Ülgen emerged from Kayra Han as the firstborn creative spirit, inheriting dominion over the upper world and the task of ordering creation beneath the Eternal Sky.
⚠ Some Altai traditions make Ülgen the son of Kayra Han (Radloff), while others place him as a direct emanation of Tengri (Anokhin), reflecting regional variation in the celestial hierarchy.
The seven Sons of Ülgen dwell in the celestial layers of the upper world, spirits emanated from their father's creative power to govern the blessings that descend from sky to earth.
Ülgen, the benevolent sky spirit and lord of the upper world, emanated from Tengri as a direct expression of the Eternal Sky's creative will.
⚠ Anokhin records Ülgen as a direct son of Tengri, while other Altai traditions place Kayra Han as an intermediary, making Ülgen Tengri's grandson rather than son.
Ülgen and Erlik, once creator and companion upon the primordial waters, became the supreme antagonists of Altai cosmology — Ülgen ruling the light of the upper world, Erlik commanding the darkness below, their eternal opposition defining the boundary between life and death.
Ülgen reigns from his golden throne at the summit of Üst Dünya, presiding over nine celestial layers where benevolent sky spirits dwell and from which blessings descend to the earth below.
Ülgen fashioned Erlik as his first companion upon the primordial waters, but Erlik's pride and disobedience during the creation of the earth brought ruin — he hid stolen mud in his mouth and spat out mountains and swamps, and for this betrayal Ülgen cast him beneath the earth forever.
⚠ Some Altai traditions attribute Erlik's creation to Kayra Han or to Tengri directly rather than Ülgen; the identity of the sky-god creator varies across regional versions.
Ülgen, the benevolent lord of the upper world who receives white horse sacrifices and breathes souls into the unborn, is the same deity in both Turkic and Mongolian shamanic traditions — creator of the world, adversary of Erlik, and master of the celestial layers above.
Before earth or sky, Ak Ana rose from the primordial waters as a white radiance and spoke to Ülgen, counseling him to create the world — then sank back beneath the surface, her single act of guidance setting all of creation in motion.
⚠ Some versions attribute the creator who receives Ak Ana's counsel to Kayra Han rather than Ülgen; the identity of the pre-creation deity varies across Altai regional traditions.
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