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((Short description|Beliefs related to the nomadic existence of the Turkic peoples))
((Use dmy dates|date=May 2023))
((Multiple issues|
((more citations needed|date=January 2013))
((cleanup lang|date=September 2021))
((Expand Turkish|Türk mitolojisi|date=October 2020))
))
((Turkic mythology))

'''Turkic mythology''' refers to myths and legends told by the [[Turkic people]]. It features [[Tengrism|Tengrist]] and [[Shamanism in Central Asia|Shamanist]] strata of belief along with many other social and cultural constructs related to the [[nomad]]ic and [[warrior]] way of life of Turkic and Mongol peoples in [[Ancient history|ancient times]].<ref name="Leeming 2001">((cite book |editor-last=Leeming |editor-first=David A. |editor-link=David Adams Leeming |year=2001 |title=A Dictionary of Asian Mythology |contribution=Turko-Mongol Mythology |contribution-url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195120523.001.0001/acref-9780195120523-e-469 |contribution-url-access=subscription |location=[[Oxford]] and [[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |doi=10.1093/acref/9780195120523.001.0001 |isbn=9780199891177))</ref><ref name="Nicholson 2018">((cite book |author=M.L.D. |year=2018 |chapter=Türkic religion |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A09WDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1533 |editor-last=Nicholson |editor-first=Oliver |title=[[The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity]] |location=[[Oxford]] and [[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |volume=II |pages=1533–4 |doi=10.1093/acref/9780198662778.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-881625-6 |lccn=2017955557))</ref><ref name="Boyle 1972">((cite journal |last=Boyle |first=John A. |date=Autumn 1972 |title=Turkish and Mongol Shamanism in the Middle Ages |journal=[[The Folklore Society|Folklore]] |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] on behalf of Folklore Enterprises, Ltd. |volume=83 |issue=3 |pages=177–193 |doi=10.1080/0015587X.1972.9716468 |issn=1469-8315 |jstor=1259544 |pmid=11614483 |s2cid=27662332))</ref> Turkic mythology shares numerous ideas and practices with [[Mongol mythology]].<ref name="Leeming 2001"/><ref name="Nicholson 2018"/><ref name="Boyle 1972"/> Turkic mythology has also been influenced by other local [[Asian religions|Asiatic]] and [[Eurasian Steppe|Eurasian]] mythologies. For example, in [[Tatar]] mythology elements of [[Finnic mythologies|Finnic]] and [[Proto-Indo-European mythology|Indo-European]] mythologies co-exist. Beings from Tatar mythology include [[Äbädä]], [[Alara (fairy)|Alara]], [[Şüräle]], [[Şekä]], [[Pitsen]], [[Tulpar]], and [[Zilant]].

The ancient Turks apparently practised all the then-current major religions in [[Inner Asia]], such as [[Tibetan Buddhism]], [[Nestorianism|Nestorian Christianity]], [[Judaism]], and [[Manichaeism]], before the majority's conversion to [[Islam]] filtered through the mediation of [[Persian culture|Persian]] and [[Central Asian]] culture,<ref name="Nicholson 2018"/><ref name="Findley 2005">((cite book |last=Findley |first=Carter V. |author-link=Carter V. Findley |year=2005 |chapter=Islam and Empire from the Seljuks through the Mongols |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ToAjDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA56 |title=The Turks in World History |location=[[Oxford]] and [[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |pages=56–66 |isbn=9780195177268 |oclc=54529318))</ref> as well as through the preaching of [[Sufism|Sufi Muslim]] wandering ascetics and mystics ([[fakir]]s and [[dervish]]es).<ref name="Findley 2005"/><ref>((cite journal |last=Amitai-Preiss |first=Reuven |date=January 1999 |title=Sufis and Shamans: Some Remarks on the Islamization of the Mongols in the Ilkhanate |journal=Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient |location=[[Leiden]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=27–46 |doi=10.1163/1568520991445605 |issn=1568-5209 |jstor=3632297))</ref> Often these other religions were [[Cultural assimilation|assimilated]] and integrated through [[syncretism]] into their prevailing native mythological tradition, way of life, and worldview.<ref name="Leeming 2001"/><ref name="Nicholson 2018"/><ref name="Boyle 1972"/><ref>JENS PETER LAUT ''Vielfalt türkischer Religionen'' p. 25 (German)</ref> ''[[Irk Bitig]]'', a 10th-century manuscript found in [[Dunhuang]], is one of the most important sources for the recovery and study of Turkic mythology and religion. The book is written in [[Old Turkic alphabet]] like the [[Orkhon inscriptions]]. The [[circumcision]] of boys was not practiced, this custom only found its way through Islam.<ref>((cite web|url=https://tengriciturkiye.com/2015/11/tengricilikte-erkek-sunneti-circumcision.html
|title=Tengricilikte erkek sünneti|language=tr|date=November 2015|website=tengriciturkiye.com|access-date=29 May 2023))</ref>

