Grey Wolf (mythology)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Grey wolf (
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 ...
: Böri) is a sacred animal and national symbol in Turkic,
Mongolian Mongolian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Mongolia, a country in Asia * Mongolian people, or Mongols * Bogd Khanate of Mongolia, the government of Mongolia, 1911–1919 and 1921–1924 * Mongolian language * Mongolian alphabet * ...
, and Altaic mythology. In Turkish it is known as Bozkurt (Boskord, Pusgurt, Gökkurt, Gökbörü, Kökbörü). In Mongolian it is called Börteçine (Börteşına, Börtöşono).


Significance of the Grey Wolf

The sacred, way-finding wolf is the common symbol of all Turkic and Mongolian tribes. Some Turkic and Mongolian tribes believe their lineage derives from this blessed being. Most of the time, one branch of lineage comes from the Sky Wolf (Gökkurt) and the other branch comes from the Sky Deer (Gökgeyik). The Grey Wolf represents the sky, while the
fallow deer Fallow deer is the common name for species of deer in the genus ''Dama'' of subfamily Cervinae. There are two living species, the European fallow deer (''Dama dama''), native to Europe and Anatolia, and the Persian fallow deer (''Dama mesopotamic ...
symbolizes the earth. There is a picture of a wolf head on the sky-blue flags of the Göktürks. This represents their fighting spirit, freedom, speed, intelligence, and ability to read the battlefield. Göktürks would erect poles with a golden wolf head in front of their tents. The Warrior Spirit (god) takes on the appearance of a wolf. When a threat against a Turkic nation appears, the Grey Wolf also emerges to guide that nation. Elders and saints sometimes disguise themselves as wolves. A sixth-century Turkic stone monument depicts a boy suckling milk from a wolf. In Turkic folk culture, it is believed that carrying a wolf tooth in your pocket will protect you from the
evil eye The evil eye is a supernatural belief in a curse brought about by a malevolent glaring, glare, usually inspired by envy. Amulets to Apotropaic, protect against it have been found dating to around 5,000 years ago. It is found in many cultures i ...
. In the
Yakut Yakut or Yakutian may refer to: * Yakuts, the Turkic peoples indigenous to the Sakha Republic * Yakut language, a Turkic language * Yakut scripts, Scripts used to write the Yakut language * Yakut (name) * Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic ...
documents their guardian wolf is referred to as Bosko. For the
Kyrgyz people The Kyrgyz people (also spelled Kyrghyz, Kirgiz, and Kirghiz; or ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia. They primarily reside in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and China. A Kyrgyz diaspora is also found in Russia, Tajik ...
, seeing a wolf while walking in the steppe was seen as a sign of good luck and safety. Seeing a wolf in a dream was also a good sign. They used to put wolf teeth or skin under their pillows to protect the pregnant woman from the evil eye. It was also considered a blessing if a wolf dove into a flock of sheep or if it entered a barn. According to Bashkir mythology, a wolf fell in front of the ancient Bashkirs and showed them the way. Therefore, they were called Bashkirs, which means "with a wolf on their heads." The crescent tactic (or the Turanian/Turkic tactic), the strategy of baiting an enemy into the center and enclosing them in a crescent shape, was first applied by the Turkic people after seeing it being used by wolves. The Bozkurt was considered sacred by Turks in pre-Islamic times and continued to be a symbol of Turkish identity in later periods. Historical research shows that various Turkic peoples that migrated to the west such as the Huns, Kipchaks and Pechenegs used this symbol to denote their heritage. The main reason that the Grey Wolf is considered sacred and is the national symbol of the Turks is based on the belief that a she-wolf named Asena (Kökböri, Bozkurt) guided the Turks as they emerged from Ergenekon by melting the iron mountains, as described in the
Epic of Ergenekon The Epic of Ergenekon or Ergenekon Epic (sometimes ''Ergeneqon''; ) is a founding myth of Turkic peoples, Turkic and Mongols, Mongolic peoples.
. Today the Grey Wolf is a symbol of Turkey, Turkish nationalism. It was declared a national symbol by Atatürk and is used in many places. In the early years of the republic, images of the Grey Wolf were printed on Turkish Currency.


