Rattle pendants were a special type of jewelry characteristic of pagan tribes. These jewelry pieces had multiple chains and trinkets, which made a rustling noise when the wearer was moving. It was believed that such noise-making jewelry that featured specific ornaments protected the owner from evil forces and awakened their guardian spirits. Women attached rattling and ringing pendants to their temples, shirts, belts and shoes, protecting all possible entrances for evil spirits. The pendants often depicted sacred symbols and stylized images of animals and birds, which enhanced the magical properties of talismans. Duck’s feet were the most common motif on women’s jewelry, they symbolized the creation of the world by the duck and the feminine principle.
Rattle pendants are often found during excavations at the sites of the Polomskaya and Chepetskaya archaeological cultures of the 7th–13th centuries. The archaeological monuments of the Kama region inform us about the culture and beliefs of the medieval ancestors of the northern Udmurts. In the ancient settlements of Idnakar, Dondykar, Vesyakar and Guryakar, named after the heroes of the Udmurt epic, archeologists find many examples of decorative and applied arts, tools and remnants of dwellings.
The Vesyakar settlement is located in the Glazovsky District of the Udmurt Republic and occupies half a hectare of land. It had a line of fortifications on one side, and its cultural layer is two meters deep, where bronze rattle pendants were found among other jewelry pieces. Their quality indicates the ability of local craftsmen to process non-ferrous metals. There are no deposits of cupriferous sandstone near the Cheptsa River, so jewelers used copper and bronze ingots brought from the ore deposits in the Urals, and silver coins and ingots brought from Central Asia.
In the Middle Ages, fashionable Udmurt women had a large selection of jewelry: earrings, buckles, overlays, breast ornaments known as fibulae, bracelets, ear spoons, and temple rings. Udmurt jewelers used various techniques: forging, minting, stamping, and wire drawing. Many finds are masterpieces of non-ferrous metal art: a bird-shaped pendant, a duck pendant, or granulated earrings. Women’s jewelry was made carefully to charge them with magic powers.
Rattle pendants are often found during excavations at the sites of the Polomskaya and Chepetskaya archaeological cultures of the 7th–13th centuries. The archaeological monuments of the Kama region inform us about the culture and beliefs of the medieval ancestors of the northern Udmurts. In the ancient settlements of Idnakar, Dondykar, Vesyakar and Guryakar, named after the heroes of the Udmurt epic, archeologists find many examples of decorative and applied arts, tools and remnants of dwellings.
The Vesyakar settlement is located in the Glazovsky District of the Udmurt Republic and occupies half a hectare of land. It had a line of fortifications on one side, and its cultural layer is two meters deep, where bronze rattle pendants were found among other jewelry pieces. Their quality indicates the ability of local craftsmen to process non-ferrous metals. There are no deposits of cupriferous sandstone near the Cheptsa River, so jewelers used copper and bronze ingots brought from the ore deposits in the Urals, and silver coins and ingots brought from Central Asia.
In the Middle Ages, fashionable Udmurt women had a large selection of jewelry: earrings, buckles, overlays, breast ornaments known as fibulae, bracelets, ear spoons, and temple rings. Udmurt jewelers used various techniques: forging, minting, stamping, and wire drawing. Many finds are masterpieces of non-ferrous metal art: a bird-shaped pendant, a duck pendant, or granulated earrings. Women’s jewelry was made carefully to charge them with magic powers.
