T.C.

ERCYES NVERSTES SOSYAL BLMLER ENSTTS

NAN SSTEMLER AISINDAN BEOWULF ve DEDE KORKUT DESTANLARININ KARILATIRILMASI

Tezi Hazrlayan Hlya TAFLI

Tezi Yneten Prof. Dr. Burin EROL

Bat Dilleri ve Edebiyatlar Anabilim Dal ngiliz Dili ve Edebiyat Bilim Dal Yksek Lisans Tezi

Haziran 2006 KAYSER

TURKISH REPUBLIC ERCYES UNIVERSITY THE INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE BELIEF SYSTEMS IN BEOWULF AND THE BOOK OF DEDE KORKUT

MA THESIS

Prepared by Hlya TAFLI

Supervisor Prof. Dr. Burin EROL

June 2006 KAYSER

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is a great pleasure to be able to thank to my supervisor Prof. Dr. Burin EROL at Hacettepe University who has been a faithful source of wisdom, and encouragement. I also wish to acknowledge Prof. Dr. Andy Orchard (Anglo-Saxon Literature Department at Toronto University). As my lecturer at Cambridge University, he helped me to broaden my knowledge by pointing out the other perspectives of Beowulf. I am also grateful to Prof. Dr. Abdulkadir Yuval from History Department, Prof Dr. Hlya Argunah and Prof. Dr. smail Grkem from Turkish Literature Department, Prof. Dr. Harun Gngr and Prof. Dr. Mustafa nal from Theology Department, Asst. Prof. Dr. Serdar ztrk from English Literature Department (Erciyes University). I am indebted to Prof. Dr. lhan Bagz (Indiana University) for illuminating me about various points in relation to Turkish folklore, and Prof. Dr. Grsel Ayta (Ankara University) for her guidance in comparative literature. Thanks are due to the library staff of Cambridge University Library, Edinburgh University Library, Manas University Library, Bilkent University Library, and Hacettepe University Library, the Social Sciences Institute at Erciyes University who have helped me in every respect. Finally, I thank my family for their love and support, without which I would never have got here in the first place.

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NAN SSTEMLER AISINDAN BEOWULF ve DEDE KORKUT DESTANLARININ KARILATIRILMASI

HLYA TAFLI
ZET ngiliz Edebiyatnn ilk destan saylan Beowulf Bat Edebiyatnda byk bir neme sahiptir; Trk Edebiyatndaki Dede Korkut Hikayeleri ise yine kendi kltrel deerlerini tayan bir bayapttr. Bu destanlarn biri douda biri de batda benzer artlar, tarihi, sosyal olgular ve toplum yaplarn iermekte olup toplumsal evrelerinin rnleridir. Her iki destan da szl edebiyatla ortaya km yazl edebiyata uzun bir zaman ierisinde geirilmitir. Tezin konusu olan Beowulf ve Dede Korkut Hikayelerinde inan sistemlerinin karlatrmas zerinde durulmutur. Szl edebiyatla balayan bu iki destan tek tanrl inan sistemleri (Hristiyanlk ve slam) ncesinde tanr kavram asndan benzerlik ve farkllklar gstermitir. Hristiyanlk ncesinde skandinav, Germen ve Kelt kltrleriyle ekillenen Beowulf politeizm ve paganizmin dolayl olarak etkisinde kalmtr. Hristiyanln kabul ile de eski kltr etkileimlerinden kurtulamamtr. Benzer ekilde Dede Korkut Hikayelerinde de tanr kavram tek tanrl din olan slamiyet ncesinde Gk Tanr inan sistemi ve din olarak kabul grmedii halde toplumlar zerinde byk etkiye sahip aman gelenei zerinde durulmutur. slamn kabulnden sonra da yazya geirildii iin Dede Korkut Hikayeleri eski kltrn izlerini tamtr. Ayrca inan sistemleri ierisinde say, renk sembolizmi ve hayvan betimlemeleri

Beowulf ve Dede Korkut Hikayelerinde benzer ve farkl ynleri ile incelenmitir. almann son ksmnda ise iki destanda geen lm, br dnya ve lmszlk temalarnn inan sistemlerine yansmas irdelenmitir. Yaplan bu alma Beowulf ve Dede Korkut Hikayelerinin ortaya kmasnda etkisi olan toplumlarn dolayl da olsa etkileim halinde olduklar dncesini beraberinde getirmitir. Anahtar Kelimeler: destan, Beowulf, Dede Korkut Hikayeleri, paganizm, amanizm, politeizm, Gk-Tanr nanc, Hristiyanlk, slam

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A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE BELIEF SYSTEMS IN BEOWULF AND THE BOOK OF DEDE KORKUT HLYA TAFLI ABSTRACT Beowulf is one of the earliest English epics and is of significance in western literature, similar to this The Book of Dede Korkut belongs to Turkish literature and is of importance in eastern literature. They both preserve the common features of their ages and are the outcomes of their societies including their historical, social and cultural elements. Both of the epics were produced orally, and have been put down into writing at a later date depending upon their socio-cultural background. In this study the comparative study of the belief systems in Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut have been made. These epics, which were produced orally, had similarities and differences in analyzing the concept of god before conversion to monotheist beliefs that were respectively Christianity and Islam. Beowulf, which was shaped by the cultures of Scandinavian, German and Celtic, was influenced by polytheism and paganism of these cultures. After conversion to Christianity, the traces of polytheism were also seen in Beowulf. Similarly, The Sky-God belief and shaman tradition influenced The Book of Dede Korkut before Islam, and after conversion to Islam these pre-Islamic traces were also seen. Furthermore number, colour and animal symbolism, and the concept of death, after life and immortality were scrutinized by pointing out the belief systems both in Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut. In conclusion this study may assert the implicit interaction between the societies of Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut. Key Words: epic, Beowulf, The Book of Dede Korkut, paganism, shamanism, polytheism, Celestial Supreme God (Sky-God belief), Christianity, Islam

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CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS....i ZET..ii ABSTRACT...iii CONTENTS...iv INTRODUCTION.1 CHAPTER I: THE CONCEPT OF GOD IN BEOWULF AND THE BOOK OF DEDE KORKUT..13 CHAPTER II: NUMBER, COLOUR AND ANIMAL MYSTICISM IN BEOWULF AND THE BOOK OF DEDE KORKUT II.1. Number Symbolism....39 II.1.1. Number Three..40 II.1.2. Number Nine46 II.1.3. Number Forty...51 II.1.4. Number Fifty....52 II.2. Colour Symbolism..53 II.2.1. Black....54 II.2.2. Yellow..60 II.2.3. Red and White..63 II.3. Animal Symbolism..64 II.3.1. Dragon..65 II.3.2. Stag/Deer......67 II.3.3. Raven....68 II.3.4. Boar and Bull....69 II.3.5. Pigeon....70 II.3.6. Camel.....71 CHAPTER III: THE CONCEPT OF DEATH, THE OTHERWORLD AND IMMORTALITY..74 CONCLUSION.85 APPENDIX I.....93 APPENDIX II....94 BIBLIOGRAPHY..95 CURRICULUM VITAE..106

INTRODUCTION

Epic is an extended narrative poem, grand in scope, exalted in style, and heroic in theme, often giving expression to the ideals of a nation or race (Legouis: 1943: 22). Although the locations and the eras of the epics differ, the similarities of conditions bring them into existence. The epic is easy to memorize and the gleemen or the scops1 memorize the epics to recite them to their societies, for this reason the process of the epic started orally and passed on from one generation to other by word of mouth. Within the epic it is not difficult to recognize the folklore, customs, social structure and the political issues of the society that it belonged to. In epic there is the reflection of the traditions and myths of a culture or group of people, in addition to this, the deeds of the major and functional characters are shaped by these traditions and myths. Hence it can be asserted that the myths, legends, folklore, customs, social and the political issues of the group establish the basis of an epic. Similarly Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut are epics that both preserve and reflect the virtues and values of their societies. This study aims to find out the similarities and differences of these two epics within the belief systems. The folklore, tribal life, heroic, social and the political issues, supernatural elements, events and characters, relations with the neighbours have common characteristic, and these common concepts shape the structure of the morality, and the belief system of the society. However, the geographical location, the period of composition, gender relations, and to some extent the forms are different in Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut.

The geographical location of Beowulf is in the northwest of England and The Book of Dede Korkut is in the north of Anatolia. Orchard states that the geographical location of Beowulf is around the Baltic Sea and the North Sea where the Swedes, Jutes, Geats, Danes, Angles, Heathobards and Frisians lived (2003: xiii). When these tribes are compared chronologically, it can be seen that the Angles were highly influenced by the Danes, Geats, and other Germanic and Scandinavian tribes. Cherniss asserts that these tribes may be considered to be the ancestors of the English; the scops may have travelled among the tribes of Germania and the documents of the travels highlight the ancestors of the English (1972: 14). On the other hand the geographical location of The Book of Dede Korkut is around the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea, in what is today Asia. The Huns, once members of the ancient Gktrk Empire, moved westward to settle along the banks of the Syr Darya, then westward to the shores of the Caspian Sea, South to Transoxiana and northward to the steppes beyond the Aral Sea (Elibeyzade 1988: 1). It is generally accepted that The Book of Dede Korkut was put down into writing in the ninth century (Ergin 1989: 56) and Beowulf was put down into writing some time between the middle of the seventh and the end of the tenth century of the first millenium, in Anglo-Saxon or Old English (Heaney 2002: xxiii). Although they were put down into writing two centuries apart, there are certain characteristics common to these two epics. It may be asserted that both epics have common characteristics though composed at different times and in different places. As stated by Binyazar each epic posesses the characteristics of the heroic and folk epic tradition: history and imagination, mythology and folklore are intermingled in them (1996: 78), but obanolu suggests that epics cannot be thought of as historical documents, which show verisimilitude (2003: 20). Structurally, Beowulf consists of three tales and the deeds of a single hero, whereas The Book of Dede Korkut consists of twelve tales, a prologue and the deeds of the wise man Dede Korkut2. They also differ in form; Beowulf was put down into writing in verse, but The Book of Dede Korkut was put down into writing in alternating verse and prose.

Notwithstanding the differences, there are many common characteristics in these epics. First of all the tribal life described in Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut are to some extent similar. The episodes in the folklore and legends of the Nordic peoples foreshadow episodes in Beowulf. Chambers draws attention to the fact that Beowulf is rooted in the stories of Nordic societies like Offa of Mercia in eight century, apparently composed orally in connection with various social activities (1967: 529). In this respect it may be argued that the tribal life of the Nordic societies is reflected in their literary works, and these literary works are indirectly stated in Beowulf. Similar to this, Kagarl Mahmuts Divan- Lugat-it Trk gives information about the tribal life of The Book of Dede Korkut and emphasizes the firstTurkic heroic poems taken from oral sources of the ancestors of Ouz (Bagz 1978: 312). Moreover, nothwithstanding the different geographies of Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut, the tribal life styles depicted in these epics display similarities. Beowulf is the very type of a hero who delights in his own prowess and magnanimity compared to lesser men. With his heroism, he exemplifies his heroic age by reflecting the life style and values of his society (Alexander 1973: 15). Similar to Beowulf, Bagz asserts that of the twelve epic stories of The Book of Dede Korkut, eight are the narration of the heroic deeds of the Muslim Ouz Turks in their fights against the heathens (1978: 313). The heroic deeds and the characteristics of the heroic fights are explicit reflections of the life style of the Ouz people. Hence, it can be pointed out that the life style and the heroism of the societies is intermingled with the concepts of the heroic age in Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut. The epics both reflect the social, cultural and religious values of their times. Both Orchard and Heaney state that the social setting of Beowulf is the Germanic and Scandinavian tribes (2003: 98, 2003: XVIII). Antoniades more specificaly refers to the architectural qualities of the age and states that: The readers encounter architectonic spaces, architectonic comparisons, and introductory descriptions of palaces and buildings of utility. The hall of Hygelac is certainly smaller but typologically perhaps not different from Heorot, the palace of Hrothgar, king of the Danes. Both palaces are probably not different from the large castles one could encounter throughout the Scandinavian countries at the time (1992: 132).

In the Heroic Age, the tribe replaces the family as the unit of Germanic social life, and the chieftain occupies a tribal position analogous to that of the paterfamilias. As Cherniss states, the heroic tradition is generally assumed to have been common to all of the various heathen Germanic tribes of Europe (1972: 32). They have their roots in the fourth, fifth and sixth centuries B.C., and a large body of heroic narrative poetry deals with stories, perhaps originally historical, of the kings and heroes of the great period of Germanic and Scandinavian migrations. Beowulf contains the fragments and the allusions of these sagas and poems, and it portrays the tribal life of the Danes and Geats (Cherniss 1972: 33). The similarity between the architecture in the dwellings may be because of the interaction of the tribes that use the ships as migration vehicles. The folk of Beowulf and their ancestors migrated by sea. As they are a sea fearing society the ship plays a prominent part in the poem, in the rituals of death as well as in the lives of these North Sea fearing bands. The ships described in the poem are most probably of tarred clinkerbuilt construction like the Sutton Hoo Mound I ship and other migration- period boats (Webster 2002: 221). Resembling the period and tribal society of Beowulf, the Ouz society depicted in The Book of Dede Korkut embodies the common features such as the migration vehicle: Ouz society used horses, and Geats and Danes used ships. Although this is a similarity, the tool that they used is different depending upon their geographical locations. The common point is that both groups migrated and they used the migration vehicles appropriate for the terrain they covered. Unlike early estimates, the beginnings of The Book of Dede Korkut have recently been established between the fifth and the seventh century of the first millenium B.C. (Nebiyev 2000: 66). The homeland of the Ouz Turks was Asia and their epic was committed to writing some time between the ninth and thirteenth centuries A.D. (Ergin 1989:56). The Book of Dede Korkut was composed between the fifth century B.C. and the thirteenth century A.D. The Ouz people were semi sedentary hence The Book of Dede Korkut was recorded in writing centuries later than its oral version. As the Ouz people were nomads, they went to the mountains in summer and to the plains in winter.

They lived in pavilions and lived by breeding animals such as sheep, cows, camels and horses (Ergin 1989: 28). In The Book of Dede Korkut the Ouz society is divided into two groups: Boz Ok (Gray Arrows) and Ok (Three Arrows), in the epic they are called Inner and Outer Ouz. The origin of The Book of Dede Korkut dates to the oral sources, and has the features of Turkic oral culture. The earliest information about the Ouz society dates to the seventh century B.C. (Nebiyev 2000: 66). According to the historical documents, the Hun Emperor and the Gktrk society are the ancestors of the Ouz people (Smer 1997: 6). Ouz Kaan is considered to be the first leader and the founder of the Ouz dynasty. In The Legend of Ouz Kaan each of his sons establishes a specific society: Yldz Han (Star Kaan), Ay Han (Moon Kaan), and Gn Han (Day Kaan) establish the Boz Ok (Gray Arrows or Outer Ouz), and Gk Han (Sky Kaan), Da Han (Mountain Kaan), and Deniz Han (Sea Kaan) establish the Ok (Three Arrows or Inner Ouz) (Su 1972:3-17). The main plot and the thematic structure of The Book of Dede Korkut are related to the sons of Ouz Kaan and their nomadic life styles. As Baldick states, the horse is the most important animal for the migration of the Ouz society. The archeological traces point out that the heroes were buried with their horses and the horses are assigned supernatural qualities and powers; a horse is able to transform its appearance or talk like a human, giving the hero advice. The horse grows miraculosly, often rescues the hero and can even bring him back from the dead, turning into an eagle and flying up into the heavens; it may be born at the same moment as the hero and be his double (Baldick 2000- 87). It is pointed out that horses are the friends of the Ouz people and they migrate to places using the power of the horses befitting thier tribal status. The Teutonic society of Beowulf was shaped by the sea culture, and the society of The Book of Dede Korkut was shaped by the steppe culture. Although the geographical locations of the epics differ, the heroic and political issues of the Teutonic and Ouz societies reflected in the epics display similarities. One of the major charateristics of the epics is the heroic deeds of the hero and the hero himself. In an epic there is only one hero who inculcates the values of the heroic deeds and ideals (Sakaolu; Duymaz 2003: 129). The lineage of the hero is emphasized, and family relationships and the tribal names play an important role in the poems: Beowulf himself

is four times simply called the Geat (l.640, 1301, 1785, 1792). Although there are over seventy characters in Beowulf, Beowulf is the hero of the poem and embodies the highest ideals of his time and place, ie, loyalty, valor, unselfishness, and a sense of justice (Raffel 1991: 23). Loyalty, the principle of personal allegiance between individual warriors, is the primary concept upon which the ideal society depicted in Germanic heroic poetry is built on. Indeed the word loyalty and the abstract qualities and values which that word implies even today, implies the entire system of the comitatus relationships which inheres in the values put forth by Old English heroic poetry (Cherniss 1972: 30). Cherniss also points out that the importance of personal loyalty of Germanic society is unmistakebly suggested in Tacitus Germania, and is explicitly stated in Beowulf. The Germanic heroic society described in Beowulf is dominated by a warrior-aristocracy and was brought from the continent by the Germanic tribes during their migrations to the island. As Evans states the Anglo-Saxon warriors were organized within a comitatus structure that in part was supported by the heroic ideals, whose main focus was on the bonds between a chieftain and his warriors within a lord-retainer relationship (1997: 86). One of the prominent heroic features was the lords task to fight for victory, while the warriors was to fight for his lord. The lord simply through the military exploits of his comitatus could earn worldly fame and honour. Beyond the cultural and material advantages associated with victory, the lord of a successful warband benefited from its ability to attract warriors from outside its tribal area. As Tacitus noted, the possession of a large retinue of fierce warriors gave honour and prestige to earlier Germanic lords, whether in times of war or peace (Cherniss 1972: 32). As an ideal and loyal hero befitting the heroic ideals, Beowulf establishes a bond between warriors of equal rank in the society and warriors and social betters, specifically between retainers and their lords. The bond between a Germanic lord and his retainers, in a hierarchical society, places specific, clearly differentiated, though neverthless similar, responsibilities and privileges upon social superior and inferior, leader and follower. Victory in battle and the deeds of Beowulfs retainers bring glory to him. Beowulf is loyal to Hrothgar, king of Danes, and Hygelac, king of Geats, and he achives his goals by killing Grendel, Grendels mother and the dragon. Before this heroic deed, other deeds of Beowulf are foreshadowed in the poem. For instance Beowulf is

considered to have a great physical strength; he gives the glory to God. Beowulf is the ultimate hero who puts his life on the line for an entire kingdom. Beowulf's heroism can be seen when he takes fourteen of the bravest in his land to go to help Hrothgar. Hrothgar was Beowulf's father's close friend who had been plagued by attacks for twelve years that threatened an entire kingdom. Beowulf did not have to offer Hrothgar's kingdom help, but does so because he wants to use his God given strength to the best of his ability (ll.202-208). Another instance for his physical strength is his ability of swimming for seven nights, killing nine sea creatures in the depths of the ocean (572-76). Similar to Beowulf, heroic and the political issues are embodied in The Book of Dede Korkut. The structure of the social institution of the comitatus in Beowulf has common aspects with the structure of the social institution of the Kurultay in The Book of Dede Korkut. Although the names of these social institutions differ from each other, the structure they display has similarities. The Ouz society has many duties that are distributed among the society. In The Book of Dede Korkut each tribe has its own leader, and the leader gives permission his tribe to go hunting or assembles them in his pavilion to solve certain tribal problems, and invites them to assembly once a year. Each tribe and the leader of the tribe assemble with the other tribes, and they form the Ouz society. The Ouz society also gathers together to solve the individual or the collective problems and cope with the external threats. Bayndr Kaan is the Kaan of Kaans in The Book of Dede Korkut, and he and his retainers try to solve the internal and the external difficulties in every respect. Bayndr Kaan is the supreme authority when group action is to be taken; the supreme judge in all decisions that will affect the Ouz nation; the Kaan and his Kaans attend a council where a comitatus relationship exists (Smer 1991: xv; Ergin 1989: 23). In this council all the members assemble to solve a certain problem and each member has a right to defend his idea. In The Book of Dede Korkut there are two kinds of Kurultay: first one is for the society to solve the societal problems, the other is for the kaans to solve the governmental problems. Like the similarities of the political issues displayed as comitatus and Kurultay in both of the epics, there are similarities of the heroic deeds in Beowulf, and The Book of Dede Korkut also. In general the hero of the Ouz society has to deserve a title at the age of

fifteen after killing a wild animal or an infidel (Ekiz 1986: 11). In The Book of Dede Korkut, the hero of each tale embodies the values of loyalty, valor, unselfishness and justice observed in Beowulf (Sakaolu; Duymaz 2003: 126). As explicitly stated and classified by Duymaz, seven of the twelve tales embody the heroic deeds of the heroes: Boa Han, Bams Beyrek, Kan Tural, Yigenek, Basat, Emren and Segrek (2003: 125). In The Book of Dede Korkut killing an enemy or a wild animal proves valor and justice. When the hero finds the poor and helps them, he proves his generosity and social responsibility. The loyal hero of the Ouz society never betrays his tribe, and does his best befitting his social and political status. The heroes of The Book of Dede Korkut prove their status by killing a wild animal, by killing an infidel, saving the lives of their families, then earning a title from Korkut Ata. Although the comitatus and the Kurultay have different names, they have common features depicted in these epics. These two institutions set the rules and solve the problems between the king or the kaan and their retainers depending upon their heroic ideals. In Beowulf, the warriors duties and obligations in the lord-retainer relationship are known as earning ones mead (Evans 1997: 58). This concept represented a warriors repayment to his lord for the gifts and honours which he had received. Of the various duties that a warrior could perform to repay his lord, none were as important as the obligation to follow his lord in battle. In battle, a warrior was expected to fight and slay the enemies of his lord, to protect his lord to the best of his abilities, and to avenge his death in the event of the lords death (Evans 1997: 59). The major problem in Beowulf is the danger and the threat of Grendel, later the mother of Grendel and in the final sections the dragon. Beowulf is aware of the fact that his grandfather Hrethel the Geat was an old friend of Hrothgar, and Hrothgar once helped Beowulfs grandfather (371-86)3. Now Beowulf comes to Heorot to help Hrothgar. This bond between the two tribes strengthens the bonds of these two socities. When Beowulf kills Grendel, Hrothgars statement strengthens the bond of the Geats and the Danes (948-55). Personal service leads directly to tribal friendship and neighbourly relations; personal, national or both types of alliances are made by verbal agreement (ll.1853-64), and befitting the comitatus structure, Beowulf fullfills his battlefiled duties with his retainers to solve the problems and he becomes a hero. For instance the ideal retainer of

