<펌> Tengri

Tengri

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the group of Mongol gods, see Tngri. For the Polynesian god, see Tangaroa.

Tengri (Old Turkic: ??????????; Bulgarian: Тангра; Modern Turkish: Tanrı; Proto-Turkic *teŋri / *taŋr?; Mongolian script: ????,[1] Tngri; Modern Mongolian: Тэнгэр, Tenger), is one of the names for the primary chief deity used by the early Turkic (Xiongnu, Hunnic, Bulgar) and Mongolic (Xianbei) peoples.

Worship of Tengri is Tengrism. The core beings in Tengrism are the Heavenly-Father (Tengri/Tenger Etseg) and the Earth Mother (Eje/Gazar Eej). It involves shamanism, animism, totemism and ancestor worship.

Contents

• 1Name
• 2History
• 3Mythology
• 4Place names
• 5Modern revival
• 6See also
• 7Notes
• 8References
• 9External links

Name

 

Spelling of ????????? tengri in the Old Turkic script (written from right to left, as t²?r²i)

The oldest form of the name is recorded in Chinese annals from the 4th century BC, describing the beliefs of the Xiongnu. It takes the form 撑犁/Cheng-li, which is hypothesized to be a Chinese transcription of Tangri. (The Proto-Turkic form of the word has been reconstructed as *Teŋri or *Taŋr?.)[2] Alternatively, a reconstructed Altaic etymology from *T`aŋgiri ("oath" or "god") would emphasize the god's divinity rather than his domain over the sky.[3]

The Turkic form, Tengri, is attested in the 8th century Orkhon inscriptions as the Old Turkic form ????????? Teŋri. In modern Turkish, the derived word "Tanrı" is used as the generic word for "god", or for the Abrahamic God, and is used today by Turkish people to refer to any god. The supreme deity of the traditional religion of the Chuvash is Tur?.[4]

Other reflexes of the name in modern languages include Mongolian: Тэнгэр ("sky"), Bulgarian: Тангра, Azerbaijani: Tanrı.

The Chinese word for "sky" 天 (Mandarin: ti?n, Classical Chinese: th?n[5] and Japanese Han Dynasty loanword ten[5]) may also be related, possibly a loan from a prehistoric Central Asian language.[6]

However, this proposal conflicts with recent reconstructions of the Old Chinese pronunciation of the character "天" as "qhl'iin" (Zhengzhang)[7] or similar, with a lateral consonant (compare Wiktionary).

Linguist Stefan Georg has proposed that the Turkic word ultimately originates as a loanword from Proto-Yeniseian *t?ŋgVr- "high".[8]

History

 

Seal from Guyug Khan's letter to Pope Innocent IV, 1246. The first four words, from top to bottom, left to right, read "mongke ?ngri-yin ku?undur" ? "Under the power of the eternal heaven".

Tengri was the national god of the Gokturks, described as the "god of the Turks" (Turuk Tangrisi).[2] The Gokturk khans based their power on a mandate from Tengri. These rulers were generally accepted as the sons of Tengri who represented him on Earth. They wore titles such as tengrikut, kutlu? or kutalmysh, based on the belief that they attained the kut, the mighty spirit granted to these rulers by Tengri.[9]

 

Tengri was the chief deity worshipped by the ruling class of the Central Asian steppe peoples in 6th to 9th centuries (Turkic peoples, Mongols and Hungarians).[10] It lost its importance when the Uighuric kagans proclaimed Manichaeism the state religion in the 8th century.[11] The worship of Tengri was brought into Eastern Europe by the Huns and early Bulgars.

 

Tengri is considered to be the chief god who created all things. In addition to this celestial god, they also had minor divinities (Alps) that served the purposes of Tengri.[12] As Gok Tanrı, he was the father of the sun (Koyash) and moon (Ay Tanrı) and also Umay, Erlik, and sometimes Ulgen.

