Studying the seids on the island of the German body. There are several important reasons for this! The warships of the Swedes and the British fell in love with Kuzov

We spent our last day in Solovki on the Kuzov Islands. We came to the boat straight with our things. Yes, there were only two backpacks. This excursion lasts seven hours, therefore, upon returning to the island, we had to reload onto the ship and sail again to Kem.
At eight in the morning the boat “Savvaty” set sail from Solovetsky Island to the Kuzov archipelago. The weather was cloudy, and a cold wind was blowing at sea, as always. That's why he's north.

It takes about two hours to get to Kuzovy by boat. The people mostly scattered to their cabins, but I stayed on deck, because... The cabin is stuffy, the motion is more noticeable. But apparently it doesn’t have the same effect on children.

Captain's cabin. Let's follow the navigator

An hour and a half later they appeared on the horizon round shape islands. It was as if oatmeal cookies were floating in the sea.

We were met on the island by the director of the film studio “Pharaoh” from the St. Petersburg University historical film studio. She and the group have been living on the island for several days and are filming some kind of scientific film. They greeted us very cheerfully with exclamations of “Hip-hip hurray!” Our group did not remain in debt and did the same.

Next we had to climb to the very top of this island. Here we followed the saying: “a smart person won’t go up a mountain, a smart person will go around a mountain,” and we also went around, gradually gaining height. The ascent was carried out at a fast pace, but there were frequent breaks, and it was possible to admire marine species and also listen to exciting stories kodola about the Sami seids. And the views from the mountain were simply cosmic. Of course, I wanted to wander around the island slowly, or even better, live there in a tent for a few days.

The archipelago consists of sixteen islands. The largest known ones are the Russian Body and the German Body. We landed on the German Body. The islands are granite at their base. The island has many seids - sacred objects of the ancient Sami in the form of stones. There are many large boulder stones, as well as small ones built in the form of pyramids. But, unfortunately, almost all stone pyramids are remakes, made by tourists or tour guides. But a multi-ton boulder can hardly be moved from its place without the help of special equipment.

And here these stones are delicately installed on 3 support points, and they were installed hundreds (if not thousands) of years ago…. Miracles, incredible things. No one lives on these islands except tourists. And even then there were only a few of them, but they managed to pile up a mountain of garbage.

Our guide gives a lecture about these places

This is heather

When we returned back, a strong wind was blowing and the sea was a little rough. Our boat rocked quite well to the sides, but these camouflaged women bravely withstood the bad weather.

Actually, Kem is the one Gulag Archipelago described in the book Solzhenitsyn.

From Kemi we went many times to Solovki. This time the intermediate point before Solovki was. There are more than 200 islands in the archipelago, the largest are Russian and German Body.

As usual, after spending the night at the hotel " Berth“We, having agreed in advance with the boat, went to these islands.

The islands are already clearly visible from afar.

German island

And so we moor at German island. The boat cannot come close to the shore, as there is aground there, so we are dropped off right on the rocks. Now all our equipment (tents, cameras and most importantly - water - for a week for 10 people) must somehow be moved from the rocks to level ground.

Fortunately, there is a way out!

With the help of a kayak with a sail, all the equipment was successfully transported to a level place, where we set up camp.

There was even a small bathhouse not far from our camp.

After setting up camp and having lunch

we immediately got down to business.

Sanctuary of the Ancestors

The main attraction on German island- This Sanctuary of the Ancestors. This is the highest point not only of this island, but of the entire chain of islands Kem Skerries.

From here nature simply fascinates with its incredible power!

Birds of the Body Archipelago

There are a lot of different birds on the island,

and, of course, seagulls.

And there are berries everywhere where there is even a little bit of poor soil. True, not all of them are suitable for everyone. Some ate them by the handful, while others felt slightly ill after a short time (me, for example).

Rocks

And on the rocks you can see patterns like this.

In principle, fresh water can be collected from such pockets. But since we were warned that there were no springs here, we brought water with us.

Periodically, fog descended on us, transforming everything around us.

Russian Island

This is what it looks like in the fog Russian Island.

Seydy

And here you can see seids. These are sacred stones shaped like human figures.

Sunsets

And what sunsets!

The week flew by quickly, a boat came for us, and we set off.

Route type: sightseeing
Location: Karelia, Belomorsk
Duration: 5 days / 4 nights
Program cost: 12000 rub/person.

Kuzovskie Islands– a sacred place, according to scientists for ancient civilization Hyperborea, who placed their ritual complex here.
The islands themselves are unique also because they are 1.5 billion years old - this is our Baltic shield. There are more than a dozen landscape islands in the archipelago (part of the 200 islands of the Kem skerries), the largest Russian and German Body(we will live on it).In the sea near the Bodies you can find ringed seal, bearded seal(the largest seal in Arctic waters) and beluga whale. The beluga whale is a marine mammal of the dolphin family, the number of which in the White Sea ranges from 800 to 1000 individuals. These curious and sociable animals can be observed throughout the northern summer!

