R.Bezertinov - TENGRIANIZM

Hosts of locations

In the vision of Türks and Mongols, in the hierarchy after the deities , the Universe is ruled by the local "hosts". They live in the invisible world in the Middle zone of the Universe, and directly serve the Great Spirit of the Sky Tengri, and the Yer (Earth) deity. As Türks thought, location "hosts" controlled territory of the visible world populated by people. The very names "ezi", "hudja", "iya" (host, master) tell that they were viewed as the true owners of the mountains, forests, rivers, etc. The limits of the locality owner territories were formed by natural borders (riverbanks, river, ravine, mountain pass, etc.). Thus, the territory of the people is simultaneously the residence of various host spirits. And still the host spirits are members of the other world, and belong to a special class.

In the vision of the Tengrian Türks, the local hosts had a human shape and were understanding the human speech, lived in families, and possessed wealth, mainly the vegetation, animals and minerals. The wild nature was perceived as an organized world. Therefore for its natural inhabitants, the owners of the mountains, rivers, and forests, the human values were alien. They had no clothing. In ancient legends, to the hunters, the local host appeared naked, with long hair.

Relation to the local host influenced the development among the Türks of their moral and ethical behavioral norms. The behavioral rules and norms of the people were closely linked with the reverence of the hosts of the localities. These rules and norms amounted to various interdictions to safeguard from the people the respite of the hosts of the local nature and their wealth (vegetation and fauna). During a foray in the forest to hunt animals, it was forbidden to shout, whistle, sing, laugh and talk loudly, etc. It was forbidden to pollute reservoirs, rivers, springs. Were forbidden tree logging without utter necessity, depredation of animals for gain or without need. For the violation of their serenity, of the behavior rules during hunt, logging, mining etc., the hosts of locality were subjecting the violators to various punishments: deprived of success, sent bad weather, sent calamities and illnesses, etc. The violators of such norms were punished by the local host right there, in that land, and not after death.
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On this occasion, the Chinese annals Suishu (隋書) describe an incident. The Türkic kagan Shabolio (Shetu, 581 - 587) went to a hunt. On that day with his own hand he killed 18 deer. Before he returned to the court, his tent has burned down. Shabolio saw in that a bad omen, fell strongly ill, and died a month later.

Killing numerous deer among the Türks was considered to be an act punishable by the host of the taiga. Destruction of numerous deer by the Kagan Shabolio has certainly caused an anger of the owner of a taiga where he hunted. The consequence of it was a warning with fire (when his tent burned down), and the finale was his death.

To earn a favor of the local host, he was presented with various a sacrifice. So, as a gift to the local host the Türks were hanging on trees a "dialama", cloth ribbons of only light shades: white, aquamarine, blue and red. Mostly, they were tied on birches or larchs. They did not tie them to conifers like spruse, fir, and cedar, because they were considered “Kara agach” (Black tree) since they have “dark leaves” and needles. By the trees covered with ribbons stopped every traveler, leaving a sacrifice, and asking blessing from the host of the locality. If on a mountain or at its piedmont did not grow any trees, then stones were heaped into a mound and next to it were made sacrifices.

To the local host, in addition to the ribbons, were given locks of hair from a mane or a tail of a horse, a coin, etc. If a dairy vodka was handy, a few drops always splashed, as a treat for the local host. The Türks thought that it is wrong to stop at the sacrifice place if you go to funerals or burial ceremony, because one need to be pure before a local host. Or, if you do not know the words of addressing (alkysh) the local host, it is better not to say anything, because the verbal muddle can irritate the local host.

The Turkic hunters had a custom on a hunt of telling at night fairy tales before sleep. In the opinion of the hunters, the host of mountains was also listening to these fairy tales. This belief was so widespread and was held to be so effective for a good luck, that some hunters were taking along some storyteller old men, specially for the entertainment of the host of the mountains, and at the end of the hunt they received a full share of the total yield.
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The Türks had a widespread belief about sexual intercourse during a dream of the hunters on a hunt with the hostesses of the mountains. This notion was so strong and common that it influenced a family life of the hunters. On its basis were formed special customs or interdictions. For example, going on a hunt, the hunter could not enter into matrimonial intercourse with his wife. The motivation was that there will be no good luck on a hunt, because to go on a hunt a man should be pure. And if a hunter on a hunt dreamt about him sleeping with a woman, it was considered a true sign that with the hunter slept the hujasy of the mountain or another part of the taiga, as a result of which was explained the invariable good luck of that hunter, and even the wealth of some people.

