Ay Ata (

Old Turkic Old Siberian Turkic, generally known as East Old Turkic and often shortened to Old Turkic, was a Siberian Turkic language spoken around East Turkistan and Mongolia. It was first discovered in inscriptions originating from the Second Turkic Kh ...

: 𐰖:𐱃𐰀), also known as Ay Dede, is one of the mythological entities in

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 nomadic and wa ...

and

Tengrism Tengrism (also known as Tengriism, Tengerism, or Tengrianism) is a belief-system originating in the Eurasian steppes, based on shamanism and animism. It generally involves the titular sky god Tengri. According to some scholars, adherents of ...

. Ay Ata literally means ''Moon Father''.

Description

According to the mythology, he is a

moon god A lunar deity or moon deity is a deity who represents the Moon, or an aspect of it. These deities can have a variety of functions and traditions depending upon the culture, but they are often related. Lunar deities and Moon worship can be foun ...

, and he has been living in sixth floor of the

sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...

with Kun Ana, the sun goddess, who he is coupled with. While Kün Ana is symbol of warmness and hotness, Ay Dede is the symbol of cold. In

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, he is well known in modern times, Ay Dede is popular amongst children due to tales being told about him. The mythology is more common amongst Siberian Turks, such as Altaians and

Yakuts The Yakuts or Sakha (, ; , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to North Siberia, primarily the Republic of Sakha in the Russian Federation. They also inhabit some districts of the Krasnoyarsk Krai. They speak Yakut, which belongs to the Si ...

, who still have populations who actively practice

. Notably, in the ''

Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

of Oghuz Khan'', Ay Tanrı also is mentioned as the father of Oghuz Khan, even though that part remains somewhat unclear. It's also notable Oghuz Khan's second son was named Ayhan (Ay Khan, "moon khan").

Aisar

From ancient times, the Turkic people believed that humans had secret lunar powers (Aisar or Aysar). Female pregnancy lasts about nine lunar months, and women often deliver during a full moon. The three phases of the moon were also symbolic. It was believed that at "Ai Naazy" (new moon) the Moon symbolized a growing child who is pure and modest. At "Ai Toly" (full moon), the Moon personified a mature good-natured mother or father. At "Ai Karty" (old moon) the moon aged became wise. But at the same time quarrelsome and malicious. Before its death, the moon reigned over a totally dark night. The forces of life and death met during these nights. After the meeting they separated, only to meet again after a defined period. When the old moon died, a new one was born, and so on, ad infinitum. The Turkic people trusted the magic influence of the Moon. He was their sole "night lantern". The celebrations of malicious spirits occurred mostly at night. The rituals and trances of witches and demons were always timed according to the phases of the Moon. In Turkish culture illnesses were expected to worsen at night, and cause more deaths. To please the Moon God, those born during a full moon were given names as such: Aisylu (Aysulu), Aituly (Aytulu), Ainir (Aynur), Aizirek (Ayzerek), and Ainaz (Aynaz).

References

Legends of Ay Dede

* Ay Dede and

Orphan An orphan is a child whose parents have died, are unknown, or have permanently abandoned them. It can also refer to a child who has lost only one parent, as the Hebrew language, Hebrew translation, for example, is "fatherless". In some languages ...

Girl * Ay Dede and Seven Head-Giant War * Ay Dede and

Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

* Legends of Children Whose Father is the Moon

Sources

* Türk Mitolojisi, Murat Uraz * Bahaeddin Ögel, Türk Mitolojisi (Vol-1, Page 132)

External links