Worshipping the Heavens
One of the main aspects of Mongolian Shamanist belief is the idea of “Blue Heaven”, which was just as important as beliefs about the creation of the world. After Dorje Banzarov, a number of foreign and native scholars have analyzed the belief in Blue Heaven. Among them, D.Mansan made a thorough analysis of the subject. He considered that “Shamanist belief in Heaven has developed and changed as a result not only of social development but also according to changing international relations”.
Mongolian shamans considered that there are six Great Kings, who rule over the entire universe. One of these is Heaven Lord and the remaining five of them are on the earth beginning from human haan, to the masters of Lus, wild animals, birds, and reptiles. Consequently, the Heaven Lord givers water to the Earthly Lords in the form of rain and snow. In other words, the shamans consider that there could be one life on earth without water from Heaven. Therefore, Heaven Lord, who created water and life, nurtures the Earth and watches over it to make sure that everything runs as it should. There are about forty references to Heaven in the Secret History, with about ten nothing the inseparable relationship between earth and Heaven.
In 1185 Chinggis was enthroned as the King of all Mongolia and he appointed Boorchi and Zelme to the important posts of his Government saying, “Being protected by the Heaven, being cared for by earth, having deserved Jamuh, my friends came to me. Therefore, to show my respect to my good friends, I promote each of you to your rightful posts. Chinggis once sent an army under four of his marshals- Orlogs |Paladins of heroes| to relieve the Hereid when the Naimans beset them. In 1202, Hereid’s Wan Han thanked Chinggis for this intervention. “May you be under the protection of Heaven and Earth. Heaven and Earth are one of the oldest concepts in Mongolian Shamanism, which was emphasized in the Secret History. During the period of Chinggis, Ogoodei, and Gueg Haans, Mongolian soldiers had never attacked the religions of other nations, because they considered that their fundamental belief in Heaven was the same as their Shaman beliefs.
Since the establishment of the Mongolian nomadic civilization, Mongolian Shamanism was one of its component parts, a driving force, and main ideology, which connected every Mongol with Heaven. in other words, belief in Heaven was the cornerstone of Mongolian religion. Dorje Banzarov wrote that the Mongols, as people of other nations, had considered Heaven as supreme. As a result, people who believed in Heaven had an equal right to judgment before it.
With the emergence of social stratification and the distinction between elites and inferiors, the Shaman concept of the Blue Heavens also changed. For instance, the invention of Heavenly origins for elites raised them to a higher level. Chinggis Haan’s origins are described as follows in the Secret History: “Being born of the Borte Chinua |Gray Wolf| and Gua Maral |Beautiful Siberian Stag|, he is different from an ordinary man or women”. However, Khugselbuu-Baatar |hero| said about Tayan Han of Naiman, “Where I was an old man and my wife was still young, thanks to the Mighty Heaven’s blessing Tayan was born, according to Inanchi Bilggee Haan”. in the autumn of 1204, Khulan, a daughter of Uvas Merged’s chieftain Dair Usun, introduced herself to Chinggis Haan, “Please, check my mortal body, which has been graced by Heaven and given birth by my parents”. All of these aristocrats believed that they were of blessed or divine origin: Chinggis Haan was originated from the Highest Heaven or Supreme deity, Tavan Han was born thanks to Mighty Heaven’s favor, and so on. Apparently, the masses believed this too.
Thus, the Mongols respected these aristocrats as the sons of Heaven Lord, a son of Sky, a Blue Heaven Messenger, who were sent to earth that all men should kneel down before them.
This concept was, therefore, of huge importance in the creation of Mongolian unity and establishing popular respect for the Mongolian state leaders.
Animals and People of the Heaven
The late Mr.Seded was son of Tseveen Zayran of white Huular origin, an official of the former Western Otog of Javzandamba Hutagt’s Darhad Shavi. He explained that ancient people had an excellent remedy for a throat disease which involved swallowing a total of 21 biles |7 of squirrel, 7 of fish, 7 of marmot|. On the basis of that conception, Shamanists divided animals into categories: water or aquatic animals; amphibious animals; land animals and flying animals. All aquatic animals such as fish were included in the animals of Lus. According to this idea, a special space called “Lus” was located underwater.
