The Man-Wolf of the Bronze Age

The scene in the rock carvings at QuljabasyiThe Quljabasy Mountains are located in the southwestern part of the Chu-Ili Mountains.depicting a ritual hunt for a giant bull undertaken by people wearing wolf masks leaves no doubt that the wolf cult was present in the mythology of Bronze Age tribes at least 4,000 years ago. These are not random images, as has been confirmed by other ancient drawings featuring man-wolves that appeared around the same time. One particular scene from AqqainariThe Aqqainar archeological complex is located in the Jambyl district of the Almaty region.deserves a special mention. That group of carvings, including this petroglyph, was discovered during an expedition led by A.N. Mariyashev, a member of the A. Margulan Institute of Archeology in 2012. An unusual character is depicted on a vertical slab: a man stands in a proud pose. His shoulders are turned, arms bent at the elbows, holding an object, possibly a weapon, in his right hand, while his head is wolf-like. He has an open mouth with carefully marked fangs, alert ears, and even a wolf's tail.

Who was this man-wolf to those who immortalized him 4,000 years ago?

The depiction of the wolf, a dangerous and intelligent creature, has been revered down the ages and continues to be worshiped by many peoples, including Turkic ethnic groups. It served not only as a cult figure but also played a specific social role: people imitated wolves. Historical and ethnographic evidence regarding the existence of special male unions or brotherhoods has been preserved. Members of these unions not only associated themselves with wolves but also used wolf masks and skins as clothing. In certain situations, like battle, they imitated the howling of this formidable beast. Such communities have been documented among the Scythians and ancient Germans. Moreover, among many peoples of Northern Eurasia, including the Didoians in the Caucasus and the Tatars, special holidays were celebrated as recently as the early twentieth century in November–December. The main characters of these festivals were young men dressed as wolves.

The image of the wolf in myths and legends is not just a symbol but a powerful link to the images of the leaders or progenitors of a tribe. Amongst the most famous is the ancient Iranian tale of the she-wolf who nursed King Cyrus, the Roman legend of the Capitoline she-wolf who raised Romulus and Remus, and the Turkic legend of a boy who was also saved and nursed by a she-wolf, who later became his wife and bore him ten sons, from whom the Turkic peoples are said to have originated.

The enigmatic hero from the ancient legend, the man-wolf of Aqqainar, remains a puzzle to this day. However, it is undeniable that upon the arrival of the first Scythian clans in these mountains, followed by Turkic tribes, all of them held this figure from the Bronze Age pantheon in high regard, meticulously and repeatedly renewing their reverence for him.