The Creation Epic of Gaoche

The story known as the ''Turkic creation myth'' is the creation epic of
Gaoche The Tiele ( zh, c=鐵勒, p=Tiělè),, Mongolian ''*Tegreg'' " eople of theCarts" also transliterated as Chile ( zh, c=敕勒, links=no), Dili ( zh, c=狄歷, links=no), Zhile ( zh, c=直勒, links=no) and Tele ( zh, c=特勒, links=no), who w ...
. It is included in the ''Book of Vey'' and the ''History of the Northern Dynasties'' from the Chinese chronicles. A male wolf plays a role in this epic. The tanyu of Hiung-nu had two beautiful daughters that he decided to offer to god. He built a high tower over the land and begged god to take his daughters as wives. The god took them and left them in the tower. An old wolf had settled in a cave at the base of the tower and one of the girls thought the wolf was the god. Despite her sister's objections, she descended from the tower became the wolf's wife, and later gave birth to his child.


The Creation Epic of Asena

The Epic of Asena is included in the ''Book of Chou'', the ''History of the Northern Dynasties'', and the ''Book of Sui'' from the Chinese chronicles. In these epics, the she-wolf plays a role.


Epic 1

According to the legend Ötöken, the capital city of the
Göktürks The Göktürks (; ), also known as Türks, Celestial Turks or Blue Turks, were a Turkic people in medieval Inner Asia. The Göktürks, under the leadership of Bumin Qaghan (d. 552) and his sons, succeeded the Rouran Khaganate as the main powe ...
, was attacked and all residents were killed by the enemy - only one boy survived the massacre. The soldiers could not bear to kill him because he was too young, so instead they cut off his feet (and arms in the Book of Sui) and left him in a swampy place. There a she-wolf named Asena found the boy close to death and fed the boy with meat. When the boy became a teenager, he impregnated the wolf. Hearing this, the neighboring nation sent men to kill the boy as well as the wolf, but Asena escaped to
Bogda Shan The Bogda Shan (; zh, s=博格达山, t=博格達山, p=Bógédá shān) range is part of the Eastern Tian Shan mountains and located in Xinjiang, some 60 km east of Ürümqi Ürümqi, , is the capital of the Xinjiang, Xinjiang Uy ...
in the country of
Gaochang Gaochang (; Old Uyghur: ''Qocho''), also called Khocho, Karakhoja, Qara-hoja, Kara-Khoja or Karahoja (قاراغوجا in Uyghur), was an ancient oasis city on the northern rim of the inhospitable Taklamakan Desert in present-day Sanbu Town ...
(northwest of Gaochang in the Book of Sui). Through a cave in the mountain, the wolf found a plain covered in meadows and surrounded on all four sides by mountains hundreds of miles wide. Asena hides in the cave and gives birth to ten boys. The ten boys grow up and find girls to marry and each of them fathers a lineage. One of them is the Ashina clan. Their sons and grandsons multiply. After a few generations, they all leave the cave. Then they become blacksmiths for the
Rouran Khaganate The Rouran Khaganate ( Chinese: zh, c=, p=Róurán, label=no), also known as Ruanruan or Juan-juan ( zh, c=, p=Ruǎnruǎn, label=no) (or variously ''Jou-jan'', ''Ruruan'', ''Ju-juan'', ''Ruru'', ''Ruirui'', ''Rouru'', ''Rouruan'' or ''Tantan'') ...
.


Epic 2

The Turks first emerged from the country of Suo in the north of Hiung-nu. Abangbu, one of the elders of the tribe, was one of seventeen brothers. One of them, Yizhi Nishidou, was born of a wolf. Because the Bangbugils were bad-tempered, their country was destroyed. Nishidou could call the winds and the rains. He married two wives, the daughter of the god of summer and the daughter of the god of winter. Quadruplets were born, one of whom became Baihong (the great white bird). Another one settled between the Afushui and Jianshui rivers and was named Qigu. Another one settled at the Chuzheshui River. Another resided on the mountain of Jiansichuzheshishan and his name was Daer.