==Mythical creatures==
* [[Qarakorshaq]], a hiding animal-like creature that can be scared away by light and noise.<ref>KALAFAT, Yaşar (1999), Doğu Anadoluda Eski Türk İnançlarının İzleri, Ankara: Atatürk Kültür Merkezi Yayını</ref>
* [[Tepegöz]], a [[Cyclopes|cyclops]]-like creature with only one eye on his forehead.<ref>((Cite web |title=Türk Mitolojisinin, Kılıç İşlemeyen Şeytani Varlıklarından Biri: Tepegöz |url=https://eksiseyler.com/turk-mitolojisinin-kilic-islemeyen-seytani-varliklarindan-biri-tepegoz |access-date=2023-07-04 |website=Ekşi Şeyler |language=tr))</ref>

==Mythical locations==
* [[Yalbuz]] (Bald Mountain), a mysterious and legendary mountain.<ref>Türk Söylence Sözlüğü (Turkish Mythological Dictionary), Deniz Karakurt, (OTRS: CC BY-SA 3.0)</ref>

==Gods in Turkic mythology==
((Main|Tengrism))
((Further|List of Turkic mythological figures))
[[File:Irk bitig 07.jpg|thumb|right|The 10th-century ''[[Irk Bitig]]'' ("Book of Divination") from [[Dunhuang]], written in [[Old Uyghur language]] with the [[Old Turkic script|Orkhon script]], is an important [[Ancient literature|literary source]] for early Turko-Mongol mythology.]]

Turko-Mongol mythology is essentially [[polytheistic]] but became more [[Monotheism|monotheistic]] during the imperial period among the ruling class, and was centered around the worship of [[Tengri]], the omnipresent [[Sky God]].<ref>((Cite web |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Vol. 4 |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000120455_eng |access-date=2022-12-07 |website=unesdoc.unesco.org))</ref><ref name=":3">Klyashtornyj, Sergei G. (2008). Spinei, V. and C. (ed.). ''Old Turkic Runic Texts and History of the Eurasian Steppe''. Bucureşti/Brăila: Editura Academiei Române; Editura Istros a Muzeului Brăilei.</ref><ref>Róna-Tas, A. (1987). [[Walther Heissig|W. Heissig]]; H.-J. Klimkeit (eds.). "Materialien zur alten Religion den Turken: Synkretismus in den Religionen zentralasiens" [Materials on the ancient religion of the Turks: syncretism in the religions of Central Asia]. ''Studies in Oriental Religions'' (in German). Wiesbaden. '''13''': 33–45</ref><ref name="Leeming 2001"/> Deities are personified creative and ruling powers. Even if they are [[Anthropomorphism|anthropomorphised]], the qualities of the deities are always in the foreground.<ref name="auto">[[:tr:Dosya:TurkSoylenceSozlugu.pdf|Turkish Myths Glossary (Türk Söylence Sözlüğü), Deniz Karakurt]]((in lang|tr))</ref><ref>[[Tengrism#CITEREFMan2004|Man 2004]], pp. 402–404.</ref>

[[İye]] are guardian spirits responsible for specific natural elements. They often lack personal traits since they are numerous.<ref name="auto"/> Although most entities can be identified as deities or İye, there are other entities such as [[Jinn|Genien]] ([[Çor]]) and [[demon]]s (Abasi).<ref name="auto"/>

===Tengri===
[[Tengri|Kök Tengri]] is the first of the primordial deities in the religion of the early Turkic people. After the Turks started to [[Turkic migration|migrate]] and leave [[Central Asia]] and encounter [[Monotheism|monotheistic]] religions, [[Tengrism]] was modified from its [[Paganism|pagan]]/[[Polytheism|polytheistic]] origins,<ref name=":3"/> with only two of the original gods remaining: Tengri, representing goodness and [[Uçmag]] (a place like heaven), while Erlik represents evil and hell. The words [[Tengri]] and [[Sky]] were synonyms. Tengri's appearance is unknown. He rules the fates of all people and acts freely, but he is fair as he awards and punishes. The well-being of the people depends on his will. The oldest form of the name is recorded in Chinese annals from the 4th century BC, describing the beliefs of the [[Xiongnu]]. It takes the form ((Lang|zh|撑犁))/((Transliteration|och|Cheng-li)), which is hypothesized to be a Chinese transcription of ''Tengri''.<ref>Jean-Paul Roux, ''Die alttürkische Mythologie'', p. 255</ref>

