Petr says that the name Derben Oirat derives from the phrase ‘four close tribes’ that lived in the Altai region. Each of the tribes had their own totemic animal, including the crow, the swan, the wolf and the deer. The crow and the swan are heavenly creatures symbolising the sun and the moon, whereas the wolf and the deer are earthly animals. The tribes with whom the Derbet Oirat exchanged brides were referred to as tyurkyut, meaning ‘relatives’.