Year of Koy
Meaning: sheep
A short history
The Orkhon inscriptions give dates in these years: the Kül Tegin inscription records his death in the "koń yıl" (year of the sheep, 731). Koy is the image of plenty in herding steppe life.
Cultural background
The sheep, with its wool, milk and meat, is a mainstay of the steppe economy and continues as "qoy" in the Kazakh calendar. Among the Altai Kazakhs the sheep year is reported to count as the most abundant one, an understandable folk belief in a herd-based economy. In a symbolic reading it can go with the themes of softness and community.
Symbolic qualities
- caring
- creative
- harmonious
- mild
Koy is the symbol of the gentleness that holds a community together. It values beauty and harmony and likes to share its creativity. Its shadow side is leaning too much on the approval of others.
Things you might reflect on
- Who is the community that nourishes you, and how do you nourish it?
- How much room are you making for your creativity these days?
- Whose approval are you waiting for before making your own decision?
Years it falls on
Each year begins on 21 March and ends on 20 March of the following year.
1907 · 1919 · 1931 · 1943 · 1955 · 1967 · 1979 · 1991 · 2003 · 2015 · 2027 · 2039 · 2051 · 2063 · 2075 · 2087 · 2099
Chinese counterpart: Goat →Where does the Turkic 12-animal calendar come from?
In the Divanu Lugati't-Türk, written in the 11th century, Mahmud of Kashgar explains that the Turks counted years by the names of twelve animals and lists them in order. The work also tells a story about the origin of the cycle: of the animals driven into the Ila (Ili) river before a ruler, the names of the twelve that crossed were given to the years.
An older witness is the Orkhon inscriptions (8th century). The Kül Tegin inscription dates his death to the "koń yıl" (year of the sheep, 731) and the Bilge Kagan inscription dates the kagan's death to the "it yıl" (year of the dog, 734). So animal year names were already used to give dates in that period.
The cycle follows the same order as the Chinese calendar and is a heritage shared with neighbouring cultures. Sources reckon the start of the year differently; this page takes Nevruz (21 March) as the start of the year.
- Kaşgarlı Mahmud, Divanu Lugati't-Türk (1072–1077).
- Kül Tegin yazıtı (732) ve Bilge Kağan yazıtı (735), Orhun Vadisi.
- Erkoç, H. İ., Divanü Lugati't-Türk'te Vahşi Hayvanlarla İlgili Kelimeler ve Terimler, Hacettepe Üniversitesi Türkiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi 23 (2015), 177-208.
- Karimova, G. ve Türkmen, F., Kazakistan'da Hayvan Kültü ve 12 Hayvanlı Halk Takvimi (2022).
The twelve animals
For entertainment and self-reflection. Year animals are presented as cultural history and character symbolism; they do not tell you what a year holds.
The images on this page were generated with AI.