===Other deities===
[[Umay]] (The Turkic root ((Transliteration|trk|umāy)) originally meant 'placenta, afterbirth') is the goddess of fertility.<ref>Eason, Cassandra. ''Fabulous Creatures, Mythical Monsters, and Animal Power Symbols: A Handbook''. Greenwood Press. 2008. p. 53. ((ISBN|978-02-75994-25-9)).</ref> [[Umay]] resembles earth-mother goddesses found in various other world religions and is the daughter of Tengri.
[[File:Umay_Ana.jpg|220x124px|thumb|right|Umay Ana]]
[[Öd Tengri]] is the god of time and is not well-attested. It is recorded in the Orkhon stones that Öd Tengri is the ruler of time and a son of Kök Tengri.((Citation needed|date=June 2021))

[[Boz Tengri]], like Öd Tengri, is also not well-attested. He is seen as the god of the grounds and steppes and is a son of Kök Tengri.((Citation needed|date=June 2021))

[[Kayra]] is the Spirit of God. A primordial god of the highest sky, upper air, space, atmosphere, light, life and a son of Kök Tengri.

[[Ülgen]] is the son of Kayra and Umay and is the god of goodness. The Aruğ (Arı) denotes "good spirits" in [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] and [[Altaic languages|Altaic]] mythology. They are under the control of [[Ülgen]] and do good things on earth.<ref>Türk Söylence Sözlüğü (Turkish Mythology Dictionary), Deniz Karakurt, [[:tr:Türk Söylence Sözlüğü|(OTRS: CC BY-SA 3.0)]]</ref>

[[Mergen]] is the son of Kayra and the brother of Ülgen. He represents the mind and intelligence. He sits on the seventh floor of the sky, and is considered omniscient.

[[Kyzaghan]] is associated with war and depicted as a strong and powerful god. Kyzaghan is the son of Kayra and the brother of Ulgan, and lives on the ninth floor of the sky. He is portrayed as a young man with a helmet and a spear, riding on a red horse.

[[Erlik]] is the god of death and the underworld, also known as [[Tamag]].

[[Alara (fairy)|Alara]] is a water fairy from [[Tatars|Tatar]] mythology that lives in [[Lake Baikal]]. She has the power to heal broken hearts and help people feel love, similar to [[Cupid]].

[[Ak Ana]], the "White Mother", is the primordial creator-goddess of the Turkic peoples. She is also known as the goddess of the water.

[[Ayaz Ata]] is a winter god.

[[Ay Dede]] is the [[moon god]].

[[Gun Ana|Gün Ana]] is the [[sun goddess]].

[[Alaz]] is the god of fire.

Talay or Dalai is the god of the ocean and seas. (See also: [[Dalai Lama]])

Elos is the goddess of chaos and control. She can be found underground, in the sky or on the earth.((Citation needed|date=June 2021))

==Symbols==
===Horse===
((see also|List of fictional horses))
As a result of the Turks' nomadic lifestyle, the [[horse]] is also one of the main figures of Turkic mythology; Turks considered the horse an extension of the individual, particularly the male horse. This might have been the origin of the title "at-[[bey]]i" (horse-lord).((Citation needed|date=June 2021)) As such, horses have been used in various Turkic rituals, including in funeral rites and burial practices. Turkology researcher Marat Kaldybayev has suggested that "the presence of a horse in funeral rites is one of the ethnocultural markers uniting Turkic cultures, starting from the ancient Turkic time and ending in the late Middle Ages."<ref>((Cite journal |last=Marat |first=Kaldybayev |date=2023 |title=A horse in the funeral rites of the Turks as an ethnocultural marker|url=https://doi.org/10.1177/09213740231205015 |journal=Cultural Dynamics | doi=10.1177/09213740231205015 ))</ref>

Tulpar is a winged or swift horse in Turkic mythology (for example, Kazakh and Tatar mythology), similar to Pegasus. Tulpar is also found on the state emblems of Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Bashkortostan.

===Dragon===
((see also|List of dragons in mythology and folklore))
The [[dragon]] (Evren, also Ebren), also depicted as a [[snake]] or a [[lizard]], is a symbol of might and power. It is believed, especially in mountainous [[Central Asia]], that dragons still live in the mountains of [[Tian Shan|Tian Shan/Tengri Tagh]] and [[Altay Mountains|Altay]]. Dragons also symbolize the god [[Tengri]] in ancient Turkic tradition, although dragons themselves were not worshiped as gods.((Citation needed|date=June 2021))

===Tree===
((see also|Trees in mythology))
The [[World tree#Turkic cultures|World Tree]] or [[Tree of Life]] is a central symbol in Turkic mythology, and may have its origin in [[Central Asia]].<ref>Knutsen, R. (2011). Tengu: The Shamanic and Esoteric Origins of the Japanese Martial Arts. Niederlande: Brill. p. 45</ref> According to the Altai Turks, human beings are actually descended from trees. According to the [[Yakuts]], Ak Ana sits at the base of the Tree of Life, whose branches reach to the heavens and are occupied by various supernatural creatures which have been born there. The Tree of Life is known as the "white creator lord" (Yryn-al-tojon). Yakut myth thus combines the cosmic tree with a mother goddess into a concept of nourishing and sustaining entity.<ref>Dixon-Kennedy, M. (1998). Encyclopedia of Russian & Slavic Myth and Legend. Vereinigtes Königreich: ABC-CLIO.p. 282</ref> The blue sky around the tree indicates the peaceful nature of the country. The red ring that surrounds all of the elements represents rebirth, growth and the development of the Turkic peoples.((Citation needed|date=June 2021))