The Wusun Epic

In the Chinese chronicles ''
Shiji The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st cen ...
'' and the ''Book of Han'', a crow and a she-wolf fed a child. The king of Wusun was attacked and killed by the Hiung-nu. Only the son of the king, Kun-mo (昆莫), was left alive. A crow fed him meat and the wolf fed him milk. The tanyu of Hiung-nu thought Kun-mo was a god and took him in and raised him.


The Epic of Ergenekon

This story is a Göktürk epic. It begins with a few remaining Turks, who had been ambushed and destroyed by their neighbors, searching for a way to hide in a mountainous area. Finding a plain hidden among the mountains, these Turks settle there and multiply. Centuries later, when they outgrow it, they want to get out. But they could not find the exit. Then they realized that the surrounding mountains were made of iron ore and they melted the iron and climbed out. They were guided by a male wolf named Börteçine.


Wolves in Turkic Communities


Tuva Turks

In Tuvan Kam algış (shaman prayers) introductions are spoken in the form of “Kök börü” (original wolf) and “Kuğu börü” (swan wolf , chestnut colored wolf). In the ancient Tuva oral tradition, the grey wolf was the messenger of God.


Kyrgyz Turks

Ancient Kyrgyz Turks used to call their great heroes and warriors “börü” (wolf) or “Kök börü” (original wolf). There was also a popular saying that the Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and wolves are all brothers. Wolf means greatness and valor. In the epics, the phrase “wolf with sky mane” was used for their heroes. In the Manas Epic, Manas Khan is described as having wolf-eyes and a gray mustache (Börü közdüü, ku murut). The arrows of Manas are also called “börü tildü, çal yiba” (wolf-tongued gray arrow). The descendants of Manas were addressed as "grey wolf sultan".


Kipchak Turks

Among the
Kipchak Turks The Kipchaks, also spelled Qipchaqs, known as Polovtsians (''Polovtsy'') in Russian annals, were Turkic nomads and then a confederation that existed in the Middle Ages inhabiting parts of the Eurasian Steppe. First mentioned in the eighth cent ...
or
Cumans The Cumans or Kumans were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people from Central Asia comprising the western branch of the Cumania, Cuman–Kipchak confederation who spoke the Cuman language. They are referred to as Polovtsians (''Polovtsy'') in Ru ...
, the leadership role of the wolf dates back to the mid-2nd century. There are records of Kipchaks asking for help from the wolf.


Qashqai Turks

Qashqai Turks believe that the wolf brings good luck. The wolf is known as a protector of herds. Therefore, shooting at a wolf brings bad luck and leads to the destruction of the herd. A wolf's paw is hung from the cradle of children, and children are fed the wolf's liver to make them brave. Qashqai carpets have a pattern surrounding the whole carpet, which is called Alakurt (beautiful wolf). The Alakurt protects the carpet like the walls of a castle. The Qashqai Turk proverb, “Onun kurdu ulamış” (he is linked to his wolf) is said when someone is lucky. Seeing a wolf in a dream is considered auspicious.


Other

During the 1930s the
Kemalists Kemalism (, also archaically ''Kamâlizm'') or Atatürkism () is a political ideology based on the ideas of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey.Eric J. Zurcher, Turkey: A Modern History. New York, ...
issued a grey wolf picture on
postage stamps A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the ...
.


See also

*
Asena Asena is the name of a she-wolf associated with the Göktürks' foundation myth. The ancestress of the Göktürks is a she-wolf, mentioned yet unnamed in two different "Wolf Tales". The legend of Asena tells of a young boy who survived a battle ...
*
Romulus and Remus In Roman mythology, Romulus and (, ) are twins in mythology, twin brothers whose story tells of the events that led to the Founding of Rome, founding of the History of Rome, city of Rome and the Roman Kingdom by Romulus, following his frat ...
*
Wolf salute The wolf salute, the grey wolf salute, or the grey wolf gesture (), is a Turkish nationalism, Turkish nationalist List of gestures, hand gesture. The gesture originated in the early 20th century, and was introduced by Alparslan Türkeş, leader ...


References

{{Reflist National symbols of Turkey Ashina house of the Turkic Empire Turkic mythology Mongol mythology Göktürks Wolves in folklore, religion and mythology Nationalist symbols