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The 'tree of life' – an enduring symbol
Niki GAMM
Yörük prayer kilim with tree of life design. Early 20th century.
Did the idea of a world tree or tree of life, present in the mythology of the human race, arise from the millions of years that evolutionary biology states human beings lived in trees as primates? The tree supports the heavens and the trunk or world connects the latter with the underworld through its roots.
From Ireland across northern Europe throughout Central Asia and North America, the mythology of the world tree or tree of life spread.
As so often happens, some of the oldest accounts of the sacred tree come down to us from Babylonia and have been dated to 3,000 – 4,000 BC. The Babylonian tree was at the center of the universe at the mouth of the Euphrates River. The roots of the tree extended into the waters of the abyss which was guarded by Ea, the god of wisdom, who produced the water necessary for agriculture in the land between the two rivers. The leaves of the tree were where the goddess of the heavens resided and the trunk held the earth goddess and her son.
The tree of life appears several times in the Old Testament of the Bible. It is one of two trees that stand in Paradise; however, the other one, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, achieved greater prominence as time went on.
Persian mythology, prior to Islam, centered around a large, sacred tree which bore all the seeds necessary for trees to grow on earth. Ahriman who was the source of all of the evil in the world sent a frog to invade the tree and destroy it. To guard the tree, the god Ahura Mazda, who represented all that was good, including life, created two fish to continually stare at the frog, always ready to stop it. A different Iranian myth, that of Mashy and Mashyane, tells of two trees who were the ancestors of all living beings.
The ancient Egyptians had a somewhat different way of looking at the tree. Their sacred tree was a sycamore that stood on the threshold of life and death and connected the two, rather than a tree that connected the heavens with the earth and then the underworld. The acacia tree is said to have produced Isis and Osiris, the prominent Egyptian god and goddess; the acacia enclosed life and death. It’s not clear whether the sycamore and the acacia tree have been confused and, if so, how, since they are very different trees.
The ancient Armenians saw the tree of life as a religious symbol and one that most likely was used to protect people in times of conflict. The tree would be drawn on fortress walls and on the armor worn by soldiers, the tree’s branches extended in equal numbers to the left and right of the trunk. Each branch had one leaf and the tree itself was topped with a single leaf. Human figures, possibly servants, stood next to the tree.
Chinese mythology contains legends about the tree of life, sometimes incorporating a phoenix (death and resurrection) and a dragon (immortality). These legends were also interpreted in artistic form, such as carvings and ceramics. Archaeological discoveries made in the last century in Sichuan, China, included three bronze trees (about 1,200 BC) and a ceramic tree with coins and topped by a bird with coins.
The tree of life and the Turks
The tree of life is found in Central Asian Turkish mythology. Its elements symbolize the “rebirth, growth and development of the Turkic peoples.” It is also to be found in shamanism, in which the tree provides a ladder for the shamans to use, ascending and descending between the spirit world and the underworld. The wood of the sacred tree is what is said to be what was used to form the shaman’s drum, an integral part of the materials used in performances of rituals and sacred rites. The beech tree seems to have been the tree that was worshipped right up to recent times. Sacrifices would even be made to it, according to Abdülkadir İnan in his book on shamanism.
In the 17th century, Ottoman travel writer Evliya Çelebi talks about the various beliefs of the peoples living in the northern Caucasus region. He notes that once a year the people would gather and light candles around the tree and perform a rite. This tree grew from a piece of the Tuba tree and had been sent to Alexander from God by means of the angel Gabriel. In particular Çelebi identified the Nogay tribe as perpetuating this custom, even though they had become Muslims.
Such a shamanistic practice as tree worship makes the legendary dream of Osman Gazi, the founder of the Ottoman dynasty even more interesting. Osman had a dream in which he saw the famous Ahi Şeyh Edebali so he went to the şeyh and explained how he had seen him in his dream. “’A moon appeared in your breast. It rose, rose and then descended into my breast. From my navel there sprang a tree. It grew and branched out so much, that the shadow of its branches covered the whole world. What does my dream mean?’
“After a brief silence, Edebali interpreted:
“’Congratulations, Osman! God Almighty bestowed sovereignty upon you and your generation. My daughter will be your wife, and the whole world will be under the protection of your children.’”
One suspects that Ahi Şeyh Edebali knew about the world tree or tree of life.
Certainly the tree of life continued as a motif because of its deep religious significance. In “Turkish Flat Weaves,” the authors point to Yörük and Turkmen nomads who use the tree to represent the axis of the world in their kilim designs. The kilims from the Thracian area, sometimes known as Şarköy kilims, have this motif as their center decoration. The authors also note that the tree of life is often found in prayer kilims, as well as in border meanders.
