Tengri

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Tengri is the god of the old Turkic, Mongolian and Altaic religion named Tengriism.

The core beings in Tengriism are Sky-Father (Tengri/Tenger Etseg) and Mother Earth (Eje/Gazar Eej). In history, Chinggis Khan (Gengis Khan), the unifier of the Mongolian nation, based his power on a mandate from Tengri himself, and began all his declarations with the words "by the will of Eternal Blue Heaven." Father Heaven is worshipped for what he is, the timeless and infinite blue sky. He is not visualized as a person, although he is said to have at least two sons. Worship of Sky Father/Father Heaven and Mother Earth is almost universal among Turks and Mongols, and is found in North America as well.

The symbols of Tengri were a cross, the skies, and the sun. It is often confused with a sun-worshipping religion, but the sun is merely a symbol of Tengri. The name "Tengri" probably means "Ruler of the skies"; no connection with the Sumerian word for god has been verified. A dramatic pyramidal mountain peak, long believed to be the highest point on the border between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, is called "Khan Tengri".

Geser is the mythical founder of Tengriism. His story is recounted in a very long epic text, meant to be performed over the course of several days with a horse head fiddle (moriin huur).

In Turkish, the word "'Tanrı'" is often used by Islamic Turks as the name of God instead of "Allah" and eventually came to define godliness in general. It derives from "Tan" which literally means sky. It is also used in other Turkic languages in such forms as Teñri, Teñggri, Teñgeri, Teñir, Teñger and Tengere.

Tengriism, a monotheistic religion, replaced an earlier polytheistic Turkic religion, and it was also the religion of the Huns, Eurasian Avars, early Hungarians and early Bulgarians.

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