Grey wolf (mythology)

Turkic mythology
Belief system Tengrism Shamanism
Chief gods and goddesses Tengri Kayra Ülgen Erlik Umay Bai Baianai Ak Ana Mergen
Epics and heroes Ergenekon Metehan Oghuz Khagan Asena Attila
Major concepts Sheka İye Grey wolf Kut
Category File
v t e

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Turkish. (March 2023) Click [show] for important translation instructions. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Turkish Wikipedia article at [[:tr:Bozkurt (mitoloji)]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|tr|Bozkurt (mitoloji)}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation. You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Russian. (March 2023) Click [show] for important translation instructions. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Russian Wikipedia article at [[:ru:Боз Гурд]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|ru|Боз Гурд}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation. This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (December 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Grey wolf (Old Turkic: Böri) is a sacred animal and national symbol in Turkic mythology.^[1]

The wolf Ashina (Kökböri) is part of the play a great part in the Epic of Ergenekon wich is the founding myth oof all Turkic and Mongolian tribes.

According to the legend when Ötöken, the capital city of the Göktürks was attacked and all residents killed by the enemy - only one boy survived the massacre. Near death he was found by Asina the grey she-wolf who nursed him back to health. They would later have ten sons, and one of these sons founded the Asahina clan.^[2] Therefore, Göktürks have a wolf on their blue flag.

The grey wolf represents war, the spirit of war, freedom, speed, nature. According to their beliefs, when something happens to the Turkic nation, when a threat arises, the wolf appears and guides them. They placed golden poles with wolf heads on top in front of their tents to protect them. Their warrior spirits took on the appearances of wolves. A sixth-century Turkic stone monument depicts a boy suckling milk from a wolf.

In Turkic folk culture, it is believed that carrying a wolf tooth in your pocket will protect you from the evil eye. In the Yakut documents their guardian wolf is referred to as Bosko. For Kyrgyz people, seeing a wolf while walking in the steppe was seen as a sign of good luck and safety. Seeing a wolf in a dream was also a good sign. They used to put wolf teeth or skin under their pillows to protect the pregnant woman from the evil eye. Diving into a flock of sheep or entering a barn was considered a favor to the wolf. According to Bashkir mythology, a wolf fell in front of the ancient Bashkirs and showed them the way. Therefore, they were called Bashkirs, which means "with a wolf on their heads."^[3]

During the 1930s the Kemalists issued a grey wolf picture on postage stamps^[4].

• Asena
• Romulus and Remus
• Wolf salute

This article relating to a myth or legend from Asia is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e