Umay- Turkic GodDeity"Mother Umay"

Named in Stone

The Kül Tegin inscription, carved in 732 CE in the Orkhon Valley of central Mongolia, names Umay alongside Tengri above and the sacred earth below. The passage describes the ascent of the Bilge Kağan and places Umay among the supreme cosmic powers of the Turkic world. She appears not in a domestic context but in the most solemn political inscription the Old Turkic state produced.

The inscription connects Umay to the kağan's mother. Her protection extended to the royal line itself: the continuity of the Turkic state depended on heirs surviving infancy, and Umay's favor over the birthing tent was as consequential as Tengri's mandate over the throne.

The Birthing Tent

Among the Altai and Khakass Turks, the space around birth was prepared with Umay in mind. Potapov recorded that the yurt was arranged to welcome her presence. Iron objects were placed near the entrance to ward off Erlik's servants. Men might be excluded. Certain words could not be spoken.

The afterbirth received particular attention. Roux and Potapov both noted that cognate words for "umay" in several Turkic languages mean "placenta," and the organ was treated as a spiritual double of the child. It was buried beneath the threshold of the yurt or near a sacred tree. If animals took it, or if it was carelessly discarded, Umay might withdraw her favor.

After a successful birth, offerings of milk or butter were set aside for her. For a male child, a miniature golden bow and arrow were hung on the right side of the yurt. For a female child, a small spindle was placed on the left. These were not decorations but markers of Umay's guardianship, signals to any spirit that might approach.

The three days following birth were the most dangerous. The child's kut, the life-force granted from heaven, was not yet firmly seated in the body. During this period the hearth fire was kept burning without interruption. Extinguishing it would invite darkness and the spirits of the underworld. Umay was warmth and light, and the fire was understood as an extension of her presence.

The Cradle Watch

When the child was placed in the cradle, a ceremony was performed to invoke Umay's blessing. Potapov recorded that among some Altai groups, a small figure representing Umay was attached to the cradle or hung above it. This was not devotional but protective: a signal that the child was under her care.

Her nearness could be sensed. A child sleeping peacefully, growing steadily, eating well: Umay was close. Restless sleep, unexplained crying, sudden illness: she had moved away, and the child's kut was exposed. If a child died in infancy, the cradle was sometimes broken or burned, its connection to Umay severed.

In some Siberian traditions, Umay took the form of a white or golden bird that perched near the cradle or circled above the yurt. Radloff recorded this avian form, which gave her the quality of something that could arrive or vanish without warning.

When Umay Turns Away

When a child fell seriously ill, the Altai Turks understood that Umay had withdrawn or been driven away. The cause might be a transgression by the parents: improper treatment of the afterbirth, failure to make offerings, contamination of the birthing space. Or one of Erlik's körmöses might have displaced her through force.

The shaman's task was to find her. This was not the dramatic descent to Erlik's underworld but a different kind of search. The shaman moved through the surrounding landscape in spirit, calling to Umay along the riverbanks and mountain slopes. If successful, the shaman guided her back to the child's side, and recovery followed. If she could not be found, or if she refused to return, there was nothing more to be done.