Host of the mountain

A mountain is a component of the alive being, the Yer (Earth) planet. As an alive being, the Yer (Earth), the mountain also thinks. The mountains play a role of a kind of the “brain of the planet“. One computer microcircuit consisting of silicone accumulates huge memory. And how much silicon is in the mountains? Clearly, it is infinite amount. That means that in the mountains is saved huge Terrestrial memory. Where from bowels of the Earth once splashed into Cosmos huge energy, appeared mountains. Where the burst of energy was insignificant, today there are ravines. Mountain tops are directed upwards, to Cosmos, they provide connection with the Supreme Reason, and their bases are sunk into the body of the planet, influencing it. The mountains that emit floods of light energy are called sacred. Sometimes people see how from a sacred mountain into the sky shines a light column of energy. During a prayer, the wishes of people convert to a thin energy and leave into Cosmos. The prayers (thin energy) of the people praying at sacred mountains are fused with the column of light energy (of the mountain) leaving into Cosmos, and because of this merger the force of their prays increases manifold.

The deep reverence of sacred mountains by the Türks and Mongols is known from the ancient sources of the 5th-4th centuries BC. Eloquent testimony to it bear various and allochronic monuments, like the burials, sacrificial stone altars, sanctuaries, rocks with pictures of sacral holidays or prayers, etc. Every Turkic or Mongol tribe had its family, clan or tribal mountain. Such mountains served as cult centers for sacrifices to the clan divinity.

In the vision of the Türks, on the mountain and at its foot existed in parallel two worlds. The first visible world, are the mountains, forest, trees, rivers, etc. with which a man directly interfaced during the life. Visibility was considered an important attribute of belonging to the real world. If "something" is not seen, but is heard, that "something" belongs to the other world. There reigns timeliness. And in that invisible world was a second life of the host of the mountain (tav hujasy, tag hujasy) (tav, tag, tau = "mountain" + hujasy = "owner, possessor", Russ. "hozya, hodcha, hozyain" fr. Tr. dial. "huzei (Mishar), "hoza, huza" (Chuv), E.N. Shipova 1976, p. 365 - Translator's Note) and his family. Not every mountain had its host, but each locality had a special mountain where lived its hujasy, as believed ancient Türks and Mongols. The ancient Türks saw in hujasy their ancestors. Economic well-being of the society depend on them. To them addressed the kams of the clan, who were "departing" during the kamming to the traibal mountain. After migration to a new place, the clan frequently retained connections with the former hujasy of the traibal mountain, and the kams had to depart on a long "trip" to reach it. Sometimes, after a move, the members of a clan started revering a new mountain with its owner, located in the new territory. A Türkic (Kipchak ? - Translator's Note) genealogic legend found in Egypt in the 14th century said:

“In the Karadag mountains ("Black mountain", compare "Montenegro/Chrnagora/Karatau in the Balkans - Translator's Note) (in the Gansu province) on the border of China, the waters flooded one of the caves and washed into a hole clay that formed a man. After nine months, under the influence of solar rays, the clay model came to life. So has appeared in this primordial cave an ancestor of Türks by the name Ay-Atam (Moon-Father, from Ay = "Moon" + Ata = "father", see Yu.A. Zuev 2002 - Translator's Note), who married a woman who also has appeared as a result of flooding. Them produced 40 children”.
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The tribal mountain was addressed with a term “ydyk tag” (sacred mountain). This mountain protected the clan from malicious spirits, it was able to ensure their prosperity. Each Turkic tribe envisioned its host of the mountain in its own way. Some envisioned him as a pale (colorless) man. But his features that distinguished him from the people was an absence of eyebrows, sometimes also of eyelashes too. Other Turkic clans envisioned the host of mountain as a young naked woman with the large breasts, with blond hair. The mountain hujasy mostly figured in the fairy tales, legends, in the myths. They lived with families, together with brothers and sisters, in the (mountain) caves.