===Deer===
((see also|Deer in mythology))
Among animals, the [[deer]] was considered to be the [[mediation|mediator]] par excellence between the worlds of gods and men; thus at the [[Funeral|funeral ceremony]] the [[Soul|soul of the deceased]] was accompanied in his/her journey to the [[Tamag|underworld (Tamag)]] or [[Uçmag|abode of the ancestors (Uçmag)]] by the spirit of a deer offered as a funerary [[Animal sacrifice|sacrifice]] (or present symbolically in [[funerary art|funerary iconography]] accompanying the [[Cadaver|physical body]]) acting as [[psychopomp]].<ref>((cite web |title=Deer totem in Turkic cultures |website=tengrifund.ru |date=5 August 2014 |url=http://tengrifund.ru/totem-of-deer-in-turkic-peoples.html))</ref>

In the [[Ottoman Empire]], and more specifically in western [[Asia Minor]] and [[Thrace]] the deer cult seems to have been widespread, no doubt as a result of the meeting and mixing of Turkic with local traditions. A famous case is the 13th century holy man [[Geyiklü Baba]] (ie. 'father deer'), who lived with his deer in the mountain forests of [[Bursa]] and gave hind's milk to a colleague. Material in the Ottoman sources is not scarce but it is rather dispersed and very brief, denying us a clear picture of the rites involved.<ref>Laban Kaptein, ''Eindtijd en Antichrist'', p. 32ff. Leiden 1997. ((ISBN|90-73782-90-2)); Laban Kaptein (ed.), ''Ahmed Bican Yazıcıoğlu,'' Dürr-i Meknûn. ''Kritische Edition mit Kommentar'', §§ 7.53; 14.136–14.140. Asch 2007. ((ISBN|978-90-902140-8-5))</ref>

:In this instance the ancient funerary associations of the deer (literal or physical death) may be seen here to have been given a new (Islamic) slant by their equation with the metaphorical death of ''[[Fana (Sufism)|fanaa]]'' (the Sufi practice of dying-to-self) which leads to spiritual rebirth in the mystic rapture of ''[[baqaa]]''.<ref>((cite web |title=Geyikli Baba |website=islamansiklopedisi.org.tr |url=https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/geyikli-baba))</ref>

==Epics==
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Shamans Drum.jpg|thumb|upright|Artist's depiction of a Shaman's [[drum]] with a three-world cosmology.<ref>((cite web|url=http://www.neweurasia.net/cross-regional-and-blogosphere/in-the-beginning-was-tengri-part-1-grace-is-the-heart-of-belief/|title=In the Beginning was Tengri, Part 1|author=H.B. Paksoy, PhD|quote=A diagram of Tengriist metaphysics on a shaman's drum. At the center is a world-tree connecting the three dimensions of the underworld, middleworld and upperworld.))</ref> The vertical arrow symbolizes the World Tree, which stands in the center of the world.<ref>((Cite book|url=http://www.nbi.dk/~natphil/oldqueSib.html|title=Myths|author=Alexander Eliot|publisher=McGraw-Hill|location=New York|year=1976|page=77|quote=The world tree appears again in this drawing from a Shaman drum... with its roots in the underworld it rises through the inhabited earth to penetrate the realm of the gods.))</ref> It unites the underworld, the earthly world, and heaven.<ref>((cite web|url=http://www.tengerism.org/cosmology.html|title=Mongolian Cosmology|author=[http://www.tengerism.org/ Circle of Tengerism]|quote=The other important symbol of the world center is the ''turge'' tree, which creates an axis as well as a pole for ascent and descent. Siberian and Mongolian traditions locate the tree at the center of the world, but also in the south, where the upper and middle worlds touch.))</ref> This presentation can be found on shaman drums of the [[Turkic peoples|Turks]], [[Mongols]] and [[Tungusic peoples]] in Central Asia and [[Siberia]].]] -->

===Grey Wolf legend===
The [[Grey wolf (mythology)|wolf]] symbolizes honor and is also considered the mother of most [[Turkic peoples]]. [[Ashina tribe|Ashina]] is the name of one of the ten sons who were given birth to by a mythical wolf in Turkic mythology.<ref>''[[Book of Zhou]]'', [[:zh:s:周書/卷50|Vo. 50.]] <!--遂生十男。十男長大，外托妻孕，其後各有一姓，阿史那即一也。--->((in lang|zh))</ref><ref>''[[History of Northern Dynasties]]'', [[:zh:s:北史/卷099|Vo. 99.]] <!--狼匿其中，遂生十男。十男長，外托妻孕，其後各為一姓，阿史那即其一也，--->((in lang|zh))</ref><ref>''[[Book of Sui]]'', [[:zh:s:隋書/卷84|Vol. 84.]] ((in lang|zh))<!--其後狼生十男，其一姓阿史那氏，--></ref>

