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The Tenets of Tengri (A New Aachen Edition)
By Sabiha Akin

Introduction by Richard Dawkins, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of New Aachen

Sweeping from the steppes of what some perceived as being in the middle of nowhere the Turkic people swept onto the world stage creating their own cultural epoch which would touch every corner of the earth. From Transoxiana the Turkics would ride in all the directions of the winds, sweeping away all who opposed them with such ferocity and purpose that it left the old Empires of Persia, Byzantines, and the Tang Dynasty in ruins. What purpose was this one may ask? What had pushed or raised the Turkic people to such an unforeseeable movement as they migrated in a few decades across the expanse of Central Asia as far as Tibet in the east, India in the south, and the Anatolia in the west? The answer of course is the great belief that all men look toward and hold high towards determining their actions in this world.

Religion.

It completes mankind and enables men and women to act in such a way that they can defie any odds, even when it appears they are set to lose. Even if one follower or a hundred are killed, it always seems that more will pop up to defend the celestial belief, as the Romans experienced firsthand. For the believers of Tengri it was the divine acknowledgement of Diyanat, the Son of Tengri that started their long and world shaking influence from their conquests to the arts such as the Frescos of Kabul! It though is subjective to say that if the world is in a better or worse state, one can only look at history and make their own opinions on what they see, for me I proud to have found the Will of Tengri and embrace it every day of my life.

The Tenets of Tengri


The Tenets of Tengri are several decrees given unto Diyanat by Tengri when the Eternal Blue Sky communed with Tengri by lifting his soul up into the heavens through a lightning bolt. While we will look into the life of Diyanat and what the events taking place later one must first look to the tenants which were given to Diyanat.

I Tengri stand at the head of the Pantheon of Gods, for none are higher and mightier than him.

II El Kishi dwells at the lowest order of beings deep beneath the world and is jealous of the light and fortune of Tengri and the entire world.

III Between Tengri and El Kishi is the world and universe which is held together by a balance, which is peace among the forces of the universe, most importantly between mankind and the world and man amongst man.

IV This balance is actively changed not by the gods but by the humans-their most important creations and worshippers throughout all that is and was. As they alone are able to create besides the Gods.

V Maintaining the world Harmony is important to a good life for oneself and one’s family and people. The more who seek Universal Harmony the more good fortune will be bestowed upon them and one’s family, tribe, and nation.

VI A lifestyle that cultivates one’s connection with people and the life bearing earth is the best way to live.

VII Those who seek to maintain the Balance of Harmony will be rewarded in life and in death with several hundred years of divine embrace with Tengri.

VIII Those who seek to disrupt the Balance of Harmony will be punished with several hundred years of embrace in the cold, suffocating depths of El Kishi.

XI It is the duty of the people to maintain the worldly harmony and to take whatever measures deemed necessary to bring about the Balance of Harmony.

Not unlike the Commandments from the Abrahamic Religion, these Tenets are nine universal truths that were revealed to Diyanat. Though unlike the sedentary religions of Christianity or Hinduism that started out with temples and writing measures at the 7th Century the Turkic Rune Writing System and availability of paper and writing materials was scarce amongst the nomadic tribes across the Central Asian Steppe. Therefore prior to the invasion of Persia the form the Tenets of Tengri took were largely oral from the mouth of Diyanat or Shamans. The only written form being inscribed on animal pelts or painted on pieces of cloth and was limited to just the Tenets of Tengri with occasional prayers or hymns of praise to Tengri and Diyanat changing from person to person.

This phase of the evolution of the Tenets of Tengri can be described as the original phase or Diyanat Era, before the need of mass conversion to a large population would cause the mass production of the Tenets and before it grew from a set of religious laws to an entire religious history. These changed would take place in the next era of phase, the Second Phase or the Temur Era who would change the makeup of the Tenets of Tengri, add his own religious laws into the text, and recount the life of his father turning the Tenets into a religious book.
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