Kazakh Myths

The people of the Great Steppe, endowed with a soul as wide and poetic as its boundless expanses, have for centuries passed down myths and legends of their native land from generation to generation—where each river, lake, gorge, and pass has its own beautiful, sad, or funny story.

This book will introduce you to the amazing, colorful, heroic mythology of the Kazakhs. You’ll find stories about the eternal Tengri and the Mother of Fire—Ot-Äne, about great snakes and winged steeds of tulpar, about cunning demons, and of course mighty battle heroes—Kazakh Odysseus Alpamys, the folk defender Er-Targyn, the faithful friend Er-Tostik, and the beautiful warrior Gaukhar-batyr. Legends about the inexhaustible beauty of nature, sincere love for one’s home, courage and kindness, and the confrontation between good and evil not only let you touch the ancient and truly folk Kazakh culture, but also remind you of something truly important.

Contents:
Chapter 1. The Great Steppe
Kazakh ethnos: the beginning
From the Andronovians to the Huns
“Place where the Turks stopped”
A proud name—Kazakh
Chapter 2. Legends of the Ancestors
The unique mythology of the Kazakh people
Religion of the sky
Pantheon of gods
Tengri
Umai
Ot-Äne
Erklik
Evergreen ideas of Tengrianism
Protective Tengrian spirits and Muslim saints
Korkut
Chapter 3. Tales of Animals
If there is a horse, then there are many holidays…
A horse is the wings of the batyr
Ships of the desert
Mushеl
Crime and punishment: the legend of marmots
The legend of snakes that destroyed a city
The dark whirlpool of waters
Cuckoo “The Nest is Needed”
The swallow is a faithful friend of humans
Chapter 4. The Greatness of Nature
Magic of the Kazakh steppe
The blessed land of Bayanauyl
Borabay—a earthly paradise
Balkhash—the lake of love
Sairam-su—a symbol of endless love
Unbreakable sisters, or the Secret country
Shaitan-köl—devil’s lake
White-legged beauty, washing girl…
Love turned into stone
Sad Asan
Tolgai—faithful to the clan
Eight batyrs—the enemy won’t pass
The mountain of the just wolf
Karaganda! Karaganda everywhere!
Mānıraq—memory of how cruelty toward an animal led to the death of a tribe
Markaköl—the lamb and the lake
A thousand horses
Yeskiölmes—where a goat will be fed, a person will be fed too
The mysterious fire of Shyrak Tas
Barsakelmes: if you go, you won’t return
Chapter 5. Kazakh Demonology
Aruahyi—venerated spirits of the ancestors
Albasty—don’t get on its path
Leshy sorrel—the husband of albasty
Ergеzhei(y)ly—the inconspicuous enemy of the batyr
Kuldyrgish, “the one who makes you laugh”
Malicious shimuryn
The black demon teyran
Obyr—a spirit that is not at all good
Zheztyrnаk—a copper claw
Tautai-Lak—a cruel she-demon
Konyak—a leather strap leg
The incredible transformation of kempir
Aydahar—a dragon-shapeshifter
Only for children!
Not so scary after all: meet momo
Curious tyrant—the keeper of treasures
Izhyhi—kind spirits
Chapter 6. Tales of Batyrs
Batyr—the defender of Kazakh land
Koblandy-batyr
“Lonely warrior” Zheke-batyr
Kushikbay—angry batyr
The bewitched batyr Masat
Alpamys’s Odyssey
Er-Targyn—the great warrior
Er-Tostik—a brave hero and faithful companion
Three brothers-batyrs
The warrior-woman Gaukhar-batyr
Chapter 7. Music—the Soul of the Kazakh People
Eternal music
Zhetygen—“seven songs”
The magical dutar
Dombyra: legends about the instrument
Song about all-consuming love
“The Black News,” or How a hole appeared in the dombyra
Dombyra and the child of light Nurtola
Kobyς and the melody of the heart
Sleep, my boy, fall asleep
Doe and Korkut
Sybyzgy—small, but mighty