The legend tells of a young boy who survived a raid in his village. A she-wolf finds the injured child and nurses him back to health. He subsequently impregnates the wolf which then gives birth to ten half-wolf, half-human boys. One of these, Ashina, becomes their leader and establishes the [[Ashina tribe|Ashina clan]] which ruled the [[Göktürks]] (T'u-chueh) and other [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] [[nomadic empire]]s.<ref>Findley, Carter Vaughin. ''The Turks in World History''. Oxford University Press, 2005. ((ISBN|0-19-517726-6)). Page 38.</ref><ref>Roxburgh, D. J. (ed.) ''Turks, A Journey of a Thousand Years''. Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2005. Page 20.</ref><ref>[[David Adams Leeming|Leeming, David Adams]]. ''A Dictionary of Asian Mythology''. Oxford University Press. 2001. p. 178. ((ISBN|0-19-512052-3)).</ref> The wolf, pregnant with the boy's offspring, escaped her enemies by crossing the Western Sea to a cave near to the [[Qocho]] mountains, one of the cities of the [[Tocharians]]. The first Turks subsequently migrated to the [[Altai Mountains|Altai]] regions, where they are known as experts in [[iron]]working.<ref>Christopher I. Beckwith, Empires of the [[Silk Road]]: A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present, Princeton University Press, 2011, p.9</ref>

===Ergenekon legend===
The [[Ergenekon]] legend tells about a great crisis of the ancient Turks. Following a military defeat, the Turks took refuge in the legendary Ergenekon valley where they were trapped for four centuries. They were finally released when a blacksmith created a passage by melting a [[mountain]], allowing the gray wolf to lead them out.<ref>Oriental Institute of Cultural and Social Research, Vol. 1-2, 2001, p.66</ref><ref>Murat Ocak, The Turks: Early ages, 2002, pp.76</ref><ref>Dursun Yıldırım, "Ergenekon Destanı", Türkler, Vol. 3, Yeni Türkiye, Ankara, 2002, ((ISBN|975-6782-36-6)), pp. 527–43.</ref><ref>İbrahim Aksu: The story of Turkish surnames: an onomastic study of Turkish family names, their origins, and related matters, Volume 1, 2006 , p.87</ref><ref>H. B. Paksoy, Essays on Central Asia, 1999, p.49</ref><ref>Andrew Finkle, Turkish State, Turkish Society, Routledge, 1990, p.80</ref>  A New Year's ceremony commemorates the legendary ancestral escape from Ergenekon.<ref>Michael Gervers, Wayne Schlepp: Religion, customary law, and nomadic technology, Joint Centre for Asia Pacific Studies, 2000, p.60</ref>

===Oghuz legends===
The legend of [[Oghuz Khagan]] is a central political mythology for Turkic peoples of Central Asia and eventually the [[Oghuz Turks]] who ruled in Anatolia and Iran. Versions of this narrative have been found in the histories of Rashid ad-Din Tabib, in an anonymous 14th-century Uyghur vertical script manuscript now in Paris, and in Abu'l Ghazi's Shajara at-Turk and have been translated into Russian and German.((Citation needed|date=June 2021))

===Korkut Ata stories===
The [[Book of Dede Korkut]] from the 11th century covers twelve legendary stories of the [[Oghuz Turks]], one of the major branches of the Turkic peoples. It originates from the state of Oghuz Yabghu period of the Turks, from when [[Tengriist]] elements in the Turkic culture were still predominant. It consists of a prologue and twelve different stories. The legendary story which begins in [[Central Asia]] is narrated by a dramatis personae, in most cases by [[Korkut Ata]] himself.<ref>((cite book|last=Miyasoğlu|first=Mustafa|title=Dede Korkut Kitabı|year=1999))</ref> Korkut Ata heritage (stories, tales, music related to Korkut Ata) represented by [[Azerbaijan]], [[Kazakhstan]] and [[Turkey]] was included in the [[UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists|Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity]] of [[UNESCO]] in November 2018 as an example of multi-ethnic culture.<ref>((Cite web|url=https://en.unesco.org/news/intangible-heritage-nine-elements-inscribed-representative-list|title=Intangible Heritage: Nine elements inscribed on Representative List|website=UNESCO|date=28 November 2018|language=en|access-date=2018-11-29))</ref><ref>((Cite web|url=https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/heritage-of-dede-qorqud-korkyt-ata-dede-korkut-epic-culture-folk-tales-and-music-01399|title=Heritage of Dede Qorqud/Korkyt Ata/Dede Korkut, epic culture, folk tales and music|website=ich.unesco.org|access-date=2018-11-29))</ref>

