Before the adoption of world religions - Islam, Christianity and Buddhism, the Turks had an ancient religion - Tengrism.
Tengrism is a religion based on faith in the Creator, supposedly arose at the end of the 2nd - beginning of the 1st millennium BC, but no later than the 5th-3rd centuries. BC. It is related to the Xiongnu chenli (“sky”), and there are broader parallels with the Chinese Tian, ​​Sumerian Dingir, “sky”. There has not yet been complete agreement among scientists in understanding the essence of Tengrism. Some researchers have come to the conclusion that this doctrine took the form of a complete concept with ontology (the doctrine of a single deity), cosmology (the concept of three worlds with the possibility of mutual communication), mythology and demonology (distinguishing ancestral spirits from nature spirits) by the 12th-13th centuries .. At the same time, one of the ancient manuscript sources reports that by 165 BC. The Turks already had a fully formed religion with a developed canon, in many ways close to the Buddhist one, bequeathed by the Indian king Kanishka, from which originated a branch of Buddhism, which received independent development and took shape as Tengrism. Some researchers insist that Tengrism did not formalize a systematic written presentation of theological doctrine and had a small number of sacred requisites, thanks to the simplicity and clarity of which it existed for several thousand years in stable forms religious ritual and practice. At the same time, another part of the researchers claim the presence of the main sacred book of the Tengrians - the “Psalter” (Turkic - “crown of the altar”), containing the Tengri canon - customs, rituals and rules by which one should turn to God.

Diagram of the Tengri worldview on a shaman's drum. The world tree grows in the center and connects three worlds: the Lower World, Middle world and the Upper World.

The cult of Tengri is the cult of the Blue Sky - the heavenly Master Spirit, the Eternal Sky, whose permanent habitat was the visible sky. The Kipchaks called it Tengri, the Tatars - Tengri, the Altaians - Tengri, Tengeri, the Turks - Tanri, the Yakuts - Tangara, the Kumyks - Tengiri, the Balkar-Karachais - Teyri, the Mongols - Tenger, the Chuvash - Tura; but the conversation was always about one thing - about the male non-personified divine principle, about God the Father. Tengri Khan was thought of as a God of truly cosmic proportions, as the only beneficent, omniscient and just. He controlled the destinies of a person, a people, a state. He is the creator of the world, and He Himself is the world. Everything in the Universe was subordinate to him, including all celestial beings, spirits and, of course, people.
An expressive feature of Tengrism was the identification of three zones of the Universe: heavenly, earthly and underground, each of which, in turn, was perceived as visible and invisible.
The invisible (other) heavenly world looked like a layer cake: three, nine or more horizontal tiers, each of which was the abode of one or another deity. On the highest tier lived the Great Spirit of Heaven - Tengri. The celestial zone included bright and benevolent deities and spirits towards humans. They traveled on horses, so horses were sacrificed to them. In the visible sky, the near one - dome-shaped, there were the sun and the moon, stars and a rainbow.
The middle world, invisible, was inhabited by deities and spirits of the surrounding nature: the owners of mountains, forests, waters, passes, springs, other objects, as well as the spirits of dead kamas. They ruled the visible world and were closest to people. The permanent location of the host spirits is the border of the human and natural worlds, the zone of human invasion, which is determined by his economic activities. If the flat part of the landscape was a steppe, a mountain valley belonged to people, then the places located above or below were inhabited by host spirits, and a person, being a guest there, penetrated beyond this line after “feeding”, or a simple sacrifice. The relationship between people and the spirits - the owners of the area - was understood as a relationship of partnership, and if they were revered, then as older relatives, or ancestors, as they were often thought of. The Turks organized public sacrifices for the most significant owners of mountains, forests and waters. It was believed that the economic well-being of society depended on them. Middle visible world was perceived by the ancient Turks as living and non-living. For man, this was the world most accessible to exploration and knowledge, especially in the places where he was born and lived.
The lower, underground world, invisible, was a concentration of evil forces led by the powerful deity Erlik. It was also multi-layered, but had a limit: it was inhabited by people whose life in the middle world had ended. Features of the underground world are its mirror inversion and smells different from those on earth. The lower world had a visible structure with its own boundaries: any depression and hole could be the entrance to the underworld. All living things living in the earth, underground, and in water were considered to belong to the lower world. Bottom performance characteristics human body were transferred to the “bottom” in all its manifestations.
In general, in the traditional ancient Turkic worldview, the world was not so much calculated in levels and tiers, but was experienced emotionally and not as a set of symbols, but as action, change, in constant dynamics. The main function of the world is the continuity of life, its constant renewal, and man, as part of the world, was vitally interested in the same. All rituals, ceremonies, and holidays were aimed at prolonging existence - directly or indirectly - and were coordinated with natural rhythms (time, the successive change of seasons and the movement of celestial bodies) on the basis of work related to animal husbandry, worship of the deified forces of nature and cult ancestors
The ancient Turks believed that the Universe was ruled by: Tengri Khan - the supreme deity; deities: Yer-sub, Umai, Erlik, Earth, Water, Fire, Sun, Moon, Stars, Air, Clouds, Wind, Tornado, Thunder and Lightning, Rain, Rainbow. Tengri Khan, sometimes together with Yer (Earth) and other spirits (yort iyase, su anasy, etc.), carried out earthly affairs and, above all, “distributed the terms of life,” but Umai was in charge of the birth of “sons of men” - the personification of the feminine earthly principle, and by their death - Erlik, “the spirit of the underworld.” The Earth and Tengri were perceived as two sides of one principle, not fighting each other, but helping each other. Man was born and lived on earth. The earth is his habitat; after death, it absorbed a person. But the Earth gave man only a material shell, and in order for him to create and thereby differ from other inhabitants on Earth, Tengri sent “kut”, “sur” to the Earth to a woman, a future mother. Breathing - “tyn” as a sign of the birth of a child, was the beginning of the period of a person’s stay on the “lunar-solar earth” until death, until it ended - “tyn bette”. If “tyn” was a sign of all living beings, with “kut”, the very essence of life divine origin, coming from Space, connected the life force of a person from his birth to death. Together with “kut”, Tengri gave man “sagish” (“myn”, “bager”) and this distinguished him from all living beings. “Sur” was also given to a person along with kut. It was believed that “sur” contained his inner psychological world, which grew up with him. In addition, Tengri gave man a “kunel”, thanks to which a person was able to anticipate many events - “kunelem size”. After death, during the burning of the physical body of the deceased, “kut”, “tyn”, “sur” - all simultaneously evaporated in the fire, and the deceased “flew away”, moving to Heaven along with the smoke of the funeral pyre, where he became a spirit (the spirit of ancestors) . The ancient Turks believed that there is no death, there is a stable and consistent cycle of human life in the Universe: being born and dying against their own will, people came to Earth not in vain and not temporarily. They were not afraid of the death of the physical body, understanding it as a natural continuation of life, but in a different existence. Well-being in that world was determined by how relatives performed burial and sacrifice rites. If they were in good working order, the spirit of the ancestor patronized the family.
Deeply revered by the ancient Turks was the “cult of ancestors-heroes, famous for their exploits on the battlefield” or creations, material and spiritual, which exalted the name of the Turks. The Turks believed that in addition to physically nourishing the body, it was necessary to nourish the soul. One of the sources of soul energy was the spirit of ancestors. It was believed that where the Hero, or the Genius, lived and worked, there, even after death, his spirit could provide constant protection and assistance to his relatives and people. The Turks erected stone monuments to their glorious ancestors; words about their feat and an appeal to their descendants were engraved on the slabs. The monument was a meeting place between people and the spirit of the ancestor. During memorable sacrifices, prayers, sometimes on a state scale, the spirit of the ancestor found a temporary refuge in the monument, the rest of the time it lived in Heaven. Stone monuments in ancient times stood from Altai to the Danube and were destroyed in the Middle Ages after the Turks adopted world religions.
The tradition of honoring the spirits of their ancestors obliged the Turks to know their ancestry up to the seventh generation, the exploits of their grandfathers and their shame. Each man understood that his actions would also be evaluated by seven generations. Faith in Tengri and in the celestial beings directed the Turks to worthy deeds, to accomplish feats and obliged them to moral purity. Lies and betrayal, deviation from the oath were perceived by them as an insult to nature, and therefore to the Divinity itself. Recognizing collective responsibility for the clan and tribe, as well as the presence of hereditary characteristics, the Turks did not allow people involved in betrayal to live and have descendants.
The veneration of ancestors among the Turks (and Mongols) was expressed in their totemic relationship to the Wolf - the ancestor Bozkurt, the guarantor of the immortality of the Turkic people, sent by the Great Tengri, which is symbolized by the sky-blue color of Bozkurt's fur. The ancient Turks believed that their ancestors descended from Heaven and with them a “heavenly wolf” - a heavenly being, an ancestor spirit, a patron spirit. “Beliefs associated with Bozkurt in the mythological texts of the Turks are divided into three parts: belief in Bozkurt as the father, founder of the clan; faith in Bozkurt as a leader and faith in Bozkurt as a savior. It was no coincidence that Ancestor Bozkurt appeared at those historical moments when the Turkic people were on the verge of extinction, and every time He stood at the origins of their revival. Bozkurt is an irreplaceable warrior, a leader who led the Turks on the path of military victories during periods when their national life was seething and great campaigns were carried out.” “The golden wolf’s head adorned the Turkic victorious banners,” causing fear of it among the enemy. The Türks revered the wolf as an intelligent, selfless, devoted friend, a leader among animals. He is brave and freedom-loving, cannot be trained, and this distinguishes him from service dogs and vile jackals. The wolf is the orderly of the forest, when the Spirit of Heaven and Earth became unbearable and they needed purification, then heavenly people and Bozkurts were born among the Turks, who guided the Turkic world with their behavior and example.
The Kagan (Khan) power was consecrated in the name of the Blue Sky - Tengri. After the kagan was elected, he became the high priest of the state. He was revered as the son of Heaven. The Khan's task was not only to take care of material well-being of his people, his main task was to strengthen the national glory and greatness of the Turks. Tengri punished the kagans, and sometimes entire nations, with death, captivity, and other punishments for the crimes or misdeeds they committed. Everything depended on Tengri; grace or punishment usually followed instantly or within sixty years (the average life expectancy of a person) in the solar world, it was impossible to avoid them. After the death of a person, Tengri's power over him ceased.

