Tengriism

Some researchers (A. Kodar) suggest that there were two modes in Tengrianism: folk and imperial. If folk beliefs associated with the cult of Heaven go back centuries, the monotheistic imperial stage was formed in the era of the Turkic Kaganate ^[12] .

NG Ayupov ^[11] believes that Tengrism did not have sacral texts and was based on oral tradition. In addition to Tengri, the cult of the goddess of the earth, Umai , was present in Tengri, and the ruler of the underground world, the horny old man Erlik , was also known.

Ayupov emphasizes the "non-institutional", ideological nature of Tengrism ^[11] , where the key principles are the following:

• The recognition of an impersonal god as Tengri, "atheistic monotheism" (A. Kodar) ^[12] .
• The cult of mother nature ( Umai , Etugen ).
• Belief in the life force ( Kut ). From this principle often followed "sacralization of power" .
• Respect for dead ancestors ( ongon , aruah ), which invisibly help their descendants.

The cult of Tengri in the constructions of L. N. Gumilev

L.N. Gumilyov in the book " The Ancient Turks " indicates that "the cult of the sky - Tengri - is also recorded by the Orkhon inscriptions " ^[13] . In his other work, the Millennium around the Caspian. Historical and ethnological study of the Ecumene of Eurasia for 1500 years - from the III. BC. on the XII century. AD "He also calls the" worship of Tengri - Blue Sky "a common" primitive religion "for the Kypchaks and" the entire steppe Eurasia " ^[14] and in the book" The Search for a Fictitious Kingdom (Legend of the "State of Prester John") "stresses that the Mongols of the era of Genghis Khan professed a monotheistic religion based on the worship of the Eternal Heaven ^[15] .

Tengrian Neopaganism

In the 1990s, Tengri suddenly found many fans. Tengrianism caused great interest among the Siberian intelligentsia ^[16] . During the 1990s, Tengrianism was voiced by Kazakhs , Kyrgyz (President Akayev once showed interest in Tengrianism), Bashkirs , Kumyks , and some of the modern Altai Burkhanists tend to identify themselves with this movement ^[17] . Currently, some representatives of the Turkic peoples professing Islam, Tengriism is perceived as the "original" and "traditional" religion of the Turkic peoples, where Tengri is not only a synonym for Allah , but also an expression of the collective spirit of the Turkic peoples ^{[18] [19]} . Thus, religious scholars and sociologists A. V. Shchipkov and S. B. Filatov note that Bashkir folklore acts as “a living carrier of the pagan Tengrian tradition”, where “in epic and folklore scenes the image of the supreme pagan god Tengri merged with the image of Allah ” ^{[3] [6]} . In addition, Shchipkov and Filatov indicate that during an interview on the question of what place Tengriism occupies in the “ modern ideology of the Bashkir revival ” leaders of the public organization Bashkir People’s Center “Ural” M. Kulsharipov and D. Zh. Valeev strongly urged them that it is Shchipkov and Filatov noted, "has no prospects as an organized national religion that pagan stratum - the exclusive domain of folk art culture and way of life, and only as such it is supported by BSC flushes ". And Valeev even emphasized that "the remnants poeticize life and fasten the national culture ." Despite this, Shchipkov and Filatov were skeptical about the assurances of Kulsharipov and Valeev, pointing out that “ in 1994-1995, several people appeared among the Bashkir artistic intelligentsia who openly declared a break with Islam and the transition to Tengry — among them was the writer Akhmet Utebayev and artist Farid Ergaliyev . " Both researchers note that in June 1995, during the World Bashkir Kurultai, an unpleasant event occurred when one of the participants rose to the podium “ in strange clothes of snow-white color” and said that he now renounced Islam and “called on the Bashkir people to return to the faith of their ancestors - Tengrism . The researchers also pay attention to the publication of the book by the author of the unrecognized science of the Iranian origin of the Bashkir people S. A. Gallyamov “The Great Hau Ben. Historical roots of Bashkord-English language and mythology ”, where“ on the basis of linguistic and mythological analysis, historical primacy and truth of the original Bashkir religion is established, which, according to the author, is based on Zoroastrianism and Tengrianism ” ^{[3] [20]} .

