Oba Meaning

Oba Meaning

Oba originally means, the community of nomadic families living in tents, the people of tents. Oba also means tribe. In our case, it is used to describe any decentralized community living with her own rules/culture/religion/laws. It is a symbol of independence/freedom.

Origin of the word Oba

An Oba with tents

Oba originally means, the community of nomadic families living in tents, the people of tents. Oba also means tribe. In our case, it is used to describe any decentralized community living with her own rules/culture/religion/laws. It is a symbol of independence/freedom.   

It is stated that Oba, an Oghuz word, means tribe in Divân-ı Lügati't-Türk. After Islam, the Oghuz used the word oba to mean a branch smaller than the 'boy'. In the 15th and 16th century Ottoman cadastral registers, the oba took the name of the community. Generally, the place where the congregations (oba) depending on the tribes live is called "yurt". Today, in Anatolia, the word oba is used to mean the families of nomads, the nomadic tents, the place where the tents are located, and a nomadic family consisting of five or six tents is also called oba. Nomadic tent, family living in tent in Crimean, Anatolian and Uyghur Turkish; Shepherd's hut made of stone in Azeri Turkish; It means hill in Kyrgyz, heap of earth in Turkmen, village in Sagai Turkish, hill consisting of piles of stones piled on the side of the road to dedicate a nazir, detachment, outpost.

According to ethnographic studies, "oba" or "obo" is considered sacred in Altai, Yenisey and Urenha-Tuba Turks, who today maintain a simple form of the old Turkish religion. According to their beliefs, these obos have spirits or "earth-water" gods that protect the tribe. Generally, these camps are found on mountain tops, along rivers, and on the road. Urenha-Tuba Turks today perform oba-tagir (oba ritual); The place where the ritual is performed consists of an artificial hill and is called "oba". This word means "hill" in Manchus, who are under the influence of Turkish culture today. The cult of obo (oba), which is one of the remnants of the old Turkish religion, continued for a while among the Turks who accepted Islam.

Traditional Obas as villages, towns, districts

The word Oba is used part of any village, town or ecovillage. See some pictures below.

Alanya Obaköy (Population is nearly 17 thousand)

Çanakkale Kıraçoba, an old village

Beyoba Village near Edremit, another village

Modern Obas as ecological villages (ecovillages)

Modern Obas are not limited to tents . The word Oba is used part of any village, town or ecovillage. Ecovillage people can easily associate their decentralized community with the name oba.

OBA as common name for branding products

Since the word Oba reminds the nature, many compaines associate their names and brands with Oba. This is especially for food none-GMO, organic foods, textile, ecological materials etc. You can find the name oba with any of them.