Erlik (Altai)

deity · Russia · Central Asia

Erlik (Erlik Khan) is the god of death and the underworld of Altai and Turkic tradition: the creator's firstborn who fell for pride and was banished to the ninth layer of the earth, where he reigns in a palace of copper and gold and judges the dead. From below he sends plague and evil spirits, demanding animal sacrifice from fearful shamans.

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