Turkic genesis of “seahorses” according to Serikbol Kondybai (based on sacred texts of Mangistau)

Abstract

In Mangystau sacred texts (petroglyphs, epitaphs, inscriptions), the image of a horse occupies a special place. There is a mythological concept of the "sea horse" in the folklore of the peoples living near the Caspian Sea. "Water stallion" coming out of the water is used as a symbol of speed in the language of giraffes.

        The article examines the researches of the Kazakh local historian, geographer, ethnographer, mythologist Serikbol Kondybai regarding the "sea horse" in Turkish mythology. Serikbol Kondybai says that the root of the word "ertteu" in the Kazakh language is connected with the person "ert" and its original meaning is "order". He said that to saddle a horse is to tame a horse, thereby moving from chaos to space.

In this article, Serikbol's opinion was supplemented with ethnographic, archeological, folklore research data and analyzed. Scientific information was given on the Turkish genesis of the horse cult, which complements S. Kondybai's historical-linguistic, cognitive-folkloric research. As a result of the study, the final opinion was proposed that "the domestication of the horse is the beginning of human civilization."

As documentary material for the article, materials of a field expedition organized in 2020-2022 as part of the scientific project "AP08856996 Conceptual space of sacred texts of Mangystau (zhyrau texts, epitaph inscriptions, petroglyphs)" were used.