Tengerism, or Tengriism, is an

ancient Central Asian animistic

the religion and spirituality, which has
been at the root of shamanism for

eternal blue sky thousands of years. The first

recorded use of the word was in
C4th BCE China.
It was the religion of Genghis
Khan - the great Mongolian leader
Do you work with the Four Directions, - and also of generations of his
have a concept of the Three Worlds, descendants, and was once to be
understand that all things are alive and found practiced from Bulgaria in
the West to Siberia in the Far East.
with spirit, and that all beings on the Tengerism also has connections
Sacred Hoop of Creation are part with other ancient beliefs of Central
of one big family and related? Asia, mingling with, and influencing
both Zoroastrianism and ancient
Well if you do, you are probably Central Asian Christianity. This form
a Tengerist - even if you don't realise it of Christianity is called ‘Nestorian
Christianity,’ after Nestorius, a
Patriarch of Constantinople - and it
Nicholas Breeze Wood explores this was controversial with Orthodox
ancient shamanic spirituality and Christians, as it held the view that
Jesus was a mortal man - not
offers it as a catch-all term we divine - who had a deep and close
could apply to the multitude of connection to the holy spirit,
allowing him to become both a
different shamanic paths healer and a messenger of God - a
currently growing sort of supreme shaman figure.
in the West After a schism with the Orthodox
Church in Constantinople in the
C5th CE, Nestorianism spread to
Western China and Central Asia
along the Silk Road, becoming a
popular spirituality - alongside
shamanism and Buddhism - with
the Uighur people of China’s
Xinjiang provence (East Turkestan),
which lies North East of Tibet.
Nestorianism faded out after
the rise of Islam and the
conversion of the Uighur people in
the C10th, but Tengerism,
Buddhism and Nestorianism still
influence the folklore of Central
Asia - even in those areas which
are now predominantly Islamic; for
instance with the baqshï (shamans)
in Kyrgyzstan.

Tengerism has generally been

tolerant of other faiths and
spiritualities. In1254, William of
Rubruck, a medieval Flemish
Franciscan monk who travelled to
Mongolia, met with Möngke Khan,
the grandson of Genghis Khan, and
at that time the Great Khan of the
Mongol empire. Möngke Khan told
William: “We believe that there is
only one God, by whom we live and
by whom we die, and for whom we
have an upright heart. But as God
gives us the different fingers of the
hand, so he gives to men diverse
ways to approach Him.”
 Currently Tengerism is having So, what is Tengerism in real Opposite Page:
a revival in Central Asia, terms, how does a blue silk khadag
coming into focus once Tengerist see the world, offering scarf flies
more. This refocusing is and how does one in the wind under
perhaps a practice the ‘eternal blue
redefining of these Tengerism? sky’ of Mongolia
cultures after the The way to live
collapse of Soviet - according to Left: Tibetan
domination; a looking to Tengerism - is to live in prayer flags,
what is meaningful from harmony with all things in with the symbol
their past, in order to bring the surrounding world, of the windhorse
meaning and identity to their respecting all living beings and on them
present - but it is not a recreation all aspects of nature.
of something lost, because it never Tengerists understand that Inset: an ancient
actually went away - even during existence is sustained by the Mongolian amulet
the times of Soviet persecution. ‘Sacred Marriage’ of the Eternal symbolising the
The countries and provinces Blue Sky and the Earth Mother. four directions,
where it can currently be found are The ‘Eternal Blue Sky’ is the Sky the sacred centre
all the countries we generally think Father - or the Sky Powers - which and the hoop of
of as the homes of Central Asian is the same as the ‘Great Mystery’ the world. This
and Southern Siberian shamanism; (Waken Tanka: Lakota) of the symbol is often
including Tuva, Mongolia, Buryatia, Native peoples of North America. used to convey
Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tengerism
Yakutia. Many shamans from these Generally Tenger or Tengri
places identify themselves as refers to the Great Sky Father, the
Tengerists, including the late Great Mystery, and the word
Buryat-American shaman and ‘Tenger’ actually means ‘Sky,’
writer Sarangerel Odigon. Because of this association with
the Sky Powers the sky is
Regarding Tengerism, honoured in many ways. The
Sarangerel wrote the following in commonest form of honouring is his life in balance and develops his
an online conversation in 2005: the use of sky-blue silk khadags. own personal power, which is often
‘You do not have to be a These blue scarves are tied to called ‘windhorse.’
shaman in order to practice sacred places in nature and on to Windhorse (lung ta in Tibetan
[Tengerism]. Shamans are spiritual ritual objects such as drums etc. and hiimori in Mongolian) is the Below: Nestorian
specialists who are called upon for Other ways the sky is honoured is spiritual power of a shaman, and is fresco of Jesus.
certain situations of spiritual crisis, by sending clouds of incense a symbol important to both Qocho Oasis,
or for certain rites of passage and smoke into it, as a gift to the Sky shamanism and Buddhism. Images Taklamakan
for healing. Most of the time [non Father and all the local earth spirits of windhorses appear on Buddhist Desert, Xinjiang,
shaman] people interact with the and ancestors, or by throwing - or prayer flags, and the Tibetan name Western China.
spirits directly through personal flicking with a a special spoon - for a prayer flag actually is lung ta - Uighur people
ceremonies done every day and in milk or vodka upwards into the air. a windhorse. C683–770 CE
all kinds of contexts. In the western The Sky Father Tenger is seen
world shamanism has taken on as the chief amongst all the spirits,
such a confused meaning largely with many other lesser Tenger
thanks to the New Age...’ spirits - often said to be His sons
and also called Tengers or
A shaman is chosen by the sometimes Khans - forming a
spirits, and is not a ‘normal’ person, pantheon and acting as His
and yet the ‘normal’ people of a helpers, each responsible for
culture where shamanism is different aspects of creation.
practiced still live by a shamanically Mother Earth is seen as a living
understood cosmology - that is goddess with a spirit - not just a
Tengerism. It’s a bit like saying you dead rock in space, ripe for
don’t have to be a vicar to be a exploitation. This Sacred Marriage
Christian or a lama to be a Buddhist. between the Earth and Sky powers
I see many people in the West, provides for all the needs of all
who are not shamans - but who living beings.
have a shamanic understanding of
life - struggling to give a term to By living an upright and
their spirituality, so I offer respectful life, caring for the
Tengerism as a possible solution to environment and all the children of
this, I certainly would willingly say the Sacred Marriage (whether that
that I am a Tengerist myself, as it being is a human, an animal, a
pretty well sums up where I am plant or any other child of the
coming from. Sacred Marriage) a person keeps