Mythology

Tengri was the main god of the Turkic pantheon, controlling the celestial sphere.[13] Tengri is considered to be strikingly similar to the Indo-European sky god, *Dyeus, and the structure of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion is closer to that of the early Turks than to the religion of any people of Near Eastern or Mediterranean antiquity.[14]

 

The most important contemporary testimony of Tengri worship is found in the Old Turkic Orkhon inscriptions, dated to the early 8th century. Written in the so-called Orkhon script, these inscriptions record an account of the mythological origins of the Turks. The inscription dedicated to Kul Tigin includes the passages (in the translation provided by the ………….. "When the blue sky [Tengri] above and the brown earth below were created, between them a human being was created. Over the human beings, my ancestors Bumin Kagan and Istemi Kagan ruled. They ruled people by Turkish laws, they led them and succeeded" (face 1, line 1); "Tengri creates death. Human beings have all been created in order to die" (face 2, line 9); "You passed away (lit.: 'went flying') until Tengri gives you life again" (face 2, line 14).

 

In Turkic mythology, Tengri is a pure, white goose that flies constantly over an endless expanse of water, which represents time. Beneath this water, Ak Ana ("White Mother") calls out to him saying "Create". To overcome his loneliness, Tengri creates Er Kishi, who is not as pure or as white as Tengri and together they set up the world. Er Kishi becomes a demonic character and strives to mislead people and draw them into its darkness. Tengri assumes the name Tengri Ulgen and withdraws into Heaven from which he tries to provide people with guidance through sacred animals that he sends among them. The Ak Tengris occupy the fifth level of Heaven. Shaman priests who want to reach Tengri Ulgen never get further than this level, where they convey their wishes to the divine guides. Returns to earth or to the human level take place in a goose-shaped vessel.[15]

 

According to Mahmud al-Kashgari, Tengri was known to make plants grow and the lightning flash. Turks used the adjective tengri which means "heavenly, divine", to label everything that seemed grandiose, such as a tree or a mountain, and they stooped to such entities.[16] Tengri worship by "infidels" was viewed negatively by Kashgari.[17] The non-Muslim Turks' worship of Tengri was mocked and insulted by al-Kashgari, who wrote a verse referring to them ? The Infidels ? May God destroy them![18][19]

al-Kashgari claimed that the Prophet assisted in a miraculous event where 700,000 Yab?qu infidels were defeated by 40,000 Muslims led by Arsl?n Teg?n claiming that fires shot sparks from gates located on a green mountain towards the Yab?qu.[20] The Yabaqu were a Turkic people.[21]

Place names

 

The Khan Tengri pyramidal peak

• A pyramidal peak of the Tian Shan range between China, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, is called "Khan Tengri." The Tian Shan itself is known in Uyghur as the Tanri Tagi.
• The Tangra Mountains on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica are also named after the deity.
• The Bulgars named a large mountain in the Rila mountain range after Tangra,[citation needed] although it was renamed in the 15th century to Musala("Mountain of Allah") by the Ottoman Turks.
• Otgontenger, the highest mountain of the Khangai mountains in Mongolia.
• Tengger Desert, a desert in Inner Mongolia, China.

Modern revival

"Tengrism" is the term for a revival of Central Asian shamanism after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. In Kyrgyzstan, Tengrism was suggested as a Pan-Turkic national ideology following the 2005 presidential elections by an ideological committee chaired by state secretary Dastan Sarygulov.[22]

Source : Wikipedia

 

Tengri

Previous (Tendai)

Next (Tengriism)

 

Tengri - god of sky in modern Mongolian mythology art.

 

Tengri is the supreme god of the old Xiongnu, Xianbei, Turkic, Bulgar, Mongolian, Hunnic and Altaic religion named Tengriism. For the ancient Turks and Mongols, the words `Tengri' and `Sky' were synonymous. The physical appearance of Tengri was unknown, and he was considered to be timeless and infinite like a blue sky. Tengri was the primary deity of a pantheon of gods associated with various aspects of human existence and natural phenomena. Ancient Turks and Mongols believed that Tengri governed all existence on earth, determining the fate of individuals as well as that of entire nations. Turkic and Mongol rulers based their power on a mandate from Tengri, representing themselves as his sons on earth. When a ruler lost power, it was considered a sign that he had not acted in harmony with celestial law.