===Other epics===
* [[Alp Er Tunga]]
* [[Akbuzat]] ((Citation needed|date=June 2021))
* [[Epic of Manas]], detailing, at length, the adventures of the hero Manas
;After Islam
* [[Battal Gazi]]: The Epic of the Battle of Battal, the story of the battle between the Turkish and Arab Muslim heroes, Battal, with Byzantium (modern-day Turkey)
* [[Epic of Köroğlu]]: Köroğlu or (?) is the son of Ali Kishi. The name ''Köroğlu'', a combination of [[Persian language|Persian]] and [[Turkish language|Turkish]], means 'the son of a blind man'. Ali Kishi is blinded by his tyrant master and takes refuge in the mountains with two legendary horses and his son. During his adventures, Köroğlu obtains his sword and horses and defeats the tyrant lord.
* [[Edigu]]: Edigu was a Turkic Muslim emir of the White Horde and founder of the [[Nogai Horde]].
* [[Danishmend Gazi]]: Danishmend Gazi was the founder of the beylik of Danishmends. After the Turkish advance into Anatolia, following the Battle of Manzikert, his dynasty controlled the north-central regions in Anatolia.
* [[Sultan Satuq Bughra Khan]]: Sultan Satuq Bughra Khan was one of the first Turkic rulers to convert to Islam,
* [[Alpamysh]]: Love story of Alpamish and Barchin.
* [[Ural Batyr]]: The story of Ural and his legends taken from Persian and Bashkir stories.

===[[Epic of King Gesar]] in Turkic peoples===
[[File:Gesar Gruschke.jpg|thumb|Mural depicting King Gesar of Ling]]

Chadwick and Zhirmunsky consider that the main outlines of the cycle as we have it in Mongolia, Tibet and Ladakh show an outline that conforms to the pattern of [[Epic poetry|heroic poetry]] among the [[Turkic peoples]].

(a) Like the [[Kyrgyz people|Kirghiz]] hero Bolot, Gesar, as part of an [[Rite of passage|initiation]] descends as a boy into the underworld.

(b) The gateway to the underworld is through a rocky hole or cave on a mountain summit.

(c) He is guided through the otherworld by a female [[Tutelary deity|tutelary spirit]] (''Manene''/grandmother) who rides an animal, like the Turkic shamaness ''kara Chach''.

(d) Like kara Chach, Gesar's tutelary spirit helps him against a host of monstrous foes in the underworld.

(e) Like Bolot, Gesar returns in triumph to the world, bearing the food of immortality and the water of life.

(f) Like the Altai shamans, Gesar is borne heavenward on the back of a bird to obtain herbs to heal his people.

They conclude that the stories of the Gesar cycle were well known in the territory of the [[Uyghur Khaganate]].((sfn|Chadwick|Zhirmunsky|1969|pp=263–4))

== Orkhon Inscriptions and Creation narrative ==
The Old Turkic [[Orkhon inscriptions]] tells about Father-Heaven and Mother Earth giving raise to Mankind (child):

"When the blue Heaven above and the brown Earth beneath arose, between the twain Mindkind arose."<ref>Büchner, V.F. and Doerfer, G., “Tañri̊”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 18 January 2023 ((doi|10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_7392))
First published online: 2012
First print edition: ((ISBN|9789004161214)), 1960-2007</ref>

Mankind was not ''created'' but the result of interaction between heaven and earth.

==Legendary origins of the Turkic peoples==
One of the most important features of Turkic mythology is that each tribe, however small, has a personal descent legend. For example, in the [[Oğuzname]], the legend of the descent of each mentioned tribe is told first.

Another well-known genesis legend is the genesis of the [[Kyrgyz people|Kirghiz people]]. According to this legend, forty girls ([[Kyrgyz language|Kirghiz]]: kırk kız) left from the water of a [[sacred lake]] constitute the first Kirghiz people.

==Siberian Turkic mythology==
The [[Turkic peoples]] of [[Siberia]] are the ones who have kept Turkic mythology the most lively, colorful and preserved. Until today, they still worship the sacred beings of [[Tengrism]] and continue to keep the legend tradition of the old Turks alive.

