THE DISTANT PAST

Several centuries ago, the Turks created their own states in various regions of Eurasia. The most powerful was the Hunnish state established in the 3rd century BC, stretching from Korea to Kashkaria. Its population consisted mainly of Turkic-speaking nomadic tribes. A branch of this state subsequently formed the Uighur khanate.

In the 6th century, the land between Altai and Crimea was ruled by a Turkic khanate whose powerful army defeated Byzantium and Persia in battle. At the end of the 6th century, Persia was forced to pay a tax of 40,000 gold coins to the khanate.

From the end of the 6th century, two independent states - the Eastern and Western Turkic khanates - existed on this territory for two centuries. The population was engaged in nomadic cattle-breeding and hunting. The military 'industry' played a special role here. The large-scale production of steel from the ore extracted from the Sayan Mountains provided the wherewithal to increase the might of the army. The Turks were a Eurasian nation. Their written language appeared in the first century AD and was called rune. It was so called because of its similarity to the ancient German runic alphabet. Thus the history of Eurasian Turkic peoples' writing goes back centuries. Certain information about the Turkic lifestyle is gathered from Orkhon-Yenisei inscriptions which declare: "Disgrace is worse than death… If you, Turkic people, close ranks around the Turkic khanate and its rulers and live in your homeland, you will be happy, and misfortune will not affect you. Brave people are strong people."

In the ancient Turkic outlook, the idea of statehood was dominant. The whole Turkic people maintained their integrity thanks only to a strong state. Its collapse signified the disappearance of the Turkic people from the earth. The Turks considered their state to be a holy entity.

Totems occupied a special place in the religious convictions of the ancient Turks. The word "totem", in quite common use now, was appropriated from the language of the Ojibwas, a North American semi-nomadic tribe, and means "a tribe". Totemism was an ancient religious form. The word totem signified the worship of certain animals or plants by our ancient ancestors. From fear of terrible disasters, ancient people intuitively looked to a certain animal as an amulet or talisman to protect the tribe against natural disasters. The totem was regarded as the symbol of a tribe. Primitive man believed in it and it seemed to him that a totem was not chosen, but sent by sacred forces. Ancient people worshipped their own gods - totems in the form of animals. The most ancient form of religion - totemism - was a display of polytheism. It was strictly prohibited to kill or eat a totem. The highest strata of ancient Turkic society linked their genealogy to mythical descendants originating from totemic animals.

In this light, it would be relevant to recall the totems of the peoples of the single Altaic family - Azerbaijanis, Altais, Bulgars, Kazakhs, Karakalpaks, Kyrgyz, Tatars, Tuvans, Turks and others - who dominated a vast territory from the Pacific Ocean to the Hungarian steppes of Central Europe and who created in ancient times a highly developed civilization.

Taurus was regarded as a water sign and was a totem embodying power and might. Ancient pictures of Taurus were found in Sumer (ancient Sumerians - ancestors of the Altaic Turks who settled in Mesopotamia), in Caucasian Albania, which existed in present-day Azerbaijan, and in Central Asia. Taurus, seen as a lunar altar, is found in the centre of the coat of arms of old Baku in the 15th century. The lunar origin of Taurus is emphasized by the portrayal of its horns in the form of a crescent. The ancient name of the Chinese river Hwang Ho was Yashil Oguz (Green Taurus). The name was linked to the green waters of this ancient river. The Greek name for the Amu Darya river was the Oxus, which is also related to Oguz-Okuz, i.e. the word Taurus.

Leo has been considered the embodiment of the sun, fire, welfare and might from time immemorial. The Sumerian god of war was portrayed in the form of a winged lion. The discovery of a sledge in a Sumerian royal burial site caused confusion among scientists. There has never been any snow or frost in Mesopotamia. What did this find mean? Perhaps the Sumerians wanted to revive memories of the homeland - Siberia, Altai and the Sayan Mountains - with the help of this means of transport. The sides of the sledge were decorated with gold and silver skulls of Taurus and Leo.

One of Altaic barrows depicted a winged lion with a crescent on its forehead. Such motifs are also common in Sumerian, Hittite, Babylonian and Assyrian works of art. During excavations in Altai at the beginning of the 20th century, a sword of Turkic origin was found which depicted a lion attacking its prey. All these discoveries certainly prove that nomadic peoples knew how to create artworks.

Humay is a lunar goddess and a symbol of love, abundance, health and virtue. There are beliefs that this cult, which was once common in Babylon, Chaldea, Assyria, Azerbaijan and Urartu, first appeared in Altai and Sayan. This mythological, gold-pinioned paradisiacal bird came down from heaven and the person on whose head she landed was proclaimed king. She drove out demons, treated children and brought happiness to people. She was regarded as a protector of women. In Siberia, before putting a baby into the cradle, shaman women addressed Humay as "grandmother fire" and asked her to take care of the child so that he grew up healthily. The main attribute of Humay was a small cup. It was believed that the souls of babies could be placed in it when it was full of sanctified milk. If a child was ill, a ceremony was held to feed him with milk from this cup. In order to protect children from the evil eye, they were given ear-rings depicting the goddess Humay. Her name is often mentioned in the works of the great Nizami. In runic inscriptions, Humay was represented as the creator of the moon, the sun and the rainbow.

One of the main totems of the ancient Turks was Qurd (the Wolf). It was called Goy Qurd. Goy meant heaven and Qurd - deliverance. In popular belief, this strong predator saved the weak from hunger and death. The powerful hunter was also regarded as a symbol of perseverance and permanence. He was the embodiment of devotion to family and power. The wolf dedicated all his life to his single mate and to taking care of his cubs, never betraying them. This might surprise many today, but the wolf is a noble animal and an example of fearlessness. In any battle, he fights to the very end: he wins or dies, but never runs away from his enemy. In the animal kingdom, the wolf is regarded as a symbol of freedom, intractability and independence. The ancient Turks chose him as their totem for these qualities. The wolf can remain hungry and will not eat carrion, which is why he is also regarded as an example of cleanliness.

