Kut (mythology)


According to Turkic belief, Kut, is a kind of force vitalizing the body. Through Kut, humans are connected with the heavens. When Kut ends, the person dies. Further, the sacred ruler is believed to be endowed with much more Kut than other people, thus the heaven would had appointing him as the legitimate ruler. Turkic Khagans claimed that they were "heaven-like, heaven-conceived" and possessed qut, a sign of the heavenly mandate to rule. Rulers of the Uyghur Khaganate were entitled "idiqut", meaning "sacred good fortune". The word "suu" is the Mongolian equivalent of Kut. It was believed that if the ruler had lost his qut, he could be dethroned and killed. However, this had to be carried out without shedding his blood. This was usually done by strangulation with a silk cord. This custom of strangling continued among the Ottomans.

Name

Kutlug is frequently used and well-known personal Uyghur name. It was also the name of first rulers of Second Turkic Khaganate and Uyghur Khaganate.