Turkic Mythology

İslam öncesi Türk inançları konusunda insanların zihninde yer tutan kültler, kutsal
imgeler üzerine yapılan araştırmalar ve destanlar incelenmektedir. Zira destanlar ve destanların
analizi toplumsal normların gelişiminde ulaşabilecekleri noktayı görmekte yardımcıdır. Zira
her toplum geçmişinden izler taşımaktadır. Araştırmamızda Türk toplumunun inançlar
kökenlerine inmek gayesi ile günümüze kadar gelen süreç işlenmiştir. O dönem destanları veya
farklı coğrafyalarda, farklı din ve toplumlar ile karışarak değişen anlatıların Türkler üzerinde
bıraktığı etki üzerinde durulmuştur. Ayrıca farklı mitolojiler ile karşılaştırarak farklı
coğrafyalarda yaşayan insanlar arasında bağlantıya değinilmiştir. En eskilerden, Hacı Bektaş"a
uzanan bir din yaşamının dünü ve bugünüyle izi sürülmeye çalışılmıştır.

The cults in the minds of people about pre-Islamic Turkish beliefs, researches and epics
on sacred images are examined. Because the analysis of epics and epics is helpful in seeing the
point they can reach in the development of social and religious norms. Because every society
has traces of its past. The epics of that period, or the impacts of the narratives on the Turks in
different geographies and mixed with different religions and societies, were emphasized. In
addition, the connection between people living in different geographies was compared with
different mythologies. From the oldest to the past and the present of a religious life extending
to the Haji Bektash has been tried to be traced.

There is a notion, in popular beliefs as well as in academic works by histo-
rians and anthropologists, that Turkic peoples had in their common past a
developed religion with an established pantheon, along with cosmogonic and
cosmological concepts. This article is an attempt to address this problem from
an etymological point of view: what common concepts and themes can be
reconstructed for the Proto-Turkic language, using the lexical data of Turkic
languages and written monuments?

Настоящая книга является первым монографическим опытом системати-
зации материалов по традиционному мировоззрению сибирских татар XX—
XXI вв. Работа состоит из двух частей — серии статей по духовной культуре
изучаемой этнической общности и словарных статей, посвященных тем или
иным мифологическим образам, явлениям или предметам, имеющим отноше-
ние к традиционному мировоззрению тюркоязычного населения Западной
Сибири.
Книга адресуется археологам, этнографам, историкам, искусствоведам,
религиоведам, краеведам, а также всем, кто интересуется проблемами духов-
ной культуры народов России.
The present book is the first monograph which systematizes the data on the traditional
world picture of the Siberian Tatars of XX—XXI centuries. The monograph
consists of two parts — a series of articles about the spiritual culture of the
ethnic entity under study and some dictionary entries devoted to various mythological
images, phenomena, and objects related to the traditional world picture of the
Turkic — speaking population of Western Siberia.
For archeologists, ethnographers, art, religion and region researchers and anyone
interested in the matter of spiritual culture of the peoples of Russia.

The well-known Tibetan document P.T. 1283 is a unique historical source that contains significant information about mid-8th century Central Asia. Discovered at Dunhuang 敦煌 in 1908, P.T. 1283 is kept today in the collection Pelliot tibétain at the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris. One side of the document is in Chinese and the other side contains two different Tibetan texts. The title of the second Tibetan text, Byang phyogs na rgyal po du bzhugs pa’i rabs gyi yi geo (BNP), was
translated into English by Venturi as Text on the sequence of however many kings live in the north, containing several myths belonging to the Türk (Tujue 突厥, Göktürks) and Kyrgyz. In conclusion, the Turkic myths narrated in P.T. 1283 are reflections of a very large collection of Central Asian folk beliefs, exemplified in numerous historical sources.

