U368 Mongol Conquest
Week 7, Wednesday:  Religion among the Mongols of the Early Empire

 

  1. The public cult of the Mongol rulers
    1. The Chinggisid priesthood, the qam (Turkish, > Mongolian bö'e)
      1. Headed by the beki, descendant of Ba'arin clan, Old Man Üsün
      2. Held charge of the felt dolls of Chinggis's family
      3. Held charge of migration of yurts of Chinggis's family
      4. Divined by various methods
        1. Scapulimancy--burning (sheep's) shoulder blades
        2. Astrology
        3. Weather-stones--military applications
        4. Shamanic Trances
      5. Played significant role in post-Chinggisid succession struggles
    2. Cults of the imperial founding
      1. Cult of Burqan Qaldun
      2. Cult of Chinggis Qan's tent
        1. Kept in Onan-Kelüren area
        2. Preserved till present in Inner Mongolia
        3. Tents of other Chinggisids also preserved after their death
      3. Traditional Borjigid ancestor cult "reset" to Chinggis Qan
  2. Public, political religion
    1. "Eternal Heaven/God" (tenggeri)
      1. Shows will by success/failure (gives rule to Mongols), also by longevity
      2. Hence no regular cult--"who knows?  Heaven knows"
      3. But often sought by emperor and people before major campaigns
    2. Address and Epistolary (Letter-writing) formulas
      1. Respect for the dead
        1. Title sayin
        2. Posthumous names--Qa'an for Ögedei, Ulugh Noyan for Tolui
      2. Elevation of names for
        1. Chinggis Qan, names of ruling qans
        2. Tenggeri (written tngri)
  3. Social position of Syriac-rite Christianity (Church of the East)
    1. Powerful force in the yurts
      1. Numerous queens of Kereyid origin, mostly Christian
      2. Also nurses and staff in yurts often Christian
      3. Chinqai/Zhenhai and Bulgai, chief scribes for Güyüg and Möngke
    2. Mongol rulers saw 'Christian' and 'Mongol' as exclusive
      1. Focus on creed & fasting >> alien to Mongolian political theology