tngri
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In the pantheon of
Mongolian shamanism Mongolian shamanism ( mn, Бөө мөргөл — ''Böö mörgöl''), more broadly called the Mongolian folk religion, or occasionally Tengerism, refers to the animistic and shamanic ethnic religion that has been practiced in Mongolia and it ...
and
Tengrism Tengrism (also known as Tengriism, Tengerism, or Tengrianism) is an ethnic and old state Turkic peoples, Turko-Mongolic peoples, Mongolic religion originating in the Eurasian Steppe, Eurasian steppes, based on folk shamanism, animism and general ...
, tngri (also ''tengri'', ''tegrí'') constitute the highest class of divinities and are attested in sources going back to the 13th century. They are led by different chief deities in different documents and are divided into a number of different groups—including black (terrifying) and white (benevolent), and eastern and western. While there generally seem to be 99 ''tngri'', some documents propose three others (from the north), and while they are generally the highest divinities, some liturgical texts propose an additional group of 33 chief gods alongside the ''tngri''. They were invoked only by the highest shamans and leaders for special occasions; they continue to be venerated especially in
black shamanism Black shamanism is a kind of shamanism practiced in Mongolia and Siberia. It is specifically opposed to yellow shamanism, which incorporates rituals and traditions from Buddhism. Black Shamans are usually perceived as working with evil spirits, wh ...
. Chief among the ''tngri'' are Qormusata Tngri and (Khan) Möngke Tngri. The term ''tngri'' is cognate with the Turkic theonym ''
tengri Tengri ( zh, 騰格里; otk, 𐰚𐰇𐰚:𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, Kök Teŋri/Teŋiri, lit=Blue Heaven; Old Uyghur: ''tängri''; Middle Turkic: تآنغرِ; ky, теңир; tr, Tanrı; az, Tanrı; bg, Тангра; Proto-Turkic *''teŋri / * ...
'' "sky", Mongolian ''taŋɣaraɣ'' "oath" and ''tenger'' "sky".


Mongolian pantheon

In
Mongolian shamanism Mongolian shamanism ( mn, Бөө мөргөл — ''Böö mörgöl''), more broadly called the Mongolian folk religion, or occasionally Tengerism, refers to the animistic and shamanic ethnic religion that has been practiced in Mongolia and it ...
, ''tngri'' constitute the highest class; they are attested already in the oldest written source in Mongolian, ''
The Secret History of the Mongols ''The Secret History of the Mongols'' (Middle Mongol: ''Mongɣol‑un niɣuca tobciyan''; Traditional Mongolian: , Khalkha Mongolian: , ; ) is the oldest surviving literary work in the Mongolian language. It was written for the Mongol royal fam ...
''. The highest deity, Tngri, is the "supreme god of heaven" and is derived from
Tengri Tengri ( zh, 騰格里; otk, 𐰚𐰇𐰚:𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, Kök Teŋri/Teŋiri, lit=Blue Heaven; Old Uyghur: ''tängri''; Middle Turkic: تآنغرِ; ky, теңир; tr, Tanrı; az, Tanrı; bg, Тангра; Proto-Turkic *''teŋri / * ...
, the primary chief deity in the religion of the early Turkic and Mongolic peoples, and also goes by Möngke Tngri ("Eternal Heaven") or Erketü Tngri ("Mighty Heaven"); he rules the 99 ''tngri'' as Köke Möngke Tngri ("Blue Eternal Heaven"). Associated with him is another chief deity, Qormusata Tngri, described by one scholar as the more active being and compared to the
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
god of heaven
Indra Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war.  volumes/ref> I ...
. In addition to the 99 ''tngri'', there are also "seventy-seven levels of Mother Earth" and 33 other gods; the latter, like the ''tngri'', are ruled by Qormusata Tngri.


Origin of the ''tngri''

Some of the ''tngri'' are self-created, a special status, though in later texts some of those ''tngri'' were said to have been created by
Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...
, a possible influence of
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
on Mongolian folk religion. One of those self-created is Khan Möngke Tngri, who created Yesu Hei (the father of
Genghis Khan ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin , ...
) and the Mother of Fire.