For example, there is an ancient mythology among people of [[Dolgans|Dolgan]], whose numbers are very low. [[Dolgans]], living in the Tundra climate in the far north of [[Siberia]], occasionally encounter Mammoth corpses, half of which have not been thawed out of the ground for 10,000 years, during their nomads. The Dolgans believe that [[Erlik|Erlik Khan]], the lord of the underworld, took the mammoths into the underworld and made them serve him. According to their beliefs, mammoths are trapped in the underworld. If they try to get to the earth, they will freeze immediately as a punishment. According to [[Vasily Radlov]], Dolgans explained that these giant animals, which they had never seen alive, were half buried, half out, and frozen in this way. In [[Altai people|Altaians]], [[Yakuts]], and other Siberian Turks, too, it is the good and evil spirits and sacred beings who are responsible for much of what goes on in their world. By praying and giving victim, they try to make them pleasant so that the blessings are not interrupted.((Citation needed|date=June 2021))

==Buddhist Turkic mythology==
((unreferenced section|date=March 2021))
[[File:Museum für Indische Kunst Dahlem Berlin Mai 2006 063.jpg|thumb|Uyghur Princes from the [[Bezeklik Caves#Bezeklik murals|Bezeklik murals]].]]
((Mythology))

In the 9th century, they adopted the [[Buddhism|Buddhist religion]] of the [[Uyghur Khaganate|Old Uyghurs]] and developed the first large established Turkic culture on the basis of this religion. It is known that Uyghur monks translated thousands of Buddhist scriptures from [[Sanskrit language|Sanskrit]] and [[Chinese language|Chinese]] into Turkic during this period. Among these, many foreign legends were translated into Turkic, but old Turkic epics and history were also written down. They built the largest library of its time in the city of [[Khotan]], but unfortunately this library was completely burned in an attack by the [[Yenisei Kyrgyz|Kyrgyz]]. Only few of the pages remain to this day, but the number of pages (page 500- page 600) appearing on some of these page fragments proves how extensive and detailed these books are.

Among these few remains are legends designed to bring new monks to monasteries. For example, someone tells a terrible story to portray material life as bad and disgusting ([[Old Turkic]]):

:''körüp ince sakıntı. Bo menin yutuzum bo tep içgerü kirip ülüg birle yattı... Yeme esrökin biligsizin üçün ölügüg kuçup uluvsuz bilig sürüp ol ölügke katıltı küçedükinte ötrü ölüg yarıltı... ol yarsinçıg et'özinteki kan irin arıgsız yablak taşıltı tökülti... yeme ol tözün är kamag özi tonı baştan adakka tegü kanka irinke örgenip uvutsuz biligin üçün esrükin ögsüz bolup könülina anıg ögrünçülük boltum tep sakıntı... ançagınçagan yarın yarudı kün tugdı... ol tözün er esröki adıntı usınta uduntı birök başın yokarı kötürüp körti supurgan icre yatukın koyınta ölüg yatur irin kan tökülür tüze yıdıyor kenti özün körtü kop kanka bulganmış arıgsızka ürgenmişin körüp ötrü belinledi anıg korkutı ulug ünün manradı terkin tul tonka taşıkıp tezdi nece yügürür erti anca kusar yarsıyur erti ol munca arıg ton kedsimişin antak terkin butarlayu üze bice yırtıp taşgaru kemişti ancak yügürtü bardı.. bir toş boşına tegti.. ötrü özin ol toş başına kemişti yuntı arıtıntı ol..''((Citation needed|reason=What is this text from?|date=February 2023))

In the story quoted above, a desperate man, whose wife died and was drinking,((Clarify|reason=Did the wife die from something drinking-related, or was the man drinking?|date=February 2023)) goes to the grave of his deceased wife, opens the grave and has sexual intercourse with his wife's body until he is very drunk. He makes love to the corpse so violently that the decomposed body begins to crumble between his arms. The man is covered with bruised blood and pus from head to toe. Finally, the day breaks, the man lifts his head and sees that his wife is lying in the grave next to his body, blood is spilled from the body. He sees himself covered with blood and pus. Suddenly he realizes his monstrosity, hates himself, begins to tear his clothes, fears, and panics. The man comes out of the grave and starts running. On the one hand it cries, on the other hand it vomits.((Clarify|reason=The man cries and vomits?|date=February 2023)) As always in such Buddhist stories, the man eventually goes to a monastery and devotes his life to the [[Buddha]], far from the whole material world.

===Gazelle Hunt===
In some other stories the subject of Buddha's being reborn in other bodies is dealt with. In one of the stories, an unstable [[Indian people|Indian]] ruler hunts with hundreds of his men and kills thousands of gazelles. A golden gazelle, the leader of gazelles, is the reincarnation of [[Buddha]]. The golden gazelle warns the ruler and orders him to stop taking life, but the ruler does not listen. The golden gazelle will punish them all badly in the end.

==Modern interpretations==
===Decorative arts===
[[File:5kr obverse.png|thumb|5-''kuruş''-coin features the tree of life]]
[[File:Flag of Chuvashia.svg|thumb|The Tree of Life, as seen in the [[flag of Chuvashia]], a [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] state in the [[Russian Federation]]]]
* A motif of the tree of life is featured on Turkish [[Turkish lira#Coins|5-''kuruş''-coins]], circulated since early 2009.
* The flag of the [[Chuvash Republic]], a [[federal subjects of Russia|federal subject]] of [[Russia]], is [[charge (heraldry)|charged]] with a stylized [[tree of life]], a symbol of rebirth, with the three suns, a traditional emblem popular in Chuvash art. Deep red stands for the land, the golden yellow for prosperity.