Göktürklerin mitolojisi daha önce bazı araştırmalarda incelenmiş ve bu mitolojiye ait anlatıların yer aldığı Çince metinlerin çevirilerinin çoğu yayımlanmıştır. Ancak bazı metinlerin Türkçeye yalnızca özetlenerek çevrildiği görülmüştür. Tibetçe bir belgede yer alan Göktürk mitleri ise bu bağlamda pek fazla incelenmemiştir. Bu çalışmada Göktürklere ait Çin ve Tibet kaynaklarında aktarılmış olan mitler incelenmiş, metinler arasında karşılaştırmalar yapılmış ve Türkçeye tam çevirisi yapılmamış bazı metinler üzerinde ayrıntılı bir şekilde çalışılmıştır. Göktürk mitlerini aktaran Çince ve Tibetçe metinler, çalışmanın sonunda ek olarak okuyuculara sunulmuştur.

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The mythology of the Türks (Tujue 突厥, Gokturks) has been previously studied in some publications and translations of most of the Chinese texts containing narratives from this mythology have also been published. However, some of these texts have been translated to Turkish only as summaries. Türk myths recorded in a Tibetan document have not also been studied in detail within this context. In this study, myths of the Türks given in Chinese and Tibetan sources have been studied, comparisons between different texts have been made and some texts that have not been fully translated to Turkish have been studied in detail. Chinese and Tibetan texts containing the narratives of Türk myths have been added to the end of this study.

The mythology of Türks (突厥 tu jue) was previously studied in some publications and translations of most of the Chinese texts containing narratives from this mythology were also published. Yet, Türk myths recorded in a Tibetan document were not studied in detail within this context until now. Some of the motifs seen in Türk myths were previously studied but several motifs were not studied in detail. Besides, detailed comparisons were also not made between the motifs seen in these myths and other mythologies. After myths of the Türks given in Chinese and Tibetan sources are mentioned, motifs in these myths were examined in this study. An attempt was also made in this paper to better understand Türk mythology by comparing the motifs in these myths with some motifs found in other mythologies.

Türklerin İslâmiyete geçişleri ve bunun nedenleri konusunda farklı görüşler bulunmaktadır. Bu konuda öne sürülen görüşlerden birine göre, eski Türk inançları ile İslâmiyet arasında, özellikle de Teŋri ve Allah kavramlarında benzerlikler bulunması bu süreci hızlandırmıştır. Türklerin bu dönemdeki Teŋri algısı incelendiğinde, İslâm'daki Allah kavramıyla aralarında bazı benzerlikler olduğu görülmektedir. Ancak İslâm'daki katı Allah inancının tersine, Türklerin Teŋri algıları daha esnek olmuştur. Nitekim eski Türk inançları, İslâm'dan ve onun Allah kavramından benzerliklerin yanı sıra epey farklılıklar da göstermektedir. İki inanç arasındaki benzerlikler Türklerin İslâm'a geçişlerini belki kolaylaştırmış olsa da bu olayı zorlaştıran inançlar da var olmuştur. Türklerin Müslüman olmalarının pek çok farklı nedeninin bulunduğu da unutulmamalıdır. Çalışmamızda, dönemin kaynakları kullanılarak Türklerin İslâmiyete geçiş sürecindeki Teŋri algıları ile İslâm'daki Allah kavramı karşılaştırılmış, benzerlikler ve farklılıklar ortaya konulmuştur.

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Different views exist on the conversion of Turks to Islam and its reasons. According to one of these views, the existence of similarities between ancient Turkic beliefs and Islam, especially in the concepts of Täŋri (Tengri) and Allah, speeded up this process. When the perception of Täŋri among the Turks during this period is examined, it can be observed that it possessed some similarities with the concept of Allah in Islam. However, contrary to the strict belief of Allah in Islam, the perception of Täŋri among Turks was more flexible. Indeed, ancient Turkic beliefs show quite many differences from Islam and its concept of Allah as well as they show some similarities. Even if the similarities between the two faiths may have made it easier for the conversion of Turks to Islam, beliefs that made this event more difficult also existed. It should also not be forgotten that the conversion of Turks to Islam had many different reasons. In our study, the perceptions of Täŋri among Turks during their process of Islamization and the concept of Allah in Islam have been compared using the sources of the period, while similarities and differences between the two have been demonstrated.

