Tengriism

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A diagram of the Tengriist World view on a Shamans Drum [1] [2]. The World-tree is growing in the centre and connecting the three Worlds Underworld, Middleworld and Upperworld.

Tengriism was the ancient belief of all Turkic peoples and Mongols before the vast majority joined known world religions. It is still actively practised in Yakutia and in Mongolia, in parallel with Tibetan Buddhism.

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, Eje, and a ruler who is regarded as the holy Son 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 (hun) will keep his world in balance and maximize his personal power windhorse. Shamans play an important role in restoring balance when it is thrown off by disaster or spirit interference.

Tengriism includes Shamanism, Animism, Totemism, ancestor worship and certain elements in common with Chinese cosmology.

Tengriism was also the religion of the Huns, Eurasian Avars, early Hungarians and of the early Bulgars, too ^[1] They brought Tengriism to Europe, and some of them kept it alive there until the late Middle Ages.