The word Tengri, written in ancient Turkic runic script (Orkhon-Yenisei script)

The rites of honoring Tengri Khan were quite strict, the prayers were long and soul-cleansing. Under all circumstances in life, they turned to Tengri for help, and if the appeal was to other deities or spirits, then it was always mentioned after the exaltation of Tengri. They prayed, raising their hands up and making prostrations, asked to give a good mind and health, to provide assistance in a just cause, in battle, in economic affairs; They didn't ask for anything else. And Tengri provided assistance to everyone who revered Him and himself showed activity and purposefulness in action.
Every year, public prayers and sacrifices were held on a state scale. At the beginning of summer, at the time indicated by the Kagan, tribal leaders, beks, noble generals and noyons, etc., came to the horde (capital). Together with the kagan, they climbed the sacred mountain to make a sacrifice to the Great Tengri. On this day, Tengri’s prayers took place throughout the state. Thousands of people from nearby villages and cities came to the sacred mountains, valleys, rivers, lakes and springs. Prayers took place without women and kamas, the latter were never part of the priests (soothsayers) of the Tengri religion, their role was in sorcery, healing, including hypnosis, conspiracies - they were simply feared. Tens of thousands of fires burned near birches on sacred lands; horses, sheep, and lambs were sacrificed. They worshiped the Heavenly God, raising their hands up and making prostrations to the ground, asking Him to give a good mind and health, to help in a just cause; They didn't ask for anything else. And Tengri provided assistance to those who revered Him and were active themselves, i.e. in addition to prayer, he performed purposeful action. It all ended with a festive feast, fun, various games, competitions, and races.
The sacrifices of Yer-sub (the Great Deity, the visible world in the image of the Motherland) during the period of the Turkic Khaganates also had a national character. With the adoption of Islam or other religions, pan-Turkic prayers on a state scale ceased, and local tribal prayers gained priority. The ritual side of Tengri's prayer began to weaken and then gradually disappear.
The steppe people emphasized their submission to Tengri Khan using ancient symbol, the sign of an equilateral cross - “aji”: it was applied to the forehead with paint or in the form of a tattoo. It symbolized the concept of room - the world where everything comes from and where everything returns. There is heaven and earth, up and down with their patrons. Rum swims in the vast ocean on the back of a huge fish or turtle, pressed down for greater stability by a mountain. At the base of the mountain rests the serpent Begsha. From time to time, a cross-shaped vajra — a “diamond,” by analogy with Buddhism, a symbol of indestructibility — flashes in the room like lightning. During excavations of the steppe city of Belendzher in Dagestan, the remains of temples and preserved ancient crosses were discovered. Archaeologists found the same crosses on gravestones from Lake Baikal to the Danube - on the land of the historical Desht-i-Kipchak. Archaeologist M. Magometov, who examined the remains of ancient Kipchak temples, describes his findings this way: “They are located in the center of the mound groups and are small in size... The broken internal outlines of the structure recreate the shape of an equilateral cross in plan. In addition to strength and indestructibility, the cross apparently also symbolized the crossroads where the paths of the world converge. Contrary to the rules adopted by world religions, Tengrism built temples in honor of deities or ancestral spirits with one interior room intended only for preserving their symbols. According to the ideas of the ancient Turks, deities and spirits visited temples only on the days of religious festivals. The rest of the time, the deities were in their tiers in the sky, and the spirits were mainly in the mountains. The temple for the Tengrians was a holy place; ordinary believers were not allowed to enter the temple. Only the clergyman could visit him briefly during the service. Once a year he was allowed to enter the altar of the temple. This tradition was justified by the fact that the temple was considered the resting place of the deity, and believers were supposed to pray only near it. The prayer area was called “haram” - “place for prayer.” Everything else, except prayer, was prohibited here, hence another meaning of the word “haram” - “prohibition”, “forbidden”. Tengrian temples were called “kilisa” - from the name of the sacred Mount Kailash, one of the highest mountains in the south of the Tibetan Plateau. For many peoples of the East, it was considered the abode of the gods. According to some researchers of Tengrism, Southern Tibet was formerly a traditional place of pilgrimage for the Turks. People stopped on the shore of Lake Manas and looked at Kailasa from afar. Here they prayed and had philosophical conversations.
The rituals recorded among the ancient Turkic peoples had different functions. And therefore their ritual actions were different. Some were accompanied by sacrifices, others were limited only to prayers. When saying prayers, knowledge about deities and spirits, the owners of the area, their characters, etc. was required. The ancient Turks used sacred oral texts, which were passed down from generation to generation and were called algysh, algas, alkysh, under these names they are also found in ancient Turkic monuments. During sacrifices, reading algysh was an important attribute of the holiday. Algysh were read in their native dialect clearly and distinctly, so as not to anger the patrons; for this, before the start of the festival, one, usually two, who could speak Algysh was chosen from among those present. During public prayer, they engaged in sprinkling, accompanied by algysh.
There were many cult rituals in the Turkic religion. The Chinese chronicle says: “The Türks honor fire above all else, revere air and water, sing a hymn to the earth, and worship only the one who created heaven and earth, and call him God (Tengre).” They explained their veneration of the sun by the fact that “Tengri and his assistant Kun (Sun) rule the created world; the rays of the sun are threads through which plant spirits communicate with the sun. The Turks sacrificed to the sun—to light—twice a year: in the fall and at the end of January, when the first reflections of the sun appeared on the tops of the mountains.” The moon was not an object of worship. Her veneration arose much later and was only among the traditions associated, apparently, with lunar calendar. The cult of fire among the Turks, like the Mongols, was associated with the belief in its powerful cleansing power from evil, bestowed by Tengri. Information has been preserved from the Byzantine ambassador Zemarkh (568), who, before being admitted to the khan, underwent a ritual of purification by fire. The funeral rite of the Turks is associated with the cult of fire - the custom of burning the dead. Among the deeply revered objects of nature, the Turks had metal - iron, from which they forged weapons. It is found in all legends in which the ancient Turks recounted the history of their origin. The Huns were the first in Central Asia to master industrial iron mining. “According to Chinese sources, the development of metallurgy allowed the Ashina clan to rearm its army and create selected shock units from the armored cavalry - fuli, i.e. storms are wolves." “The Huns prayed to iron and made a blade as its symbol, which the Romans called the sword of Mars. On the border of the Turkic Empire, Byzantine ambassadors in the 6th century attended a religious ceremony during which they were offered iron.”
So, Tengrism, being a formalized religion, for many centuries, through a system of spiritual codes, cultivated and socialized certain stable ethnic constants of the nomadic peoples of the Steppe, where the psychological type of “heavenly people” developed: a freedom-loving Turk - a fearless warrior, agile, temperamental by nature, and the owner at home - a woman (the husband only owned weapons). In all Turkic clans, tribes and hordes, they were all united by one idea of ​​Unity through the “striving for the Eternal Ale” - the guarantor of order in the Steppe, born by Mete-shany in the 2nd century BC. “With complete political fragmentation, the ideological unity of the Turkic tribes was preserved; ethnic tradition, also known as signal heredity, was not violated; the unforgettable deeds of their ancestors inspired them to heroism.” As a result, the Turks created many dozens of empires and khanates. Often the war took them thousands of kilometers away from their homes. Being born in one region, a Turk died more often in another. His homeland was the Steppe.
The most prominent character traits of the Turks, besides the strength of spirit and confidence in the future bestowed by Tengri, were social solidarity and respect for public opinion, commitment to hierarchy and discipline, special respect for elders, and deep respect for the mother. The Turkic community initially suppressed betrayal, flight from the battlefield, denunciation, irresponsibility, and lies. The desire for a natural way of life reflected the related adequacy of the Turks with the surrounding world, inspired by them. The Turk always chose a clear, distinct line of behavior, uncluttered with details. Possessing a broad outlook and big-picture thinking, he had unlimited confidence and openness to life. The ancient Turks were distinguished by enviable activity, being deeply religious, they did not divide life into the otherworldly and thisworldly, but accepted it holistically as a transition from one quality to another in a single world for them.
In the 10th century Historically, political conditions have developed for close interaction between the religious models of Tengrism and Islam. Both of them were organic in nature from the point of view of comprehensive spiritual influence, social regulation and control of the life of society and the individual. Having encountered, they did not come into irreconcilable confrontation with each other: on the part of the Turks, thanks to the high spirituality and rules of religious tolerance in the Steppe, on the part of the Muslims, thanks to the high adaptive abilities of the Islamic religion. Being highly aggressive, Islam had to go through a period of cultivation, which involved a sedentary lifestyle in urban centers. Sufism, as a derivative of Islam, closest in nature to Tengrism, having spread widely in the Steppe, introduced some elements that softened and adapted the perception of nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples of the strict instructions and responsibilities of Muslims and the community as a whole. Despite the fact that the process of Islamization dragged on for centuries, the Turkic world, split by the offensive of world religions and having adopted partly Buddhism, partly Christianity, which plunged the Steppe into unprecedented religious conflicts, again tried to restore the fragmented unambiguity of the spiritual code, uniting under the banner of Islam.
The perception of Tengri in its essential characteristics as a whole did not contradict the perception of Allah. There were also important overlapping similarities in the functioning of the Tengri and Muslim communities. For example, a set of ancient customs of the Turks and Mongols - Yasa and the instructions of the Koran and Sunnah:
1. in defense of the family, a man was given the right to marry several women, with the first wife being considered the eldest;
2. obliged men to respect and trust their wives; a ban on alcohol was imposed;
3. ordered the elderly to educate young people in love for their family and people (for the Tengrians - for the brotherhood of the “heavenly people” of the Steppe, regardless of clan and tribe; for Muslims, regardless of nationality - for all who worship Allah);
4. obliged rich people to serve the community and help the poor;
5. proclaimed the state the owner of the land (the ruler, on behalf of the state, assigned the right to own land for certain duties (with the predominance of military service, taking into account length of service, and with the right of demotion for misconduct); the concept of selling land was completely absent in cultures.
At the same time, Islam in the Steppe received a Turkic modification based on the continuity of the cultural traditions of Tengrism, the characteristics of the ethnic worldview and worldview of man, correlated with the factor of his coexistence with spiritualized nature. Let us cite just one fact: the idea of ​​the “soul” - the most important link in the theology of every religion - in Tengrism had a different and very specific character, completely different from what is included in the concept of “zhan” in Islam. Objectively, this created insurmountable difficulties for adequate translation into the Turkic language and gave rise to a reading that was new in quality in Muslim culture, reflecting the traditional Turkic worldview about life and death.

Director of the Institute of History. Sh. Marjani Rafael Khakimov wrote the book “Chronicle of the Turkic-Tatar states: heyday, decline, revival.” The publication is being prepared for publication. Especially for Realnoe Vremya, the scientist prepared a new excerpt from this work from the chapter “The Great Steppe” (see part 1, part 2 –, part 3 –).

Tengriism

Religion united the ancient Turks. And although no sacred texts, but the very belief in a supreme being has been preserved in spoken language to this day. Even during the triumph of Islam, the Tatars considered Allah and Tengri synonymous. Khan's labels began with the praise of Tengri.

Tengrism – traditional religion of all Turks, was quite abstract and simple. Already the Huns worshiped Tengri Khan, the ruler of the Upper World, whose symbols were the sun, the moon, tall trees, especially those struck by lightning. The cult of the “sacred Earth-Water” (Er-Su), the deity of the Middle World, was especially revered. There was even a special category of Hunnic “sorcerers” who “called” the Earth, that is, who sang the Earth in their hymns. A characteristic character of the Hunnic pantheon was a certain “god of paths,” which the ancient Turks called “Yol-Tengri.” During funeral rite The Huns, dressed in their best clothes, organized horse races and games for boys and girls, after which the parents of the young people agreed on marriages. The ancient Turks (both in the east and in the western Bulgars) had a faith identical to the Hunnic ideas.