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 All of nature is alive and spirits
are everywhere. Some of these
spirits are friendly and helpful,
while others are hostile. These are
all the normal spirits of shamanic
cosmology, spirits of mountains
and lakes and trees, spirits of
disease, spirits of the sun and the
moon and the stars, spirits of
animals and birds and plants, spirits
of ancestors etc.; all of the spirits
of the three worlds encountered
when a shaman journeys in trance.
Because everything is alive and
with a spirit, all of nature needs to
be respected. This is especially
true of the body of Mother Earth
herself, which ideally should not be
dug into. Water is especially
sacred, as are mountains, and they
should never be damaged or
polluted. Of course these are
ideals, Mongolia and other areas of
Central Asia are heavily mined and
water sources are polluted - no one
is saying being a Tengerist is going
to solve all the problems of the
environment, as people are people
the world over.
Tengerism is a way of life, much
more than a religion in the normal
sense of the word, and as you are
reading this article you probably
already have an awareness of the
sacred nature of Creation, so you are
probably already practicing Tengerism.
You may already have sacred
ways you live by, perhaps you have
learned some Medicine Wheel
teachings or you might be a Tibetan
Buddhist, or have been taught a
sacred cosmology from another
tradition. But that does not matter,
as in Tengerism there are no fixed
rules you need to obey, so long as
you recognise the sacred nature of
Creation, the Sky Powers above
and the Earth Mother below and the
fact that there are many other
spirits all around you, and you try to
live a life where you respect these
sacred powers.
However, there are a few basic
All of nature is alive and practices which most Tengerists
do. These are done to bring
spirits are everywhere, harmony to themselves, their
spirits of mountains and homes and the world around them
(both seen and unseen).
lakes and trees, disease, These include keeping a house
altar, a sacred place in the home.
the sun, moon and In Mongolia these are traditionally
found on the North side of a ger
stars, animals, birds and (yurt), opposite the door, but as
plants and ancestors..... modern buildings are not often
arranged to the Four directions you
will have to be creative.

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 Put your altar on top of a
cabinet or table, or maybe on a
shelf on the wall, somewhere away
from doors, where it is out of the
way and won’t be disturbed. Put an
attractive cloth down to build your
altar on, and put on it items that
represent sacred things to you.
It is good to burn candles and
incense on it, and also to place a
bowl of water. Traditional
Mongolian altars also often have a
small bowl of vodka. The water and
vodka are offerings to the spirits
and should be replaced often.
If you do shamanic work your
ritual objects should be kept on, or
next to, this altar.

