Cult of Ancestors

 

CULT OF ANCESTORS

 

‘Pull the Grass, Look its Roots’

 

            If the meaning of the proverb in the title is not clear enough; Let's think about this a little more. Just as the grass that takes root firmly in the soil does not come out even if you force it; Likewise, if a person has strong roots, he can live strongly. Man's root is his lineage. They are their ancestors.

 

            It would be a mistake to deny personal differences, to ignore the power of a person to draw their own destiny. However, it is a fact that while there is a generation whose roots are inherently solid, while there is strengthening the holy family hearth and raising healthy children; Why should children of broken families strive to have a name with their teeth, nails?

 

My Father's Name (Turkish Folk Story)

 

“Young girls of marriageable age meet and chat. The issue is how they get married. Ayşe says ‘my father has a farm, we have a lot of property. That's how I marry. "

Fatma begins to say, "My father is also this profession", and while each girl talks about her family's property, property and authority of her father, they ask the poor young girl who is there; "Emine, how are you going to marry?"

Emine replies, "My father's name won't put me at home."

            How did we come to the world, personally what was our first reason? After Ulu Gök Tengri, we no doubt owe our lives to them; our ancestors.

 

         The people of the civilized world are fighting psychological problems. Humanity has never experienced so many psychological disease epidemics throughout history. People started to get lonely. With ‘me’ coming to the fore, 'us' was forgotten.

         Due to the emergence of the technology sun from the West, not only Turkishness, but all national identities 'melted away' under the Western umbrella. Wander the streets wearing traditional clothes are not only in Turkey, no longer causes the eyes to look at you weird people in Japan. Isn't it time to strengthen ourselves and our ancestors?

 

What Does the Cult of Ancestors Mean?

 

         As we said; If we are alive now, if we are reading this article, we owe it to our ancestors. The Ancestors Cult is a way to strengthen the souls of these ancestors to which we owe, and to feel their strength and support in our souls and lives.

         Even if we are Muslims today, this belief in the 'cult of ancestors' has remained largely the same. Fatiha, Yasin we read after the deceased; schools, fountains, monuments, charities built in the name of our deceased ancestor; It is not an Islamic custom to erect tombstones with the meals we give in honor of our deceased ancestors, the bread we distribute, the sacrifices we slaughtered and even for our deceased relatives; It is entirely based on the Ancestors Cult tradition.

 

 

What to Do According to the Cult of Ancestors?

         According to the Tengrici worldview, we need to strengthen the flying ancestor spirits who die and become closer to Tengri in order to contact Tengri's power. If a child falls down and shouts ‘mother!’ even his mother is dead; Worship of the spirit of ancestors carries very deep spiritual meanings. Our ancestors are our life supporters. While our ancestors were alive, they protect our material bodies, arms, support; When our ancestors die, they protect our spirit and our spiritual world.

 

         We said death is a flight; We said that integrating with Tengri means returning to Him. So, remembering with good wishes, remembering, not forgetting, and doing good on behalf of our ancestors will both strengthen them and bind us strongly to life.

 

         When our ancestor, who did bad things while living, dies according to belief, he is purified from all good and evil and neutralized. But the bad deeds he does will cause the prayers to be read after him to decrease.

 

If we are to Systematize the Cult of Ancestors:

1- While living, we have to live with dignity, be responsible and be a good person. If we do not live an honorable life, if we are not recognized as a good person by our environment and our children; When we die, our soul will suffer from depression. In Islam, this is called "Spirits waiting for me to ask if there is no Fatiha". (Of course this is an extension of a Tengrici tradition.)

According to the belief of the Sky God, there will be no questioning in the hereafter, no good or evil calculation will be made. However, when we die, positive energy from the world must reach us for our souls to complete the transition process in peace. If we do not want to be remembered for the bad things we do, we must live a good life in the world. A tree we planted, a book we left can help our souls go through the period after death. But the most important thing is to be remembered as a good person.

 

2- According to the ancestors cult, our ancestors are the power that flows in our blood. It is part of our soul. In order to communicate with this power, it is necessary to remember the ancestors, to do charity for them, to organize meetings and charity.

         Most importantly, our Turkish ancestors, who have accomplished great things, are the most powerful ancestor spirits because they are remembered by many. In the tombs of great people, at their graves, to invoke them, to speak to them and to do good for them; It will enable us to strengthen those ancestral spirits and thus revive the ancestral power within our own body.

 

         Those who still have a problem today go to certain shrines and want to use the holy person lying there to reach Tengri. Wouldn't it be more effective to talk directly to Tengri? You may say. Remember the Tengri definition we made in the first chapter. If we think according to the definition of God in Islam, there is no need to intervene when talking to the omnipotent god.

 

         But in order to reach the Tengri energy that we know in nature, it is not against our belief to strengthen the spirit of those who have died and flew to Tengri.

 

            There is of course a reason why Turks have been going to tombs and cemeteries for thousands of years. These are not superstitious beliefs. If we continue this tradition in spite of Islam, it is precisely because we have benefited in some way and that we have found parts of this belief that are reasonable for us.

 

            The Cult of Ancestors, which is the teaching of Tengricism about human, motivates us to be good people. It reminds us of the fact that both good and evil are inherited to our children. In particular, according to the individualist Western culture, everyone should take care of themselves. However, although it is an individualist, the fact of parents and ancestors shows its effect in the West. The difference between what is left from good parent to child and bad parent to child makes the difference in the social order.