Tengri is the creator of existence, the source and cause of everything. He created the earth and the heavens (kүk), and everything that is on them. He created people, he is their patron, creative and protective force. From him is kindness and blessings. Tengri created a certain intelligent creature, called “keshe”, so that it lived on earth. But this man forgot that he was obliged to God, he began to consider himself equal to God, to consider himself his rival. Then Tengri threw this man into the underworld of darkness and gave him the name “Erklig”. After this, Tengri created nine more people, from whom modern people came.

Tengri gives wisdom and power to the Khagans, bestows Khagans on the people, punishes those who sinned against the Khagans and tells the Khagans how to resolve state and military affairs.

The pantheon of Turkic deities mentions “ala atly yol tengri” and “kara atly yol tengri” - “god of paths on a piebald horse” and “god of paths on a black horse.” They, as Tengri's messengers, send down "kut" "divine goodness, soul" and encourage the creation of the state "tengri el" - "divine ale".

Sky-Tengri was the faith of Genghis Khan, which absorbed other beliefs, and therefore he was tolerant of all religions, which played a significant role in the formation of the Mongol Empire.

In the life of nomads, an important function was performed by a ritual vessel, called in literature a Hun cauldron (in Tatar - kazan). It is found not only among the Xiongnu and Huns, but also among the Sakas, Cumans and Tatars. It played a symbolic role for each tribe, since it not only prepared food, but also boiled a sacrificial ram. The tribal council gathered around him and important issues were resolved. It is no coincidence that the capital of Tatarstan is called Kazan, which is most likely due to the tradition of sacrificial cauldrons.

Using the maps of the cauldron finds, one can easily trace the main stages of the turbulent history of the nomads - from China to the Danube.

Ideology of the Great Steppe

The Turkic steppe empires were distinguished by their enormous scale. Their territory was the entire Great Steppe. States were created one after another, sometimes covering the entire steppe zone, sometimes breaking up into parts, which also differed in scale. In addition to their scale, the Turkic states were characterized by a variety of tribes, both Turkic and other. All this had to be collected in a single state.

According to Bartold, “a nomadic people under normal conditions does not strive for political unification; an individual finds complete satisfaction for himself in the conditions of clan life and in those connections that are created by life and custom between individual clans, without any formal agreements and without the creation of a specific apparatus of power. At this stage of the development of the people, society has such power that its will is carried out without requiring support from the authorities, who would have certain legal powers and a certain external force of coercion. Representatives of state power, khans, who, under favorable conditions, manage to subjugate the entire people or even several peoples, appear only in emergency circumstances, and in these cases, the khans take power themselves, are not appointed or elected by anyone; people or peoples are just coming to terms with existing fact, often only after a difficult struggle, and the unification under the rule of his khan own people often associated with longer bloodshed than later campaigns of nomads led by a khan to cultivated lands; these campaigns and the military spoils associated with them are the only way to reconcile the people with the establishment of the khan’s power.” The integrating factor was a common worldview in the form of religion. But Tengrism was just a prerequisite, and the driving motive could be extraction or regulation of internal relations during the division of pastures.

The most important factor of unity was the external enemy, in particular China, with a well-trained army, powerful economy and sophisticated diplomacy.

The theme of confrontation between nomadic and sedentary civilizations arose many times throughout Turkic history and largely determined politics. The Great Steppe retained its independence only as a nomadic culture, otherwise it dissolved into numerically superior states.

The Chinese emperors, who set the task of defeating the Turkic states, believed “that it was necessary to unite with those who are far away against those who are nearby.” The Chinese took advantage of the contradictions in the Turkic environment in every possible way, bribing the Turks with expensive silks and young beauties. The strength of Chinese civilization more than once led to the assimilation of the Turks, who knew how to win and even established their own dynasties, but Chinese culture invariably assimilated them. The Turks began to copy Chinese life, customs, titles, grow a silk cocoon, learned to read Chinese and easily assimilated.

The Xiongnu tribes, who succumbed to the charm of Chinese civilization, disappeared into it; only those that developed an ideology of resistance survived. After the famous leader Bagatur, his son Kayak took his place. The Chinese emperor immediately sent one of the princesses to marry him, accompanied by a eunuch. This man was not at all a supporter of the nomadic way of life, but finding himself unwillingly in their camp, he proclaimed that he would become “a thorn in the side of China.”

He outlined the ideology of the nomads to their leader: “Your complete horde is hardly equal in population to a couple of Chinese provinces, but the secret of your strength lies in your independence from China for all your needs. I have noticed an increasing love for Chinese goods. Think that one-fifth of China's wealth would be enough to buy all your people together. Silks and satins are not even half of what felt suits your harsh life so well; perishable Chinese delicacies are not as good and necessary as your kumiss and cheese.”

The words of the eunuch were to the liking of the true people of the steppe.

They said: “Our natural being consists of animal strength and activity; we are unfit and despise the inglorious condition of slavery and idleness. Fighting on horseback is the essence of our political strength and it is through this way that we have always been able to assert our advantage... No matter how strong China is, it is not able to conquer and assimilate us. Why should our ancient customs be forgotten while paying respect to China?

Union of Xiongnu tribes from the 3rd century. BC. China has been kept at bay for centuries. This became possible thanks to the ideology of nomadism, from which the Xiongnu did not retreat. The Great Wall of China was built to keep out nomads. The Xiongnu tribal union collapsed not so much under pressure from China, but because of internal strife.

The Turkic Khaganate, which came after the Hunnic union, suffered from the same contradictions. On the one hand, conflicts within the state did not subside; on the other, there was a struggle with China and other sedentary states.

Yollyg-tegin wrote on a stone: “The Tabgach people, who give us so much gold, silver, alcohol and silk without limit, had sweet speech and soft jewels; seducing with sweet speech and luxurious jewelry, they very much attracted far-flung peoples. Those, having settled close together, then adopted bad wisdom for themselves.”

The inscription in honor of Kül-tegin explains what “bad wisdom” means: “... due to the instigators and deception of those deceiving on the part of the Tabgach people and as a result of their seductions, and also due to the fact that they quarreled younger brothers with elders and armed the people against each other and rulers, - the Turkic people brought their existing ale into disorder.”

These inscriptions express the struggle not only of two states, but also of different ideologies. One of the rulers of the Turkic Kaganate was going to build fortresses and monasteries.

He was objected to by the famous adviser Tonyukuk, who himself studied with the Tabgaches and knew very well what former nomads become when they collide with the agricultural civilization of the Chinese: “No! The Turkic people are small, not even a hundredth part of China, and the only reason that we were able to fight them was that we, the nomads, carried our provisions with us on our feet and we were all versed in the art of war. When we can, we can loot, when we can't, we hide where no Chinese army can find us. If we start building cities and changing our old ways of life, we will one day find ourselves all annexed. Moreover, the main purpose of monasteries and temples is to introduce gentleness of character, while at the same time only the cruel and warlike rule over humanity.”

This speech concentratedly expressed the worldview of the nomads.

The great Khagans who founded the Turkic Khaganate in 552, Bumyn and Istemi Khagan, had very mediocre successors. “Their younger brothers and sons became kagans,” the inscription on the stone says, “but the younger brothers did not resemble the older brothers, the sons did not at all resemble their fathers. The Khagans sat on the throne without wisdom and courage, which led to the collapse of the Turkic empire.” The rivalry between the two wings of the empire, the eastern on Orkhon, the western on Issyk-Kul and Talas, led to the collapse of the Turkic empire. The Orkhon inscriptions say that the main goals of “il” are to ensure security, order and justice. The reason for the fall of the Bumyn state was the departure of the beks from the principle of justice - this is written on the stones. The idea of ​​justice was one of the key ones in the Turkic states, and when it was violated, the prosperity of the state came to an end.

A popular legend in historical literature is about a father urging his sons to remain united in the face of the enemy. The Scythian king Atey gives his sons one arrow each, offering to break it. The sons can do this easily. Then he gives a bunch of arrows. His sons cannot break him. The point of this lesson is the benefits of unity. However, the sons act in their own way and lose the country.

After Attila's death in early 453, his sons demanded that the Hunnic peoples be divided equally between them. As a result, the fate of the Hunnic union was disastrous.

Kubrat Khan offered his sons to break one twig at a time, which they could easily do, and then gave them a bunch that defied any effort. The end of the story is the same - the Khazars defeated Great Bulgaria, and the sons scattered to all four directions.

A similar plot is found in “The Secret Legend.” The sons of Alan-Goa, despite all the efforts of their mother, divided the inheritance among themselves, leaving him without funds. younger brother, Bodonchara, “considering him stupid and uncouth and not even recognizing him as a relative.” The parables of the fathers had little influence on the behavior of their sons. The unification of disparate tribes began with the emergence of a leader with a new ideology capable of captivating the masses with a great goal, and ended under the pressure of greed and envy.

Civil strife plagued the Xiongnu, Turks, and Tatars until the accession to the throne of Genghis Khan, who, thanks to a unifying ideology, was able to gather the motley Turkic tribes into one powerful community. The descendants, the further they went, the more they fell into the abyss of civil strife.

To be continued

Where the key principles are the following:

Modern reimagining

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

Tengrian neo-paganism

Center for Yakut spirituality "Archy Diete"

In the 1990s, Tengri suddenly found himself with many fans. Tengrism aroused great interest among the Siberian intelligentsia. Throughout the 1990s, declarations of Tengrism were heard among the Kazakhs, Kyrgyz (according to some information, President Akaev showed interest in Tengrism at one time), Bashkirs, Kumyks, and some of the modern Altai Burkhanists tend to consider themselves part of this movement. Currently, among some representatives of the Turkic peoples who profess Islam, Tengrism 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. Thus, religious scholars and sociologists A.V. Shchipkov and S.B. Filatov note that Bashkir folklore acts as “ living bearer of the pagan Tengri tradition,” where “in epic and folklore stories, the image of the supreme pagan god Tengri merged with the image of Allah" In addition, Shchipkov and Filatov point out that during an interview on the question of what place Tengrism occupies today in “ modern ideology of the Bashkir revival"The leaders of the public organization Bashkir People's Center "Ural" M.M. Kulsharipov and D.Zh. Valeev strongly convinced him that it, as Shchipkov and Filatov note, " has no prospects as an organized national religion, that the pagan layer is exclusively the sphere of folk artistic culture and everyday life, and only in this capacity does the BSC support it" And Valeev even especially noted that “ the remains poeticize life and cement 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 a transition to Tengrism - among them the writer Akhmet Utebaev and the artist Farid Ergaliev" Both researchers note that in June 1995, during the World Kurultai of the Bashkirs, an unpleasant event occurred when one of the participants rose to the podium “ in strange snow-white clothes" and stated that from now on he renounces Islam and "called on the Bashkir people to return to the faith of their ancestors - Tengrism" Researchers also pay attention to the publication of a book by the author of the scientifically unrecognized theory of the Iranian origin of the Bashkir people, S. A. Gallyamov, “The Great How Ben. Historical roots of the Bashkord-English language and mythology", where " on the basis of linguistic and mythological analysis, the historical primacy and truth of the original religion of the Bashkirs is affirmed, the basis of which, according to the author, is Zoroastrianism and Tengrism»

Archaeologist, ethnologist and anthropologist V. A. Shnirelman, noting that despite the fact that the emergence of neo-pagan movements is less typical for the modern Muslim world than for the Christian world, at the same time pointed out that “among the Turkic peoples in some places there is a desire to “ to recreate “the supposedly primordial united Turkic religion - Tengrism.” As an example, he cites the emergence of the Tengr movement in Kazan in the fall of 1997, headed by one of the former leaders of the Tatar Community Center, Z. Kh. Agliullin. Shnirelman expressed the opinion that " such a movement hardly has serious prospects", because the " 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 counter the Russification tendencies of Orthodoxy", because the " there Islam successfully takes over this function" In addition, he draws attention to the activities in Tatarstan of the leader of the Bulgarist (neo-Vaisov) movement, chairman of the Kazan cultural and historical club “Bulgar al-Jadid” F. G.-H. Nurutdinova, in whose version of the origin of the Tatars she sees the desire “ to the marginalization of Islam and emphasizing the Tengrian basis of the “Bulgar” worldview", and also " that he is trying to instill neo-pagan ideas in his supporters, picking up the baton from Russian neo-pagans and neo-pagan movements from a number of neighboring Volga peoples" Shnirelman also points out that Nurutdinov “ proclaimed the swastika the “Tengrian sign”».