Excursion program

The first day

DEPARTURE DAY
for MOSCOW (we recommend traveling with a group from St. Petersburg on train No. 22, you will see Petroglyphs and you do not need to pay for extra nights in Kemi)
train No. 16 "Arctic" departure at 01:00, arrival in KEM!! 00h 46 min
train No. 92A departure at 22:20, arrival in KEM!! at 11:16 pm
accommodation in a hotel or private sector, book in advance, cost from 600 rubles to 1500 rubles

for PETER
Train No. 22 departure at 17:20. arrival at 08:00, BELOMORSK station!!

Meeting the St. Petersburg train in BELOMORSK at the railway station building, boarding a bus, transfer to the Belomorsk petroglyphs - excursion to rock paintings, which are 3-5 thousand years old (3-4 hour excursion). Arrival in the city of KEM, meeting with the MOSCOW GROUP IN THE PORT, loading onto the ship and departure to the uninhabited islands of the White Sea, camping on one of them (German or Russian body), dinner.

Famous petroglyphs

Contact with history...

Arrival in the city of Kem, loading onto the ship and departure to the uninhabited islands White Sea, we set up camp on one of them (German or Russian body), dinner.

Towards adventures!

How do you see this world?

Day two - four

During these three days we will have a planned excursion around the German Body, as well as a boat trip to the neighboring Oleshin Island, where we can see ancient burial mounds and mysterious northern labyrinths.

Miracle Labyrinth

Mound. Guess what time it is in this photo?

Seid

Seid– according to the concepts of the aborigines of Karelia, the Sami are natural object, in which the revered spirit lives. Sami They believed that spirits lived in these stones, whose support could only be enlisted by sacrificing animals (most often deer), as well as things, to them. Sacrifices were made near the seids, since the very place on which the seid stood was sacred.

On request, for an additional fee there will be a one-day departure to Solovki with two excursions ( Mount Sekirnaya, Holy Ascension Monastery- the only lighthouse church in Russia and a 4-hour sightseeing tour of the Solovetsky Kremlin.) Estimated cost - 3500 rubles / person.

Solovki

Day five

Lunch, collecting things, departure to the city of Kem, boarding a bus, transfer to the railway station. "Kem". Train No. 21 Murmansk - St. Petersburg, departure from Kem station at 20:38, arrival at 12:11.

For Muscovites - overnight in Kemi at a hotel or in the private sector (additional payment)
train No. 91 departure the next day at 09:01, arrival at 1:38
train No. 15A Arctic departure the next day at 06:24, arrival at 07:28

It is well known that the history of Karelian White Sea coast has its roots in hoary and partly mythological antiquity. This is, for example, the Karelian city of Kem. The origin of the name itself is mysterious. The name “Kem”, according to many scientists, is formed by the ancient term kem, hem - “ big river", which is presumably of Indo-European origin and is distributed over a large part of Eurasia from the Kemijoki River in northern Finland to Ulug-Khem (Yenisei) and others in Tuva. But taking into account the fact that the only Indo-Europeans who settled here and were constantly mentioned in historical chronicles were the Slavs, it turns out that the mysterious people who gave the name to the river lived here even before the arrival of the Finno-Ugrians.
How can one not remember that it was in these parts, according to some historians, that ancient Hyperborea was located.

Map of the Kuzova Archipelago

Moreover, it is known that the ancient Egyptians called themselves the people of Kemi, and this allows some researchers to be inclined to think that between the oldest inhabitants White Sea coast and the oldest population northern Africa there is a direct connection. This seems fantastic, but how can one not remember that the petroglyphs (“stone chronicle”) in Karelia are almost identical to those found in the mountains of Scandinavia, and also resemble ancient images of Altai and the Caucasus in their execution technique.

On a way from Kemi to Solovki you can visit the most interesting islands Kuzov landscape reserve, which is a chain of more than 200 islands, 16 of which are small, dome-shaped, with steep slopes rising 100 meters above the water, are uninhabited. The archipelago surprises with its nature. The features of the relief and the location of the islands ensure the uniqueness of each island, giving the overall impression of a harsh but harmonious world of northern nature. On some islands, unique spruce forests have been preserved, which, according to linguists, gave the name to the archipelago. “Kuusi” in Karelian-Finnish means spruce. The flora of the reserve is so unusual and exotic that it arouses genuine interest not only among scientists, but also among tourists. In order to preserve natural and cultural heritage in 1991, a state landscape reserve was formed here, which in 1994 received the status of a wetland of international importance; in 1993, protected zones of archaeological monuments were allocated.

The Kuzova Nature Reserve is a monument of geology and archeology. It is famous for ancient human sites, labyrinths, cult complexes and many places with sacred stones - seids. Among the boundless expanses of the White Sea Two islands, majestic in their primeval beauty, appear before the eyes of astonished travelers: the Big German Body and the Russian Body, the seids and idols on which have no equal either in the originality of the structures or in quantity.
Religious buildings of the ancient Sami(10-12 centuries) specially protected objects of all-Russian significance. The legends of Pomerania reflect the historical events of the early 17th century, when the Swedish conquerors tried conquer Solovetsky Monastery . According to legend, the “German people” (Swedes), tired of a long voyage across the choppy White Sea, landed on one of the islands to gain strength to capture Solovki. One of the warriors began to send threats towards the holy place and immediately turned into stone, followed by his comrades. And those who survived quickly went home. This is where the name German Body came from. In addition to seids, tourists are also interested in gurias - pillars made of stones that served as navigational signs for Russian Pomors.
Location
Islands remote from the coast (Russky and Nemetsky Kuzova, Oleshin, Verkhniy, Sredny, Zhiloy, Setnoy, Lodeyny, Kurichya Niloksa, Chernetsky, Northern Tupichikha) of the eastern part of the archipelago, located at the mouth of the river. Kem, and adjacent areas of the White Sea (7 areas in total).

