Tengrism

Tengrism - Ancient Religion Of The Turkic People

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• published: 01 Feb 2014
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Tengrism (sometimes stylized as Tengriism), occasionally referred to as Tengrianism , is a modern term for a Central Asian religion characterized by features of shamanism, animism, totemism, both polytheism and monotheism, and ancestor worship. Historically, it was the prevailing religion of the Turks, Mongols, Bulgars, and Hungarians, as well as the Xiongnu and the Huns. It was the state religion of the six ancient Turkic states: Göktürks Khaganate, Avar Khaganate, Western Turkic Khaganate, Great Bulgaria, Bulgarian Empire and Eastern Tourkia. As a modern revival, Tengrism has been advocated among intellectual circles of the Turkic nations of Central Asia, including Tatarstan, Buryatia, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, in the years following the dissolution of the Soviet Union (1990s to present). It is still actively practiced and undergoing an organised revival in Yakutia, Khakassia, Tuva, and other Turkic nations in Siberia. Burkhanism is a movement kindred to Tengrism concentrated in Altay. Khukh and Tengri literally mean "blue" and "sky" in Mongolian and modern Mongolians still pray to "Munkh Khukh Tengri" ("Eternal Blue Sky"). Therefore Mongolia is sometimes poetically referred to by Mongolians as the "Land of Eternal Blue Sky" ("Munkh Khukh Tengriin Oron" in Mongolian). In modern Turkey Tengriism is also known as the Göktanrı dini, "Sky God religion", Turkish "Gök" (sky) and "Tanrı" (God) corresponding to the Mongolian khukh (blue) and Tengri (sky), respectively. s first visit is believed to be very important. Drinking Turkish coffee with your friend is believed to be worth 40 years of friendship. (The expression 'Bir fincan kahvenin kırk yıl hatırı vardır' means 'Drinking one cup of Turkish coffee together with your friend will not be forgotten for 40 years.') There is a convectional rainfall type in Turkey called Kırkikindi (Kırk+ikindi, where ikindi means mid-afternoon) which is believed to fall 40 days. In Turkey, among children, Moon is called Ay Dede (Moon The Grandfather) who is considered to be the moon-god living in the sixth floor of the sky. At nights, tales are being told about him to children by their parents for them to go to sleep. The nursery rhyme ay dede ay dede, senin evin nerede? (Grandfather Moon, Grandfather Moon, where is your home?) is popular among children. The word Kyrgyz means We are forty in the Kyrgyz language. Regarding the importance of the number, Kyrgyzstan's flag has a symbol of 40 uniformly spaced rays. A legendary hero called Manas is believed to have 40 regional clans. Tengrist Khazars aided Heraclius by sending 40,000 soldiers during a joint Byzantine-Göktürk operation against Persians. A number of Kyrgyz politicians are actively pushing Tengrism, to fill the ideological void. Dastan Sarygulov, secretary of state and formerly chair of the Kyrgyz state gold mining company, has established Tengir Ordo (tr) (Army of Tengri) which is a civic group that seeks to promote the values and traditions of the Tengrism. There is a Tengrist society in Bishkek, which officially claims almost 500,000 followers and an international scientific center of Tengrist studies. Both institutions are run by Dastan Sarygulov, the main theorist of Tengrism in Kyrgyzstan and a member of the Parliament. Publications committed to the subject of Tengrism are more and more frequently published in scientific journals of human sciences in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. The partisans of this movement endeavor to influence the political circles and have succeeded in spreading their concepts into the governing bodies. Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev and even more frequently former Kyrgyz president Askar Akayev have mentioned that Tengrism is the national and "natural" religion of the Turkic peoples. Historical Tengrism surrounded the cult of the sky god and chief deity Tengri and incorporated elements of shamanism, animism, totemism and ancestor worship. It lost its importance when the Uighuric kagans proclaimed Manichaeism the state religion in the 8th century. Tengriism also played a large part in the religious denomination of the Gok-Turk Empire and the Great Mongol Empire. The name "Gok-Turk" translates as "Celestial Turk" which directly points out to the devotion to Tengriism. In the 13th century, Genghis Khan and several generations of his followers were also Tengrian believers until his fifth generation descendent Uzbeg Khan turned to Islam in the 14th century