I am creating a blog to open people’s minds to new ideas. It will be about my many interests such as astrology, astronomy, finances, science, history, mythology, religion, etc. I will also accept ideas from other people.
1. Humans first. We are more important than any deity or doctrine.
2. All humans are equal under the law. All people should be granted the same respect regardless of differences.
3. There is nothing above or below you. Everyone is on equal footing.
4. Don't worship anything. That's so unnecessary
5. All religions have pros and cons. Get into the pros and ditch the cons.
6. Fellow the 7 Keys of Life. This is the most important part.
7. There is a spiritual reality.
8. Reincarnation is real.
9. Polytheism is real.
10. Animism is real.
11. Aliens and other non-human intelligences are real.
This religion has no clergy. Just fellow the principles. You don't have leave your current religion to fellow this one, if you don't want too. I created this religion so humans can be better to each other. It will also help them be better to nature as well. If you have any questions call me @ 313-461-1246.
It was created by Mani and lasted 4 a millennium. Why did it disappear? It has unique beliefs and rituals. There was texts created for this religion. There was a Manichaean Church.
Mani
He was of Iranian origin and his parents were Elcesaites. When he was 12 and 24 his heavenly twin paid him a visit. He told him to preach the true gospel. Brahmanism and Buddhism was taught to him after he traveled to India. He came back to Persia and he was cool with the emperor. Mani was a great painter and a miracle worker. The miracles were as follows: levitation, teleportation, and healing. He also wrote 7 books. A new emperor came to power, he was Zoroastrian. He put Mani in jail and he died a month later.
History
It started in Iraq, which @ the time was apart of the Persian Empire. The first places it spread to were Egypt and Rome. It was persecuted in the Persian Empire 291 CE after Mar Sisin was killed. Laws in Rome was enacted against it in 302 CE. Manichaeism became popular in Gaul. Christians asked emperor Theodosius I to take away the civil rights of Manichaeans in 381 CE. The following year Manichaeism was suppressed. Theodosius I wanted all the monks of this religion put to death. This religion was persecuted so much that it disappeared in the Roman Empire.
Augustine converted from Manichaeism to Christianity. He felt you need more than knowledge for salvation. He became a satan (adversary) to his original religion. His view of Christianity was influenced by Manichaeism.
"Manichaeism maintained a sporadic and intermittent existence in the west Mesopotamia, Africa, Spain, France, North Italy, the Balkans for a thousand years, and flourished for a time in Persia and even further east in Northern India, Western China, and Tibet." As it spread to different kingdoms it was influenced by other religions. This became the main religion of the Uyghurs in the 8th century. It inspired rebels in China.
Manichaeans were persecuted by the caliph during the Abbasid dynasty. So they fled from Iraq to Iran. Then they moved to Uzbekistan. Emperor Xuanzong of the the Tang dynasty made it illegal 4 Chinese people to fellow this religion. He also persecuted Buddhists. Manichaeism died out because it was persecuted by several emperors. But it may have survived in small pockets in Central Asia until the Mongol conquest in the 13th century CE.
The Cathars, Paulicians, Bogomils were seen as Manichaeans by the Catholic Church. So they were persecuted by them centuries ago. None of those groups were Manichean, but they may have had similar ideas. The Cathar church structure was the same as the Manichaean Church. There maybe small groups of Manicheans in China today.
@ one time it was one of the biggest religions in the world!!!!!!!!!!!
Texts
Gospel of Mani: It was intended to replace the Christian gospels. Mani saw them as misinformed.
Treasure of Life: It's about humanity and the universe.
Epistles: Mani letters to his disciples.
Psalms and Prayers: 'Hymns written by Mani and his disciples.'
Pragmateia: This book was about the history of humanity. It is now lost in time.
Book of Giants: It about watchers and giants.
Book of Mysteries: Explains the nature of the soul.
Mani wrote all the books. 5 of the books were originally written in Syriac, the other 2 books were originally written in Persian. They were translated into many other languages after that.
Beliefs
This religion is a mixture of Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, and Christianity. There's a good god and a evil god. Spirit is permanent and matter is impermanent. If a person increase their virtues and decrease their vices their soul will improve.
10 Commandments of Manichaeism
"1. You shall worship the One God and not commit yourself to the worship of idols; not bowing down to physical objects or ideals in order to worship them. 2. You shall not be dishonest in your ways. 3. You shall not be greedy. 4. You shall not murder a man, a woman or a child, neither shall you abort an infant; and you shall not commit to unnecessary killing of any life including animals and plants. 5. You shall not be unfaithful to your spouse, or commit any form of sexual misconduct. 6. You shall not commit theft. 7. You shall not deceive someone in order to mislead them. 8. You shall not practice magic. 9. You shall not commit hypocrisy in any ways.