German Body

MYSTERIES OF THE BODY ARCHIPELAGO

The bodies are rightfully considered one of the most mysterious places throughout the White Sea Karelia. On the territory of these deserted and harsh spaces it was found great amount evidence of the religious activity of ancient people. According to historians, the buildings were built approximately 2-2.5 thousand years ago by the ancient Sami, who lived on the shores of the White Sea.
According to estimates, about 800 stone structures related to the pagan cult worshiped by the inhabitants of this archipelago were discovered. harsh land. The short distance from the mainland allowed the Sami to freely swim or walk across the ice to perform their rituals. And at the same time it contributed to privacy and preservation of the sacred aura. No places of permanent human residence have been found on the islands. Perhaps that is why a huge number of sacred stones - “seids” and unique stone idols were found here. Objects located on the territory of the archipelago are included in the list of protected historical sites

Address: Republic of Karelia, White Sea, Kuzova Archipelago, 15 km west of Rabocheostrovsk
Coordinates: 64°57’52″N 35°12’19″E (Oleshin Island)
Coordinates: 64°57’04″N 35°09’56″E (German Body Island)
Coordinates: 64°56’08″N 35°08’18″E (Russky Kuzov Island)

Big role in history of the White Sea region Not only mainland lands, but also islands have always played. On the sea route from the port of Kem to the Solovetsky Islands lies the Kuzova archipelago, which includes 16 uninhabited islands, the largest of which are Russian and German Body. The highest points of the archipelago are German Kuzov - 140 m and Russian Kuzov - 123 m. These are the highest points in the entire Karelian White Sea region.

The archipelago surprises with its nature. Relief features, geographical location islands provide both the aesthetic and landscape uniqueness of each island, giving the overall impression of a harsh but harmonious world of northern nature. An integral part of the island landscapes are forests. Even the name of the archipelago, according to one version, comes from the Karelian “kuusi” - spruce, i.e. "Spruce Islands"

The archipelago is famous for its ancient sites, labyrinths, religious complexes, as well as the abundance of sacred stones - seids. About 800 different stone structures were discovered here, occupying 2% of the entire territory of the archipelago. Religious objects were created by the ancient Sami population, which appeared in the White Sea region 2-2.5 thousand years ago, hunting, fishing and owning small herds of reindeer. Religious monuments of the ancient Sami are included in the list of protected sites of all-Russian significance.

The seids and idols discovered on the Big German Body and the Russian Body have no equal either in the originality of their construction, or in diversity, or in quantitative composition throughout that large territory, which was occupied by Sami tribes at the turn of our era.

The “double-humped” island of Bolshoy Nemetskiy Kuzov stands before us majestic in its harsh beauty among the vast expanses of the White Sea. Indelible impression leaving steep rocky mountain slopes covered with lichens and mosses, huge sheer walls of broken rock in primordial chaos with bizarre figures of giant deities...

At the top of the Big German Body Mountain there was a real pantheon of Sami deities. Despite the fact that part, perhaps the best part, of the monuments of the sanctuary was destroyed, up to one and a half hundred seids and other stone idols were preserved on the top of the mountain.
According to the belief of the Sami, the ancient inhabitants of the White Sea region, seids and other idols help people in fishing and hunting. Therefore, seids were placed on high banks and islands of reservoirs so that they were visible from afar. Sacrifices were made to seids and idols. Therefore, it is not surprising that high rocky mountain The Great German Body, dominating all the Kem Islands, became a sanctuary. And the places in the Kuzov area have been the center of marine industries since ancient times.

An interesting Pomeranian legend about “petrified Germans” is associated with idol seids. Tradition tells that once upon a time, “German people” (as the Pomors called the Swedes in the past) wanted to attack the “holy Solovki”. A storm overtook them at sea. The Germans took refuge in the northern Kuzovs. From the top of the mountain they can see the islands were the white stone walls of the Solovetsky Monastery. But frequent storms at sea, sent from above, did not allow the Germans to sail further. One day, when the “German people” were sitting around a fire having a meal, God punished the enemies by turning them into stones. This is how the “petrified Germans” sit to this day on the top of the mountain of the island, which has since been called the Big German Body.

The basis of the legend was, on the one hand, a historical event of the beginning of the 17th century, when a Swedish detachment tried to attack the Solovetsky Monastery from the Kuzovs, and, on the other hand, the Sami belief about turning a person into stone.
Seids on the Big German Body are huge angular boulders placed on small stones - on “legs”. On the upper surface of the seid stone, as a rule, there are several small stones, and under them, in some cases, small multi-colored pebbles.

Other idols have different shapes and combinations of stones and are smaller in size. Among them, idols stand out that have the appearance of a rough sculpted bust of a person, according to Pomeranian legend, “petrified Germans.” This is a boulder resembling the shape and size of the upper torso of a person. On it is a stone shaped like the head of a person, bird or dog. In front of such idols there are two cylindrical stones (only some have survived). They resemble arms extended forward.