In the human world, as forecited, there are three pillars of state: King, Queen and Army. Shamans believe that all soldiers are their people. Likewise, all animals have their own place.
Animals such as marmots and mice were classified as land animals. In addition, all animals need water, so the Lus spirit cares for all the Land animals. Shaman believers also accounted for animals such as snakes and tortoises that are able to live on both land and water. So, they were considered as the animals of Lus-Savdag. However, these amphibians could not live for long in either Lus or Savdag’s domain but required both.
The Mongolian shamans considered that the snake should be respected for its good and bad qualities alike. On the positive side, if a white snake were found inside the ger of a family, that family would give birth to a boy in the near future. If a snake crosses the path of a traveler, then it said that he/ she would be lucky and wealthy. Encountering a group of snakes is considered a portent of future wealth, so, as a prayer, the hem of the gown should be spread on the ground and the shoes removed to secure this good fortune. There is also a figurative saying that a snake is one of the six kings of the Earth and all the snakes symbolize both good and bad for people in accordance with the desires of this king. On the negative side, if a black or mottled snake is found inside a ger, it is to be a portent of misfortune for the family. So, generally, the Mongols will never kill a snake. However, a few years ago, a young man from Tov |Central| aimag was preparing the winter fodder for his animals when he found a snake in his ger. Thinking nothing of it, he hacked the snake to pieces and threw the body away. As a result of this, all three of his children died that year. There are other examples of such inappropriate treatment of animals and plants protected by Lus leading to misfortune.
Nevertheless, there are some cases when a snake should be killed. If a snake moves across your right-hand side |the side the traditional deel opens on| then it should be trampled to death under the hooves of an animal such as a horse or camel. If someone wants to remove a snake from their home, they must first anoint some milk or other kinds of dairy products such as yogurt or airag its head and then take it out carefully with a pair of fire-tongs. If no snakes are seen for ten years in an area, where their existence seemed certain, then this is considered a bad omen, which has to be countered by magic rituals.
There is evidence that the Mongols have respected snakes since ancient times. For example, L.Sodnomtseren found a snake’s image related to the Bronze Age, and there are other finds from the tombs at Noyon-Uul and Harhorin |the ancient city of Kharakhorum|. Furthermore, G.Sukhbaatar noted, “The day of the ‘Snake’ or ‘Dog’ was considered the most auspicious day by the Hunnus, which is a shamanist custom. So, four bronze plates with snake decoration that were found at Evolga in the Hunnu period graves may be shaman paraphernalia.
However, under the influence of Buddhism, many customs and ritualistic principles of Mongolian Shamanism were changed or assimilated, including this one. Buddhism sometimes employed its influence to subvert Shamanism. For instance, a Lama from Hovsgol depicted four snakes under a Burhan’s image. In the picture “Mount Bogd Han’s Savdag” there is the image of a falcon eating a snake, which also shows the influence of Buddhism on Shamanism. Moreover, it appears to be symbolic of Buddhism defeating Shamanism, for the falcon represented the Savdag of Bogd Han Mountain. If this is true, then it is clear that the symbol of Shamanism was the snake.
Mongolian Shamanism considered that all birds were included as Heaven’s animals. According to Ts.Seded, squirrels, which jump over from one tree to another, are also counted among Heaven’s animals. Mongolian shamans and believers were most respectful towards Heaven’s animals such as eagles, falcons, and magpies. once, when Chinggis Haan was appointing his guard soldiers, he said to Boorche, Monkhulai, Dodoi, and Dodolkhu about Genigedei and Hunan:
Let the Hunan become an attacking wolf at night,
Let him become a circling crow during the day,
Let him follow me at all times whether moving or waiting,
Let him make no contact with my enemies,
Displayinf loyalty to any other,
Let usact together, consulting with Hunan and Khokhoches in all things.
Thus, Chinggis Haan considered wolf and crow as symbols of sincerity for both the state and people. Moreover, it was an expression of the Shaman belief that the crow was a messenger |who carried word from Lus people|, and the wolf was a weapon to fight enemies with. Modern Shaman believers share this attitude concerning the wolf and the crow.
