Tengrism - Background

Background

In Tengriism, the meaning of life is seen as living in harmony with the surrounding world. Tengriist believers view their existence as sustained by the eternal blue Sky, Tengri, the fertile Mother-Earth, spirit Eje, and a ruler who is regarded as the holy spirit of the Sky. Heaven, Earth, the spirits of nature and the ancestors provide every need and protect all humans. By living an upright and respectful life, a human being will keep his world in balance and maximize his personal power Wind Horse.

It is said that the Huns of the Northern Caucasus believed in two gods. One is called Tangri han (that is Tengri Khan), who is thought to be identical to the Persian Aspandiat, and for whom horses were sacrificed. The other is called Kuar, whose victims are struck down by lightning.

It is actively practised in Sakha, Buryatia, Tuva and Mongolia in parallel with Tibetan Buddhism and Burkhanism.

In Turkey, nazar are extensively used by almost everyone in their houses, in/on vehicles, baby clothes and even on buildings. People observe traditions like hanging rags on trees; dropping water on someone's moving car wishing them to return very soon (like saying, "go like water, come like water"); knocking on wood three times with your right hand when an unwanted situation occurs, to prevent bad spirits from hearing about it; the importance of the number 40; wearing a ribbon-headwrap (lohusa tacı) right after a woman gives birth; doing ceremonies for beloved persons on seventh (yedisi), fortieth (kırkı) and fifty-second (elli-ikisi) days after their death are some examples linked to Tengrism. An idiom in Turkish which is used when one feels too ashamed of something — "Yerin yedi kat altına girdim which means "I have gone into the seventh floor of the ground" — is linked to Tengrism. Barış Manço made a song called "Lady of the seventh sky" in 1975. (In Tengrism, it is believed that the earth and the sky have seven floors/sections.)

For 40 days after the birth, the newborn baby and their mother are required to stay in the home. On the fortieth day, a special ceremony is done that is called Kırklama or Kırk çıkarma. On that day, baby is taken in a special bath called Kırk banyosu (bath of 40). Forty stones which were collected from 40 places are dropped into the water with a gold coin to give the baby a nice fortune. This water is taken 40 times and then dropped again onto the water while cleaning the baby's head. After the bath, special clothes are put on the baby for a special visit to the house of the grandparents called Kırk uçurma evi. This 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 which is believed to fall 40 days.

In Turkey, amongs the 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 amongs the children.

The word Kyrgyz means We are forty in the Kyrgyz language. Regarding to 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 as well as in 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 several times mentioned that Tengrism as the national and “natural” religion of the Turkic peoples.