Kayra Han- Turkic PrimordialPrimordial"The Primordial Creator"
Also known as: Kayra Khan and Kayra
Description
Before earth or sky, before Ülgen's heaven or Erlik's darkness, something stirs above the boundless waters. The oldest Altai accounts speak of a primordial creator who set the cosmos in motion, then withdrew beyond the farthest layer of heaven, his work complete.
Mythology & Lore
The Creation
Before there was earth, there was water. In the oldest Altai accounts recorded by Radloff and Verbitsky, Kayra Han existed above that water, alone. He sent a companion down to dive beneath the surface and bring up mud. The companion dove and returned with it, and from that mud Kayra Han shaped the land.
But the companion kept a portion hidden in his mouth. When Kayra Han breathed life into the earth, the concealed mud swelled and burst forth, marring the land with swamps and broken ground. For this disobedience Kayra Han cast him down beneath the world. The fallen companion became Erlik, lord of the dead.
With the earth made and its corruptor banished below, Kayra Han withdrew. He receded beyond the farthest celestial layer, past even the heaven where Ülgen would come to sit. No shaman's drum could reach him. He had made the world and was finished with it.
Relationships
- Family
- Tengri· Parent⚠ Disputed
- Ülgen· Child⚠ Disputed