A Spitting Matter

Mari teenager Yivan moves to a new city school and faces bullying there because of his accent and unusual name. His grandmother advises him to seek help from the national hero Onar. However, at the most critical moment, help comes from where Yivan does not expect at all.

A most unusual teacher of Mari history and culture appears in school. Instead of announcing the topic of the lesson he retells three tales to the children. These are modern interpretations of the legends of Onar, Irga and Chotkar, the Mari legendary heroes, "the last pagans in Europe". But the deputy school master senses something fishy and tries to expose the teacher.