Tengrian Petition to Gain Official Status as Religion in Kazakhstan Faces Uphill Battle

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Aug. 24 – Tengrianism, the animist faith of nomadic peoples within the Turkic world, has long attracted attention of scholars and others at last in part because its divinity does not set rules but rather talks about what will happen to an individual or his descendants if he or she violates the universal order.

            But most observers have assumed that with the coming of Islam, the passing of nomadic society, and the urbanization of the population, Tengrism is today of primarily historical interest in Kazakhstan where it is most widespread. (On that, see Marlene Laruelle, “Religious Revival, Nationalism and ‘the Invention of Tradition,” Central Asian Survey 26:2 (2007: 203-216.)

            In recent years, however, some have spoken of its revival there, with adherents claiming as many as a million followers. Among those who see it as growing and becoming more important, albeit among unexpected groups is Ulyana Fatyanova, a Kazakh journalist (cabar.asia/ru/kak-v-kazahstane-zhivut-tengriantsy).

            She argues that many Kazakh intellectuals are turning to Tengrism because it is a national religion but not Islam, a faith that has been discredited in the eyes of many in that Central Asian country because of the behavior of radicals and fundamentalists. By accepting Tengrism, Fatyanova says, they can assert their Kazakh identity without being Muslim.

            Most of those who are coming to Tengrism are urban, Russian-speaking elites, a sharp contrast with the rural, Kazakh-speaking, rural residents who had represented the only surviving Tengrism until very recently. It is thus, Fatyanova says, “the religion of the intelligentsia” rather than the faith of the people.

            Now, some of these people are seeking to have their faith recognized officially as a religion. Earlier this year, they posted online a petition calling for that (orda.kz/tengrianstvo-prosjat-oficialno-priznat-religiej-v-kazahstane-386930/); but to date, it has garnered fewer than a thousand signatures. They have until November 25 to collect 6,000.

            Now, the Kazakhstan media reports, backers of this effort are stepping up their activities in the hopes that more will sign and that Astana will then be willing to grant them the official status they seek (orda.kz/my-ne-protiv-islama-pochemu-tengrianstvo-prosjat-zaregistrirovat-v-kazahstane-kak-oficialnuju-religiju-390899/).

            Erlan Espenbetov is one of the Tengrians leading this effort. He notes that there are 18 different religions in Kazakhstan and that they have registered more than 3960 organizations. Tengrianism is not among them, at least in part because many of its followers view it as a philosophy rather than a religion and note that philosophies can’t be officially registered.

            But other Tengrians insist that it needs to be so that it can distinguish itself from shamanism with which it is often confused and carry out propaganda of its ideas among the population, something that official registration by the government would make far easier, the activist continues.