Beowulf, Wiglaf, condemns the cowardly and unfaithfull retainers who deserted their lord in his hour of need (2980-1). For their failure to uphold their part of lord-retainer relationship, Wiglaf also declares that the unfaithful retainers and their families are to be exiled from the kindom and from all hall joys befitting the comitatus system (288487). In a similar manner, the heroes of the Ouz society solve the problems of their tribes. In the tales the Kaan achieves his heroic ideal and does his best. The Kurultay is considered to be a kind of council where all the important political and social matters are discussed, and the leader of the Kurultay, Bayndr Han, chooses kaans from the Ouz tribes depending on their heroic success. The kaan and his retainers are not only responsible for their tribes, but also the other tribes when they are in need. When Salur Kazan tries to find the infidels who kidnap his family and tribe members, the shepherd follows Salur Kazan to fight with the foes. When the bad news is heard by the other kaans of the Ouz society, they help Salur Kazan to defeat the infidels (37-38)4. In this tale Salur Kazan is the kaan and other kaans are considered to be his retainers. Each Kaan has his own story: the kaan-retainer relationship is established in terms of equality in the Kurultay and the heroic deeds of the kaans alter depending upon the situation. The only difference from Beowulf is that none of the retainers in The Book of Dede Korkut is unfaitful to his kaan. In an epic the supernatural elements are intermingled with the social rituals, folklore, and the religious belief. In this respect it may be asserted that the supernatural elements of Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut have common characteristics. Generally in epic giants, monsters, dragons or fairies are mentioned. obanolu asserts that the fight between the supernatural character and the hero is almost always one of the major charateristics of the epic tradition (2003: 20). The supernatural beings in Beowulf can be listed as Grendel, Grendels mother, the dragon and Beowulf himself (which some critics still debate); and similarly Hzr, Tepegz and the fairy mother of Tepegz are the supernatural characters in The Book of Dede Korkut. Each of the supernatural characters in epics creates chaos or displays an unpleasant attitude that the hero has to overcome (Owen; Crocker 2000: 86). The hero tries to bring peace to his society and wants to put an end to this threat or chaos caused by the supernatural being or beings. Beowulf, for instance slays Grendel, his mother and the dragon in order to protect other people. Similarly Basat, a hero in The Book of Dede Korkut, kills Tepegz to protect his

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society from this unnatural character in the story of Basat, Killer of the One-Eyed Giant. Although the fairy mother of Tepegz is encountered in the epic, she is not depicted in detail. Hzr is another supernatural character that is introduced in the story of Boa Kaan, and he differs from the other nonnatural characters. He is considered to be a holy supernatural character; he always helps the people who are in need. He is like a holy spirit; he suddenly appears in order to help people and disappears after achieving his mission. One of the other common characteristics of Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut is the relations with the other tribes. Munro Chadwick says that alliances in the heroic age are personal rather than national in character, but this is mainly because of the nature of lordship in the idealized Germanic society (1912: 424). The lord and his comitatus are ideally one in thought and action; an alliance between the two lords is in effect an alliance between their two tribes. Beowulf the Geats services to Hrothgar the Dane creates a firm bond of friendship between the two men and their positions as lord of the Danes and representative of the Geats give the personal bond national significance (Cherniss 1972: 45). The national aspect of personal alliances is evident in the practice of forming inter-tribal bonds of the societies through the marriage of a lord and one of the female members of the family of a rival lord. Hrothgar intends to marry his daughter Freawaru, to Frode, the son of the lord of the Heathobards, to end the strife between the tribe and the Danes (220-30). If sons and daughters are unavailable for intermarriage, a lord may cement an alliance by taking a lord or warrior of another tribe as a sort of adopted son (Cherniss 1972: 46). Similar to Beowulf, the relations with the other societies, the Inner and the Outer Ouz, are narrated in The Book of Dede Korkut. Binyazar draws attention to the importance of the inter-tribal relations. One of the major virtues of the Turks is the bonds of intertribal relations. The rights of the individuals in a society are as important as the rights of God. The marriage between the two Ouz tribes creates a bond, makes them kinsmen (Binyazar 1996: 39). For instance Kan Tural marries the infidel lords daughter, and the unrest between these two socieities ends. The last tale of The Book of Dede Korkut is about the revolt of the Outer Ouz against the Inner Ouz. Sometimes inter-tribal societies wage wars against one another to show their prowess, but in the end they stop

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fighting or plundering and live happily together. In the Ouz society showing hospitality to the guests and the other societies is one of the important rituals. The friendship and the ties among the Ouz society strengthen the relations. For instance in the Ouz society, people of each tribe prepare meals for themselves and other tribes or they help the poor by giving clothes or food, hence this kind of generosity and hospitality is quite common among the Ouz people (Ekiz 1986: 27). In Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut the folklore, tribal life, heroic, social and the political matters, supernatural elements, events and characters, relations with the intertribal societies that directly influence the establishment and the development of the belief systems in their age display similarities. Although the characteristics of the societies may be similar or different in Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut, the major common virtue is considered to be the belief or religion. In epic it is observed that values such as folklore, culture, social and the political issues, supernatural elements, gender relations, and setting establish and directly influence the belief system of a society.

The Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut poets accomodate a double tradition: Christian and pre-Christian, Islamic and pre-Islamic; Boratav points out that epics passed on from one generation to other by word of mouth, and throught the transition from oral culture to written culture, more than one poet recited epics (1988: 57). The date of composition of Beowulf covers the heroic and Christian periods. This heroic matter is generally assumed to have been common to all of the various heathen Germanic tribes of Europe and has its origin in the fourth, fifth and sixth centuries. After the influence of Christianity, the roots of Beowulf have not been completely altered. For this reason Beowulf embodies the traces of both pagan motifs and Christianity. The origins of Beowulf, Hrothgar, Hygelac, Finn, Sigemund and the other heroes whose names and deeds appear in the poem are rooted in the history, legend and folklore of the Germanic past. Beowulf appears to be a Christian poem in so far as its poet is certainly a Christian and his poem depicts the Christian motifs and allusion (Cherniss 1972:125). As it is usually formulated, the main point of contention is whether Beowulf is a Christian or a pagan poem. The predominant early view of the

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poem sees it as a pagan poem, drawn from pre-Christian materials and once existed without Christian sentiments and allusions. Chadwick draws attention to the fact that the epic is influenced by the Teutonic religion (1912: 394). Although the names of gods or goddesses of Scandinavian literature are not explicitly stated in Beowulf, the traces of paganism and polytheism can be observed. It is under debate why the names of the gods or the goddesses are not directly mentioned in Beowulf.

The comparative study of the belief systems in Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut aims to analyse the explanation of the belief systems, and the concept of God or gods in the first chapter. First Germanic and Scandinavian paganism, later the doctrines of Christianity will be studied in Beowulf. Similar to Beowulf the Sky-God belief with its cults and shamanism, later Islamic doctrines will be analysed in The Book of Dede Korkut. In the second chapter mysticism of numbers, holy colours and animal mysticism are going to be studied. In the third chapter the concepts of death, other world and the idea of immortality are going to be discussed in Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut. The scop is a story-telling singer, and his role in the poem includes the position of historian and announcer of heroic codes. 2 In The Book of Dede Korkut, Dede Korkut is sometimes observed as Korkut Ata. 3 The references to the text will be by the line numbers given in paranthetical references in Beowulf. 4 The references to the text will be given as page numbers in the paranthetical references as The Book of Dede Korkut is a combination of alternating verse and prose sections.
1

CHAPTER I: THE CONCEPT OF GOD IN BEOWULF AND THE BOOK OF DEDE KORKUT The traces of deities and the concept of God are observed in both of the epics. Beowulf was composed some time between the middle of the seventh and the end of the tenth century of the common era (Heaney 2002: xxiii). The Book of Dede Korkut was composed some time between the fifth and the seventh century of the common era (Nebiyev 2000: 66) The societies depicted in Beowulf were pagans and this pagan belief came from the Druids and the Germanic tribes (North 1997: 185). Similar to this, the societies depicted in The Book of Dede Korkut were the Ouz people who were considered to be the believers of Sky-God and shamanism. These epics were being sung and put down into writing, and during this process the societies were being converted to monotheistic religions, that is, Christianity and Islam respectively. The concept of paganism is implicitly embodied in Beowulf. As stated by Bjork, the Danes are said to have engaged in the actual worship of heathen gods, for which the Christian poet of Beowulf condemns them, though realizing with some sympathy that they cannot help their ignorance (1997: 178). Though the Danes were pagans, there is not any kind of actual pagan worship; no pagan gods are ever referred to, and there is no explicit mention of their being pagans. Cherniss points out that in Beowulf there are several clues in which are the remnants of the Germanic pagan tradition (1972: 26). Most of the Scandinavian myths refer to the deities of nature and their deeds. Odin was called Allfather; he was not only the actual father of many of the gods and created the first man and woman, but he was also the foremost of the gods. Snorri states that:

Othin is the highest and oldest of the gods. He rules all things and, no matter how mighty the other gods may be, they all serve him as children do their father. He lives forever and ever, and rules over the whole of his kingdom and governs all things great and small. He created heaven and earth and sky and all that is in them. (CrossleyHolland 1980: xxv)

Thor, son of Odin and Earth, was second in the pantheon and he represents order, when his father stands for violence and war. The most important of the fertility gods was Freyr, god of Plenty; he decides when the sun shall shine or the rain come down, and along with that the fruitfullness of the earth, and he is the god to invoke for peace and abundance. Frigg is Odins wife but no information is given about her in the Scandinavian myths. Similar to Crossley-Hollands comments, Chadwick suggests that the gods are grouped together in an organized community: Odin is considered to be the head, Frigg is considered to be Odins wife and Thor and many of the other gods are considered to be the other members of this community (Chadwick 1912: 394). It may be possible that the poet of Beowulf depicts the religious beliefs of his characters especially by choosing pagan Germanic and Scandinavian heroes and rituals as his subject matters. Many of the scholars hold the point of view that the poet of Beowulf might have been a pious Christian priest, and that he might implicitly have imposed the doctrines of Christianity onto the pagan poem (Orchard 2003: 99; Cherniss 1972: 9; Clark 1990: 37). It is also interesting that there is no specific source of the poet or the poets of Beowulf either; hence the identity of the composer or the composers of the English epic is still under debate. As stated by Clark, the Anglo-Saxons themselves began to accept Christianity only from the late six century on, and throughout this period paganism was a constant threat against which preachers railed, and Christian kings and their retinues struggled (1990: 33). When the Beowulf poet sets out to show how admirable and at the same time how examplary his non-Christian ancestors could be, he had to be very careful not to appear to be encouraging a return to the dark ways of Germanic and Scandinavian heathendom. The poet celebrates the nobility of Beowulf and the religious beliefs, which any Anglo-Saxon would have known to be Germanic and Scandinavian paganism. The poet speaks of the true God and of the Devil, and he alludes specifically to biblical events such as the Flood, the Last Judgement, and Cains

15

slaying of Abel. These biblical narratives explicitly alluded to in Beowulf are connected to Grendel, and the passages referring to Cain places Grendel directly in the race of the first murderer in the Old Testament. As Godden also points out, Grendel is introduced with a reference to the Old Testament legend which describes the origin of the monsters, so his end is announced by an allusion to the biblical myth of their destruction (216). In the poem, the thoughts of the characters and their language are circumscribed by the pagan world in which they live, and at times their speeches seem to have a Christian resonance. North draws attention to the fact that the audience is expected to understand the two different cultures which inevitably give dignity to the old heroes as viewed by Christian eyes, but which betray no Christian revelation in heathen minds (1997: 185). The poet of Beowulf is most probably a Christian and like him most of the Teutonic peoples are considered to have accepted Christianity. Similar to the views of North, Chadwick asserts that The facts which are known with regard to the conversion are that it almost invariably began in the kings court; that violent opposition was offered only in kingless communities, as among the OldSaxons, or in defiance of the kings authority, as in Norway; that after the conversion the gods (in general) disappear at once and for good; that magical practices and the belief in spirits and even in certain female agricultural deities lasted among the country people for many centuries. (1912: 414) If the reflection of paganism in Beowulf is examined closely, it will be seen that it can be classified in three groups according to how it has been employed in the poem. The first type can be defined as the literal use of paganism. It refers to the actual practice and beliefs of pre-Christian Germanic peoples. These practices and beliefs are considered to be the rituals of polytheistic societies, and ship burial might be given as an example for the literal display of paganism. The societies depicted in Beowulf are pre-Christian, and the epic embodies the literal descriptions of pagan religious rituals as illustrated in the lines below where the burial of the lord according to pagan rituals is described: They shouldered him out of the seas flood, The chief they revered who had long ruled them. A ring-whorled prow rode in the harbour, Ice-clad, outbound, a craft for a prince. They stretched their beloved lord in his boat, Laid out by the mast, amidships,

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The great ring giver. Far fetched treasures Were piled upon him, and precious gear. I never heard before of a ship so well furbished With battle-tackle, bladed weapons And coats of mail . No man can tell, No wise man in hall or weathered veteran Knows for certain who salvaged that load (30-52)1 Christian authorities condemned the pagan funeral rites of this kind, and the ship burial of a Christian ritual was observed. The ship of Shield is not buried in a mound, which is considered to be a Christian ritual, but pushed out to the sea. Shield, who establishes the Danish royal family, dies and is pushed out the sea according to a Christian ritual. Similar to this, Beowulf is the predecessor of the royal Geat family, and Beowulfs funeral is another example of the direct literal depiction of pagan beliefs (3134- 82). The second method of depicting paganism in Beowulf can be defined as vestigial paganism, which refers to the traces of fossil paganism such as the use of the description of pagan dresses, armours, amulets, helmets and swords. Archeologists have focused on materials such as the helmets with boar images that people used in their dayto-day lives (Barrett 1990: 121). These helmets with boar images were found at Sutton Hoo, Suffolk, that date from the seventh century (Bruce-Mitford 1968: 1965-67). For instance, the warriors in Beowulf wear helmets with images of boars on them: So they went on their way. The ship rode the water, Broad-beamed, bound by its hawser And anchored fast. Boar-shapes flashed Above their cheek-guards, the brightly forged Work of goldsmith, watching over Those stern-faced men (300-306) The boar was an animal sacred to the Germanic God Freyr, and its image was regarded as powerful protection (Bjork 1997: 179). Owen and Crocker state that the boar as a symbol seems to have had a much longer existence and a wider currency than the boar helmet: Tacitus mentions the wearing of boar masks, probably in crop fertility ceremonies of the god Freyr which was well known in the North (2000: 117). Another example of vestigial paganism is the concept

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of fate. The concept is personified and is referred to as a god or goddess of Fate (Klaeber 1950: xliv). Hill points out that a man can change his fate or God can change the mans fate, and this metaphorical point of view may also be used literally: My household guard are on the wane, Fate sweeps them away Into Grendels clutches- but God can easily Halt these raids and horrowing attacks (473-77) . Often for undaunted courage, Fate spares the man it has not already marked (573-74) In these lines Grendels attacks on Heorot are given, and fate is considered to be a godlike creature. Beowulf is going to kill Grendel and his mother comes to take revenge. After Grendels mother comes, her revenge seems to be inevitable, her arrival is clearly anticipated by the poet, but the sequence of actions, including the accidents of her foray and the defense of the hall, is a surprise. Fate is revealed in the event, a mystery not in fact fully realized until the event comes to a close. Even Beowulfs fight with the dragon in the last episode of the epic, despite forebodings and his spiritual restlessness, is an entry into the unknown. Beowulf does not know how many times the dragon will attack, nor does he know whether or not Wiglaf will come to his assistance, and he does not know how the dragon will be dispatched. It is fate who decides about all these things:

He was sad at heart unsettled yet ready, Sensing his death. His fate hovered near, unknowable but certain It would soon claim his coffered soul Part life from limb (2421-27) The third method of depicting paganism in Beowulf lies in the realm of ethics and morality. As Irving points out, the fundamental ethical code of Beowulf is to some extent secular (1997: 180). It is the warrior code of aristocracy, celebrating bravery, loyalty and generosity, with the hero finding his immortality in the long lasting fame of great exploits carried out in this world. Irving also draws attention to the fact that in Scandinavian mythology and in Beowulf a similar code is sanctioned (1997: 180) The god Odin (Woden) rewards his warriors with a place in Valhalla, and this ritual may be observed in Beowulf because the hero is mourned and also immortalized by his people.

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The traces of paganism can be observed in Beowulf, but the poet condemns Hrothgar and the Danes for idol worship; he is consistent and careful in depicting the good preChristian heroic figures in the poem as monotheistic Noachites. As defined by Hill, the religion of Beowulf, Hrothgar and the good Germanic heroes in the poem may be defined as Noachitism, that is, as gentiles who share the religious heritage and knowlegde of Noah and his sons without having access to the revealed knowledge of God which was granted to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, a tradition culminated by the revelation of the Law to Moses and continued by the tradition of the prophecy in Israel (2003: 203). Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, is an examplary character displaying nobility, bravery, loyalty and generosity in terms of ethical paganism, but he worships the deities and is denounced by the poet: Sometimes at pagan shrines they vowed Offering to idols, swore oaths That the killer of souls might come to their aid And save the people. That was their way, Their heathenish hope; deep in their hearts They remembered hell. The Almighty Judge Of good deeds and bad, the Lord God, Head of the Heavens and High King of the World, Was unknown to them. Oh, cursed is he Who in time of trouble has to thrust his soul In the fires embrace, forfeiting help; He has nowhere to turn (175-86) The English epic has both pagan and Christian elements, and Thorkelin believes that the poem has been composed by a Danish poet and then imported to England and slightly Christianized, possibly by King Alfred (www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Thorkelin). If the similarities of Beowulf and its previous literary periods are studied in detail, it is possible to point out that the preChristian poet of this English pagan epic speaks of the poem as being based on The Myth of Beowa, the divine hero who overcame the sea-giant Grendel (Bjork 1997: 181). Beowa is identified with the old God Beowa who is the god of early pagan German epics. In this respect it may be stated that Beowulf embodies pagan motifs and after conversion to Christianity, pagan materials with Christian colouring are stressed in the epic (Bazelmans 1999: 72). Similarly, Klaeber acknowledges that the poem abounds in supernatural elements of pre-Christian associations, but asserts that nevertheless the general impression is decidedly Christian. Klaeber further argues that the general tone

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and the ethical viewpoint are predominantly Christian, and that the main story has been thoroughly imbued with the spirit of Christianity (1912: 169-199). The predominant early view of the poem saw it as an essentially pagan poem, drawn from pre-Christian materials which once existed without Christian sentiments and allusions. Cherniss asserted that the Christian elements are of the most elementary nature and are mere colouring added by a pious interpolator (1972: 126). Blackburn (1897: 1-21) and Munro Chadwick (1912: 47-56) also argued for this interpolation theory. Although Christianity had been introduced into Roman Britain around the year 200 AD, and had persisted in parts of the island through the period of heathen Saxon invasion and settlement, it was not until 597, when Pope Gregory the Great sent his monk Augustine to reconvert Britain to the Roman doctrine, that Orthodox Latin Christianity began to gain ascendany there (Cherniss 1972: 10). In this respect it may be pointed out that Beowulf both preserves the virtues of polytheism and Chrsitianity. The three methods of reflecting paganism depict that the concept of God are embodied in the Germanic heroic tradition that may shed light into the interaction of Germanic paganism and Christianity in Beowulf. As Cherniss states most of the stories such as The Thedrik Saga, Volsunga Saga, Nibelungenlied and Edda were lost in the period of the Germanic migrations, but they appeared in the twelfth century and Beowulf contains the fragments of these stories (1972: 11). These pre-Christian stories survived after the conversion to Christianity, and Beowulf contains allusions to pre-Christian and Christian motifs. Gregory the Great shows himself as working toward a Christian society ruled jointly by kings and bishops on the model described in the Old Testament (Nie 2003: 179). Gregory the Great stated that he intended to substitute stories about divine miracles for those about the actions and metamorphoses of immoral pagan deities; which were still part of the classical education given to young aristocrats. Stories about miracles including dreams, heroic and supernatural elements are delibrately chosen as vehicles to convey the essence of Christian belief (Nie 2003: 180). Gregory the Great also adopted the idea of paganism as a spectrum of beliefs and practices, and he stated that those who were pagans, were considered not to be baptised. As pointed out by Robert Austin, pagans did not know true God, and merely veneration and stones (1997: 82). Although he gives importance to Christianity, he does not delibrately want to attract the attention of the new Christians, and he implicitly depicts his ideas in literary

