Alaz (
Turkish: ''Alaz'',
Azerbaijani: ''Alaz'') is the god of fire in
Turkic mythology
Turkic mythology refers to myths and legends told by the Turkic people. It features Tengrist and Shamanist strata of belief along with many other social and cultural constructs related to the nomadic and warrior way of life of Turkic and Mongo ...
. Also known as Alas-Batyr
[Eski Tanrı ve Tanrıça İsimler]
Alas-Batır
or sometimes Alaz Khan. He is an important deity in folk beliefs and son of
Kayra.
Description
Alaz Khan is depicted as an old man with a torch in his hand. He lives in ''Ulugh Od'' (Turkish; ''Uluğ Od'', means “Great Fire”). His dress is flames. Alaz Khan has all power of fire. If became angry, makes and causes by fires on the earth. All of the hearths and stoves are in the command of Alaz Khan. He sends spirits to all hearths. Every fire or hearth has an
İye
İye (sometimes İne or Eğe; cv, Ийӗ, ''İyĕ''; tt, Ия, ''İyä''; sah, Иччи, ''İççi''; tk, Eýe, ''Эе''; tyv, Ээ, ''Ee''; uz, Ega, ''Эга''; ota, اي or ; russian: Ийе, ''Ije'') is a spirit in Turkic mythology who is ...
(protector spirit or deity). The Turkic concept of the god seems to associate him both to the destructive and the purifier powers of fire.
Fire worship in Turkish culture
According to ancient Turkic traditions and opinions fire is a sacred phenomenon, and can purify all things, even spirits or souls. The people obliged to respect the fire in family or in social life. In fire sits and lives a protector spirit (familiar spirit). If he was angry, then can be harmful to humans. Because of this disrespectful behavior, fire may be extinguished. Therefore,
Tengrist traditional,
oral narratives told horrible stories of irreverence to fire. Great Law of
Genghis Khan (Dead Law) has serious penalties, when anyone shows disrespect to fire.
Etymology
The origin of the name is very clear. The word Alaz (or Yalaz) means fire or flame in
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages are a language family of over 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia ( Siberia), and Western Asia. The Turkic l ...
. The root of word is “Al”. This root contains the meaning of red color and capture anything. Turkish tradition maintained that it was related to
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
words connected to blaze (''Alaw, Alav, Alev''), which in turn was thought of as related to flames.
Other names of Fire God
All of these names refers to fire or flame:
Yalın (Yalgın, Yalkın), Andar (Andır), Cahın (Çahın, Çakın), Gal (Qal, Xal), Kalçan, Sahaday.
References
External links
Sibirya Türklerinde Ateş İnançları, İbrahim Dilek
{{Turkic Deities
Turkic deities
Fire gods