Despite the lack of confirmation in historical sources, statements typical of neo-paganism are popular: that Tengrism originated many thousands of years ago (R. N. Bezertinov), or is even the oldest religion in the world, which completely contradicts all known historical knowledge and scientific ideas.

The cult of Tengri in Tengri neo-pagan folk history is presented as follows: the god Tengri was worshiped by raising his hands up and bowing to the ground. The north (for the Yakuts, the east) was considered the sacred side of the world. The holiday in honor of Tengri was celebrated in mid-June (its echo is Sabantuy and Ysyakh), was of a nationwide nature, accompanied by the lighting of a fire in the open air and a sacrifice. When choosing a place for the ritual, priority was given to an elevated place where birch trees grew. During the holiday, Tengri was asked for good luck and health, prayers were called the word algys. The holiday ended with competitions (archery) and treats (kumys was prized). In the spirit of neo-paganism, statements are made about the “ecological ethics” of Tengrism (K. Bokonbaev).

It is emphasized that characteristic feature Tengrism is activity, perseverance, mutual assistance: “Tengri not only provides assistance, but also requires activity” (R. N. Bezertinov).

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

Contrary to the lack of information in historical sources, folk history figure M. Adzhi claims that the equilateral cross (“adzhi”) is the main symbol of Tengrism and was borrowed from the Turks by Christians in the 4th century. According to another version of supporters of Tengrian neo-paganism, the symbol of Tengrism is the solar sign “shanyrak” (an equilateral cross in a circle), which dates back to Paleolithic petroglyphs and also means a wheel and a tambourine. Also a symbol is the runic writing Tengri.

Since 2004, there has been a movement in Bulgaria called “Tengri Warriors”, which perceives Tengrism as the original faith of the Bulgarians before the adoption of Christianity in the 9th century and has set the goal of restoring it.

Tengrism influenced the formation of the neo-pagan movement in Yakutia, where the candidate of philological sciences, philologist L. A. Afanasyev, who became its leader, wrote the doctrinal book “Aiyy” (“Creation”), which is an updated Tengrism. Moreover, Afanasyev is convinced that the Yakuts are chosen people, who was able to preserve in its original form the oldest religion on earth, which he, of course, considers Tengrism. In addition, in Yakutia, Tengrism itself is considered as a link between the Turkic world and the Yakuts (Sakha).

Tengrism and other religions

see also

Notes

1. , With. 320.
2. , With. 23.
3. , With. 179.
4. , With. 128.
5. , With. 320-321.
6. The term “folk history” in relation to Adzhiev’s works is used in the following works:
   • Petrov A. E. An upside down story. Pseudoscientific models of the past // New and recent history. - 2004. - No. 3.
   • Volodikhin D. M. The phenomenon of Folk History // International Historical Journal. - 1999. - No. 5.
   • Volodikhin D. M.“New chronology” as the avant-garde of folk history // New and Contemporary History. - 2000. - No. 3.
   • Oleynikov D. BOOK - WORMORMOUS // History of Russia in small polka dots. - M.: ZAO Manufaktura, LLC Publishing House Edinstvo, 1998. - 256 p.
     • Reprint. in the collection: Volodikhin D., Eliseeva O., Oleynikov D. History for sale. Dead ends of pseudo-historical thought. - M.: Veche, 2005.
   • Eliseev G. A. Fiction, lies. The Great Steppe // Russian Middle Ages. - M.: Vostok, 1999. ISBN 5-93084-008-3, ISBN 978-5-93084-008-7. Also publ. in collections:
     • Volodikhin D. M. Spiritual world. - M.: Manufactory, 1999. - 169 pp. - ISBN 5-93084-008-3, ISBN 978-5-93084-008-7.
     • Laushkin A.V. The lie of “new chronologies”: how A. T. Fomenko and his like-minded people fight against Christianity. - M.: Pilgrim, 2001. - 173 pp. - ISBN 5-87468-011-X, ISBN 978-5-87468-011- 4 .
   • Conference dedicated to the problem of folk history // International Historical Journal. - 1999. - No. 6.
   • Azhgikhina N. Terminator of world history // NG -Science, 01/19/2000.- Archival copy from 02/17/2012
   • Nikitin N. Parascience on the march. Murad Adji against “official” historians // “Our Contemporary”, No. 3, 2006. Version - “The Phenomenon of Murad Adji” //
   • Luchansky A. Obscurantism on Channel One // Science in Siberia, No. 28-29 (2563-2564). 07/20/2006.
   • Yurchenko I. Yu. Cossacks as a phenomenon in the “folk history” genre of post-Soviet pseudo-historiography // Collections of conferences of the National Research Center “Sociosphere”, 2012.- No. 15.
     « Works in the genre of folk history by Murad Adzhi (M. E. Adzhiev) deserve special mention...»
7. Kolodyazhny I. Exposing folk history // Literary Russia, No. 11. - March 17, 2006.
8. Kodar A. A. Tengrism in the context of monotheism // Information humanitarian portal “Knowledge. Understanding. Skill." No. 1(2). 2008
9. Chapter VII. Religion of the Turkuts// Gumilyov L. N. Ancient Turks. - M.: Nauka, 1967. - 504 p.
10. Chapter VII On the decline, 62. Experience of comprehension// Gumilyov L.N. A millennium around the Caspian Sea. Historical and ethnological study of the ecumene of Eurasia for 1500 years - from the 3rd century. BC. to the 12th century AD . - M.: Iris-Press, 2014. - 384 p. - (BIiK Collected works of L. N. Gumilyov). - ISBN 5-7836-0508-5.
11. Chapter XII. Dual// Gumilyov L. N. Search for a fictional kingdom (The Legend of the “State of Prester John”). - M.: GRVL, 1970. - 432 p.
12. , With. 15.
13. Shabdanova A. In Kyrgyzstan, they are asking to recognize Tengrism as a religion // Evening Bishkek, 04/11/2014
14. Atabek A. Tengrism as a national idea // Newspaper “Beznen Yul”. No. 1. 2006
15. , With. 129.
16. , With. 144.
17. Bezertinov R. N. Ancient Turkic worldview “Tengrianism”
18. Tengrism is the most ancient religion
19. Ancient Turkic worldview “Tengrianism”, Chapter 3
20. Bokonbaev K. Tengrism as environmental ethics
21. Zakharov B. A. About Tengrism - the original religion of the Oirats
22. Abaev N.V., Feldman V.R., Khertek L.K. “Tengrianism” and “Ak Chayaan” as the spiritual and cultural basis of the nomadic civilization of the Turkic-Mongolian peoples of Sayan-Altai and Central Asia // Social processes in modern Western Siberia : collection of scientific papers. – Gorno-Altaisk: RIO GAGU, 2002
23. Tengri Khan and his named son Christ
24. Shanyrak as the main symbol of Tengrism
25. Movement "Warriors on Tangra"
26. , With. 165.
27. , With. 135.

Literature

in Russian

• Ayupov N. G. Tengrism as a religious system / abstract of thesis. ...candidate philosophical sciences: 09.00.06. - Almaty: ASU named after Abay, 1996. - 30 p.
• Ayupov N. G. Tengrism as an open worldview. Monograph. - Almaty: KazNPU named after Abay: Publishing house "KIE", 2012. - 256 p. - 500 copies.
• - ISBN 978-601-254-587-8. Zdorovets Ya. I., Mukhin A. A.
• Confessions and sects in Russia: religious, political and economic activities. - M.: Center for Political Information, 2005. - 201 p. Koskello A. S. Modern pagan religions Eurasia: extremes of globalism and anti-globalism
• // Religion and globalization in the vastness of Eurasia / Ed. A. V. Malashenko and S. B. Filatova. - 2nd ed. - M.: ROSSPEN, Moscow Carnegie Center, 2009. - P. 295–329. - 341 p. - ISBN 978-5-8243-1153-2. Kokumbayeva B. D.
• Culturology of Tengrian art: a textbook. - Pavlodar: , 2012. - 156 p. - 100 copies.

- ISBN 978-601-267-143-8.

Tengrism / Kyzlasov I. L. // Television tower - Ulaanbaatar [Electronic resource]. - 2016. - P. 29. - (

.

Tengrism / Kyzlasov I. L. // Television tower - Ulaanbaatar [Electronic resource]. - 2016. - P. 29. - (

- ISBN 978-601-267-143-8.

Tengrism / Kyzlasov I. L. // Television tower - Ulaanbaatar [Electronic resource]. - 2016. - P. 29. - (- a neo-pagan cult, which is based on a pantheistic, polytheistic belief in Heaven as the supreme divine being. The name of the cult “Tengri” is derived from the Chinese “Tian Di”, which means “Lord of Heaven” or “God”. In Chinese, the word “tian” (sky or heaven) is denoted by the hieroglyph 天 - in Russian transcription it sounds like “tian”.

the word "Tengri" written in Orkhon script .

Tengrism / Kyzlasov I. L. // Television tower - Ulaanbaatar [Electronic resource]. - 2016. - P. 29. - ( represents a modern reconstructed concept of supernatural belief, which is based on:

Pantheistic ontology with the doctrine of the supreme deity;

Cosmogony of Far Eastern philosophy;

Mythology and demonology of folklore of small Altai peoples.

The core religious dogma of Tengrism (the cult of the supreme deity of the Eternal Sky in the pantheon of gods) was developed as a theoretical version by the Soviet historian L.N. Gumilev and presented in his works on the history of the ancient Turks.

"Tengri" is also mentioned as the "supreme god" of the Mongol tribes since the 13th century. The work of Belgrade University doctor Erenjen Hara-Davan “Genghis Khan as a commander and his legacy” is devoted to the issues of religious views of the Mongols during the reign of Genghis Khan. Cultural and historical outline of the Mongol Empire of the XII-XIV centuries", published in 1929. The preface to the Russian edition was written by none other than the same Lev Gumilev.

