Mythology in the Eastern European Turks in the pre-Islamic Period

In this paper, the protected mythological elements of pre-Islamic Eastern European Turks and it's meanings are examined by using literature review. The scope contains the mythological elements of death, funeral and mourning rites. Modern-day mythological researches are focused on written sources, artworks, archaeological remains and more importantly field studies on ongoing cultural extensions. Regional and historical wideness bring the necessity of extensive researches in the diffractions which are above-mentioned. Therefore this paper is only focused on academic sources. The communities, khanates and states which were accepted Islam as an official religion at one point, are kept out of scope. In scope states/communities are identified as; Scythians, European Huns, Sabars, Avars, Ogurs, Great Bulgarian State, Danube Bulgarians, Khazars, Hungarians, Pechenegs, Oghuzs, Cumans-Kipchaqs. As a result of the researches, even though Turks change their geographical location or their religion, even interacted with other cultures over time, their main mythological assets preserved through the thousands of years while their number or some specific assets have minor changed.