Tengriism - Nomad shamanism and Religion
Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2014 7:16 am
From ancient times, the nomad tribes from Central Asia, Siberia, Turan, Mongolia and others believe in one prime God – the Endless Sky Father Tangra/ Tengri/ Turan/ Tanri (every tribe had their own version of the name). Every one of these tribes had their own version of the other Gods, Goddesses and their history. There are plenty of sources that describe the Mongolian or Turk version of the religion. Here I am going to introduce you to the Bulgar version.
Although most tribes had the same primary God, the lot of them had different deities. Most of the tribes, being nomads did honor their gods in their everyday life, but the Bulgars were one of the few tribes that actually built temples. Another difference between the tribes was the number of deities. Some tribes believed there are about 170 different deities, while others only believed there are 17. Bulgars called theirs Alps – the good ones, and Divs (wild ones) – the bad ones.
The pantheon:
Tangra – God of the endless sky, creator and father of everyone and everything, the one that knows everything.
Umai Khan – mother of the Sun, Mother Earth Goddess.
Alp Marr – alp of the Sun and Chaos. He could turn into a dragon or giant horse. (Horses were sacred for the nomad tribes – the first Bulgarian flag was actually a horse tail on a pike).
Alp – bika(the female version of the alps) Yana (Yankulica/Yanica/Dennica/Zornica) – sister of the Sun. Goddes of light , day, faith. She married a mortal man, who proved himself to be faster than the Sun. She is associated with Venus in the Greek mythology. In some myths she is a wife, in others a sister to Yankul – the god if time.
Alp Yankul (in some sources brother, in some - husband to Yana/Yankulica.) Became alp when he married Yana, after proving he is faster than the Sun. God of time. He has 12 studs of horses – each symbolized a different month of the year. (The Bulgarian calendar had twelve months and has a resemblance with the Chinese calendar. Here’s a link if you are interested. http://www.educatinghumanity.com/2012/1 ... ction.html )
Alp – bika Turran - Goddess of the Moon, love and life. Can turn into swan or a snake.
Div Tuma – div of the mountains, drought and darkness.
Diva (female div) Ulyat – diva of the sicknesses and pestilence.
Alp Dzhil – alp of the winds.
Alp Kubbar – alp of war, storms and thunder.
Alp Sammar / Carga – alp of the light and fertility.
Alp Kermess – alp of the forests,.
Alp – bika Artish – of virginity, animals and home fire.
Alp – bika Ashna – of the open country plants. She was created out of a dew – drop.
Alp – bika Hattin – daughter of Tuma and Ulyat – goddess of the sea life.
Alp Bars – of the justice. He is the Sky judge and banishes everything bad.
Div Azhdahha – son of Ulyat and Tuma, div of lewdness.
Div Shurale – div of misfortune and death. He built a wall that covered the Sun and many people died.
Alp Tashbash – of the roads, travelers and thieves
Alp Tunn – Burry – of the drowned.
Alp Barrin – of the victory in battle and glory.
Alp Ballamir (this one I presume was influenced by mixing with Slavs as the ending of the names with “mir” and “slav” is not at all Bulgar, but is typical for all Slavs) – of the stock breeders. Could turn into a giant bull.
Alp Taygass – of the winter. Has a long white beard and wears big blue hat and blue fur coat.
Alp Boyan – of the healing, divination and magick.
Alp Hursa – of the fire and blacksmiths. Has iron legs and rides a white horse.
Spirits, mystical creatures and places.
Chulmann – a mystical island at the end of the North. Some tribes have alp Chulmann of the creation. Where the alps and divs were created.
Balkan and Turan – the first lands people inhabited.
Sokol (falcon) – a guardian of the way to Chulmann.
Baradge – a dragon, guardian of the Bulgars.
Elen – queen of the forests, mediator between worlds of spirits and men.
Kordush – a spirit that helps shamans with divination and magick.
There aren’t many reliable sources left on Tengrism and it’s sects (for the lack of a better word). And because the different Bulgar tribes also had their own versions of everything, nowadays it's difficult to say if these were actually the Gods and deities Bulgar people believed in. In the land of modern day Bulgaria the Bulgar tribes mixed with the Slavic and Thracian tribes that originally inhabited these lands and also with Roman and Greek cultures. Also, many documents, temples, pieces of art were completely destroyed when knyaz Boris – Mikhail forcefully imposed Christianity onto Bulgaria and murdered 52 bolyar (noble) clans for not accepting it. The extension of the cultural annihilation was so great that until the 20th century the common belief was that the Bulgar tribes had no pieces of art, were not skilful of any art and were illiterate, raised no cattle and basically had no home. Which is completely untrue. Unfortunately the language and alphabet are not yet completely deciphered and some of the finds’ purposes and meanings are for now unknown.
