Moon in Traditional World View of Turkic and Mongolic Peoples
https://doi.org/10.22162/2500-1523-2025-1-154-170
Abstract
Introduction. Among the astral objects in the traditional worldview of the Turkic and Mongolic peoples, it is the night luminary that was associated with a wide variety of meanings, symbols, and functions. The purpose of this article is to solve two problems, one of which is to research the distribution of the main names of the moon in the Turkic and Mongolic languages, identify the most complete set of their versions in different dialects, clarify and supplement the etymology of the names. The other task is to detail the mythological images of the moon known in the territory of settlement of the Turkic and Mongolic peoples. Materials and methods. The work is based on a comprehensive, systemic-historical approach to the study of the past. The research methodology is based on historical and ethnographic methods. The main sources of the study were materials on the mythology and folklore of the Turkic and Mongolic peoples, reflecting the ideas of nomads about the satellite of our planet. Results. Some of the views reflected in the vocabulary show that the main and earliest characteristic of a celestial body in the Turkic and Mongolic languages is light, shine. The phases of the moon are recorded in most languages of the Turkic and Mongolic group as changes in the disk in the category “new-old”. Often the beginning of the period of the appearance of a new moon, when the luminary is not yet visible in the sky, is designated as an “interval”, “emptiness”. The full moon in terminology is associated with the concepts of “full”, “to fill”. The most relevant etymological hypotheses reflecting the origin of the Turkic and Mongolian names of the moon are presented, a number of mythological images of the night luminary, revealed in the course of the study, are proposed. Conclusions. Anthropomorphic images have become widely known. Three versions of the connection between celestial bodies have been revealed: the sun and the moon are a married couple, in which, according to one version, the spouse is the sun, according to another, the moon; the sun and the moon are sisters; the sun and the moon are brothers. Also among the mythological images of the moon, traces of an animal from the canine family (fox, dog, wolf) are faintly visible.
Supporting agencies: The reported study was funded by government subsidy project no. 123021300198-4 “Universals and Specifics in Traditions of the Mongolian-speaking Peoples through the Prism of Cross-Cultural Contacts and the System of Relations between Russia, Mongolia and China”.
About the Authors
Marina M. Sodnompilova
Kalmyk Scientific Center of the RAS (8, Ilishkin St., 358000 Elista, Russian Federation)
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Dr. Sc. (History), Leading Research Associate
Bair Z. Nanzatov
Kalmyk Scientific Center of the RAS (8, Ilishkin St., 358000 Elista, Russian Federation)
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Cand. Sc. (History), Senior Research Associate
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For citations:
Sodnompilova M.M., Nanzatov B.Z. Moon in Traditional World View of Turkic and Mongolic Peoples. Mongolian Studies. 2025;17(1):154-170. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22162/2500-1523-2025-1-154-170
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