Fish and Fishery in Ancient Turks

Abstract

This paper addresses the meaning of the word fish not only in the modern Turkish, but also in ancient historical texts. Besides, it describes the role of fishing in the life of the Turkic tribes, as well as the image of fish in art. In this respect, the word fish, which corresponds in its meaning to ‘city’ and ‘animal’, is explained in the light of written sources.Written sources contain scarce information which Turkic tribes practiced fishing, as their economy was mainly based on cattle breeding. This is probably associated with the fact that livestock was predominant for economic reasons. However, certain written sources mention several Turkic tribes engaged in fishing. In this respect, Turkic tribes with a fishing economy are identified on the basis of Arab and Persian geographical sources. In addition to the specific meanings of the word ‘fish’ not related to fishing, the semantic meaning attributed to this image in the Turkic verbal tradition and art is briefly interpreted using folklore and archaeological materials. Study of the changes which fish has undergone in the historical process is important in terms of identifying the changing philological, religious and social factors in Turkish society, both internal and external.

Keywords

• archaeology
• folklore
• the turks
• fish
• fishery
• city
• the scythians
• the khazars
• the volga bolgars
• the kimeks