{"id":6505,"date":"2026-05-13T20:29:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T20:29:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/erlik-khan-ruler-of-the-altaic-underworld\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T09:31:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T09:31:12","slug":"erlik-khan-ruler-of-the-altaic-underworld","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/erlik-khan-ruler-of-the-altaic-underworld\/","title":{"rendered":"Erlik Khan: Ruler of the Altaic Underworld"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"6505\" class=\"elementor elementor-6505 elementor-2636 elementor-bc-flex-widget\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-hero e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-hero\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-hl e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-hl\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-htxt e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-htxt\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-h1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-h1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Erlik Khan, Altaic-Siberian lord of the underworld and counterpart of Ulgen<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-lead elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-lead\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Erlik Khan is the ruler of the underworld in South Siberian Tengrism and the mythic counterpart of the light god <a href=\"\/en\/uelgen-god-of-light-of-the-altai-peoples\/\">Ulgen<\/a>. He represents death and disease and, at the same time, a necessary, ordered shadow side of the world.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-pillc e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-pillc\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-pills elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-pills\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"iwg-pill-row\"><span class=\"iwg-klasse-badge\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"Harmful being of the Siberia \/ Tengrism tradition.\">Harmful Being<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/siberian-shamanism-and-tengrism-steppe-and-taiga\/\" class=\"iwg-kultur-badge\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"Mythology of the Siberia \/ Tengrism tradition.\">Siberia \/ Tengrism<\/a><span class=\"iwg-tradition-badge\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"Underworld god.\">Underworld God<\/span><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-tocc e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-tocc\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-toc elementor-toc--minimized-on-tablet elementor-widget elementor-widget-table-of-contents\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-toc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;headings_by_tags&quot;:[&quot;h2&quot;,&quot;h3&quot;],&quot;minimize_box&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;marker_view&quot;:&quot;bullets&quot;,&quot;no_headings_message&quot;:&quot;Es wurden keine \\u00dcberschriften auf dieser Seite gefunden.&quot;,&quot;exclude_headings_by_selector&quot;:[],&quot;icon&quot;:{&quot;value&quot;:&quot;fas fa-circle&quot;,&quot;library&quot;:&quot;fa-solid&quot;,&quot;rendered_tag&quot;:&quot;&lt;svg class=\\&quot;e-font-icon-svg e-fas-circle\\&quot; viewBox=\\&quot;0 0 512 512\\&quot; xmlns=\\&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.w3.org\\\/2000\\\/svg\\&quot;&gt;&lt;path d=\\&quot;M256 8C119 8 8 119 8 256s111 248 248 248 248-111 248-248S393 8 256 8z\\&quot;&gt;&lt;\\\/path&gt;&lt;\\\/svg&gt;&quot;},&quot;minimized_on&quot;:&quot;tablet&quot;,&quot;hierarchical_view&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;min_height&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;min_height_tablet&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;min_height_mobile&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]}}\" data-widget_type=\"table-of-contents.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-toc__header-title\">\n\t\t\t\tTable of Contents\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__toggle-button elementor-toc__toggle-button--expand\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"elementor-toc__iwgw-erlikkhan-toc\" aria-expanded=\"true\" aria-label=\"Open table of contents\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-chevron-down\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M207.029 381.476L12.686 187.132c-9.373-9.373-9.373-24.569 0-33.941l22.667-22.667c9.357-9.357 24.522-9.375 33.901-.04L224 284.505l154.745-154.021c9.379-9.335 24.544-9.317 33.901.04l22.667 22.667c9.373 9.373 9.373 24.569 0 33.941L240.971 381.476c-9.373 9.372-24.569 9.372-33.942 0z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__toggle-button elementor-toc__toggle-button--collapse\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"elementor-toc__iwgw-erlikkhan-toc\" aria-expanded=\"true\" aria-label=\"Close table of contents\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-chevron-up\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M240.971 130.524l194.343 194.343c9.373 9.373 9.373 24.569 0 33.941l-22.667 22.667c-9.357 9.357-24.522 9.375-33.901.04L224 227.495 69.255 381.516c-9.379 9.335-24.544 9.317-33.901-.04l-22.667-22.667c-9.373-9.373-9.373-24.569 