Where Keremet lives: mystical places of Mari El
There are many places in Mari El that are shrouded in secrets and legends. Most residents of the republic are not even aware of their existence, because finding these mystical corners is not so easy.****
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****Nachar-ver (Yuzo-ver)********
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“Nachar-ver” translated from Mari means “unclean place.” This mystical region is located in the Zvenigovsky district, on the right bank of the Yushut River. Some call it “Yuzo-ver” – “witchcraft place”. Local residents have said more than once that at night they can hear roars, groans, ringing and crashing there. ****
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A member of the professional tour group “Team Nomads” told a story about a prisoner who escaped in the 1980s and spent two months in Nachar-ver. ****
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The man built a dugout under the roots of a spruce tree. At night he stole chickens, geese and potatoes from the nearest village. When the fugitive was found, he did not resist the police, but was even happy. As the prisoner said, devilry happened at night in Nachar-ver. Someone invisible was walking around the dugout, the ceiling was crumbling as if from an earthquake, and there was a roar in the forest. The man was so frightened that he spent his nights in the vicinity of the village and only returned to his shelter in the morning. Local residents claimed that it was Keremet, the evil god of Mari mythology, who punished the prisoner for theft. They said that the search dogs in the vicinity of Yuzo-ver were frightened, tucked their tails and looked around. ****
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But all these oddities are explained by the characteristics of the soil in this area. In the Nachar-ver area, the land is subject to increased karst formation. These natural processes are most active in spring and summer: groundwater erodes the soil, which leads to failures. The noise from this spreads throughout the area and scares the local residents.****
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****Prayer grove near the village of Oshutyaly********
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According to the stories of local residents, they saw lights in the grove, giants in light clothes and smoke from a huge fire, although no one lit it there. ****
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During Soviet times, the grove was partially cut down and the birches were taken out for firewood. It is rumored that those who participated in this later suffered greatly under various circumstances.****
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****Nuroto****
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The village, which cannot now be found on any map, was located between Shigakovo and Shelanger in the Zvenigovsky district. ****
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In these places there is a legend associated with the evil spirits of Mari mythology - widows. They appear as women with matted hair, large breasts, which they throw behind their backs, and feet turned backwards. They say that widows live in ravines near the roads, and at night they ride horses stolen from the Mari.****
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A local legend says that one day a widow angered the god Kugu Yumo, and he ordered her to live in a cave underground. At night she would sneak out of the shelter and drive the horses to death. The owner of the animals got tired of this and smeared the backs of the horses with sulfur. The ovda stuck to the horse's rump, and the man whipped her with a whip. Offended, the widow cursed both her offender and all the villagers. Nuroto was to forever remain a village of seven houses: as soon as the eighth appeared, misfortunes occurred.****
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The widow's curse has come true. In 1922, 32 people lived in 7 yards, in 1926 - 21. In 1935, residents submitted a collective application with a request to transport them to the main settlement of the collective farm and allocate 1000 rubles per yard. In 1940, the village of Nuroto ceased to exist.****
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****Ovda-Korem Ravine****
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The ravine is located in the village of Nursola, Kuzhenersky district. They say widows used to live there. Local residents said that they saw passages in the ground leading to the dwellings of spirits. Later they disappeared. Some believe that the widows left Ovda-Korem for the forests of the Kirov region. ****
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****Viy Pamash****
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“Viy Pamash” is translated as “Spring of Strength”. It is located in the Novotoryalsky district. The spring water has healing powers, but its energy changes depending on the time: before noon it is positive, after - negative. ****
****Water helps at any time of the day, but against various diseases. To get the desired effect, you should come at certain hours. ****
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****“The Prodigal Place”********
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The anomalous zone is located in the Zvenigovsky district, near the Tyumsha River. In a small area - only one and a half by three kilometers - mushroom and berry pickers often lose orientation to the cardinal points. This also happens to those who know the area very well.****
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The mystical atmosphere is added by the fact that the site is located in the 13th quarter of the Kerebelyak forestry. ****
********Kozhlasolinskoye Lake**** ****
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The reservoir is located in the village of Krasnogorsky, Zvenigovsky district.****
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There is a legend that there used to be a church on the site of the lake. In the 1930s, with the beginning of the fight against religion, the temple unexpectedly went under water to save itself from destruction. They say that you can still see a golden cross in the lake, and on major church holidays you can hear the ringing of bells. ****
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There is another version. According to it, the lake requires sacrifices and takes one person every year. If it doesn’t receive it, next time the waters will drag away two people. Some, on the contrary, say that the children who sank to the bottom on Lake Kozhlasolinskoe were pushed to the surface by some unknown force.****
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****Villages Shorunzha and Sapunzha**** ****
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Both villages are located in the Morkinsky district, but differ radically in energy.****
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Shorunzha is considered a favorable zone. Here are sacred groves, a spring and Mount Onara. At the foot of the latter there is a memorial stone to the Mari hero. According to legend, in these places Onar shook sand out of his bast shoes, forming mountains and hills.****
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And the notoriety of Sapunzha reached Tatarstan. The Tatars called this place “Yaibasa” - “taking away the soul.” According to legend, widows used to live in the Kupolat ravine. This version explains where the dilapidated dugouts came from.****
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****Black stones in Upper Kozhlaer**** ****
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In the Morkinsky district there is a village where tourists and simply curious people come from different parts of the country for the sake of... ordinary stones. But they seem so only at first glance. ****
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An unusual attraction is located on the slope of Mount Onis Kuryk. It is believed that there used to be a Mari prayer site here. ****
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Now 18 stones have been removed from the ground, and how many more are in the soil is unknown. Locals say that they are sacred and should not be disturbed. It is said that one of the villagers did not listen to the warnings and used the stones to build the foundation of his house. The building burned down without standing for even a year.****
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What makes this place unique is its incredibly strong magnetic field. Local school students conducted experiments and built instruments that responded to electric currents to detect new rocks. Some of them were subsequently dug up. Villagers also reported that after touching the stones, their body pain disappeared.
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