The Türks believed in the possibility to visit the country of the invisible world. This can be illustrated by the myth where a hunter who got lost in the middle of winter cowered into a bear den and fell asleep. When he woke up, it turned out that a green grass has already grown. At that time the host of mountain in an image of a man on a horse approached him, offered help, and gave him burned horns. The hunter felt satiated with one smell only. The hujasy of the mountain explained: “On the ground, remembering you, [they] burn foodstaffs, it is with that smell you made fully satiated”, then he brought the hunter home, with a condition not to tell anybody who has helped him. The hunter, drunk with wine, told it all to his wife. When he stepped to the courtyard at night, the host of mountain killed him.

The hujasy of the sacred tribal mountain not only helped and safeguarded people against any troubles and malicious spirits, but also demanded people to follow the rules of behavior in relation to him and his wealth, vegetation and animals living in his territory. On the sacred mountain was not allowed to hunt, fish, pasture rams, shout, whistle, sing, etc. The hujasy of the mountain did not allow any breaks or the violations caused by people staying there, not only in respect to himself, but also to the animals, vegetation in that place, reckless handling of fire, etc. He watched the behavior of women living nearby. Women were not allowed on the sacred mountain. Being within visibility range, they had to cover the head (like in the presence of men who are senior relatives of the husband). They could not pronounce the name of the sacred mountain. For the violations they were penalized by the host of the mountain with inevitable punishment, mostly with illness. The hujasy of the mountain held in fear even kams, even though for many of them he was a patron (was giving them tambourines etc.)
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During ancient times was a special mountain which was revered by all ancient Turkic both Mongolian clans and tribes. In ancient Turkic Orkhon inscriptions it was called with a term Yduk Yer-Sub. The hujasy lived in the territory of modern Mongolia in Khangai mountains (more accurately mountain Lanshan in the headwaters of the r. Orkhon). As show the ancient written sources and archeological monuments, prior to the 3rd century B.C. all Turkic and Mongolian clans and tribes displayed amazing unanimous reverence to the mountain called Otuken (with "u" as in "during" - Translator's Note) as a sacred clan and tribal territory. The word Otuken (otogen, etugen, etugen) in the Türko - Mongolian languages is known since the most ancient times. In the Turkic mythology (including Mongols) a deity, mother-earth, maternal child-bearing organ, and in the truncated forms otog (uteg) it means a stan place, homestead, that is the “native Yer (Land)”.
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The Hujasy of water

In Turkic mythology water was perceived as alien, hostile substance. It is possessions of spirits and an entrance into the other world. The "Owner" of water (su hujasy) belongs to the inhabitants of the invisible world of the lower zone. All oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, etc. have hujasy of waters. Possessions of the host of water were limited to a specific reservoir. His main wealth was fish.

The owner of water (su hujasy) was envisioned by the Türks in image od an old man, therefore in the myths he is called “grandfather of water” (su babasy). He has a family. The “hujasy of water” (su anasy) (su = "water" + ana = "mama" - Translator's Note) is his wife. They also have a son. He is called simply a “host of water” (su hujasy). Su babasy lives in remote places of a reservoir. He loves loneliness and is very angry when his rest is broken. He could sometimes drag off under water a person who swum too far. About such drowned men in olden time was said: “He was taken by su babasy”. The hujasy of water (su babasy) especially did not stand when the sea, river, or lake were polluted by any crud, household rubbish, etc.
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You can't scoop with a black caldron - you can't despoil the water. In the winter there is a snow, and there is no special a need to disturb the host of water, so flowing water should have been used only in exceptional cases. Because the lower part of the women body of was considered unclean, the woman were not allowed to neither fish, nor dig irrigating trenches: during these works she could profane the water. It was disallowed to drown in water newborns puppies. For that, the host of water sooner or later punished violators with various troubles and illnesses. For example: unsuccessful fishing, decrease of fish in reservoirs, poisoning or contagion with infectious diseases from the infected fishes, etc. Those bathing in polluted reservoirs had various sores and festers burst on the body.