0-33.941L207.03 130.525c9.372-9.373 24.568-9.373 33.941-.001z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-toc__iwgw-erlikkhan-toc\" class=\"elementor-toc__body\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__spinner-container\">\n\t\t\t\t<svg class=\"elementor-toc__spinner eicon-animation-spin e-font-icon-svg e-eicon-loading\" aria-hidden=\"true\" viewBox=\"0 0 1000 1000\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M500 975V858C696 858 858 696 858 500S696 142 500 142 142 304 142 500H25C25 237 238 25 500 25S975 237 975 500 763 975 500 975Z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-hr e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-hr\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-heroimg iwg-hero-image elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-heroimg\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/daemonen_sibirisch-tengrismus_erlik-khan-683x1024.webp\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-6506\" alt=\"Erlik Khan - Demons from the Siberian Tengrism tradition, historical illustration\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/daemonen_sibirisch-tengrismus_erlik-khan-683x1024.webp 683w, https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/daemonen_sibirisch-tengrismus_erlik-khan-200x300.webp 200w, https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/daemonen_sibirisch-tengrismus_erlik-khan-768x1152.webp 768w, https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/daemonen_sibirisch-tengrismus_erlik-khan.webp 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-sec-iwgcomp2-erlik-khan elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"sec-iwgcomp2-erlik-khan\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-col-iwgcomp2-erlik-khan\" data-id=\"col-iwgcomp2-erlik-khan\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgcomp2-erlik-khan elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgcomp2-erlik-khan\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Erlik Khan is the <strong>Altaic-Siberian<\/strong> underworld god of Tengrism.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-sec-iwgcomp-erlik-khan elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"sec-iwgcomp-erlik-khan\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-col-iwgcomp-erlik-khan\" data-id=\"col-iwgcomp-erlik-khan\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgcomp-erlik-khan elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgcomp-erlik-khan\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Erlik Khan, the <strong>Altai underworld god<\/strong>, rules over the dead and the subterranean world of Tengrist-shamanic <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of the transmitted mythological narratives of a culture.\" tabindex=\"0\">mythology<\/span>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s0 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s0\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s0h elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s0h\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Classification and Brief Profile<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s0c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s0c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s0t elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s0t\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Erlik Khan (also Erlik, Erklik, Erlig; Mongolian Erlig Khaan) belongs to the highest tier of the South Siberian <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of the gods of a religion or culture.\" tabindex=\"0\">pantheon<\/span>. In Altaic and Tuvan belief he is the lord of the lower realm, not of evil as such, but of a distinct domain inhabited by the dead and the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A bodiless being to which agency in the world is attributed.\" tabindex=\"0\">spirits<\/span> of plague and famine.<\/p><p>In later layers he appears as a malevolent figure, a development attributable above all to Buddhist reinterpretation in the Mongolian world (Erlig Khan as Yama equivalent) and to Christian-missionary demonization in the 18th and 19th centuries.<\/p><p>Within the <a href=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/siberian-shamanism-and-tengrism-steppe-and-taiga\/\">Siberian-Tengrist tradition<\/a>, Erlik and <a href=\"\/en\/uelgen-god-of-light-of-the-altai-peoples\/\">Ulgen<\/a> form a dual pair that is not to be understood in moral terms as a Manichaean dualism, but as a complementary order of above and below, summer and winter, birth and death.<\/p><p>A. V. Anokhin clarified this interpretation in his <em>Materials on the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A religious system in which specialists communicate with the spirit world.\" tabindex=\"0\">Shamanism<\/span> of the Altaians<\/em> (1924).<\/p><p>The scholarly debate around Erlik is particularly rich because it illustrates, through this one figure, how missionary outside perspectives can distort an indigenous <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The academic discipline that studies religions comparatively and without confessional commitment.\" tabindex=\"0\">religion<\/span>. What the Altaians knew as the &#8220;Lord of the Lower World&#8221; was rendered &#8220;devil&#8221; through Russian Orthodox and Buddhist translations, a classic case study in postcolonial <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The discipline that studies religions comparatively and without confessional commitment.