The third, most numerous group of idols are usually medium-sized boulders of various shapes, on the elevated part of which one or several cobble-sized stones are installed.
Monuments of the second Sami sanctuary have been preserved on the top of Bald Mountain on Russky Kuzov Island. There are also up to one and a half hundred idols, among them several unique ones, reminiscent in shape of the “Stone Woman”. This is a standing, oblong granite slab, supported on both sides by two rounded slabs. In addition, there are remains of two burials, the walls of which are made of granite slabs.

Thus, on Kuzovy one can see monuments of two sanctuaries, which obviously belonged to two Sami clan groups, phratries. On other Kem Islands only single seids are found. Near such a seida you can sometimes find the so-called “Lopar pit”, the site of the ancient dwelling of a Sami family.
Complex on Nemetsky Kuzov, where, according to legend, seids were described as “petrified Germans” (historically - Swedes, more than once harassed the Solovetsky Monastery), was explored in the late 1960s by archaeologist I.M. Mullo. The seid plateau on Nemetsky Kuzov has a size of 350 by 110 - 160 m. There are 150-300 (according to various sources) cult stones located here. Which I.M. Mullo divides into three groups;

1 - “seids”, stones placed on three or four legs of a stand with finials, at the foot of which there were often colored rolled stones, often quartz - probably offerings;

2 - stone-idols having a certain human-like appearance (mainly in the shape of the stone top - “head”);

3 - ordinary stones, but with tops, sometimes zoomorphic.

On the plateau (“Bald Mountain”) of Russky Kuzov Island there are also about 300 seids, among which there is also a rare type of “phallic stones” - menhirs, supported on both sides by boulders, which have analogues in Finland and among the megaliths of the Canadian archipelago. In addition, two tiled structures called “tombs” were found on the Russian Body, but without traces of remains or grave goods.
It was with the Bodies that the research into seid complexes began.

The fact that Kuzov in the distant past was a place of sea fishing is confirmed by the fact that on the shores of the interisland straits structures made of boulders have been preserved - shelters, behind which hunters and archers tracked down their prey - seals and bearded seals. These shelters are known among the Sami as “paahus”.

Ancient hunters and fishermen, after a successful fishery, came to the sanctuary, performed ceremonial rituals there, presented sacrifices to the idol deities, hoping for a successful fishery in the future.

The most amazing and most mysterious of the islands of the Archipelago is Oleshin Island. Here are located not only seids and sanctuaries, but also two ancient labyrinths, Small and Large. Both are located on a flat rocky surface approximately 20 meters above sea level (which, by the way, excludes the possibility of using them as fish traps).
The small one (diameter about 6 meters) is practically invisible and is only visible in the dense vegetation of the tundra. Nearby is the Great Labyrinth, surprisingly well preserved and measuring 10x12 meters.
At least 1000 boulders and total length The "path" is about 190 meters. Both labyrinths are considered sacred. According to researchers, they were used for initiation or for communication between shamans and Higher Powers. There are several more versions of the origin and use of labyrinths. A talisman for a herd of deer, a cult of sea fishing, a cult of the dead (since there are often labyrinths not far from burial places), such labyrinths marked the entrances to underground palaces...
Perhaps the labyrinths are somehow connected with the ancient people’s idea of astronomy and the universe. According to member Russian Geographical Society Vladimir Vasilenko, high in the rocks is carved an image of the one-eyed god Odin, under which there is an ancient sacrificial stone, a huge boulder with a hole in the middle and a drain for blood. First, the researchers found that same sacrificial stone, and then - an image of the pagan god to whom sacrifices were made.
Another one of the mysteries of the Kuzova Islands. Researchers came across natural grotto, inside which the remains of German military uniforms were found. These finds are associated with Hitler's passion for the occult sciences. Meanwhile, it is known that White Sea coast was never occupied, and although there were Germans in Karelia, the invaders never reached Kem, much less Solovki or Kuzov. Perhaps they were here secretly.

The highest point of the German body

But an even greater mystery of the Bodies is a huge stone throne carved from granite, discovered by one of the scientific expeditions of the Russian Geographical Society, to which worn steps led directly from the shore. Who sat on it and what it served for is a mystery. Using a system of levers, the expedition members placed the multi-ton stone in a vertical position, after which they carefully examined its surface. On the back of the throne, researchers found signs reminiscent of ancient Egyptian symbols. What is this, a coincidence? Or another mention of the Hyperborean past of Karelia?

Apparently, the outstanding intellectual of the 20th century, philosopher Rene Guenon, was right when he argued that “ancient Egyptian culture was only a reflection of the true culture – Nordic, Hyperborean.”

In addition, the islands and coastal waters were convenient place hunting, fishing, picking berries and mushrooms.
Diverse and rich animal world islands. The coastline is undoubtedly dominated by seagulls. Nests are located openly, as well as in coastal thickets of grass, between stones, bushes, especially on steep cliffs. There are also ptarmigan, auk, guillemot, common eider, etc. The largest colony of auk nests on the archipelago throughout the White Sea.