Legend has it that the wolf is the forefather of the Turks' ancestors - the Oguz tribe. In the 10th -12th centuries, the main totem of the Oguz-Kipchaks was the white wolf. An old Tatar legend tells of a tribe that lost its way in the woods and was surrounded by the enemy. A white wolf helped the tribe break out of the encirclement. In size and height, the wolf is compared to Alp, a mythical Turkic hero and giant.

The military banners of Turkic tribes depicted a wolf's head. Tribal chiefs would call themselves the Wolf. In the Altai Mountains, there are many Wolf's Peaks. Pictures of a striped wolf are quite common there.

The Horse was also an important totem for nomadic Turkic Oguz tribes. The Turkic Sumerians were the first to make a cart and harness horses to it. The worship of the horse totem was linked to the cult of the Sun, because the Hittites, whose tongue belonged to the Indo-European language family and who lived in eastern Anatolia, depicted the God of the Sun moving across the sky in a chariot with four horses. Each horse signified the corners of the world (the north, east, south and west). Horses were sacrificed during construction work, as proved by the skulls of these animals found in the foundations of buildings in ancient settlements. In Khakasia, Tuva and even in Korea, where the Oguz Turks settled, there are numerous ritual figures of horses. It is common knowledge that Turkic peoples from Siberia to the Balkans worshipped the horse.

According to Turkic beliefs, the Tiger was the embodiment of power and the bearer of all feelings typical of man. In ancient Azerbaijan, Central Asia, Yenisei, Altai and Sayan, the tiger played an important role in establishing the genealogy of tribes and was one of the main totems. Rock paintings of tigers have been found in Yenisei. A picture of the tiger, just like that of the horse, was included in the ancient Altaic astronomical calendar. The Tatars and all Altaic tribes called a part of shaman tambourines "manim qanim" (my blood relative) or "ala bars". According to some Siberian peoples, the tiger was a totem which helped women to become mothers. For example, quite recently, in the 1950s, Karakalpak women stooped under a stuffed tiger in a museum to guard against sterility.

The Eagle (Choglok) is a totem and source of the Sun and light. Ancient Turks identified it with the ray. Descending at high speed, the ray illuminates the sky and destroys darkness. The Turkic peoples of Siberia, Altai, Sayan, Central Asia and Asia Minor keep numerous pictures of the eagle. Gold plates with pictures of an eagle have been found in the barrows of ancient Tuva. Such pictures have been widespread among the local population on the shores of Baikal since the Bronze Age. Siberian peoples held the eagle to be lord of fire, lightning and thunder. In Yakut mythology, the eagle is also a herald of sunrise.

A silver vase regarded as a masterpiece of Sumerian arts and belonging to the 3rd century BC depicts four eagles with lion heads. A piece of a diorite vase found in Mesopotamia depicts a battle between the eagle, a symbol of good, and two snakes, symbols of evil. The two-headed eagle has been a totem for most Turkic peoples from ancient times.

The Swastika has been in widespread use across the world as a symbol of fire and the sun since ancient times. This symbol is common not only on the territory of the Sumerian state, but also in India, ancient Egypt, Persia, Central Asia, Altai, Sayan, Japan, China etc.

In Mesopotamia, stone amulets decorated with swastikas were found in the 20th layer of soil in a place called Kovur Tepesi. This proves that the swastika existed millennia before the first ruler of the most ancient settlement of human civilization.

As a young man during the war against German fascists, I was quite concerned when I found a swastika on carpets at home. I could not understand why my grandmother had woven a swastika in them. I thought that as soon as the authorities found it, they would send our family to Siberia. How could I have known that the swastika woven into the carpet was an ancient Turkic totem?

A fragment of the cover of a dish depicting a swastika was found in Azerbaijan. It belongs to the 3rd millennium BC. This is the most ancient relic in the South Caucasus.

A brass plate which looks like a swastika was found in Siberia. It depicts the heads of griffins. Artefacts depicting the swastika have also been found in an Altaic barrow. According to scientists, the four rotating ends of the swastika are a symbol of the four seasons of the year which occur as a result of the eternal movement of the sun.

The Dragon is a mythical animal which is quite common in the life and arts of the peoples of China, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Turkey, Azerbai-jan, Turkmenistan and Siberia. The dragon is included in the astrological calendar of the Altaic people. The Dragon totem is the spirit of an animal that brings good luck. The dragon is the embodiment of power, dexterity, wisdom and farsightedness. The walls of the sepulchre of Gultekin, a great military chief of the second Turkic khanate, were decorated with outline pictures of a dragon. There are many such pictures in the arts of the Altaic and Tuvan people.

In shaman rituals, dragons have always been represented as going in front and illuminating the path. Ancient people believed in the existence of dragons.

The Maral (Deer) is a common totem with the same meaning for all Turks. A deer with golden horns flying over Siberia and Eurasia from the east to the west was regarded as a symbol of the holy sun. The deer was the embodiment of the sunrise and a symbol of great power. Its treelike horns, which constantly regenerate, were regarded as the embodiment of rejuvenation, eternal renewal and change in the course of time. The deer was also regarded as a symbol of light, kindness and honesty. Ancient Turks always carried bronze totems to embody the aforesaid qualities of the deer in themselves. Such a totem had seven twisted horns across its back and was portrayed in the shape of the animal tucking up its front and rear legs beneath itself. A deer totem made of gold by an ancient Turkic craftsman is still kept in Russia's Hermitage.