2015 season excavations' results were published for two main halls in the palace of the Early Turkic (Turgesh Qaghanate) rulers of the early 8th c. CE in medieval Kulan town of Jetysu/Semirechie region in the SE Kazakhstan. S. Yatsenko part was the analysis of wall paintings and graffiti in the probable Throne Hall (room 2) (pp. 54-63, figs. 15-17), their composition and the personages' costume and other items. Among them, they included the images of Turgesh king (qaghan) and his wife (figs. 15/2, 17/1-2).

First of all, it is risky that to try to tie between Hattian and as a 'remote' culture of Northwestern Caucasian language that we have not original and sufficient data. It should be considered following points before: Features in detail of archaeological culture of Hatti (3rd millennium BC) and also Hittite (2nd millennium BC) periods should be well known. Hattian material culture related to tradiditional Anatolian culture that comes from Neolithic Çatalhöyük. On the other hand, contrary to common belief we should know that the Hittite have never had distinctive archaeological style during its reign. Though most of books tell fantastic stories of 'Hittite art' , it just consist of quotations assemblage from the arts of Anatolian, Mesopotamian and North African Bronze Age cultures. Architecture codes of spectecular palace and temples of Hattuša lie behind the colossal architecture style of Assyrian Trade Colonial period of Anatolia. 'Hittite pottery' is nothing but the continuation of traditional Hattian (Anatolian) period, and so on. Accordingly, Anatolian Early Bronze Age archaeological culture had obviously been inherited by Hittite, it seems heirs settled down at and used it up, but hardly ever created their own distinct style during the 450 years. Contrary to countless speculativ suggestions, neither Hatti nor Hittite have contacted Caucasian cultures. There is no archaeological trace regarding this 'potential connections'. It is obvious that the arriving route of the Hittites to Anatolia was not on the Caucasus. Hittites, during their life, not only set a foot on Caucasus but also passed trough the Eastern side of Euphrates as well. Hittites were not a nativ people of Anatolia, they most probably came to Anatolia from outside. We could not know where they entered this land, arguably from Thrace, but we know well that arriving line was not through the Caucasus. Caucasian territory during the third and second millennium BC has been mainly controlled by Hurrians as a owner of Karaz Culture. Up to day there has not been any defined 'unfamiliar' archaeological record over there. We should know that Hattians and Hittites two seperate cultures in social, economic and ethnical ways: Hattians were sedentary people. Hittites, before their Anatolian adventure, most probably were uncivilized nomadic people of steppes. They must have been frst introduced sedentary life and learned everything in Anatolia as a sedentary community, when they arrived this land towards the beginig of the second millennium BC. Particularly during the trasition period from Early Bronze to Middle Bronze-the time span was also the date on which the Hittites are starting to emerge-radical changes did not ocur in Central Anatolia. Because they have nothing to change the productive Hattian life style. In conclusion Hattians and Hittites were the two independent and seperate communities, Hittite were not continuation of Hatti. At least we know that because of its agglutinative structure Hattian should be differed from the European languages. By the way let's remember that 'ergative' cases could not afford to do the same in two different languages. In my opinion Proto Hattian people should have hypotetically been Altai origin as the other specific Asiatic people of Anatolia, Mesopotamia and North Africa (i.e. Hurri, Elamite, Kassite, Hyksos, smiths of the Luristan and etc). Hattian, like the others while one language within "Archaic Altaian" before 10.000 BC, it separated and determined its own destinity towards Anatolia (Guneri, A.S. 2016, Turk-Altay Theory).