Just a side note. If you’ve ever looked at the Turkish five-kuruş coin issued in 2009, you’ll see a stylized tree of life on the obverse side.
Niki GAMM
Yörük prayer kilim with tree of life design. Early 20th century.
Did the idea of a world tree or tree of life, present in the mythology of the human race, arise from the millions of years that evolutionary biology states human beings lived in trees as primates? The tree supports the heavens and the trunk or world connects the latter with the underworld through its roots.
From Ireland across northern Europe throughout Central Asia and North America, the mythology of the world tree or tree of life spread.
As so often happens, some of the oldest accounts of the sacred tree come down to us from Babylonia and have been dated to 3,000 – 4,000 BC. The Babylonian tree was at the center of the universe at the mouth of the Euphrates River. The roots of the tree extended into the waters of the abyss which was guarded by Ea, the god of wisdom, who produced the water necessary for agriculture in the land between the two rivers. The leaves of the tree were where the goddess of the heavens resided and the trunk held the earth goddess and her son.
The tree of life appears several times in the Old Testament of the Bible. It is one of two trees that stand in Paradise; however, the other one, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, achieved greater prominence as time went on.
Persian mythology, prior to Islam, centered around a large, sacred tree which bore all the seeds necessary for trees to grow on earth. Ahriman who was the source of all of the evil in the world sent a frog to invade the tree and destroy it. To guard the tree, the god Ahura Mazda, who represented all that was good, including life, created two fish to continually stare at the frog, always ready to stop it. A different Iranian myth, that of Mashy and Mashyane, tells of two trees who were the ancestors of all living beings.
The ancient Armenians saw the tree of life as a religious symbol and one that most likely was used to protect people in times of conflict. The tree would be drawn on fortress walls and on the armor worn by soldiers, the tree’s branches extended in equal numbers to the left and right of the trunk. Each branch had one leaf and the tree itself was topped with a single leaf. Human figures, possibly servants, stood next to the tree.
Chinese mythology contains legends about the tree of life, sometimes incorporating a phoenix (death and resurrection) and a dragon (immortality). These legends were also interpreted in artistic form, such as carvings and ceramics. Archaeological discoveries made in the last century in Sichuan, China, included three bronze trees (about 1,200 BC) and a ceramic tree with coins and topped by a bird with coins.
The tree of life and the Turks
The tree of life is found in Central Asian Turkish mythology. Its elements symbolize the “rebirth, growth and development of the Turkic peoples.” It is also to be found in shamanism, in which the tree provides a ladder for the shamans to use, ascending and descending between the spirit world and the underworld. The wood of the sacred tree is what is said to be what was used to form the shaman’s drum, an integral part of the materials used in performances of rituals and sacred rites. The beech tree seems to have been the tree that was worshipped right up to recent times. Sacrifices would even be made to it, according to Abdülkadir İnan in his book on shamanism.
In the 17th century, Ottoman travel writer Evliya Çelebi talks about the various beliefs of the peoples living in the northern Caucasus region. He notes that once a year the people would gather and light candles around the tree and perform a rite. This tree grew from a piece of the Tuba tree and had been sent to Alexander from God by means of the angel Gabriel. In particular Çelebi identified the Nogay tribe as perpetuating this custom, even though they had become Muslims.
Such a shamanistic practice as tree worship makes the legendary dream of Osman Gazi, the founder of the Ottoman dynasty even more interesting. Osman had a dream in which he saw the famous Ahi Şeyh Edebali so he went to the şeyh and explained how he had seen him in his dream. “’A moon appeared in your breast. It rose, rose and then descended into my breast. From my navel there sprang a tree. It grew and branched out so much, that the shadow of its branches covered the whole world. What does my dream mean?’
“After a brief silence, Edebali interpreted:
“’Congratulations, Osman! God Almighty bestowed sovereignty upon you and your generation. My daughter will be your wife, and the whole world will be under the protection of your children.’”
One suspects that Ahi Şeyh Edebali knew about the world tree or tree of life.
Certainly the tree of life continued as a motif because of its deep religious significance. In “Turkish Flat Weaves,” the authors point to Yörük and Turkmen nomads who use the tree to represent the axis of the world in their kilim designs. The kilims from the Thracian area, sometimes known as Şarköy kilims, have this motif as their center decoration. The authors also note that the tree of life is often found in prayer kilims, as well as in border meanders.
Just a side note. If you’ve ever looked at the Turkish five-kuruş coin issued in 2009, you’ll see a stylized tree of life on the obverse side.
