Ev iyesi (

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 ...

: 𐰅𐰋 𐰄𐰖𐰅𐰽𐰄, "House Guard") is a

household spirit A household deity is a deity or spirit that protects the home, looking after the entire household or certain key members. It has been a common belief in paganism as well as in folklore across many parts of the world. Household deities fit int ...

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 ...

. Also known as Uy (Oy) iyesi or Yurt iyesi. Ev iyesi is a deity or spirit that protects the home, looking after the entire household or certain key members.

Meaning of iye

Ev İyesi is a house spirit in Turkish / Turkic folklore. Usually İye has the meaning of "

familiar spirit In European folklore of the Middle Ages, medieval and early modern periods, familiars (strictly familiar spirits, as "familiar" also meant just "close friend" or companion, and may be seen in the scientific name for dog, ''Canis familiaris'') w ...

". He is masculine, typically small and bearded. He takes on the appearance of current or former owners of the house and have a grey beard. In

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

, he is known as ''Sahab'' or ''Kimsene''.

In Turkish Folklore

Traditionally, every house is said to have its ''

İye İye (sometimes İne or Eğe; , ''İyĕ''; , ''İyä''; , ''İççi''; , ''Эе''; , ''Ee''; , ''Эга''; or ; , ''Ije'') is a spirit in Turkic mythology who is a tutelary deity of a place, person, lineage, nation, natural assets or an animal. Al ...

''. The word "''İye''" means owner, master, possessor, etc. It does not do evil unless angered by a family's poor keep of the household, profane language or neglect. He is seen as the home's guardian, and he sometimes helps with household chores and field work. Some even treat them as part of the family, albeit an unseen one, and leave them gifts like milk in the kitchen overnight. It is said the favorite place for these spirits to live is either the threshold under the door or under the stove. The center of the house is also said to be their domain or in the basement.Rasilya KARİMOVA ''Tatar Mitolojisinde İyeler The Familier Spirits in Tatar Mythology'' Kocaeli Üniversitesi 2016 E- p.887 Ev İyesi maintains peace and order, and rewards a well-maintained household. Some peasants feed him nightly in return for protection of their house. When a new house was built, Anatolian people would attract the İye to take to the new house.

Similar creatures

# Eşik iyesi or Astana iyesi (Spirit of doorstep) is a some kind of Ev iyesi. Even they are synonymous. It lives on the threshold (doorstone) of the house. # Mutfak iyesi or Aşlık İyesi lives in kitchen. # Evlik İyesi or Ambar İyesi is the protector spirit of cellar or larder.

References

Bibliography

* Türk Söylence Sözlüğü (Turkish Mythological Dictionary), Deniz Karakurt, (OTRS: CC BY-SA 3.0) * Türk Mitolojisi Ansiklopedik Sözlük, Celal Beydili, Yurt Yayınevi * Bayazitova, Flöra (1995), Tatar Halqınıñ Bäyräm Häm Könküreş Yolaları, Qazan: Tatarstan Kitap Näşriyatı

External links

Turkish Mythology Glossary (Türk Mitoloji Sözlüğü), Pınar Karaca
(Ev İyesi)
Tatar Mitolojisinde Varlıklar, Çulpan Zaripova
(Öy, Yort İyäse, Ev İyesi) Turkish folklore Turkic deities Turkish words and phrases İye Household deities {{Turkey-culture-stub