Tengri Funeral Rites
Use a copper cup filled with milk or another white food, such as watery flour paste, but milk is the preference. Using an aspergillus made with horse hair, the white food/liquid is sprinkled to the four directions: east, north, south and finally west around the deceased while the body rests in repose to the west of a campfire. The participants in the funeral rite stand with their backs to the flames, their attention on the shadows on the walls. As the four directions are fed by the offering, a single person, usually the shaman, sets incense on the fire before intoning praises and extolling the virtues and achievements of the deceased. Spirits are called with drums or rhythmic beatings of stones, clapping or something along those lines, much in the way of the fiery beatings of the human heart. This beating rhythm is done to call the attention of the spirits in the area, asking them to bear witness of the achievements of the deceased and to guide him to Bataar in the underworld. If the deceased fell in battle, it is always best to have the eyes of those who the deceased warrior slaughtered or fought against to provide evidence for Minai, Bataar’s crow. If the eyes are available, they are placed on the fire after an hour or more of the spirit drumming.
Once the eyes of the warrior’s combatants are burned, the body is placed in the fire and burned. If the smoke rises to the west, it is a good omen that the warrior will be looked upon favorably, guided swiftly by the spirits who bore witness. If the smoke is born to the east, it is considered an ill omen, that spirits actively seek to waylay the warrior’s spirit. The warrior’s skull and a single coal is removed from the fire. On the second night, a fire is lit with the single coal remaining from the funeral fire and spirit drumming is performed again while burning incense. Before dawn, the skull is then buried facing the East to see the rising sun and the rising entrance to the heavens. The burial of the skull may be delayed for one or two days if the original funeral pyre’s smoke rose to the north/south or the East respectively. If the skull burial is delayed, a coal is kept from each night’s fire following the spirit drumming, which is used to repeat the spirit drumming each night until the skull is buried. The extended periods of funeral fires and spirit drumming prior to burying the skull is performed to give the spirit time to reach Bataar in the Underworld and undergo judgment.
It is important that the funeral fire is not used for warmth or cooking for a camp and must remain separate. It is generally considered a good omen to keep the fire to the west of the camp.
It is considered a good omen if a crow is seen during the spirit drumming, a sign that Minai has taken a personal interest in guiding the warrior’s soul to the underworld. It is commonly held that such an omen is a portent of a great warrior that will be drawn to the heavens to await a rebirth.
Possessions of the deceased may divided among the remaining family, or if no family is available, among friends. Tokens of finger bones or preserved hair are considered a way of respecting the fallen and asking for their protection and guidance from the after life.