In the nineteenth century, Euroult Zayran |of today’s Bayanzurh soum of Hovsgol aimag| was with his servant-woman in Ikh Huree |modern day Ulaanbaatar|. While returning to Hovsgol, several men from Ahai Beis Hoshuu stole their camels and their luggage. Outraged, the Zayran carried out divination to establish who had stolen his goods. However, when he complained to the Hoshuu’s Noyon |chieftain| and officials, they insulted him rather than giving him assistance. Euroult Zayran was furious and after he arrived home he sent away one of his Ongod to the Ahai Beis Hoshuu from a rocky mountain near his home. This Ongon sent a pack of wolves, its own servants, to the Hoshuu, where they injured many cattle. Additionally, a number of cattle and people were struck by lighting. However, there were fortune-tellers who realized that Euroult Zayran’s Ongod caused this damage, and the dispute was subsequently resolved amicably.
On the same subject, there are some important Shaman invocations. For example, the invocation of ‘Iveediin Hos’ Father” |the spirit of famous Mend Zayran |1757-1826|| says “My black crow interpreter, my seven blue wolf messengers…” Moreover, I have observed on numerous occasions that several crows and eagles would congregate near the Asars of famous Shaman Ongons in the Hovsgol region.
Besides, the above-mentioned painter S.Sharav depicted a human figure with three crows in the foreground of his work “The Savdags of Shishged Valley”. It means the crow was interpreter of Lus Haan and the wolf was his mount. They further considered that wolves culled the weak from their livestock. This belief is also present in many callings of Halha shamans such as, “My Heavens with a fire-snake whip, my Ongons mounted on fierce wolves…”
They considered the magpie to be the go-between of the Heavenly animals. So it was customary that when a magpie called outside a ger, the housewife, who heard it would exclaim, “Oh, magpie! Oh, magpie! Why are you muttering? Please tell me if there is good news, but forget any bad tidings!” When a magpie is seen in a place of worship, Shaman believers consider that the magpie has sent their prayers to the Lus. Soon afterward, as the confirmation of this symbol, another animal would be seen. Also, if a crow flew overhead, or called outside, Shaman believers traditionally prayed to Lus and Savdag. The appearance of other animals such as an antelope, deer, elk, fox, bear or wold close to a ger or cattle-barn also causes prayers or rituals.
Thus, Shamanism had a complete set of procedures and rituals connecting people with Heaven’s animals. When people ceased to obey these rules they began to be subjected to nature’s punishment. In the spring of 1984, S.Dolgor was living with her daughter and grandchild by a river that runs into Talyn Nuur |Lake|. This was the same area in which Sanjemiatav, her father, and her ancestors had lived. One spring day, a roe seer was on the frozen lake and one of the young men in her household killed it. The same day, two of the family’s cattle died mysteriously. Her aunt, Delgeriin Dashnyam Guai, who was seventy-four years old, heard about this incident. In 1938, Delger Zayran was arrested for political activities, and some years before had told Sanjemyatav:
There are two Ongons of called “Buren’s Mother” and “Tsaram’s Mother”, who were sacred in our hearth according to a curse. Only I was able to communicate with them. They appeared as roe deer in my prayers. Whenever you see such an animal near the ger or one of the barns, you should sprinkle some milk and burn some incense such as Juniper and Sandalwood-sticks. Someone other than you would be unable to communicate with them.”
Furthermore, Dashnyam said that Dolgor’s father had not told them this and so they had caused offense. She told them that they had to make appropriate prayers and offerings to the Heavens and the Ongons to pacify them. On the first of July 1991, D.Dashnyam Guai said that Dolgor had insulted her by neglecting her advice. In 1984, Dolgor’s son saw a she-elk with its calf and next to them a bear with two clubs on the edge of a forest near their home. October that year, a bear attacked and destroyed Dolgor’s ger. As a result, she and her three-year-old grandchild have killed their bodies savaged by the bear. All of their furniture and belongings were thrown into the hearth, along with the body-parts. The stove was overturned and the ash scattered all around the fireplace. The next morning, her daughter Darijav, who was returning from the soum’s center-village after spending that night with friends, witnessed the result of the attack along with two other locals. Through the efforts of neighbors, the bear was killed about a kilometer away from the victims’ ger and, according to veterinary examination, was perfectly healthy |apart, that is, from the cause of death|. Moreover, a pack of wolves attacked the cattle of the young kinsman of the late Dolgor who killed the bear. Although a new ger was prepared for the departed woman’s daughter and grandchild, unfortunately, both of them died within a few months. In this way, her family was wiped in less than a season. It is noteworthy that the tracks of the bear passed by numerous other gers over a route of about twenty kilometers and yet it only attacked Dolgor’s ger. It is said that this bear was not a Mongolian ordinary brown bear, but a black bear with a longer tail, a type that lives in the Tagna/ Sayan TaigaRidges of Russian Tuva. This may mean or seem that a single black bear came from Russia to destroy this family in Mongolia.
