Abstract:
Since mythological times mankind attempted to understand what s/he observed and give
meaning to them. As they evaluated the things around, they made use of numbers, and considered some numbers as “sacred”. Mankind who founded many different civilizations used
this “sacred number tradition” in literature and passed it onto next generations. Tatar Turks,
living in Rumania, has a rich oral tradition that harbours sacred number tradition.
This article aims to reveal the sacred numbers in Rumanian oral tradition and their
mythological roots and their function in the culture. It has been understood that 3, 4, 5, 6,
7, 9 and 40 have symbolic meanings in the oral literary products of Tatar Turks living in
Rumania. The examination and evaluation of these numbers will contribute to determine the
extent to which Turkic culture expands. In addition to revealing the usages that stem from
Turkic mythology, revealing some common aspects with universal culture is also within the
objective of this paper.