The hujasy of water (su anasy) was envisioned by the Türks in an image of a naked woman with red skin, who was combing with a golden comb her long black hair. Her eyes are black, eyebrows rich and beautiful. The hujasy of water (su anasy) would come out on a quiet secluded beach, and it was there that she was seen combing her hair. Startled by unexpected arrival of a human, the hujasy of water (su anasy) would quickly disappear in water, sometimes leaving behind het golden comb. It was believed that a person who found this comb and did not take it would be accompanied by good luck for life. Upon a person who took a comb were falling all misfortunes. With her curses the hujasy of water would not let go until the comb was returned to the a place where it had been taken.

Children and young women were very afraid of hujasy of water. At night they were afraid to bathe, because at that time she was inspecting her possessions and could carry somebody under water. Usually, such drowned man was found in an unpredictable place and far from place of the tragedy. In such case was said: “The hujasy of water confuses and diverts suspicions from herself”.

The son of the su babasy (grandfather of water) the Türks envisioned as a naked young man. He was different in appearance from his mother su anasy only by not having eyebrows and long beautiful hair. He was simply called su hujasy (the host of water). It was thought that his character was quick-tempered and unpredictable. He could without a reason become angry, to raise a storm on the sea, and to sink ships. Sometimes in clear, sunlit, windless weather in the river unexpectedly raised high waves, braking water mills and drowning people. And then, likewise unexpected, the waters calmed down. His favorite entertainment was to drive schools of fish.
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For the su babasyna, su anasyna, su hujasyna the Türks organized public sacrifices, and their frequency depended on the "mutual relations" developed between people and the river. If the floods were strong, and people drowned frequently, the sacrifices were organized every year in the spring, usual timing them to the first phase of the moon. To the host of water was sacrificed three-year-old bullock or sheep. First in water were thrown the guts, and after the kamming were thrown the hide with head and legs. The kamming was made on the bank of a river, near a birch growing there.

Host of spring

From very old times the springs following from underground were viewed with reverence mixed with fear. A spring connects different spheres of space. It flows from underground and already with that connects both worlds, underground and middle. The springs were subdivided into kara (black) spring and ak (white, transparent) spring. The water in a kara spring is usually plentiful and black. Such springs were mostly used for the medicinal purposes. With water from a spring were moistened sick joints. The water in ak spring is without dregs and impurities. It has curative properties. Such water was drank, in it bathed. Not for nothing since ancient times was thought that the character of the people in an aul (summer village) depends on the spring from which they drink water.

In Turkic myths a host of a spring was envisioned in an image of a beautiful maiden. She was thought of as a daughter of the host of water and a favorite of the host of mountain. The hujasy of the spring was also the favorite of the Rain deity. Yet there were no hints of a rain, but the hujasy of the spring already knew about its coming. In a quietly flowing spring the water was suddenly starting to murmur. That way the hujasy of the spring welcomed the arrival of the rain and showed him her love.

In relation to the springs the Türks had a whole code of rules and bans. It was forbidden to spit in a spring, to throw rubbish near a spring, to bore with a stick an entrance in the spring, etc. It was considered essential to protect the water purity. Before scooping it, utensils needed to be first cleaned. All animals and birds living in the vicinity where a spring was, were considered to be belonging of the hujasy of the spring, therefore hunting near a spring was banned. Facing a bad attitude to the spring, the hujasy of the spring was offenced, and sometimes would leave. Then the spring would dry up. The Türks said: “People who offend the hujasy of the spring, have arms and legs withered”. The Türks made sacrifices near springs in cases when the water in the source vanished. To clear a spring was entrusted only to pure and innocent people. To the hujasy of the spring were brought silver coins as gifts. The lovebirds met at a spring and confessed their love. The sick asked the hujasy of the spring for help in recovery.
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At a murmuring spring people could find a calm for the soul. In an antiquity, holy people were buried near springs. Such springs were called sacred. Till now people feel that the water in sacred springs tastes different from simple springs. In the Turkic mythologies a place where waters of seven springs join into one small stream is considered the most sacred. The hujasy of such spring was held to be a relative of seven stars in the Sky.

Thus, in the vision of ancient Türks, the springs connected not only the middle and underground, but also the top worlds.

