Tengri

Tengri

Tengri is the great God of Heaven in the old beliefs of Turkic, Yeniseian, Mongolic, and other nomadic peoples. People saw Tengri as the judge and giver of life, eternal and the most powerful.

Many writers from Europe and the Muslim world thought Tengri was the main god for Turkic and Mongolic peoples because of these qualities. In Mongolian belief, Tengri could choose to break its own rules and send a special person to earth.

Worship of Tengri is called Tengrism. The main beings in Tengrism are the Sky Father and the Earth Mother. Tengrism also includes ancestor worship, shamanism, animism, and totemism. In Turkic areas and Mongolia, Tengri was seen as the ancestor of all humans.

Name

The oldest form of the name Tengri comes from records made by the Xiongnu in the 4th century BC. It was written as Cheng-li in Chinese. Over time, the word evolved. In the 8th century, it appeared in Orkhon inscriptions as Teŋri in the Old Turkic language.

Today, many cultures use similar words for "god" or "sky." For example, in modern Turkish, the word "Tanrı" means "god." In Mongolian, the word is Тэнгэр, meaning "sky." In Bulgarian, it is Тангра, and in Azerbaijani, it is Tanrı.

Tengri was very important to the Göktürks. Their leaders believed Tengri gave them the right to rule. They thought of themselves as Tengri’s representatives on Earth. Tengri was seen as the creator of everything and the main god.

Mythology

Tengri was the main god in the beliefs of the Turkic people, ruling over the sky and the heavens. Many think Tengri was similar to ancient sky gods from other cultures. In Christian Turkish traditions, Tengri was sometimes used to refer to God, the father of Jesus.

Important stories about Tengri are found in old writings called the Orkhon inscriptions, made in the 700s. These writings tell of how the world began and how early Turkish leaders ruled with Tengri’s support. One story says Tengri is a white goose flying over endless water, creating the world with another being.

Geographical names

• A tall, pyramid-shaped mountain in the Tian Shan range, between China, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, is named "Khan Tengri". In Uyghur, these mountains are called Tanri Tagi.
• The Tangra Mountains on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica are also named after this important figure.
• Otgontenger is the highest peak in the Khangai mountains of Mongolia.
• The Tengger Desert is in Inner Mongolia, China.