Kormos

In Turkic mythological thought Kormos designates a spectrum of souls or spirit-forms that occupy different layers of existence: some inhabit the underworld (Tamag), some roam the earth, and some belong to the sky-world (Uçmag). The lexical root of the term carries senses of "does not see" or "blind" and can also denote "mentally ill," which shapes metaphorical associations in the tradition. Kormos functions as an umbrella category for various post‑mortem conditions — including ancestral Ozor, damned Çahık, suicide-associated Alban — and is organised in a threefold moral typology: angelic Kormoses under Ülgen, demonic Kormoses under Erlik, and neutral/roaming Kormoses on earth. Their collective chief is named Körmös Khan (Kürmez Han).

No single uniform appearance is prescribed for all Kormos; descriptions vary by subtype. Alban (souls of those who committed suicide) are said to resemble humans but with extremely long hair, long claws, and inverted eyes and feet. Çahık (souls of the damned) are described with bloody hands, dry eyes, and dangerous speech, and are said to be capable of changing form. Angelic and neutral Kormos are not given fixed physical traits in the cited sources.

Cited sources attribute a range of behaviours: demonic or Caman/Yaman Kormoses that dwell in Tamag can harm the living, abduct or capture people's souls, and torture; angelic (Arug/Arı) Kormoses act under Ülgen to help and protect humans and to maintain balance; neutral or Kal/Gal Kormoses roam the earth in a distressed state. Some subtypes (e.g., Çahık) are said to change forms and to possess perilous speech. The tradition links ordinary souls' postmortem fate to the possibility of becoming a Kormos, and it is noted that a soul so turned may still ascend to Uçmag if the good in it outweighs its evil.