Asena

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Asena (asenā) is the name of one of the ten sons, whom mythical female wolf gave birth to, in old Turkic mythology.^[1][2][3][4] It is associated with a Göktürk ethnogenic myth "full of shamanic symbolism".^[5] But Ziya Gökalp mentioned to Asena in his article titled "Türk devletinin tekâmülü" (Küçük Mecmua magazine: that was published in 1922 in Diyarbakır) as follows: According to Chinese people, Asena means wolf.^[6] In Turkey many people believe that Asena should be the name of female wolf.

The Grey Wolf Legend

The legend runs as follows. After a battle, only an injured young boy survives. A she-wolf finds the injured child and nurses him back to health. He subsequently impregnates the wolf which then gives birth to ten half-wolf, half-human boys. One of these, Ashina, becomes their leader and founds the Ashina clan that ruled the Göktürks and other Turkic nomadic empires.^[7][8]

In 1930s when Turkish ethnic nationalism held its sway in Turkey, Bozkurt, Asena and Ergenekon were selected deliberately. The symbol is forefront on top of the stage of the personal theater of Atatürk's residence in Ankara, near the art gallery.^[9] Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk) used the motif of this legend. For example, on February 13, 1931, in the speech at Türkocağı in Malatya, he said Turkish nation who will use railways [demiryolları], will have been honorable by showing the achievement of the first craftmanship and blacksmithy [demircilik] of its origin.^[10]

See also

• Ashina (clan)
• Wusun
• Turanism
• Pan-Turkism
• Romulus and Remus, a similar legend concerning the foundation of Rome

References