\" tabindex=\"0\">religious studies<\/span>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s1 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s1\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s1h elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s1h\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Name and Etymology<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s1c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s1c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s1t elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s1t\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The name <em>Erlik<\/em> is Old Turkic and is commonly derived in scholarship from <em>er<\/em> (&#8220;man, hero&#8221;); an alternative derivation connects it to a root meaning &#8220;brave, strong, imperious.&#8221; In Mongolian it becomes <em>Erlig Khaan<\/em>; in Buddhist overlay it merges with the Indo-Tibetan Yama \/ Shinje.<\/p><p>Walther Heissig described this merger in detail in <em>Die Religionen der Mongolei<\/em> (1970).<\/p><p>The title <em>Khan<\/em> marks him as a ruler; in the Altaic <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A religious specialist credited with mediating between humans and the spirit world.\" tabindex=\"0\">shaman<\/span>-songs he is also called <em>Yer-Tine Khan<\/em>, &#8220;King of the Earth&#8217;s Depths.&#8221; Importantly, in its indigenous Siberian context Erlik is not a devil in the Christian sense; Christian missionaries of the 19th century (Verbickij and others) suggested this equation, and scholarship long accepted it uncritically.<\/p><p>Linguistically noteworthy is the possible connection to <em>er-lig<\/em>, &#8220;the manly one,&#8221; which characterizes Erlik as the &#8220;great man&#8221; beyond death. In this reading he is less a harmful being than the representative of a necessary anthropological function: death as part of what it means to be human.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s2 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s2\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s2h elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s2h\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Description and Iconography<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s2c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s2c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s2t elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s2t\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Erlik is described as an old, black-haired man with boar tusks, iron claws, and a mace made of human vertebrae.<\/p><p>He rides a black bull or black horse; his palace stands on the bank of an infernal river, which he shares with nine sons and nine daughters. The Altaic shaman drum depicts him in its lower third, often with an inverted sun <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A sign that stands in for a concept or meaning.\" tabindex=\"0\">symbol<\/span>.<\/p><p>This <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The study of pictorial content and its meaning.\" tabindex=\"0\">iconography<\/span> is described in its <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The era of Greek and Roman culture, roughly 800 BCE to 600 CE.\" tabindex=\"0\">classical<\/span> form by Anokhin (1924) and N. Dyrenkova; it was later discussed by <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Romanian scholar of religion (1907-1986); shaped the phenomenological method in religious studies.\" tabindex=\"0\">Mircea Eliade<\/span> in <em>Le chamanisme<\/em>. Buddhist overlay adds to it the attributes of the Indo-Tibetan Yama: buffalo horns, a lasso, and a mirror of deeds.<\/p><p>Several Altaic Erlik representations are preserved in the collections of the Kunstkammer Museum (St. Petersburg); L. P. Potapov catalogued them in his standard work <em>Altaiskij schamanizm<\/em> (1991). They display a remarkable iconographic consistency across two hundred years of collection history.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s3 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s3\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s3h elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s3h\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Mythological Narratives<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s3c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s3c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s3t elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s3t\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The Altaic creation mythology tells how <a href=\"\/en\/uelgen-god-of-light-of-the-altai-peoples\/\">Ulgen<\/a> wishes to draw earth from the primordial sea and asks Erlik, in the form of a bird, for help.<\/p><p>Erlik dives down and brings up mud, but secretly keeps part of it in his mouth; from this remainder marshes and mountains arise, and eventually Erlik himself as an independent power. In his arrogance he later tries to seat himself beside Ulgen, is banished, and has ruled the lower world ever since.