Ay Ata (

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

: 𐰖:𐱃𐰀) is one of the mythological entities 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 ...

and

Tengrism 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. ...

. In

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, the meanings are: Ay Ata: ''Father Moon'', Ay Dede: ''Grandfather Moon'' and Ay Tanrı: ''The Moon God''.

In Turkic languages

* Tuvan: ''Ай Ата'' * Uzbek: ''Oy Ota'' *

Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

: ''Ай Әти / Ата'' or ''Ay Ata'' * Kazakh: ''Ай Ата'' * Chuvash: ''Уйăх Атте'' or ''Уйӑх Ашшӗ'' * Bashkort: ''Ай Атай'' *

Sakha Sakha, officially the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia),, is the largest republic of Russia, located in the Russian Far East, along the Arctic Ocean, with a population of roughly 1 million. Sakha comprises half of the area of its governing Far Ea ...

: ''Ый Аҕа'' * Turkmen: ''Aý Ata'' * Uyghur: ''ئاي ئاتا'' * Turkish: ''Ay Ata'' or ''Ay Tanrı'' or ''Ay Dede'' * Kyrgyz: ''Ай Ата'' * Altai: ''Ай Ада'' *

Khakas The Khakas (also spelled Khakass; Khakas: , ''khakas'', , ''tadar'', , ''khakastar'', , ''tadarlar'') are a Turkic indigenous people of Siberia, who live in the republic of Khakassia, Russia. They speak the Khakas language. The Khakhassian ...

: ''Ай Аба'' or ''Ай Ада'' * Balkar: ''Ай Ата''

Description

According to the mythology, he is a moon god, and he has been living in sixth floor of the sky with

Gun Ana Gun Ana (Old Turkic: ''𐰚𐰇𐰤:𐰣𐰀'', Turkish: ''Gün Ana'', Azerbaijani : ''Gün Ana'', Kyrgyz: ''Күн Эне'', Kazakh: ''Күн Ана'', Hungarian: ''Nap Anya'', Sakha: ''Күн Ий̃э'', Balkar: ''Кюн Ана'', sometim ...

( tr, Gün Ana), the

sun goddess A solar deity or sun deity is a deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it. Such deities are usually associated with power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The ...

, who he is coupled with. While Gün Ana is symbol of warmness and hotness, Ay Dede is the symbol of cold. In

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, he is well known in modern times, Ay Dede is popular amongst children due to tales being told about him. The mythology is more common amongst Siberian

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

, such as

Altaians 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 ...

and

Yakuts The Yakuts, or the Sakha ( sah, саха, ; , ), are a Turkic ethnic group who mainly live in the Republic of Sakha in the Russian Federation, with some extending to the Amur, Magadan, Sakhalin regions, and the Taymyr and Evenk Districts ...

, who still have populations who actively practice

. Notably, in the '' Epic of

Oghuz Khan Oghuz Khagan or Oghuz Khan ( tk, Oguz Han or Oguz Kagan ; tr, Oğuz Kağan or Oğuz Han; Azerbaijani: Oğuz Xan or Oğuz Xaqan) is a legendary khan of the Turkic people and an eponymous ancestor of Oghuz Turks. Some Turkic cultures use the lege ...

'', Ay Tanrı also is mentioned as the father of

, even though that part remains somewhat unclear. It's also notable Oghuz Khan's second son was named Ayhan (Ay Khan, "moon khan").

Aisar

From ancient times, the Turkic people believed that humans had secret lunar powers (Aisar or Aysar). Female pregnancy lasts about nine lunar months, and women often deliver during a full moon. The three phases of the moon were also symbolic. It was believed that at "Ai Naazy" (new moon) the Moon symbolized a growing young child, who is pure and modest. At "Ai Toly" (full moon), the Moon personified a mature good-natured mother or father. At "Ai Karty" (old moon) the moon aged became wise. But at the same time quarrelsome and malicious. Before its death, the moon reigned over a totally dark night. The forces of life and death met during these nights. After the meeting they separated, only to meet again after a defined period. When the old moon died, a new one was born, and so on, ad infinitum. The Turkic people trusted the magic influence of the Moon. He was their sole "night lantern". The celebrations of malicious spirits occurred mostly at night. The rituals and trances of witches and demons were always timed according to the phases of the Moon. In Turkish culture illnesses were expected to get worse at night, and cause more deaths. To please the Moon God, those born during a full moon were given names as such: Aisylu (Aysulu), Aituly (Aytulu), Ainir (Aynur), Aizirek (Ayzerek), and Ainaz (Aynaz).

References

Legends of Ay Dede

* Ay Dede and

Orphan An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

Girl * Ay Dede and Seven Head-Giant War * Ay Dede and

Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

* Legends of Children Whose Father is the Moon

Sources

* Türk Mitolojisi, Murat Uraz * Bahaeddin Ögel, Türk Mitolojisi (Vol-1, Page 132)

External links

Türk mitolojisi'ne göre güneş, ay ve yıldızlar

{{Turkic Dieties Sky and weather gods Lunar gods Tengriism Turkic deities