Nature is Holy
Luonto on pyhä
The Maris and Cheremis are Finno-Ugric people who live in central Russia, by the Volga river bend. They still maintain their traditional animistic Nature Religion. In the communist Soviet Union all religious activities were persecuted: Sacrificial groves were cut down, priests or »karts« were killed etc. But in October 1991 a traditional rite was arranged in the sacrificial grove of Olor, for the first time in 50 years.