In the sea near Kuzov you can find ringed seals, bearded seals (the largest seal in Arctic waters) and beluga whales. The beluga whale is a marine mammal of the dolphin family, the number of which in the White Sea ranges from 800 to 1000 individuals. These curious and sociable animals can be observed throughout the northern summer.

The Kuzova Archipelago is a specially protected area where valuable natural landscapes, unique animal and vegetable world and unique archaeological sites of the ancient Sami. In order to preserve the natural and cultural heritage, a state landscape reserve was established here in 1991, which in 1994 received the status of a wetland of international importance, and in 1993 protected zones of archaeological monuments were allocated.

Russian Island Body

ANOTHER MYSTERY OF THE BODY ARCHIPELAGO

However, the main mystery of the archipelago lies elsewhere.
But first, a little history.
According to ancient Aryan and pre-Aryan ideas, the invariable affiliation of the ancestral home of the Aryans, Hyperborea (which includes the current territory of Karelia), was a mountain or rock, which was considered the central point of the world. It had a “base of seven heavens”, where the celestials lived and the “golden age” reigned. In ancient Russian apocryphal texts, the universal mountain was called “a pillar in Okiyan to heaven” or a white-flammable stone or Alatyr-stone, which was located on the island of Buyan. In the 14th century apocrypha “On All Creation” you can read: “In Okiyan there is a pillar called adamantine (adamant is a diamond. Ultimately, it is a correlate of ice). His head goes to heaven.” It is in this “paradise” time and place that the legend of the mysterious “Stone Book” originates. The “Stone Book” allegedly speaks of Mount Mera, which was located in the ancient North and was a plateau with steep cliffs, and about the island of Buyan, where the author of the “Stone Book,” the god Fab, hid the source of a colossal magical power. Buyan Island in the "Stone Book" is the name of the island currently known as the German Body, located in the White Sea not far from the present Karelian city of Kem. On this island, if you trust the texts of the “Stone Book,” there was a palace complex and the graves of Phab’s children, and Phab’s daughter was named Ia or Io.

From this point of view, the classical ancient Greek myth about the wanderer Io, retold in the tragedy of Aeschylus “Prometheus Bound”, is very interesting. Let us recall that Zeus the Thunderer was inflamed with passion for Io and, in order to hide her from his jealous wife Hera, turned her into a white cow. But Hera figured out the trick, took possession of the cow and ordered the thousand-eyed Argus, the son of Gaia-Earth, to guard it. On behalf of Zeus, Hermes killed Argus and freed Io. Then Hera set a giant gadfly on the poor girl, fleeing from which Io reached the northern tip of the earth and found herself in the darkness-shrouded country of the Scythians and Cimmerians, where Prometheus was chained to a rock on the ocean shore. He told Io about her great destiny, that she would become the ancestor of great tribes and heroes. After that, he sent her through the territories of the northern peoples to the Caucasus, then to the Bosporus (“Cow Ford”) and the Ionian Sea named after her, and finally to Africa on the Nile coast, that is, practically along the migration route of the ancient peoples who founded all the Mediterranean and Western Asian civilizations.

In Russian mythology, Fab echoes primarily with the ancient Slavic deity Veles, or Volos. Russian historian Alexander Nikolaevich Afanasyev considered him the deity of clouds, clouds, and heavenly herds. In “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” Boyan is called Veles’ grandson, which seems to indicate the comparability of Veles with the Greek Apollo (Phoebus); in addition, it is this god of the Slavic pantheon that ancient sources associate with the “Pigeon Book.”

Soviet science considered the “Pigeon Book” (this is the second name of the “Stone Book”) to be a folk translation of the Bible. The “Life of Abraham of Smolensk,” written in the 13th century, tells how this Russian ascetic read and rewrote many “deep books,” for which he was expelled from the monastery and put on trial by the church. After all, it is not for nothing that the treasured book is called “dove”, that is, “deep” (which means both “ancient” and “wise”). The guardians and performers of the famous “spiritual verse” were Kaliki passers-by, carriers of information from “pre-literate and illiterate” Rus'. There is a version that all Christian issues rest on some other - non-Christian - foundation, which inevitably leads into the unknown depths of human prehistory, pan-Indo-European and pre-Indo-European ideology, morality, philosophy and protoscience. It was this circumstance that allowed Nikolai Ivanovich Nadezhdin (1804-1856) - one of the pioneers of the study of the Russian traditional worldview - to call the “Pigeon Book” the brightest example of the most ancient cosmogonic culture, a kind of quintessence of folk wisdom, containing answers to questions that “boldly encroach on what, according to the current distribution of knowledge, belongs to the highest speculative tasks - natural science in general, and geoscience in particular."

The “Stone Book” contained the original teaching or knowledge about the world and became the primary source for myths and legends of almost all peoples of the world. There were legends about the “Stone Book”. Few had a chance to see her. And those who saw it did not want to show the way to it. But to comprehend the secret of this legendary monument many have tried.

At the beginning of his creative career, the wonderful artist and philosopher Nicholas Roerich created the painting “The Dove Book”, where in a generalized symbolic form he tried to recreate the image of a universal book that fell from heaven and included all the wisdom of the world.

