Etügen Eke ("Mother Earth", also transliterated variously as Itügen or Etügen Ekhe) is an earth

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...

Tengrism Tengrism (also known as Tengriism, Tengerism, or Tengrianism) is an ethnic and old state Turkic peoples, Turko-Mongolic peoples, Mongolic religion originating in the Eurasian Steppe, Eurasian steppes, based on folk shamanism, animism and general ...

. She was believed to be perpetually

virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

al. The word "etugen" associates with woman and daughter of

Kayra Kayra or Kaira (Old Turkic: 𐰴𐰖𐰺𐰀) is creator god in Turkic mythology. He is the god who planted the tree of life called ''Ulukayın''. He is the supreme god of the Tatars and the Son of the sky deity (Gök Tengri). This son, Kara Han ( ...

. Also her name may have originated from

Ötüken Ötüken ( otk, 𐰇𐱅𐰜𐰤:𐰖𐰃𐱁, Ötüken yïš, "Ötüken forest", 𐰵𐱅𐰜𐰤:𐰘𐰼, ''Ötüken jer'', "Land of Ötüken", Old Uyghur: 𐰵𐱅𐰜𐰤:𐰘𐰃𐱁 ''Ötüken yïš''; ) was the capital of the First Turkic K ...

, the holy mountain of the earth and fertility goddess of the ancient Turks. Medieval sources sometimes pair Etugen with a male counterpart named Natigai or Nachigai (Natikai, Natıkay), although this is probably a mistake based on a mispronunciation of Etugen. In

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

Etugen is often represented as a young woman riding a grey bull.

Mother Earth

Etugen existed in the middle of the Universe. The Turkic people depicted Etugen as a voluptuous, beautiful woman, who was patroness of the Homeland and nature. All living beings were subordinate to her. Therefore, the Turkic people viewed Etugen as the second highest deity, after Kök-Tengri. The dominant role in determining the fate of people and nations belonged to Tengri, but natural forces yielded to Etugen. Sometimes on Tengri's command, Etugen punished people for their sins. But she was generally considered a benevolent Goddess. To appease the goddess Etugen, sacrifices were made every spring in preparation for the cattle-breeding season and before planting crops. Sacrifices were also conducted in the autumn, after the completion of the harvest. During the times of the Khaganates,Kreiser und Neumann: Kleine Geschichte der Türkei. Stuttgart 2003, P. 20 sacrifices to Etugen had a nationwide character. They were conducted near rivers and on the banks of lakes. A reddish horse was sacrificed with appeals for the fertility of cattle and crops, and for general well being.

Mother Earth

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