Važesköm

Važesköm was followed by the Komi peoples, the Zyrians, Permyaks and Yazva Komi. The oldest source is the Life of Stephen of Perm, written soon after his death in 1396, which speaks of many gods and the worship of animals, sacred trees and idols.

In folklore the creator god is Ën; among the Zyrians he is opposed by the evil Omöl, among the Permyaks by Kul. Folklore also gives a person several souls: lovja, the breath, and ort, a double whose sound foretells death.

Stephen of Perm, who toured the Vychegda and Vym rivers from 1376, cut down sacred birches, devised an alphabet and became the first bishop of Perm in 1383. The Vychegda Komi were baptised, but Great Perm stayed pagan for about another century.