The Türks considered the best time to visit springs was the early spring, when leaves are splaying, or in the autumn when leaves on the trees turn yellow. Various provisions were taken to the spring, but no salt or meat. The salt was not taken because it absorbs medicinal force of the spring, and diminished the medicinal capacity of the water. To the spring was required to come clean. People, a close relative of whom has died, could not come to the spring for 40 days. Menstruating women could not come during their period.

Upon arrival to the source the hujasy of the spring was treated with available produce. On the branches of trees were hung up ribbons. Türks thought that sources with mineral water can relieve people not only of illnesses, but also from many problems. After feasting the hujasy of the spring, she was informed about the illness, and asked to relieve or cure it even temporarily for 2-3 years. The patients repeated the ceremony of sacrifice to the hujasy of the spring after the end of the treatment term. After visiting the spring a number of bans were observed. For a year was not allowed to tell what was heard or seen, even in a dream, during the treatment at the spring. During the treatment no salty food was used, no wine or araka was drunk, and no weddings or funerals attended. Those treated at the spring could not be asked directly about the condition of their health.

Host of the forest

The Tengrian Türks especially respected the hosts of the forests, because it was believed that economic well-being of a society depend on them. With them people shared the populated world.

In the spring the cattlemen moved to the summer pastures, located in the mountains, where the abandon vegetation of the alpine meadows attracted people and cattle, and in the autumn they went down to the plain little snowed steppes where the cattle drew the fodder all winter long. The nomadic Türks needed not only green steppes, but also forested mountains. From the mountain forest they used to manufacture yurts and carts, and also arrows, and the mountain wood was valued.
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In the groves were covered cattle during burans (snowstorms), was collected fire wood for shepherd fires. Türks hunted in the forest. So lived people in the visible world.

The host of the forest or taiga belonged to the beings of the middle zone of the invisible world. Each forest or taiga has its host of the forest. All of them serve the Great Sky Tengri and the Yer (Earth) deity. In the ancient Turkic mythologies the host of the forest is represented by an image of a tall grandfather with gray hair and white beard (the image of today's St.Nicholas, Santa Claus, Grandfather Frost, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, Noel Baba, Aýaz baba, etc. - Translator's Note). He had a kind face. The wealth of the host of the forest consisted of vegetation and fauna of the forest. He knew each tree and each animal in the forest. Making rounds of his possessions, he maintained the order in the forest. He was always working to increase the forest wealth.

He treated people good-naturedly, and did not hurt them. But was stern to those who rustled, whistled, littered and carelessly handled fire in the forest, thus breaking his and forests' tranquility. He was also stern with those who out of greed logged young trees, killed out of greed more animals than needed for livelihood. On such people he sent different punishments, loss of success in hunting, illnesses, etc. Even whole auls, if their people damaged the forest, were subjected to punishment. A first sign of punishment was a fire in the house of culprits. In the aul were constantly some misfortunes, for example, people ate wild animals, grasses, berries, and were poisoned, or were falling ill with different infectious illnesses, children frequently died at birth, etc. However much tried the inhabitants of that aul to work, the poverty constantly accompanied them. Such auls did not grow, the number of houses remained the same.

The host of the forest also has a grand daughter - a daughter of the forest (meshche, urman kyzy) (the image of today's Russian Snegurochka - Translator's Note). The daughter of forests was depicted by ancient Türks as an image of a young beautiful girl similar to a birch. She is easy, cheerful and mischievous. She plays more with animals in the forest, but would not mind a joke on a human. Especially at sunset she, imitating a human voice, tempts a lonely person, disorienting him in the forest. Having played enough, she guides him to the fringe of the forest near some aul. In such cases it was said: “These are jokes of the daughter of the forest host”.

The Tengrian Türks thought that with the approach of the winter the host of the forest went into hibernation, and woke up in the spring together with the waking of the nature. Therefore, for the successful hunt, plenty of berries, and people were not falling sick in the spring, near a small river next to the forest the Türks sacrificed a white ram to the host of the forest.
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house host

Home is one of key elements that define the traditional views of the Türks. The home, a most organized part of the space, protects its inhabitants from the external world and is a media of contacts with it. With its unique status, the home lives its own life.

Being one of the main forms of accommodation with the external world, its construction was meeting the practical needs. One necessary condition of its successful completion, in addition to other factors, was a right choice of time in relation to the actof creation. Mostly, the Türks preferred to begin construction of the house in the spring. It was connected not only with practicality, after a cold winter, but also because in Turkic tradition the spring was a point of the beginning of the annual cycle, the mythical beginning of the natural and cultural world.

