This article was automatically translated from the original Turkish version.
The 12-Animal Turkish Calendar is a traditional timekeeping system based on the Turkic peoples’ understanding of nature, animals and time, in which each year is symbolized by an animal and organized into 12-year cycles (müçel). This system is not merely a calendar; it has also been described as a worldview, a mythology, a tool of divination, and a marker of identity.
Documentary on the origin story of the 12-animal Turkish calendar (TRT2)
Expressions from the Orkhon Inscriptions indicate that this calendar was in use during the Göktürk period:
kül tigin ķoyn yılķa yiti yigirmike uçdı ţokuzunç ay yiti otuzķa yoġ ertürtümüz barķın bedizin bitig taşın biçin yılķa yitinç ay yiti otuzķa ķop alķdımız"【1】
The calendar is not only symbolic but also astronomical in nature. It is structured according to the movements of the sun and moon, zodiac signs, and seasonal cycles. The Turks regarded the sky as a great dome and believed it rotated around the North Star. In this cosmological model, the number twelve played a central role, and the calendar’s structure was defined by divisions into 12 months, 12 zodiac signs, 12 directions, and 12 ages.【2】 【3】
In the 12-animal Turkic calendar, the animals rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, at, sheep, monkey, chicken, dog, and pig are assigned to the years.
Year of the Rat: Winters are cold and harsh. Due to heavy rainfall, grain and fruit are abundant. Rats destroy stored grain, so it is believed that this year brings chaos and conflict (1900, 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020, 2032, 2044).
Year of the Ox: Winters are cold. Since oxen are naturally inclined to fight each other, this year is marked by wars. Social unrest and turmoil are widespread. Both humans and animals suffer high mortality (1901, 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021, 2033, 2045).
Year of the Tiger: Winters are cold and severe, while summers are long and hot. Conflicts arise between nations. Social unrest prevails. Food becomes scarce. Disasters are frequent (1902, 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022, 2034, 2046).
Year of the Rabbit: Seasons are orderly. Rainfall is abundant and water is plentiful. Fruits and vegetables are abundant. Peace and tranquility prevail among the people (1903, 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023, 2035, 2047).
Year of the Dragon: Heavy rainfall occurs and abundance prevails. Winters bring heavy snowfall. Social unrest and turmoil are common (1904, 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024, 2036, 2048).
Year of the Snake: Winters are long and cold. Due to low rainfall, this year brings drought. Grain and fruit yields are low, famine increases, diseases multiply, and deaths rise. Social unrest, deceit, and chaos are widespread (1905, 1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025, 2037, 2049).
Year of the Horse: Winters are severe. Social unrest arises. Among animals, disease and mortality increase significantly (1906, 1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026, 2038, 2050).
Year of the Sheep: Winters are mild. Due to abundant rainfall, water is plentiful. Fruits and grain are abundant. Conflicts among the people end in justice and peace (1907, 1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027, 2039, 2051).
Year of the Monkey: Winters are short but very cold. Social unrest, deceit, and theft are widespread. Fruits are destroyed by disasters. Diseases increase among animals, especially among horses and camel. (1908, 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028, 2040, 2052).
Year of the Rooster: Winters are long. Food is abundant. Because roosters scratch and disturb stored grain, social disorder arises. Wars, earthquakes, and diseases are frequent in this year (1909, 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029, 2041, 2053).
Year of the Dog: Winters are cold. Unrest and disorder prevail among the people. Disease and death increase among humans and animals (1910, 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030, 2042, 2054).
