Umay (also known as Umai; otk, 𐰆𐰢𐰖; kk, Ұмай ана, ''Umay ana''; ky, Умай эне, ''Umay ene''; russian: Ума́й / Ымай, ''Umáj / Ymaj'', tr, Umay (Ana)) is the goddess of fertility 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 Mongol ...
and
Tengriism
Tengrism (also known as Tengriism, Tengerism, or Tengrianism) is an ethnic and old state Turko- Mongolic religion originating in the Eurasian steppes, based on folk shamanism, animism and generally centered around the titular sky god Tengri. ...
and as such related to women, mothers and children. Umay resembles earth-
mother goddess
A mother goddess is a goddess who represents a personified deification of motherhood, fertility goddess, fertility, creation, destruction, or the earth goddess who embodies the bounty of the earth or nature. When equated with the earth or th ...
es found in various other world religions.
Etymology
In Turkic mythology,
earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
was considered a "mother" symbolically. The
Turkic root ''umāy'' originally meant 'placenta, afterbirth', and this word was used as the name for the goddess whose function was to look after women and children, possibly because the placenta was thought to have magic qualities. In
Mongolian, ''Umai'' means 'womb' or 'uterus'. In Old Turkic and modern-day
Turkmen, the word “eje” means 'mother',
in
Mongolian, "eje" or "eej" literally means "mother" as well.
Goddess of Children
The name appeared in the 8th-century
inscription
Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...
of
Kul Tigin
, native_name_lang = otk
, image = Turkic Head of Koltegin Statue (35324303410).jpg
, caption = Bust of Kul Tigin found at the Khoshoo Tsaidam burial site, in Khashaat, Arkhangai Province, Orkhon River valley. Located in the Nati ...
in the phrase ''Umay teg ögüm katun kutıŋa'' 'under the auspices of my mother who is like the goddess Umay'.
Umay is a protector of women and children. The oldest evidence is seen in the
Orkhon script
The Old Turkic script (also known as variously Göktürk script, Orkhon script, Orkhon-Yenisey script, Turkic runes) was the alphabet used by the Göktürks
The Göktürks, Celestial Turks or Blue Turks ( otk, 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰰:𐰉𐰆 ...
monuments. From these it is understood that Umay was accepted as a mother and a guide. Also,
khagan
Khagan or Qaghan (Mongolian:; or ''Khagan''; otk, 𐰴𐰍𐰣 ), or , tr, Kağan or ; ug, قاغان, Qaghan, Mongolian Script: ; or ; fa, خاقان ''Khāqān'', alternatively spelled Kağan, Kagan, Khaghan, Kaghan, Khakan, Khakhan ...
s were thought to represent
Kök Tengri. Khagan wives, ''katun''s or ''hatun''s, were considered Umays, too. With the help of 'Umay, ''katun''s had babies, and these babies were the guarantee of the empire. According to ''Divanü Lügat’it-Türk'', when women worship Umay, they have male babies.
Turkic women tie strings attached with small cradles to will a baby from Umay. This belief can be seen with the
Tungusic peoples
Tungusic peoples are an ethno-linguistic group formed by the speakers of Tungusic languages (or Manchu–Tungus languages). They are native to Siberia and Northeast Asia.
The Tungusic phylum is divided into two main branches, northern (Evenic or ...
in Southern
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
and the
Altay people
The Altai people ( alt, Алтай-кижи, Altai-kizhi), also the Altaians ( alt, Алтайлар, Altailar), are a Turkic ethnic group of indigenous peoples of Siberia mainly living in the Altai Republic, Russia. Several thousand of the Alta ...
. Umay is always depicted together with a child. There are only rare exceptions to this. It is believed that when Umay leaves a child for a long time, the child gets ill and
shamans
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...
are involved to call Umay back. The smiling of a sleeping baby shows Umay is near it and crying means that Umay has left.
In the view of the
Kyrgyz people
The Kyrgyz people (also spelled Kyrghyz, Kirgiz, and Kirghiz; ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is the nation state of the Kyrgyz people and significant diaspora can be found in China, Russia, and Uzbekistan. ...
, Umay not only protects children, but also
Turkic communities around the world. At the same time Umay helps people to obtain more food and goods and gives them luck.
As Umay is associated with the sun, she is called ''Sarı Kız'' 'Yellow Maiden', and yellow is her colour and symbol. She is depicted as having sixty golden tresses that look like the rays of the sun. She is thought to have once been identical with
Ot Ene
Od iyesi (Tatar: ''Ут Иясе'' or ''Ut İyäse''; Chuvash: ''Вут Ийӗ''; Sakha: ''Уот Иччи'') is the Turkic and Mongolian spirit or deity of fire. In Turkic languages, Od (or Ot) means fire, and iye is the familiar spirit of any ...
of the
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...
s and
Altay. ''Umay'' and ''
Ece
Ece () is a Turkish word meaning queen and may refer to:
* Umay, also known as Ece, the Turkic earth goddess
Given names
* Ece Ayhan Çağlar (1931–2002), Turkish poet
* Ece Ege (born 1963), Turkish fashion designer
* Ece Erken (born 1978) ...
'' are also used as female given names in the Republic of
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
.
See also
*
Tengriism
Tengrism (also known as Tengriism, Tengerism, or Tengrianism) is an ethnic and old state Turko- Mongolic religion originating in the Eurasian steppes, based on folk shamanism, animism and generally centered around the titular sky god Tengri. ...
References
External links
Kuyash ham Alav (Sun is also Fire)
Bibliography
*
Turkish Myths Dictionary (Türk Söylence Sözlüğü), Deniz Karakurt PDF
* Özhan Öztürk. Folklor ve Mitoloji Sözlüğü. Ankara, 2009 Phoenix Yayınları. s. 491
{{Turkic Deities
Tengriism
Siberian deities
Turkic deities
Fertility goddesses
Childhood goddesses
Virgin goddesses