Contents  [hide]  1 Tengri 2 Relationship between Tengri and human beings 3 Tengri as a Source of Political Power 4 Tengri in Other Religions and Cultures 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 External links 9 Credits

 

Tengri is a probable precursor of the Chinese deity Tian, which became prominent during the Zhou Dynasty (1122 - 256 B.C.E.). Ancient Turks and Mongols maintained a continuous belief in Tengri throughout their history, and belief in Tengri has been partially preserved until the present by Altaic peoples. Tengri is associated with Central Asian shamanism. During the Middle Ages, Tengri received the Persian name “Khodai.” Even when Buddhism, Lamaism or Islam became the predominant religions among the Turkic peoples and Mongols, the concept of Tengri, the "Sky God," persisted. In modern Turkish, the derived word "Tanrı" is used as the generic word for "god," also for the Judeo?Christo?Islamic God, and is often used today by practicing Muslim Turks to refer to God in Turkish as an alternative to the word "Allah," the originally Arabic Islamic word for "God." "Tengri" is the oldest known Turkic word, believed to have originated in the sixth century B.C.E.[1]

 

Tengri

 

The word tengri in Orkhon script.

 

Peak of Khan Tengri at sunset. Photo taken by Simon Garbutt in July 2002.

Tengri first appeared in Chinese records referring to the Xiongnu as Cheng Li (Chinese: 撑犁).[2][3]. The ancient Turks believed that Tengri was the leader of the 17 deities who ruled the universe: Tengri, Yer-Sub, Umai, Erlik, Earth, Water, Fire, Sun, Moon, Star, Air, Clouds, Wind, Storm, Thunder and Lightning, Rain and Rainbow. His greatness was emphasized by adding the title "Khan" to his name [4]. In ancient Mongolian cosmology, the Sky-Father (Tengri/Tenger Etseg) and Mother Earth (Eje/Gazar Eej) were the central beings of a group of 99 deities. Tengri had at least two sons, associated with the eastern and western directions. Ulgen, associated with the west, was Lord of the spirits of the upper world and creator of man, the dog, and all the animals. His eastern brother Erleg Khan, associated with the east, was Lord of the spirits of the lower world. He created the eagle, which it was forbidden to eat, and brought forth evil spirits which caused disease.[5]

 

Ancient Turks and Mongols continuously believed in Tengri, and belief in Tengri has been partially preserved until the present by Altaic peoples. Turkic peoples had similar names for the Sky God: Tatars, Tengri; Altais, Tengri or Tengeri; Turks, Tanri; Khakases, Tigir; Chuvashes, Tura; Yakuts, Tangara; Karachai-Balkars, Teyri; Kumyks, Tengiri; Mongols, Tengeri.[6]

 

For the ancient Turks and Mongols, the words `Tengri' and `Sky' were synonymous. The physical appearance of Tengri was unknown. He was not visualized as a person, although he was said to have at least two sons. Tengri was considered to be timeless and infinite like a blue sky. The term Kuk-Tengri (Blue Sky) referred to a spiritual, celestial “sky,” and the epithet “kuk” (blue) when applied to an animal, such as a horse (kuk at), ram (kuk teke), bull (kuk ugez), or deer (kuk bolan), was a reference to the animal’s divine origin, not its color.[7] According to Mahmud Kashgari (1005 - 1102), a renowned scholar and lexicographer of Turkic dialects, Tengri was known to make plants grow and the lightning flash. Turks used the adjective tengri which means "heavenly, divine," to label everything that seemed grandiose, such as a tree or a mountain, and they revered such entities.[8] A dramatic pyramidal mountain peak, long believed to be the highest point on the border between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, is called "Khan Tengri."

 

Relationship between Tengri and human beings

According to ancient mythology, human beings appeared from a marriage of Tengri and the deity Earth, considered to be a mother and a wife of Tengri. Tengri gave a Kut (Soul) to each human being at birth. The Earth gave each human being a material shell in which to exist as an individual distinct from others, and be creative. A human being was born and lived his or her life on Earth; at death, Earth swallowed the material body and Tengri took back the soul.

