Ev iyesi (

Old Turkic Old Turkic (also East Old Turkic, Orkhon Turkic language, Old Uyghur) is the earliest attested form of the Turkic languages, found in Göktürks, Göktürk and Uyghur Khaganate inscriptions dating from about the eighth to the 13th century. It ...

: 𐰅𐰋 𐰄𐰖𐰅𐰽𐰄, "House Guard") is a

household deity A household deity is a deity or spirit that protects the home, looking after the entire household or certain key members. It has been a common belief in paganism as well as in folklore across many parts of the world. Household deities fit int ...

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 ...

. Also known as Uy (Oy) iyesi or Yurt iyesi. Ev iyesi is a deity or spirit that protects the home, looking after the entire household or certain key members.

Meaning of iye

Ev İyesi is a house spirit in Turkish / Turkic folklore. Usually İye has the meaning of "

familiar spirit In European folklore of the medieval and early modern periods, familiars (sometimes referred to as familiar spirits) were believed to be supernatural entities that would assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic. According to re ...

". He is masculine, typically small and bearded. He takes on the appearance of current or former owners of the house and have a grey beard. In

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

, he is known as ''Sahab'' or ''Kimsene''.

In Turkish Folklore

Traditionally, every house is said to have its ''

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 ...

''. The word "''İye''" means owner, master, possessor, etc. It does not do evil unless angered by a family's poor keep of the household, profane language or neglect. He is seen as the home's guardian, and he sometimes helps with household chores and field work. Some even treat them as part of the family, albeit an unseen one, and leave them gifts like milk in the kitchen overnight. It is said the favorite place for these spirits to live is either the threshold under the door or under the stove. The center of the house is also said to be their domain or in the basement.Rasilya KARİMOVA ''Tatar Mitolojisinde İyeler The Familier Spirits in Tatar Mythology'' Kocaeli Üniversitesi 2016 E- p.887 Ev İyesi maintains peace and order, and rewards a well-maintained household. Some peasants feed him nightly in return for protection of their house. When a new house was built, Anatolian people would attract the İye to take to the new house.

Similar creatures

# Eşik iyesi or Astana iyesi (Spirit of doorstep) is a some kind of Ev iyesi. Even they are synonymous. It lives on the threshold (doorstone) of the house. # Mutfak iyesi or Aşlık İyesi lives in kitchen. # Evlik İyesi or Ambar İyesi is the protector spirit of cellar or larder.

References

Bibliography

* Türk Söylence Sözlüğü (Turkish Mythological Dictionary), Deniz Karakurt, (OTRS: CC BY-SA 3.0) * Türk Mitolojisi Ansiklopedik Sözlük, Celal Beydili, Yurt Yayınevi * Bayazitova, Flöra (1995), Tatar Halqınıñ Bäyräm Häm Könküreş Yolaları, Qazan: Tatarstan Kitap Näşriyatı

External links

Turkish Mythology Glossary (Türk Mitoloji Sözlüğü), Pınar Karaca
(Ev İyesi)
Tatar Mitolojisinde Varlıklar, Çulpan Zaripova
(Öy, Yort İyäse, Ev İyesi) Turkish folklore Turkic deities Turkish words and phrases İye Household deities {{Turkey-stub