Tengrism

Tengrism (also known as Tengriism, Tengerism, or Tengrianism) is a belief system originating in the Eurasian steppes, based on shamanism and animism, and commonly centered on the titular sky god Tengri. According to some scholars, adherents of Tengrism view the purpose of life as living in harmony with the universe. It was the prevailing religion of the Göktürk, Hun, Xianbei, Bulgar, Xiongnu, Yeniseian, and Mongolic peoples, as well as the state religion of several medieval states such as the First Turkic Khaganate, the Western Turkic Khaganate, the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, Old Great Bulgaria, the First Bulgarian Empire, Volga Bulgaria, Khazaria, and the Mongol Empire. In the Irk Bitig, a ninth-century manuscript on divination, Tengri is mentioned as Türük Tängrisi (God of Turks). According to many academics, Tengrism was, and to some extent still is, a predominantly polytheistic religion based on the shamanistic concept of animism, and it was first influenced by monotheism during the imperial period, especially by the 12th–13th centuries. Abdulkadir Inan has argued that Yakut and Altai shamanism are not entirely identical to the ancient Turkic religion. According to Turkish historian Ahmet Taşağıl, Turkic Tengrism differed from classical shamanism, possessing a distinct theological structure. He argues that what is commonly termed "shamanism" constitutes a "Buddhism-mixed steppe tradition" and "a system of magic" rather than a formal religion. Based on historical evidence, he proposes that the ancient Turks were not shamanists, and they adhered to a unique Tengrist belief system centered around an abstract deity in heaven, distinguishing it from other forms. The term also describes several contemporary Turkic and Mongolic native religious movements and teachings. All modern adherents of "political" Tengrism are monotheists. Tengrism has been advocated for in intellectual circles of the Turkic nations of Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan) and Russia (Tatarstan, Bashkortostan) since the dissolution of...