The “Stone Book” was seen by the greatest Russian poet of the Silver Age, Nikolai Gumilyov, who traveled through the Russian North in 1904. Emperor Nicholas II, who received the poet with a report on this unique discovery, not only took the find extremely seriously, but also allocated funds from the treasury for further research. Based on information taken from the “Stone Book,” Nikolai Gumilyov organizes an expedition to the islands of the Kuzovsky archipelago in the White Sea, where he finds ancient burials and a golden comb, unique in the purity of the metal. This comb was called “Hyperborean” and was lost along with other treasures that belonged to the famous ballerina Matilda Kseshinska. And the emperor himself gave her this comb.

This is how Gumilyov himself described this find: “For excavation, we chose a stone pyramid on the island, which is called Russian Body, unfortunately, the pyramid turned out to be empty and we were about to finish the work on the island when I asked for workers, not counting on anything particularly , disassemble small pyramid, which was located about ten meters from the first. There, to my incredible joy, there were stones tightly fitted to each other. The very next day we managed to open this burial, made in the form of a crypt. The Vikings did not bury their dead or build stone tombs, which led me to conclude that this burial belongs to an older civilization. In the grave there was a skeleton of a woman, no objects, except for one single thing. Near the woman’s skull there was a golden comb of amazing workmanship, on top of which a girl in a tight-fitting tunic sat on the backs of two dolphins carrying her.”

The “Stone Book” itself is hieroglyphs carved on rocks along the shores of the White Sea by Fab, testifying to knowledge ancient civilizations. The section of rocks with these hieroglyphs is up to 80 meters wide, but in 1962 this section was flooded during the construction of the Belomorskaya hydroelectric power station.

TOURISM

In 1991, to preserve the valuable natural landscapes and originality of the flora and fauna of the White Sea islands, the Kuzova state landscape reserve was created.
On July 12, 2012, the Government of the Republic of Karelia approved a new regulation on the Kuzova nature reserve.
Recreational activities, that is, the organization of recreation areas, parking for tourist groups, setting up tents, making fires, is allowed only on the territory of the Russian Kuzov, German Kuzov and Chernetsky islands, and only within specially designated places and outside the territories of cultural heritage protection zones. On the remaining islands of the Kuzova reserve, during the bird nesting period from May 15 to July 15, recreational activities are prohibited.

KUZOVA NATURAL RESERVE

The Kuzova Nature Reserve is a state landscape reserve located on the territory of the Kemsky region of Karelia, in the southwestern part of the White Sea. Created in 1991, in 1994 it received the status of a wetland of international importance.

The reserve is a chain of more than 200 islands. The territory area is 3,600 hectares, including 890 hectares of land. The reserve contains mass migration and nesting areas for many seabirds, in particular, auks, herring gulls, Arctic terns, Atlantic guillemots, eiders, etc. During nesting time, white-tailed eagle and kestrel are found here, and during migration also barnacle goose and gyrfalcon , peregrine falcon The waters of the reserve are inhabited by sea hare, ringed seal, and beluga whale.

SAAM PEOPLE

The Sami (Sami, Lapps, Laplanders; self-name - Kild. Sami, S. Sami. sámit, sampelaš; Finnish Saamelaiset, Nynorsk Samar, Swedish Samer) - a small Finno-Ugric people; indigenous people Northern Europe. The Scandinavians and Russians called them “Lapps”, “Loplyans” or “Lop”, from this name comes the name Lapland (Lapponia, Lapponica), that is, “land of the Lapps”. The field of knowledge whose field of study is ethnography, history, culture and languages of the Sami is called “loparistics” or “laponistics”.

The peculiarity of the Sami as a people is that the territory of traditional residence of the Sami population is currently part of several sovereign states that have different socio-economic and legal systems, and also significantly differ in the current legislation regarding indigenous peoples, national minorities, their language and culture. The territory of settlement of the Sami stretches from east to west for more than one and a half thousand kilometers - from the eastern tip of the Kola Peninsula through the north of Finland and Norway to the central part of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The Sami live in Norway, Russia, Finland, Sweden, as well as in North America and, in small numbers, in Ukraine. The Sami themselves call their country Sápmi.

The total number of Sami is from 60 to 80 thousand people (according to the Sami Parliament of Finland - about 75 thousand people), of which 40 to 60 thousand live in Norway, from 17 to 20 thousand in Sweden, from 6 to 8 thousand in Finland thousand, in Russia - two thousand people.
The ancient Sami population lived on a significantly larger territory compared to the current territory of their habitat; the southern border of the Sami country was in the area Lake Ladoga. The Sami were known to the ancient Greeks (under the name finoi, a mention of this people was found in 325 BC by the historian Pytheas) and ancient Roman authors (under the name fenni).
The traditional crafts of the Sami are domestic reindeer herding, hunting and fishing, but gradually, as settlers penetrated into Lapland, as well as with the industrial development of this territory, fewer and fewer Sami were engaged in traditional crafts.

