Manana Tsereteli
Doctor of History
Associate Professor
The University of Georgia
Tbilisi, Georgia
ORCID: 0009-0004-2597-179
mtsereteli@ug.edu.ge
Salih Uçak
Doctor of History
Associate Professor
The University of Georgia
Tbilisi, Georgia
ORCID: 0000-0001-6650-199X
salihucak21@gmail.com
Beliefs and Rituals Belonging to the Sky and Sky Spirits in Turkish and Georgian Folklore
Turkish and Georgian relations are based on long-standing neighborhood law and an intertwined multidimensional interaction. This interaction has not only been limited to official areas but has also affected cultural and religious areas, and has also spread to the common folklore. Throughout human history, the “sky and its objects” have taken their place in the collective memory as remarkable entities. The sky and sky spirits have an important place in both Turkish and Georgian folk beliefs. In this context, Georgians connected each person’s destiny to a star, that is, they believed in “stars of fate”; Turks also associated fate with the “felek”, the “wheel of heaven” and its rotation. In both cultures, there is a strong connection between God, spirits, and the sky. Before Christianity, Georgians had a pantheon of celestial spirits (sun, moon, and five stars). Just like the pantheon that the Turks created in accordance with the Sky God religion before Islam. The Turks have the concept of "Tengri", which represents both the sky and Allah. Both traditions have maintained this belief to some extent even after adopting new religions (Christianity for the Georgians, Islam for the Turks). In Georgian mythology, the sun is considered a feminine principle; in the Turkish tradition (according to the Turfan texts), brightness (including the sun) is associated with masculinity, and darkness with femininity. While the Georgians imagine the sky as something round and rotating, with four corners/edges, the Turks perceived the sky as a tent stretched over the ground; he assumed that the pole of this tent was the “North Star” (“Golden Pole”). While in Georgian mythology, celestial bodies were reflected in family relationships (mother-child, husband-wife, sister-brother); in Turkish mythology, the focus was more on the relationship of the sky to the earth and its role in cosmology. In Georgian tradition, it was believed that some people would not have a destiny (a star); in Turkish tradition, although destiny was connected to a universal principle, it was also seen as something cruel and dangerous. This situation was reflected in their poems, applause, and curses. These differences and similarities show how the two neighboring cultures developed their own interpretations of celestial events while sharing a common basic belief in the connection between the sky, destiny, and divine power.
Keywords: Sun Cult, Star of Destiny, Wheel of Heaven.