Koyash
| Koyash | |
|---|---|
| Sun | |
| Abode | Sky |
| Symbol | Winged Horse and Fiery Bird |
| Parents | Gök Tanrı and Yer Tanrı |
| Siblings |
Umay Ülgen Erlik Ay Tanrı |
Koyash (Tatar: Кояш or Qoyaş, Bashkort: Ҡояш, Uzbek: Quyosh, Uyghur: قۇياش, Turkish: Kuyaş) is the god of sun in Turkic mythology.
Gök Tanrı created the earth with rays of sun light, thus, Koyash took part in the creation of earth. Solar rays are also considered to be "strings" between the sun and the spirits of plants, animals and humans.
Turks who worship Koyash turn towards the sunrise when praying. Koyash is the son of Gok Tengri "Sky God" (Tenger means sky in Mongolian) and the Earth Goddess. The power and vital force of the Sun God, making it a priority to bow to him each morning as he rises. Solar rays are strings that link the spirits of plants to heaven, and considered a medium for transmitting Tengri into infants. Koyash is often depicted as a fiery bird or a winged horse. These images are often used to adorn things such as ceramic pots and earrings in ancient times.
The sun god Koyash can make "solar strands" from his hands capable of ensnaring and burning his victims. To the Altai people, the sun represented light, warmth, and growth. This made the sun deity very important, as the sun was seen as the ruler of all that he created. Then he is portrayed as a warrior.
Sun in Turkic culture
The Sun (also Koyash) was the son of Gök-Tengri (Sky God) and the Toprak Ana (Earth Goddess). The Turkic people and Mongols honoured the power and vital force of the Sun God. Reportedly the Huns, leaving their villages in the morning, welcomed the rising sun and bowed towards him. Altai people would turn towards the sunrise when praying. They worshipped the Sun because Gok-Tengri supervised the creation of the world by the Sun’s rays, which are but strings linking the spirits of plants to the Sun. Likewise solar rays were considered a medium for transmitting the life force sent by Tengri to the infant.
A vivid example is the legend of the birth of An-Lushan by a Shamaness. At his conception it was said that a ray of light penetrated the yurt. Alan-Goa, the mother of the Mongols, conceived from a ray that penetrated the yurt through a smoke hole. The Turkic people associated the Sun’s path in the sky with the flight of a fire-bird or a winged horse. Flying (winged) horses as symbols of the Sun were widely used in the cosmological myths of Turkic peoples. And other animals (rams, deer, bulls) were also connected with the Sun.
Bibliography
- Türk Söylence Sözlüğü (Turkish Mythology Dictionary), Deniz Karakurt, (OTRS: CC BY-SA 3.0)
- Ural Batır, The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism Publications PDF