10. You shall seek peace and be fair to all regardless of a person’s ethnicity, color, nationality, religious beliefs, gender or sexuality. "
Rituals
Prayer: There are prayers for reading the gospel. They said one b4 reading the gospel. Another prayer was said after reading the gospel. The Emanations prayer praised the lord, in so many words. Prayers from the Elect (clergy) helped save the souls of the laity.
Fasting: The Elect fasted from sun up till sun down. They ate after the sun set.
Almsgiving: The Elect was given food, clothes, and shelter by laity. In return they prayed 4 them and did magic spells. The congregation gave alms weekly or monthly so the Elect didn't have to ask 4 it.
Manichaean Church
Pope: Mani was the first one. Then there was Ctesiphon and after him was Mar Sisin. Finally Abu-Hilal al-Dayhuri.
Apostles: They were second in command after the pope. Mani had 12 apostles, which is similar to Jesus.
Bishops: They were something like high priests.
Presbyters: They were the priests that led the hearers.
Elect: They took the vows of Manichaeism and were the leaders of the religion. They were everyone expect the hearers.
Hearers: They were congregation and they didn't take the vows.
Conclusion
This religion was started by Mani. It is a mixture of Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, and Christianity. It spread to different parts of Asia and Africa. It got snuffed out because of emperors and conquest. But it may survive in small pockets in China. Mani wrote all the texts of the religion. The beliefs can be found there-in. They had there own unique prayers, fasting, and the clergy received alms from the congregation. It had a unique church structure.
They live in northwest China. They have a rich history and culture. Today their religion is Islam, but in the past they followed other religions. Today they live in Xinjiang, which became part of the People's Republic of China in 1949. There is a East Turkestan independence movement that was created by Uyghurs. Many of them and members of other tribes have been put in internment camps.
History
They have been around 4 at least 2,000 years. They had their own empire called Uyghur Khaganate. It was in Mongolia and it was apart of the Silk Road. It lasted for about a century. It was created by 9 tribes called Toquz Oghuz. The Tang dynasty was saved by the Uyghurs, so as a reward they were given a bunch of silk. They even helped the Tang fight the Turks and the Tibetan empire centuries b4! Uyghur kings married Chinese princesses. Mou-yu made Manichaeism the state religion. The Kyrgyz took ova their empire, so they moved south and established another kingdom called Kocho.
Tocharians where already living where the Kocho kingdom was located and they where Buddhist. The Uyghurs mixed with them and the upper class Uyghurs became Buddhist. Tocharians were a Indo-European tribe; mummies of this tribe was found in western China. Chinese and Sogidians lived there as well. This kingdom was also apart of the silk road. The Mongols destroyed that kingdom centuries later. Today they are a mixture of Tiele, Mongolian, Tocharian, and Han tribes.
Today they live in villages and are farmers. They grow wheat corn, sorghum, and melons. In the cities the men extract oil from the ground. The Han started moving into Xinjiang after 1950. A bunch of them moved in after 1990. This caused tension between the Uyghur and the Han. There was a big brawl between the 2. A lot of Han people were killed. In response the government cracked down on the Uyghurs.
Culture
Clothing: They are made out of cotton, satin, and silk. They love to wear caps. Women wear earrings, bracelets, and necklaces.
Marriage: Married women have 2 hair braids and single women have as many braids as they want. Men interview the family of the bride after the proposal. During these interviews they learn about their her and her family.
Dance: They love to dance and women dance on stage often. Some women don't cover their faces either. There style of dancing is called Sanam. The dancers move their neck, fingers, eyes, and elbows. Each region has their own form of this dance.
Music: Their style of music is called Muqam and it has been around for 1500 years!!!!!! It is based on Arabic maqamat model system. They have 62 different musical instruments. One of their instruments is called a duttar. It is a 2 string guitar.
Art: They created a lot of cave painting dealing with Buddhism. Today they are still great painters and their artistry was influenced by Islam.
Language: They speak a Turkic language. It has subject-object-verb word order. It has been influenced by Persian, Arabic, Mandarin, and Russian. There are different scripts for writing Uyghur. They are as follows: Arabic, Cyrillic, and Latin. The first alphabet used by the Mongolians was the Old Uyghur alphabet. Old Uyghur alphabet is based on Aramaic.
Literature: They translated a lot of Manichean and Buddhist texts. A Uyghur wrote a dictionary on Turkic dialects. Someone else wrote a book on Islamic saints. Muyesser Abdul'ehed wrote about the struggle of his people.
Education: In the past Uyghurs were more educated than tribes around them. That was because they were civil servants in the Mongol Empire. They learned a lot after they became Muslims. Mosques and madrassas were full of knowledge. In recent years China has stopped them from getting a religious education.
