Tngri

In the pantheon of

The term tngri is cognate with the Turkic theonym tengri "sky", Mongolian taŋɣaraɣ "oath" and tenger "sky".^[1]

Mongolian pantheon

In

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.[7] Black tngri were invoked only by black shamans "against evil from outside and for securing victory in war".^[8]

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 or four more that were occasionally added, sometimes from the "northern" side.^[9] 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.^[10]

Walther Heissig 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.^[11] A group of nine supreme tngri occurs regularly, but they are not always the same, though Qormusta Tengri and Möngke Tngri are always included among the "Nine Great Tingri".^[12]

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 Buryats) protects riches and the souls of people, and Ataγa Tngri is the protector of horses.^[13] 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.^[14]

See also

• Arshi Tengri
• Dayisun Tngri
• Qormusta Tengri
• Sülde Tngri

References

Notes