Hakan
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Speaking at a press conference in the Ukrainian capital Kiev on Monday, the former Mejlis head and current Ukrainian MP Mustafa Jemilev said that the Mejlis would never cease its work.
World Bulletin / News Desk
Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Jemilev has voiced a message of defiance to the new Russian authorities of Crimea after he was denied access to his homeland and chief prosecutor Natalya Poklonskaya threatened to liquidate the Crimean Tatar Mejlis (Parliament) over the weekend.
Speaking at a press conference in the Ukrainian capital Kiev on Monday, the former Mejlis head and current Ukrainian MP Mustafa Jemilev said that the Mejlis would never cease its work.
“They can take the building or seal it up, but Mejlis won’t cease its work. They can arrest the leaders, but new leaders will be elected,” he said.
Crimea's chief prosecutor threatened to close the Mejlis down if it was found that it engages in "extremist activities,” after the present Mejlis head Refat Chubarov organized thousands of Crimean Tatars to greet Jemilev at the Armyansk border crossing on Saturday as he tried to enter Crimea.
The Crimean Tatars were blocked off by Russian Special Forces who reportedly fired into the air to disperse the defiant Tatars. Refat Chubarov then ordered his people to pull back to avoid bloodshed. Meanwhile, Jemilev was denied access to his homeland for the second day in a row.
“If all the Mejlis offices are closed, as it was during the Soviet era, there will be underground initiative groups,” Jemilev said.
70-year-old Jemilev was banned from entering Crimea for 5 years after the ethnic Russian Prime Minister of Crimea Sergei Aksyonov accused him of working to disrupt the peace in the breakaway Ukrainian peninsula, which was annexed by Russia following the results of a March 16 referendum.
Aksyonov said that Jemilev was directing his people in the wrong way and warned that Jemilev would be responsible for the consequences that may arise from his actions.
Crimean Tatars are the native Turkic-speaking Muslim population of Crimea, who make up 13% of the population. They are largely displaced by ethnic Russians after they were exiled by former Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in 1944. After the collapse of Soviet Russia, many chose to return.
The 300,000 Crimean Tatar population largely boycotted the March 16 referendum, which they have deemed illegal and illegitimate due to it having been conducted under the threat of pro-Russian militias that occupied the region following the fall of former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich's government in late February.
They have since complained that they have been victimized in Crimea, with their homes being marked by militias as well as being targeted for speaking their language in public. Jemilev warned that most officials in the Russian FSB want to exile the Crimean Tatars once again. He also appealed to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to convince Russian president Vladimir Putin to lift his entry ban to Crimea.
Jemilev defiant after threat to close Crimean Tatar Mejlis | Europe | Worldbulletin News
World Bulletin / News Desk
Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Jemilev has voiced a message of defiance to the new Russian authorities of Crimea after he was denied access to his homeland and chief prosecutor Natalya Poklonskaya threatened to liquidate the Crimean Tatar Mejlis (Parliament) over the weekend.
Speaking at a press conference in the Ukrainian capital Kiev on Monday, the former Mejlis head and current Ukrainian MP Mustafa Jemilev said that the Mejlis would never cease its work.
“They can take the building or seal it up, but Mejlis won’t cease its work. They can arrest the leaders, but new leaders will be elected,” he said.
Crimea's chief prosecutor threatened to close the Mejlis down if it was found that it engages in "extremist activities,” after the present Mejlis head Refat Chubarov organized thousands of Crimean Tatars to greet Jemilev at the Armyansk border crossing on Saturday as he tried to enter Crimea.
The Crimean Tatars were blocked off by Russian Special Forces who reportedly fired into the air to disperse the defiant Tatars. Refat Chubarov then ordered his people to pull back to avoid bloodshed. Meanwhile, Jemilev was denied access to his homeland for the second day in a row.
“If all the Mejlis offices are closed, as it was during the Soviet era, there will be underground initiative groups,” Jemilev said.
70-year-old Jemilev was banned from entering Crimea for 5 years after the ethnic Russian Prime Minister of Crimea Sergei Aksyonov accused him of working to disrupt the peace in the breakaway Ukrainian peninsula, which was annexed by Russia following the results of a March 16 referendum.
Aksyonov said that Jemilev was directing his people in the wrong way and warned that Jemilev would be responsible for the consequences that may arise from his actions.
Crimean Tatars are the native Turkic-speaking Muslim population of Crimea, who make up 13% of the population. They are largely displaced by ethnic Russians after they were exiled by former Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in 1944. After the collapse of Soviet Russia, many chose to return.