20

works which contain heathen practices. In Beowulf these paganic practices and some events related to the Old Testament support the strategy adopted by Pope Gregory the Great. Similar to the idea of Gregory the Great, Lawrence describes the Christian passages as integrated later into Beowulf: The religion of the characters seems imposed upon them rather than natural to them. The poorest and weakest parts of the poem are to be found among the definitely Christian passages. The only thing that is naive about the poem is its theology. Here is untried material and childlike attitude toward a new faith. Tradition had not yet taught the poet how to treat it with technical assurance. But, though ever present, the Christianity is all on the surface. The real vitality of the epic lies in its paganism. (1928: 9) Similar to Lawrence, Whallon believes that the Beowulf poet knows little of Christianity besides two stories from the first nine chapters of Genesis, the story of the Creation and the story of Cain (1965:19). Whallon also asserts that the apparently Christian vocabulary of Beowulf comes, for the most part, from traditional Germanic poetic language. Whallon also emphasizes the fact that the words and phrases for god and the devil probably had originally pagan associations: faeder, alwalda and meotod are as biblical as pater, omnipotens, and fatum, and Beowulf is to this extent neither Christian nor unchristian, but pre-Christian (1965: 20). Stevick offers a theory to explain how an originally pre-Christian heroic poem about Beowulf might have acquired its Christianity. Stevick asserts that: Beowulf existed for some time as an oral poem before it was copied down. In this pretextual stage, the poem was subject to extensive modification and alteration, and after the conversion of England to Roman Christianity it could have absorbed its Christian elements in the course of being sung by one or more converted oral singers. Christian elements in Beowulf drive first and significantly from the normal mutations and accretions in explanation, characterization, and reflective commentary in oral literature of a cultural tradition whose religion had changed more radically than its narative materials and poetic techniques. (1963: 79-89) The poet of Beowulf has inserted Christian comments and pious exclamations into his poem because he considers them necessary and appropriate. For instance the poet points out the references to Gods influence upon the outcome of Beowulfs fight with Grendels mother when he first narrates the episode:

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The hero observed that swamp-thing from hell, The tarn hag in all her terrible strength, Then heaved his war-sword and swung his arm: The decorated blade came down ringing And singing on her head. But he soon found His battle-torch extinguished; the shining blade Refused to bite. . The son of Ecgtheow would have surely perished And the Geats lost their warrior under the white earth Had the strong links and lock of his war-gear Not helped to save him: holy God Decided the victory. It was easy for the Lord, The Ruler of Heaven, to redress the balance Once Beowulf got back up on his feet (1518-56) In the line Holy God decided the victory the poet refers to pious exclamations about the idea of God as the giver of worldly prosperity, success in battle, and good fortune in general. For instance Beowulf observes that God decides the battle with Grendel: No weapons, therefore, For either this night: unarmed he shall face me If face me he dares. And may the Divine Lord In His wisdom grant the glory of victory To whichever side He sees fit (685-90) God saves and helps Beowulf in the fight with Grendels mother: It was hard-fought, a desperate affair That could have gone badly; if God had not helped me, The outcome would have been quick and fatal. Although Hrunting is hard-edged, I could never bring it to bear in battle. But the Lord of Men allowed me to beholdFor He often helps the unbefriended- (1655-62) Beowulf gives thanks to the king of glory for the treasures he wins from the dragon: To the everlasting Lord of all, To the King of Glory, I give thanks That I behold this treasure here in front of me, That I have been allowed to leave my people So well endowed on the day I die (2794-98)

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Hrothgar attributes Beowulfs arrival to the favor of God, offers thanks to God for Beowulfs victory over Grendel, and again offers thanks to him for Beowulfs resolution to fight Grendels mother: Now holy God Has, in his goodness, guided him here To the West-Danes, to defend us from Grendel (381-83) First and foremost, let the Almighty Father Be thanked for this sight. I suffered a long Harrowing by Grendel. But the Heavenly Shepherd Can work His wonders always and everwhere (928-31) With that the old lord sprang to his feet And praised God for Beowulfs pledge (1397-98) The Geats collectively thank God for their easy voyage to Denmark, and for Beowulfs safe return from the depths of Grendels pond: There was a clash of mail and thresh of gear. They thanked God for that easy crossing on a calm sea (226-27) His thanes advanced in a troop to meet him, Thanking God and taking great deligh In seeking their prince back safe and sound (1626-28) The Danish shore-guard wishes the Geats the favor of God, Wealtheow thanks him for Beowulfs presence in Denmark, and Hygelac thanks God that Beowulf has returned safely home: May the Almighty Father keep you and in His kindness watch over your exploit (316-17) With measured words she welcomed the Geat And thanked God for granting her wish That a deliverer she could believe in would arrive to ease their afflictions (625-28) So God be thanked I am granted this sight of you, safe and sound (1997-98) If the poet of Beowulf is considered to be a Christian, the God to whom he and his characters allude to is the Christian God. When the characters offer thanks, they offer it to the single deity; when the poet attributes the outcome of a battle to a supernatural

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power, he attributes it to a single deity, and when the poet tells his audince that his characters offer thanks, it is again to a single deity. The poets description of a song about the Creation sung by a scop in Heorot is another trace of Christianity that is referred to in the following lines, and Chadwick suggests that two or three Caedmonian poems of the Caedmonian Genesis might have provided all of the Christianity in Beowulf (1912: 394). Although there are some Germanic creation songs such as The Edda and Voluspa, the creation song of Beowulf depicts Christianity sung by a scop: Every day in the hall, the harp being struck And the clear song of a skilled poet Telling the mastery of mans beginnings, How the Almighty had made the earth A gleaming plain girdled with water; In His splendor He set the sun and the moon To be earths lamplight, lanterns for men, And filled the broad lap of the world With branches and leaves; and quickened life In every other thing that moved (91-96) Athough there are many implicit pagan gods, there are explicit references to the Old Testament in Beowulf. Blackburn draws attention to these Christian elements containing biblical history or allusions to some scriptural narrative (1897: 205-25). These include references to Cain, Abel, and the Flood. What is clear about the religious colouring of Beowulf is that while it is clearly Christian, there is little Christian doctrine. It seems that Beowulf tells of a period in the midst of religious change being neither entirely pagan, nor fully Christian or an attempt to integrate Germanic history into the Old Testament time frame (Hamilton 1963: 15). The Christian glossing of the epic can be observed in the way Grendel is described as a descendant of the biblical Cain, the first murderer. Grendel haunts Heorot, the mead-hall of the Danes, and creates chaos. Hrothgar and his society need help and Beowulf leaves Geatland to help the Danes and to defeat Grendel: Grendels mother, Monstrous hell-bride brooded on her wrongs. She had been forced down into fearful waters,

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The cold depths, after Cain held killed His fathers son, felled his own Brother with a sword. Branded an outlaw, Marked by having murdered, he moved into the wilds, Shunned company and joy. And from Cain there sprang Misbegotten spirits, among them Grendel, The banished and accursed, due to come to grips With that watcher in Heorot waiting to do battle (1258-67)

After the death of Grendel, Grendels mother arrives at Heorot to take revenge. When the origin of Beowulf is examined, it will be seen that it was composed before Christianity, but after conversion to Christianity Christian colouring is implicity described. When Grendels mother appears, she is referred to as the monstrous hell bride, which connotes the concept of hell in Christianity. Although Grendels mother arrives at Heorot to take revenge, Beowulf kills her. After killing her, he realizes the significance of the sword, which has an allegorical meaning. The hilts engravings tell the story of the origin of past strife, when the flood drowned, and the pouring ocean killed the race of giants(168990). The poet describes the qualities of the sword as follows:

Then the gold hilt was handed over To the old Lord, a relic from long ago For the venerable ruler. That rare smithwork Was passed on to the prince of the Danes When those devils perished; once death removed That murdering, guilt-steeped, God cursed fiend, Eliminating his unholy life And his mothers as well, it was willed to that king Who of all the lavish gift-lords of the North Was the best regarded between the two seas (1677-86) The hilt is engraved with the story of the Great Flood and the death of the giants from the rising of the sea: Hrothgar spoke; he examined the hilt, That relic of old times. It was engraved all over And showed how war first came into the world And the flood destroyed the tribe of giants. They suffered a terrible severance from the Lord;

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The Almighty made the waters rise, Drowned them in the deluge for retribution (1687-94) These passages illustrate that Beowulf embodies both pagan and Christian elements intermingled with each other. Chadwick asserts that Beowulf is originally a pagan epic that is brought into line with the new religion not by Christian scribes, but by poets and minstrels, who in a series of consecutive oral versions removed offending material, added Christian expressions and glossed over practices with Christian phrases (1912: 47-56). One of the other important concerns in Beowulf is the presentation of Beowulf as a Christ figure. Bazelmans asserts that there is not such a direct idea about Christ, but the deeds of Beowulf resemble the deeds of Christ (1999: 92). The characters described in Beowulf know the Creator through the creation. Some, like Hrothgars Danish subjects are true pagans who give themselves over to the worship of idols and who thereby belong to the race of Cain in a spiritual sense (Bazelmans 1999: 93). Others, like Hrothgar and Beowulf, worship and honour God; they are in a spiritual sense neither pagan nor Christian. Beowulf reflects some of Christs virtues, not in his words but in his deeds. According to Donahue, the development of Beowulf is constructed on the basis of the Christian triad: faith, hope and love (1965: 57). In the first part of the poem, Beowulfs non-commital attitude towards God and his excessive trust in his own powers disappear when God gives him solace and support in his battle with Grendel, and in his fight with Grendels mother he shows him the sword that will bring him victory. With his unselfish conquest and division of the dragons hoard, Beowulf gives thanks to God like the virtuous and unselfish Christ. It may be asserted that the polytheism of Germanic and Scandinavian societies influenced Beowulf, and brought forward the idea of paganism and heathenism. In addition to this, polytheism interacts with Christianity especially after conversion to Christianity, and biblical events such as the Flood, the Last Judgement and Cains slaying of Abel are observed in Beowulf. The implicit figures of the gods before Christianity, and the figura of Christ after conversion to Christianity are also demonstrated in this English epic.

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Similar to Beowulf, the traces of polytheism and the concept of monotheism are intervowen in the Turkish epic. The Sky-God belief is considered to be the first belief of the Turks, and it resembles the pagan beliefs reflected in Beowulf. Shamanism is also a religious practice observed in the Sky-God belief. Intrinsic to shamanistic practice is the idea of an interaction with nature spirits in ways which heal, cause other people to become ill or protect the warriors in battle, and practices of shamanism also involve the use of a power animal or a second soul to achieve their ends. The Sky-God belief and shamanism are characterized by nature-centered spirituality, honouring of pre-Islamic deities, personal belief systems, and lack of institutionalization. The influence of the Sky-God belief and shamanism can be traced in The Book of Dede Korkut. The traces of the Sky-God belief date back to the Huns and Gktrks, and the Ouz people were influenced by the Huns and Gktrks. As stated by Gngr and Gnay the first traces of the Sky-God belief are observed in the sources of the Hun Empire (1998: 34). The gods are grouped in an organized system: the Sky-God is called lgen, the god of goodness and the underworld god of wickedness is called Erlik (Gngr; Gnay 1998: 47). Erlik has seven sons; Pay Maattir, Karas, Kerey Kaan, Ucar Kaan, Yabas Kaan, Komur Kaan, Seedey Kaan (nan 1987: 407). nan also draws attention to the importance of these sons; although they are not worshipped by the Ouz society, they have the power that their father has (1987: 408). The sons of Erlik stand for the polytheist belief, but this polytheism does not have the same meaning observed in Beowulf. Hence it can be asserted that polytheism in The Book of Dede Korkut is different from the polytheism in Beowulf, and another term for the polytheism in the Turkish epic should be more appropriate. In this study in order not to confuse the two systems of belief, the term Turkic polytheism will be used when referring to polytheism depicted in The Book of Dede Korkut. In the Sky-God belief, lgen is a god and his dwelling place is the mountaintops, tops of the trees or the sky. In The Book of Dede Korkut the black mountain is considered to be the house of lgen. The black mountain is the dwelling place of lgen, and it is one of the major cults among the Ouz tribes, but after the influence of Islam the poet of The Book of Dede Korkut does not give any information about the Sky-God, but he praises the sublimity of Allah: Hear my words and listen to me, Bay Pre Bey,

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Almighty Allah gave you a son, and may He preserve him. May he ever be followed by Moslems as he bears his white banner. When he has to cross those snow-covered black mountains, Lying yonder, may Allah help him to cross them When he has to ride through bloody rivers, May Allah grant him safe passage. When he has fallen among the crowds of infidels, May Allah give him yet a chance. (44) Although the influence of Islam is observed in these lines, snow-covered black mountains stand for the dwelling place of lgen. In shamanism, the will of the ancestral spirits, ecstatic seizures and flying mounts are important concepts: the mountaintops are the dwelling places of deities and spirits. Ripinsky points out the fact that such sacred places are the dwelling places of the supernatural beings, and the names of these places are not explicitly given (1993: 59). Shamans are considered to be godlike creatures and they have supernatural powers to set the world in order. As mentioned by Baldick, the usual Turkic word for shaman or qam means diviner and Baldick also asserts that the shamans murmur magical phrases, prepare a spell, and draw an omen. At this stage it may be pointed out that Turkic shamanism is intermingled with Turkic polytheism with Islamic colouring in the Turkish epic (2000: 50). The concept of Turkic shamanism can be observed in the figure of Dede Korkut: Korkut Ata was an adviser of the Oghuz people in all-vital matters, and nothing was done before he was consulted. Whatever advice he gave was accepted and acted upon. Among his wise sayings were those, which follow: Nothing goes well without mentioning the name of Allah. No one can prosper without the will of Almighty Allah. Nothing happens if it was not already written down in the beginning No one dies before his appointed hour. (3-4) In these lines Korkut Ata is presented as a bard, an epic singer-teller or shaman, who composes the epic and sings and narrates it to the accompaniment of his kopuz; he is also the wise man and the sorcerer-magician of the Ouz people. Bagz points out that Korkut Ata combines in his personality the characteristics of a mythical ancestor, a

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shaman-sorcerer of the pre-Islamic era, a political counselor of the rulers, and a Muslim Saint (1978: 313). Similar to the concept of the Sky-God belief and shamanism in The Book of Dede Korkut, the concept of the bridge is of significance. The shamans have to cross over a bridge in order to reach the Underworld. The Underworld signifies hell in shamanism. Eliade points out that the bridge forms a tie between the Sky and the Underworld, and it helps people and gods to communicate (1999: 525). In the story of Deli Dumrul a bridge is described at the very beginning of the story. Deli Dumrul is portrayed as an ignorant Muslim, and the shaman motifs with Turkic polytheism are indirectly stated as follows: My khan, among the Oghuz people there was a man by the name of Deli Dumrul, the son of Duha Koja. He had a bridge built accross a dry riverbed. He collected thirty-three akchas from anyone who passed over it, and those who refused to pass over he beat and charged forty akchas anyway (89).

An interesting point is that Deli Dumrul builds his bridge across a dry riverbed. In this respect it may be argued that the bridge is not to pass over, but to signify the interaction between vice and virtues. In shamanism the sky refers to heaven, the underworld refers to hell (Balzer 1990: 35). Deli Dumrul believes in this spiritual practice and ignores Islam at the very beginning, so he may stand for a shaman and ask people to pass over his bridge because he wants these people to be aware of shamanism. In the end of the story, Deli Dumrul converts into Islam. With the Islamic point of view the concept of the bridge may be pointed out. Although it is not written in Quran, after the interaction Turk Muslims and Zoroastrian Muslims, the concept of Chinvat Bridge or Srat is introduced. According to this so-called belief when all the Muslims die, they will pass over this bridge: those, who pass over the bridge, will have the chance to reach heaven; those, who fall down while passing over the bridge, will be punished and go to hell (Boyce 1979: 13). Deli Dumrul always stands over his bridge, and it may be an implicit sign that he will be rewarded by God by reaching heaven after one hudred and forty years:

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Almighty Allah was pleased with Deli Dumruls words. He gave his orders to Azrail: Take the lives of Deli Dumruls father and mother. I have granted a life of 140 years to this lawfully married couple. Azrail proceeded to take the lives of the father and mother right away, but Deli Dumrul lived with his wife for 140 years more. (97) Within the Sky-God belief and shamanism there are various other cults, which the Ouz Turks believed in. First of all the tree cult was of great importance: the first person was created under a tree, and the tree was the first place where lgen and man encountered (gel 1971: 419, oruhlu 2002: 111). For this reason the image of the tree is considered to be the symbol of lgen in The Book of Dede Korkut (Sakaolu 2003: 140). In a tree cult, God is symbolized as a tree. An interesting point is that the tree cult is observed before Islam, and it refers to one god, but each cult has its own god befitting the Turkic polytheism and shamanism. For instance the tree, which stands for god, has to be a single one, because God is the only one and does not resemble anything or anyone. Secondly, the tree never sheds its leaves, implying its immortality, and this aspect sybolizes the immortality of God and the universe as well. Thirdly, the holy tree has to be the tallest or the biggest among the other trees, if the tree is the biggest and the tallest, it sees everywhere; similar to God who is the owner of the world and can see, hear, and know everthing. Futhermore the holy tree does not have any fruit, which means the tree does not give birth, and also implies that God never gives birth. The tree has to be the oldest among the other trees; it stands for the infinity of a tree. In addition to this, the holy tree has to be large, if this holy tree is large enough, it may save all the things, similarly God saves all the living and non-living things. As stated by lktar, in the pre-Islamic period the ancient Turks considered trees sacred, and some tribes such as the Ouz people believed that their ancestors were trees (1938: 30-37). One of the Turkish creation myths pictures the parents of mankind as a beech tree (the father) and a hazelnut tree (the mother). After a column of sacred life descended upon these trees one night, the hazelnut tree became pregnant. Nine months later a door opened in the trunk of this tree and out of it jumped five babies. When these babies grew to be fifteen years old they asked who their parents were. When they were told that their parents were the beech and the hazelnut trees, they went to these trees to pay their respect. The trees talked to them and before they left blessed them (Smer, Uysal, Walker 1972: 187). The tree cult is considered to be one of the beliefs before Islam, and when The Book of Dede

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Korkut was put down into writing, the uncertainty of the tree God and Islamic God is asserted. For example, in The Book of Dede Korkut, the tree is considered to be God in the story of The Sack of the House of Salur Kazan. Salur Kazan addresses a tree and says: Be not offended O tree, by my calling you tree The Gates of Medina and Mecca were made of you. The staff of Moses, to whom Allah spoke, was of you, too. The bridges that cross great rivers are made of you The ships in the dark, dark seas are made of you. The saddle of Ali, leader of gallant men, was made of your wood. The handle and sheath of Zulfikar, his sword, were made of you The cradle of Hasan and Huseyin was of your wood. Women and men are equally frightened by you. When I look upward, I see not your head; When I look downward, I see not your roots. If they hang me from you, support me not. If you do, then would that my youthful vigor could stop you, oh, tree. If then you should stand in my land, oh, tree I should order my slaves, black Indian slaves, To tear you apart in a thousand pieces, oh tree. (33-34) Although the tree is a symbol of God, the name Allah, is also used in these lines. After the conversion to Islam, the poet cannot ommit the pre-Islamic elements. The leaves and the roots of this holy tree cannot be seen, the top leaves reach heaven and this is the dwelling place of the Sky-God; the roots of the tree reach hell, which is the dwelling place of Erlik or Satan. nan also draws attention to the fact that the ancestors of Uruz hang the corpse of the dead up the tree to help his soul reach the Sky-God (1987: 187). In this respect it may be argued that the ancestors of the Ouz people also believed in reaching the Sky-God, and implicitly heaven. The tree cult in The Book of Dede Korkut is reminiscent of the concept of the holy tree, which is called Ygdrasil in Scandinavian and Germanic cultures (Kendrick 1994: 124). Ygdrasil is a huge tree whose roots and branches hold the earth, heaven and hell and underworld together in Scandinavian mythology. Havamal is one of the well-known Scandinavian poems, and in this poem there is implicit referrence to Ygdrasil (Clarke 1923: 79). In the tree cult of Scandinavian and Germanic mythologies, Ygdrasil may stand for god. Yygdrasils roots symbolize hell, the god of evil, and its upper branches stand for god of heaven and heaven itself. This world of tree is god and the three roots are respectively

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Asgard, Midgard and Niflheim. Asgard is the abode of gods, Midgard is the abode of mankind and the earth, and Niflheim stands for the outer region of cold and darkness, abode of hell. Niflheim is also a serpent that gnaws upon the lowermost root of Igdrasil. The trunk of this Scandinavian tree refers to the world where all the non-living things and living things exist, and the upper branches of this holy tree symbolize heaven (Bosworht 1836: 16). Kendrick also mentions that the oak tree is of significance in Scandinavian mythology, and the branches of the sacred tree symbolize God or the King of Trees (1994: 125). The Yygdrasil image also depicts the tribes of the societies. Each tribe of the society has a leader, and this leader has his tree. In this respect this tree has literal and metaphorical meanings. First of all, the leader has his tree, and the leaves of this tree are always evergreen, it never sheds its leaves till the leader dies. When he dies, his tree dries also. Secondly, the tree stands for the generation of the society that the leader belongs to. The leader is the representative of his society, and his retainers follow him. If the leader dies, his dynasty also collapses. Similar to this idea, in the story of the capture of Uruz Bey, the line You should stand in my land supports the idea of the Ouz peoples identity. In this line land refers to the dynasty of the Han. In The Book of Dede Korkut each tribe has its own roots and family tree, which symbolize both the Han and God. This is also a sign of the rule of the Sky-God and the continuation of the race. If one dies or is killed, his tree is cut, so this means the race of the Ouz people will not continue and the Ouz society will not feel the power of God (gel 1995: 468). Another example of the application of the holy tree cult is in the story of Basat, killer of the one-eyed giant. When Basat is boasting and making his lineage known, he says: In confusion of battle I stand in broad daylight; If I pass into darkness, the source of my hope lies in Allah. Our standart is now held by Bayindir Khan Our leader who rides at front on the day of battle Is Salur Khan, the son of Ulash. If you wonder about the name of my father, Then know it is Big Tree If you wonder about the name of my mother Then know it is Royal Line, If you ask me my name, it is Basat, the son of Uruz. (131)