In the classical scientific environment (ethnography, religious studies), “Tengrism” is not used as a separate definition of religion or belief. The reason for this is the weak scientific and theoretical basis of the theory of passionary ethnogenesis, within the framework of which the theses of the beliefs of the ancient Turks and steppe nomads were put forward.

“Tengrism” as a religion of the ancient Turks with a monotheistic concept is also proposed as a hypothesis by the popular author of alternative history Murat Adzhi. In the book “Turks and the World: A Hidden History,” M. Adji argues that “the Turks brought to the world faith in the Heavenly God,” meaning by God the cult of the “Eternal Blue Sky.”

The concept of the mythology of “Tengrianism” as an element of systemic religious belief is presented in the work of the Kazakh writer Orynbay Zhanaidarov “Myths of Ancient Kazakhstan. Children's Encyclopedia of Kazakhstan." - Almaty. "Aruna", 2006. The book is recommended by the Ministry of Education and Science of Kazakhstan, while the publication was published under the program of the Ministry of Information, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Published in a circulation of 10,000 copies

In a brief summary, “Myths of Ancient Kazakhstan” is presented as “a colorfully illustrated book that collects and clearly presents the myths of the nomadic peoples who lived in ancient times on the territory of Kazakhstan.”

This work will evaluate the main “tencts” of the concept of “Tengrism”.

ONTOLOGY OF “TENGRIANism”

“Tengrianism” as a result of religious syncretism

In the introduction of this work"Tengrism" is defined as a neo-pagan cult, reconstructed by historians in the Soviet era and developed by some researchers in the post-Soviet period. Therefore, the ontology of “Tengrism” is a completely modeled hypothesis based on the subjective ideas of the author of the passional theory of ethnogenesis L.N. Gumilyov and his followers.

As you know, L.N. Gumilyov was also an ethnologist and geographer. The future scientist was born into the family of Russian poets Nikolai Gumilyov and Anna Akhmatova. His father N. Gumilev was not only a poet, but also a traveler (a famous explorer of Africa), served in the Russian army, and a participant in the First World War. L. Gumilyov's mother was the Russian poetess Anna Akhmatova, a hereditary noblewoman. Therefore, it is not surprising that the developer of the theory of “Tengrianism” as a belief of the ancient Turks, focused his theses on the dogmas of the Orthodox Christian doctrine of the One God, in whose traditions he himself grew up and was brought up. However, being a researcher of the history of the ancient Turks, L. Gumilyov was also in the orbit of Chinese sources, providing the main historical material, which forced him to look for some kind of synthesis between the Christian doctrine of the One God, the concept of Chinese Heaven and the beliefs of the peoples of Altai.

The problem of religious syncretism of the beliefs of the Turkic-speaking peoples of Altai has been studied in sufficient detail in Soviet and Russian ethnography and religious studies.

According to L. Gumilyov, “Tengrism” as a creed is based on the worship of nomads to the supreme deity “Eternal Blue Sky” - Tengri, which has Turkic roots. In our opinion, the name “Tengri” is derived from the Chinese “tian di”, meaning “lord of the sky”, which indicates the Chinese origin of the cult. At the same time, in the Turkic language “sky” sounds like “kok” (“kyook”), the appearance of the word “tanir” (“tengri”) is explained by close contacts of Turkic-speaking nomads with Chinese civilization. Considering that the Turks as an ethno-linguistic community were formed in the 1st millennium AD, and their first political associations (proto-states of nomads) arose in the 6th century. AD, it becomes clear that the previously existing tribal primitive, mainly totemic (with elements of animism) beliefs did not meet the needs government system. Therefore, historians needed to imagine the presence of a systemic belief or religion among the nomads in its institutional expression.

By this time, neighboring China (an empire with the concept of the Middle State “Zhongguo” between Heaven and Earth) was a separate civilization.

The famous religious scholar L.S. Vasiliev in his work “History of the Religions of the East” states that “..starting from the Zhou era, Heaven in its main function of the supreme controlling and regulating principle became the main all-Chinese deity, and the cult of this deity was given not only a sacred theistic, but also a moral and ethical emphasis. It was believed that the great Heaven punishes the unworthy and rewards the virtuous.”

The given specificity of royal power in China is also confirmed by the English philosopher J. Thomson: “..During the Zhou dynasty, the classical concept of the king as the “son of heaven” was developed; it was codified in a form that existed almost unchanged for more than two thousand years. According to this concept, the king was responsible for both good governance and order throughout the material world."

For imperial China, the identification of the ruler with Heaven meant the emperor's acceptance of responsibility for the entire world, in which they included China itself and the barbarian periphery surrounding it, which, according to the ideas of the Chinese themselves, clearly gravitated towards the center, i.e., to Zhongguo, to the ruler of the Celestial Empire, son of Heaven. This structure was reflected in the official motto of the empire: “tian di” (Lord of Heaven) - “huan di” (Lord on earth).

The developers of “Tengrianism” completely adopted the ontology of the cult of Heaven from the ancient Chinese civilization. But if in Ancient China the cult of Heaven was necessary to impart divinity to the power of the emperor, as the son of Heaven, then Gumilev needed the cult of Heaven to ideologically legitimize the powers of nomadic rulers.

It is clear that the primitive tribal beliefs of the Turks and medieval Mongols could not serve as an ideological explanation for the power of nomadic rulers during major territorial conquests. This requires something global, civilizational, and since the nomads did not have such, they had to borrow the idea of ​​​​the divine power of the ruler from their more civilized neighbors.

According to L.N. Gumilyov “Tengrianism” took the form of a complete concept by the 12th-13th centuries. Historically, this period coincides with the era of the activity of the most famous nomadic ruler, Genghis Khan. As justification, they cite the fact that Temujin, before his campaigns in Northern China and Central Asia, proclaimed himself “Genghis Khan,” “son of Heaven,” and received a blessing from the supreme shaman, which fits well with modern ideas about the theocratic nature of the ruler’s power.

The cult source of “Tengrianism” can be attributed to the book of the little-known “Eurasianist” Erenzhen Khara-Davan “Genghis Khan as a commander and his legacy. Cultural and historical sketch of the Mongol Empire of the XII-XIV centuries." This work, dubious from the standpoint of scientific content (republished in 1992 in Alma-Ata), is the “desk bible” of all Genghis Khanophiles, as well as lovers of the alternative history of nomads.

The motivation for writing this book is given by the author in the preface and immediately sets the reader a tendency to understand it: “The history of the Mongols and their brilliant leader, who wrote brilliant pages in world history, until very recently, only a narrow circle of Orientalists was interested... “Know yourself” and “be yourself” - these are the slogans that we should be guided by after the unsuccessful copying of the spiritual culture of Europe, which has led Russia to a dead end now, starting from Peter the Great to the present day". However, such a skeptical attitude of Dr. Hara-Davan to the European cultural heritage must be assessed from the unenviable position of the author himself at the time of writing the book - he was a Russian emigrant.

Among the popular theorists of “Tengrianism” is the Russian researcher Murat Adzhi, who considers the Turks to be the ancestors of all humanity and the founders of all earthly civilizations.

Chinese civilization and nomads: a historical perspective

Tang Empire and the Turks

The problems of Turkic beliefs cannot be considered in isolation from the real ones. historical processes. As is known, religious beliefs are partly a reflection of social reality. Ancient societies often worshiped their everyday reality, tribal social differences, the history of their ancestors, etc. In the same way, the religious beliefs of the nomad were an extrapolation into the realm of the supernatural of their own historical phenomena or certain social expectations.

Mentioned in written sources for the first time as a political entity in the 5th century, the Turks as an ethnopolitical community played a huge role in the territory from Northern China to North Africa. Therefore, issues of religious belief of the Turks require an objective assessment, free from any manifestations of voluntarism and triviality.

The definition of “Tengri” as a deity of the Turks is due to deciphering by European ethnographers. Russian researcher V.V. Radlov translated the inscription on the Bilge Kagan stela into Russian and German languages. After this, at the end of the 19th century, V. Thomsen, H. N. Orkhun, S. E. Malov, T. Tekin proposed new interpretations of the inscriptions of monuments in the Orkhon River valley in Mongolia (the Kul-Tegin stela).

The idea of ​​“Tengrism” as a religion of the Turks is based on the late interpretation of the inscriptions of Bilge Kagan (stela of the Kosho-Tsaidam valley): “Tengri blessed and supported me, luck was on my side, so I became kagan”.

When interpreting the inscriptions of the Kül-tegin stela, it is necessary to take into account that this stele was carved at the direction of the Tang emperor as recognition of the services of the Kagan family to the empire after the death of the rulers of the Ashina dynasty. The inscriptions on it are made in Chinese and Turkic, which later made it possible to decipher their contents. Since “Tengri” must be understood as the Chinese deity of “Heaven” (Tian Di), the inscriptions about “Tengri’s blessing and support” most likely mean blessing and support for the Turkic Khagans from the Tang emperor, the Son of Heaven, in the fight against the enemies of the empire. It is known that civilizational “China” never perceived the Turks as an independent force; for the center, the Turks represented nomads (periphery), who had to be constantly regulated: either taken into service, or pitted against other barbarians, or assimilated.

The gratitude of the Tang emperor to the Ashina Turkic dynasty also becomes understandable in the light of the imminent meeting of the Chinese with the Arabs.

The Turks of the time of Bilge Kagan served in the imperial army, guarded the northern border, and helped suppress riots on the outskirts of the empire. After the death of Kul Tegin (731), as well as the poisoning of Bilge Kagan (died in 734), for ten years the power of the rulers of the house of Ashin, who served the emperor faithfully, weakened. Already in 741, a civil war, civil strife, and invasion of neighbors began in the Kaganate, and Emperor Tang Xuanzong offered the house of the Turkic Kagan political asylum and shelter in China. In 745, the history of the Ashina dynasty (including the history of the Eastern Khaganate) ended with the assassination of the last Khagan, Baymei Khan Kulun Bek.

And already in 751, Tang China, not having such a powerful ally in the north as the house of Ashina, suffered a crushing defeat from the Arabs in the famous Battle of Talas.

This battle had civilizational significance: the decline of the Tang Empire began and the Chinese advance to the West stopped.

The Jin Empire and the nomadic Mongols in the 13th century

The myth about the religiosity of the Mongols (the cult of the worship of Heaven) is given in detail by Erenzhen Khara-Davan in the book “Genghis Khan as a commander and his legacy. Cultural and historical sketch of the Mongol Empire of the XII-XIV centuries."

Nomadic Mongolian tribes of the 11th-13th centuries. were also in the situation of the Turkic tribes of the 8th century: tension on the northern borders of the Empire, civil wars, raids and... faithful service to the emperor!

It is known that the title “khan” was assigned to nomadic rulers by the imperial court. All kinds of “gur-khans”, “van-khans”, “ha-khans”, “dayan-khans” in the service of the Son of Heaven received their titles exclusively with the permission of the office of the government of the Golden Kingdom. And the word “khan” as a title of ruler has no definition either in the Turkic or Mongolian languages.

The meaning of the word and its ideogram in Chinese are interesting.

In Chinese, the word "Khan" as a title of nomadic rulers is denoted by the signs 可汗 (ke-han) or 大汗 (da-han). In the first case, before the character 汗 (the sound of “han”), there is a sign 可 (the sound of “ke”), which has the meaning “consonant, due, permission.”