Manuscript of the keynote address was presented on the international conference
“The Middle East: Language, Literature and History” dedicated to the 125th anniversary
of the prominent orientalist Joseph Orbeli (1887-1961) was held in in Yerevan, Armenia, October 30-31, 2012

Földvári, Sándor / Mr. / dr.
Sandor Foldvari, research fellow; cell-phone +36-30-6709134
Debrecen Univ. Baltic Studies; - home: H-2119 PECEL, P.O.B. 36.
E.mail: alexfoldvari@gmail.com
Professional: http://unideb.academia.edu/SandorFoldvari
Private: http://www.facebook.com/Alex.Foldvari

Oriental Studies in Hungary
in the 20-30-ies of the 20th century.

Abstract. The activity of Ignac Goldziher was finished by his passing away in 1921 and still influenced the research life for a longer time, mainly on the hadis and the Islam law. Being a Jew, he had sympathy to the Islam and consequently he was under oppression by his rabbinic colleagues as prof. Wilhelm Bacher. However, parallelly with this famous orientalist, another line of the Islam studies flew in Hungary. Ignác Kúnos was the first, who studied the Turkish folklore, gathered folk-tales and performances (Karagöz) on the academic level, at the same time he published also popular books, too, for the wide audience including the youth, too. These books were reissued several time and made the Moslem folk-culture very popular in Hungary in the 20-30-ies. Research papers of Kúnos have influenced not only the Hungarian but the Turkish and wide Moslem academic life for a half of a century. His student and follower was Abdul-Karim Germanus, who converted to the Islam and became a very hajji also a famous professor at various Moslem universities (in India, Egypt, etc). Germanus worked a lot for popularizing Moslem culture in Hungary on the professional level. His articles published in the Budapesti Szemle (“The Budapest Review”, the academic monthly of the capital of Hungary) remained unknown for the international audience, being written in Hungarian. Although he was the first who analyzed the forgotten türbe of Gül Baba in Budapest and some other buildings, remained from the Turkish era of Hungary (16-17 cc.), and for his initiative the restorations of these ruined buildings were begun. A pupil of him was the famous archeologist Győző (Yusuf) Gerő, who excavated all the ruins remained from the Turkish era in Hungary. Beyond the “History of Arabic Literature” and such well-known works, Abdul-Karim Germanus published apologies for the Islam on the “race” question, too, in Hungarian, when the chauvinism and nationalism had been rising in the 20-ies. Moreover, Germanus was a pupil and follower of Ármin Vámbéry (Efendi Reshid) who became only known as an expert of the Central-Asian Turkish languages and Sunni costumes, but not for his other studies on the Moslem pilgrimage and shia culture, too. "Meine Wanderungen und Erlebnisse in Persien" [My Wanderings and Experiences in Persia] was published in the late 19th but influenced in the early 20th century, determining the folklorist investigations made by his followers as Kúnos and Germanus..

Keywods: Hungary, Moslem_pilgrimage, Moslem_folklore, Germanus, Kunos, Vámbéry, Gül_Baba, Islam architecture

Description of the Turgesh Qaghanate' Turkic rulear residence of the 1st half of the 8th c. in Kulan (South Kazakhstan). There are many details of decor in the throne hall and other gala rooms with the clay reliefs, wall painting remains and graffiti

The article is focused on understanding the process of post-Soviet
revitalisation of the Altai shamanism as a form of popular Altai faith
reflecting national aspirations of the Altai people. The author analyses
various modifications of shamanism revitalised in the last 25 years, peculiarities
of the contemporary “shamanistic theology” corresponding
in many ways to the traditions of the Turkic peoples, and the conflicting
interpretations of contemporary shamanistic leaders, illustrating the
impact of different cultural and civilizational factors. Attention is also paid to Burkhanism – a religious syncretic movement that arose in the
early 20th century and in the Post-Soviet epoch came to the forefront
of disputes between representatives of shamanism and Buddhists.

