Ötüken

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Ötüken is one of the names given to Mother Earth in Tengriism. According to this ancient belief, the mood of the Yer-sub and Ötüken could be seen in the trees’ condition. If the trees are healthy and strong and are bearing a lot of fruit, it is believed that Ötüken is satisfied with humans. A prayer dedicated to Ötüken was once directed to a grand tree.

Later, the word was used to describe the sacred mountain of the ancient Turks. It was mentioned by Bilge Khan in the Orkhon inscriptions as, "the place from where the tribes can be controlled." A force called qut was believed to emanate from this mountain, granting the local potentate the divine right to rule all the Turkic tribes.[1]

Although never identified precisely, Ötüken probably stretched "from the Khangai Range of Central Mongolia to the Sayan Mountains of Tuva, at the centre of which is the Orkhon Valley",[2] which for centuries was regarded as the seat of the imperial power of the steppes.


[edit] References

  1. ^ Franke, Herbert. The Cambridge History of China. Cambridge University Press, 1994. ISBN 0521214475. Page 347.
  2. ^ Jarich G. Oosten, Henri J. M. Claessen. Ideology and the Formation of Early States . Brill Academic Publishers, 1996. ISBN 9004104704. Pages 124-125.
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