MYTH-701 Lessons

Oddly -- though only a fool would call anything about Hogwarts odd -- the Mythology classroom is decorated not with ancient artifacts today, but with equestrian equipment. Finely-crafted bridles, saddles, bits, and reigns hang on the walls and are displayed proudly on flat surfaces, like the desk. Upon closer inspection, some of these pieces do indeed look rather old, though many of them are new, and in various styles that suggest a combination of countries and cultures. 

As the professor strides in, students notice the tell-tale click of heels is missing today, essentially allowing the Slytherin Deputy to sneak up on them. Instead, she wears a pair of riding boots, something she appears quite comfortable in, along with the rest of the typical outfit. The only oddity is a riding cape, richly embroidered and looking nothing like the equestrian gear one would find in the United Kingdom. Professor Wessex, despite her change in costume, wastes no time launching into the lesson and spares not a single word for her perplexing attire

Introduction
Not to be confused with our lesson on The Middle East, this week we will be taking a look at the mythology of Central Asia, which is actually slightly more to the east than its “middle eastern” counterpart. Central Asia is home to just a handful of countries including Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. As many who do not live near these countries are often unfamiliar with them, it is interesting to note that the largest of these is Kazakhstan, which is 11 times larger than the United Kingdom. This region, too, has significant climate diversity, with steep mountains as well as pastures, and deserts on one end and regions that never thaw to the north on their shared border with Russia. Overall, though, there is a general trend towards dry climates, and most regions are quite arid. Finally, for the few of you wondering, the prevalence of “stans” is owed to the fact that this suffix means “land of,” in old Persian, or roughly translated “Afghanland, Kazakland, etc.” much like “England” and “Ireland.” 

Pantheons
The two main bodies of mythology in this area from ancient times are the Scythian tradition and Turkic myths. We will be looking at both of these traditions in part today, starting first with a look at their host of gods and goddesses.

Scythian
While we do not know much about the Scythians, we do know they were once a proud culture. What little we do know about their culture, people, and myths is related to use through their art, magiarchaelogical finds, and through the records of the great historian Herodotus. While a wizard and a careful researcher, the man was Greek, and unfortunately, did input a bit of incidental bias in his research. He told things from a decidedly Grecian vantage point which, as you will see, caused problems. Still, what he recorded is all we have, and so we must be content with it. 

By Herodotus’ count, the Scythains worshipped a pantheon of seven gods, with a queen at their head. It is unclear where most of these deities fall in the divine “family tree,” except the queen’s consort god. In many cases, we do not even know what they were gods or goddesses of, just that they were worshipped. But in cases where little is known, even small scraps of confirmed information are considered goldmines.

Tabiti

Starting with the queen goddess herself, we have Tabiti. She was the head of the pantheon, as mentioned, and presumed to be the goddess of the house and homestead, though this may have been partially due to Herodotus’s equating her with Hestia, who was the virgin goddess of the hearth and home in Greece.

Scythian Ares 

Of course, “Ares” was not actually called this by the Scythians. This is clearly the work of Herodotus’ Grecian influence, so sadly we will never know this god's true, native name. Herodotus did this with the other gods and goddesses as well, but this one received special attention, and was never given his equivalent native name. Interestingly, this god may have been even more important than the consort of their queen goddess, and may have rivaled Tabiti herself. 

According to Herodotus, the Scythians built shrines to this god alone, telling us two things. Firstly, shrines were uncommon in Scythian culture, and this “Scythian Ares” was likely very important. Sadly, details are scarce on why this is, or what exactly he was the god of. 

Papaios

While Papaios was the consort of the queen of the gods (and therefore the king of the gods), he was not as well-regarded or as important as Tabiti, or even Scythian Ares. He was generally seen as a father figure, though much more than that, we do not know. 

And All The Rest..

For the sake of avoiding repetition, the few remaining entities in the pantheon are Api, Argimpasa, Oitosyros, and Thagimasidas. As before, little is known of them, other than their names and the Grecian associations Herodotus came up with for them, though we know not how much truth they contain. For the sake of completion, the earlier-mentioned gods are associated with Gaia, Aphrodite, Apollo, and Poseidon, respectively.

Turkic 
The gods in the Turkic tradition are much better-known than their counterparts in this lesson. As they were a nomadic people, their influence (and knowledge about them) spread far and wide, and was helped by the fact that there were many different tribes, though largely with the same traditions. Eventually, in roughly 1000 CE, Turkic peoples inhabited nearly all of Central Asia (though not necessarily as dominant cultures or in ruling classes).