In the second case, before “han” is 大 (“da”), meaning “big, great.”

The very same “han” -汗, translated from Chinese means the noun “sweat, perspiration”, as a verb it means “to sweat, sweat, sweat.”

The combination of signs carries the meaning of “bound to sweat” or “big sweaty”. Taking into account that the Chinese emperor is the “Son of Heaven,” the meaning of the word “han” and the sign 汗 takes on a completely different meaning. The nomadic rulers “sweated”, “became covered in sweat”, “received permission to sweat” and were called “great” exclusively in the service of the EMPEROR - THE SON OF HEAVEN!

Giving a title to a ruler is a Chinese tradition that emphasizes his status. The leaders of the nomads received titles of power only from the hands of the emperor, with the exception of traditional military ranks such as: bahadur, bek, etc.

Temujin himself, before his approval by “Genghis Khan,” bore the Chinese title “chauthuri,” nominally corresponding to the position of commander of a regional border outpost. Moreover, according to the “Secret History of the Mongols”, for their help in the fight against the Tatars, the head of the Kereites Togoril and the head of the Taijuits Temujin were awarded titles from the Jin Empire: the first received the title “vana” (ruler), and the second the title “Chauthuri”.

In the relationship between the Mongols and the Jin Empire, one should also take into account the objective factor special treatment Genghis Khan to the Middle Kingdom: Temujin's Mongols were not at war with “China” in the full sense of the word. In addition to being in the service of the emperor during the war with the Tatars, Temujin paid tribute to the Jin Empire until 1210.

Mongolian nomads took an active part in military conflicts on the territory of modern China on the side of one or another state association. So, for example, in 1207-1209, Temujin’s forces participated on the side of the Jin against the Tangut state of Xi Xia, but this does not mean that the Mongols could seriously and consistently wage a war with 50 million (!) Northern China with the goal of conquering it. Basically, Temujin’s “raids” ended in receiving gifts from one side or another of the conflict, right up to the princesses of the imperial court.

China fell under the political dependence of the Mongolian military forces after the death of Genghis Khan - during the reign of Kublai Khan. At the same time, the “conquest” of China was more reminiscent of establishing constitutional order and restoring state authorities in the Empire, which had been brought to chaos by the current political regimes. At the same time, Kublai Khan, after the purges, founded his own Yuan dynasty!

And only after the legitimization of the Mongols in China as the ruling dynasty, Genghis Khan is referred to in Chinese sources as 太祖, i.e. "Tai Zu" or "Sacred Founder - Ancestor". At the same time, as a ruler, he is endowed with the title 法天啟運聖武皇帝, meaning “The Sacred Earthly Lord, who successfully became a warrior-ruler according to the law and will of Heaven.” At the same time, an important transformation occurs in the title: the sign 汗 “khan”, meaning the title of nomadic rulers, is replaced by Genghis Khan with 皇帝 “huan di”. And this is the title of Qin Shi Huangdi himself, the first emperor of a united China!

Title of the first Emperor of united China - Qin Shi Huandi

Errors of the monotheistic interpretation of “Tengrism”

The ontology of “Tengrism” as a doctrine of One God is very controversial, since Monotheism (Abrahamic, prophetic) in its foundation implies One God as an extra-existent, unique, transcendent Creator of being and reality, who is outside his creation and opposes it. The unity of God implies not only his exclusivity, but also in principle excludes the possibility of any claims to his Divinity. Monotheism should not be confused with monotheism. There is monotheism, supremacy, all-theism, but these are all different manifestations of the counter-idea of ​​Monotheism.

The teaching of “Tengrism” about one god - Tengri (at the same time Tengri is a god who appeared after the creation of existence) can be characterized as “monotheism” or “supreme godliness” in the pantheon of gods, which is just an unsuccessful imitation of the mythology of antiquity. By “antiquity” it is necessary to understand the civilizational category of the period of the 4th millennium BC. according to the 5th century AD, for example, the civilization of Sumer, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient China or Ancient Greece and Rome. At the same time, it is impossible to include in this definition “Ancient Kazakhstan,” which simply did not exist civilizationally.

L. Gumilyov, although he grew up and was brought up in the traditions of Orthodox Christianity, became a scientist in the Soviet era, so he hardly understood the intricacies of the Monotheistic teaching. And for the vast majority of believers, there is no big difference between prophetic Monotheism and traditional priestly monotheism, the ideas of which coexist peacefully in their minds.

Studying the history of the “ancient Turks” and Mongols, Gumilyov and Khara-Davan were faced with the problem of justifying the exclusivity of the culture of the Turks and Mongols. After all, geographically, besides China, there was no other civilization near them. L. Gumilev, unlike Western European historians, did not accept China as a peaceful power, which prevented him from recognizing the attraction of the Turkic culture to Chinese civilization (Gumilev always viewed the relationship of nomads with China exclusively through the prism of aggression and wars). But China could not geographically move away from the Turks.

Perhaps that’s why scientists resorted to a little manipulation of historical facts. Firstly, the name of the deity was taken from the word “tanir”, which had become familiar in the Turkic language, meaning “Creator”, although historically it was the name of “sky”, borrowed from the Chinese language (by the twentieth century the word “tanir” was influenced by 1200 years Muslim tradition took on a completely different meaning). For example, the definition of god often used in Turkic languages ​​as “Kudai” also has a non-Turkic, but a Persian origin.

Secondly, to give distinctive features The Turkic (Mongolian) deity was borrowed from the Chinese and from Christianity by the not entirely successful Orthodox dogmatic construction of Monotheism.

This “small manipulation” turned into overt religious syncretism on the part of the Eurasians.

In “Myths of Ancient Kazakhstan” by O. Zhanaidarov in the chapter “On the meaning of faith in the God of Heaven Tengri” the following is given:

“From the worship of the Great Heaven - omnipotent and all-encompassing - man came to the idea Eternal life, since the Cosmos itself is immortal, the world"(p.194).

The idea of ​​the eternity of the world is given in a somewhat primitive form elsewhere. Chapter “Soul” (p. 20) “Tyn is a spiritual property, the ability to breathe. It is inherent in humans, livestock, animals, birds, grass and trees. Stones lack this ability. ..The life of a plant is immortal and uninterrupted, because the root remains in the earth, and the plant can forever maintain its existence.”

The idea of ​​the immortal, eternal Cosmos, the World, life (read the eternity of reality and being) is a concentrated expression of the idea of ​​Chinese Heaven, but this is “not Yahweh, not Jesus, not Allah, not Brahman and not Buddha. This is the highest supreme universality, abstract and cold, strict and indifferent to man. You cannot love her, you cannot merge with her, you cannot imitate her, just as there is no point in admiring her.”(Vasiliev L.S. History of Eastern Religions. 1983 (c) Publishing House "Higher School" 1983).

The always rationally thinking Chinese, preoccupied with the pressing problem of feeding his family, did not particularly think about the mysteries of existence; the Chinese value above all else the material shell - his life. The veneration of an abstract idea is something alien to the practical Chinese mind.

Therefore, the most important feature of ancient Chinese religion was the very minor role of mythology. Unlike other early societies with their own religious systems and rich mythologies that determined the appearance of spiritual culture, in China the place of myths was taken by historical legends “about wise and just rulers.”

However, this “shortcoming” was compensated by the developers of “Tengrinism” with legends, fairy tales, and traditions of the descendants of the Turkic-speaking Altaians. Thus, in such a dense mixture of Soviet historical science, ancient Chinese religion and the dogmas of Christian Orthodoxy, “Tengrism” appeared as a theoretical concept of the religious belief of the ancient Turks.

Problems of cosmogony of “Tengrism”

However, such a simplified approach not only did not solve the issues of the ontology of “Tengrism”, but also created complete chaos of teaching, where elements of the Abrahamic tradition, the construction of the Sumerian pantheon, ancient myths, the cosmogony of Far Eastern philosophy, the folklore of the Altai peoples, shamanism, fairy tales and legends, etc.

In “Tengrism”, as its followers suggest (the book “Myths of Ancient Kazakhstan”), along with the cult of Heaven as the Supreme Deity, there is the cult of the Woman Goddess - Goddess Umai, the cult of Fire - Goddess Ot-Ana, the cult of water and earth - the Spirit of Yer-Su etc. In addition to the above, the Tengrian pantheon includes various deities reflecting cosmogony, here you can include the sons of Tengri, deities-governors of the levels of the world, spirits responsible for the change of day and night, deities of Good and Evil, etc. The “Tengrian” pantheon is surprisingly reminiscent of the Sumerian-Akkadian (later Babylonian) pantheon of gods, as well as the ancient Greek Olympus with Zeus at its head.

The origin of the world and the supreme deity - Tengri - is borrowed from the ancient Chinese tradition with elements of Indian mythology about the “golden egg”. In the ritual books of Ancient China (Nineteen Ancient Poems) there is the following version about the creation of the world: Heaven and earth lived in a mixture - chaos, like the contents of a chicken egg. Pan-gu - the mythical ancestor lived in the middle. For a long time, chaos reigned in the world, the Chinese said, nothing could be discerned in it. Then, in this chaos, two forces emerged: Light and Darkness, and from them heaven and earth were formed.

It should be emphasized that the tradition of initial chaos, the indivisibility of heaven and earth is widespread in all ancient myths about the origin of the world. This legend is expressed especially clearly in the Babylonian “Enum Elish” - a poem about the creation of the world.

When the sky above wasn't even mentioned yet

And they have not yet thought about the name of the solid earth that is below;

When only Apsu, their original parent,

And Mummu and Tiamtu - she from whom they were all born,

They mixed their waters together,

When the swamps had not yet been created and not a single island could be found,

When no god had yet appeared at all,

He was not named and his fate was not determined -

Then gods were created among them;

Lamu and Lahamu appeared and were named.

As if repeating these legends, O. Zhanaidarov in the book “Myths of Ancient Kazakhstan” reconstructs the following story. “Once upon a time there was neither earth nor sky, but only one vast ocean. One day, a White Light appeared inside the ocean - Ak Zharyk, from which a shining golden egg was formed. The god Tengri, the progenitor of the whole world, slept inside it. He slept for a very long time, millions and millions of years, and then one day he woke up. Tengri broke the egg shell and went outside. From the upper part of the egg Tengri created the Sky, and from the lower part he made the Earth.”(p.9-10).

“Having separated Heaven and Earth, Tengri himself divided into man and woman in order to produce offspring. He named the woman goddess Tengri Umai.”

But if the poetic monuments of antiquity with epic theogony reflected the high level of civilization of antiquity, then the fanciful tales and legends of O. Zhanaidarov draw attention to the free imagination of the author.

On page 12, the author categorically states: “Fire among the Turks is revered as aulie, i.e. sacred. The goddess Ot-Ana (Mother Fire) was born from the feet of Tengri's mother - the goddess Umai. Her father is hard steel, her mother is flint. Ot-Ana lives in a person’s dwelling, in the hearth. The ancient Turks considered fire to be a divine embodiment that gives warmth and food to humans, a gift from the goddess Umai. According to myth, the prophet Nadulusha was the first to draw fire. ..you can’t spit in the fire, you can’t step on burning coals, you can’t put out the flames in the hearth. It should go out on its own."

