There are some literary works, that make or represent more than half of the literature of their languages. The position of “Nišan saman-i bidhe” is like that, in terms of Manchu literature. Among the archives full of Manchu manuscripts, it stands as the folk narrative that had the chance to be saved in written form. The manuscripts are important, and massive, yet, they consist mostly of either decrees, reports, or translations of Chinese classics. But Nišan, as a folk tale, represents the language of its people.

Luckily, Grebenshchikov had the opportunity to secure some scripts of the tale, by which we the world could have some insight into the tale, and the world it represents.

It provides a wide range of vocabulary, from multiple topics, covering the daily lives of hunting, military to religion, family relations to state structure. In addition, it sheds some light on spoken language, as the spelling of some words is not regular.

With the translations to sixteen languages, some concept as “Nishanology” is forming. The authors have made a recent translation of Nišan into Turkish, as a part of a Ph.D. study. In this paper, we are going to try to have a closer insight into some details of the process. For this aim, we will consider the relationship between the three languages, Manchurian, Mongolian, and Turkish; consider some unique features between these three, Altaic languages; and mention the glossary, which is due to appear at the end of the work, in addition to some interesting vocabulary from the glossary.

Nišan, shaman, Nishanology, Manchu, folk tale, translation, Altaistic