Archaeologist, ethnologist and anthropologist V. A. Shnirelman noting that despite the fact that the modern Muslim world is less characteristic than the Christian one, the appearance of neo-pagan movements, at the same time, indicated that “ among the Turkic peoples, there is a desire” to recreate the “supposedly primordial single Turkic religion - Tengrism ”. As an example, he cites the emergence in the autumn of 1997 of the Tengrian movement in Kazan, headed by one of the former leaders of the Tatar social center, Z. Kh. Agliullin . Shnirelman expressed the opinion that “ such a movement is unlikely to have serious prospects, ” since “ one of the obvious reasons for the weakness of neo-pagan tendencies in the Turkic area is the fact that there is no need to construct a new religion in order to resist the Russifying tendencies of Orthodoxy, ” because there Islam successfully takes over this function ” ^[2] . In addition, he draws attention to the activities in Tatarstan of the leader of the Bulgarist (Neovaisov) movement, the chairman of the Kazan cultural-historical club "Bulgar al-Djadid" F. G.-H. Nurutdinova , in whose version of the origin of the Tatars he sees the desire " to marginalize Islam and emphasize the Tengrian basis of the Bulgarian worldview ", as well as " that he is trying to instill in his supporters neo-pagan ideas by picking up the baton from the Russian neo-pagans and neo-pagan movements from a number of neighboring Povolzhsky peoples " ^[21] . Shnirelman also points out that Nurutdinov " proclaimed the swastika as the " Tengrian sign " " ^[21] .

One of the ideologues of Tengrianism in Kalmykia, B. A. Zakharov, believes that here it is very closely intertwined with Buddhism, stating that "many Kalmyks are both Buddhists and Tengrians at the same time" ^[22] .

Contrary to the lack of evidence in historical sources, statements typical of neo-paganism that Tengrianism originated many thousands of years ago (R.N. Bezertinov) ^[23] are popular, or it is the oldest religion in the world ^[24] , which completely contradicts all known historical knowledge and scientific concepts.

The cult of Tengri in the Tengrian neo - pagan folk-history is represented as follows: the god Tengri was worshiped, raising his hands up, and prostrating themselves. The sacred part of the world was considered the north (for the Yakuts east). The feast in honor of Tengri was celebrated in mid-June ( Sabantuy and Ysyakh are its echoes), it was of a nationwide character, accompanied by the burning of open fire and a sacrifice. When choosing a place for the ritual, priority was given to the elevated place where the birches grew. During the holiday, Tengri was asked for good luck and health, the prayers were called the word algys . The holiday ended with competitions (archery) and treats ( koumiss was appreciated) ^[25] . In the spirit of neo-paganism, statements are made on the “ecological ethics” of Tengrianism (K. Bokonbaev) ^[26] .

It is emphasized that a characteristic feature of Tengrianism is activity, persistence, mutual assistance ^[27] : “Tengri not only provides help, but also requires activity” (R.N. Bezertinov) ^[25] .

Symbols in Tengrian neo-paganism may be similar to such monotheistic religions as Christianity and Islam (especially in its Sufi version) ^[28] . Sometimes Tengri is identified with God the Father and Allah, the immortality of the soul is allowed. In educational literature of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, Tengrism is presented in close connection with national and common Turkic customs.

Contrary to the lack of information in historical sources, the folk-historian M. Aji claims that an equilateral cross ("adji") is the main symbol of Tengrianism and was adopted from the Turks in the IV century by Christians ^[29] . According to another version of the supporters of Tengrian neo-paganism, the symbol of Tengrianism is the solar symbol “ shanyrak ” (an equilateral cross in a circle), which goes back to Paleolithic petroglyphs and also means a wheel and a tambourine ^[30] . Also the symbol is the runic writing of Tengri.

In 2003, a conference on Tengrism was held in Bishkek ^[11] . In 2014, an initiative group led by A. Usupbaev announced her intention to recognize Tengrianism as the religion of Kyrgyzstan ^[18] .

Since 2004, Bulgaria has had the Tengri Warriors movement ^[31] , which perceives Tengrism as the original faith of the Bulgarians before the adoption of Christianity in the 9th century and set itself the goal of restoring it.

Tengrianism influenced the formation of the neo-pagan movement in Yakutia , where the candidate of philological sciences, which became its head, philologist L. A. Afanasyev wrote a religious book “ Aiyy ” (“Creation”), which is a renewed Tengrian ^[32] . Moreover, Afanasyev is convinced that the Yakuts are the chosen people who were able to preserve in their original form the oldest religion on the earth, which, of course, he considers Tengrism ^{[4] [33]} . Moreover, in Yakutia, Tengrism itself is considered as a link between the Turkic world and the Yakuts (Sakha) ^[16] . On April 16, 2019, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation (Office for the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)) registered the first Tengrian religious organization “ Aiyy Tangara ITegele (Belief in Aiyy Tangara (Tengri))” ^[34] .

• Burkhanism
• Mythology of the Altai
• Turanian religions
• Turkic mythology

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• Bruno J. Richtsfeld. Rezente ostmongolische Schöpfungs-, Ursprungs- und Weltkatastrophenerzählungen und ihre innerasiatischen Motiv- und Sujetparallelen // Münchner Beiträge zur Völkerkunde. Jahrbuch des Staatlichen Museums für Völkerkunde München. - 2004. - № 9 . - p . 225-274 .