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The holy tree is the symbol of God, and the Khan is the representative of God. Basat, the son of Uruz, is the leader of his dynasty and protects his society from disasters. Tepegz is considered to be a supernatural creature and it disturbs the dynasty of Basat. Being the leader, it is his responsibility to protect his society from Tepegz. In his words, Basat tries to state that in contrast to his status, Tepegz comes from hell and he is the representative of Satan or hell (Sakaolu 2003: 145). Basat refers to his ancestors, and he implies that The Big Tree is his ancestor. As stated above, in Turkish mythology the Han or kaan is sent to the world by the help of the tree, or a mother gives birth inside a tree, hence it may be asserted that the tree is God, and all the heroes come from heaven to the world by means of the holy tree (gel 1971: 101). When the characters in The Book of Dede Korkut need to pray, they address the holy tree or God himself: May your snow-covered mountains remain standing and your strong shade trees be not cut down. May your beautiful running streams never dry up, and may Almighty Allah never allow you to lie at the mercy of the wicked. (39) The Sky-God belief and the tree cult have been mingled with Islam. Hence it may be asserted that all these instances support the coexisting traces of polytheism and monotheism in The Book of Dede Korkut. Similarly in the story of Bams Beyrek, the traces of the tree cult is also observed: the sister of Bams Beyrek is very sad and cries all the time for his lost brother by implying the tree:

The black mountain over there is falling down, But, minstrel you are not aware. My great shade tree is being felled But minstrel you are not aware A brother has been taken from me But minstrel you are not aware Do not play or sing now, minstrel; What comfort can it bring a grieving girl? There is a wedding farther on. Go play your kopuz there. (60)

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The tree image is referred to with the words my great shade tree to mean Kaba Aa in Turkish. The big tree metaphorically stands for the dynasty of Bams Beyrek. In the story, this big tree is going to be cut, which means Bams Beyreks dynasty will collapse. Bams Beyrek, the brother of the girl is lost and his dynasty is in danger, for this reason the sister weeps and refers to this big, dry tree, which is on the verge of being cut. When the sister realizes that her brother is alive, she expresses her feelings of joy by referring to the holy tree again: Your black mountains had fallen, but now they are rising again. Your stream stained with blood had dried up, but now they are flowing again. Your tall tree had withered, but now it is green once again. Your fine horse had grown old, but once more bears a colt. Your red camels had aged, but now they have young ones again. Your white sheep had aged, but now they have lambs in the fold, And Beyrek your son, who was gone sixteen years, has returned. My father and mother, what gift will you give for good news? (67) The regeneration of the dry tree refers to Bams Beyreks dynasty and his sublimity. His tree would have been cut, but when he comes back, his tree does not wither, but its leaves turn green again. In addition to this when the tree has its green leaves, his sublimity is observed: the holy tree is a metaphor for lgen, and Bams Beyrek attains him. Hence this line implicitly refers to the happiness of the sister because she is also aware of this fact. The tree image is also stated in the story of Serek. When the infidels captured Serek, his mother mourns all the time, and when the brother of Serek comes and asks her mother for permission to save Serek, the mother burst into tears: Let me die for the mouth that bought such words, my son Let me die for the tongue that uttered them my son. If the mountain that lies out yonder, so dark, Once fell now it rises again. If the beautiful swift-running stream Once dried up, now it rushes again. If the branches of the large spreading tree Withered once, it grows green once again. (147) The reason for her weeping is that she is not sure whether he is alive or not. She is also aware of the fact that if Serek is alive, his dynasty will continue. The branches

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growing green once again refer to his dynasty, and the mother hopefully waits for her son and for the continuation of his line. When the branches of the tree get green again, Sereks mother expresses her joy. Other cults that are employed in The Book of Dede Korkut are the water and mountain cults (Eliade 1999: 298). The Ouz society believed that water and the cosmic mountain connected the sky and the earth like God. In the story of the Sack of The House of Salur Kazan, Salur Kazan addresses water: Oh, water that gushes from under the rocks! Oh, water that tosses the ships made of wood! Oh, water once sought by Hasan and Huseyin! Oh, water, a treasure for gardens and vineyards! Oh, water, so cherished by Ayse and Fatma; Oh, water, the drink of all beautiful horses; Oh, water drunk deeply by thirsty red camels; Oh, water near which lie the flocks of white sheep. Do you know what disaster has come to my camp? Oh, speak! May my luckless head be a sacrifice to you. (28) The word water refers to the polytheistic Turkic god, and Salur Kazan tries to solve his problem by asking questions to god. He is in a desperate condition: when he reaches home after a long journey, he finds nothing left of his dynasty. In this respect he prays to water because water stands for the Turkic god in the Sky-God belief and shamanism. It is debated whether The Book of Dede Korkut was composed and put down into writing by a single poet or multiple poets. If it is considered to be a single poet, the poet of the Turkish epic may be said to be a Muslim. As Trkdoan states, he celebrates the nobility of the Ouz tribes, which once knew the Sky-God belief and its cults and shamanism (1987: 780). If the composer and the writer of the Turkish epic is a single poet, he speaks of Allah and of the devil, and he alludes specifically to Islamic events such as the deeds of Azrail, the sins of the worldly affairs, the importance of family, hospitality and the holiness of virtues, but it is implied that the Turkish epic does not aim to depict only the religious perspective (Ergin 1989: 27). In the poem, the thoughts of the characters and their language are circumscribed by the pre-Islamic world in which they live, and when their speeches seem to have an Islamic resonance, the audience is expected to recognize that these are but coincidences of similar elements in

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two different cultures, coincidences which inevitably give dignity to the old heroes as viewed by pre-Islamic and Islamic eyes. In this respect it may be asserted that the poet and/or the poets are not known who composed or put it down into writing. It may also be argued that the composer or the poet of this epic is a shaman in the Sky-God belief and shamanism. As Binyazar states although there is no reliable information about the identity of the poet of The Book of Dede Korkut, there are some clues and historical documents (1996: 9). Dede Korkut is called Korkut Ata and he is considered to be a shaman, but it is not clear whether he is the composer, the poet or the person of authority in the epic. The Book of Dede Korkut is a product of the Ouz society, and in the epic as a shaman Korkut Ata is depicted as a leading figure who heals the wounds of the Ouz society, helps them whenever they need him; he sometimes goes to the top of the mountain to meet lgen, he sometimes goes to the Underworld to meet Erlik. Thus, the Sky-God belief and shamanism have been mingled in the epic before conversion to Islam. As the Ouz society converted to Islam in the eleventh century, the traces of Islam were incorporated into the Turkish epic, and the polytheistic and monoteistic elements coexist in the epic. Another example for this is the figure of Azrail. In Islam Azrail is one of the angels, who seperates the soul from the body. Azrail and his deeds are narrated in the story of Deli Dumrul, the son of Duha Koca. Deli Dumrul, who is a valiant hero, does not believe in the holiness of Azrail and the dignity of Allah. He wants to fight with Azrail to save the lives of people, but Almighty Allah is not pleased with Dumruls attitude, and wants to punish him, and orders Azrail to go and see the hero: While Deli Dumrul was sitting and drinking with his forty companions, Ezekiel suddenly arrived. Neither the chamberlains nor the wardens had seen Ezekiel pass. Deli Dumruls eyes were blindened, his hands paralyzed. The entire world was darkened to his eyes. (90) Deli Dumrul realizes that the red-winged Azrail wants to take his life and prays: Oh Ezekiel, have mercy! There is no doubt about the unity of Allah. I was uninformed about you I did not know you secretly took lives.

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We have mountains with large peaks; We have vineyards on those mountains; In those vineyards there are vines with bunches of black grapes; And when pressed those grapes make wine, red wine. A man who drinks that wine grows drunk. Thus I was drunk, and so I did not hear. I did not know what I had said. I have not tired of the role of bey. I wish to live out more years of my youth, Oh Ezekiel please spare this life of mine. (92) Deli Dumrul does not believe in Islam at first and he feels valiant enough to fight with Azrail. When he realizes Azrails eternal power, he stops being arrogant, understands the dignity of Allah, and converts to Islam: Thou art higher than the highest; No one knows how high you are, Allah the Magnificent! Fools search for you in the sky on earth But you live in the heart of the faithful Eternal and merciful Allah, Let me build needed homes for the poor Along the main roads of the land Let me feed hungry men for your sake when I see them If you take any life, take the lives of us both. If you spare any life, spare the lives of us both, Merciful Almighty Allah. (96-97) Azrail is one of the angels of Allah in Islam and Deli Dumrul prays to be forgiven by Allah. In The Book of Dede Korkut not only Allah and Azrail, but also the prophets are of significance. Islam accepts all the prophets, but underlines that Mohammed is the last prophet. Mohammed is directly referred to in this Turkish epic: Shortly before the time of the Prophet, there appeared in the Bayat tribe a man by the name of Korkut Ata. (3) After the conversion to Islam, the Ouz society follows the doctrines of Islam. In Islam Allah is the only one, Mohammed is the last prophet, and the Holy Koran is the last Holy Book. Dede Korkut comes and plays the kopuz and tells heroic tales about Muslim heroes:

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Those who once claimed the world Taken by death and concealed by earth. To whom has the world been left at last The world with its coming and going The world that is rounded off by death? Death is the end of long life; seperation is the ultimate fate of all. Let me pray, my Khan. May you not deviate from your clean faith at the time of death. May your white bearded fathers place in the next world be paradise. May your white haired mothers place be in paradise, too. May Almighty Allah never leave you at the mercy of the cruel and mean. We have offered a prayer of five words in your presence. May it be accepted. May those saying Amen Amen come to see the face of Allah. May He save you from your sins and forgive them for the sake of Mohammed Mustafa, O my khan. (175) In this prayer the Islamic concepts of death and fate are referred to. Death is an inevitable concept and fate is shaped by Allahs orders. These lines refer to the sublimity of Allah, and his prophet Mohammed. Allah forgives all the mortals, and although Mohammed is the prophet, he is a mortal as well. Similar to the significance of Allah, Mohammed and Azrail, The Holy Book Koran is mentioned in The Book of Dede Korkut that refers to Islam: Uruz brought the Koran on which they all pressed their hands and took an oath saying, We are friends with your friend and foes to your foe. (170) Dede Korkut was a shaman before conversion to Islam, and he had some supernatural powers to heal the Ouz society. After the conversion to Islam Dede Korkut appears to be the Dervi instead of a shaman, and he represents the values of Islam: Dede Korkut was at a loss what to do. He asked for the protection of Allah, reciting the smi Azam prayer. Del Karchar drew his sword and aimed a terrible blow intended to knock Dede Korkut down. Dede Korkut said, If you strike me may your hand dry up. At the command of Almighty Allah Del Karchars had remained in the air, for Dede Korkut was endowed with power like that of a Saint, and his wish granted. (48) These lines refer to the importance of Korkut Ata, and that he stands for a pious person after conversion to Islam.

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In both of the epics the concept of God changes and varies. It may be asserted that polytheistic and monotheistic beliefs establish the essence of Beowulf, because Beowulf depicts a period of transition from polytheism to monotheism, that is, from Nordic pagan beliefs to Christianity. Similar to Beowulf, The Book of Dede Korkut also reflects a period where polytheistic and Islamic elements and ideas coexist. Before the monotheistic beliefs such as Christianity and Islam, paganism and Druidic shamanism in Beowulf and the Sky-God belief and cults and Altay shamanism are observed in The Book of Dede Korkut. In this respect although these epics display similarities in reflecting polytheism, they differ from each another to some extent: in Beowulf pagan gods are worshipped, but in The Book of Dede Korkut gods are not worshipped; only the son and daughter names of lgen and Erlik are given, but there is no implication that they were worshipped. Furthermore the monotheistic God as described in Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut is similar, but the religions are different: they are respectively Christianity and Islam. Beckett asserts that it is tempting to assume that after conversion to monotheistic beliefs, both believers of these religions encountered on the way to their pilgrimages in 884 AD, and Christians carried goods and ideas from Islamic territories (2003: 53). In this respect it may be argued that if there was such a contact, the religious ideas of these monotheistic beliefs (and also the polytheistic beliefs) would presumably influence each other. When the epics were put down into writing, they would probably carry the hints of this interaction, and reflect it in their literary works such as Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut.

In this study Seamus Heaneys Beowulf (Norton&Company, New York 2003) translation into modern English has been used and further quotations are from this translation.

CHAPTER II: NUMBER, COLOUR AND ANIMAL MYSTICISIM IN BEOWULF AND THE BOOK OF DEDE KORKUT

II. 1. Number Symbolism One of the most important subjects pertaining to the belief systems is the implicit information related to the mysticism of numbers and colours both in Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut. Schimmel states that: Numbers influence the character of things that are ordered by them, thus the number becomes a mediator between the divine and the created world, it follows that if one performs operations with numbers, these operations work upon the thing connected with the numbers used. (1993: 16) It is not known how and why number and colour mysticism came into being, but it can be stated that they are shaped by the era and culture they belonged to. Hopper draws attention to the fact that numbers are of importance and are derived from medieval philosophy, he states that: The nature of medieval philosophy is a combination of three distinct modes of thought: first of these is derived from mans original struggles to enumerate and his identification of certain immediately observable and fixed natural groups with their corresponding numbers. The second and the most prolific source of significant numbers, is an elaboration of the first. The third number theory is the Pythagorean Theory that fixed the relationship of the numbers to one

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another and accordingly the places of the astrological aggregates in the cosmic order (1996: i-ix). This view asserts that each number embodies a special character, a mystique of its own, and a special metaphysical meaning. It is true that numbers exist before the objects described by them, hence the numbers in Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut are significant. When studied in detail, it can be seen that the pre-Christian sagas, legends and biblical works have influenced number mysticism in Beowulf. Similarly, pre-Islamic literary works such as Turkic mythology, sagas and legends, Islamic works have had a great influence on The Book of Dede Korkut, in shaping number mysticism.

II.1.1. Three Mystical number repetition can be seen in both of the epics. As Dorson states the epic adheres to a grandoise epic ceremonialism- There are the repetitions, traditional formulas, and detailed descriptions of actions (1972: 107). These repetitions, traditional formulas, and the detailed descriptions in epics originate from oral culture and tradition. Boratav asserts that oral and written cultures are respectively established, and the former shapes written culture. The gleemen and scops recite epics and folk tales and they use repetitions, traditional formulas, and detailed descriptions in order to attract the attention of the audience (1988: 45). In this respect it may be pointed out that epics have been put down into writing, and have absorbed the values of the oral-formulaic tradition. Similar to Dorson and Boratav, obanolu states the repetition of the patterns such as the numbers, and points out that number three is a common rule for the construction of all the epics (2003: 19). The number three is repeated many times both in Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut. The number three was used by its early application to the gods. Hopper draws attention to the fact that many numbers have been used to express divinity or godlike attributes,

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but either because of its antiquity or because of its numerous simple analogies in the physical and social world the all embracing three is the most universal number of deity (1969: 6). Beowulf is highly influenced by Scandinavian and Germanic paganism and the mysticism of number three may be traced back to these cultures. In Scandinavian culture, the number three is frequently used; the three Norns, three colours of the rainbow, three roots of Ygdrasil, and the three gods, Odin, Thor and Frey. Hopper also asserts that much of Teutonic mythology follows this triadic pattern (1969: 203). The most common social three is the triad of the family: male, female, and child. Similar to Hopper, Ekiz also asserts that the idea of generation is the most obvious reason for the existence of the world and the gods; it is a short step from the recognition of the family on earth to the hypothesis of the family in heaven (1986: 43). In this respect it may be pointed out that the number three within the family concept is of significance for the construction of the epics. The holiness and the continuation of the family roots (kingdoms or tribes) and the throne are indirectly stated in Beowulf. For instance the Danes are called, Bright-Danes, Spear-Danes, Ring-Danes, South-Danes and West-Danes; the Geats are called WarGeats, Sea-Geats, and Weather-Geats (Heaney 2002: 96). The societies embodied in Beowulf give importance to their roots and seperate into groups befitting their location and family relations. When these societies are studied in detail, it will be observed that the father, the mother and the son triadic pattern construct the nucleus of a society. Hence, it may be asserted that the unity of male, female and child construct the triadic pattern in Beowulf. The son is especially considered to be a child for the continuation of the dynasty. Similar to the triadic family patterns depicted in the pre- Christian period, the number three is also seen after Christianity: In The Old Testament it is mentioned, a threefold cord is not quickly broken (Ecless 4: 12). This view refers that the significance of the number three is displayed in the biblical work. In Christianity, three is

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the three-lettered name of God, and it signifies the Christian trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Fowler points out that in the intellectual world three signifies the three hierarchies of angels grouped into three to represent the trinity (1970: 11). Henry, in his article, draws attention to the fact that as a distinctive Christian doctrine, the Trinity is considered as a divine mystery beyond human comprehension to be reflected upon only through scriptural revelation (www.thewordsofeternallife.com/trinity.html). Moreover The Trinity is a biblical concept that expresses the dynamic character of God. While the term trinity does not appear in Scripture, the trinitarian structure appears throughout the New Testament to affirm that God Himself is manifested through Jesus Christ by means of the Spirit. It is also observed that in tritheism, the distinctiveness of the Godhead to the point that the Trinity is seen as three separate Gods, or a Christian polytheism (www.thewordsofeternallife.com/trinity.html). Henry also points out that the unity with the trinity is important in Christianity, and similar to his approach, Peck asserts that an extension of three is a marriage number and a sign of fruitfulness and the active life by referring to the father, the mother and the son (1967: 204-15). This triadic tradition supports the divinity of the family roots, which is indirectly established in number symbolism. In Beowulf, Schield is a mythical Danish king and the epic opens with his example of good kingship. His marriage ceremony is not depicted in the poem, but his son Beow and his heroic deeds are emphasized in the epic: Shield had fathered a famous son: Beows name was known through the North (18-19). The unity of the father and the son is displayed, and the concept of the family is embodied. Similarly, the Danish king Hrothgar marries Wealtheow and their first child is a son called Hrethric, who is one of the young followers, and stands to inherit the Danish throne: The fortunes of war favored Hrothgar, Friends and kinsmen flocked to his ranks, Young followers, a force that grew to be a mighty army. (64-67) Similar to the triadic pattern of the Danish family, the Geatish king Hygelac marries Hygd, and their elder child is a son called Heardred. After the death of Hygelac among the Frisians, Beowulf is considered to fulfil the triadic pattern of family. Beowulf becomes a king to rule his uncles dynasty and inherits Hygelacs throne:

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A lot was to happen in the later days In the fury of the battle. Hygelac fell And the shelter of Heardreds shield proved useless Against the fierce aggression of the Shylfings: Ruthless swordsmen, seasoned campaigners, They came against him and his conquering nation, And with cruel force cut him down So that afterwards the wide kingdom Reverted to Beowulf. (2200-2209) Similarly, in The Book of Dede Korkut, the social and holy three encapsulates the unity of male, female, and child. Traditional marriage and fertility are crucial concepts for the Ouz society. Binyazar points out that if one of the kaans does not have a son, he is thought to be doomed by God, and he is looked down on by the other societies (1996: 40). In the Prologue of The Book of Dede Korkut the importance of a son is emphasized as follows: The son is the work of the father; he is the apple of his eye. A worthy son is the fire of ones hearth. What can the son do if his father dies without leaving him any wealth? What good is the wealth of the father if the son is unlucky? Oh, my khan, may Allah preserve you from those who bring bad luck. (4-5) In the first tale of The Book of Dede Korkut, Dirse Kaan and his wife do not have a son, they served food to the poor, dressed the naked, paid off the debts of the debtors, they heaped up meat like hills, had kumis1 like lakes. The kaans raised their hands and prayed that: The wish of Dirse Khan is fulfilled, and his lady becomes pregnant; in due time she bore a male child (12). After the prayer of the kaans, Dirse Kaan and his lady have a son befitting the triadic pattern of the divinity of the family roots in an epic. The son of Dirse Kaan grows up and kills a bull on the playing field of Bayndr Khan at the age of fifteen, he proves his power and Dede Korkut gives him a name: Boa Han. In the second epic Salur Kazan and Burla Hatun have a son, Uruz and Salur Kazan say that Let my son, Uruz, stay behind with three hundred young men to protect my camp (24).

