Yer-Su
Translated into English as “Earth-Water,” Yer-Su is a nature spirit in Turkic mythology. It places life on watery ground. Taken from The Epic of Creation, the following excerpt narrates how the earth was created from water and, interestingly, how the human desire to own land is so primal.
The world was a sea; there was no sky, no moon, no sun, no land,
Endless waters stretched everywhere.
The Creator flew above the waters; the Human was alone,
He too flew unceasingly, as though he were the Creator’s equal.
They flew and flew, for there was nowhere to land.
They did not grow weary, for they were divine.
The Creator had no concern, no thought to trouble him,
But the Human’s cunning never rested.
A wind arose, churning the waters,
And splashed into the Creator’s face, provoking his anger.
The Human thought, “Now I have become whole,
I am powerful, stronger even than the Creator.”
But suddenly he slipped and sank into the waters,
Descending deeper and deeper into the sea.
As he was drowning, he cried out to the Creator,
“Save me, O Creator!”
The Creator took pity and said,
“O Human, rise to the surface of the waters!”
By the Creator’s command, the Human was saved,
And he stood beside the Creator.
One day the Creator commanded,
“Let solid stone be created!”
From the depths of the sea, a stone emerged,
Floating until it came before the Creator.
The Creator stood upon the stone and said,
“Dive into the waters and bring me some earth.”
The Human plunged into the depths,
Took a handful of earth, and offered it to the Creator.
“Let the earth be created,” said the Creator, scattering it upon the waters.
Thus the land was formed, and the seas withdrew.
The Creator looked upon the Human and said,
“Dive again into the waters and bring up a little more.”
The Human thought, “This time I will take some for myself.”
He descended once more into the depths,
And returned with two handfuls of earth.
One he hid in his mouth for himself; the other he offered to the Creator.
He said to himself, “I will keep this hidden,
When it is scattered, I will claim a land of my own.”
The Creator took the earth and scattered it upon the waters,
By his will the land thickened and spread.
The earth hidden in the Human’s mouth began to grow,
Tightening around his throat.
His breath was cut off; he was near suffocation,
As though dying, he ran about in agony.1
Dry earth becomes silent; water brings life.2 Last year, I was working on a Yer-Su sculpture. Once the clay dried, I poured water on it. The following is a sound recording of how the earth sounded when it met with water.
1 Bahaeddin Ögel, Türk Mitolojisi, Cilt: 1, Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu, 1993, pp. 451-452.
2 See “Flow.”