How was a child given a name in ancient Turks?

Turkish Culture Full of Secrets

Naming children was considered a very important event in Turks, and a link was established between the child's name and his destiny. A ceremony was held in the tent of the oba to name the newborn child.

the child's father or midwife; He would turn to the head of the tribe among the guests, a respected well-known guest, or the Shaman, the religious leader of the tribe, asking him to "give the child a name." Thus, the child's first name would have been given. Great care was taken to ensure that the name to be given to the child was an auspicious and befitting one.

Naming Ceremonies:

Indeed, if the child fell ill, the naming ceremony was postponed until a few days after the child's birth. Father; When he organized a feast for his relatives, relatives and friends according to his situation, the child's midwife was also present at this festival and he would act as the host and distribute the food and drinks to the guests. The name was given to this newborn child by saying, "His name was heavy". After the naming work was finished, the midwife would pass by the guests one by one, collect the gifts they brought to the child, called "teeth", and put them on the cradle.

Some gifts were given to the person who changed the name. In Altai Turks, the father gives the name of the child, and this name was often the name of the first guest to enter the house after birth. It is understood that Altay and Yenisey Turks did not have special names in a period. In this period, they either bore the name of their tribe or the child was traveling anonymously. In other words, the child's name would be "anonymous". Only those who showed superior skill or usefulness in a battle could earn the honor and privilege of bearing a special "name."

Naming in Dede Korkut Stories:

This situation goes like this in the Dede Korkut stories: It is Korkut Ata who gave the names to the people. The name given by the parents is not the real name, it is a temporary name. The child gets his real name after he has shown a usefulness or heroism in the hunt or war. Dirse Han's son took the name "Boğaç" after he fought a bull and killed him. This name was given to Bamsı Beyrek after he saved the property of the merchants from the robbers... When naming it, it is imperative that everyone accepts whether the heroism of the child is a bravery that deserves to be named. The valiant, who took this real name given by the Chief or Kami of the tribe, was declared a member of the tribe.

Yakut Turks:

Yakut Turks maintain their old tradition of naming in a more or less different way. They give the child their first name three months after birth, and their real name when the child starts to shoot bows and arrows.

In the Kyrgyz and Kazakhs, the name of the child was given when he was fifteen days old. Often the name was chosen based on an event during the birth, a job done, or it was named after the first guest who came to the house: Names such as Konukgeldi, Kipçakgeldi, Çuçi are among the names given like this. It was also seen that the ancient Turks named their children after the objects they saw when they were born or an important event that happened in those days. To the children born when they defeated the attacking enemy: Like Yağıbastı, Yağıgeldi, Kurtulmuş; to children born at sunrise: such as Gündoğdu, Akkuyas, Güngördü, Akgün; Children born on the night when the wolf attacked the sheep were given names such as Kurt, Kurtgeldi, Kurtbeğ, Kurtbey, Börübay. (Oil = Enemy, boron/ bori = Wolf). In addition, families who did not have children would give their children names such as Yaşar, Binyaşar, Ölmez, Dursun, Durdu, Tavşan, Kurç (Çelik) because they believed that there was a close relationship between the child's name and his life and destiny, according to a tradition.

It was also the custom of Shamanist beliefs to give bad names to those who had bad names, with the thought that as soon as the angel of death hated them. According to the Kazakhs, Çepisbay Ağa, whose son did not live; He named his son "Rus" so that the Grim Reaper would not come to our house. Families whose previous children had died in the Altays also gave their newborn children bad names as much as possible: Itgordü, Dog, Italmaz, Pig, Balchik.

Symbolic Sale of the Child to the Father:

According to another custom of the ancient Turks, it was that the child was symbolically sold to his father by the midwife so that he could live. As soon as the child was born, the midwife would take the child in her arms and take him out and sell him to his father. His father used to call the child he bought as Soldi if it is a boy, and Satı if it is a girl. In our time, it is seen that such names are usually given to children who are considered to be dedicated to a saint and sold. Others say that the father gave the midwife the weight of the child as a sale price.

Chuvash Turks:

In the Chuvash Turks, this tradition was in the form of the midwife giving the child to the shaman and selling the child to his father. The shaman takes the child and comes to his father and says: "I found a child in the garbage, I will sell it". By giving what the shaman wanted, the father would have bought his child and believed that he would now live.

The Turks, who dominated India in the 14th and 14th centuries, also preserved all their traditions about the name. Among the most common names among Turks in these centuries are the following: 

These are Kutlu, Aybeg, Alphan, Tuğluk, Küçlü, Arslanatar, Buğrahan, Tuğrul and İltutmuş. Many of these traditions that existed in the old Turks continue in our time, knowingly or unknowingly among the people.

I have explained the tradition of naming the Turks, in other words, the tradition I explained above, with my own interpretation, by quoting from various sources. The point to be noted here is that the naming ritual is not a simple matter.

The Talas War and After:

After the 751 Talas war, the Turks met with the Arab culture with the acceptance of Islam in time.

With the migration of the Turks to the Anatolian geography, their interaction increased even more.

As a result, Arab culture began to put pressure on Turkish culture. Until the establishment of the Republic, this Arab cultural pressure put pressure on Turkish culture. An attempt was made to obtain a Turkish guide. However, we only chose the religion of Islam, not the Arab culture.

Republican Period Turkish Names:

I can't help but state one more truth about the subject here. If you pay attention to the names given to children during the founding of the Republic, you will better understand what I mean! Namely; Atilla, Teoman, Cengiz, Timur, Korkut, Ata, Kubilay, Kagan etc. You'll see how common their names are. You can better understand this reality from the surnames Atatürk gave to his close circles, how sensitive the founding will is on this issue.

I do not see the need to write them one by one here. So far, I have expressed the importance of naming the Turks and, as the author of the article, briefly expressed my own interpretation in the historical process. Now, I would like to make a short recommendation, taking into account today's sociology.

The Difficulty of Naming Children:

I know how hard it is sometimes to name children. It can be difficult to choose a name among the names chosen by the elders, the traditions of naming the elders, the suggestions of your acquaintances and your expectations. Naming the creature you brought into the world is choosing the word by which it will be described throughout its lifetime. Therefore, it is necessary to be very careful and consider many factors.

Children also carry the burden of the elder, the hero whose name they bear. They are expected to be great men. Trying to keep the elder's name alive is another burden. From the moment you are born, it sets expectations for you. As good as they are, as successful as they are, smart, in short, every feature attributed to them is tried to be collected in the child. It is tiring to live a dead person's life by name. Even though their names are the same, no one can sustain anyone. It is difficult to carry this burden. Exactly, if your name is a symbol of power, your weakness, if your name describes heroism, your fear, if your name describes beauty, your inadequacy will hit you throughout your childhood. The meaning of your name, which describes youth and vitality, is sadness in your old age. In short, it is necessary to be careful when naming children. Our liking, change, obscurity, meaninglessness or meaning can harm our child.

Conclusion:

Even if he gets used to it in the future and you enjoy calling him by that name, the trouble he will suffer throughout his childhood due to his name will not pass. Being a parent is serious business. In addition to her taste, she takes care from deciding to be a family to naming the child born. Let's choose names not for ourselves, but for children. Let's choose so that, as we often say, they age happily with their names.

Stay with respect and love... "How happy is the one who says I am a Turk"