Kut carries two meanings at once in Turkic thought: the right to rule and the force of life. The khan rules because Tengri granted him kut; when the kut goes, so does the rule. The same word is used for a person's soul, luck and plenty.
Kut is given and taken back. A khan's defeat is therefore not only military but divine: he has lost his kut.
The word lives on in modern Turkish as kutlu (blessed), kutsal (sacred), kutlamak (to celebrate).
In Balbal, Kut is the name of a three-tile suit: Umay, Tengri and Erlik. All three are spirits — owners of a place or a work.