Cuisine: Their food is cheap and delicious. They eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. They also eat mutton, beef, camel, horse, and diary products. The meat is halal because they are Muslims. Some of their dishes are lamb soup, naan, tandoor bread, and lamb pies.
Medicine: They practiced Unani, this is the Islamic style of medicine. It is based on ancient Greek medicine. Arabs and Persians added to it and made it popular. It is common in India and Central Asia. I believe the Mughal Empire introduced this form of medicine to the Uyghurs. Uyghurs helped improve Classical Chinese Medicine. Today many of them practice allopathic medicine.
Religions
Shamanism: All tribes start off shamanic. The Uyghurs believed everything has a spirit, some still do. The shamans use verses in the Quran to heal people and they use Arabic inscribed amulets. If you want to learn more about shamanism click here.
Tengrism: Tengri is the heavenly father and Umay is the earth mother. This religion is a mixture of folk Turk and folk Mongol religions. It is very shamanic because it comes from folk religions. Ancestor veneration is a big deal and there is over 90 deities in this belief system. Many Central Asian tribes followed this. Humans and animals have several spirits: a etheric body, a personality, and a soul that reincarnates.
Zoroastrianism: They worshiped @ fire altars. This religion is very dualistic. The ideas god vs devil, angels vs demons, heaven and hell, end times, and judgement day can be found in this religion. If you want to learn more about it, click here.
Manichaeism: This became the state religion when a khagan embraced it. He converted to it after meeting Manichean priests. This religion is a mixture of Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, and Christianity. My next post will be about this religion.
Buddhism: They learned it from the Tocharian and Sogdian peoples about a millennium ago. Centuries later they were influenced by Tibetan and Mahayana Buddhism. Buddhists Uyghurs were prominent in the government of the Yuan dynasty.
Nestorianism: This form of Christianity believes Jesus has 2 natures: human and divine. Uyghurs followed this form of Christianity b4 they became Muslims.
Islam: They became Muslim about 500 years ago. This was because their kingdom became a part of Moghulistan. Sunni Islam became the state religion of this empire. Some of them are Sunni, others are Sufi.
Xinjiang
Uyghurs have been there 4 at least 2,000 years. It became apart of China in 1949. The Chinese government tried to assimilate them, but it didn't work. As I wrote b4 the Uyghurs beat up the Han after they moved in the 90's. Some members of the Uyghur tribe traveled to Mecca decades ago and were influenced by Islamic fundamentalism. Some Uyghurs committed terrorist acts because they want their own country. Islamic fundamentalism is just one factor in terrorism in Xinjiang. There are several others.
East Turkestan Independence Movement+
"The desire for independence or greater political and cultural autonomy largely stems from resentment over perceived restrictions to religious and cultural expression, ethnic conflict with the local Han Chinese population, income inequality, and the perception that Beijing's government is misallocating Xinjiang's natural resource wealth."
This movement is about freeing Xinjiang from China's tyranny. The members of this movement want to rename Xinjiang to East Turkestan or Uyghurstan. China's government see this region as apart of China because it was conquered millennia ago during the Han dynasty.
There has been several different peoples in that region throughout history. So, the communists feel the land doesn't belong to the Uyghurs. This movement is seen as terrorism by the government. The Republic of China (ROC) feels Xinjiang is apart of China. In 1931 the a constitution was made by ROC that said ethnic minorities "may either join the union of Chinese Soviets or secede from them."The ROC ruled China and Taiwan until the communists tookova China. Now they only rule Taiwan.
East Turkestan Government-in-Exile is based in Washington D.C. They want independence from China, but the World Uyghur Congress wants autonomy. WUC believes they can get autonomy by being non-violent. But they are seen as terrorist by China. They are based in Germany.
Internment Camps
China (government) says they put Uyghurs in the camps to stop terrorism. Maybe they are trying to turn them into communists. Han culture was forced on them by Weng Lequan. He was ova Xinjiang and he also helped modernize it. Uyghurs are penalized for doing Islamic customs. Zhang Chunxian tookova after Weng. He was worse then Weng. Chen Quanguo tookova after Zhang and he was even worse than him!!!!!!!! He turned Xinjiang into a police state. He did this to Tibet as well b4 he was ova Uyghurland. People in these camps may be getting tortured and having their organs harvested. There are ova 100,00 people in these torture chambers. Cultural genocide comes b4 physical genocide.
Conclusion
Uyghurs have a rich history and culture. They have practiced several religions ova the centuries. They have lived in Xinjiang for ova a millennium. Some of them created there own resistance movement. The Chinese government have been putting them in in internment camps for years.