Tengri

The first of their deities is their creator god -- and most revered god -- Tengri. God of the heavens, he was actually considered to have an animal form, rather than a human one, and was depicted as a white goose. Interestingly, in images of him, he was often shown flying over a body of water that never ends, which means to represent the eternity of time. 

There are many gods that are either thought to be descended from him or be separate manifestations of him, namely Öd Tengri, who is the god of time, as well as Boz Tengri, who is the god of land and earth. To avoid confusion with these additional Tengris, the main god can also be referred to as Kök Tengri.

Umay

The goddess of fertility, Umay also fills the spot of “mother goddess’ though she is not Tengri’s wife, but in fact his daughter, at least according to some tellings. Naturally, the pantheon often gets difficult to navigate, particularly when Tengi (or his many aspects/sons) comes into play, as they convolute the family tree significantly.

Erlik

There is also the god of the dead, the afterlife, and the underworld. In some uncertain way, Erlik was also involved in the creation of the universe along with Tengri, though he came into play later, and is mostly associated with the creation of humans themselves. Despite his primordial influence, however, he is seen to be completely evil, and to cause great misfortune everywhere.

And Many More...

As could be imagined, many of these gods also appear in neighboring mythologies, such as Tartar, Mongol, and even Eastern European pantheons. Because of the many tribes present, and the large distance between them, many traditions have different pantheon heads, relations, associations, and in some cases, a completely different “cast” of gods. However, the few we have covered here are the most prominent and common. Still, there are scores more gods to choose from, particularly if one ventures down the path of minor deities like Shalyk, Talai, Kubai, Alaz, Ay Dede, and more.

Creatures
Next, we move onto creatures. While, as mentioned, we do not always know much about these civilizations, what we do know as preserved by their art and archaeological finds (magical or otherwise) is that animals played a great role. Many were revered or considered to have divine powers, and it is believed that this area, though inhospitable to some, had a great deal of biodiversity, particularly in magical creatures. Sadly, in many cases, these creatures only live on in stories and works of art and jewelry, but they are interesting -- and important to our understanding of ancient Central Asian mythology.

Alara
The first of the magical creatures we will look at today is the Alara. In Turkic mythology (though it is also mentioned in other folkloric traditions), it is a creature formed from the tears of joy (specifically from love) from a thousand women. It is said to be unable to leave the water without losing its youth, beauty, and eventually its vitality. In truth, it is a water creature, and quite harmless as well, though not quite as romantic in origin. The petite aquatic mammal is endearing, if not exactly beautiful, and a visit from one is said to be a sign that you are with your true love. However, these visits are rare, as they -- as myth says -- cannot venture far from the body of water in which they were born.

Luwr
Next we have another water-related animal, the Luwr. This sea fowl was closely intertwined with mythology about Tengri because of its pure white appearance. It is still considered sacred among the superstitious, and the population of this bird thrives because of it. However, recent protests from the International Confederation of Wizards call for a cull to avoid alerting non-magical citizens to its presence. Fortunately it does not alert much suspicion during the day, but their glow during the nighttime hours is a bit of a giveaway, as is their ability to hold their breath underwater for extended periods of time even in comparison to their mundane waterfowl brethren.

Tulpar
These creatures are intertwined with Turkic (and other) mythology, despite the fact that none still live today. The Tulpar are actually a breed of winged horse -- a counterpart to the Abraxan, Thestral, and Aethonan. They were well-known for their immense speed, and were tamed and trained to carry messages by ruling tribal leaders, kings, and khans. Because of their association with power, they were used in many emblems, as even the symbol of them leant a fair bit of weight to a person’s reputation. They are still used in emblems today throughout Central Asia and beyond. Their depiction as a thin, nearly skeletal appearance is not simply an illusion, and these beasts are very fragile, and therefore always went riderless until later in history. Their thinness gave them a “stretched” appearance, and made them appear perpetually irritated and bad-tempered, though they were as docile as any other breed.

However, sadly, when Central Asia came under the influence of larger neighbors, China and Russia, other breeds were introduced. Particularly in the case of Russia, different varieties were mated together to make the Tulpar hardier and able to bear long-distance travel in the harshest parts of the country, including Siberia. This breeding, unchecked, resulted in the loss of the genetic distinctness that was the Tulpar, and in the present day has been reduced to a handful of recessive traits present in wild winged horses there, including a golden coat and a very thin stature, though not quite as skeletal in appearance as their cousins the Thestrals.

Ubir
This next creature is a creature debated not to exist at all, though it is an inextricable part of the superstitions and folktales in the area that it would be impossible not to mention. I am speaking, of course, of the Ubir. This hideous creature is said to be thick, bloated, and unsightly. Its massive bulk comes from its prey, whose life force it drains. 

