Soul of Tengri: A Demonstration of Traditional Kazakh Rituals

For more than 5,000 years, Kazakh nomads worshipped Tengri, an all-encompassing god and a personification of the universe. In a demonstration of Tengrian traditions, textile artist Azhar Altynsaka opened the “Soul of Tengri” pop-up program at the 2023 Smithsonian Folklife Festival with rituals to cleanse spaces, greet spirits, and protect people and animals from disease.
Learn more about the program: s.si.edu/SoulOfTengri
Camera: Nadya Ellerhorst, Eve Moore
Editing: Nadya Ellerhorst
[Catalog No. CFV11719; © Smithsonian Institution, 2024]

[@Gchco]

Nice to know, I hope more Kazakh brothers return to tengirism. Tengirism is very close to human and nature.

[@stewartwattson5386]

The best short video on Tengrism I've found. Thanks so much for producing and posting.

[@danv3004]

My Kazakh grandmother was a healer. She used herbs as medicine in her healing practices. I regret not writing down her medicinal recipes.

[@villeandersson1487]

2:52. So that's where the Old Norse concept of Yggdrasil comes from! They borrowed it from the Turkic peoples!

[@Based_Stuhlinger]

Quite possible, but probably not proven definitively. Germanic and nordic people likely only encountered turks during the Hunnic invasions, which was relatively late in the AD period when christianity was being already spreading across Europe.

[@bogoljubdjuric6178]

Jebite se tražio sam VERU IZ BERLINA.MOLI M VAS AKO MOŽE.HVALA