The traditional life of the Russian Sami began to collapse even before the October Revolution, but the strongest blow to it was dealt in the 1920s and 1930s, when active industrial development of the Kola Peninsula began and forced collectivization began. As a result, the Sami practically stopped engaging in their traditional crafts, while only a few of them were able to master new forms of farming. As a result, the traditional culture, economy and way of life of the Sami were practically destroyed. According to Sovkina, Chairman of the Sami Parliament of the Kola Peninsula, as of 2011, all Sami Murmansk region there were no more than 60 thousand reindeer, and in general the number of Russian Sami who led a traditional lifestyle was about 13%.
Since the 1950s, Sami national consciousness began to grow in Norway, Finland and Sweden. International conferences began to be held, and legislation was created and adopted in all three countries regarding the status of the Sami languages.

Some positive aspects associated with the existence of the Sami as an original people with their own special culture are also observed in Russia: the status of the Sami as an indigenous people is enshrined in the Charter of the Murmansk region, in the village of Lovozero (the center of cultural life Russian Sami) the Sami National Cultural Center operates, various Sami holidays and festivals are held, the Kola Sami Radio broadcasts, and the Museum of History, Culture and Life of the Kola Sami operates.

Seid - German Body

PLACES OF POWER AND LEGENDS OF THE WHITE SEA

On the Kola Peninsula, washed from the southeast by the waters of the White Sea, in Kandalaksha, there is a legend about a wonderful bell that sank in the taiga Niva River. On its banks, even in the distant pagan era, there were sanctuaries dating back, perhaps, to the Stone Age. The ringing of the bell hidden here is not heard by sinners. But, as the legend says, someday they too will hear this ringing. Then the original heavenly state of these lands, fragments of the legendary Hyperborea, will return. Gerard Mercator's map reproduces the outlines of the disappeared northern land. The inscription on the map says that it is based on the testimony of the knights of King Arthur - seekers of hidden shrines, as well as on data from polar travelers. Mercator notes that they all reached the furthest reaches of the polar earth "through the art of magic."

If you look closely at the outlines of the “Scandinavian” part of Hyperborea on the Mercator map and superimpose it on the map of modern Scandinavia, you will find amazing correspondences: mountain range, running along Norway and the Kola Peninsula, coincides with the mountains of Hyperborea; and the Hyperborean river that flows from these mountains follows the contours of the Gulf of Bothnia in the northern part Baltic Sea. It turns out that, perhaps, the southern border of Hyperborea passed through Lakes Ladoga and Onega, through Valaam and turned north to the spurs of the middle ridge of the Kola Peninsula, that is, to where ancient mountains destroyed by time rise above the Kandalaksha Bay of the White Sea.

Thus, the shrines of the Russian North are located in Hyperborea - if the Kola Peninsula and the White Sea can really be considered its preserved part. Granite monolith of the Solovetsky Islands and the magical cliffs of Valaam were once islands in an ocean bay off the coast of Hyperborea. Apparently, it was not without reason that the mystical feeling of the northern monks found them different sacred names: New Jerusalem - for the harsh Solovetsky Islands and Northern Athos - for the hidden Valaam. It was the New Jerusalem, the city that was bequeathed to future centuries, that the monk Hypatius saw the Solovetsky Monastery in a prophetic vision back in 1667 - shortly before the beginning of the tragic “Solovetsky sitting”. The next act of the northern mystery is the appearance of the Old Believer Vygov desert (also on the ancient Hyperborean coast). Vygoretsia also perished, under whose “quick moss” the poet Nikolai Klyuev placed the underground “Cathedral of the Holy Fathers.” “Let our North seem poorer than other lands,” wrote N.K. Roerich, let his ancient face be hidden. Let people know little that is true about him. The tale of the North is deep and captivating. Northern winds cheerful and cheerful. Northern lakes thoughtful. Northern rivers are silvery. The darkened forests are wise. The green hills are seasoned. Gray stones in circles are full of miracles...” Gray stones in circles - labyrinths - and other ancient ones megalithic structures, located on the shores of the White Sea and on the islands of the Solovetsky archipelago, are the greatest mystery of the North.

The White Sea is the sacred sea of the North, keeping many secrets. It is possible that the original meaning of its name, known only to a few, is related to the celestial sphere, since in semantics “white” color is heavenly, divine. At first glance, it could get the name White from the color of the snow and ice that covers it in winter.

The islands are already clearly visible from afar.

And now we land on the German Island. The boat cannot come close to the shore, as there is aground there, so we are dropped off right on the rocks. Now all our equipment (tents, cameras and most importantly - water - for a week for 10 people) must somehow be moved from the rocks to level ground.

Fortunately, there is a way out!

With the help of a kayak with a sail, all the equipment was successfully transported to a level place, where we set up camp.

There was even a small bathhouse not far from our camp.

After setting up camp and having lunch

we immediately got down to business.

The main attraction on the German island is Sanctuary of the Ancestors. This is the highest point not only of this island, but of the entire chain of islands Kem Skerries.

From here nature simply fascinates with its incredible power!

There are a lot of different birds on the island,

and, of course, seagulls.

And on the rocks you can see patterns like this.

In principle, fresh water can be collected from such pockets. But since we were warned that there were no springs here, we brought water with us.

Periodically, fog descended on us, transforming everything around us.

The White Sea is fraught with mysteries that will remain beyond the comprehension of modern man for a long time. Here is one of the mysteries...The White Sea Archipelago. Body. There are already several options for the name. Bodywork, according to most researchers, comes from the Finnish word “kuusen” i.e. "spruce". There are also versions that the hero was involved Defoe Robinson Crusoe, who sailed from Russia by the White Sea to get to England. Waited out the storm on the islands. The Pomors who met Crusoe there changed his last name to make it more convenient to pronounce. So Crusoe became Kuzo, and the islands became Kuzova.

