Tengri, Umay and Turkic Religion

You are perhaps already familiar with the Turks and their religions. Over the millennia, they converted to various beliefs, including Judaism, Christianity, Manicheism, Buddhism and finally Islam. But contrary to popular belief, the original Turkish religion was Tengrism. Its pantheon included Tengri, the prime deity and supreme ruler of the sky, as well as Umay, mother earth, and Erlik, guardian of the underworld. 

The Turks further believed in the Tree of Life, the Yer-Su Earth-Water spirits as well as the afterlife – but in a way that differentiates their belief from monotheistic religions. But is Tengrism then a monotheistic religion at all? Should we rather compare it to polytheistic religions like those of the Greeks, Vikings, Egyptians and Sumerians?

In the second episode of our new podcast, we are going to outline this belief system with all of its most important aspects, as well as explore its history and philosophy. 

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