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In a similar fashion, the emphasis on the concept of the family and its reflection in a triad can be seen in the third story, Kam Pre and his wife have a son, his name is Bams Beyrek and Korkut Ata comes and gives the boy a name. He says: Hear my words and listen to me, Bay Pre Bey, Almighty Allah gave you a son, and may He preserve him. May he ever be followed by Muslims as he bears his white banner2. When he has to cross those snow- covered mountains lying yonder, May Allah help him cross them? When he has to ride through bloody rivers, May Allah grant him safe passage? When he has fallen among the crowds of infidels, May Allah give him yet a chance? (44) In addition to the social meanings and importance attached to the number three, the religious significance is obvious. The number three in The Book of Dede Korkut is important also in the Sky-God belief and Altay shamanism. The Ouz people are nomadic. The nomadic triangle of war, feasts, and hunting serve as the ethico-literary framework of the Ouz peoples. Therefore it may be pointed out that the Ouz economy has functioned and thrived on this triangle. War is a means of expanding, an economy of plunder not because plundering was done as a passtime but because it was a necessity. The identity of a tribe depends upon the total destruction of another. For instance Salur Kazan goes hunting, and the infidels plunder his homeland. He seeks for his son, wife and the other members of his tribe. Similar to the concept of war, feasts and hunting also support an important link in the life cycle of the Ouz society. As an instance when Boa goes hunting, he kills the bull at the age of fifteen and proves his power and virtue to protect the tribe of his father. After the depiction of his prowess, a kind of feast starts and Korkut Ata makes his appearance to give him a name: O Dirse Khan! Give this young man a principality now. .... Give a suit to this man and a coat that has birds on its shoulders Let him wear both of these; he has skill

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This young man fought and killed a bull Let your sons name be Boac. I give him his name, And may Allah give him his years of life. (13) In the Ouz society, feasts are celebrated by all the Ouz tribes as it is observed in the story of Boa Han, and are of importance for the unity of the Ouz society. Like Boa Han, the story of Bams Beyrek also reflects the nomadic triangle of war, feast and hunting: Beyrek, the son of Bay Pre, married Banu iek, and returned to his happy home, where he began his wedding ceremony. Some of the forty warriors were given girls by Khan Kazan, and some Bayindir Khan. They had forty tents erected. Their large weddings and banquets lasted for forty days and forty nights (69). Bay Pre and Banu icek have a wedding ceremony and they share their happiness with the other Ouz tribes. Within the triadic pattern, feasts are important in uniting the society, and their marriage is important for the continution of the roots depending upon the triadic pattern of the concept of the family. When studied in detail, it will be seen that the mysticism of number three also varies depending upon the context of the epics. In other words, it may be asserted that beyond its indirect meaning and divinity as observed in the triadic pattern of the concept of the family and the war, feast, hunting ceremony, the mystic number three is directly embodied in Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut. In Beowulf, the hero Beowulf fights with the dragon. The dragon attacks him twice but Beowulf protects himself. When the dragon attacks for the third time, Beowulf gets his fatal wound, and this third strike foreshadows Beowulfs death: When he wielded a sword, No matter how blooded and hard-edged the blade, His hand was too strong, the stroke he dealt ( I have heard) would ruin it. He could reap no advantage. Then the bane of that people, the fire-breathing dragon, Was mad to attack for a third time. When a chance came, he caught the hero

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In a rush of flame and clamped sharp fangs Into his neck. Beowulfs body Ran wet with his life-blood: it came welling out. (2684-93) Similar to the third strike in Beowulf, Basat wants to kill the supernatural giant, Tepegz in the story of Basat, killer of the one-eyed giant in The Book of Dede Korkut. He attacks Tepegz two times by shooting his arrows, but the arrows do not pierce his body, and they break. Then Basat realizes that the supernatural character has no flesh in his body except in his eye. Basat gets near Tepegzs head, lifts his eyelid, and sees that his eye is really made of flesh. He puts the skewer in the fireplace, and it becomes very hot. Basat takes it in his hand, and then pushes the skewer so hard into Tepegzs eye that he completely destroys it. This is his third challenge and in this last challenge he is successful. It may be asserted that in Scandinavian mythology, Odin, Thor and Frey establish the triadic pattern of the gods. After conversion to Christianity, the triple pattern does not alter: it is observed in the Old Testament; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit relation is implicity stated in Beowulf. In epic, instead of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit triangle, the triadic pattern of father, mother, son is pointed out. Similar to Beowulf, the mystic number three is also seen in Turkic legends such as The Ouz Kaan legend, and then it is indirectly visualized in The Book of Dede Korkut. The father, the mother and the son construct the family pattern, and the triple social activities such as war, hunting and feast are depicted in the Turkish epic. Hence, it may be asserted that the mysticism of the number three is observed in both of the epics. II.1.2. Nine Another mystic number, which is used in these epics, is nine. The number nine and its multiples can be variously interpreted in terms of the belief system. First of all, its significance may be connected with Germanic, Scandinavian and the Central Asian traditions, and it seems to be typical of civilizations in the northern parts of the world (Schimmel 1993: 167). In this respect Schimmel asserts that nine comes to be preferred to eight as a symbol for the winter period, possibly because the sea remains locked for

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nine months, or because of the coincidence of this approximation of winter with the observed period of human gestation (1993: 173). By this reckoning, both human and vegetable life remains hidden in the womb for the same period of time. Such a partition of the year is also preferable by virtue of its use of the important base three; this tradition is valid especially in northern paganism. Hopper states that in Havamal3 Odin suffers torture for nine months (1969: 207). On the windy days, Odin is hanging from the branch of Ygdrasil, the cosmic World Tree, with a rope around his neck. He also suffers from a wound that has been made his own spear. Odin remains there for nine days and nine nights, and he learns nine mighty spells, from his grandfather Bolthor, as well as drinking from the precious mead from Odrerir. The number nine is also significant in term of symbolism and magic. In this respect the lines of Havamal confirms the mystery of number nine and it is as follows: I know that I hung On the wind-stirred tree Nine nights long, Wounded by spear, Consecrated to Othin, Myself to myself; On the mighty tree4 Of which no man knows Out of what root it springs. (www.pitt.edu/~dash/havamal.html) (137) In many of the Nordic traditions, nine is connected with the spheres, and the highest ninth heaven is located beyond the seven planetary spheres and the upper vault of the sky that contains the fixed stars (Schimmel 1993: 173). Number nine is similarly prominent in the Anglo-Saxon Germanic pagan world. Schimmel suggests that the Celtic Cymrians, the first inhabitants of Wales, used it in practical life as well as in legal affairs: nine steps are used to measure distance, thus a fire may be lit nine steps away from a house, and a dog that has bitten someone may be killed nine steps away from the house of his owner (1993: 173). Similar to the Celtic faith, in Scandinavian and Germanic faiths, if nine people assemble

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to attack a person, it is considered to be a real attack. This tradition is observed in Beowulf: although nine creatures gather together to attack Beowulf, Beowulf kills nine of them and proves his prowess: Light came from the east, Bright guarantee of God, and the waves Went quiet; I could see headlands And buffeted cliffs. Often, for undaunted courage, Fate spares the man it has not already marked. However it occured, my sword had killed Nine sea-monsters. Such night dangers And hard ordeals I have never heard of Nor of a man more desolate in surging waves. (569-77) In Christianity nine is connected with suffering because of the fact that Christ died at the ninth hour of the day (Bazelmans 1999: 92). This hour is the none, subsequently marked by a special monastic devotion, while the word itself has become the noon. In Beowulf, although there is not such a direct statement about Christ, Beowulf is considered to be a Christ figur (Bazelmans 1999: 94). One may draw attention to the fact that Beowulf is like Abraham and Job, for this reason he is a figur. The time of the death of Christ is portayed; if Beowulf is considered to be a Christ figur, his death time is not explicitly observed in the poem. Bazelmans refers that Beowulf reflects some of Christs virtues, not in his words but in his deeds, just as the good men in the Old Testament had done (1999: 94). Bazelmans also asserts that Beowulfs non-committal attitude towards God and his excessive trust in his own powers diseappear when God gives him solace and support in his battle with Grendel, and when in his fight with Grendels mother, He shows him the sword that will bring him victory. As from that time onwards, as was the case with Abraham, a true belief and trust in God takes root in Beowulf. When the fire-breathing dragon attacks Beowulf, he discovers the deadly poison, but the death time is not known (2689-2715). For example Aegir is the God of the sea in Norse mythology, and has nine daughters; his nine daughters refer to polytheism (www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86gir), but there is no explicit reference clarifying

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whether these daughters are the goddesses. Another example is the nine orders of the angels in Christianity, which are interpreted as reflections of the perfect three. This perfection of three is observed three times in Beowulf. When Beowulf gets the fatal wound in the third strike, he dies like a noble hero that might be the nine orders of the angles as reflections of the number three: To the everlasting Lord of all, To the King of Glory, I give thanks That I behold this treasure here in front of me, That I have been allowed to leave my people So well endowed on the day I die. (2794-98)

However, on the other hand number nine also suggests spiritual deficiency in that, it is one short of ten, which denotes perfection and a return to unity (Peck 1967: 207). Peck also states that another aspect of this heavenly interpretation of nine can be derived from its role as eight plus one, beatitude augmented and enhanced in Beowulf. In this respect it may be asserted that Beowulf may be a heavenly character whose funeral period lasted ten days:

Then the Geat people began to construct A mound on a headland, high and imposing, A marker that sailors could see from far away, And in ten days they had done the work, It was their heros memorial; what remained from the fire They housed inside it, behind a wall As worthy of him as their workmanship could make it. (3156-62) These lines refer to the funeral ceremony of Beowulf, and the preparations for his funeral last ten days. The work related to his funeral attains perfection in ten days as it is observed in the characteristics of a perfect hero and king of Geatland. Similar to Beowulf, the mystery and mysticism of the number nine is used in The Book of Dede Korkut. In the Sky-God belief, Tengri and his seven or nine children live in the

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seventh or the ninth layer of the sky (Gngr; nver 1998: 47). A similar role for nine can be observed in the muslim Brethen of Purity with its nine states of existence: one Creator; two kinds of intellects; three, souls; four, kinds of matter; five, kinds of nature, the corporeal world determined by six directions, the seven planetary spheres, two times four elements, and finally, the three times three states of the animal, vegetables, and mineral kingdoms (Schimmel 1993: 167). Schimmel also draws attention to the fact that according to Islamic cosmology, the universe is built of nine spheres. Next to earth is the lunar sphere, above which are located the spheres of Mercury and Venus, the sphere of the sun occupies the central place among the seven spheres of the planets and is therefore often called The Center of Universe (1993: 168). Schimmel points out that the mystic number nine is important in the Sky-God belief, shamanism and Islam, and is of common use among Turkic people, and he asserts that the number nine is also observed in the name of one of the leading tribes of the Turks: the Tokuz (Nine) Ouz (1992: 170). Among the Tungus shamans, meanwhile, shamans used to place nine innocent boys and nine innocent girls beside them before beginning their magical rites. Similar to this shaman ritual, the Ouz beys assembled to carry out their mysterious and magical deeds in one of the Hans tent in spring or summer. The son of Ula, the hope of the poor, the lion of the Emet Stream, the tiger of Karauk mountains, the owner of the chestnut-brown horse, the father of Han Uruz, the son in-law of Bayndr Han, the pride of the crowded Ouz people, the support of the young warriors in distress and all the other Hans are invited to the tent of Salur Kazan: Salur Kazan had ninety large tents with golden tops erected on the black earth. He also had red silk carpets laid in ninety places. Nine beautiful infidel girls with black eyes, lovely faces, and braided hair, their hands hennaed up to the wrists, their nails all painted, all wearing dresses with red buttons on the breast, were offering drinks to the strong Oghuz Beys. (23) Given these varied associations, it may be asserted that nine develops into a round number in Ouz society in The Book of Dede Korkut.

II.1.3. Forty

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Unlike Beowulf, number forty is of significance in The Book of Dede Korkut. Number forty is important in Islam, but not in the Sky-God belief or shamanism. In Islamic lore the importance of forty is clearly stated both in the Quran and in the sayings of the Prophet Mohammed who received his first revelation when he was forty years old (Schimmel 1993: 248). Schimmel also points out that in the Islamic tradition: Forty is the numerical value of the letter mim found at the beginning and the middle of the Prophet Mohammads name. Thus it is considered the typical number of the Prophet, all the more as it is also contained in his heavenly name, Ahmad and as the Sufis discovered, when the mim is taken away from this name, the word Ahad remains, and that means One an essential name of God. The difference between the divine One and and the created prophet as humanitys representative was taken to point to the forty steps that seperate mortals from God and that have to be passed in the course of human development. (1993: 250) After conversion to Islam the number forty is strongly emphasized in The Book of Dede Korkut. Schimmel in his book The Mystery of Numbers states that hadis, the sayings of the prophet, is important and one of these sayings is about the mysticism of the number forty. One of the prophets makes a promise that; Whosoever among my people learns by heart forty hadith about religion will be resurrected at Doomsday along with the religious scholars and jurists(1993: 251). The significance of forty is mentioned many times in The Book of Dede Korkut. For instance in the story of Emren, Emren prays to Almighty Allah and Allah helps him. Almighty Allah gives order to Gabriel: O Gabriel, go to that young man. I have given him the strength of forty men (143). In the story of Deli Dumrul the significance of forty is stated as follows: While Del Dumrul was sitting and drinking with his forty companions, Azrail suddenly arrived. Neither the chamberlains nor the wardens had seen Azrail pass. Del Dumruls eyes were blinded, his hands paralyzed. (90) Hence, it may be asserted that the holy number forty is emphasized after conversion to Islam among the Ouz society in The Book of Dede Korkut.

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II.1.4. Number Fifty Unlike The Book of Dede Korkut, the number fifty is of significance in Beowulf. Schimmel states that in Christianity the number fifty is considered to be an allegorical exegesis as an expression of repentance and forgiveness, and it appears as an indefinite number in both Roman and Scandinavian mystic traditions: fifty is the age after which men are no longer required to perform military service (1993: 256). Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, forgave his enemies and his enemies faded from the earth in fifty years. In fifty years time he defended his country and fifty years later he also fades and cannot show prowess: Just so I ruled the Ring-Danes country For fifty years defended them in wartime With spear and sword against constant assaults By many tribes: I came to believe My enemies had faded from the face of the earth (1769-73). Similar to Hrothgars reign, Beowulf rules his nation for fifty years: Hygelac fell and the shelter of the Heardreds shied Proved useless against the fierce aggression of the Shylfings5 Ruthless swordsman, seasoned campaigners, They came against him and his conquering nation, And with cruel force cut him down so that afterwards The wide kingdom reverted to Beowulf. He ruled it well For fifty winters, grew old and wise as warden of the land (2201-10). Beowulf himself portrays his heroic deeds, and points out his fifty-year reign. His fortune is derived from his father, and he forgives all his enemies and shows his repentance to Almighty God as a good Christian: Now is the time when I would have wanted To bestow this armor on my own son, Had it been my fortune to have fathered an heir And live on in his flesh. For fifty years I ruled this nation (2729-33).

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The most significant thing is that the number fifty is repeated three times in Beowulf, and this also supports the idea that number three is important for the epic tradition. It can be said that the number is a fundamental principle from which the whole objective world proceeds. As it is emphasized in Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut, numbers are not merely quantitative, but in a way they are symbolically used in noting specific qualities. In this respect it may be concluded that numbers such as three and nine symbolize near perfection of the belief systems including the beliefs before monotheism in Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut, the number forty is only seen in the Turkish epic which refers to Islam, and the number fifty is merely observed in the English epic that stands for repentance in Christianity.

II.2. Colour Symbolism Similar to the significance of numbers, colours implicitly embody the importance of the belief systems in Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut. Birren points out that the ancient use of colour was by no means guided by aesthetics, but by mysticism (1988: 11). The inspiring beauty of colour had its origin in mysticism, in a sort of functional application of hue to interpret life and the world. In both of the epics colours play an important role in understanding the belief system. The colours black, yellow in Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut, and white and red in only The Book of Dede Korkut are respectively emphasized depending upon their significance in the belief system.

II.2.1. Black In Beowulf, black is indirectly mentioned. This dark colour is almost always used to foreshadow a bad incident, disaster or death. Black is one of the sacred colours of most gods and goddesses worshipped by the traditions, especially in German and Scandinavian paganism. For instance Morrigan (http://theoldpath.com/scc.htm) is the goddess of war, death and destruction; she is said to appear in the form of a raven before and during battles, her sacred colour is black. Hell is an underworld region in Germanic

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tradition; black, frigid, dreary, and toxic. It is both the name of the land, and the name of its ruler, the Goddess Hell, Queen of the Dead. This region seems to have been the final destination of most of humanity; only heroes gained admittance to Valhalla, in Asgard. About the best that can be said of the place is that the dead seem not to have been tortured and tormented as in the Christian depiction of this realm, but rather they seem to have been assigned to drag out their destinies until Ragnarok, when they would be freed to fight with Hells legions against the gods and heroes (www.web.raex.com/~obsidian/TeutPan.html). Hence, it may be asserted that the underworld region is considered to be black, and this abode symbolizes death. Grendel is one of the monsters in Beowulf, and he disturbs the Danes at night. The colour of night is black which is a sign of disaster or trouble:

So after nightfall Grendel set out For the lofty house, to see how the RingDanes Were settling into it after their drink, And there he came upon them, a company of the best, Asleep from their feasting insensible to pain and human sorrow (115-20) Clark draws attention to the fact that the pagan and superstitious practice of consulting omens evoke curiosity, and the dark colour is considered to be the colour of Grendel (1990: 53). Grendel harms Heorot, and eats people which may signify his wicked deeds in the dark: Then a powerful demon, a prowler through the dark, Nursed a hard grievance. It harrowed him To hear the din of the loud banquet Everyday in the hall. (86-89) Similar to the Germanic and Norse traditions, the colour black is also emphasized in the monotheist beliefs. As Birren argues black is the colour of death and regeneration in the Old Testament (1988: 49). Black is a dark colour and it is an emblem of Christ raised, a blend of the divine light of creation and the darkness of sin and death. In this respect it may be said that after conversion to Christianity, dark-death shadows may symbolize

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the darkness of sin and death in Beowulf: All were endangered; young and old Were hunted down by that dark death-shadow Who lurked and swooped in the long nights On the misty moors, nobody knows Where these reavers from hell roam on their errands. (158-63) When Beowulf kills Grendel, the dark nights end till the mother and the dragon appear. The statement Because of last night, when you killed Grendel refers to the heroic deeds of Beowulf and he himself destroys the chaos, which threatens the Danes till Grendels mother arrives: Then this roaming killer came in a fury Slaughtered him in Heorot. Where she is hiding, Glutting on the corpse and glorying in her escape, I cannot tell, she has taken up the feud, Because of last night, when you killed Grendel, Wrested and racked him in a runious combat Since for too long he had terrorized us With his depredations. (1330-37) It may be pointed out that in the passages where the dark colours are referred to black and gray symbolize the wicked deeds of monsters that harm the societies or nations. When Beowulf gets his fatal wound, he orders Wiglaf to get the treasure from the dragons lair which is depicted under a grey stone: Go now quickly, Dearest Wiglaf, under the gray stone Where the dragon is laid out, lost to his treasure. (2743-45) Similar to Beowulf, colours are of significance in the Ouz society in The Book of Dede Korkut. Among the peoples of Central Asia in the Middle Ages, the world was conceived to be as a high mountain. Tanyu asserts that its summit rose to a height beyond the reach of man hence provided a convenient dwelling place for the gods (1980: 15). On the summit of this mountain there is the North Star. This mountain was shaped like a pyramid with its top broken off. The sides facing the four points of the

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compass were hued and shone like jewels. As Birren describes, to the North was yellow, to the South blue, to the East white, to the West red (1988: 13). Before the composition of The Book of Dede Korkut, the four-hued or three-hued mountains were also mentioned in the epic of Ouz Kaan. In this epic, mountains are respectively called pearl, coral and diamond (www.turkoloji.cu.edu.tr/CUKUROVA/sempozyum/semp1/alptekin.pdf p.427). As the predecessor of this epic, the colour of the mountain in The Book of Dede Korkut is black and ala. In the Turkish lexicon black refers to two different words in Turkish: kara means black and is used by the Ouz people before conversion to Islam (1998: 1202). Kara is used 317 times in The Book of Dede Korkut. Siyah also means black and is of Arabic origin, and is used after conversion to Islam (TDK 1998: 1995). Siyah is not used in The Book of Dede Korkut. As stated by Kafal, black symbolizes sadness, fear, helplessness, death and total passivity, and it is used as a colour of mourning (1996: 52). Ala is the mixture of colours, and it is the colour of spiritual knowledge, wholeness, and search for inner and outer awareness, it is the acknowledgement of eternal knowledge and the ability to access its secrets, the gift of inner communication (Heyet 1996: 58). In the Sky-God belief and Altay shamanism the black mountain is the dwelling place of Tengri lgen. In The Book of Dede Korkut lgen dwells on the summit of these black and ala mountains. lgen is the representative of the eternal world. Korkut Ata is considered to be a shaman, and he is the representative of lgen in the Sky-God belief and shamanism. Although the Ouz society converted to Islam, the traces of the pre-Islamic belief stil exist in the epic. Korkut Ata goes to the mountains or he is sometimes in disguise of lgen: Hear my words and listen to me, Bay Pre Bey, Almighty Allah gave you a son, and may He preserve him. May he ever be followed by Moslems as he bears his white banner. When he has to cross, those snow-covered black mountains, Lying yonder, may Allah help him to cross them. (44) Korkut Ata does not want the son to be hurt or perish when he crosses the black

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mountain. He is in contact with lgen and he saves the boy. Although the black mountain is the colour of helplessness and death, lgen or Korkut Ata preserves him in keeping with the Sky-God belief and shamanism. Although Korkut Ata is considered to be a shaman, he prays to Allah to protect his folk from helplessness and death after conversion to Islam: I have come to cross that black mountain of yours lying over there. I have come to cross your beautiful running streams. I have come to cross, to take shelter under your wide mantle And security beneath your wing I have come with the command of Allah and the consent of the Prophet, to ask for the hand of your sister, Banu Chichek, brighter than moonlight and lovelier than day, for Bamsi Beyrek. (48) Korkut Ata crosses the black mountain and Allah protects him. He is expected to find Banu iek, and thanks to his spiritual powers, he does not die while crossing the black mountains. Other characters in The Book of Dede Korkut also refer to the importance of the black and ala mountains. Burla Hatun in the story of Capture of Uruz Bey, prays to lgen, and wants her son to be found and protected from disasters: Son, son, oh son! My symbol of courage The peak of the black mountain lying out there, son! The light of my eyes in darkness, oh, my son (78) Burla Hatun addresses his son by pointing to the peak of the black mountains; she is implicity addressing lgen to save his son from disasters. She also prays and begs lken to help Uruz Bey. Another example occurs when Kan Tural wants to marry a girl, but the girls father wants to test his skills and prowess. He orders his men to bring the bull and he wants Kan Tural to fight with the bull. In this respect the kinsmen of Kan Tural praise him: Kan Turali, O my sultan, Did you not arise one day, And mount upon your black-maned, high bred horse Did you not cross the arch-backed Ala Mountain,