==See also==
*[[Finnic mythology]]
*[[Hungarian mythology]]
*[[Mongol mythology]]
*[[Manchu Shamanism|Manchu mythology]]
*[[Tibetan mythology]]
*[[Scythian mythology]]
*[[Shamanism in Siberia]]
*[[Turkish folklore]]
*[[Susulu (mythology)]]
*[[Turkic creation myth]]

==Notes==
((reflist))

==References==
* Bonnefoy, Yves; [[Wendy Doniger|Doniger, Wendy]] (1993). ''Asian Mythologies'', University Of Chicago Press,  pp.&nbsp;315–339.
*((Cite book
 | title = Oral Epics of Central Asia
 | last1 = Chadwick
 | first1 = Nora Kershaw
 | last2 = Zhirmunsky
 | first2 = Viktor
 | author1-link = Nora Kershaw Chadwick
 | author2-link = Viktor Zhirmunsky
 | year = 1969
 | publisher = Cambridge University Press
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ZcHYoSVrT6gC
 | isbn = 978-0-521-14828-3
 ))
* Hausman, Gerald; Hausman, Loretta (2003). ''The Mythology of Horses: Horse Legend and Lore Throughout the Ages''. pp.&nbsp;37–46.
* Heissig, Walter (2000). ''The Religions of Mongolia'', Kegan Paul.
* Klyashtornyj, S. G. (2005). 'Political Background of the Old Turkic Religion' in: Oelschlägel, Nentwig, Taube (eds.), ''"Roter Altai, gib dein Echo!"'' Leipzig:FS Taube, ((ISBN|978-3-86583-062-3)), pp.&nbsp;260–265.
* ((cite journal |last1=Nassen-Bayer |last2=Stuart |first2=Kevin |title=Mongol creation stories: man, Mongol tribes, the natural world and Mongol deities |publisher=Asian Folklore Studies |volume=51 |series=2 |date=October 1992 |pages=323–334 |url=http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-EPT/stuart1.htm |access-date=2010-05-06 |ref=none))
* ((cite book |last=Sproul |first=Barbara C. |publisher=HarperOne HarperCollinsPublishers |title=Primal Myths |isbn=978-0-06-067501-1 |year=1979 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/primalmythscreat00spro |ref=none))
* Türk Söylence Sözlüğü (Turkish Mythology Dictionary), Deniz Karakurt, [[:tr:Türk Söylence Sözlüğü|(OTRS: CC BY-SA 3.0)]]
*满都呼, ''中国阿尔泰语系诸民族神话故事'' [Folklores of Chinese Altaic races]. 民族出版社, 1997. ((ISBN|7-105-02698-7)).
*贺灵, ''新疆宗教古籍资料辑注'' [Materials of old texts of Xinjiang religions]. 新疆人民出版社, May 2006. ((ISBN|7-228-10346-7)).

==Further reading==
* Kulsariyeva, Aktolkyn, Madina Sultanova, i Zhanerke Shaigozova. 2018. "The Shamanistic Universe of Central Asian Nomads: Wolves and She-Wolves". In: ''Przegląd Wschodnioeuropejski'' 9 (2): 231-40. https://doi.org/10.31648/pw.3192.

==External links==
*[http://vlib.iue.it/carrie/texts/carrie_books/paksoy-1/ Alpamysh]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071129234428/http://www.iras.ucalgary.ca/~volk/sylvia/Magic.htm Shamanism in Mongolia and Tibet]
* [http://vlib.iue.it/carrie/texts/carrie_books/paksoy-6/cae05.html DASTAN GENRE IN CENTRAL ASIA]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090606102508/http://web.mst.edu/~gdoty/poems/altaic/ The ''Altaic Epic'']
* [https://www.academia.edu/1464674/Humans_on_Mars_and_Beyond_2012 Tengri on Mars]
* [https://archive.org/details/Turkish-Turkic-Mythology-Glossary-Dictionary Turkish Mythology Dictionary - Multilingual (English)]
* [http://dogankaya.com/ Doğan Kaya, Derlemeler]
* [http://aton.ttu.edu/ Archive of Turkish Oral Narrative]
* [http://www.turuz.com/ Turuz - Online Turkic Dictionaries]
* [http://www.turklib.com/ Turklib - Turkistan Library]

((Europe topic|Mythology of))

[[Category:Turkic mythology| ]]
[[Category:Culture of Turkey]]
[[Category:Asian mythology]]
[[Category:Culture of Azerbaijan]]
[[Category:Tengriism]]

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