The ''tngri'' and their divisions

Klaus Hesse described the complex spiritual hierarchy in clan-based Mongolian society based on sources that go back to the 13th century. The highest group in the pantheon consisted of 99 ''tngri'' (55 of them benevolent or "white" and 44 terrifying or "black"), 77 ''natigai'' or "earth-mothers", besides others. The ''tngri'' were called upon only by leaders and great shamans and were common to all the clans. Black ''tngri'' were invoked only by black shamans "against evil from outside and for securing victory in war". To complicate matters, there is a further division among the 99 ''tngri'': 44 are from the "eastern side", 55 from the "western side", and there are three more, from the "northern side", making a total of 102. And among the eastern and western group, there is a division in how the ''tngri'' are supplicated: in both group, the greatest multiple of 10 (40 in the east, 50 in the west) are invoked through prayer, the rest (4 in the east, 5 in the west) through sacrifice.
Walther Heissig Walther Heissig (December 5, 1913 – September 5, 2005) was an Austrian Mongolist. Life Heissig was born in Vienna. He studied prehistory, ethnology, historical geography, sinology and Mongolian in Berlin and Vienna, and got his doctoral degre ...
lists a large number of further divisions—the ''tngri'' are made up of groups including the gods of the four corners, five wind gods, five gods of the entrance and five of the door, five of the horizontal, et cetera. He notes that scholars have found a complete enumeration and description of the 99 to be impossible, and that a full list of names mentioned adds up to more than 99, and that local differences occur due to different local gods being accepted and that later sources indicate the further acceptance of Buddhist deities among the ''tngri''. A group of nine supreme ''tngri'' occurs regularly, but they are not always the same, though
Qormusta Tengri Qormusta Tengri ( Cyrillic: Хурмаста, Хормуста-тенгри, Хан-Хурмаста; from the Sogdian Хурмазта/Khurmazta; also transliterated as Qormusata (Tngri), Khormusta (Tngri), Hormusta (Tngri), and Qormusda (Tngri)) ...
and Möngke Tngri are always included among the "Nine Great Tingri".


Function

The ''tngri'' function primarily as protectors. Baγatur Tngri, for instance, is a protector of heroes in warfare, Kisaγa Tngri (an equestrian deity, known as Red Kisant Tngri among the Buryati) protects riches and the souls of people, and Ataγa Tngri is the protector of horses. Many of the functions of the ''tngri'' are specifically related to the Mongolian way of existence, especially the herding of cattle; different ''tngri'' have very specialized functions pertaining to specific animals and aspects of their raising. There are also ''tngri'' invoked for hunting and the growing of fruits and grains.


See also

*
Arshi Tengri Arshi Tengri, is a god who is associated with the fire ritual as practiced in Mongolian Buddhism and Tengri Paganism. The epithet is found in a prayer by the 18th-century lama Mergen Gegen Lubsangdambijalsan, where it is added to the name of th ...
* Dayisun Tngri *
Qormusta Tengri Qormusta Tengri ( Cyrillic: Хурмаста, Хормуста-тенгри, Хан-Хурмаста; from the Sogdian Хурмазта/Khurmazta; also transliterated as Qormusata (Tngri), Khormusta (Tngri), Hormusta (Tngri), and Qormusda (Tngri)) ...
* Sülde Tngri


References


Notes


Bibliography

* Heissig, Walther, Geoffrey Samuel (trans.), ''The Religions of Mongolia'' (1980
970 Year 970 (Roman numerals, CMLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 970th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' designations, the 970th year of the 1st millennium, ...

49ff.
* * * * *{{cite book, last=York, first=Michael, title=Pagan Theology: Paganism as a World Religion, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XslqUHb9B9IC&pg=PA129, access-date=19 August 2012, year=2005, publisher=NYU Press, isbn=9780814797082 tr:Tengri