Erlig Khan

Mongol · deity · primordial · Recorded classification

Bull-headed lord and judge of the dead, equated with Yama.

Domains

ᠡᠷᠯᠢᠭ ᠨᠣᠮᠤᠨ ᠬᠠᠭᠠᠨ mongolian · Erlig Nomun Qaγan'Erlig, Dharma-King (judge of the dead)' — lord of the underworld, = YamaMongol Buddhist tradition (equation with Yama/Dharmarāja) (secondary)

equated with: Lord of the DeadReciprocal of buryat_erlen_khan.equated-with — Buryat Erlen Khan is the regional form of Mongol Erlig Khan, judge of the dead with scribes and soul-ledger; Buryat dualism subordinates him to the hostile eastern tengri, a placement Khalkha lacks.Ágnes Birtalan, 'Die Mythologie der mongolischen Volksreligion', Wörterbuch der Mythologie (2001); Garma Sandschejew, Weltanschauung und Schamanismus der Alaren-Burjaten (1927-28) (secondary)
syncretism: YamaMongolian Buddhism merged the steppe death-lord with Yama as Erlig Nomun Khan; the bull-headed judge with mirror and ledger is the lamaist Yama, while shamanic Erlig kept his own underworld court.Walther Heissig, The Religions of Mongolia (1980), on Erlig Nomun Khan as Yama in Mongolian Buddhism (secondary)
equated with: ErlikSame figure across the Turko-Mongol steppe: Erlik/Erleg, lord of the lower world. The Altai-Turkic version is also first man and Ülgen's rebel brother — a dualist creation role the Mongol death-lord largely lacks.Ágnes Birtalan, 'Die Mythologie der mongolischen Volksreligion', Wörterbuch der Mythologie (2001); Mircea Eliade, Shamanism (1964) on Altaic Erlik (secondary)