#tengrism

Tian Shan 天山 (also known as Tengri Tagh or Tengir-Too) is a large system of mountain ranges in Western China and Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan)

Tian Shan is considered sacred in Tengrism, a religion originating in the Eurasian steppes. It was the prevailing religion of ancient nomadic groups like the Göktürks, Xianbei, Xiongnu, Mongolic peoples, and the Huns. As well as the state religion of several medieval states, such as the Turkic Khaganates and the Mongol Empire.

Bashkir Girl with Fox. Ufa, European Russia.

In Bashkir culture, the fox occupied an important place within traditional mythological paradigm. Traces of a fox cult, once widespread among Bashkirs, reveal a complex system of beliefs where the fox was not only revered but also perceived as a sacred, almost divine, creature. This veneration is rooted in ancient totemic traditions, where specific clans believed themselves to be descended from foxes. Because of this, the fox functioned as more than just an animal, but also as a totemic ancestor, a spiritual guardian, and a guiding force. The fox was believed to bestow prosperity, fertility, health, and protection, and was, at times, invoked during rituals tied to these themes.

The image of the fox also appears as a zoomorphic deity in Bashkir culture; an embodiment of natural forces and a symbolic representation of the sun. An aspect shared with other Turkic and Finno-Ugric traditions, where animals often served as intermediaries between the human and spiritual realms. The fox’s cleverness and adaptability may have further elevated its status as a mythic advisor and/or trickster figure. Its presence in folk dances and customs also suggests that rituals were once performed in its honor.

Photo of a Yakut Turk (Sakha) woman, 1883.

Alevism Turkish: Alevilik; is a syncretic Islamic tradition, whose adherents follow the mystical Islamic teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, who taught the teachings of the Twelve Imams, whilst incorporating some traditions from Tengrism.

I often see the idea being spread that according to nature-focused religious traditions everything everything exists for an essential role, be it ecological, spiritual or otherwise. And that this causes nature to be harmonic and good because everything lives according to that role. This idea assumes a top-down teleological plan imposed by a creator on the world to create a greater system for some purpose. This idea may be present in some such worldviews, but it's often generalized to all indigenous cosmologies.

These ideas are often ascribed to an indigenous tradition in ethnographies written by predominantly Cristian scholars or scholars from a Christian cultural background during the last few centuries. This is ascribed to those worldviews based on assumptions; an inability to imagine a worldview that is too different from what they know; or from an (imperialistic) idea in which they believe that the people whose culture they describe are actually mistaken about their own worldview, and that the scholars know better. So, they 'correct' or punctuate their ethnographies with their own ideas .

The ideas of essential roles is often given more prominence in modern reinterpretations under influence of said ethnographies and people returning or coming to an indigenous tradition from a Christian background, taking teleological ideas with them.

In Tengerism, and other North and Inner Asian traditions, many people will say that they belong to the place they live and play a role in nature. They cut wood, hunt, herd reindeer, etc. in turn in the clearings new plants will grow, their reindeer graze. Their actions ripple across the ecosystem.

When the local humans leave the local nature will change, different plants grow, other animals increase in numbers, and this too ripples across the ecosystem. This change is often catastrophic and causes strife for many beings.

The balance is called tegsh. All actions even out, so that they don't take more than they return; sometimes directly, often through cycles and a web of connections. Trees grow with nutrients from the soil; fungi break down trees and return the nutrients to the soil. Grouse is hunted by humans; humans herd reindeer; reindeer clear brush and grass; young plants can grow; plants feed Grouse.

So that there is a cycle and the system can exist in perpetuity.

Tegsh is not because every being lives according to a essential role or purpose, but because that's the equilibrium the world has settled in. A disruption of tegsh leads to strife and turbulence, but in that turbulence eventually a new equilibrium will be settled. But there is no guarantee that this equilibrium is found while preserving all beings that were there before. A slower change will allow the location's tegsh to adjust gradually.

(beliefs/names or terms may vary from region and/or tradition)

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spirits are a huge part of tengrism, especially in terms of nature / the ones that are in nature and shamanism. first, ill mention the land spirits. land spirits are the spirits that are spirits of mountains, bodies of water, rocks/boulders, trees, and places on earth in general. the spirit can be the personification of that particular place or simply just spirits that live at that particular place. sometimes there is conflict with them and ancestral spirits that want to live in certain places of nature that the land spirits are already living at. there are shamanistic customs that allow these ancestral spirits to live with them peacefully which involves reconciliation. there are also specifically spirits of the sky. these sky spirits live in the 4 directions; north, east, south, and west. (before these terms it was front, back, left side, right side). each direction has its own associations. sky spirits living in the east and west are associated with black shamanism and white shamanism (khar böö and tsagaan böö). western sky spirits are believed to have made humans (us!), dogs, and animals used for food and other resources. eastern sky spirits are believed to have made eagles, animals not used for food/resources/forbidden to eat, and spirits of disease and misfortune. (eastern sky spirits aren't evil as the world is a balance of good and bad and is needed to be that way for stability.) that being said, spirits of disease and misfortune generally just cause sickness, misfortune, and mental confusion/fog. you will usually go to a shaman to deal with these sorts of spirits. then there's other spirits like ancestral spirits and 'neutral' spirits. these spirits tend to be morally grey and therefore will do good or bad depending on what they want to do and what is necessary. they can also be helpers/providers for shamans, being like an "extra soul" for them. these sorts of spirits can be found in nature as well.

Photos from Greece that I took

She has the vibes of Umai (goddess of fertility and patroness of women/children in Tengrism). Since Sandwalk is already a shaman-healer, I think I'll give her another role. Perhaps the role of a caretaker/leader? OR MAYBE A GENERAL? IN A CRYSTAL CITY SETTING LORE YEAH