Tamga

Not to be confused with Tanga, Tagma, or Tamag.
For other uses, see Tamga (disambiguation).
Tamgha of the Bayundur, which represents a falcon according to Mahmud al-Kashgari

A tamga or tamgha (from Old Turkic: 𐱃𐰢𐰍𐰀, romanized: tamga, lit. 'stamp, seal'; Turkish: damga; Mongolian: tamga; Adyghe: тамыгъэ, romanized: tamığə; Kabardian: дамыгъэ, romanized: damığə) was an abstract seal or brand used by Eurasian nomads initially as a livestock branding, and by cultures influenced by them. The tamga was used as a livestock branding for a particular tribe, clan or family. They were common among the Eurasian nomads throughout Classical Antiquity and the Middle Ages. As clan and family identifiers, the collection and systematic comparison of tamgas is regarded to provide insights into relations between families, individuals and ethnic groups in the steppe territory.[1][2]

Similar tamga-like symbols were sometimes adopted by sedentary peoples adjacent to the Pontic–Caspian steppe both in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.[3][4][5][6] branding of livestock was a common practice across most sedentary populations, as far back as the ancient Egyptians.

It has been speculated that Turkic tamgas represent one of the sources of the Old Turkic script of the 6th–10th centuries,[7] but since the mid-20th century, this hypothesis is widely rejected as being unverifiable.[8]

  1. ^ Bobir Gayibov (2016). "About To the Question of the Main Origin of Sogdian Rulers". International Journal of Humanities & Social Science Studies III(I): 235–242.
  2. ^ Shnanov, U. R.; Artykbaev, Z. O.; Kazhenova, G. T.; & Abdykulova, G. (2020). "Historical significance of tribal Tamgas and its relation to the runic script". Opción: Revista de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales (91). pp. 833–850.
  3. ^ Neubecker, Ottfried (2002). Heraldik (in German). Orbis. ISBN 3-572-01344-5.
  4. ^ Brook, Kevin Alan (2006). The Jews of Khazaria (2nd ed.). Rowman and Littlefield. p. 154. ISBN 0-7425-4981-X.
  5. ^ Franklin, Simon; Shepard, Jonathan (1996). The Emergence of Rus 750–1200. London: Longman. pp. 120–121.
  6. ^ Pritsak, Omeljan (1998). The Origins of the Old Rus' Weights and Monetary Systems. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute. pp. 78–79. ISBN 0-582-49090-1.
  7. ^ Aristov, N. (1896). Notes on Ethnic Composition of Turkic Tribes and People and Population Record. ZhS 3–4, 277–456
  8. ^ Talat Tekin (1965), "A Grammar of Orkhon Turkic", PhD thesis, University of California, Los Angeles for a literature overview