Place and Water Belief in Ancient Turkish Culture
The term Place-Water and its belief mean that trees, fire, water, earth, rocks and mountains also have a sacred meaning and importance in traditional Turkish religion.
“In the Orkhon Inscriptions, the “blue sky” and the “rainy ground” form two main cosmic fields and they complement each other”. Belief in the sanctity of the sky as well as the sanctity of the earth has developed. The belief in holy places, forests and mountains developed. In these regions, no hunting was allowed, no trees were cut, no activities that would violate the sanctity were undertaken. These were the most suitable places for rituals to be held. The most sacred places are the Orhun river and the Ötüken Forests.
Place and Water Culture
The earth is mentioned together with the sky in the formation of the universe, it is believed that it was created together. The traces of this thought are quite recorded in the inscriptions. The expression “Unless the blue sky on top and the rain on the bottom break open” is the most familiar phrase. As in this saying of Bilge Kagan, there is a belief that the sky and the earth are complementary to each other. While there is the Sky God and his nature in the sky, there are also his holy ones on the ground. There are divine places, forests, mountains, people, animals, divine beings created by him and perceived by people concretely. Blessed rivers, purifying fire, Ancestral tombs are all in the earth realm. With all this, the earth is holy, but it is never compared to the sky, the Sky God, the holiness of the sky is always at the highest level. The earth is completely under God’s command.
Water
Water is the epitome of purity for Turks. It is connected to the sky in the sense that it comes down from the sky as rain, it is sacred. One of the great elements in nature, vital for human life, is considered important in this respect. Water is important for the continuation of life, therefore rivers and streams are sacred for Turks. Indispensable for nomadic life is water, along with large pastures. Turks believed that water, which is of great importance for their lives, also has a spirit. For some tribes, rivers were known as living beings, being careful not to pollute or disturb them. Since water extinguished fire, it was considered the opposite of fire, but also its complement.
Since water is seen as sacred, it has been honored with important shows of respect like other holy ones. One of the most well-known examples of this, Ibn Fadlan says about the Oghuzes: “They are not cleaned after major and minor ablutions, they are not washed after sexual intercourse or any other form of contamination. They do not come into contact with water in any way.” We understand that a special situation is exhibited against water, as Ibn Fadlan reported. Did these people avoid getting into the water because they were lazily or because they liked to be dirty? Of course not, they avoided polluting the holy water, they were afraid of polluting the water with their own dirt and disturbing it. Because, like them, water is a living creature that offers a source of life. This understanding naturally caused them to have a different attitude towards him. They saw the water as their own, and thought that whatever would disturb them might also disturb him. For this reason, they tried to pollute as little water as possible. Many travelers and scholars have witnessed similar practices of the Turks and have touched on this subject in their works.
The term “earth-water” is used for the general expression of nature cults. We can also see it as the source of a process that has evolved into homeland culture. Especially in the period of great empires, such a development took place. In Orkhon inscriptions, there is a lot of talk about ground-water, the expression “Iduk Place-Water” (sacred place-water) takes place. Also, “Tengri Umay Place-Water basaberti” was suppressed by surprise with the help of God Umay and Place-Water spirits in the Tonyukuk Inscription, which includes a statement about the protection of the homeland. We see that the cults of Tree, Rock, Mountain and Water, which are the common belief of Turkish tribes, are gathered under the name Place-Water in Turkish Inscriptions.