Many Tengerists will also keep

ongons on their altars.
An ongon is a spirit house,
somewhere where a spirit is invited
to come and live, and they take
many forms - some ongons look
like human figures and others are
natural objects, or even painted
designs on a square of cloth.
In Mongolia the most common
ongons are a man and a woman
called the zol zayach. These
represent the family unit, and when a time, before it is given to nature small bowls on altars, when you Above: a family
a blessing in some form comes to for the little creatures to eat. open a bottle of wine or other drink altar (with a
the family, a small amount of Other ongons - representing give the first drink to the spirits. This strong Buddhist
decoration - perhaps a ribbon - is spirits of nature or animals, or a is often done by dipping the right flavour) inside
added to the ongons. They are kept shaman’s helper spirits, or specific ring-finger into the glass and flicking a nomad’s ger
close to the bowl of water and ancestors - may be made and the liquid. When I do this, I normally (yurt) in rural
vodka, and sometimes bowls of placed on an altar too. All of these make six flicking offerings, one Mongolia
milk or black tea will be added, will be fed now and then. above to the Sky Powers, one below
perhaps together with a small plate to Mother Earth and one to each of
of sweet food, such as small cakes; The making of offerings is the Four Directions around me. This
all placed in front of the ongons for important in Tengerism. Besides also symbolises that I am in the
Opposite Page:
tying offerings
of cloth strips
to trees and
other aspects of
nature is a way
of honouring and
making offerings
to the spirits of
Nature right
across Siberia
and Central Asia

Left: a
collection of
ongon dolls on
an altar shelf

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Right: a Tuvan sacred centre of Creation - the place
shaman drums of the sacred World Tree which links
and sings to the the Three Worlds.
Sky Powers Other offerings include tying a
blue khadag scarf around your altar,
Opposite Page- or around an ongon on it, or tying
top: a Mongolian one onto some outside part of your
shaman throws a home. Sometimes I put one on my
trail of milk front door, and there are several tied
from a drinking to trees and rocks in my garden.
cup into the sky Smudging and burning incense
as an offering are other forms of offerings, and
the is also traditionally said to carry
Opposite Page-
prayers to the spirits.
bottom - left to
In Tibet this practice of smoke
right: small
offering is called bsang, and it is
bronze ancestor
easy to buy beautiful smelling
ongons from
bsang incense powders from
Inner Mongolia;
Tibetan Buddhist ritual suppliers
a metal Siberian
online at very little cost. Pinches of
shaman’s ongon
these powders can then be
of Jesus; dressed
dropped onto burning charcoal
and decorated
blocks to make clouds of fragrant
Evenk ongon smoke rise, either inside your
house or outside.

Below: bsang Being a Tengerist is not going to

burning in a make your life better, it’s not going
Chinese bronze to make you a shaman, and it is
‘ding’ incense probably what you already are - but
burner on the sometimes it is nice to call a spade a
author’s outdoor spade instead of struggling to find
altar stones another word for it, and the next

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time someone asks you your religion
you can confound them by saying
Tengerist, and enjoy that look of
puzzlement they have on their face
when they ask you: “What on earth
is that?” And let’s face it, being a Because of this association
Jedi is just so passée! with the Sky Powers,
Nicholas Breeze Wood is the editor of the sky is honoured
Sacred Hoop Magazine. He has made a
life-long study of sacred objects and runs in many ways such
an online gallery specialising in the ritual
objects of Tibet and Central Asia. as throwing milk or
Nick@sacredhoop.org
www.3worlds.co.uk vodka upwards
RESOURCES AND FURTHER READING into the air
www.tengerism.org
www.buryatmongol.org
Sarangerel Odigon wrote two excellent
books about Mongolian Tengerism and
shamanism: ‘Riding Windhorses’ and
‘Chosen by the Spirits’ [this book is
especially recommended].
There are also many videos about
Tengerism on Youtube, but most of them
are in Mongolian or Russian.
Blue khadag offering scarfs are not easy
to get outside of Southern Siberia but any
light-weight blue silk or cotton scarf or
narrow length of material would be
suitable to use. Mongolian khadags are
obtainable from www.3Worlds.co.uk,
Tibetan bsang incense powders come in
many varieties, each one dedicated to a
specific being in the Tibetan Buddhist
pantheon (Green Tara, Medicine Buddha,
Mahakala, Dorje Phurba etc.), so you
might want to Google to find out a bit
about the beings offered, to choose one
that suits the intent of your offering - but
any would be suitable as a generic smoke
offering, as would smudging sage, cedar
leaves or other herbs.
Remember charcoal blocks burn with
great heat, so always put them in a
suitable container.
Bsang powders can be easily bought
from many places online, including:
www.garudashop.com (UK)
www.tibetanspirit.com (USA)

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