Otukan
Ötüken (Old Turkic: 
, Ötüken yïš,[1] "Mount Ötüken"; 
, Ötüken jer, "Land of Ötüken") is a legendary capital city in Turkic mythology and Tengrism. Otukan (Ötüken) is also one of the names given to Mother Earth.
Otukan and nature
According to this ancient belief, the mood of the Yer-sub and Ötüken could be seen in the trees’ condition. If the trees are healthy and strong and are bearing a lot of fruit, it is believed that Ötüken is satisfied with humans. A prayer dedicated to Ötüken was once directed to a grand tree.[citation needed]
Otugan existed in the middle of the Universe and her residence was in Central Asia on Khangan Plateau. This place was called "The Otuken (Ötüken) Homeland".
Mountain
The word was used to describe the sacred mountain of the ancient Turks. It was mentioned by Bilge Khagan in the Orkhon inscriptions as "the place from where the tribes can be controlled". A force called qut was believed to emanate from this mountain, granting the local potentate the divine right to rule all the Turkic tribes.[2]
Although never identified precisely, Ötüken probably stretched "from the Khangai Range of Central Mongolia to the Sayan Mountains of Tuva, at the centre of which is the Orkhon Valley",[3] which for centuries was regarded as the seat of the imperial power of the steppes.
References
- ↑ Bilge kagan’s Memorial Complex, TÜRIK BITIG
- ↑ Franke, Herbert. The Cambridge History of China. Cambridge University Press, 1994. ISBN 0-521-21447-5. Page 347.
- ↑ Jarich G. Oosten, Henri J. M. Claessen. Ideology and the Formation of Early States. Brill Academic Publishers, 1996. ISBN 90-04-10470-4. Pages 124-125.
External links
Bibliography
- C. E. Bosworth: Artikel „ÖTÜKEN“ in: Encyclopaedia of Islam; Leiden. Digitale Edition