The Ubir is not picky about what its prey is, nor what their specific life force is. This can be blood, magic, the soul, what have you. However, legend says the Ubir must completely drain the life force for them to gain any sustenance from their prey. Therefore, if the Ubir can be interrupted, the victim can be saved. As imagined, this creature is commonly confused with vampires as well as other Dark creatures, which may explain why its existence remains unverified. While many claim to have seen one, very few have proof, and accounts of what it looks like do not all agree. Despite this lack of evidence, this creature is the boogeyman said to be lurking in all children’s closets or lying in wait on dark country roads in areas surrounding Central Asia, and nearly all residents fear it on one level or another.

Yelbeghen
Finally, we have the Yelbeghen -- another nightmare-inducing creature, though fortunately, this one had absolutely no chance of crossing over into the real world. The reason for this being that the Yelbeghen was hunted into extinction just under a millenia past. The creature was a many-headed threat, and highly aggressive. While it was often referred to as the “Turkish dragon,” this is a complete misnomer, and it is neither Turkish, nor a dragon. In fact, it is a seven-headed creature. Its depictions on pottery, medals, emblems, and weapons (and descriptions in manuscripts) vary slightly in all cases. In some, it appears the creature was confused with a hydra, in others, it bears the heads of humans with terrifyingly wide jaws dripping with blood. Whatever the creature was, however, it is now extinct. As the creature was so aggressive, townsfolk would often band together to offer a reward for slaying one. More, would-be heroes would attempt to prove their worth by taking them out. These efforts combined finished off the creature shortly before the 1300s, though many have a difficult time expressing sorrow at that fact. 

Turkic (and Scythian) Tales
To wrap up this lesson, we will look at two short myths from both Turkic and Sycthian sources. However, as you might expect with Scythian, there are a fair few holes in the story, and to fill them, we will need to look to other sources. For now though, we will look at the tale of the Grey Wolf.

The Legend of the Grey Wolf
In Turkic myth, there is a creature called an Asena, said to take the form of a female wolf. Modern witches and wizards know that these creatures are, in fact, a result of misguided Muggles taking notice of lycanthropes in their wolf form, but their existence has been immortalized in myth, and indeed in the formation of the Ashina clan, which ruled the Turkic people for quite a time. 

As legend goes, Asena, a she-wolf, found a young boy wounded on the battlefield and nursed him back to health. The two fell in love, and Asena became pregnant and fled across the Western Sea to safety to give birth to ten “half wolf” children. While it’s unclear exactly where this story came from (most likely from multiple different sources), it’s clear that this is a tale of lycanthropy. These ten children, along with Asena, formed the basis of the aforementioned powerful clan. It is interesting to note that the lycanthrope in this story is not painted in a negative light, and indeed is seen to not only be accepted by her human lover, but is also the mother of a great nation.

Scythian Origins
The story goes that the first Scythian king, Tartigaus, was the son of the sky and a river (or alternatively, the sky god and the river goddess). He was born and lived a long life of 1,000 years until he fought off the Persian invasion. At this point, he decided he must have heirs to continue his legacy, and it was at this time that he sired his three sons. 

As a herald to their greatness once they had all reached adulthood, great tools of gold tumbled from the sky and landed at their feet. One was a plough, one a yoke, another a cup, and one a great battle ax. While all three sons attempted to claim them for their own, only the youngest was able to touch them without being burnt to death. This son, and his sons, went on to rule Scythia and guard the golden tools that heralded their prosperity. 

Of course, this story is missing a fair bit of detail -- not the least of which are the names of these famous sons, the details of the Persian invasion, and Tartigaus’s tactics in dealing with them. However, this is to be expected with our general lack of information on the Scythians. Interestingly, this story appears to be corroborated by some burial goods found in tombs along this area. Grave goods in this tomb included vases that appear to depict this same mythological king in various scenes, including one with his three sons, particularly a scene in which he hands a symbol of authority to the youngest man (noted by his beardlessness), which directly mirrors the tale.

Closing
That is all for today, and indeed the end of our stay in Asia this year. For the rest of the course -- or, at least, what little remains -- we will be honing in on Oceania and its various parts before going onto your N.E.W.T. Before you get caught up in plans for the long-term future, though, it would be best to focus on the immediate present. To accompany this lesson, you have four assignments of varying levels of compulsion. First, there is the required quiz on lesson topics, as well as a look at the bond between artifacts and myth. Additionally, there is an optional, but highly recommended assignment on the various gods and goddesses of Central Asian myth. Finally, we will again be picking up the habit of a N.E.W.T. review assignment, with this week’s topic on the contents of Year Six.

Original lesson written by Professor Venita Wessex
Image credits here, here, here, here, here, and here