The 300,000 Crimean Tatar population largely boycotted the March 16 referendum, which they have deemed illegal and illegitimate due to it having been conducted under the threat of pro-Russian militias that occupied the region following the fall of former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich's government in late February.
They have since complained that they have been victimized in Crimea, with their homes being marked by militias as well as being targeted for speaking their language in public. Jemilev warned that most officials in the Russian FSB want to exile the Crimean Tatars once again. He also appealed to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to convince Russian president Vladimir Putin to lift his entry ban to Crimea.
Jemilev defiant after threat to close Crimean Tatar Mejlis | Europe | Worldbulletin News
Hakan
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Poland awards top prize to Crimean Tatar leader
The choice of laureate for the inaugural "Solidarity Prize" is likely to irk Russia, which is locked in a stand-off with Ukraine that has sunk relations with the West to their lowest level since the Cold War.
World Bulletin / News Desk
Poland on Wednesday awarded a prize for championing democracy and human rights to Mustafa Jemilev, a leader of the Tatar community in Ukraine's Crimea peninsula who says he was barred from the region after Russia annexed it.
The choice of laureate for the inaugural "Solidarity Prize" is likely to irk Russia, which is locked in a stand-off with Ukraine that has sunk relations with the West to their lowest level since the Cold War.
"He is a defender of Ukraine's integrity," said Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, as he announced Jemilev had been awarded the prize. "He is someone who, together with his people, has demonstrated that democracy is possible."
Jemilev will visit Poland next month to receive his prize, Sikorski said.
The Polish prize, in its first year, is intended to recognise people who embody the same democratic values as Lech Walesa, the leader of Poland's Solidarity trade union movement who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in overthrowing Communist rule in Poland in the 1980s.
70-year-old Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Jemilev was banned from entering Crimea for five years after the ethnic Russian Prime Minister of Crimea Sergei Aksyonov accused him of working to disrupt the peace in the breakaway Ukrainian peninsula, which was annexed by Russia following the results of a March 16 referendum.
Aksyonov said that Jemilev was directing his people in the wrong way and warned that Jemilev would be responsible for the consequences that may arise from his actions.
Crimean Tatars are the native Turkic-speaking Muslim population of Crimea, who make up 13% of the population. They are largely displaced by ethnic Russians after they were exiled by former Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in 1944. After the collapse of Soviet Russia, many chose to return.
The 300,000 Crimean Tatar population largely boycotted the March 16 referendum, which they have deemed illegal and illegitimate due to it having been conducted under the threat of pro-Russian militias that occupied the region following the fall of former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich's government in late February.
They have since complained that they have been victimized in Crimea, with their homes being marked by militias as well as being targeted for speaking their language in public. Jemilev warned that most officials in the Russian FSB want to exile the Crimean Tatars once again. He also appealed to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to convince Russian president Vladimir Putin to lift his entry ban to Crimea.
A CALL FOR HELP
Crimean Tatar Mejlis (Parliament) member Abdurrahman Egiz urged Turkey and the international community to help the Crimean Tatars, stating that their rights have been put in danger of being taken away ever since Russia annexed the peninsula.
"The leader of the Crimean Tatars, Mustafa Jemilev Kırımoglu, has been banned from entering Crimea. More than 2,000 people and Kırımoglu can't enter Crimea and are waiting at the border, confronted with armed troops," Egiz was quoted saying by the Daily Sabah, adding that the Crimean Tatars feared a second wave of deportations from their homeland.
"We demand the help of the international community to protect our rights. This is very important for us because we are in a very difficult situation," said Egiz, who claims to have been beaten by pro-Russian militiamen on May 6.
"Turkey is for us, in terms of history and religion, a brother state," he said. "Because of this we want Turkey to play a leading role. We believe that Turkey will take advantage of all opportunities and continue supporting our case."
Crimea's chief prosecutor Natalya Poklonskaya threatened to close the Mejlis down if it was found that it engages in "extremist activities,” after the present Mejlis head Refat Chubarov organized thousands of Crimean Tatars to greet Jemilev at the Armyansk border crossing on Saturday as he tried to enter Crimea.
The Crimean Tatars were blocked off by Russian Special Forces who reportedly fired into the air to disperse the defiant Tatars. Refat Chubarov then ordered his people to pull back to avoid bloodshed. Meanwhile, Jemilev was denied access to his homeland for the second day in a row.
Ukrainian Muslim scholar Mykhaylo Yakubovych claimed that more than 10,000 Crimean Tatars have already left their homes to flee to mainland Ukraine, while the Qirim News Agency reported Ukrainian Social Politics Minister Lyudmila Denisova stating that precisely 7,723 Crimeans have left the peninsula since its annexation.