Abstract:     
The paper deals with the processes of overcoming Russian 'colonial' impediments to the creation of symbolic spaces for the emergence of a new national self-consciousness in Kazakhstan. The paper highlights the importance of Nazarbaev’s decision to transfer to and construct a new capital Astana in fostering the ideas of national identity and ethnic belonging. Therefore, an attempt has been made to observe the phenomena of urbanization and reformulation of state symbols in explaining both ethnic and civic mechanisms of influences on people’s consciousness. Additionally, the works of various Kazakh intellectuals and cultural figures have been taken into consideration to examine the notion of Kazakhness and its’ contribution to the development of the Kazakh national identity. Content analysis of architectural design of Astana and state symbols is essential to understand the vision of Kazakhstan’s imagined future.

Oğuzluğun oluşumuyla ilgili elimizde hiçbir kaynak bulunmamaktadır ve bu yapının çe-kirdeğinin 8. yy'ın ikinci yarısında şekillenerek gittikçe büyüyen bir boy birliğine dö-nüştüğünü ancak farazi olarak söyleyebiliyoruz. Bu yüzden, genel çıkarımlar dışında bu boy birliğinin yapısal özelliklerini hiçbir şekilde bilmiyoruz. Oğuzluğun bir etnos olarak var olduğu günlerde tutulan kayıtlarda (kabaca 9 ila 11 yy'lar arası) ikili yapıdan hiçbir şekilde bahsedilmez. Boy yapısının çözülme veya dönüşme yolunda olduğu 12. yy ortalarından itibaren Bozok ve Üçok adlandırmaları görülür. İç ve Dış Oğuz kullanımları ise çok daha sonra, Dede Korkut Kitabı ile kayda geçmiştir ve dolayısıyla sözlü anlatımın ürünü gibi gözükür. Ancak bu durum işbu kullanımların sonraki bir üretim olduğu an-lamına gelmez. En azından, bütün Türk devletimsi yapılarında ikili düzenin muhakkak bulunduğu noktasından hareketle, Yabguluk dönemi Oğuzlarında da böyle bir etnik temelli idari bölünmenin bulunduğunu varsaymalıyız. Bizim tezimiz, Oğuzlarda merkezi-liğin arttığı 10. yy başlarından itibaren bu yapının fiili önemini kaybettiği, Oğuzlar hak-kındaki ilk kayıtlar da zaten bu dönemde başladığından, hariçteki yazarların görüş ufuklarına girmediği şeklindedir. Oğuzları yakından ve içerden tanıyan Kaşgarlı Mah-mut'ta da bu bilginin geçmeyişi düşündürücüdür. Yerleşikleşen göçebe devlet yapıla-rında istisnasız görülen bir durum olarak, Selçuklu devleti ile özellikle Türkistan'da kalan Oğuzların arası açıldığında, bir zihniyet tepkisi olarak eski kimliğe vurgu süreci başlamış ve bazı umulan tahrifatla geçmiş destan hüviyetinde geri dönerek hafızalarda ve sayfalarda yerini almaya başlamıştır. Bu çerçevede biz, birliğe gönüllü veya gönül-süz olarak sonradan katılan boyları anlatan " baz " kelimesinin sözel anlatıda korunduğu, fakat 12. yy'daki geleneğin dirilişi döneminde bu kelimenin anlamı öldüğü için yeri-ni az bir ses değişikliğiyle bağlamda çok anlamsız bulunan " boz " a bıraktığı düşünce-sindeyiz. Nitekim erken kayıtlar bu kelimeyi açıklamakta zorlukla karşılaşmaktadır. Ay-nı şekilde " iç " tabiri de küçük bir ses değişikliğiyle " boz " a muvazi olmayan " üç " biçimi-ne dönüşmüştür. Abstract There is no any record about early phases of the Oğuz ethnogenesis and we can say only hypothetically that core of that structure was formed during the second half of the 8th century and started to grow up eventually being a great tribal union. Thus, except for general inferences, we do never know about structural features of that union. Dual moiety and tribal organization among the Oğuz, as long as it existed as an ethnos (roughly between the 9th and 11th centuries), never occurs in early sources