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Hunting as you rode along? (104) Ala is the colour of spiritual knowledge, wholeness, and search for inner and outer awareness, and the kinsmen of Kan Tural believe that he will win the fight with the bull by using his spiritual knowledge. The line Did you not cross the arch-backed Ala Mountain refers to his sensibility and he can easily kill the bull as he has easily crossed the Ala Mountain. Salur Kazan in the story of Basat, Killer of the One-Eyed Giant, crosses the black mountains without any trouble thanks to lgen, but he cannot kill Tepegz, the black monster, which is the symbol of death. Tepegz eats forty sheep, and when he is not served any sheep, he eats people. Hence, Salur Kazan wants his son Basat to kill this black monster: So black a monster came oh, that was Tepegz! I chased him everywhere to no avail. So black a tiger came oh, that was Tepegz! I chased him through black mountains, but in vain, Basat Be a hero, be a bey, But do not be like me, Basat. May your white-bearded father not lament, And may your white-haired mother never cry. (128) In these lines Basat is expected to kill the black monster, Tepegz. The colour black is identified with Tepegz, because he kills and eats people, so again this black monsters attitudes towards people symbolize death. Salur Kazan encourages and implicitly urges his son to kill Tepegz through his prayer. In Eastern mythology it was believed that the rise and the fall of the mountains created day and night. The eastern mountains were white and caused the day, the western mountains were yellow and brought twilight, the northern mountains were black and covered the earth in darkness, while the blue mountains to the South created dawn (Birren 1988: 15). The meaning of the black colour of the mountains in The Book of Dede Korkut resembles the three mystic colours of the Uphanishads, which dated back to seventh century B.C (Birren 1988: 16). The mystic black is also used in society as the colour of morality in the Book of Dede Korkut, black is considered a mean and unlucky

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colour among the Ouz people and for anyone to appear dressed in black is held to be ominous of disaster and evil. In the story of Boa Han, Bayndr Han indirectly denounces Dirse Han because he does not have a child: Bayindir Khan, Khan of Khans, had three tents set up at three different places: one was white, one was red, the third was black. He ordered that whoever was without children be accommodated in the black tent with a black felt rug spread under him, and that he be served the stew of the black sheep. (9) These three tents point to the social values of the Ouz society: those who have sons are allowed to accommodate in the white tent, those who have daughters are allowed to accommodate in the red tent, and those who do not have sons or daughters are allowed to accommodate in the black tent. Dirse Han is exluded from his society by referring to the colour black. Another example for the use of black is in the story of The Sack of the House of Salur Kazan. The son of Ula has a terrible dream, and in his dream the colour black is a symbol of illluck in terms of the Sky-God belief: It was a terrible dream. I saw my falcon dying in my hand. I saw a lightening bolt strike down my tent with the golden top. I saw a black cloud descending upon my camp. I saw my black hair rise like spears and cover my eyes. (27) In his dream the son of Ula receives an implicit message that his dynasty is in danger. In his story his nightmare turns out to be real. It may be concluded that black is used as a symbol of bad events, such as death, a sign of doom and disaster in both Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut.

II.2.2. Yellow Yellow is of significance in both of the epics. As mentioned by Heyet yellow generally symbolizes enlightenment, brightness and light, and foreshadows good events (1996: 60). In the Anglo-Saxon epics the significance of yellow comes from the Druids who

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are considered to be the ancestors of the English heroic society that produced Beowulf and are considered to have worshipped the heathen deities (Kendrick 1994: 1). The head of the Druidic Order was the Arch-Druid. He wore a tiara to represent the suns rays, and the Druids built temples to the sun way (Birren 1988: 28). Similar to the image of yellow in the Druidic tradition, the sun or the colour of gold is pointed out in Beowulf: They marched in step, Hurrying on till the timbered hall Rose before them, radiant with gold. Nobody on earth knew of another Building like it. Majesty lodged there, Its light shone over many lands. (306-11) The hall Heorot is the dwelling place of the Danes, and the gold of the hall shines like the sun, which is a sign of ease in Heorot in daytime. In the early days of Christianity the Trinity of God became associated with the colours blue, yellow, and red. God the Father was blue, God the Son yellow and God the Holy Ghost was red; the triangle and the shamrock symbolized the deity (Birren 1988: 47). God the Son is considered to be yellow, and the yellow colour is used as a reference to Christianity in Beowulf: Almighty had made the earth A gleaming plain girdled with waters, In His splendour He set the sun and the moon To be earths lamplight, lanterns for men(92-95) Resembling the holiness of yellow, the warriors wear golden clothes with which they symbolize their brightness and valor in the battles: My armor helped me to hold out; My hard-ringed chain mail, hand-forged and linked, A fine, close fitting filigree of gold, Kept me safe when some ocean creature Pulled me to the bottom. (550-54) Beowulf kills Grendel, and the feast starts at Heorot. Hrothgar and Wealtheow show their respect to Beowulf and they honour him by giving invaluable gifts:

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Then Halfdanes son presented Beowulf With a gold standart as a victory gift, An embroidered banner; also breast-mail And a helmet, and a sword carried high, That was both a precious object and token of honour. (1019-23) Yellow or the colour of gold is considered to be the colour of enlightenment in paganism especially in the period of Druids. The meaning of the colour in the polytheist period alters after conversion to Christianty. In Christianity the pious people are considered to believe in the colour yellow as the colour of curse. As suggested by Owen and Crocker, gold set in a pre-Christian society, is literally heathen. When gold is hidden in the earth, hoarded by a dragon it is heathen and by association evil, but the burial of the treasure in Beowulfs barrow saves the society from the curse (2000: 101). Similar to the use of the colour in Beowulf, yellow is employed in The Book of Dede Korkut as a part of its belief system. In Turkish mythology the palace and the throne of lgen is made of gold (Gen 1996: 42). As pointed out by Karaba gold symbolizes yellow, and this idea shows the importance of the dwelling place of lgen in the SkyGod belief (1992: 28). The symbol of gold is mentioned in The Book of Dede Korkut, and similar to lgens palace, which is embroidered with gold, gold is used in the interior and the exterior of the Ouz tents: Let it carry his goods; he has virtue Give a large lavish tent with a golden pole To provide him shade. (13) When Boa Han kills the bull, Korkut Ata comes and gives him a name befitting his bravery, and he wants his father to erect a tent with a golden pole, which is obviously a sign of the Sky-God belief. In the story of The Sack of the House of Salur Kazan, the infidels plunder Salur Kazans house. In the end of the tale the infidels are killed, and Salur Kazan erects a new tent: The strong Oghuz beys took great amounts of booty. Kazan Bey recovered his son, the members of his household, and treasury, and

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turned homeward. He sat again on his golden throne. (38) In the story of Emren, Begil is not pleased with the remarks of the Han and he leaves the council, he drops the gifts given by Bayndr Han, and revolts against the rules of the council. He returns home but does not talk to his white-faced wife, so she addresses him: My bey, the master of my golden throne, You whom I loved with all my heart When I opened my eyes. (136) In the council of Bayndr Han, Salur Kazan does not praise his horse or his skills, but he praises Begil as a good hunter, but Bayndr Han is not satisfied with him, and Begil returns to his home. Although his house is his golden throne, he is not well treated in the golden throne of Bayndr Han. After conversion to Islam yellow is replaced by green: yellow symbolizes warmth and blue symbolizes silence, the mixture of yellow and blue is green, which symbolizes eternity and religion (Heyet 1996: 59). Gen points out the importance of green, and draws attention to the fact that this colour is one of lgens sons names (1996: 41). Gen also states that green is the symbol of Islam and Mohammad, and those who wear green are considered to be Muslims (1996: 42). Although the Ouz people converted to Islam, there is no explicit sign of green in The Book of Dede Korkut.

II.2.3. Red and White Unlike the colours of importance used in Beowulf, red and white are of significance in The Book of Dede Korkut. The white colour is conveyed through two different words in Turkish. In the Turkish lexicon ak means white, and is a common colour in the Ouz society before conversion to Islam (1998: 51). Beyazalso refers to white, and its origin is Arabic which was introduced after conversion to Islam (1998: 279). Ak is used 99 times in The Book of Dede Korkut, but beyaz is not used at all although the Ouz society converted to Islam. As suggested by Heyet white (ak) is the symbol of purity, age and innocence in the Ouz society (1996: 56). The white-bearded father and

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white-haired mother are the common terms used in The Book of Dede Korkut. The white tent symbolizes luck, and refers to the Han who has a son. When Bayndr Han arranges a feast he erects tents of three colours. In the Turkish epic those who have sons go to the white tent, those who have daughters go to the red one, and those who do not have sons or daughters go to black tent (9). As gel states the process of whitening (Aklama) symbolizes innocence in the Ouz society (1985:11). gels statemement is also true for the use of this colour in The Book of Dede Korkut, can be observed in the following passage: He arranged for a bride with a red trousseau for his brown-eyed son. He sent one-fifth of all his spoils to white-browed Bayindir Khan. Taking his son with him then, he went to Bayindir Khans council. He kissed his hand. The ruler showed a place to the right of Uruz, the son of Kazan. (144) The white-browed Bayndr Han is experienced enough to understand the innocence of a bride, and Uruz deserves this bride due to his heroism. Similar to the white colour, red is also used in The Book of Dede Korkut. The colour red refers to two different words in Turkish. In the Turkish lexicon kzl means red before conversion to Islam (1998: 1318). Kzl is used 26 times in The Book of Dede Korkut. Krmz also means red, and originates from Arabic and is used after conversion to Islam (1998: 1301). The colour krmz is used three times in the epic. Another colour al refers to red and it is of common usage before conversion to Islam (1998: 69). Al is used 34 times in The Book of Dede Korkut. As Heyet states red in general is the colour of matrimonial ceremony (1996: 57). In The Book of Dede Korkut the bride and the bridegroom are clad in red (kzl) garments and the colour of the tent of these married couples is red, and those who wear red clothes imply a sign of nobility in the Ouz society: During the time of the Ouz, when a young man was to be married, he would shot an arrow into the air and wherever the arrow fell, there he would have his nuptial tent erected. Beyrek Khan too shot his arrow and had his nuptial tent set up where it landed. A long red gown was sent to him as a gift from his betrothed. (51)

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It may be interpreted that the definitions of the colour red vary, and the sentence A long red gown sent to him as a gift from his betrothed refers to the nobility of Bams Beyrek.

II.3. Animal Symbolism Similar to the importance of numbers and colours, animal images indirectly reflect the belief systems in Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut. Animal image or in other words a bestiary is a form of literary work in which the habits of beasts, birds, and reptiles were made the text for allegorical and mystical depending upon its religious teachings (Abrams nd: 48). These bestiaries often ascribe human attributes to animals. The bestiary in one form or another has been used in English and Turkish literatures. The English epic, Beowulf embodies some elements that may have descended from the animal lore in terms of its belief system. Most of the animals in Beowulf reflect preChristianity, and Christianity. Fulk and Harris assert that the heros name Beowulf may have originated from the animals bee and wolf, meaning woodpecker or bear, but they also state that beo bee may have originated from Beow, a pre-Christian god, and the structure of this name is the same as the common Norse Thor and wolf or the English god Tiu and wolf (2002: 98). If Beowulf is considered to be the wolf, he is emerged as the pre-Christian god of the Norse and he states that:Beows name was known through the North (18). This may refer to the god of the Norse, that depicts the hero in Beowulf in terms of the animal image or as Orchard asserts that it may be interpreted as Beow or Beowa that is the god of fertility who comes across water (2003: 103).

II.3.1. Dragon There are also animal images such as Grendel, Grendels mother and the dragon that

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might have contributed to the animal allegory. Sisam points to the fact that the texts in the Beowulf manuscript were composed in different dialects and the core-collection of Wonders, the Letter, and Beowulf was put together referring to the monsters (1953: 647). Similar to the assertion of Sisam, Rypins draws attention to the fact that like Beowulf, Wonders depicts a natural world inhabited by dragons, and other-man eating creatures, the land beyond the so-called River Brixontes. In Beowulf Grendel and his mother are considered to be the monsters or dragons that signify evil in pre-Christian Scandinavian animal. Dragons in Norse mythology are viewed as giant serpents. The three major dragons are Nidhogg, Fafnir, and the World Serpent. Nidhogg is known as the Dread Biter. He lives at the foot of the world tree and grows at its roots. Since the world tree supports all life of the world and Nidhogg attempts to destroy it, Nidhogg is personified as evil itself. It is Nidhogg that will bring about the end of the world. Fafnir was once a humanoid (giant or dwarf, depending on the source) that was transformed into a dragon covered with impenetrable scales. Fafnir's blood is caustic, but when his blood is tasted it gives one the ability to hear another's thoughts and understand the language of birds. The World Serpent is also called Jormungandr. He is noted for his poisonous breath and as the enemy of Thor. Jormungandr lives in the water that surrounds the human world and eventually grows so long that he lives all around the world at once and eats his own tail (www.dragon-warrior.com/Bestiary/dragon.shtml). Such a description of the Scandinavian dragon resembles Grendel, Grendels mother and the dragon: The iron-bracer door turned on its hinge When his hands touched it. Then his rage boiled over, he ripped open The mouth of the building, maddening for blood, Pacing the length of the patterned floor With his loathsome tread, while a baleful light, Flame more than light flared from his eyes. (721-27) Beowulf poets description is of Grendels eyes stating that there shone an unlovely light, most like a flame may refer to the evil in pre- Christian societies. After conversion to Christianity the concept of the dragon does not change and again it stands for the

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reality of the evil in the world. God's punishment of the serpent/dragon had been to crawl on its belly, it may be surmised that, this reptile walked upright in medieval art (www.gloriana.nu/bestiary.html). He also sports wings, two lion's claws (or, in some cases, birdlike feet), and a substantial tail. After conversion to Christianity the fear of hell is vastly used to deter medieval man from sin and considering the fact that dragons who are known to have fiery, poisonous breath were also employed (www.gloriana.nu/bestiary.html). In this respect it may be asserted that Grendel, Grendels mother and the dragon may imply evil in pre- Christianity and Christianity. It may also be pointed out that Beowulf draws from Norse, Celtic and Germanic animal symbols that existed before conversion to Christianity. After Beowulf was put down into writing, Christian animal symbolism is observed, and as in the case of the animal dragon, it signified evil or satan in Christianity, or it refers to the sin of human beings.

II.3.2. Stag / Deer The stag symbol is also used in Beowulf. The palace of Heorot means hart or stag (Heaney 2002: 5). Heorot is considered to be the palace of the Danes, and at this stage it also refers to the animal stag that stands for royalty in Scandinavian symbolism: And soon it stood there Finished and ready, in full view, The hall of halls. Heorot was the name He had settled on it, whose utterance was law (76-79).

It is interesting that the stag is the enemy of the serpent, which may be interpreted to imply that if Grendel is the serpent, Heorot is the stag, and Heorot is disturbed by this serpent; at the end of the English epic Grendel is killed by Beowulf who is the representative of the stag. After conversion to Christianity the concept of royalty alters and stands for Christ, who tramples and destroys the devil (White 1984: 37-39). As the stags help each other when they cross a river, so should the Christian crossing from the worldly life to the spiritual life help others who grow weak or tired. As the stag is

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renewed and sheds its horns after drinking from the spring, so those who drink from the spring of the spirit are renewed and shed their sins (www.bestiary.ca/beasts/beast162.htm). Hence, it may be asserted that Heorot may be considered to be the holy place of the Danes after conversion to Christianity, although Hrothgar is depicted as pure pagan. Similar to the image of the stag in Beowulf, the deer or stag is mentioned in The Book of Dede Korkut. Although it does not signify the royalty depicted in the English epic, oruhlu asserts that it stands for the spirit of the ancestors in Sky-God belief and shamanism (2002: 142). oruhlu also draws attention to the fact that the colour of the deer defines the characteristics of the animal, and if the colour is white it stands for the spirit of an innocent ancestor, if it is brown or reddish, it stands for the underworld ancestors that cause death. In The Book of Dede Korkut the deer is depicted as follows: Some said, It is enemy dust, while others said. It must be dust raised by deer. Most agreed, It is enemy dust, all right. Kazan said: if it were caused by deer, it would have risen in only one or two columns. Let it be known to you that this is the enemy coming. (73) If it were the dust of the deer, they would lead Kazan and his friends to die, for the spirit of a deer invites people to the Underworld that stands for the death of a person in preIslamic beliefs. After conversion to Islam the negative symbolism of the deer disappears, and as oruhlu draws attention to the fact, the deer is considered to be one of the holy animals in Islam which is almost always the subject matter of the didactic Islamic stories (2002: 143). Albayrak also states that the deer image is employed in stories after conversion to Islam (1993: 62). Although The Book of Dede Korkut preserves both pre-Islamic and Islamic values of the animal images, the deer is not directly mentioned after conversion to Islam, but as gel asserts the image of the deer is used as a token in reciting stories of Islam (1998: 569). II.3.3. The Raven Another animal symbol mentioned in Beowulf is the raven. The Raven is the bird in Celtic lore that is associated with deities of war, and features as the helper and protector

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of warriors and heroes. It is an important Celtic figure but is ambivalent as helper on the one hand and connected with death and the Raven-Crow goddess, 'The Blessed Raven', who had a three-fold function as warior, procreator and seer (www.celticgrounds.com/chapters/encyclopedia/r.html). The raven is also associated with the wren in prophecy and divination, which appears with the swan in solar symbolism, and is connected with the dovecote as a house-symbol, this probably being pre-Celtic also. The Raven of Battle symbolizes war, bloodshed, and malevolence (Rutherford 1993: 61). Morrigan as a raven goddess watches over battles. Bran has a raven, and Lugh or Lugos, who has two magic ravens, is an all-purpose and wise ravengod like the Teutonic/Scandinavian Woden/Odin. In Beowulf it may be asserted that the raven is considered to be the god of prophecy that is also seen in Celtic and Teutonic symbolism: Many a spear dawn-cold To the touch will be taken down And waved on high; the swept harp Wont waken warriors, but the raven winging Darkly over the doomed will have news, Tidings for the eagle of how he hoked and ate, How the wolf and he made short work of the dead (3021-27). From these lines it may be asserted that, the raven is a sign of doom and also stands for the Celtic god Bran (Ward 1993: 61). Stanley points out that the appearance of a raven which is devilish according to Christian conceptions, reminded the Germanic warrior of the presence of Woden who ruled battles (2001: 79-80). In Christianity the raven first pecks out the eyes, so the devil first destroys the ability to judge correctly, leaving the mind open to attack as well (www.bestiary.ca/beasts/beast251.htm). Hnece it may be pointed out that the raven is used as the god of doom in Beowulf. II.3.4. Boar and Bull The image of the boar or the bull is of importance. Beowulf originated from the preChristian life style and religion, hence the context and the structure of Beowulf is highly

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influenced and shaped by Celtic, Germanic, and Teutonic literatures and the belief systems. Before Christianity, polytheism and paganism are the most important belief systems, and it may be asserted that the animal image of a boar is used as a pagan deity in Beowulf. Nora Chadwick draws attention to the fact that the bull/boar is mentioned, and the boar is the symbol of strength and virility in the Celtic belief system (1974: 153, 161). Chadwick also draws attention to the fact that: The boar also appears on the Gundestrup bowl, and also of considerable interest is the representation among others on this vessel of the horned, but otherwise human, squatting god. It is assumed by most scholars that this is Cernunnos, whose name has been translated various as the horned oneor the god with head of the deer. (1974: 153-54)

Similar to the descriptions of the boar image in Celtic polytheism, the boar as a god of fertility and success is mentioned in Teutonic polytheism (http://www.wizardrealm.com/norse/gods.html). Freyr is Freyas twin brother in Teutonic mythology and he is the horned god of fertility. The boar is his sacred symbol and is associated both with war and fertility. The boar images may have influenced Beowulf, on the grounds that the boar symbol is repeated many times (1113, 1287, 1327, 1453,2151): Boar-shapes flashed Above their cheek-guards, the brightly forged Work of goldsmith, watching over Those stern-faced man (303-307). The boar is used as a symbol of war and success. In Christianity the boar is also a symbol of Christ because of his strength, jealousy, and fearless passion for the children of God (www.netnitco.net/users/legend01/pig.htm). In this respect, it may be asserted that the boar image both preserves the pre-Christian and Christian elements in Beowulf. Beowulf does not only carry the boar-helmet as the god of war in pre-Christianity, but he also stands for the figure of Christ after conversion to Christianity.

