Epic of Er Töştük

The Er Töştük Epic is a central epic within the oral literary tradition of the Kyrgyz Turks. Er Töştük is a heroic figure appearing in the narratives of various Turkic peoples including the Kyrgyz Kazakhs Altay Tuvans and Western Siberian Tatars. This narrative centers on the hero’s adventurous journey to the underworld where he possesses extraordinary powers.

The Er Töştük Epic is classified within the Kyrgyz epic tradition as a “small epic” (kence epos) in comparison to the immense scale of the Manas Epic. This categorization does not imply any judgment regarding the artistic value of the narrative but merely reflects its relative size in relation to the colossal Manas Epic. The structure of the epic features a multilayered narrative incorporating archaic mythic and heroic elements. Its structural components — plot sequence cast of characters time and space — along with its mythological components form a distinct narrative form.

The Er Töştük Epic has spread widely across nearly all of Turkestan and has persisted among various Turkic tribes under different names and forms:

• Kyrgyz: The narrative is most commonly known as Er Töştük and is preserved primarily in a mixed prose-verse epic form. For example the variant recorded by Sayakbay Karalayev consists of 16559 lines.
• Kazakh Turks: In this region the narrative is recorded under names such as Er Töstik or Yir Tüşlük and appears mostly in fairy-tale form (e.g. Tokpay-Bay and Karaglış tales).
• Altay Tuvans: The narrative survives in fairy-tale form as Bay Nazar. Some scholars suggest this variant may represent the oldest form of the Er Töştük narratives.
• Western Siberian Tatars: The narrative is recorded as Yirtüşlük.

Er Töştük’s father is named Eleman Bay or Tokpay-Bay/Bay Nazar depending on the variant. Er Töştük is typically presented as the ninth and youngest son of the family. His birth is linked in some variants to a sequence of events triggered by his father’s long inability to have children followed by his consumption of an apple (motif of Hızır offering the apple). In one Kazakh variant it is said that the child was named Töstik (meaning “chest child” or “breast child”) because his mother ate the breast meat of a mare during pregnancy.

Töştük grows at an extraordinary speed. His first heroic act is to find and return his eight lost brothers and their herds. Subsequently his father marries his nine sons to nine sisters. Er Töştük marries the youngest of these sisters Kenceke (Kenjekey). In later stages of the tale he also marries Kül Ayim (Ak Çenem) the daughter of the ruler of the underworld Kök Döö.

In the epics various epithets are attributed to Er Töştük to denote his physical strength and spiritual superiority. These epithets reinforce the narrative of his supernatural power:

• Physical Power: The epic describes him as “immune to fire” “unsubmerged by water” and “uninjured by sword strikes.” He is also called “Töştük born of a lion” or “Er Töştük born of a wolf.”
• Courage and Wisdom: He is described as “the wisest among all” “the bravest” and “the most agile.” His character is portrayed as “the finest among heroic giants the nimblest among children and the bravest among sons.”
• Dignity and Presence: He is depicted as “no man dares face him” and “no one can look him in the face for fear.”

^{Representational Image of the Er Töştük Epic (Generated by Artificial Intelligence)}

The core of Er Töştük’s story revolves around his extraordinary journey to the underworld triggered by the actions of Celmoguz Kempir a seven-headed witch. The reason for the journey is to retrieve a magical object — the steel awl or golden bone of the shoe — which is bound to Töştük’s life and was given by his father Eleman to Celmoguz as ransom for his own survival.

While fleeing from Celmoguz Töştük recovers the awl with the help of his horse Çalkuyruk. Enraged Celmoguz hurls her magical instrument iyreki and cries “Split the black earth!” — causing the ground to open. Töştük and his horse fall into an irreversible chasm or tomb — the underworld. Töştük’s journey through the underworld takes place within the ancient Turkic cosmological model where this realm is ruled by evil spirits (kara iyeler) and giants. Here he battles countless trials and enemies.

Celmoguz Kempir: The primary antagonist of the epic a seven-headed witch who rides a hawk and uses it as a whip and who can split the earth.

Kök Döö (Sky Giant) and Kara Döö (Black Giant): Rulers of the underworld. Kök Döö who falls in love with his daughter Kül Ayim after seeing her in a dream recruits Töştük into his service and subjects him to deadly trials. These trials include hunting nine wild stallions winning horse races and retrieving a cauldron with forty handles from a land from which no one returns.

During his arduous struggles Töştük receives extraordinary assistance from the following allies:

• Çalkuyruk: Töştük’s horse; it warns him of danger helps him escape enemies and even offers wisdom to help him pass the trials of the underworld.
• Four/Five Maamıt: Superhuman companions with extraordinary abilities: they can run at incredible speed hear distant sounds and drink the water of oceans.
• Grateful Animals: Animals Töştük rescues in the underworld — such as a tiger bear and ant — promise to aid him in times of need by giving him pieces of their whiskers or fur.

Töştük completes all of Kök Döö’s trials kills Kök Döö and the other giants and destroys Celmoguz Kempir using the forty-handled magical cauldron. To return to the surface world he seeks the aid of the colossal bird Alp Karakuş (Great Eagle/Simurg). The eagle is indebted to Töştük for saving its young from a serpent or dragon. During the difficult journey the eagle grows weak and Töştük cuts flesh from his own thigh to feed it. Upon reaching the surface the eagle heals Töştük’s wound and gives him a feather to use in times of dire need.

After returning to the surface Töştük encounters a powerful giant named Çoyun Kulak (Temir Bay) who is either the son of Celmoguz or a servant of Kök Döö. Çoyun Kulak defeats and kills Töştük. However Töştük is revived through the feather of Alp Karakuş or with the aid of Çalkuyruk. Töştük learns from Çoyun Kulak’s wife that the giant’s external soul — his life force — is hidden inside a chest within the belly of a deer in Tuzlukuyu and is bound to seven or nine magical birds. This external soul motif reverses the structure of the earlier motif in which Töştük’s own life was tied to a magical object: here the hero must destroy the external soul of his enemy to defeat him. Töştük kills the birds and thereby kills Çoyun Kulak.

Seven years later (or another period specified in the epic) Töştük returns to his homeland and reunites with his first wife Kencekey who has faithfully waited for him. After their reunion both regain their former youth. The Er Töştük Epic is regarded as an important literary heritage reflecting the shared mythological worldview of Turkic peoples through its complex plot structure and rich variety of mythological motifs.