Zilant

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Zilant (Russian: Зилант; Tatar: җылан, romanized: cılan/jılan, lit. 'snake') is a legendary creature, something between a dragon and a wyvern in Turkic mythology (especially Tatar). Since 1730, it has been the official symbol of Kazan. This winged snake is mentioned in legends about the foundation of Kazan.

A Zilant is a legendary creature with the head of a dragon, the body of a bird, the legs of a chicken, the tail of a snake, the ears of a canine, the red wings of a bat or bird, sharp teeth, dark-gray feathers and scaly dark-gray skin.

Nomenclature and etymology

Coat of arms of Kazan Governorate (1730).
İske imlâ
.

The word Zilant is the English transcription of Russian Зилант, itself a rendering of Tatar yılan/елан, pronounced [jɯˈlɑn] (or sometimes [ʒʲɯˈlɑn]) and meaning a snake.

Modern flag of Kazan, officially adopted in 2004

The Tatars themselves, on the other hand, frequently refer to this creature with the Persian word Ajdaha (dragon)[2] or Ajdaha-yılan ('Dragon-snake'). Tatars regarded it as a repulsive creature, corresponding to European and Persian dragon. According to Idel-Ural beliefs, any snake that survives for 100 years turns into an ajdaha.[3]

The Zilant/Ajdaha differs from Aq Yılan ('White Snake'), which is the king of snakes. Aq Yılan

batırlar),[8] often by giving them gifts. As regards his beneficial influence on humans, Aq Yılan resembles a Chinese dragon
.

ethnic groups living in the area of Kazan alongside the Tatars) also have legends relating to the foundation of Kazan, but none of them refer to the Kazan dragon. After the 16th century, Russians acquired the foundation legend from Tatars. For Kazan Russians, Zilant had negative connotations, as it was represented as a Slavic dragon
rather than as a snake.

Western culture has strongly influenced the popular perception of Zilant among citizens of Kazan, and many modern citizens imagine Zilant largely as a classically Western wyvern or dragon – as depicted in films.[citation needed]

No strong evidence survives that an image of a dragon or snake with wings occurred in any coat-of-arms of Kazan city or of the

proper name in the Russian language and the role of Zilant as a symbol of Kazan functions mostly as an element of Russian culture nowadays. Snakes with wings appear in legends in Tartar culture, and a dragon – ajdaha – plays a role in fairy tales
.

Legends

Most legends related to Kazan are contradictory and Zilant is no exception. There are several variations on the Zilant legend.

According to one story, a beautiful damsel married a resident of

Qaban lakes. According to the story he still lives in the waters of the lake and, from time to time, takes vengeance on the citizens. According to other stories, the giant snake was transformed into Diü
, a spirit who founded the underwater kingdom of the lake.

It is also said that Zilant did not escape to the lake but instead tried get revenge upon the knight, who by that time had ridden some 50

çaqrım[9]
away from Kazan. During the fight that followed, Zilant cut the hero into six parts. The knight, however, had managed to stab the dragon with his poisoned pike, and Zilant eventually died.

There is also a legend about Zilant's return to Zilantaw. They say that Zilant re-established himself in a big cave near the hill. The dragon would occasionally fly over the panic-stricken city and drink water from the Black Lake.[10] At first the people of the city paid tribute to him, but later they managed to kill him with a wizard's help.[11]

Main article: Chuvash dragon

According to one legend, when Bulgars came to found the town of Bilär, they discovered a big snake. They decided to kill it, but the snake begged for peace and pleaded with Allah to give her wings. Once she had her wings the snake flew away from Bilär.

Another great snake was said to live in a pagan tower temple at

Tamerlane
's invasion after which it disappeared.

Ibn Fadlan, who visited Volga Bulgaria
in the 10th century, referred to numerous snakes, especially in trees. Ibn Fadlan wrote about a huge fallen tree, longer than hundred ells. He saw a big snake at the trunk of the tree, almost as large as the tree itself. The Bulgars allayed his fears by assuring him that the snake was not dangerous.

Interpretations

The popular historian

Lev Gumilyov's idea, then the dragon of Kazan should be regarded as a remnant of the once popular Turkic totem.[13]

These flying snakes were also known in

Shishma River
was known as Yılantaw, later russified as Yelantovo. Many scholars believe that Zilant, like other flying snakes, symbolized the evil rulers of the neighboring pagan peoples. The legendary burning of the snakes may symbolize the victory of Islam over paganism. Sceptics say that the Bulgars purposefully spread those legends in the border regions in order to dismay their neighbors.

There is also speculations that Zilant's origination was not from the White Snake, but the Falcon (Börket), an image similar to Zilant from an earlier epoch.

Zilantaw in Kazan

Zilantaw hill with Zilantov Monastery

Zilantaw Hill (originally

Qaban settlement, an Old Tatar settlement from the 16th century. However, these legends ignore the Kazan Kremlin
, which is actually the oldest part of the city.

