Kam drum (tüngür)
The vehicle of the journey to the sky: the world tree, the sun, the moon and the three worlds.
What does it mean?
The frame of the kam’s drum is believed to be made from a branch of the world tree, and the drum as a whole stands for the world tree. Most often the sun, the moon and the world tree are painted on its skin [1]. On Altai drums a nine-branched sky tree stands in the middle with the moon on one side and the sun on the other; a seven-coloured rainbow with a ladder beneath it, the sons and daughters of Ülgen and Erlik, birds and snakes also appear. On Altai-Sayan drums the sun is on the right and the moon on the left; the Khakas reverse them. A Yakut drum frame should be cut from a tree struck by lightning; the Turkic name for the drum is tüngür [2]. Our drawing is a simplified example built from these elements.
Same theme
Sources
- Mehmet Sağ, Mukaddes Çetin Büyüktunca, “Şamanların Göğe Yükseliş Ritlerinin Ağaç Simgesi Bağlamında İncelenmesi”, Van YYÜ SBE Dergisi 43, 2019
- K. N. Ender, Ş. Demirel, “Orta Asya Şamanizminde Evrenin Tezahürü”, Van YYÜ SBE Dergisi 67, 2025
- Metin Özarslan, “Türk Kültüründe Ağaç ve Orman Kültü”, Türkbilig 2003/5
Drawing: Bitki Tabanı, interpreted from the traditional motif.