Erlik

Erlik, Erlik Khan
Erlik, Erlik Khan
Death and Underworld
	Image based on a photo by Yaşar Çoruhlu, 2007 of a mask of Erlik Han.
Abode	Tamag
Symbol	Monster
Ethnic group	Turkic peoples
Personal information
Parents	Kayra and Yer Tanrı
Siblings	Umay; Ülgen; Koyash; Ay Ata

Erlik, Erlig, Erlik Khan, Erleg or Yerleg (Hungarian mythology equivalent to Ördög) is the god of death and the underworld, sometimes referred to as Tamag (hell) in Turkic mythology. Er (or yer) means Earth, in the depths of which Erlik lives in.^[1] From the underworld, Erlik brings forth death, plague and evil spirits to torment humans and take their souls into his realm. Since Tengrism is not based on a written corpus but encompasses the experienced spiritual life of Turkic people, there are no unanimous beliefs among all Turkic people. Erlik has already been mentioned in the Orkhon writings and shows a consistent pattern as the lord of the underworld among Turkic belief systems.^[2]

^ Bukharaev, R. (2014). Islam in Russia: The Four Seasons. Vereinigtes Königreich: Taylor & Francis. p. 78
^ Burnakov, V. A. "Erlik khan in the traditional worldview of the khakas." Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia 39.1 (2011): 107-114.

[1] Bukharaev, R. (2014). Islam in Russia: The Four Seasons. Vereinigtes Königreich: Taylor & Francis. p. 78

[2] Burnakov, V. A. "Erlik khan in the traditional worldview of the khakas." Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia 39.1 (2011): 107-114.

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