The place for a house was chosen during a new moon, the most optional moment of time. A place where blow cold winds, or was possible to hear, with an ear held to the ground, the low of a cow (an animal with a cold breath, connected with images of the lower world and death), was considered unfortunate. On the contrary, a place where in the evening rose warm vapors, where was heard neighing of the horses, was considered fortunate. Because of the fear of crud pollution, the house was better to be erected closer to the headwaters of the river. To finally be convinced of suitability of the place for habitation, a loaf of bread was rolled from a right shoulder. Falling to the ground with the bottom, the loaf would foretell a well-being to the owners of the house. After that began the construction of the house, which gradually obtained the character of firmly organized structure, reflecting the organization of the Universe.

The Türkic peoples used houses of different designs, both permanent, and portable, with a multitude of variations and transitional types, including tree-branch conic tepee with root covering, timbered polygonal house, felt yurt, etc. Everything depended on economic and cultural types of the local population. But despite of a big variety of structures, they followed a generalized image of a dwelling.

The house, being a center of a culture, occupied a special place in the live of a person. The house was conferred with the same properties that were the properties of the Universe as a whole. The opposition of the upper and lower worlds in many respects determined the organization of vertical structure of a dwelling. The roof of the yurt corresponds with heavenly sphere. The smoke vent in a way served as a door to the word beyond space-time. In the middle sphere, the space of the dwelling was divided onto a left (man's) and right (female) sides. The spatial partitioning of the dwelling was directly projected to the surrounding world. By the entrance to the lower world, at the base of the house, lived dogs, protecting the terrestrial ways.
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Alongside with distinct vertical partitioning, the premises had a well developed horizontal structure. The dwellings of the Türks and Mongols were oriented with an entrance to the east. Normally, the southern right side from the entrance was considered a man's side, the opposite side was a female's side. According to the world view precepts, the man's side was considered an upper side, the female was seen as a lower side. Among all Türkic peoples the dwelling was filled with man's and female belongings, according to its division. Thus, the inhabited space das divided by the attributes “right - left”, which was supplemented with the contents of oppositions “man's - female”, “top - bottom”, “southern - northern”, “positive - negative” and so on ⁸.

In the middle of the dwelling was a hearth. Two more major elements of a dwelling were a door in the east, and windows and a honorary corner - tör, located behind the center. This part of a dwelling intended only for the house host and special guests of honor. The Türkic formulation was “Door to the East - Tör to the West”. People, sitting down in a house for a dinner or conversation, were sitting along a line from the east to the west, believing that a east - west line in the dwelling was also understood as a line of arrival and departure of generations. The most honorable was a place at a wall opposite to the entrance, where was located a heart of the dwelling - tör. The head of the family sat there. With a death of a father his place on the tör occupied a senior son (The Tör, much homophonic with the Hebrow Tora, has the general identical meaning, derived from the place where the rules are set. One of the speculations of the origin of the term "Türk" connects it with the notion that the term is an ideological supraethnic term alluding to a society that adheres to the Tör, with plural possessive suffix -k. The speculation is based on the use of the term Tör on the central Asian coins half a millennia earlier than the appearance of the term "Türk" in the Chinese and Greek annals, see A. Mukhamadiev 1995 - Translator's Note).

The walls of the dwelling were a border that protected the inhabitants of a house, provided its spatial separation from the external world. A first edge of the human space were the entrance and windows. The border functions of the door and window were framed by a number of bans and commandments. A person entering the house was fanning behind with a right hand, to prevent malicious spirits from entering behind into the dwelling. Some Turkic peoples, aiming to ward off troubles from the house, did not allow beyond a threshold the envious people and intriguers. Moreover, sometimes they were not allowed into the house at all. A visitor who crossed a threshold of a home, found himself in a new world to him, and after an exchange of greetings he was temporarily included in that world.