Still, I hope this is interesting to you.
Here’s link to a blog I find interesting: http://svarga-bulletin.blogspot.com/2009/05/tangra.html
Here's an explanation of the symbols on the Pliska rosette.
Although most tribes had the same primary God, the lot of them had different deities. Most of the tribes, being nomads did honor their gods in their everyday life, but the Bulgars were one of the few tribes that actually built temples. Another difference between the tribes was the number of deities. Some tribes believed there are about 170 different deities, while others only believed there are 17. Bulgars called theirs Alps – the good ones, and Divs (wild ones) – the bad ones.
The pantheon:
Tangra – God of the endless sky, creator and father of everyone and everything, the one that knows everything.
Umai Khan – mother of the Sun, Mother Earth Goddess.
Alp Marr – alp of the Sun and Chaos. He could turn into a dragon or giant horse. (Horses were sacred for the nomad tribes – the first Bulgarian flag was actually a horse tail on a pike).
Alp – bika(the female version of the alps) Yana (Yankulica/Yanica/Dennica/Zornica) – sister of the Sun. Goddes of light , day, faith. She married a mortal man, who proved himself to be faster than the Sun. She is associated with Venus in the Greek mythology. In some myths she is a wife, in others a sister to Yankul – the god if time.
Alp Yankul (in some sources brother, in some - husband to Yana/Yankulica.) Became alp when he married Yana, after proving he is faster than the Sun. God of time. He has 12 studs of horses – each symbolized a different month of the year. (The Bulgarian calendar had twelve months and has a resemblance with the Chinese calendar. Here’s a link if you are interested. http://www.educatinghumanity.com/2012/1 ... ction.html )
Alp – bika Turran - Goddess of the Moon, love and life. Can turn into swan or a snake.
Div Tuma – div of the mountains, drought and darkness.
Diva (female div) Ulyat – diva of the sicknesses and pestilence.
Alp Dzhil – alp of the winds.
Alp Kubbar – alp of war, storms and thunder.
Alp Sammar / Carga – alp of the light and fertility.
Alp Kermess – alp of the forests,.
Alp – bika Artish – of virginity, animals and home fire.
Alp – bika Ashna – of the open country plants. She was created out of a dew – drop.
Alp – bika Hattin – daughter of Tuma and Ulyat – goddess of the sea life.
Alp Bars – of the justice. He is the Sky judge and banishes everything bad.
Div Azhdahha – son of Ulyat and Tuma, div of lewdness.
Div Shurale – div of misfortune and death. He built a wall that covered the Sun and many people died.
Alp Tashbash – of the roads, travelers and thieves
Alp Tunn – Burry – of the drowned.
Alp Barrin – of the victory in battle and glory.
Alp Ballamir (this one I presume was influenced by mixing with Slavs as the ending of the names with “mir” and “slav” is not at all Bulgar, but is typical for all Slavs) – of the stock breeders. Could turn into a giant bull.
Alp Taygass – of the winter. Has a long white beard and wears big blue hat and blue fur coat.
Alp Boyan – of the healing, divination and magick.
Alp Hursa – of the fire and blacksmiths. Has iron legs and rides a white horse.
Spirits, mystical creatures and places.
Chulmann – a mystical island at the end of the North. Some tribes have alp Chulmann of the creation. Where the alps and divs were created.
Balkan and Turan – the first lands people inhabited.
Sokol (falcon) – a guardian of the way to Chulmann.
Baradge – a dragon, guardian of the Bulgars.
Elen – queen of the forests, mediator between worlds of spirits and men.
Kordush – a spirit that helps shamans with divination and magick.
There aren’t many reliable sources left on Tengrism and it’s sects (for the lack of a better word). And because the different Bulgar tribes also had their own versions of everything, nowadays it's difficult to say if these were actually the Gods and deities Bulgar people believed in. In the land of modern day Bulgaria the Bulgar tribes mixed with the Slavic and Thracian tribes that originally inhabited these lands and also with Roman and Greek cultures. Also, many documents, temples, pieces of art were completely destroyed when knyaz Boris – Mikhail forcefully imposed Christianity onto Bulgaria and murdered 52 bolyar (noble) clans for not accepting it. The extension of the cultural annihilation was so great that until the 20th century the common belief was that the Bulgar tribes had no pieces of art, were not skilful of any art and were illiterate, raised no cattle and basically had no home. Which is completely untrue. Unfortunately the language and alphabet are not yet completely deciphered and some of the finds’ purposes and meanings are for now unknown.
Still, I hope this is interesting to you.
Here’s link to a blog I find interesting: http://svarga-bulletin.blogspot.com/2009/05/tangra.html
Here's an explanation of the symbols on the Pliska rosette.