One-eyed beings in Turkish mythology

The eyes, which fulfill the act of seeing, have been the subject of myths throughout the history of humanity. The eye symbol, attributed a mystic power, has several meanings in mythologies. These meanings are firmly separated into two sides as good and bad. This power charged to the eye in mythologies is attributed to one-eyed beings. Therefore, various myths about one-eyed beings have appeared in world mythology. It is obvious that one-eyed beings, which take place with some differences in many societies with different religions and beliefs, originate from religion and belief. Though these one-eyed beings are mostly associated with evil, one-eyed Gods who are considered sacred take their place in myths. This thesis is about the one-eyed beings in Turks' -who have a long historical past and spread over wide geographies- mythological sources. During the process of this study, all one-eyed beings from all regions are taken into consideration and classified geographically without any geographical restrictions. This thesis aims to reveal the one-eyed beings' origin, characteristics, and relations with human beings holistically. This is because the former studies were centered around cyclopes. No studies on other one-eyed beings in all their bearings have been conducted. The topic has not been examined consistently from a holistic perspective as an academic study. The biggest problems caused by Turks' scatter to wide geographies are the disorganization of Turkish myths and them being written down late. While there is much information on one-eyed beings in Turkish myths in some regions, there is very little information in other parts. Turks' change in religion and belief due to immigration and spread causes another problem about the topic. Religion and belief affect the myths directly and change them. Also, pursuing the occurrence of myths in the process of the formation of Turks' ethnicity comes with another hardship. Based on these problems, firstly, the classification of Turkish myths is done in parts accordingly Turks' historical developments. As a method, the one-eyed beings in Turkish myths have been determined first, and their origins and qualities have been researched. Then, the differences and similarities between these beings have been compared. As a result of these studies, the origins of one-eyed beings in Turkish myths are Tengrism and Shamanism coming from religion and belief. This belief has been proceeded by other Turks with different religions as well. It is seen that in Turks who converted to Islam, evil spirits originated from jinn with the influence of religion. These beings are demonstrated as ugly, scary, and being very strong, in huge forms (often as giants), some with one arm and foot in the shape of humans. Apart from this, one-eyed beings in the shape of different animals have been recorded as a race in some myths. One-eyed beings in Turkish myths are generally characteristically evil and harmful to human beings. These beings are believed to eat and capture humans. In some myths, one-eyed beings are seen as an obstacle for the hero. Later on in the myth, the hero rises to prominence killing these beings. In some myths, humans fight with these beings to save themselves. In addition, rarely helpful well mannered one-eyed beings take place in myths. This shows the influence of outside forces in Turkish myths.