Ay Dede

Ay Dede
Moon
Abode	6th floor in the Sky
Symbol	Crescent, Moon
Parents	Gök Tanrı and Yer Tanrı
Siblings	Umay Ülgen Erlik Koyash

Ay Dede, Ay Tanrı or Ay Ata (English: Grandfather Moon or The Moon God) is one of the mythological entities in Turkic mythology and Tengrianism. According to the mythology, he is a moon god and he have been living in sixth floor of the sky with Sun Mother (Turkish: Gün Ana), the sun goddess, which he is coupled with. While Gün Ana is symbol of warmness and hotness, Ay Dede is symbol of coldness.

In Turkey, even though Gün Ana isn't well known in modern times, Ay Dede is still is rather known amongst small children due to tales being told about him to children. The mythology is more common amongst Central Asian Turks, such as Altaians and Yakuts, whom still have population which actively practice Tengrianism.

Notably, in Epic of Oghuz Khan, Ay Tanrı also is mentioned as father of Oghuz Khan, even though that part remains somewhat unclear. It's also notable Oghuz Khan's second son was named Ayhan (Ay Khan).

Legends of Ay Dede

• Ay Dede and Orphan Girl
• Ay Dede and Seven Head-Giant War
• Ay Dede and Wolves
• Legends of Children Whose Father is the Moon

Sources

• Türk Mitolojisi, Murat Uraz
• http://www.sonsuz.us/?q=node/1796 (Turkish)
• http://www.edebiyol.com/turk_mitolojisinde_ay.html (Turkish)