Like a person who finds maturity after marriage, the house among Turkic peoples was considered "completed" only after a ritual "wedding". If the house was erected from new logs, the end of the construction was called Iy tue (wedding of the house). By an appointed hour neighbors and relatives gathered in the new house. Before that, a kam accompanied by the owner circled the house, sprinkling corners with araka, hosting all benevolent spirits. Visitors brought gifts to new settlers. Then began a celebration.
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In this fashion the house was being included in the connection system of a human collective. Its creation was an act of "wedding - birth". There was a superstition that if within three years nobody would die in the house, it will be a happy house. Three years is a period of infancy, and the greatest vulnerability of a child, when the child in the vision of ancient the Türks was entirely in the hands of Umai deity.

Dealing with the external world at home, a human had to respectfully face the beings of the invisible world, because the well-being and tranquility of the home life depended on these mutual relations. With the construction of a new house, into the dwelling settled a "owner" host of the house (Yy hujasy, Yort hujasy). Because he lived immediately together with the people in the same dwelling, contact with him were frequent. Both the "owner" house host , and the residents of the house wanted to live in concert with each other. In Turkic mythologies the house host among different nations looked differently. Not only different peoples, but even each person saw him in his own way. But existed an image of the house host which was somehow similar among all persons and peoples. The house host had an appearance of an aged man, he was round-shouldered, of small height, with a kind face. Usually he lived on a stove heater. In dwelling with a cellar, in the daytime he slept there, and at night, after ascertaining that the residents fell asleep, started to act. He would move in the house, step out to the backyard, inspect barns and stables. After circling his possessions, the host of the house was getting to work: expelling malicious spirits from the house, tried to prevent the tenants from contracting awful diseases, sometimes started washing utensils, kneaded a dough, he liked to brush manes of the horses, etc. In case of a danger like a fire, he was making all kinds of noises to wake people up and to save them. In the house where the residents and the house host "owner" lived in consent and respect, people were less sick, a family lived amicably and in prosperity.

If he had no rest in the house, with frequent binge drinking, scandals and fights between residents, constant noise of music, etc., the house host would send upon the noisy tenants different maladies. In this house someone would unexpectedly die or fell strongly ill, a husband and a wife would divorce, started a dying the cattle, permanent bad luck and poverty would fall on the residents, etc. After such misfortunes, silence started reigning in the house.

The house host was also discrete to the animals living in his possessions. Every house host liked his favorite colors or character of animals. He would start to torment a horse, a dog or a cat he did not like. A horse in the morning would have its mane was messy, it was foaming like it was riding on all night long. A dog would be constantly sick. The cat would be constantly exhausted. If these animals were not exchange for another, the house host would torment them to death.
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To live with the house host in peace, the residents brought him gifts like koumiss, araka, etc., mentioning him with a gesture of gratitude, asking for health, happiness and well-being for the inhabitants of the house.

But existed another host who was living in abandoned houses. In the Turkic mythologies he looked like a person with an angry look, uncombed hair, gloomy facial expression. Used to a silence, he did not like intruders into his possessions. Them He tried to scare them and force to leave, therefore abandoned houses had a bad reputation. If such a house host would blunder to live in a newly built house, in that house would be no life. People will be sick, misfortunes will accompany residents constantly. Eventually, the residents will sell this house and move on. But the new residents will also suffer misfortunes like the previous residents.

Host of travel (road)

In real life, like in folklore, a person spends life not so much in the house, as on the road. The heroes of the Turkic epos spend almost all their life on the road: they visit parents, search for brides, set out for battles and come back home, travel to the upper and lower worlds. The society of cattlemen generally was in a constant movement: pasture routing, driving herds to the pastures and returning back, in the past were military campaigns, etc. The life of the taiga hunters was also mobile, transversing on foot and on skies hundreds kilometers in the taiga. Therefore the theme of the road, travel penetrates the traditional cosmogenic concepts. ⁹

The travel of a person was measured by the number of night-overs, stages of a horse ride. An unorthodox measure of a distance was a chakyrym, a distance where can be heard a shout (about 1060 м). The transportation means could be most diverse, a ski, a sledge, a boat, but more often it was astride. The horse was a true companion of a person, warning him about a danger, protecting him from a trouble. On a long trip what kind of incidents did not happen with the traveler. The road could be happy and could be tragic, the way could be short and could be infinite. Therefore, the national legends thave such words “Usal yul ” (evil road), “heter yul” (dangerous road), ”yul bashe” (start of road), “yul koirygy” (end of road), “yul balasy” (child of road), “yoklata torgan yul” (sleepy road), “adashtyra torgan yul” (confusing road), etc.
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The travel of a person, in life and in myth, necessarily assumes a return. Here is a curse “Shall you have aroadto go, shall there be no road to return” is equal to a wish of death. And in contrast, the wishes for a happy journey always allude to return. The way of a lifeless person is one way, i.e. a departure. His return is extremely undesirable.

