Spirituality & Religious StudiesTengrism
Also known as Tengriism, Tengerism, or Tengrianism.
This is a belief system that originated in the Eurasian steppes. It’s based on shamanism & animism. It usually involves the sky god, Tengri.
It was the predominant religion of the Gokturks, Xianbei, Bulgars, Xiongnu, Yeniseian, Mongolic peoples, & the Huns. It was the state religion of several medieval states, including the 1st Turkic Khaganate, the Western Turkic Khaganate, the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, Old Great Bulgaria, the 1st Bulgarian Empire, Volga Bulgaria, Khazaria, & the Mongol Empire.
In the Irk Bitig, a 9th-century manuscript on divination, Tengri is referred to as Turuk Tangrisi (“God of Turks”).
The forms of the name Tengri (Old Turkic: Tanri), among the ancient & modern Turkic & Mongolic, are: Tengeri, tanagra, Tangri, Tanri, Tangre, Tegri, Tingir, Tenkri, Tangra, Ter, & Ture.
The name “Tengri” (“the Sky”)is derived from Old Turkic: Tenk (“daybreak”) or Tan (“dawn”).
The name of the important deity Dangun (also Tangol, God of the Mountains) of the Korean folk religion is related to the Siberian Tengri (“Heaven”), while the bear is a symbol of the Big Dipper (Ursa Major).
It was originally polytheistic. But a monotheistic branch with the sky god Kok-Tengri as the supreme being evolved as a dynastic legitimation. Tengrism was a monotheistic religion only at the imperial level in aristocratic circles.
Tengri itself was never an Absolute. But only 1 of many gods of the upper world, the sky deity, of polytheistic shamanism, later known as Tengrism.
The 1st time the name Tengri was recorded in Chinese Chronicles was in the 4th century BC as the sky god of the Xiongnu.
Tengrism played a large part in the religion of the Mongol Empire as the primary state spirituality. Genghis Khan & several generations after him were Tengrian believers & “shaman-king(s)” until Genghis’ 5th-generation descendant, Ozbeg Khan, converted to Islam in the 14th century.
Tengrists view their existence as sustained by the eternal blue sky (Tengri), the fertile mother-earth spirit (Eje), & a ruler regarded as the chosen one by the holy spirit of the sky.
Heaven, earth, spirits of nature, & ancestors provide for every need & protect all humans. By living an upright, respectful life, a human will keep his world in balance & perfect his personal Wind Horse, or spirit.
The Huns of the northern Caucasus reportedly believed in 2 gods: Tangri Han (or Tengri Khan), considered identical to the Persian Esfandiyar & for whom horses were sacrificed, & Kuar (whose victims are struck by lightning).
Traditional Tengrism was more embraced by the nomadic Turks than by those residing in the lower mountains or forests. This belief influenced Turkic & Mongol religious history since ancient times until the 14th century, when the Golden Horde converted to Islam. The Golden Horde was a Mongol/Turkicized Khanate.
From then on, Tengrism was mostly submerged by other religious ideas. Traditional Tengrism persists among the Mongols & in some Turkic & Mongolic-influenced regions of Russia (Sakah, Buryatia, & Tuva), in parallel with other religions.
According to the Orkhon inscriptions, Tengri played a big role in the choices of the Khaghan & in guiding his actions. Many of these were performed because “Heaven so ordained.” The Orkhon inscriptions are bilingual texts in Middle Chinese & Old Turkic carved into 2 memorial steles erected in the 8th century by the Gokturks in modern-day Mongolia.
A revival of Tengrism has played a role in the search for native spiritual roots & a Pan-Turkish ideology since the 1990s. Especially in some autonomous republics of the Russian Federation (Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Buryatia, Yakutia, etc.). As well as among the Crimean Karaites & Crimean Tatars.
In 2003, in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Tengir Ordo held the 1st international scientific symposium on Tengrism. In 2005, the French Institute for Central Asia Studies organized a conference on Tengrism in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Since 2007, biennial scientific conferences on Tengrism have been held in Russia, Mongolia, & other countries.
The Tengrist cosmology proposes a division between the upper worlds (heaven), the Earth, & the world of darkness (underworld). These worlds are inhabited by different beings, often spirits or deities. A shaman (kam) can communicate with these spirits using mental powers. The worlds aren’t entirely separated, & they have a constant influence on the Earth.
In Turkic mythology within Siberian Asian religious systems, there is the “celestial world,” the ground to which “earth-water” (yer-su) belongs, & the “underworld,” ruled by spirits beneath the earth. They’re connected through the world tree in the center of the worlds.
The celestial & subterranean worlds are divided into 7 layers. Although there are variations, the underworld sometimes has 9 layers & the celestial world 17.
Shamans are able to find entries to travel into these realms. In the multiple realms, beings live just like humans on Earth. They also have their own respected souls & shamans & nature spirits. Sometimes, these beings visit the Earth but are invisible to people. They manifest themselves only in a strange sizzling fire or a bark to the shaman.
The heavens are inhabited by righteous souls, the Creator, & protector deities. The celestial world has many similarities with the Earth. But it’s undefiled by humans. It contains a pristine, untouched nature, & the natives have never deviated from the traditions of their ancestors.
This realm is much brighter than the Earth & is under the auspices of Ulgen, a son of Tengri. Shamans can also visit this world.
On some days, the doors of this heavenly world are opened, & the light shines through the clouds. During this moment, the prayers of the shamans are most influential. A shaman performs his imaginary journey, which takes him to the heavens, by riding a black bird, a deer, or a horse, or by changing into the shape of these animals. Otherwise, he may scale the world tree or cross a rainbow.
The underworld is the home of wicked souls, devils, & evil deities. There are many similarities between the Earth & the underworld, & its inhabitants resemble humans. Though they’ve only 2 souls instead of 3. They lack the “Ami soul,” which produces body temperature & allows breathing. Therefore, they’re pale, & their blood is dark. The sun & the moon of the underworld give far less light than the sun & the moon of the Earth. There are also forests, rivers, & settlements underground.
Erlik Khan (In Mongolian: Erleg Khan), 1 of the sons of Tengri, is the ruler of the underworld. He controls the souls there. Some of them are waiting to be reborn. Extremely evil souls are believed to be extinguished forever here. If a sick human isn’t dead yet, a shaman can move to the underworld to negotiate with Erlik to bring the person back to life. If the shaman fails, the person dies.
It’s believed that people & animals have many souls. Generally, each person is considered to have 3 souls. But the names, characteristics, & numbers of the souls may differ among tribes.
Humans are the product of (father) Heaven & (mother) Earth. Tangrism sanctifies human relationships with nature & their relationship with the sky. Tengrism doesn’t place humans above nature. Rather, it considers mankind as part of nature, without any rank assigned by God.
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Ainur Elmgren
