tengrism
/ˈtɛŋ(ɡ)ɹɪzəm/
Etymology
From Tengri + -ism.
tengrism means A Central Asian religion characterized by features of shamanism, animism, totemism, both polytheism and monotheism, and ancestor worship, and formerly the state religion of the six ancient Turkic states. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why this word is great
TENGRISM — [Noun] A Central Asian religious system historically practiced by Turkic and Mongolic peoples, integrating shamanic practice, animism, and ancestor veneration within a cosmology centered on the eternal blue sky god, Tengri. From the name of the supreme sky deity Tengri (from Old Turkic 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, "sky, god") + the suffix -ism, denoting a system or doctrine. Unlike shamanism—a diffuse set of techniques for traversing the spirit world—or animism—the broad attribution of soul to natural phenomena—Tengrism is a specific, sky-anchored theology woven from these threads into a coherent whole. It is the felt presence of the vaulted blue canopy above the steppe, the respectful libation of mare's milk upon the earth, and the shaman's drumbeat tracing a path between mountain and ancestor. Here, the human stands not as conqueror, but as a single articulate breath within the living body of the world.
noun
- A Central Asian religion characterized by features of shamanism, animism, totemism, both polytheism and monotheism, and ancestor worship, and formerly the state religion of the six ancient Turkic states.