1766 BC Oldest Turkic words are in Chinese annual chronicles noting cultural and political events. Hun (Hsiung-nu) words tanry, kut, byoryu, ordu, tug, kylych etc are oldest monuments of Turkish language. State rulers’ endoethnonym is Hun, Turkic "man, male, people"
Mavi Boncuk |
Early Steppe Peoples and the Worship of Swords
The worship of the god of war in the form of a sword was seen in many steppe nomad peoples.
The Scythians "In the early days, at least, the Scythians made no use of images in their worship of the gods, though animal sacrifices were frequently made to their divinities. The animal was invariably strangled so as to prevent the shedding of blood. In spite of the frequency of these sacrifices, there was a complete absence of altars and temples except for the peculiar altars erected in honor of the god of war. One of these altars was placed in the center of each district. It consisted merely of a great pile of brushwood with a square platform on top. Three sides of the huge altar were perpendicular, while the fourth was sloping so that persons might walk up it. An iron sword was planted on top these altars and served and the representative of the god of war.
Each year numerous sacrifices of cattle and of horses were made at these altars. But in addition to animals, it was also customary to make human sacrifices; libations of wine were first poured over the heads of the victims, after which they were slaughtered over a bowl so that none of the blood might be wasted. This bowl was then taken to the top of the altar and the blood poured over the sacred sword. The right hands and arms were then cut off and tossed high into the air.
It is obvious that the oaths taken by the Scythians has some peculiar religious significance. When a solemn oath had to be taken, a large earthen bowl was filled with wine; then the parties to the oath, wounding themselves slightly, let some of their blood drop into the wine. They then plunged into the mixture a sword, some arrows, a battle axe, and a spear, all the while repeating prayers. Finally each of the contracting parties drank a draught from the bowl, and the oath was thereby sealed." (1)
The Alani "Even in regards to their religious culture the Alani of the fourth century A.D. were remarkably like the early Scythians and Sarmatians. This is clearly seen by the fact that they practiced divination by means of twigs and by the fact that their religious cult centered around a naked sword thrust into the ground, which was worshipped as a representation of the god of war. (1)
The Huns "Like so many peoples from Mongolia to Gaul, the Huns worshipped the god of war in the form of a sword." (2)
Hun worship of the sword has a long history dating back to the time when they lived in Central Asia and were called the Hsiung-nu.
"...the Hsiung-nu of the Han period likewise worshipped a sword. The ching-lu was both a sword, tao, and a god, shen, to whom prisoners of war were sacrificed in the same way as to the Scythian Aresacinaces. Besides, at least three more "altaic" peoples held the sword so sacred that they swore by it. The Avar kagan took an oath after the manner of his people on his drawn sword, the Bulgars swore on their swords, and Suleiman the Great undoubtedly following an old Turkish custom, took an oath on his sword". (2)
With Attila came a new twist to sword worship. The Huns believed that Attila had aquired the sword of god and thus it gave him the power to rule the world. The early chronicler, Priscus, wrote of how the ruler came upon the sword. It should be noted the parallels between this ancient religion and the Arthurian "Sword in the Stone" legend.
"When a certain shepherd beheld one heifer of his flock limping and could find no cause of this wound, he anxiously followed the trail of blood and at length came to a sword it had unwittingly trampled while nibbling the grass. He dug it up and took it straight to Attila. The king rejoiced, and being ambitious, thought he had been appointed ruler of the whole world, and through the sword of Mars supremacy in all wars was assured to him" (3)
So important were the swords to the Huns, that the sword belt became important too. Finely decorated belts became the symbol of the military elite. This practice was adopted by later steppe peoples such as the Avars and Bulgars. It is believed that the belt worn by the European knights was an idea copied from this nomad tradition.
"Parallels with European knights are obvious, particularly were the 'belted warrior' was concerned- a highly decorated weapons-belt mirroring the Cingulam of the Christian knight. In such cases of similarity the Central Asian fashion almost always came before that seen in the West, and there can be little doubt about the enormous impact that the steppe peoples had on military history and military fashion." (4)
Among the Hsiung-nu, one's sword belt reflected their place in society.
"Well known [was] the great importance of belts in the lives of cattle-breeding tribes. Besides direct fixing it had a very big sense for index of public position [of] every person. An analyses of combination on-burial and inter-burial constructions has singled out some types of tombs. [In] those several types of tombs constructions reflect complicated social composition of [the] Hsiung-nu. Every stage in this composition correspond to with definite belt's set. The dimensions and the [decorations] of belts were depended from sex, age, and social position [of it's] owner." (5)
In conclusion, the worship of the war god (symbolized by the sword), was common throughout many early steppe peoples. Because of it's association with the sword, the sword belt became a symbol of importance and status.
Among the Ernak Horde...
The Ernak do not worship swords, however, swords are highly respected by them. It is no coincidence that a sword is the center of the Horde symbol. The care of a sword and sword etiquette are strictly followed, and the most solemn oaths are made upon a sword.
Many in the Horde have gone through the "Sword Ceremony" which is somewhat of a rite of passage. Those who complete the sword ceremony are tattooed with a particular symbol on their sword arm. These people also have the right to own a decorated warriors belt that is worn during ceremonial occasions.
(1) Early Empires of Central Asia by William Montgomery McGovern
(2) World of the Huns by Otto J. Maenchen-Helfen
(3) Istoricus by Priscus
(4) Attila and the Nomad Hordes by David Nicolle PhD.
(5) Archaeology of the Hsiung-nu in Russia - new discoveries and some problems by S. Minyave
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