Abstract:

The contemporary world has inherited some evil spirits from mythical ideas and beliefs. Sleep demons are among the evil spirits that belong to this group and they have their counterparts in all cultures of the world. They are common products of the mythical age and the human mind. In this context, Turkish culture also has these demons. Bastırık, a sleep demon of the Caucasus, constitutes the central topic of this paper. Bastırık reflects the name, form and functions of Karakura, Karabasan or Albastı, which are believed everywhere in Anatolia without exception. However, it is not given much space in the sources. This study aims to reveal the cultural interaction by identifying other evil spirits and demons with the same or similar names based on the verb “to pressure (Turkish verb basmak)” in this entity’s name. Tablets, spell texts, incantations, prayers, and frescoes from a variety of cultures that have been preserved to the present day provide an opportunity for this comparison. The analysis of the materials revealed that “oppressing, crushing” is a common motif in sleep demons, and Bastırık belongs to the ring of mythological creatures rooted in “bas- (to pressure)”, which is reflected in Turkish folklore. Research has shown that through direct or indirect interaction in prehistoric times along with intracultural diversifications, a mythological creature belonging to the Turkish culture has been passed on to other cultures by preserving the root of “bas- (to pressure)”.

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