ÜLGEN, sometimes called Bai Ülgen ("rich Ülgen"), is a deity venerated by the Turkic peoples living in the Altai and Sayan mountains in southern Siberia. Ülgen is also known to the east, among the Mongol Buriats.

In Altai-Sayan Turkic mythology Ülgen figures as the highest deity. He created earth and heaven and all living beings. He is the master of the good spirits, the lord of the upper world, the realm of light; he is the protector of humankind. After him stands Erlik Khan, the lord of the lower world, the realm of darkness; Erlik is the master of the evil spirits. Both Ülgen and Erlik Khan determine the fate of human beings, who live in the middle world.

In the Buriat pantheon Ülgen plays a secondary but revealing role: the deity is regarded as female, a goddess of earth. The Buriats call her...