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The Ancient Turkic Concept of the Three Realms: Underworld, Middle Earth, and the Sky

  • Writer: Adem Küçük
    Adem Küçük
  • May 30
  • 2 min read

Since the beginning of time, humans have gazed at the sky, walked the earth, and sought balance in their soul.In ancient Turkic belief, this search found form in the “Three Realms”:

  • Yer (Underworld)

  • Orta Dünya (Middle World)

  • Gök (Sky/Upper World)

This wasn’t just a religious idea — it shaped the state, society, rituals, and worldview of the Turkic people.

1. Gök (Sky): The Realm of Tengri and Divine Order

In the sky dwelled Tengri (Sky God) — the source of all legitimacy and sacred power.

  • The Sky represented order, vastness, and eternity.

  • The divine force known as "kut" descended from here to grant rulers their right to govern.

  • Shamans (Kam) ascended through nine layers of heaven during rituals to seek messages from the divine and speak with beings like Umay Ana.

For the Turks, the sky was both above and within the soul.

2. Orta Dünya (Middle World): The Realm of Humans and Balance

The middle world was the world of human life and action:

  • Where yurts were built,

  • Töre (law and custom) governed society,

  • Shamans prayed,

  • And heroes fought and ruled.

This was not just physical existence, but a space of moral and cosmic responsibility.

Breaking the balance between sky and earth could lead to losing kut, falling into chaos, and even the collapse of one’s rule.

3. Yer (Underworld): The Realm of Death, Darkness, and Spirits

Yer — the underworld — was:

  • The domain of Erlik Han, ruler of death and decay,

  • A place where ancestral spirits lived,

  • A realm feared but respected.

Offerings were made to maintain harmony.Shamans sometimes journeyed here in dreams or trance.

It represented not “evil,” but the necessary balance to life and light.

Three Worlds, One Cosmic System

These three worlds were not separate —they were interconnected and interdependent:

  • The ruler received power from the sky,

  • Governed the middle world,

  • And risked falling into the underworld if he lost harmony.

The state, belief, and daily life all flowed through this cosmic triangle.

Final Word: The Three Realms Still Live Within Us

We may not pitch yurts anymore…But we still look up to the sky for hope,stand on the earth for strength,and sense the unknown beneath our feet.

Sky, Middle World, Underworld…not just belief, but a living memory of the Turkic soul.

 
 
 

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