Bai-Ulgan
Encyclopedia
Bai-Ülgen or Ülgen is a Turkic
and Mongolian
creator-deity, usually distinct from Tengri
but sometimes identified with him in the same manner as Helios and Apollo. His name is from Old Turkic bey, "rich", and ülgen, "magnificent". Ulgan is thought to be without a beginning and an end.
In Turkic and Mongolian mythology, the birch tree, regarded as a cosmic axis between earth and sky, was regarded as sacred to him, as was the horse
(horse-sacrifice was a part of his worship). Ulgan symbolizes goodness, welfare, abundance, plenty of food, water, etc. Furthermore, he created earth, heaven and all living beings. In addition, he controls the atmosphere events and movements of stars. He creates land for people to live, humans' and animals' heads, and the rainbow. He was regarded as the patron god of shamans and the source of their knowledge.
It is believed that Ulgan has been created from Tengri (Tengere Kayra Khan). He is the highest deity after Tengri. Sometimes, Ulgan is compared with Tengri and they are thought to be the same. In some sayings, Ulgan takes place of Tengri, but not completely.
Ulgan is the enemy of Erlik
who is the god of evil and darkness. Ulgen protects humankind against him.
Ulgan has seven sons, named “Karakuş, Karşıt, Pura Kan, Burça Kan, Yaşıl Kan, Er Kanım, Baktı Kan”, and nine daughters, named Akkızlar and Kıyanlar. His daughters are source of inspiration for shamans.
Bai-Ulgan lives on the sixteenth floor of the sky above the stars, sun and moon in a golden house. People can never reach him, except shamans or kams. Animals are used for sacrifice to him, especially horses. Once in every third, sixth, ninth, or twelfth year, shamans sacrifice a white horse at the first step of reaching Ulgan. Then he accompanies its soul, penetrates through all the layers of heaven until he reaches Ulgan. Firstly, kam meets Yayık who is the servant of Ulgan. This deity informs the kam whether or not the offering has been accepted, and the shaman learns of impending dangers, such as bad harvests.
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
and Mongolian
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
creator-deity, usually distinct from Tengri
Tengri
Tengri or Tengger Tengri or Tengger Tengri or Tengger (Old Turkic: ; Mongolian: Тэнгэр, Tenger; Chinese: 腾格里, Mandarin: Ténggélǐ, Hungarian: Tengri, Turkish: Tanrı, Bulgarian: Tangra (Тангра) is a sky god, formerly the chief deity of the early Turkic peoples, including the Xiongnu, Huns, Bulgars,...
but sometimes identified with him in the same manner as Helios and Apollo. His name is from Old Turkic bey, "rich", and ülgen, "magnificent". Ulgan is thought to be without a beginning and an end.
In Turkic and Mongolian mythology, the birch tree, regarded as a cosmic axis between earth and sky, was regarded as sacred to him, as was the horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
(horse-sacrifice was a part of his worship). Ulgan symbolizes goodness, welfare, abundance, plenty of food, water, etc. Furthermore, he created earth, heaven and all living beings. In addition, he controls the atmosphere events and movements of stars. He creates land for people to live, humans' and animals' heads, and the rainbow. He was regarded as the patron god of shamans and the source of their knowledge.
It is believed that Ulgan has been created from Tengri (Tengere Kayra Khan). He is the highest deity after Tengri. Sometimes, Ulgan is compared with Tengri and they are thought to be the same. In some sayings, Ulgan takes place of Tengri, but not completely.
Ulgan is the enemy of Erlik
Erlik
Erlik, or Erlig, is the god of death and underworld in Turkic and Mongolian mythology.According to Siberian mythology, Erlik was the first creation of Tengri or Ulgan, the creator god, but Erlik's pride led to friction between the two, and he was banished to the underworld.In the myths of the...
who is the god of evil and darkness. Ulgen protects humankind against him.
Ulgan has seven sons, named “Karakuş, Karşıt, Pura Kan, Burça Kan, Yaşıl Kan, Er Kanım, Baktı Kan”, and nine daughters, named Akkızlar and Kıyanlar. His daughters are source of inspiration for shamans.
Bai-Ulgan lives on the sixteenth floor of the sky above the stars, sun and moon in a golden house. People can never reach him, except shamans or kams. Animals are used for sacrifice to him, especially horses. Once in every third, sixth, ninth, or twelfth year, shamans sacrifice a white horse at the first step of reaching Ulgan. Then he accompanies its soul, penetrates through all the layers of heaven until he reaches Ulgan. Firstly, kam meets Yayık who is the servant of Ulgan. This deity informs the kam whether or not the offering has been accepted, and the shaman learns of impending dangers, such as bad harvests.