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Unlike these pagan animals in Beowulf, there are other animals such as the horse, swan, and whale that have no allegorical significance related to the belief systems and therefore will not be analyzed. II.3.5. Pigeon The pigeon image is also used only in The Book of Dede Korkut. There are no references to the bird in Beowulf. Before Islam the pigeon was considered to be a holy animal in shamanism, and the Sky-God belief. The pigeon is a bird that can fly, and in pre-Islamic belief system to fly means uma that refers to the wings of the birds, and these birds may reach the sky where the god of goodness, lgen, lives. In this respect the word uma has two important meanings: the first one refers to the wings of the shamans who reach lgen by flying, the second one refers to the death of a person whose soul is believed to fly to the sky where the god of goodness, lgen, lives or to the Underworld where the god of evil, Erlik, lives. gel draws attention to the fact that, before Islam the shamans wore clothes, which were embroidered with pigeon images, and they turned into pigeons in order to reach the spirits of the gods or ancestors (1998: 203). In this respect it may be asserted that shamans are considered to be in disguise of pigeons that attain the Sky- God(s). After conversion to Islam, the symbolism of the pigeon image was changed to some extent, and it stood for the angels of Islam. In Islam angels are believed to be the creatures that have wings, and similar to this idea the angel Azrail turns into a pigeon in the story of Deli Dumrul: He drew his big black sword, held it in his hand, and tried to strike Azrail with it, but Azrail became a pigeon and flew out of the window. Del Dumrul, a monster of a man, clapped his hands and burst out in laughter. He said: My friends, I frightened Azrail so much that he ran out, not through the wide open door, but through the chimney. To save himself from my hand, he just became a pigeon and flew away. I shall have him caught by my falcon. He mounted his horse, took his falcon on his wrist, and started pursuing Azrail. He killed a few pigeons . On the way home, however, Azrail appeared to the eyes of the horse. The horse was frightened and threw Del Dumrul off its back to the ground. His poor head grew dizzy, and he became powerless. Azrail came and pressed down upon his white chest. He had been murmuring a short while ago, but now he gasped out through the rattle in his throat:

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O Azrail, have mercy! There is no doubt about the unity of Allah. (91-2) It may be asserted that Deli Dumrul understands the power of Azrail and also Allah, and converts into Islam. Azrail as a pigeon appears and he implies to those angels who have wings in Islam. The pigeon symbol is also observed in some of the religious stories, and it is used as a token that gives moral and allegorical religious messages. Albayrak states that after conversion to Islam eating the meat of a pigeon was considered to be a sin (1993: 71-5). II.3.6. Camel In The Book of Dede Korkut, the image of the camel is of significance. The camel image is not mentioned in the Sky-God belief, but it is portrayed in shamanism. oruhlu asserts that in shamanism and Turkish mythology the camel stands for the prowess of the shamans and also the kaans (2002: 146). The type of the camel changes depending upon its characteristics. For example a male camel is called bura, the female camel is called naka(Albayrak 1993: 75). The male camel symbolizes power, and it stands for the power of the shaman or the kaan. After conversion to Islam, the camel does not explicitly signify this meaning, and Albayrak states that the camel is used as a symbol in the Islamic stories to show the prowess of the prophet. When The Book of Dede Korkut was put down into writing, Islam was accepted and the doctrines of this new religion influenced the epic. For example the power of a male camel is likened to the power of the kaan, and he is expected to kill the male camel in order to prove his prowess: Kan Tural prayed to Mohammed, his name be praised. He then gave the camel such a kick that the beast roared. He kicked it again, sending it crashing to the earth. He pressed it down and cut its throat in two places. He then cut two long strips of hide from its back and laid them before the king, saying, These may be handy for horsemen to repair their saddles and stirrup straps. (108)

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It is worthy of notice that the camel does not have the Islamic meaning, but refers to the powerful han who is a Muslim. The deer, pigeon, and camel have islamic meanings attached to them in The Book of Dede Korkut. Unlike these animals which have religious significance, there are other animals which are also mentioned. Gkyay divides animals into categories and explains the literary significance of these animals (2000: CDXIV). Animal images are employed in Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut. In both of the epics animal symbolism in polytheism, paganism, the Sky-God belief, shamanism and monotheism (Christianity and Islam respectively) are used. The animals such as the dragon, stag, raven, and boar in Beowulf, and deer, pigeon, and camel in The Book of Dede Korkut have the allegorical meaning related to the belief systems. Unlike the images carrying religious significanc, some animals such as the horse, swan, and whale in Beowulf, and birds excluding the pigeon, sheep, cow, goat, and some domestic animals in The Book of Dede Korkut are also used but they do not contribute to the belief system of these epics. Numbers, colours and animals have been used in Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut with reference to various beliefs. The numbers such as three and nine are used in both of the epics significantly. These numbers depict the triadic patterns of the gods and social patterns such as the triadic family relations and other social events within the belief systems. In addition to this, the number nine is used for perfection by attributing the pre-Christian and pre-Islam beliefs, and is considered to be the number of spiritiual deficiency in Christianity and Islam. Number forty is only observed in The Book of Dede Korkut, and number fifty is merely observed in Beowulf. The number forty and fifty do not have a significant meaning in the belief systems, but they are of significance in understanding the moral values reflected in both of the epics. In addition to this, the colours such as black and yellow are stated in both of the epics, and the white and red colours are only stated in The Book of Dede Korkut, which do not have explicit religious meanings, and are not used at all in Beowulf

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The modern Turkish version of Kumis is kmz. It is made of fermented mares milk and a traditional drink of all Turkish speaking peoples as well as of others in parts of Central Asia. The Ouz people, for some reason or other, discontinued the custom of drinking kmz after they reached Anatolia. 2 The flags of Turkish rulers were usually white. 3 It is a famous northern pagan legend of Odin; which is considered to be the origin of the Beowulf epic. 4 The mighty tree is called Igdrasil (Yygdrasil), at the roots of the world tree there are nine worlds of Niflhel dark hell-where the dead men dwell. 5 After Hygelac was killed in the raid on Frisia, his son Heardred became king of the Geats.The Swedish ( Shylfing ) king Onela later invades and kills Heardred, after which Beowulf becomes king.

CHAPTER III: THE CONCEPT OF DEATH, THE OTHERWORLD AND IMMORTALITY Duymaz points out that death and the other world concepts are not directly mentioned in epics and adds that the major reason for not scrutinizing the heros death is his sublimity and his examplary attitudes towards his nation (2003: 125). Although Duymaz draws attention to the heros heroic deeds rather than his burial ceremony, the burial ceremony of Beowulf and the other three characters are depicted in Beowulf. Rolleston states that the treatment of the idea of death and its meaning in Beowulf is an indirect implication of Scandinavian and German pagan rituals(1988: 52). He also points out that in addition to the Celtic religion of Druidism, there was a body of popular superstitions, observances which came from a deeper and older source than Druidism. The religions of the ancient societies such as the early Scandinavian and the Germanic tribes are rooted in the practices connected with the burial of the dead. The primitive people inhabiting Scandinavian, Germanic, and Celtic territory in the west of Europe were known to be the Megalithic People, who were considered to be the builders of dolmens, cromlechs and tumuli(Rolleston 1988: 53). The traces of these grave stones are found from Scandinavia southwards, the western lands of Europe to the straits of Gibraltar, and around the Mediterranean coast of Spain. The grave stone is a kind of chamber composed of upright unhewn stones, and is roofed generally with a single huge stone, and the intention of the stone is believed to represent a house or dwelling-place for the dead. In these grave stones some inscriptions are found. If the Druids are considered to be the ancestors of the society in Beowulf, the stone piles may be of significance. Kendrick asserts that the famous megalithic stone pile is the Stonehenge and it is still debated whether the Druids erected it or not

(1994: 4). Although the Stonehenge is considered to be the temple of the Druids, it may also be considered to be the tumuli that were erected for the dead. Although there is no explicit reference about the Stonehenge in Beowulf, Brophy establishes a relation between the Stonehenge and Beowulf, and he says: What as early as 1705 Humfrey Wanley had called Beowulf an outstanding example of Anglo-Saxon poetry is unkindly described: Boring and unattractive as a story, pointlessly bloodthirsty but- we are always told- fundamentally Christian, Beowulf is a fine example of primitive non-art. Admiring comment on its poetry is about as relevant as praise for the architecture of Stonehenge. (1967: 1) Although the Druids are thought to have erected the Stonehenge before Christianity, it does not have any inscriptions on it. On the contrary some of the grave stones dating after Christianity Celtic, Scandinavian and Germanic origin have some inscriptions including both pagan, polytheist and Christian elements that are also observable in Beowulf. These inscriptions shed light to the fact that the dead are burnt in the English epic which is also supported by the traces of the burial of the dead during that period. Between the composition and putting down into writing of Beowulf, one of the grave stones found in North England, had the traces of pagan and Christian motifs (www.vikinganswerlady.com/scotland.shtml). Similar to the pre-history of Beowulf, the grave houses or symbolic grave stones are also found during the period of composition and putting down into writing of The Book of Dede Korkut. The Gktrks are considered to be the ancestors of the Ouz, and they erected the most famous stones in eight AD. These stones are called Orhun Inscriptions and were erected during the reign of Gktrk II in Central Asia. The structure and the significance of the grave stones are not stated in the Turkish epic, but it may be asserted that the ancestors of the Ouz people erected these stones and they embodied both the Sky-God belief and Islam together ( Orkun 1987: 81). It is also interesting that Orhun inscriptions are symbolically erected for Kltigin, Bilge Kaan and Tonyukuk. Kltigin and Bilge Kaan are the kaans of the Gktrk II, and Tonyukuk is their wazir. Orkun asserts that these inscriptions are erected to immortalize these leaders.

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Although these grave stone symbols are not mentioned in Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut, the traces of burying or burning the dead are stated. Before the composition of Beowulf, the societies were acquainted with agriculture, pasturage and seafearing, and it is assumed that they were pagan. In this era the societies which were consiedered to be pagans, buried the dead instead of burning them. Although the societies which are depicted in Beowulf are pagans, they did not burn their dead but buried them in dolmens, cromlechs or tumuli (Rolleston 1988: 55). Kendrick also supports the idea that Scandinavian and German societies were pagans but they did not burn their dead, and they believed in immortality and the concept of the transmigration of the souls (1994: 104). Similar to the view of Kendrick, Lucy states that in the fifth century AD burying the dead included cremating the deceased on a funeral pyre, rather than burying them straight in the ground as had been the usual practice for around two centuries in the preceding Roman period (2000: 1). Lucy also draws attention to the fact that the cremated ashes were collected off the pyre and placed inside a pottery which was then deposited in a pit, often with grave offerings in the form of combs, tweezers and the remains of clothing that the dead person had been wearing when cremated. The dead were often buried with grave-goods and sometimes recremated; these changes suggest that non-Christian burial rites were in use, marking a major shift away from the official religion of the late Roman Empire (Lucy 2000: 1). The arrival of St Augustine in Canterbury in AD 597 changed the doctrines of religion, and societies converted to Christianity. After conversion to this new faith different burial practices were used, but these practices are not mentioned in Beowulf. In Beowulf the heroes are cremated, not buried. McKinley asserts that Anglo-Saxon, Geat, Frisian funeral pyres consisted of criss-cross framework of large timbers infilled with brushwood, possibly with a shallow pit underneath to provide an under-pyre draught on the top of which the body was laid out (1994: 80). In Beowulf there are four funerals: Scyld Scefings ship of death, the cremation of Hildeburghs kin, the last Survivors lament and Beowulfs death. Beowulfs burial ceremony is the most prolonged of the four funeral descriptions in the poem. Owen and Crocker state that there is the cremation with its practical details of the building of the pyre, the enumeration of grave goods and the burning of the body (2000: 88). The

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funeral ceremony of Beowulf, which bears the traces of paganism, was prepared in accordance with Beowulfs own request: Now that I have bartered my last breath To own this fortune, it is up to you To look after their needs. I can hold out no longer. Order my troop to consruct a barrow On a headland on the coast, after my pyre has cooled. It will loom on the horizon at Hronesness And be a reminder among my people So that in coming times crews under sail Will call it Beowulfs barrow, as they steer Ship across the wide and shrouded waters. (2798-2808) The instruction of Beowulf about the burial ceremony is repeated by Wiglaf: He was still himself, Alive, aware, and in spite of his weakness He had many requests. He wanted me to greet you And order of the building of a barrow that would crown The site of his pyre, serve as his memorial, In a commanding position, since of all men To have lived and thrived and lorded it on earth His worth and due as a warrior were the greatest. (3093-100) Beowulf dies and his last wish is fulfilled by his retainers: they do their duties and also prepare a memorial pyre as well. The funeral pyre is accompanied by two instances of mourning; a general lamentation of Beowulfs retainers and a mourning of a Geatish woman. Lamentation is an important ritual after the death of a person: They were disconsolate And wailed aloud for their lords decease. A Geat woman too sang out in grief; With hair bound up, she unburdened herself Of her worst fears, a wild litany Of nightmare and lament. (3148-52) A Geatish woman laments Beowulfs death, and it may be asserted that mourning is a common custom. Lamentation in the heroic society signifies the importance of the hero. It may be stated that the hero is the examplary character of his nation, and his society is always respectful to him. In order to display their respect, they are lamenting Beowulfs death. Secondly, there is the interment of the ashes in a barrow which involves again

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some practical details of construction and a brief account of grave-goods, this time the treasure taken from the dragons hoard. Owen and Crocker draw attention to the fact that Beowulfs burial ceremony is similar to the pagan practices of Scandinavian and German societies (2000: 88). These societies also have the common idea of life after death in the other-world. In this respect it may be asserted that the belief in immortality was the basis of Scandinavian and Germanic druidism. Depending upon the belief of druidism, Scandinavian societies were steeped in magic and mysticism related to the concept of the Underworld (Rolleston 1988: 82). Before and after Beowulfs composition the concept of the otherworld was not a place of gloom and suffering, but of light and liberation, the sun was as much the god of that world as he was this, but this idea has changed after conversion to Christianity (Rolleston 1988: 89). Beowulf is burned with his goods, which is considered to be a sign of metempsychosis and transmigration. Actually there is no clear statement about Beowulfs metempsychosis, but his grave goods strengthen the idea of life in the otherworld: The Geat people built a pyre for Beowulf, Stacked and decked it until it stood foursquare, Hung with helmets, heavy war-shields And shining armor, just as he had ordered. Then his warriors laid him in the middle of it, Mourning a lord far-famed and beloved. (3136-41) The helmet symbolizes the triumph and destruction in general, but in Beowulf this image symbolizes his triumph. In Anglo-Saxon cemeteries helmets, shields, armours and swords were the grave goods which were considered to be the grave goods of the warriors and would be useful in the otherworld (Lucy 2000: 87) Although Beowulfs grave goods were shields, armour and helmet, his sword is not mentioned in his burial ceremony. The boar image symbolizes the pagan god of war, and Owen and Crocker draw attention to the fact that Beowulfs boar-helmet and his other goods might symbolically equip a warrior for battle in Valhalla or some similar pagan other-world (2000: 90). The preparation of the pyre, and the details of the barrow of Beowulf imply the grave-stone tumulus which is an explicit sign of Scandinavian and Germanic pagan practice. It is of significance that Beowulfs only treasure is his grave goods because he was considered to believe in the otherworld, and in the otherworld he is again

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considered to be a warrior according to pagan beliefs, but the Christian moral values completely differ from pagan practices. Owen and Croker state that the material possessions such as the treasure is of no use and significance in Christianity (2000: 100). The attractiveness of material possesions, the status symbols of the heroic world of Beowulf or the other kings are of no use. They also point out the belief that an ancestral sword was the memoir for the outbreak of war between Heathobards and Danes, that boar helmets failed to save the men at Finnsburg, and that treasures will rust and crumble in the ground. Owen and Crocker also draw attention to the Christian doctrines which preached contrary practices and said: Do not lay up for yourselves treasure on earth but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven For where your treasure is there will your heart be also (Matthew 6: 19-21). In these lines Christian principles of ignoring earthly goods are pointed out, and according to Christianity spiritual goods such as the beatitute of heart are emphasized. Mensching draws attention to the fact that in Christianity, being wealthy and having treasures are of no significance, because those who are considered to be rich are apt to have sins. Similar to the concepts of death, the otherworld and immortality in Beowulf, The Book of Dede Korkut also embodies these concepts. Although death is not explicity stated in The Book of Dede Korkut, the traces of death and the belief in the otherworld are implied. Before the composition of The Book of Dede Korkut the societies such as the Huns and Gktrks had their own burial ceremonies. They believed that death was the seperation of the soul from the body, and the soul was called a breath; the breath flew and reached heaven hence they believed that they flew to the otherworld in the form of a bird (Gnay; Gngr 1998: 84). Erdem mentions that the word umak means to fly but metaphorically it is the symbol of death and the word uma is the place of the dead which may also be called heaven in the SkyGod belief of the Huns and Gktrks and later in the Ouz society (2000: 113). The Huns, Gktrks and Ouz believed in the otherworld and the concept of immortality. Kagarl Mahmut points out in his dictionary Divan- Lugatit Trk that people believed in the good and the evil spirit after death as stated in the Sky-God belief (1944: 320).

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It is stated that there are many traces of the burial ceremonies which differ from each other in Huns, Gktrks and later the Ouz in tken( Central Asia). gel draws attention to the fact that in the Hun dynasty the dead were buried with their goods and this points to the belief in life after death (1988: 761). The dead were burned with their goods and their horses, because it was believed to cleanse the evil spirit according to the Sky-God belief (Kalafat 1999: 128) . After the cremation ceremony the retainers of the dead constructed a grave-house with their idols in their memory which meant bark in Turkish and grave-house in English (Kalafat 1999: 128). The ashes of the dead were preserved until spring or autumn then buried in this grave-house. The preservation of the ashes of the dead was a practice similar to the one observed in Scandinavian and Germanic cultures, but this is not directly mentioned in the Sky-God belief. Actually why the Huns tried to preserve the ashes of the dead is still debated. Although the ashes of the dead in the Hun dynasty keeps its mystery, it may be asserted that some archeological traces of the cemeteries support the view that the burying of the dead is more valid than of burning in this dynasty (Kalafat 1999: 126). There are no records of burning of the dead for the period of the Gktrk dynasty. gel points out that there are two types of cemeteries in the Gktrk dynasty: the first one is the mound cemetery, the second one is the steppe cemetery (1984: 133). Depending upon the period, the cemeteries of the Gktrks varied, but the major and the common concerns were their burial ceremonies with their goods and horses. Smer states that burying the dead unburnt with their horses and their weapons in the Gktrk and later in the Ouz societies may be taken as evidence for their belief in an afterlife (1997: 184). Smer also states that the buried dead is served kmz, and his horse is sometimes sacrificed to be eaten (1999: 74). According to the second one, contrary to the former idea, it is asserted that the horses were buried with the heroes, because it was believed that the dead were going to live in the otherworld and they were going to reach heaven not on foot but on horseback. Their weapons were also buried with them, and it was believed that on the way to heaven they could easily defend themselves, and kill the pagans or wild animals they would encounter (Smer 1997: 185). One of the other crucial concepts of the Gktrk dynasty was the idols of genders and the figures of animals which were erected in the grave-houses. Gnay and Gngr assert that these

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figures and idols were put up in the tents, then the stone cemeteries (1998: 89). Societies who were tribal used the Bozy1 and these idols provided information about their way of life, later as their life styles changed and developed, they constructed stone houses and cemeteries instead of the Bozy. Similar to the Huns and Gktrks the burial practices of the Ouz people are significant in reflecting their beliefs in The Book of Dede Korkut. Gnay and Gngr also draw attention to the fact that before conversion to Islam, the Ouz societies buried the dead unburnt with their clothes, horses, jewellery and weapons (1998: 95). Similar to this idea the servants of the Ouz people were also buried with their goods, for they were considered to help their masters (Gnay; Gngr 1998: 96). These burial practices are mentioned in The Book of Dede Korkut. Although burning the dead is not common in The Book of Dede Korkut, the pagans are killed and burned in accordance with their status. This ritual highlights the fact that pagans deserved to be burned but not buried because their place in the other world was hell and not heaven, in keeping with this view it is stated in the story of The Sack of the House of Salur Kazan that: The infidels eyes were filled with fear and a world became a dungeon for them. They thought that the shepherd was going to kill them all, and so they fled. Karajuk took revenge for his dead brothers. He piled up the enemy dead, forming a large hill with their bodies. Then lighting a fire with his flint and steel, he burned a piece of his cloak and pressed the ashes against the wounds he had received. (26) One of the common concepts of the Gktrks and the Ouz society is burying the dead without burning under the rivers with their treasures and horses. They were buried under the rivers, because they were considered to be the heroes and the richest people; the retainers of the heroes did not want the treasures to be plundered and found by the other societies, so they chose places such as the rivers (Gnay; Gngr 1998: 93). Although The Book of Dede Korkut was composed by the Ouz, there is no mention of a burial of this type in this epic. After the death of a person, the Ouz people lamented and shared the sorrow of his family, and this ceremony was called yu in Turkish. Kalafat points out that the family of the dead prepared special food to be served to his grave; this food was called Hayat Yemei which meant the food of life (1999: 133). The dead is served the food because the family of the dead believe that his spirit does

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not abruptly reach heaven, and he wants to see his relatives respect to him. Similar to this idea, nan states that serving the food to the dead is an ancient ritual among the Altay shamans, and it was called yog in shamanism (1987: 465). Offering of food to the dead is also a common ritual in The Book of Dede Korkut in compliance with the Sky-God beliefs and shamanism. In the story of Salur Kazans captivity and his rescue by his son Uruz, it is stated that the dead are given food: The woman came and asked the dungeon keeper to open the door for her. She addressed him in this way: Kazan Bey, how are you? Are you happier below the earth or above the earht? What do you eat and drink and what do you ride down there? Kazan replied: When you feed your dead, I take the food from their hands. I ride those dead who run fast, and lead the old ones in tow. (157) When the structure of the Ouz graves are examined, it is seen that the grave-house is made of stones. The first stone is placed at the head of the grave, the other at his feet. The head stone is taller than the foot stone and the figures of the head stone are similar to the facial appearance of the dead. Gnay and Gngr assert that these stones are called Kamenniya Bab which means the figure of the father or the mother (1998: 97). According to the beliefs of the Ouz the taller head stone is the symbol of the dead who dominates the short foot stone. In this respect the foot stone metaphorically symbolizes the family of the dead, and that they are still respectful to him (Lev 1994: 520-31). After conversion to Islam these head and foot stones were not altered and continued to be erected. Although the head and foot stones of the graves in Ouz cemeteries are common in The Book of Dede Korkut, there is no mention of them. Ergin states that the Ouz cut the tail of the heros horse as a sign of the death of the hero (1989: 28). Gnay and Gngr mention a similar custom of the Huns and the Gktrks, they cut the long hair of the girls or sometimes of the dead to lament the death of the hero (1998: 87). In the Sky-God belief and Altay shamanism cutting of the tail of a horse is common, and it is also mentioned in the story of the revolt of the Outer Ouz: Beyrek covered with blood, was tottering. The beys were all scattered, and each now mounted his horse. Beyrek was also put on his horse, and a man riding alongside him held him in his saddle. Thus Beyrek was taken to his tent, where he was covered with his cloak. He spoke: My warriors arise! Go cut off the tail of my fine gray horse.