Year of the Pig: Snowfall is heavy in winter. Hostility increases among the people. Diseases spread among humans and animals. Theft is widespread (1911, 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, 2031, 2043, 2055).【4】
Each 12-year cycle is called a “müçel,” “müşel,” “müçöl,” or “müçe.” Each year is named after one of the animals in sequence, and the cycle repeats. Days are divided into twelve parts, each called a “era.” Months are named only by number:
4. Törtinç ay (Fourth month),
5. Beşinc ay (Fifth month),
6. Altınç ay (Sixth month),
7. Yitinç ay (Seventh month),
8. Sekizinç ay (Eighth month),
9. Dokuzunç ay (Ninth month),
10. Onunç ay (Tenth month),
11. Bir yirminç ay (Eleventh month),
12. Çakşaput ay (Twelfth = Fasting month)【5】
One of the calendar’s social impacts is its age calculation system. Human life is measured in müçeller:
Image (Recep Külcü)
The 12-Animal Turkic Calendar is still in use among various Turkic tribes. Islamic-Turkic scholars refer to this twelvefold system as “Tarih-i Türki,” “Tarih-i Türkistan,” “Tarih-i Khita,” “Uygur,” or “April-i Türkan,” meaning “Turkic Year.”【6】
Göktürks: Inscriptions contain references to this
[1]
Recep Külcü, “The Turkic Twelve-Animal Calendar as Cultural Heritage of the Turks,” Akademia Interdisciplinary Scientific Research Journal 1, no. 1 (2015): 2.【1】
(Kül Tigin died on the seventeenth day of the Year of the Sheep. On the ninth month, the twenty-seventh day, we held the mourning ceremony. We completed his tomb, his portrait, and the inscription stone in the Year of the Monkey, on the seventh month, the twenty-seventh day.)【2】
“bunça ķazġanıp [ķangım ķagan i]t yıl onunç ay altı otuzķa uça bardı Laġzın yıl bişinç ay yiti otuzķa yoġ ertürtüm.【3】
(Having gained so much, my father the Khagan passed away on the twenty-sixth day of the tenth month of the Year of the Horse. I held the mourning ceremony on the twenty-seventh day of the fifth month of the Year of the Goat.)【4】
Kül Tigin died on the seventeenth day of the Year of the Sheep. On the ninth month, the twenty-seventh day, we held the mourning ceremony. We completed his tomb, his portrait, and the inscription stone in the Year of the Monkey, on the seventh month, the twenty-seventh day.
After the inscriptions, the oldest source mentioning this calendar is Kaşgarlı Mahmud’s Dîvânu Lügâti’t-Türk. Kaşgarlı Mahmud recounts a legend regarding the calendar’s origin. According to the legend, a Turkic khagan once asked his advisors to recall the year of a past battle. The advisors could not remember. The khagan then ordered that each year be given the name of an animal. A gathering was held near the Ilısu River. The first twelve animals to leap into the river and cross to the other side were assigned as names for the years. Since the first was the rat, the cycle began with the Year of the Rat.【5】
A legend collected from oral traditions explains why the first year is the Year of the Rat and why the camel, a respected and esteemed animal among Turkic tribes, is absent from the calendar:
"The ox proposes that it should be the first year because it provides humans with milk, meat, and hide. The sheep says,
[2]
Gülmira Karimova and Fikret Türkmen, “Animal Culture and the 12-Animal Folk Calendar in Kazakhstan,” Folklor Akademi Dergisi 5, no. 1 (2022): 45.
[3]
Recep Külcü, “The Twelve-Animal Turkish Calendar as the Cultural Heritage of the Turks,” Akademia Interdisciplinary Scientific Research Journal 1, no. 1 (2015): 1–5.
[4]
Nergis Biray, “The 12-Animal Turkish Calendar: Governing Time and Humanity,” A.Ü. Türkiyat Araştırmaları Enstitüsü Dergisi, no. 39 (2009): 671–682.
[5]
Osman Turan, On İki Hayvanlı Türk Takvimi (İstanbul: Ötüken, 2019), 101–106.
[6]
Recep Külcü, “The Turkic Twelve-Animal Calendar as Cultural Heritage of the Turks,” Akademia Interdisciplinary Scientific Research Journal 1, no. 1 (2015): 1–5.
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Origins
Animals of the Calendar and Their Meanings
Structure and Use of the Calendar
Geographical and Cultural Spread of the Calendar
Use Among Turkic Tribes