# Kayra > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Kayra > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Kayra.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kayra > Source revision: 1355429780 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Creator god in Turkic mythology Kayra God of creation Genealogy Parents Tengri Children Erlik Ülgen Kyzaghan Mergen Yer Tanrı Umay Turkic mythology Belief system Tengrism Shamanism Chief gods and goddesses Tengri Kayra Ülgen Erlik Umay Bai Baianai Ak Ana Mergen Epics and heroes Ergenekon Metehan Oghuz Khagan Asena Attila Major concepts Sheka İye Grey wolf Kut Asena Category File v t e **Kayra** or **Kaira** ([Old Turkic](/source/Old_Turkic): 𐰴𐰖𐰺𐰀) is the [creator god](/source/Creator_god) in [Turkic mythology](/source/Turkic_mythology). He is the god who planted the tree of life called [Ulukayın](/source/Ulukay%C4%B1n).[1] Kayra is described as both father and mother, and resides in the 17th layer of heaven.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] Kayra is the supreme god of the pantheon and the son of the sky deity named [Tengri](/source/Tengri).[2] Kayra is occasionally identified with **Kara Han** (the black king or ruler of the land – Kara may mean land, earth, black or in a sense strong, powerful), a son of Tengri, who left his father's home in heaven and went to live in the underworld. ## Etymology The name of this deity is found in several forms, as is that of his opponent. "Kayra-Khan" which may be translated as "merciful king", while the form "Kara Han" signifies "black king". Furthermore, the Turkish word *kara* can mean both *black* and *land*, with the result that Kara Han can mean not only 'Black (Dark) Ruler' but also 'Ruler of the Land'.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] ## God of creation In the [Altai myth of creation](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Altai_myth_of_creation&action=edit&redlink=1), Tengri (God) Kayra Han is neither male nor female nor even human in form, but a pure-white goose that flies constantly over an endless expanse of water (time), the benign creator of all that is, including the other, lesser gods. Among the [Altai people](/source/Altai_people) a [dualistic](/source/Dualism_in_cosmology) division is most clear ([Ulgen](/source/Ulgen) vs. [Erlik](/source/Erlik)), and the highest god is **Tengre Kaira Khan**, who is a good power. Before the goddess [Ak Ana](/source/Ak_Ana) appears to urge Kara Han to create, it becomes anxious, and its creation occurs in a context of loneliness, turmoil and fear: The water becomes turbulent, but Kara Han reassures itself that it "need not fear" (the implication of such self-reassurance being that it is indeed afraid). Kara Han is a supreme being in the universe it created, the ruler of the three realms of air, water, and land. It is seated on the seventeenth level of the universe, from which it directs the fate of its creation. Kara Han has three sons: [Ulgan](/source/Bai-Ulgan), [Mergen](/source/Mergen), and [Kyzaghan](/source/Kyzaghan). After creating the universe Kara Han planted the nine-boughed [tree of life](/source/World_tree#north_east_Asia_anchor), from the branches of which came the ancestors of humans – the nine races (nine clans) emerged from the tree. A [Tuvinian](/source/Tuvans) / [Soyoth](/source/Soyot) legend, goes as follows: - The giant turtle which supported the earth moved, which caused the cosmic ocean to begin flooding the earth. An old man who had guessed something like this would happen, had built a raft. He boarded it with his family, and they were saved from the flooding. When the flood waters receded, the raft was left on a high wooded mountain, where, it is said, it remains today. After the flood Kaira Khan created everything around the world. Among other things, he taught people how to make [arak](/source/Arak_(drink)) (anise drink). ## See also - [Bai-Ulgan](/source/Bai-Ulgan) - [Turul](/source/Turul) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["The Tree Of Life In Turkic Communities With Its Current Effects"](https://ulukayin.org/the-tree-of-life-in-turkic-communities-with-its-current-effects/). *ULUKAYIN*. 2021-10-03. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20211126033238/https://ulukayin.org/the-tree-of-life-in-turkic-communities-with-its-current-effects/) from the original on 2021-11-26. Retrieved 2021-11-26. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Turkic Pantheon (Gods in Turkic Mythology, Tengri, Ülgen, Erlik... Turkic Gods)"](https://ulukayin.org/dictionary-of-the-turkic-pantheon/). 2022-12-15. Retrieved 2023-07-16. ## Bibliography - Türk Mitolojisi, Murat Uraz, [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [245853289](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/245853289) - Türk Mitolojisi Ansiklopedik Sözlük, Celal Beydili, Yurt Yayınevi (Page-305, Kayrakan) ## External links - [Kayra Han](http://turk-mitolojisi.blogspot.com/2010/08/kara-han-kayra-han.html) v t e Turkic deities Deities Gök Tengri Kayra Ülgen Mergen Kyzaghan Umay Kubai Burkut Erlik Yer Tanrı Etugen Eke Alaz Baianai Erkliğ Han İyeler Su Ana Su Ata Od iyesi Od Ana Od Ata Koyash Ak Ana Ay Ata Gun Ana Yel Ana Yel Ata --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Kayra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kayra) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kayra?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.