The word “auliye” is not of Turkic, but of Arabic origin. It does not mean “sacred”, but “close”, and “auliye” is a Quranic word mentioned in the Koran in relation to “close to God”. The statement about the Turkic origin of the word “auliye”, especially in relation to outright pagan cults, is a manifestation of ignorance and voluntarism.

In general, O. Zhanaidarov’s arbitrary presentation of fairy tales and legends goes beyond all boundaries of intellectual permissibility. Thus, citing the legend “about the son of Tengri Geser” (in Kazakh calling him Abai Kaisar Khan), the author makes the following statement: "V Arabic Koran there is a sura dedicated to Qaisar: “In the name of Allah, the merciful, the merciful” Muhammad, verily we have given you an abundant Kausar.”(page 55). After such “links,” a conclusion arises about the competence of the Ministry of Education and Science (!), which recommends the book. The legends about Geser, the son of Tengri, are strikingly reminiscent of the exploits of Hercules and Odysseus, differing from Greek myths in the names of the characters (the Principality of Lin, the child Joru, the evil uncle Choton, the cannibal Lubson, the enemy Thotun) of clearly Sayan-Altai origin.

From ancient mythology O. Zhanaidarov borrows the idea of ​​world levels:

“Our Universe is divided into the Upper, Middle and Lower worlds.

The upper world is called Kan. The land here is Altyn Telengei. It is managed by Mangyzin-matmas. The Hell of the Upper World is called Mangys-tochiri-tam. Its ruler is Patpan Kara.

The middle world is called Ezren Tengere. It is ruled by Bilgein-kere-attu-Tyaran-Myzyk-kai. The land of the middle world is Altun Sharqa. The hell that belongs to her is Tepken-kara-tam. Its manager is Patpan - Karakchi.

The world in which we humans live is the smallest and lowest. It is called Kara Tengere. The main manager in it is Maitore. The sky of our world has thirty-three layers, one higher than the other. The hell that belongs to our Earth is called Taptan-kar-tash. It is run by Kerey Khan."(“Myths of Ancient Kazakhstan”, pp. 14-15).

It should be noted here that the given structure of the universe, as well as the names of the deities, are completely borrowed from the mythology of the Altai peoples.

To be continued.....

Public association “IZGI AMAL”

While visiting my parents (and I’m still visiting them), I dug up the “Encyclopedia for Children. Religions of the World.” Back at school, they bought me almost all the volumes of this encyclopedia, but I liked to read about history and religion most of all. I learned the article about Zoroastrianism almost by heart. I have also always been interested in the article “Religion of the Steppe,” which I want to present here (because it is very interesting).

Ancient civilizations were far from being as simple and primitive in their spiritual foundations as it seemed until recently. Even then, long before new era, people gradually began to develop an idea of ​​God as the creator of the universe. An example of the emergence of such religious views is a civilization that was conventionally called steppe: it existed on a vast territory called the Steppe.
After archaeologist A. Okladnikov discovered traces of ancient Turkic culture on the banks of the Yenisei, it became possible to talk about the religion of the Kipchak Turks who inhabited the giant country of Dasht-i-Kip-chak (Kipchak Steppe). In the west it reached the foot of the Alps, in the east its border was lost beyond Lake Baikal. In the north, the country of Desht-i-Kipchak reached the Moscow River, and in the south - to the Black Sea. This is exactly the country he bequeathed to his descendants great king Attila (5th century AD), leader of the Kipchaks. The Kipchak Turks are better known in Europe under the names “Huns” (as the Greeks called them), “barbarians” (as the Romans called them) or “Geta” (this name was given to them by the Germans and Normans).
Warriors of King Attila by the middle of the 5th century. conquered almost all of Europe not only because they owned more advanced weapons or used unknown battle tactics. The main strength of the people who came from the east was their high spirit, based on a developed religion.
CULT OF TENGRI. The Kipchak Turks came to pagan Europe under banners with a cross. The cross on Attila's banners was a symbol of Tengri Khan - the supreme, and perhaps the only god of their ancient religion. (The word “banner” comes from the Turkic “gonfalon” - “banner”, “banner” - and is translated as “protection”, “patronage”.)
On stone slabs in the Upper Yenisei region, images of clergymen in long robes with staffs in their hands, carved by an ancient artist, have been preserved. There are also drawings of an altar with a cup standing on it, very similar to the chalice used for communion in Christianity. Apparently the scenes depict the elements religious rite, in no way similar to the ancients shamanic rituals, common, as is commonly believed, in these places in those distant times.
According to researchers, long before the new era, the Turks, who then lived in Altai and Southern Siberia, worshiped the Sky Man, the Sun Man - Tengri Khan. Chinese historians note that the cult of Ten-gri among the Kipchaks developed no later than the 5th–3rd centuries. BC e.
The image of Tengri is familiar to almost all the peoples of Central Asia; it is one of the most ancient mythological images of the East. Tengri is not only the heavenly master spirit, but also the sky itself; it is also his permanent place of residence.
The Kipchaks called it Tengri or Tengeri, the Buryats - Tengeri, the Mongols - Tenger, the Chuvash - Tura; but, despite the different pronunciations, we are always talking about one thing - about the male divine principle, about God the Father.
Tengri Khan was thought of as a deity of truly cosmic proportions. He controlled the destinies of a person, a people, a state. He is the creator of the world, and He Himself is the world.

Geser - the eldest son of Tengri Khan
When the Kipchaks, meeting Christians for the first time, heard about the Son of the Heavenly God - Jesus Christ - they were not at all surprised: after all, the sons of Tengri Khan were given a special place in the Tengri pantheon.
One of them, Geser, was known to the Kipchak priests from Tibetan and Mongolian legends, according to which in a certain city of Lin there was no ruler for a long time, and one of the three sons of the heavenly ruler was sent there. He was born, like Christ, in human form, but in the family not of a carpenter, but of a prince.
The legends about Geser have much in common with the legends about Christ, about the chosen man... It is important to note that Geser lived and performed exploits a thousand years before Christ; he is the eldest son of Tengri Khan. Therefore, during the birth of the Christian religion, this hero had long been well known in Tibet, Mongolia, and their neighboring countries.
However, in the south (for example, in India), under the influence of Buddhism, the image of Geser changed over time and received a different development: Brahma began to be considered his father. Among the Buryats, the image of Geser also underwent changes: the attitude towards him was determined by widespread shamanic ideas, therefore the son of God takes on the features of a shaman. Having retained its appearance, but slightly changed its “functions”, Geser occupies an honorable place in the pantheon Tibetan Buddhism as a hero who cleanses the world of filth.
Now it is hardly possible to establish how high the Kipchak Turks placed Geser in the hierarchy of their celestials. But, judging by the surviving legends of the peoples neighboring the Kipchaks, it can be assumed that this son of the Heavenly God was really well known in Central Asia already in ancient times, and the Kipchaks, of course, also revered him.

Eastern peoples have a stable idea of ​​three worlds - heavenly, earthly and underground - and a corresponding hierarchy of celestial beings, as well as inhabitants of the underworld. Among the Turks, Mongols and other peoples, the sky is divided into tiers, and each tier is divided into two, which corresponds to different manifestations of the image of God: kind and strict, protecting and punishing. God sees everything, but it depends only on man, how God will treat him and his actions depends on his deeds and thoughts.
The sky, divided into 9 tiers, in the ideas of the Turks reflects the trinity spiritual world(three times three). The Mongols increased the number of tiers of the sky to 99, in their worldview - 99 gods, but they all bear the name Tengri and are essentially hypostases of the one God.
The German scientist G. Derfer traced the evolution of the very concept of “Tengri” from the early, even shamanistic representation of this image to the highest stages in its religious and mythological development and came to the conclusion that we are talking about one of the first (if not the very first) monotheistic religions in world.
The Kipchaks addressed their prayers and requests to Tengri, God the Father, the creator of the world, and made sacrifices to him. Until now, among the descendants of the Kipchaks, the most unbreakable oaths begin with the words: “Let Tengri punish me...”.
Tengrism, a religion based on faith in the Creator, arose at the end of the 2nd - beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e. Like any established religion, Tengrism over time acquired all the necessary attributes: a hierarchy of celestial beings, a priesthood of various ranks, preachers, and most importantly, a written and oral set of liturgical rules (canon).
In addition to Tengri Khan, the Kipchaks revered the goddess Umai. She personified the feminine earthly principle. Umai patronized babies, and she was usually depicted with a baby in her arms. The Tengrians apparently borrowed this image from Hinduism.
The Kipchaks emphasized their submission to Tengri Khan using an ancient symbol - the sign of an equilateral cross (adji): it was applied to the forehead either with paint or in the form of a tattoo.
Most likely, the sign of the cross was borrowed by the Tengrians from the ancient Tibetan (pre-Buddhist) culture. It symbolized the concept of room - the world where everything comes from and where everything returns. There is heaven and earth, up and down with their patrons. Rum swims in the vast ocean on the back of a huge fish or turtle, pressed down for greater stability by a mountain. At the base of the mountain rests the serpent Begsha. From time to time, a cross-shaped vajra (“diamond”) flashes in the room like lightning. In Buddhism, the vajra has become a symbol of strength and indestructibility.
During excavations of the steppe city of Belendzher in Dagestan, the remains of temples and preserved ancient crosses were discovered. This is what Professor M. Magomedov, the author of many amazing discoveries he made on the territory of Desht-i-Kipchak, writes: “One of the crosses was restored; it had the so-called “Maltese” shape. The front side was decorated with a relief ribbon framing the branches of the cross. On the cross there are preserved circles carved in the center... intended for decoration... with plaques made of precious metals and stones. The shape of the cross is carefully worked out, the surface is well smoothed. The carving was done carefully... The cross was fixed on a pedestal near the eastern wall of the church with the help of a special protrusion.”
Archaeologists found the same crosses on gravestones from Lake Baikal to the Danube - on the land of the now forgotten country of Desht-i-Kipchak.
The steppe people called their temples “kilisa”. This word comes from the name of the sacred Mount Kailash, one of the highest mountains in the south of the Tibetan Plateau. For many peoples of the East, it is considered the abode of the gods. The mountain is located north of the small Lake Manas. According to pre-Buddhist legends, the heaven of the god Shiva was located on Kailash; Kubera, the god of wealth, also resided there. The mountain was made of pure silver. The legend also provides some other details. It turns out that in ancient times the mountains had wings and could fly, but since their flight often led to enormous destruction, the god Indra cut off their wings and fixed the mountains in their current places.
They tried to repeat the forms of the first Buddhist and Tengri temples, to reproduce the outlines of the sacred mountain. Centuries later in India (Maharashtra state) in temple complex Ellora, a temple appeared, carved from a whole rock and received the name Kailasa. There are 33 more temples nearby. Since the god of wealth Kubera also lived on the slopes of Kailasa, the temples were distinguished by their unusually rich appearance and interior decoration.
The image of the god Indra migrated into the myths of the peoples of Altai under the name Tengri. In the Tengrian religion, many traditions of the veneration of Indra have been preserved, but transferred, however, to the image of Tengri Khan. That is why Southern Tibet was previously considered a traditional place of pilgrimage for the Turks.
There was a belief that whoever sees Kailasa will be happy all his life. But no one risked approaching the mountain, much less climbing it, so as not to anger the gods. People stopped on the shore of the sacred Lake Manas and looked at Kailasa from afar. Here they read prayers, had philosophical conversations... “Manas-tir” translated from Turkic meant “gather near Manas for prayer.”

