Ancient Turkish Religious Beliefs

ABSTRACT
Beliefs: The religious beliefs in the early Turkish states on the ancient plateaus of Central Asia, coalesced around three main points

Mourning: Upon a death, a period of mourning was observed. The dead were buried, cremated or mummified. A kurgan (earthen barrow), mound or cairn of stones was erected so that the departed spirit would have a place to call its own

Immortality: In addition to the absolute might of Tangri's immortality, he also acquired the attribute of being everywhere at all times and of being incapable of being represented physically

See: NATIONALITY OR RELIGION? Views of Central Asian Islam by H. B. Paksoy


Mavi Boncuk |

Ancient Turkish Religious Beliefs (Before Islam)



The religious beliefs in the early Turkish states on the plateaus of Central Asia coalesced around three main points. The first of these was a belief in animistic forces. These early Turks attributed conscious life and a discrete in-dwelling spirit to every material form of nature (such as plants and stones), to celestial bodies (sun, moon, stars), and to natural phenomena (storms, earthquakes, etc.). The Uighurs, for example, practiced a form of astrology in which the movements of the moon and stars were consulted before setting out a campaign.

The second was an ancestral cult in which the memories of departed ancestors and leaders were kept alive through reverence and animal sacrifice. Upon a death, a period of mourning was observed. The dead were buried, cremated or mummified. A kurgan (earthen barrow), mound or cairn of stones was erected so that the departed spirit would have a place to call its own. Sometimes stone statues (called balbal) were set up.

The third element was the worship of the sky god (Gok Tangri). While animism and ancestral cults are common among early tribal cultures, this particular form of sky god worship appears only among the Turks. In this system of belief, the sky god is the supreme being. The Blue Turks (who called themselves Kokturk) believed that their empire's formation was a consequence of the sky god's wishes and that their khagan (leader) had been sent to them by their god. Tangri took a personal interest in the independent existence of the Turks, and victory in battle was a result of Tangri's will.

Tangri commanded and punished the disobedient, and life and death alike were dependent upon his will. Tangri granted life and could take it back whenever he wished.

According to these early Turkish beliefs, Tangri was eternal and the creator of all that existed. He was also singular and could not be reduced to any material form. This is why one never finds idols to Tangri or temples to put them in. Tangri was a great, solitary, spiritual power. The sun, moon, stars, fire and rivers were his hallowed assistants who occupied positions much like the angels, prophets and scriptures of the Semitic deities.

During the Uighur period (these were one of Turkic peoples who dominated Mongolia and eastern Turkestan from the eighth to the 12th centuries, now inhabiting northwestern China), the sky god cult was still practiced but had begun to encounter competition from Manichaeanism and Buddishm, which were spreading among the Turks. Both faiths became particularly entrenched during the Uighur control of Turkistan.

The original writing system of the Blue Turks was supplanted by that of the Uighurs, which was based on the Sogdian. Under the Uighurs, Buddhist and Manichaean scriptures were translated, and a rich liturgical literature developed. Some time before the 10th century, the Uighurs invented a system of printing that involved making impressions of single-letter molds on paper. This was the forerunner of the printing press and modern printing technology.

The communities of the early steppelander (steppe-dwellers) Turks tended to be political associations rather than religious ones, and for that reason religious leaders did not play as great a role among them as they did among desert and forest-dwellers. The religious beliefs of these people were centered around three fundamental tenets.

The first of these was a worship of the forces of nature. Early Turks attributed conscious life and a discrete in-dwelling spirit to mountains, hills, rocks, valleys, streams, springs, caves, trees, volcanic lakes, iron and sword handles.

Celestial bodies such as the sun, moon, and stars and natural phenomena such as lightning and thunder were thought to be spirits or deities. There were both good spirits and evil ones. In some inscriptions there are also references to a goddess whose name is given as Umay (Umai). Such animistic beliefs are common among all early tribal cultures.

For instance among the Asian Huns, horses and sheep were sacrificed to the sky god, to ancestors, and to the forces of nature during the first month of the year at the palace of their ruler, and in late spring (June) in the vicinity of the Ongkin river.

The Blue Turks and Uighurs made similar sacrifices during the same month at the source of the Tamir river. The Huns also conducted a similar ritual in the fall at Tai-lin. Among the Blue Turks, there were three sacred rituals held during the year in which sacrifices were offered to Tangri (the sky god) and to ancestors.

Both the Blue Turks and Uighurs practiced astrology, determining the advisability of courses of action upon the positions and movement of the planets and stars. The Tabgatch planted beech trees by their graves and regarded them as sacred.