 

Ancient Turks and Mongols believed that Tengri governed all existence on earth, determining the fate of individuals as well as that of entire nations and their rulers. The eighth century “Orkhon inscriptions” discovered in 1889 in the Orkhon Valley in Mongolia, contain numerous references to Tengri that illustrate the relationship between Tengri and mankind. One of them bears this quote from the Gokturk Bilge-Khagan:

“All human sons are born to die in time, as determined by Tengri.”

Tengri was omnipresent and was worshipped simply, by lifting the hands upwards and bowing low, praying for him to bestow good mind and health, and to assist in performing good deeds. It was the individual’s responsibility to initiate those good deeds, and to consciously live in harmony with natural law and the spirits of nature.

 

It was believed that Tengri assisted those who revered Him and who were active in trying to accomplish His will. Genghis Khan, quoted speaking to his followers in The Secret History of the Mongols (written 1227) said:

“You, Djurchedai, have struck an enemy. You overturned them all: Djurginians, and Tubeganians, and Dunkhaits. And one thousand of the selected guards of Khori-Shilemun. When you advanced to the main central regiment, then with arrow - uchumakh you wounded rose-faced Sangum in the cheek. That is why Eternal Sky opened for us gates and paths'.” Rafael Bezertinov. Tengrianizm ? Religion of Turks and Mongols.[9]

Tengri was believed to act of his own volition, but with fairness, meting out rewards and punishments. A number of expressions still in use among Turkic peoples, such as “Tengri ? jarlykasyn” (“Let Tengri award you”), “Kuk sukkan” (“damned by the Sky”) and “Kuk sugar” (“the sky will damn”) are associated with belief in Tengri.

 

Tengri as a Source of Political Power

In former Turkic states before the Middle Ages, among them the Gokturks, the khans based their power on a mandate from Tengri. These rulers were generally accepted as the sons of Tengri and His representatives on earth. They assumed titles such as tengrikut, kutlu?, or kutalmysh, based on the belief that they had attained the kut, the mighty spirit granted to these rulers by Tengri.[10] It was believed that Tengri bestowed wisdom and authority on political rulers. A monument to Bilge-Khagan, a great leader of the Goktuk empire, states:

“After the death of my father, at the will of Turkic Tengri (Sky) and Turkic sacred Yer-Sub (Earth and Water), I became Khan'. `Tengri who gives the states (to Khans), put me, it should be thought, as Khagan, so that the name and glory of the Turkic people would not disappear.”[11]

A monument in honor of Kul-Tegin, a famous general, reads:

“Tengri (Sky), ruling my father Ilterish-Khagan and my mother Ilbilgya-Katun from the (celestial) heights, ennobled them (above the people)…. As Tengri (Sky) gave them strength, the army of Khagan my father was like a wolf, and his enemies like sheep.”[12]

Khagans were elected by a council of Beks (tribal elders) who consulted until they felt that Tengri Himself pointed to the candidate. A legitimate Khan should be `Tengri-like, begotten by Tengri, a wise Turkic Khagan, brave, clever, honorable, vigorous, fair, in all features a real bozkurt (wolf), able to hold the respect of the people and the nobles. A Khagan lived under Tengri’s protection for as long as he himself was in accord with Tengri. When the Khagan ruled improperly Tengri withdrew his support. When a Khagan lost power (lost the Mandate of Heaven), it was considered a sign that he had not acted in harmony with celestial law, and if he had not already perished, he was typically ritually executed.

 

Genghis Khan, the unifier of the Mongolian nation, based his power on a mandate from Tengri, and began all his declarations with the words "by the will of Eternal Blue Heaven." In Secret History of the Mongols, he is said to have addressed his sons, “Eternal Sky will multiply your strength and power and will pass to your hands Togtai's sons … “with the help of Eternal Sky shall we transform our commonwealth state.”[13]

 

Tengri in Other Religions and Cultures

Tengri is analogous with the Chinese Tian. The German sinologist Axel Schussler suggests tengri as an etymology for tian (天, "sky; heaven; god"), which came into prominence with the Zhou Dynasty (1122 - 256 B.C.E.)[14][15]

 

