Thoughts on the bow-arrow amulet for Umai

Authors

  • Kaan Yeşilyurt

Keywords:

Umai, amulet, bow-arrow, umai symbols

Abstract

While Umai, a very common and revered element of the Turkic mythology, has almost unique a depiction, she has several symbols. Among is an amulet consisting of a bow and arrow. When the roles of Umai and relevant concepts/elements are considered, bow and arrow amulet seems to make not much sense. Although some researchers claim that bow-and-arrow is the weapon since the ancient ages and that they are taken as arms by Umai in order for the fulfillment of her task of protecting children against demons and evil spirit, it is more likely to be a fallacy or misconception of a bow and spindle which are the two main components of a firestarter rig. As Umai is also the patroness of the hearth and closely associated with fire too, a bow and spindle of a hearth board is more appropriate to be a symbol for her.

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Published

2017-09-17

How to Cite

Yeşilyurt, K. (2017). Thoughts on the bow-arrow amulet for Umai. Turkbilim International Journal of Social Sciences, (1). Retrieved from http://www.turkbilim.com/index.php/turkbilim/article/view/2