The category is devoted to the Merya — an ancient Finno-Ugric people who inhabited the Volga region before Slavic colonization and left traces in the toponymy, language, and culture of the region. For the Nizhny Novgorod land this subject is important as part of the prehistoric and early medieval past: Merya roots can be traced in the names of rivers, villages, and towns, including the toponym Puchezh. Special attention is due to the Merya, preserved in local dialects and the Zhgon language.