Poland awards top prize to Crimean Tatar leader | Europe | Worldbulletin News
Hakan
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Targon
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Uyghur is suprisingly quite understandable, their way of pronouncing etc. is easier to understand, Uzbek should have been closer to it but I don't know something is wrong with Uzbek, may be there is an issue we don't know, like speaking language art language difference etc.
Azeri
Turkmen
Uyghur
Tatar(Tatar is an easier Kipchak language to understand in comparison to Kazakh/Kyrgyz)
Kazakh-Kyrgyz
Altay/Siberia etc.
Azeri
Turkmen
Uyghur
Tatar(Tatar is an easier Kipchak language to understand in comparison to Kazakh/Kyrgyz)
Kazakh-Kyrgyz
Altay/Siberia etc.
Hakan
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The Kumul uprising and East Turkestan's independence
In 1911 after the People's Republic of China was established; came the revolution that was initiated by Sun Yat Sen. Han Chinese people were placed in areas that were mostly rich in agriculture. In April of 1931, an uprising that was triggered by the leaders of Kumul, Niyaz Haji and Salih Darga, led to independence.
Emre Gul / World Bulletin / History
Today, the region East Turkestan, which has been absorned into China, has been given the name Xinjian, which means 'the new colony,' 'the new land,' or 'the conquested land'.
East Turkestan is a region where many governments were established in the fight for independence. One particular battle took place in 1933, which was known as the Kumul uprising that led to the establishment of the “Turkish Islamic Republic of East Turkestan”.
Yakub Beg was a very important person in the history of East Turkestan. He founded the Kashgar Khanate under the Atalik Gazi government. However, this government was brought down by China, which then introduced an era of torture, oppression and cruelty.
China took over Kashgar, exhumed Yakub Beg’s body and cremated him. The governor and clerks were appointed by the Manchu royal household, who were tasked with integrating East Turkestan with China. In 1911 after the People's Republic of China was established; came the revolution that was initiated by Sun Yat Sen. Han Chinese people were placed in areas that were mostly rich in agriculture. In April of 1931, an uprising that was triggered by the leaders of Kumul, Niyaz Haji and Salih Darga, led to independence.
Many leaders spread all over East Turkestan, such as Mahmud Muhiti, went to Turfan in January of 1933. Mehmed Emin Bugra went to Hoten in February of the same year, Masul Mahsut, Hafiz Beg, Sabit Damolla and Osman Beg went to Altay. Two years later, after a period of hardship, the Uighurs were victorious despite the Chinese governor of East Turkestan, Jing Shu Ren, arranging an agreement with the Russians to receive weapons. They were able to save East Turkestan from becoming the nineteenth province of China besides a few districts in and around Urumqi.
On November 12, 1933, the “Turkish Islamic Republic of East Turkistan” was established in Kashgar under the control of president Niyaz Haji and Prime Minister Sabit Damolla. The republic's symbol consisted of a cresent and three stars, which had an Ottoman symbol in the middle of it called the Tugra (a calligraphic symbol). Additionally, the banner featured a composition which included verses from the Holy Qur'an and the slogan “Long live Turkestan’s freedom, May the Islamic dominion be filled with happiness”, which was based on the principles of “Islam, Freedom, Justice and Solidarity”.
Prime Minister Sabit Damolla, who left a great legacy and helped strengthen the national identity of this new republic, got in contact with Afghanistan, Iran, Britain and Turkey for help. However, his pleas fell on deaf ears.
The “Turkish Islamic Republic of East Turkestan” was destroyed on February 6, 1934, because there were countries like Russia and China who couldn’t stand the fact that East Turkestan shared borders with them. Niyaz Haji, who was one of the bravest warriors to raised in East Turkestan at that time and was a key player in the Kumul uprising, despite at one point acting as deputy Prime Minister under the Chinese military regime of Shen Shi Shey, was executed after being arrested in 1942.
References:
Doç. Dr. S. Gömeç, Doğu Türkistan’da Yakub Han Dönemi Ve Osmanlı Devleti İle İlişkileri,Ankara Üniversitesi, Osmanlı Tarihi Araştırma ve Uygulama Merkezi Dergisi, Sayı: 9, Yıl: 1998.
Dünyanın ilk İslâm Cumhuriyeti 80 yıl önce bugün kurulmuştu! | Doğu Türkistan Maarif ve Dayanışma Derneği
Gökbayrak Dergisi, “Doğu Türkistan İslam Cumhuriyeti Devlet Arması”, Yıl:7, Sayı: 40, Mart-Nisan, 2001.
The Kumul uprising and East Turkestan's independence | Historical Events | Worldbulletin News
