Implicit Markers of Old Belief in the Onomastics of Karelian Pomorye

Abstract

This article draws on field materials collected by the Toponymic Expedition of Ural University, conducted in 2023–2024 in the Pomorye area of the Belomorsky District, Republic of Karelia. It examines collective nicknames such as oblivantsy (‘residents of the village of Sukhoye’) and lesovikibezmedniki (‘residents of villages and settlements in the south-eastern part of the Belomorsky region, including Endoguba, Vorenzha, Sumostrov, Pertozero, and Pulozero’). The study also explores phraseological units containing toponymic adjectives (e.g., face as / looking like hot Vyg copper, ‘about a flushed man’), and terms used for territorial groups with locative semantics that are similar to nicknames (e.g., poozery — pomory — lesoviki). Additionally, it includes various onomastic and appellative units, such as the names of sketes derived from lake names and the expression polumbrous hilozër, which features the quasi-katoikonym hilozër. The author interprets these linguistic elements as implicit markers of the Old Believers, who significantly influenced the historical and cultural landscape of the region. For example, the nickname oblivantsy is linked to the practice of dousing baptism practiced by the residents of Sukhoye, which the Old Believers viewed negatively. The phrase face like hot Vyg copper alludes to the tradition of crafting copper-cast icons among the Vyg Monastery inhabitants. The triad pomory — poozery — lesoviki is not only taxonomic (referring to the place of residence of the respective groups of people), but also reflects an evaluative opposition: the coastal inhabitants are economically and religiously contrasted with the Old Believers who retreated to the forests and lakes. Beyond reconstructing the semantics of these names, the author reveals the nominators’ perspectives embedded within them.