Tatar mythological creatures
“Su Anası” by Baynazar Almenov
💧 In Tatar mythology, there are water spirits associated with bodies of water such as rivers, lakes, and springs. The most famous of all of them is Su Anası. The name translates to "Mother Water" in English. She has long hair, big black eyes, and no eyebrows. Su Anası usually lives underwater, but she comes out from time to time to brush her hair at the shore. She is considered a menacing, but protective and nurturing figure, a guardian of water sources, and is believed to have the power to influence the waters' fertility, purity, and overall well-being.
💧 Su Anası's blessings are vital for the fertility of the land and the success of crops. To honor Su Anası and seek her favor, people would offer prayers, rituals, and sometimes sacrifices to appease her and ensure a good harvest. These offerings could include various items, such as food, coins, or symbolic objects. Rituals often involved chanting, singing, and reciting prayers to establish a connection with the water spirit.
💧 At the beginning of the 20th century Ğabdulla Tuqay turned Su Anası into a character of a children's book. In his story, a boy stole Su Anası's golden comb and ran to his village. He told his mother that he had found it on his way, but when Su Anası came at night and started banging on his window, the mother found out the truth. She returned the comb to Su Anası and scolded the boy for the theft.
Illustration by Fəyzraxman Əminov
💧 Su Babası, depicted as an old man, lives in deep waters. One of the beautiful mythologic creatures associated with the Underwater Kingdom is Su Qızı. She lives in her father's magnificent palace. When an earthly man falls in love with her, according to some legends, his life ends tragically. It's a reminder, that Su Qızı is not from this world, but belongs to another world, foreign to us human beings.
💧 The reverence for water sources and nature spirits like Su Anası is deeply embedded in the cultural heritage of Turkic and Tatar communities. These beliefs reflect the close relationship between people and the natural environment in these regions.
🏠 Kazan Tatars also have various spirits associated with the places people live in. For example, Abzar iyәse lives in a yard or a barn and can assume a human or an animal form. Being the barn spirit, he protects domestic animals, especially horses, from all kinds of troubles. Siberian Tatars have similar deities, called Mal iyәse or Cәnki baba.
🏠 Another character in Tatar mythology is Biçura. She is a short woman wearing an örpәk - a traditional cloth covering her head. She is believed to live in the basements or bathrooms. She does not cause any significant harm to people, but disturbs them at night in various ways: she screams, plays, laughs, jokes, drags the sleeping person from place to place; and hides things from one place to another. The Tatars have a saying about her: “Where did this thing go; hasn’t Biçura stolen it?”
If you want to learn about more Tatar deities and spirits, here is a text on different Forest spirits.