Thus, why did the bear do this, and why were some animals found only around Dolgor’s ger in the winter of 1984? Yet similar incidents have apparently occurred elsewhere in Mongolia. From this kind of incident, researchers should endeavor to determine the precise relationships between man, nature and natural phenomena such as the weather.
The Origin of the World
The least adequately studied aspect of Mongolian Shamanism has long been Shamanist beliefs concerning the creation and development of the earth and water, or world, as the three major spirits of Shamanism. These spirits are “queen” Earth, king “Heaven” and “prince” Water.
Dorje Banzarov wrote than in ancient times, Heaven and Earth were a single entity. As a result of their separation, a fire was created. Heaven became a masculine force that animated life, while the earth was a female force that gave all things their form. Therefore, the Mongols called then “Heaven-Father” and “Earth-Mother” respectively. Subsequent generations of researchers repeated this conclusion until J.Bor of Kiyan origin, who reached the conclusion:
It is considered that the universe was formed by the separation of a fiery body. In other words the Shamans thought that in ancient times both Heaven and Earth were separated from a common incandescent mass. this is remarkably sismilar to a recent scientific theory which suggests that the universe was a buring mass which gradually separated a few billion years ago thereby creating the Earth.
This is considered in the shaman invocation known as “Fire praying”, the asserted. Moreover, in The legends of world nations concerning the foundation of the Earth, it is written that:
Once upon a time, both the earth and Heaven were a single thing of disordered structure, from which fire and all the unierse were formed. During this formation, the force which created everything with its own form was the feminine creator Earth and the one which animated, or gave them aa spirit, was the male creator or Heaven.
Thus, one hypothesis says that “The earth was formed by the separation of or disintegration of a fiery body”, while the other considers that “the fire and the entire universe, including Heaven and Earth, originated from the disintegration of their common body within a disordered structure…” Thus, fire, the universe, and all living things were created during the disintegration of the primordial mass. in this process, the Earth played the role of a “feminine creator”, which gave everything its physical form and the Heavens, which as “masculine creator” animated those forms. In seems that Mongolian Shamanism’s belief in the creation of the universe by “Mother-Earth” and “Father-Heaven” is remarkably similar to the traditions and legends of other peoples. Above all, there is the common concept of male |arag| and female |bileg| creators.
The Mongolian Shamans considered that in the beginning the earth was smaller and by its stratifying with dust it gradually became larger. During this process mountains, water, plants, and animals were also formed. This Shaman conception of the formation and development of the Earth was provided in the invocation of the “Fire praying” ceremony, in which said:
To the up tended Fire-Father,
Which we fortunately possessed,
Since that time, when,
The Eternal sky above was as a through,
The Earth-Mother below was soil,
The Great Sun Oceans was a pool,
Butter and fat were sacred…
This means that since ancient times the Fire-Mother was given offerings of all kinds of butter and fats. The Hotgoid shamans of the banners of Erdene Duuregch Wan and Tsogtoy Gun, Zasagt Han aimag during their worship of “Agaryn Hairhan”, a Black Darhad Ongon of Baglaan Udgan, which was established in the seventeenth century, used a similar invocation:
When the Great Sun Oceans was a pool,
When the Great Sumber Mountain was a hill,
When the first tree was sapling,
When the Adult Lord was baby,
When the dayan Deerh was an oblate…
Thus, the Sumber |the highest| mountain, and the “Sun” |the largest and deepest| ocean were traditional terms of them which were later taken and developed by Lamaism. Thus, lamas created an idol of a Burhan called “Bund Horol”, which is considered as a symbol of the creation of the universe.