The Kuzova archipelago is located in the White Sea at a distance of approximately 30 km from Rabocheostrovsk, near the city of Kem. It includes 16 uninhabited islands, the largest of which are Russian Kuzov, German Kuzov and Oleshin Island. The islands, when viewed from the water, have an original spherical shape, and look like huge stone balls almost completely submerged in water. The islands are mostly tundra, in some places covered with spruce forests. The peaks of the islands German Body (140 m) and Russian Body (123 m) rise above the entire nearby water area and have attracted human attention for a long time.

The bodies are rightfully considered one of the most mysterious places in all of White Sea Karelia. On the territory of these deserted and harsh spaces, a huge amount of evidence of the religious activity of ancient people was found. According to historians, the buildings were built approximately 2-2.5 thousand years ago by the ancient Sami who lived on the shores of the White Sea. According to estimates, about 800 stone structures related to the pagan cult worshiped by the inhabitants of this harsh region were discovered on the archipelago. The short distance from the mainland allowed the Sami to freely swim or walk across the ice to perform their rituals. And at the same time it contributed to privacy and preservation of the sacred aura. No places of permanent human residence have been found on the islands. Perhaps that is why a huge number of sacred stones - “seids” and unique stone idols were found here. Objects located on the territory of the archipelago are included in the list of protected historical sites.

The largest is Russkiy Kuzov Island. On one of its peaks, Mount Bald, there is a large sanctuary, in the center of which there is a vertically placed granite stone (menhir), nicknamed the “Stone Woman”. It is believed that this stone symbolized one of the supreme deities of the ancient Sami. Sacrifices were made to him by hunters and fishermen who were leaving or returning from fishing. In addition, several burials were found nearby, lined with stone inside and apparently belonging to important members of the tribe.

An even larger sanctuary is located at the top of the high point Large German Body. A whole pantheon of Sami deities was discovered there. Unfortunately, not everything has survived to this day, but what remains allows us to conclude that this was the Central Sanctuary of the ancient Sami. It was here that the main religious events were carried out by pagan shamans. The mountain is simply dotted with “seids” and idols sticking out vertically. (There is a legend that explains such a large concentration and is based on real historical events that took place in the 17th century. As they say, a detachment of Swedes (called in the old days simply “Germans”) decided to carry out a robbery attack on the Solovetsky Monastery, but due to the outbreak of a storm, was forced to take refuge on the island of German Body. They were not destined to leave this island. Divine wrath protected the Holy Solovetsky monastery, turning the Swedish robbers into stone idols. With a good imagination, one can imagine how the “petrified Germans” have been sitting around the invisible for many centuries. fire on the top and wait for their meal to be ready, the basis of the legend, apparently, was the correspondence of sizes and some external similarity of idols and human figures). The most amazing and most mysterious of the islands of the Archipelago is Oleshin Island. Here are located not only seids and sanctuaries, but also two ancient labyrinths, Small and Large.

Both are located on a flat rocky surface approximately 20 meters above sea level (which, by the way, excludes the possibility of using them as fish traps). The small one (diameter about 6 meters) is practically invisible and is only visible in the dense vegetation of the tundra. Nearby is the Great Labyrinth, surprisingly well preserved and measuring 10x12 meters. At least 1000 boulders were used for its construction and the total length of the “path” is about 190 meters. Both labyrinths are considered sacred. According to researchers, they were used for initiation or for communication between shamans and Higher Powers. There are several more versions of the origin and use of labyrinths. A talisman for a herd of deer, a cult of sea fishing, a cult of the dead (since there are often labyrinths not far from burial places), such labyrinths marked the entrances to underground palaces... Perhaps the labyrinths are somehow connected with the ancient people’s idea of astronomy and the universe.

According to Vladimir Vasilenko, a member of the Russian Geographical Society, an image of the one-eyed god Odin is carved high into the rocks, under which there is an ancient sacrificial stone, a huge boulder with a hole in the middle and a drain for blood. First, the researchers found that same sacrificial stone, and then - an image of the pagan god to whom sacrifices were made.

Another one of the mysteries of the Kuzova Islands. The researchers came across a natural grotto, inside which they found the remains of German military uniforms. These finds are associated with Hitler's passion for the occult sciences. Meanwhile, it is known that the White Sea coast was never occupied, and although the Germans were in Karelia, the invaders never reached Kem, much less Solovki or Kuzov. Perhaps they were here secretly.

The more you try to delve into the secrets of the Kuzov archipelago, the more questions there are. And, apparently, it will not be possible to find out the answers any time soon.

The article uses materials and photos from open sources.

From the archive of comments about the Body Islands:

Yuri Slitinsky 2015.12.28 18:21

The funniest thing is that it was not because of them that the Institute of Scientific Information for Social Sciences (INION RAS) - the former Fundamental Library of Social Sciences - was burned. Since materials on Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilyov’s expeditions to Russky Island Kuzova were stored there. and further to Ethiopia to the city of Gunir to the Arussian tribe.

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