What is the Gray Wolf symbol? A brief review🐺

As it is known, the gray wolf salute of the player named Merih Demiral during the Türkiye-Austria match was quite on the agenda. Let's take a closer look at this sign that is important for the Turkish people. Contrary to popular belief, the Gray Wolf sign is not a political party symbol or a sign of fascism, but has a much older history.

According to the belief in Turkish mythology, the Gray Wolf symbol is considered a symbol of heroism and power. According to the belief of Turkish people, the wolf represents the warrior spirit. When Turks are faced with a problem, It shows up and provides guidance.

Now let's look at the historical background of the gray wolf symbol with examples.

The wolf has a very important place in the belief system of Turkish culture. It is thought that the Kök Turks have a historical basis for the Gray Wolf legend. According to the Wu Sun legend, the son of the murdered king became king of his state by sucking the milk of the wolf. The wolf has a celestial quality here. The gray wolf figure also appears in the Turkiccreation myth of the Göktürks, who lived on the southern foothills of the Altay Mountains. According to this belief, all the people lost their lives and only a 10-year-old child remained. The she-wolf feeds this child and ensures his survival. The wolf gives birth to 10 sons and they all multiply day by day. The wolf figure is also seen in the Uyghur legend of Derivatives, but the gender of the wolf is male, not female. In the epic of Oğuz Kaan, another important epic in Turkish mythology, the gray wolf figure appears as a guide.

The gray wolf motif is also frequently seen in rock paintings. Gray wolf motifs have been found on rocks in places such as Hutubi in the northwest of Urumqi and Mount Eşkiölmes in the southeast of Kazakhstan. The gray wolf, a symbol of power and courage for the Turkish people, is also included in the inscriptions. The gray wolf figure is clearly seen in the Kül Tegin and Bilge Kağan inscriptions. The expression wolf is also seen in the Begre Inscription, located within the borders of the Tuva Autonomous Republic. It has been determined that the expression wolf is used in many inscriptions such as Uybat, Cachikey.

Wolf is mentioned not only in inscriptions and epics but also in Chinese dynastic annals and is included as "böri".

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk also adopted the gray wolf symbol and used it in currency. The gray wolf symbol was printed on 5 and 10 lira notes. The first coin with a gray wolf printed was 5 lira. In the image below you can see the money with the gray wolf symbol.

The Gray Wolf symbol is a very accepted symbol in Turkish countries. We see that it is frequently used in countries such as Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. 

In light of all this information, we can state that this symbol has nothing to do with racism, has no connection with any political party and covers all Turkish people. Just as every nation has its own symbol, so do the Turks. Therefore, seeing it as fascism is a wrong perspective.

*If you would like to examine the information in the article in more detail, you can look at the thesis titled "THE IMPORTANCE AND PLACE OF GRAYWOLF IN TURKISH CULTURE" written by Volkan Özkan.

Resource: Özkan, V. (2018). The place and importance of the gray wolf in Turkish culture. (Unpublished doctoral thesis). Istanbul University, Institute of Social Sciences, Department of General Turkish History.