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Cross in the night Ala Mountain with curving back; Pass through the beautiful, swift-running streams, Reaching the council of Kazan. Take off your white and wear only black. Say to him, Beyrek is dead and may you long live. (172) In The Book of Dede Korkut Korkut Ata is considered to be a shaman and he contacts the Sky gods like lgen or Erlik and after conversion to Islam he prays to Allah on behalf of the Ouz people. Korkut Ata believes in the other world and immortality, but he does not want to die. He was aware of the fact that death was inevitable, and in the end he is defeated by death. One of the common tales about Korkut Atas death is as follows: When Korkut was at the age of twenty, he had a nightmare. In his dream an old man clad in white tells him that he is going to die at the age of forty . Korkut is scared by his dream and he starts seeking immortality. He goes around the world, and reaches an unknown place. He encounters people who are digging a grave, he wonders and asks them for whom they are digging the grave. All the people reply that the grave is for Korkut Ata. Then Korkut is scared and runs away from this place. He decides to sail away and he believes he cannot be found in the middle of the sea, but unfortunately death finds him there,and he dies. (Nisanbayev 2000: 266)2

In Altay shamanism the shamans are mortals although they have spiritual powers. The tale about Korkut Ata shows that he is also a mortal, and death is inevitable according to the Sky-God belief, shamanism and Islam. The epics Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut both deal with the concepts of death, immortality, and life after death. Although both of them display the cultural remnants of former pagan and shamanistic beliefs, monotheistic beliefs also appear in these narratives. In Beowulf death and the concept of the other world come from the Scandinavian and Germanic cultures. According to these cultures they buried the dead unburnt, and later they burnt the dead which can be seen in Beowulf. The bodies of the heroes in Beowulf are cremated with their valuable goods according to the beliefs and customs and this ceremony implies the fact that there is life after death. Although Beowulf is put down into writing after conversion to Christianity, there are references to Christian burial ceremonies in this epic. The Book of Dede Korkut also deals with the

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concepts of death and the other world, as well. Before the Hun dynasty people burnt the dead, later however there are references to burning or burial of the dead. In the Gktrk dynasty and later in the Ouz, they buried the dead unburnt with their clothes, valuable goods and horses according to the Sky-God belief and Altay shamanism. Hence it may be asserted that the Ouz people believed in the concept of the other world and immortality. The Book of Dede Korkut was put down into writing after the conversion to Islam, but there is no explicit sign of muslim burial ceremonies in the Turkish epic. The Ouz had the grave houses where the dead were buried, and the Turkish epic differs from Beowulf in this aspect. There are also other traditions such as the serving of food to the dead or cutting off of the tail of a horse in The Book of Dede Korkut which do not have their parallels in Beowulf. In both of the epics lamentation after the death of a person is a common practice, but the lamentation ceremonies differ from one another. Similar to the concepts of death and afterlife, immortality is stated in both of the epics. Although the heroes of the epics die, their dignity and reputation never die, and after some time the deeds of the heroes and their names become immortal, although they are mortals.

1 2

The original name of a Central Asian tent Nisanbayevs Turkish qutation has been translated into English by the author of this thesis

CONCLUSION

Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut embody a history in exaggeration that preserve the virtues and values of their societies in every respect. Both of the literary works have come into existence in the heroic ages of their societies at different places. It may also be asserted that these epics have been put down into writing at different times. In this respect it may seem incongnous to compare them, but the periods of their oral culture and heritage and their development from one generation to other display similarities before the monotheistic beliefs, and one in the East and the other in the West preserve the values of polytheistic ideas, paganism and also shamanism. Therefore, these epics both preserve the polytheistic and monotheistic beliefs. It may be stated that the idea of God, the spiritual powers, the concept of death are almost always the subject matters of epics. In epic there are certain characteristics such as the heroic ideals, preservation of the nation from evil, king and retainer relationship, These social and political issues are intermingled with history; literature is the outcome of the social, political events and also the history of these communities. Although these epics have the ashes of history, society, and politics of their age, they are not considered to be history, but literature. Beowulf was sung and put down into writing around the Baltic and North Sea, however The Book of Dede Korkut was sung and put down into writing around the Caspian Sea. In this respect the location and time of these epics differ from each other. Although there are dissimilarities, there are also similiarities in these epics. It may be asserted that the origins of polytheism and pagan rituals of Beowulf are observed in Scandinavian and Germanic tribes, similar to this, the origins of Sky God belief and shamanism in The Book of Dede Korkut are first encountered in the Hun and Gktrk dynasties. Also there are gods such as lgen and Erlik who have sons and daughters, but they are not worshipped as the gods in Beowulf. At this stage it can be inferred that these epics have the features of polytheism, but the meaning of this criterion differs from one to the

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other. Another point where these epics differ is that in Beowulf there are three types of paganism, which is reflected, that is literal, vestigial and moral, but in The Book of Dede Korkut there is not such a clear distiction. It may be stated that the difficulty in Beowulf is its pagan inconsistency of tone, in relation to this aspect Benson referring to Alcuins approach says: What has Ingeld to do with Christ? Narrow is the house, it cannot hold both. The King of Heaven wants no fellowship at all with pagan and damned kings.(1995: 17) It may be asserted that Alcuin does not believe that Beowulf preserves both pagan and Christian motifs. However there are critics who strongly defend the view that Beowulf preserves both paganism and Christianity. Similar to the polytheistic and pagan elements, there are some cults depicted in these epics. The tree cult, Ygdrasil in Beowulf and the tree, water and mountain cults in The Book of Dede Korkut reflect their background. After conversion to monotheism, which are respectively Christianity and Islam, the traces of pre- Christian and pre-Islamic rituals have been absorbed into Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut. The society at the composition time of Beowulf were christianized and Beowulf can be seen as the figure of Christ in the Old Testament, who was once considered to be a pagan god or pagan character. Similary Korkut Ata is first observed as the shaman before Islam, and after conversion to Islam he is considered to be the holy muslim who shows the truths of Islam to his society in The Book of Dede Korkut. The interesting point is that all the critics of The Book of Dede Korkut agree that this Turkish epic preserves both Sky God belief traces, shamanism and also Islam. Another interesting point is that the societies who produced Beowulf may have converted into Christianity by coincidence. Benson asserts that: The missionary activity of the English church began by accident when Wilfred, on his way to Rome to protest his deposition as Bishop of York, landed in Frisia to avoid falling into the hands of his political enemies and spent the winter of 678-79 as guest of the pagan king Aldgisl. He preached the gospel to the heathens, apparently with some success, and then travelled on to Rome. He returned to England, where he occupied a number of sees during his contentious career, but

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evidently he always maintained an interest in the missionary work in Frisia. (1995: 18) Hence, it may be pointed out that the concept of the monotheistic God is seen in both Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut. Similar to the concept of God, there are also other similiarities and differences in the use of numbers, colours and the animal images in Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut. It is not known how the numbers and colours came into being, but they are used by the respective societies. It may be put forward that each number has its own characteristics in the belief systems or in the other systems. Repetition of numbers is a common rule for epics and they sometimes have mytic meanings, but sometimes they stand for social, political or cultural repetition. Number mysticism was influenced by the pre-Christian and pre-Islamic legends, myths, and sagas both in Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut, and it may be emphasized that this tradition continued even after conversion to Christianity and Islam. The number three is considered to be the universal number of deities in Beowulf before Christianity. It may also be asserted that the number three stands for the tridaic pattern of a family that consists of the male, female and child. The triadic pattern is of significance in both of the epics. Unlike Beowulf, the semi-sedentary triangle is mentioned in The Book of Dede Korkut, that is, war, feast and hunting. At this stage it may be pointed out that the number three is observed in both of the epics with common and different features in terms of the belief systems. Similar to the number three, number nine is employed in both of the epics. The first number nine is connected with the planetary spheres and the highest part of heaven in Beowulf before Christianity and is considered to be the place of the nine children who live in the ninth layer of the sky in The Book of Dede Korkut before Islam. After conversion to Christianity the number nine is connected with the death time of Christ and the nine orders of angels, it also refers to the spiritual deficieny in contrast to the perfect ten in Beowulf. Unlike the significance attributed to it in Beowulf, there is no clear significance of nine in Islam, but it has a significance of the social facility that is the name of the leading tibes called the Tokuz (Nine) Ouz. In this respect the number nine is used both in Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut with similar and different meanings. The number forty is used in Beowulf for allegorical exegesis and the expression of repentance and different from the use of these symbolic numbers in

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Beowulf the number fifty is only used in The Book of Dede Korkut representing the holiness of Islam. Similar to number mysticism in Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut, the mysticism of colours is valid for both epics. The colour black stands for a bad incident, disaster, death and mourning in both of the epics before and after conversion to Christianity and Islam. Unlike the usage in Beowulf, it is interesting that the colour black has two meanings in The Book of Dede Korkut: one stands for kara and the other is siyah. Although kara is used in the Turkish epic, siyah is not used. Another possibility is that kara was used before Islam, and when the oral Turkish epic version was put down into writing, kara might have preferably been used instead of siyah. Like black, yellow is used in both of the epics. The colour yellow stands for brightness, and enlightenment before Christianity and Islam, but after conversion to Christianity the colour is used as a curse in Beowulf and after conversion to Islam, yellow changes into gren, that is used as the holy colour of the muslim Ouz people in The Book of Dede Korkut. At this stage it may be pointed out that black and yellow are used in both epics. Unlike the case in Beowulf, there are some colours such as white, red and ala which are used in The Book of Dede Korkut. The colour white has two usages: one is ak, and the other is beyaz. Ak is used as the colour of pre-Islamic period and is mentioned many times in the Turkish epic, but beyaz is not mentioned at all. White stands for innocence in the Turkish epics both in pre-Islamic and Islamic belief. Another colour red is also mentioned only in The Book of Dede Korkut and is used in the form of kzl, al and krmz in Turkish. Although red is of no significance in terms of the belief systems in the Turkish epic, it stands for the moral values and traditions. Another significant point is that al and kzl are used many times, but there is no mention of krmz in The Book of Dede Korkut. Another colour is ala that is used to describe The Book of Dede Korkut. It is the colour of spiritual knowledge and the dwelling mountain of lgen in the Sky-God belief in the Turkish epic. Hence, it may be asserted that colours are used and shaped in epics depending upon the location, time and culture of the communities they evolved in. Like the similarities and differences of the colours, the animal images are also made use of in both epics. In Beowulf, Beowulf is considered to be the creature or wolf that

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stands for the pre-Christian god in Scandinavian animal symbolism. Grendel, Grendels mother and the dragon are considered to be monsters and they stand for evil again in Scandinavian animal lore. Another animal image is the stag that does not explicitly embody any religious meaning but it is the animal of royalty in Beowulf. The raven is another animal image which depicts the prophecy of doom before Christianity, similar to the raven, the boar or bull is also mentioned in the English epic that stands for the god of war in pre-Christian belief. Similar to the animal symbols in Beowulf, there are some animal images in The Book of Dede Korkut as well. For example the deer stands for the spirit of the ancestor before Islam, and after conversion to Islam the deer image is used as a holy animal in the didactic Islamic stories. Like the deer, the camel is used as a symbol in order to motivate muslims to obey the rules of Islam written in the Islamic didactic stories. Another animal image is the pigeon in The Book of Dede Korkut. The pigeon stands for flying, which means uma. Uma refers to the wings of the birds and at the death of a person he may easily reach the sky in the SkyGod belief. After conversion to Islam, the pigeon is considered to be the angel who has wings in The Book of Dede Korkut. The horse is also used in the Turkish epic, but it may be asserted that this animal has no religious significance in The Book of Dede Korkut. Hence it may be pointed out that animals are portrayed in both of the epics in terms of the belief systems. The concept of death, otherworld, and immortality are important issues both in Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut. The dead are sometimes buried and sometimes burned depending on the historical period. In Scandinavian, Germanic and Turkic cultures before conversion to monotheism, the dead are buried with their grave goods and they are believed to go to the otherworld, hence they are thought to make use of the goods such as helmets, shields, swords, and animals like horses. Although the dead are buried, it is not explicitly stated in these epic. The burning ceremonies are mentioned in Beowulf, but not in The Book of Dede Korkut. In both of the epics it is believed that to attain God and reach heaven or hell in the otherworld is possible, and for this reason it is considered that those who reach heaven or hell will become immortals. In this respect it may be asserted that these concept are almost similar in both of the epics.

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Depending on the various similarities in these epics the possibility of contact and interaction between the peoples who created these epics may be questioned. Benson, when talking about the missionary efforts mentions the Huns also: The mission began with the plan of Egbert, who set his mind on doing good to many; that is, by undertaking the apostolic work, to preach to some of those peoples that yet not heard the word of God, he know that there were several such nations in Germany from which the Angles or Saxons who now inhabit Britain as known to have taken thier stock and origin; hence, by the neighboring race of the Britons they are to this day corruptly called Garmani. There are the Frisians, the Rugini, the Danes, the Huns, the Old Saxons, the Boructuari; there are many other other peoples in these same parts still servitude to pagan rites. (1995:18) It may be asserted that the Huns who are considered to be the ancestors of the Ouz society lived at the same age as that of the society of Beowulf. This interaction may draw attention to the fact that once the Huns and the Danes might have influence each other. Another point may be also taken into consideration; the king of Goths Eormenric was in cooperation with the Huns, and the name of this king and his deeds are described in Beowulf: There was no hoard like it since Hama snatched The Brosings neck-chain and bore it away With its gems and settings to his shining fort, Away from Eormenrics wiles and hatred And thereby ensured his eternal reward (1198-1201) It may be stated that the Goths, the Huns and the Danes may have interacted before the conversion to monotheistic beliefs and might have influenced one another. Lawrence draws attention to the Age of the Migrations and asserts about Beowulf that: The epic is concerned mainly with two great Scandinavian peoples, and most, though not all, of the episodic material deals with Scandinavian heroes and tribes. The historic setting is well confined to the sixth century; only rarely is reference made to events lying outside that period. This was near the end of the era as the Age of the Great Migrations, a term which may be somewhat misleading. There were, indeed, through fourth, fifty and sixth centuries, many conflicts for the possession of territory , and frequent marches and resettlements. But the peoples were not constantly on the move; their existence was not nomadic. The occasional long journeys were brief as compared with the periods of colonization. For many years before the Age of the

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Migrations began, the barbarian peoples had manifested symptoms of the great awakening which was later to make them supreme in Europe; but the actual beginning of the movement is rightly reckoned from the clash between the Romans and the Goths in the forth century, in consequence of the pressure of the Huns from the north and east.A faint and much altered reminiscence of this early time appears in Beowulf, in the reference to Ermanric, king of East-Goths, who committed suicide about 375 at the approach of the Huns, but who was remembered in epic story as a cruel tyrant. (1930: 35-36) Lawrences approach emphasizes the fact that the Goths, the Huns and the Danes lived at the same age. The major point, of course, is not the pressure of the Huns or the interactions of these socieities, but that the interaction may point to the possibility that they may have influenced each other. If it is accepted that these cultures have interacted, it may shed light on the similarities in Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut. It is assumed that the Huns are the ancestors of the Ouz people, hence it is possible that they preserved the values that had come from the Hun dynasty. Whether the societies of Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut interacted or not is not clear, but these epics do have similarities.

As a consequence it may be asserted that after the Great Migration of 375, almost all the tribes and societies encountered and waged wars on one another. The tribes of the Hun Dynasty migrated to the West, East, North and South. All the historical sources state that the tribes of the Huns migrated to the North and encountered respectively Ostrogoths, Vandals, Lombards, Franks and Normans. Throughout the great migrations Franks, Frisians, Heathobards, Angles, Danes, Jutes, Geats and Swedes waged wars on one another and at the same time they may have shared various cultural elements through this integration. In this respect it may be stated that Frisians may have been influenced by the migrations of the Huns or vice versa. Frisians were the neighbours of the other tribes in the North Sea, hence the interaction between the Huns and the Frisians may also have influenced the cultures and the rituals of the Nordic societies. After the Hun tribes, the line of this nation was continued by the Gktrk Dynasty who were also the ancestors of the Ouz people; they may also have interacted with the societies in the Nordic parts of the world. In the North Sea the Scandinavian societies created the literary work Beowulf, which is considered to be one of the first English epics. Hence this English epic has been influenced by the culture and religion of both

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Scandinavia and England. Similarly The Book of Dede Korkut is the epic of the Ouz people, and cultural and religious contact and interaction of the Huns and Gktrks may influence the Turkish epic. There are also some explicit differences because of the origins of the societies and their locations, and the infrastructral alterations and their belief systems. Both of the epics have been orally created before Christ and have been altered and put down into writing many centuries after Christianity and Islam. Again because of the difference of the locations, societies living around the North Sea encountered the monotheistic religion of Christianity, and societies living around the southern part of the Black Sea and Middle Asia encountered the monotheistic religion of Islam. After the conversion to the monotheistic beliefs, both of the epics have inevitably and structurally altered.

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APPENDIX I

The translation of the names in The Book of Dede Korkut is based on the English version, and it differs from the Turkish version. The English version of the names are used in the quotations, and Turkish version of the names are used in the contenxt of this study.

Anglisized version Bamsi Beyrek Bayindir Khan Bugach Khan Day Khan Divan-i Lugat-it Turk Duha Koja Ezekiel Gokturk Grave Hadith Inner Oghuz Khan Khan of Khans Man Moon Khan Mountain Khan Oghuz Orkhon Inscriptions Outer Oghuz Sea Khan Seghrek Star Khan Tent Ulash

Turkish version Bams Beyrek Bayndr Han Boa Han Gn Han Divan- Lugat-it Trk Duha Koca Azrail Gktrk Bark Hadis Ouz Kaan/ Han Hanlar Han Bey/ Kaan Ay Han Da Han Ouz Orhun Kitabeleri D Ouz Deniz Han Serek Yldz Han Bozy Ula

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Yldz, Hakk Dursun. slamiyet ve Trkler. stanbul: ar Yaynlar, 1980. www.bestiary.ca/beasts/beast251.htm www.celticgrounds.com/chapters/encyclopedia/r.html www.dragon-warrior.com/Bestiary/dragon.shtml www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86gir http://www.gloriana.nu/bestiary.html www.mun.ca/mst/heroicage/issues/5/porter1.html#anchor1771235 www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Thorkelin www.netnitco.net/users/legend01/pig.htm www.pitt.edu/~dash/havamal.html www.thewordsofeternallife.com/trinity.html www.theoldpath.com/scc.htm www.turkoloji.cu.edu.tr/CUKUROVA/sempozyum/semp1/alptekin.pdf.p.247 www.vikinganswerlady.com/scotland.shtml www.web.raex.com/~obsidian/TeutPan.html www.wizardrealm.com/norse/gods.html

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HLYA TAFLI Melikgazi Mah.Unal sok. Sehzade Konagi 24/9 Kayseri Gsm: 0533 242 16 44 e-mail: hulyatafli@ yahoo.com Date of Birth: Place of Birth: Educational Status B.A. Degree : 2003 , Department of English Language and Literature Faculty of Letters,Ankara University (Honours) 1998 , Class of Foreign Languages , Adana College 2005(February)-2006(January), English Teacher (TED Kayseri College) 2002(June-August), Translator in the Ministry of Tourism (English/ German ) Ms Office German (Zertifikat Deutsch 246/300) English (Cambridge University Exam 60/70) 2005 Edinburgh University Post Modern Studies Certificate 2005 Manas University Central Asian Literature Certificate 2004,Cambridge University Medieval Studies Certificate 2003, Ankara University, English Teacher Certificate 2003, Ankara University, Turkish Classical Music Certificate 2002 , Goethe Institut , Zertifikat Deut 2001 , Bielefeld Universitat Zertifikat , Methodik Didaktik des Faches Deutsch Als Fremdsprache. 1998 , Ministry of Education , Computer Certificate 1996, Ministry of Sports and Youth, Tenis Certificate 1994, Ministry of Sports and Youth, Skiing Certificate 2006, 24-26 April IDEA Conference, Boazii University. 2004,26-28 May 25th All-Turkey English Literature Conference, ankaya University 27/04/1980 Kayseri

Secondary Education Work Experience

Computer Knowledge Foreign Languages

Certificates

Attended Conferences

Extracurrilar Interests Reiki, Hatha Yoga, Tenis, Skiing, Turkish Classical Music