Forces of nature called yer-sub (in modern Turkish, "yer-su," meaning "earth-and-water") were genies or sprits dwelling in hills and springs that were considered to be sacred (iduk) places. Tamik-iduk-bas and Iduk-otuken are two such sites. In the Uighurs' Kutlu-Dag Efsanesi ("Legend of Happy-Mountain"), a rock is held to be sacred because its houses a spirit that gives people strength and fortitude. To cause rain or hail to fall or to make the wind blow, the ancient Turks had recourse to a natural magic involving a stone that they believed to be sacred.

The second pillar of this religion was an ancestral cult. The worship of departed leaders and the veneration of ancestors is thought to be a manifestation of a patriarchal social order in religion. The Asian Huns, Tabgatch and Blue Turks frequently offered sacrifices to their ancestors at the mouths of sacred caverns.

The deep respect that was held for ancestors is one reason why grave robbery and the despoliation of Turkish tombs was punished so severely. A kurgan, mound or cairn of stones was erected so that the departed spirit would have a place to call its own. Sometimes stone statues (called balbal) were also set up.

Only animals, however, were sacrificed to Tangri and ancestors. Human sacrifice was never practiced among the Turks. Only males were chosen as sacrificial animals, and the most valuable of these was of course the horse. Skeletons of sacrificed horses are found frequently in steppelander Turkish tombs everywhere, from the empire of the Asian Huns to the Hun-Avar tombs of Central Asia.

The third element was the worship of the sky god. This was the fundamental creed of the ancient Turks, and in this particular form appears only among them. In this system of belief, the sky god (Tangri, Tengri) is the supreme being, the central object of all worship, the source of all power.

The principle beliefs and practices of the Tangri cult can be more or less determined by a study of Chinese sources and the Orkhon monuments. In a letter sent to the Chinese emperor by Mo-tun, the ruler of the Asian Huns, the latter notes that he had been elevated to the throne by Tangri and that his military victories were won first and foremost by virtue of the sky god's grace. Another Hun ruler, having escaped a trap set for him by the Chinese in 133 B.C. declared that his deliverance had been the will of Tangri, who watched over him and ensured his success. A Turkish ruler in 328 is reported as raising his arms to the heavens upon having achieved a success and saying "O Sky (Kok)... Thanks be to thee!" In the treaty between the Avar khagan and the Byzantine emperor, the former swore to uphold the agreement in the name of Kok-Tangri. After a victorious battle in 598 or 599, the Blue Turk (Kokturk) Khagan Tardu dismounted, addressed the sky and proclaimed his thanks.

According to the inscriptions on the Orkhon monuments, Tangri was the creator of the universe. The Blue Turks believed that their empire's formation was a consequence of the sky god's wishes and that their khagan had been sent to them by their god. In other words, Tangri took a personal interest in the independent existence of the Turks. Victory in the battle was a consequence of Tangri's will.

Tangri intervened directly in the lives of the Turks and of people in general. He commanded and punished the disobedient. Tangri bestowed fortune and retracted it from those who were unworthy. It was Tangri who broke the light of day at dawn and who fused vegetation with life. Death was also dependent upon his will. Tangri granted life and could take it back whenever he wished: "When his time came, Kul Tegin died. Human beings are created to die. Law and right come from Tangri. He joins that which is broken and mends that which is torn."

The progress of the development of the concept of Tangri among the Turks from that of the physical sense of "sky" to a supreme being is interesting. In the Orkhon inscriptions there is a sentence that sums up the Turkish cosmogony in a nutshell: "Uze kok Tengri, asra yagiz yer kilindikta ikin ara kisi ogli kilinis" (When almighty Kok-tangri formed the dark yonder-earth, he also created man). To these early steppelanders the vast over-arching sky seemed to embrace everything from the phenomenal rising and setting of the sun and moon to the regular movements of the stars; from the unchanging cycle of the seasons to rain, snow, and wind; the heat of the day and the cold of the night; the quickening of vegetation in spring and its desiccation in summer; the sudden flowing of streams and their dying up; the birth and growth of animals in an invariable order and balance whose harmony was so perfect that it was inconceivable to the mind of man, and it was only natural that they should have regarded it as a supreme being.

In addition to the absolute might of Tangri's immortality, Tangri also acquired the attribute of being everywhere at all times and of being incapable of being represented physically.

In the course of their long history and wanderings, Turkish groups came into contact with many other religions prior to Islam. Some groups in China adopted Buddhism. The Danube Bulgars opted for Christianity. Judaism was popular with the Khazars. The Uighurs adopted Buddhism and Manichaeanism. The consequences for Turkish identity were not always providential since these groups were eventually assimilated into the larger communities.

It has also been asserted that totemism was practiced among the early Turks; however, recent investigations have disproved this allegation. Researchers working in Siberia and Mongolia during the second half of the 19th century put forth an assertion that the early Turks were originally shamanists. Although incorrect, this notion became widespread and still persists.