| Popis: |
Creation myths regard water as the origin of life and have attached meaning to it as a sacred matter since early times up to the present. In the Turkish / Turkic system of thought, things from nature have been accepted as living entities since pre-historic times, and that everything in nature has a possessor / nymph has been believed in. As far as Turkish / Turkic belief system is regarded, the land and waters are made sacred by God and are accepted as origins of life granted by God to people on Earth. Water cult, with its mythical meaning, has remained untouched among Altaic Turks by protecting its original meaning in its essence since early times up to the present. According to the belief of Altaic Turks, the mountains and waters of every region have their own possessors / nymphs. That water is feminine and fertile has led to the belief that from an epistemological point of view, possessors of water are female and are more leniant that those of the mountains. Altai Turks believe that polluting water will not go without counter reaction and that any individual polluting it will be punished in some way by nature. They name the water running down the mountains as "arjan water", meaning "sacred water". This mythical meaning attached to water by Altai Turks implies the purification process, which is also a sign of re-birth, designed in line with the rituals of the human beings who wish to purify themselves with the protective properties of water. In this study, an analysis is made on deep meaning schemes of mythical beliefs, formed around water cult as reflected in written and oral folk narratives compiled in Altai Republic. |