The travel of the mythical hero in many compositions is irregardless of the time and space, it is a travel to the other world. These worlds existing in uncertain multitude, almost are not correlated one with another. The travel in most cases was reduced to a crossing between the worlds. For a alive being to get in another world is possible only in another condition of consciousness. It can be unconsciousness, a trance, dreams, etc. What is this world, upper or lower, depends on the purpose of the travel. If a travel of a live being has a beginning and an end, a travel in another world is without a beginning or an end, the movement at occurs once in several directions. The return of the hero back to home can be in an instant move “did not have time to blink, and come to ... ”.

The greatest travelers to the other world were kams. But without roads and ways they could not move from one zone of the Universe to another. The roads connected the upper and middle worlds. Down this road were carried to the middle world the kut (kot) of the future live beings, upwards was sent a kot of the animals brought in a sacrifice. The road leading to another world "was not used" in the winter. The kams were saying that in the winter the visible sky freezes over, and at that time of the year they did not perform kamming to heavenly deities.

In the vision of Tengrian Türks, each road had its "owner". The hosts of the road lived in the invisible world and served the Great Spirit Tengre, the Yer (Earth) deity, and Erlik. They patronized visible and invisible roads. The road host was seen in an image of a man with a good-natured character. He did not do any evil to people. Sometimes he could joke (on a level surface a person could stumble and fall). He tested travelers, bringing them to the crossroads or an intersection where their destiny was decided. To see what road a person would take, a "bad" (nachar yul) or a good (yahshe yul) road.

The Tengrian Türks related with respect to road hosts. The builders maintained roads in good condition. Near the roads were planted trees. Before setting out on a long and dangerous trip, always were made sacrifices to the host of the road, so that on the road good luck and fast return accompanied the traveler.
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It was forbidden to build roads in sacred places, to curse and destroy the roads. The road host was punishing the violators of the rules of behavior, on the road misfortunes expected such people. Some people vanished on the road, could not come back home, were wandering not finding the right way, etc.
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Host of an object

The Tengrian Türks honored the things useful in life. In the beliefs of the Türks, within the things that were used for a long time, appeared a host, and things attained a supernatural force. So, a toy with which a child was playing for more than year, was never disposed of, because it could be offended and cause illness. The Türks thought that the fecundity of women and health of her progeny were in direct dependence on the baby cradle. A cradle in which children grew healthy, was considered successful, and gained a special preciousness. If in family children were dying, parents asked some relatives for a good cradle, to find with it a well-being and happiness. The cradle used for a long time undoubtedly became a carrier of vital force in eyes of its owners.

It was known that in the objects with such force settled an iya (ichi), iyalәshә - a host. Therefore respectful attitude was not simply to a cradle, but to its iyasenә (host). Ija, in the opinion of the Türks, settled not only in household things, but also in the objects in the nature laying without movement for a long time, for example, boulders, etc. Iya was also settling in different infectious diseases. The iya (host) consisted of kiya and djiya. Kiya was a vindictive spirit, and djiya was its ecological, abstract shell. When the domestic things or boulders were damaged, or infectious illnesses disturbed, etc. and they had ija settled in them, the djiya ecological shell was deformed. Then was activated a reciprocal retaliatory reaction on the side of the kiya, which would bring a misfortune like an illness. Therefore, the Türkic peoples in antiquity attributed the goodness and evil to the benevolence or anger of the objects revered by them and to the medium of kiya. The piety consisted of the rites of respect, and the sin consisted of infringements on them, they were afraid of the anger of the kiya. It is known that the Türks and Mongols were afraid to spill milk, in this case they were afraid of the kiya.
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SPIRIT HOSTS OF LOCALITIES