Mokshas
Moksha women from Zubu. Photo by Ivan Dubasov, 19th century. | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| ~ 19,869 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Russia: | 11,801 |
| Estonia | ~ 368 (with Erzya) |
| Kazakhstan | 8,013 (with Erzya) |
| United States | ? |
| Australia | < 15 (with Erzya) |
| Languages | |
| Moksha, Russian, Tatar | |
| Religion | |
| Russian Orthodoxy, Lutheranism, Paganism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| other Volga Finns, particularly Erzya | |
The Mokshas (also Mokshans, Moksha people; Moksha: Мокшет/Mokšet) comprise a Mordvinian ethnic group belonging to the Volgaic branch of the Finno-Ugric peoples. They live in Russia, mostly near the Volga and Moksha rivers, a tributary of the Oka River.
Their native language is Mokshan, one of the two surviving members of the Mordvinic branch of the Uralic language family. According to a 1994 Russian census, 49% of the autochthonal Finnic population in Mordovia identified themselves as Mokshas, totaling more than 180,000 people. Most Mokshas belong to the Russian Orthodox Church; other religions practised by Mokshas include Lutheranism and paganism.