Siberian Turkic Religion: The Tengrian Discourse

Since the 18th century, scholars viewed Shamanism as the traditional religion of Siberian Turkic peoples, but this concept has been challenged in the post-Soviet period by an alternative Tengrian discourse. The discourse holds that Tengrism is a well-developed monotheistic religion whose deities are creations or emanations of Tengri, contrasting with Shamanism as an ancient practice tied to a shaman's personality. Academic discussions on this contrast are rooted in terminological issues: academia defines Shamanism broadly to include all Siberian and Far Eastern religious practices, while Tengrian proponents restrict Shamanism to Manchu-Tungus faiths and define the faith of Siberian Turkic nations as Tengrism.

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Abstract

The author analyzes the basic ideas of the alternative Tengrian discourse related to general issues of Siberian Turkic religions. It is shown that since the 18th century, Shamanism had been viewed as the traditional Siberian Turkic religion; however, this established academic concept was challenged in the post-Soviet period. We demonstrate that the Tengrian discourse is rooted in two key ideas: 1) Tengrism is a well-developed monotheistic religion; 2) all deities within Tengrism are thought to be Tengri’s creations or emanations. These ideas are confirmed by examples from academic and media sources related to Tengrism. We analyze the relationship between Tengrism and Shamanism, as well as their main differences. As a well-developed religion, Tengrism is contrasted with Shamanism as an ancient religious practice strongly tied to a shaman’s personality and activities. Traditional academic views on Shamanism as the main religion of Siberian Turkic nations was recognized as a misconception. Academic discussions regarding the contrast between Shamanism and Tengrism are overviewed. We show that these discussions are ultimately rooted in terminological issues, since Shamanism is interpreted differently by various researchers: namely, in academia, Shamanism includes traditional religious practices of all Siberian and Far Eastern nations, whereas the participants of the Tengrian discourse only define Shamanism as the faith of Manchu-Tungus nations. We conclude that they define the faith of Siberian Turkic nations as Tengrism and refuse to equate it with Manchu-Tungus shamanism.