It is probable that a small settlement, not the city of Kazan, had existed at Zilantaw in the Bulgarian epoch (12th–14th centuries). The nearest settlement, Biş Balta, has been known since Khanate's epoch. In 1560 the Zilantov Monastery of Assumption[16] was established on the hill. In recent centuries, the hill was covered with an old Russian cemetery, attested to since the Khanate's epoch. During the excavations in the 1970s, vestiges of an original monastery were unearthed. The most ancient layer contained indications of a great fire, lending support to the legend about the burning of the snakes. In historians' opinion this great fire would have occurred during the 1223–1236 invasion.[11]

Zilantaw actually used to be a high and waterless island, which would make it the best place for snakes to hibernate during winter. The nearest lake was called Zmeinoye or Zmievo, that is, Snake Lake. However, in 1957 Qazansu's course was changed so that the old riverbed, separated from the Kuybyshev Reservoir, was swamped. Nowadays, Zilantaw is an unpractical depressive area, surrounded by plants and depots. The old cloister was reopened here in 2005.[17]

Zilant as a state symbol

Some Tatar flags

Like

Kazan Khanate's insignia. Hollander Carlus Allard noted that The Cæsar of Tatars once had two flags,[18] and Zilant was pictured on one of them, most likely the flag of Kazan.[citation needed
]

After the conquest of

Tsar Alexis. Early Russian images represent Zilant with one head, four chicken legs, a bird's body and a snake tail. This representation is thus a cockatrice
rather than a dragon.

In 1730 a royal decree established Zilant as a coat of arms of the Kazan Governorate. It was described in the decree as a "black snake, crowned with the gold crown of Kazan, red-winged on the white field". Being the coat of Kazan, Zilant was incorporated into the Russian Imperial coat of arms. The image was added to the arms of all the towns in the governorate. Zilant also appeared on the coat of arms of Kashira, a town located to the south of Moscow, as it was an appendage town of the exiled Kazan khan Ğäbdellatíf back in the 16th century. After 1917, the governorate was abolished and along with it, all the imperial emblems that featured Zilant.

Kazan Metro interior
Coat of arms of Moscow

Discussion about restoring Zilant as a city symbol resumed in the 1990s. Supporters of Zilant referred to the state insignia of the

Muscovy
, and the "dragon" would symbolize Kazan.

It was eventually decided that Zilant should be associated with Aq Yılan (White Snake) as a positive Turkic spirit. During the Millennium of Kazan in 2005, Zilant was reinstated as a symbol of Kazan. It is now featured in the coat of arms of Kazan and as well as in the municipal jack.

Zilant in art and culture

Zilant could be seen at the decorative elements all over Kazan. The most prominent is a fountain The Qazan (2005), stylized as cauldron.

  • Fountain in the Millennium Park of Kazan
    Fountain in the
    Millennium Park of Kazan
  • Fountain in the Millennium Park of Kazan
    Fountain in the
    Millennium Park of Kazan
  • A seal of Ivan IV
    A seal of
    Ivan IV
  • A fragment of the seal, Zilant
    A fragment of the seal, Zilant

Coats of arms

See also

Notes

  1. ^ transliteration: qazan
  2. Iske imla
    : اژدها
  3. Republic of Tatarstan
    Academy of Sciences. Institution of the Tatar Encyclopaedia. 2002.
  4. Iske imla
    : آق یلان
  5. ^ pronounced [ʃʌhmʌˈrɑ]
  6. Republic of Tatarstan
    Academy of Sciences. Institution of the Tatar Encyclopaedia. 2002.
  7. Iske imla
    شاهمار
  8. Cyrillic: батыр [bʌˈtɯr]
  9. ^ pronounced [ɕʌˈqrɯm]
  10. ^ This is a modern name of the lake. That time it was known as Çerek Kül, i.e. Foul Lake, sometimes noted in Russian chronicles as Poganoye
  11. ^ a b (in Russian) Рафаэль Мустафин, "Озеро Кабан", Казань, 1989.
  12. ^ pinyin; original source was Chinese: ?墚[check spelling]
  13. ^ (in Russian) Gumilevica
  14. ^ pronounced [jɯlɑnˈtaʊ] or [ʒʲɯlɑnˈtaʊ]
  15. ^ also Зилантова гора/Zilantova gora in Russian
  16. ^ Russian: Зилантов Успенский женский монастырь
  17. ^ (in Russian) Zilantov Monastery Web-site
  18. ^ natinalflaggen.de
  19. ^ "Handball Club KAI-Zilant Kazan – Гандбольный Клуб КАИ-Зилант Казань". handball.kai.ru. Archived from the original on 5 February 2006. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  20. ^ "Зиланткон | Zilant's lair".
  21. ^ "Special Olympics Unveils Mythical Dragon Logo for World Winter Games 2022". SpecialOlympics.org. 8 February 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2024.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zilant.
  1. Ancient Kremlin
  2. Early Tatar flags
  3. (in Russian) Статья на "Уфолог.ру"
  4. (in Russian) Легенда Царства Казанского
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