Daughters of Erlik- Turkic GroupCollective

Temptresses of the Underworld

In Altai shamanic tradition recorded by Anokhin, the daughters of Erlik dwell in the lower world ruled by their father. They appear as beautiful young women who intercept shamans undertaking the perilous journey to Erlik's realm. When a shaman descends to negotiate with Erlik for the return of a stolen soul or to deliver sacrificial offerings, the daughters emerge to test his resolve. They offer pleasures and distractions, attempting to divert him from the sacred purpose that brought him below.

The shaman who succumbs to their temptation risks becoming trapped in the underworld, losing his way back to the middle world and abandoning the patient or community he serves. In the ritual songs performed during séances, the shaman narrates his encounters with these figures aloud, describing how he resists or navigates past them. Each encounter functions as a spiritual ordeal, demonstrating the shaman's power and discipline before he can approach Erlik himself to make his petition.

Role in Shamanic Cosmology

The daughters of Erlik occupy a specific position in the Altai cosmological geography of the lower world. They inhabit the outer regions of Erlik's domain, serving as its first line of defense against intruders from the middle world. Their beauty is understood not as mere physical attractiveness but as a supernatural force capable of overwhelming even experienced practitioners.

In some variants of the shamanic journey, individual daughters bear specific names and preside over different obstacles along the descent. Potapov's ethnographic work among the Altai records that the shaman's drum songs identify these figures by name as he passes through each layer. The tradition reflects the broader Turkic understanding that the underworld is not simply a realm of the dead but a fully populated domain with its own social hierarchy, where Erlik rules as sovereign and his children serve as extensions of his authority. The daughters thus embody the dangerous allure of the underworld itself, the risk that a traveler between worlds might find the lower realm more compelling than the return journey.