HOW OLD IS THE PSALMTER?
The main book of the Tengrians was called the “Psalter”. It contained the entire set of laws and rules according to which the ritual was performed and prayers were read.
The word “psalter” shows its Eastern origin. The word “dog” came from India, from Buddhism, and means “crown”, “crown”. The Turkic word “altar” means “raised”, “sublime”. The altar, as is known, - Holy place in the church, her spiritual fulcrum. That is why the Kipchaks gave their main sacred book the name “Psalter”, i.e. “The Crown of the Altar”.
Ancient historians, in particular Moses Kagankatvatsi, wrote about the presence of sacred books among the Kipchaks even during the period of the Great Migration; they are also mentioned in Chinese chronicles. According to the surviving legends of that time, one of these books, apparently the Psalter, was brought to Rome in the 5th century. Bishop Alexander from the city of Tan na Lonu. The reliability of this information from ancient books can be judged by the fact that the Vatican library contains a copy of the “Psalter” written in the Turkic language in runic characters.

One of the ancient Chinese manuscript sources reports that by 165 BC. e. The Turks had a fully formed religion with a developed canon. This canon largely repeated the Buddhist one, bequeathed by the Indian king Kanishka. Apparently this is where the main one came from holy book Tengrian - “Psalter”. In the Turkic language, the word “psalter” means “crown of the altar.” The book contained the Tengr canon - customs, rituals and rules with which one should contact God. And the spiritual center of the Tengrian religion, as mentioned in Kanishka’s will, was a Buddhist temple in Kashmir, specially built for this purpose by order of the king. From this temple originates a branch of Buddhism, which received independent development and took shape as Tengrism.
Probably already in the 2nd century. BC e. There were also Tengri temples in Altai. Of course, it is difficult to expect that they looked as majestic as Buddhist temples in India or Indochina. But they existed. This is proven by the results of excavations carried out by Professor M. Magomedov in the Caspian region. The surviving remains of early Armenian and especially Lezgin religious buildings also allow us to draw some conclusions about appearance Tengrian temples.
Tengrian temples, although somewhat similar to Buddhist ones, were still different from them. Their places of worship The Kipchaks built on foundations that had the shape of an equilateral cross in plan. This was the main originality of the Tengri temples. In addition to strength and indestructibility, the cross apparently also symbolized the crossroads where the paths of the world converge.
At first, Tengri temples looked very modest and inconspicuous. These were the usual log houses for the Kipchaks with a high roof, on top of which a dome with a cross was attached. Later, when the Great Migration of Peoples began and the Kipchaks began to develop new steppe spaces, new temples appeared. With their aspiration to the sky, they repeated the outlines of the sacred mountain.
The temple for the Tengrians was a holy place; ordinary believers were not allowed to enter there; only the clergyman could briefly go inside during the service. And once a year he was allowed to enter the altar of the temple. This tradition was justified by the fact that the temple was considered the resting place of Tengri Khan, so believers were supposed to pray only near it. The prayer area was called “haram” - “place for prayer.” Nothing else could be done here - only pray (hence another meaning of the word “haram” - “prohibition”, “forbidden”).

WHAT WERE THE TENGRIAN TEMPLES?
Unfortunately, time rules over buildings, especially if they are made of wood or other short-lived building material, for example adobe - unfired brick... It was centuries that decided the fate of Tengrian temples. Only the foundations survived from them.
When excavating Kipchak settlements in steppe Dagestan, archaeologists more than once found places where temples stood. It would seem that we will never know what they looked like. However, based on a comparison of facts, some assumptions can be made. The fact is that the architecture of Tengrian temples, apparently, was borrowed by Armenian Christians and received its development in Armenia, but in a different expression - in stone. After all, stone has been considered traditional since ancient times building material in mountainous Armenia, but the Steppe was poor in it.
“The remains of the Christian architecture of Transcaucasia,” writes Professor M. Magomedov, “represent the norms of church construction known in the Christian world. The earliest center for the emergence of various forms of church-architectural construction is Armenia...”
Of course, if you wish, you can find some similarities between ancient Armenian monuments and Syrian or some other ones. But... and this “but” is perhaps the most important, the most conclusive: it was in Armenia in the 4th century. for the first time Christianity became state religion. Consequently, it was in Armenia, and not somewhere else, that for the first time church construction was carried out openly, by the forces of the state itself, for Christianity had already become here official religion and the state took care of its strengthening.
Of course, this statement is not indisputable, but the Armenian missionaries had nowhere to borrow the architecture of their churches except in Desht-i-Kipchak. In the European world, such temples were not yet known at that time. That is why the ancient Armenian temples, with their unique shapes and sizes, perfectly “stand” on the foundations that remained after the Tengrian temples.

After the Kipchaks left Altai for the steppe, their temples acquired a geographic orientation: the altar part was turned strictly east, in the direction of Altai.
Professor M. Magomedov, who examined the remains of ancient Kipchak temples, described his finds as follows: “They were located in the center of mound groups and were small in size. They were built from small and medium-sized shell rock on clay mortar... The broken internal outlines of one of the churches recreate the shape of a cross in plan. The church is oriented along its length from west to east, with some deviation to the northeast.”

TENGRIAN RITES AND HOLIDAYS

The rituals of honoring Tengri Khan were quite strict and complex, the prayers were long and soul-cleansing. They, too, were in many ways reminiscent of the religious traditions of the East. For example, baptism with water was mandatory, which looked like a complete threefold immersion; religious meal.
The biggest holiday was Epiphany. The holiday fell on December 25, when after the winter solstice the day began to arrive and the Sky Man - Tengri Khan - came out into the world.
On this day, Christmas trees were supposed to be brought into the house - a message from more ancient god Yer-su, who was worshiped by the Altai peoples about 3 thousand years ago, long before they met Tengri Khan.
For the Kipchaks, spruce has been a sacred tree since ancient times. The spruce tree was “allowed into the house,” and holidays were held in its honor. The tradition associated with Yer-su is very ancient. This god has eternally resided in the center of the earth, exactly where, according to legend, the “navel of the earth” is located and a giant spruce tree grows, symbolizing the World Tree. An old man in a robe with a thick white beard sits near a spruce tree; his name is Ulgen. More often he was portrayed as evil and treacherous, but once a year, in winter, he became kinder, went out to people and children helped him distribute gifts from a bag. Ulgen brought a Christmas tree into the house, around which they had fun all night and danced in circles; among the Kipchaks they were called “inderbai” and constituted an obligatory element of any holiday.
“Ulgen” translated from Turkic means “dead”, “sleeping underground”. By the way, the bottom of the grave of a Tengrian clergyman was supposed to be covered with spruce paws.
The Turks brought the custom of honoring spruce to Eastern and Central Europe, where they were thrown by the wave of the Great Migration. In the valleys of the Danube, Dnieper, Don, and Volga, this holiday has probably existed since the time of Attila. IN Western Europe it began to be celebrated in this form only in the 19th century. It should be remembered that among the Slavs and Romans the oak was considered a sacred tree, among the Finns - the birch, among the Greeks - the olive, and among the southern Germans - the spruce. For some reason, many researchers omit the fact that the southern Germans until the 16th century. spoke Turkic. The very first mention of a Christmas tree was found in the Alsatian chronicles of 1500. Earlier documents in the Turkic language were destroyed. Gradually people forgot the language itself.
The arrival of spring was considered the second major religious holiday among the Tengrians. According to a tradition whose roots go back to India, it was celebrated on March 25th. It is known that Tengrians baked Easter cakes for this day. Kulich personified the masculine principle. In India and many other countries, its symbol was the phallus. The Tengrian Easter cake was given the appropriate shape, and two colored eggs were placed next to it. This already shows a connection with the phallic agricultural cults of India. But the connection of this custom with Easter traditions Christianity. Only Tengri customs are older...
The first contacts between Tengrism and Christianity apparently took place in the Caucasus at the end of the 3rd - beginning of the 4th centuries. Moses Khorensky (V-VI centuries) in his “History of Armenia” noted that from the end of the 2nd century. Close communication between Armenians and Kipchaks began. This was even before the Kipchak campaign against Europe; they were just exploring the Caspian steppes at that time. The ancient author Agafangel mentioned the Kipchaks in the Caucasus during this period. He wrote that they served as mercenaries in the troops of the Armenian king Khosroes I, who ruled at the beginning of the 3rd century.
The beginning of communication between the two religions was apparently laid by the young Armenian bishop Grigoris. He appeared before the Kipchak king and asked permission to preach the ideas of Christianity to the Kipchak nobility. There is every reason to assert that the first contacts proceeded quite calmly due to the external similarity of many provisions of both religions. Already at the beginning of the 4th century. there was a legend about St. George - the most revered saint among the steppe inhabitants - as a person who brought the ideas of Christianity to the Steppe.
The legend tells how a huge snake or dragon began to crawl into one city from the swamps, taking away young men and women. This went on for quite some time until it was the turn of the ruler’s daughter. She sat in tears by the road, awaiting her fate. She was seen by a warrior passing by for the glory of God, George. Having learned that she was in danger, he remained to wait for the snake. The monster appeared and their duel began.
It is important to note that the battle was bloodless. At the sight of the serpent, George put down his weapon and began to pray earnestly. Through prayer he overcame evil and thereby proved that the word of God is stronger than the sword. For this they began to reverence him as a saint.
Exhausted and tamed by prayer, the snake fell at the warrior’s feet, and the innocent girl threw her belt around the monster, like a leash, and led it into the city, “like the most obedient dog.” At the sight of this spectacle, the townspeople, led by the ruler, agreed to listen to George’s sermon.
The fates of the young warrior George and the Armenian bishop Grigoris were similar: both eventually suffered martyrdom. George died during the persecution of Christians under Emperor Diocletian. Bishop Grigoris, apparently, overdid it in his sermons, and the Kipchaks, remaining faithful to Tengri Khan, “caught a wild horse, tied young Grigoris to its tail and set it loose across the field.” This is how the ancient historian Favst Buzand (5th century) ends the story about the Armenian bishop.
However, the seeds of a new faith had already been planted among the Kipchaks. It is no coincidence that ancient European historians (Priscus, Jordan) called King Attila and his predecessors, Donatus and Charaton, Christians...
For a long time, there was mutual influence and mutual enrichment of two religions neighboring in the Steppe - Tengrism and Christianity. With the religious tolerance of the Kipchaks, Christianity gradually found more and more supporters, and in the end, having borrowed much from the Tengri rituals, it became the dominant religion in the Steppe and its neighboring countries.
Up to the present time, some peoples who are descendants of the Kipchaks have preserved the custom of venerating God the Father - Tengri. This convincingly shows the connection between two spiritual cultures and the common roots of two religions.

Characteristics of men