During the Middle Ages, Tengri received the Persian name “Khodai.” Missionaries of other religions tried to identify Tengri with the Christian God or Moslem Allah, but even when Buddhism, Lamaism and Islam became the predominant religions among the Turkic peoples and Mongols, the concept of Tengri, the Sky God, persisted[16] In modern Turkish, the derived word "Tanrı" is used as the generic word for "god," also for the Judeo-Christo-Islamic God, and is often used today by practicing Muslim Turks to refer to God in Turkish as an alternative to the word "Allah," the originally Arabic Islamic word for "God." "Tengri" is the oldest known Turkic word, believed to have originated in the sixth century B.C.E.[17]

See also

• Tengriism
• Tien

Notes

1. ↑ TDK Online Dictionary - Tanrı Retrieved September 13, 2008., Allah Retrieved September 13, 2008.
2. ↑ 《???匈奴?》：“匈奴?天?撑犁”
3. ↑ 《?府元??300》：“撑音田庾切”
4. ↑ Rafael Bezertinov, Archive of Turkish Oral Narrative Old Turkic Deities from his book Tengrianizm ? Religion of Turks and Mongols, The Tatar Gazette, (Naberezhnye Chelny, 2000). Retrieved September 13, 2008
5. ↑ Tengerism in Mongolia Shamanism: Tengers (sky spirits), Chotgor, Ozoor, Ongon, Burkhan and other Nature Spirits FaceMusic.ch. Retrieved September 14, 2008.
6. ↑ Bezertinov
7. ↑ Bezertinov
8. ↑ Julian Baldick. online text, Animal and Shaman: Ancient Religions of Central Asia. (London: I.B. Tauris, 2000. ISBN 1860644317). Retrieved September 17, 2008.
9. ↑ Bezertinov
10. ↑ Jean-Paul Roux, "Die altturkische Mythologie" ("Old Turkic Mythology") section in: Kathe Uray-K?halmi, Jean-Paul Roux, Pertev N. Boratav, Edith Vertes. Gotter und Mythen in Zentralasien und Nordeurasien. (Klett-Cotta Verlag, ISBN 3129098704)
11. ↑ Bezertinov
12. ↑ Bezertinov
13. ↑ Bezertinov
14. ↑ "Because the deity Ti?n came into prominence with the Zhou Dynasty (a western state), a Central Asian origin has been suggested, note Mongolian tengri 'sky, heaven, heavenly deity'" (Edward L. Shaughnessy, "Western cultural innovations in China, 1200 B.C.E." Sino-Platonic Papers, (July 1989), and others, like Shirakawa Shizuka before him). (2007:495)
15. ↑ Anna Dybo, "The Tower of Babel." teŋri Turkic Etymology (in Turkish). Retrieved September 13, 2008.
16. ↑ Bezertinov
17. ↑ TDK Online Dictionary - Tanrı (in Turkish) Retrieved September 13, 2008., Allah (in Turkish) Retrieved September 13, 2008.

References

• Baldick, Julian. online text, Animal and Shaman: Ancient Religions of Central Asia. books.google. London: I.B. Tauris, 2000. ISBN 1860644317.
• Balzer, Marjorie Mandelstam. 1997. Shamanic worlds: rituals and lore of Siberia and Central Asia. Armonk, NY: North Castle Books. ISBN 1563249731
• Brent, Peter. The Mongol Empire: Genghis Khan: His Triumph and his Legacy. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. 1976.
• Chang, Ruth, Understanding di and tian: Deity and heaven from Shang to Tang dynasties. (Sino-Platonic papers) Dept. of Oriental Studies, University of Pennsylvania, 2000.
• Kahn, Paul. Secret History of the Mongols: The Origin of Chingis Khan. Cheng & Tsui; Expanded ed. 1998. ISBN 0887272991
• Sarangerel. 2001. Chosen by the spirits: following your shamanic calling. Rochester, VT: Destiny Books. ISBN 0892818611
• Schuessler, Axel. ABC Etymological Dictionary of Old Chinese. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. 2007. ISBN 0824829751.
• Shaughnessy, Edward L. Western cultural innovations in China, 1200 B.C.E. (Sino-platonic papers) Dept. of Oriental Studies, University of Pennsylvania, 1989. (in English) ASIN: B000720X6W

Source : New World Encylopedia