clans have their own K. where the family or the village pray. There is a common sacred grove for all Mari people called Sultan K where all Maris can pray. It is situated on the territory of Mishkinskiy District between the Tynbayevo and Bolshesukhoyazovo villages. Mordovians, Udmurts, Chuvashes and other peoples have the equivalents of Mari K in their ritual systems.
S.I. Apsatarova
