Yer Tanrı


Yer Tanrı is the goddess of earth in Turkic mythology. Also known as Yer Ana.
With her father Gök Tengri and her brother and husband Kayra, she was the parent of Ay Tanrı, Umay, Ülgen, Koyash, and Erlik. As a fertility goddess, she was recognized as the giver of crops and abundance. In the Spring and in the Autumn — before the beginning of the agricultural season and after the harvest — she was worshiped with sacrifices of food.
Yer Tanry was considered to be both a mother and wife to Gök Tengri. She appeared as a force of nature. In ancient Turkic mythology there was a theory that mortals were the product of the union of Tengri and Yer. In the Orkhon inscriptions it says: "In the beginning there was a blue sky above, a dark land below, and human sons in-between." The Turkic people revered the Earth Goddess as a giver of crops and abundance. In the Spring, before the beginning of the agricultural season and in the Autumn, after the harvest, as a sign of gratitude for the abundance of food and happiness, the ancient Turkic peoples and Mongols made a sacrifice to the Earth Goddess. Milk, kumys and tea were offered, and pleas were made for a fertile land and a rich yield.