Glossary
A glossary of the mythological terms the game runs on: from Tengri to Shahmaran, tamga to kurgan.
Ayaz Ata
The owner of winter and frost. The cold grandfather of the steppe.
Balbal
The stone figures set beside a kurgan. The game takes its name from them.
Bengü Taş (Eternal Stones)
The eternal stone — the monument the Orkhon inscriptions are cut into.
Erlik
Ruler of the underworld. Ülgen's opposite; Balbal's second realm opens at his gate.
Gulyabani (the ghoul)
The thing that leads a traveller astray in the desert and on empty roads.
Hidrellez
The night Hızır and İlyas meet, between 5 and 6 May: wishes tied to a rose branch, fires leapt over, and spring.
Huma
The bird of fortune. Whoever its shadow falls on becomes khan.
Kam (shaman)
The person who can travel between the three realms. The Turkic word for shaman.
Kopuz
The bard's instrument: hollowed from one piece of wood, strung with horsehair, and what carries the epic.
Kurgan
The burial mound of the steppe. Where the balbals stand.
Kut
The authority and living force granted by Tengri. Both fortune and soul.
Mount Qaf
The legendary mountain that rings the world. Nothing beyond it is visible.
Nowruz
The first day of spring. New year, fire and rebirth.
Otağ
The khan's tent. The house and the palace of the steppe at once.
Ötüken
The sacred forest-mountain of the Göktürks; counted as the centre of the khanate.
Shahmaran
Queen of the serpents — half woman, half snake. Who she was, what Camsab did, and why her image is still painted.
Tamga
A clan's mark. The sign of ownership struck on animals, rock and goods.
Tengri
The sky god. The name at the centre of Turkic and Mongol belief; in Balbal both a spirit tile and the final floor.
The Grey Wolf
The wolf of the origin tellings. The one who leads the way and carries the line.
Tulpar
The winged horse. The hero's companion and its trail across the sky.
Ülgen
The benevolent creator of the sky; Erlik's opposite and the upper end of the shaman's journey.
Ulukayın
The world tree. The birch that binds sky, earth and underworld.
Umay
The protecting spirit of birth and children; one of the three spirits and the game's final reward.
Yer-Su
The spirits of earth and water. The unseen owners of a place.