<\/p><p>A second narrative describes how Erlik causes the first humans to fall ill by &#8220;reading&#8221; bones out of their bodies. Shamans were born to bring these bones back, a mythology that provides the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Belonging to a fixed sequence of religious actions.\" tabindex=\"0\">ritual<\/span> foundation for the shaman&#8217;s journey to the underworld and occupies the prototypical place in Eliade&#8217;s <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A religious system in which specialists communicate with the spirit world.\" tabindex=\"0\">shamanism<\/span> model.<\/p><p>A third, less well-known narrative describes how Erlik negotiates with the messengers of <a href=\"\/en\/tengri-sky-god-of-the-tengrists\/\">Tengri<\/a> over the souls of the deceased: those who led a good life may return to the upper world; those who acted badly remain with Erlik. This moralizing variant is probably of more recent, post-Buddhist origin.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s4 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s4\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s4h elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s4h\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Cult and Veneration<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s4c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s4c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s4t elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s4t\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In the strict sense there was no &#8220;veneration&#8221; of Erlik, rather a ritualized demarcation. The Altaic shamans distinguished between <em>aq kam<\/em> (white <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A religious specialist attributed with mediating between humans and the spirit world.\" tabindex=\"0\">shaman<\/span>), who ascended to Ulgen, and <em>kara kam<\/em> (black <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A religious specialist attributed with mediating between humans and the spirit world.\" tabindex=\"0\">shaman<\/span>), who descended to Erlik.<\/p><p>Both vocations were considered legitimate and necessary; the ethnographic account in Anokhin makes clear that &#8220;black&#8221; here does not mean &#8220;evil&#8221; but &#8220;directed downward.&#8221;<\/p><p>When plague struck, when sudden deaths occurred, or when a child was lost, the black <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A religious specialist attributed with mediating between humans and the spirit world.\" tabindex=\"0\">shaman<\/span> was summoned. During the session he <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Belonging to a fixed sequence of religious actions.\" tabindex=\"0\">ritually<\/span> entered Erlik&#8217;s realm, negotiated with him, and returned the &#8220;abducted soul.&#8221; <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Gift to a deity to express gratitude, petition, or veneration.\" tabindex=\"0\">Sacrifices<\/span> consisted of black sheep or horses; the blood was poured not toward the sun but into the earth.<\/p><p>With the Soviet era this <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of religious acts of veneration directed at a deity or sacred figure.\" tabindex=\"0\">cult<\/span> died out almost entirely; in the Altaic renaissance since 1991 it has experienced a cautious revival, though considerably less visible than the Ulgen <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of religious acts of veneration directed at a deity or sacred figure.\" tabindex=\"0\">cult<\/span>, since Erlik continues to be associated in popular perception with &#8220;black <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Practices that seek to intervene in the course of events through special actions or formulas.\" tabindex=\"0\">magic<\/span>.&#8221;<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s5 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s5\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s5h elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s5h\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Protective Practice and Apotropaic Measures<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s5c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s5c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s5t elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s5t\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Described from a religious-studies perspective (without any claim of efficacy): apotropaic practices against Erlik included hanging white woolen bands on the door lintel, placing small wooden figures (&#8220;Erlik&#8217;s servants&#8221;) as <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A sign that stands representatively for a concept or meaning.\" tabindex=\"0\">symbolic<\/span> substitute <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"An offering to a deity to express gratitude, petition, or veneration.\" tabindex=\"0\">offerings<\/span>, the taboo against pronouncing Erlik&#8217;s name aloud after sunset, and fumigating the house with juniper.<\/p><p>Certain behavioral rules also had an <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Warding off misfortune: of signs and objects intended to keep harmful influences at bay.\" tabindex=\"0\">apotropaic<\/span> character: one was not to enter a sickroom wearing a hat, since Erlik &#8220;collects heads&#8221;; door thresholds were rubbed with charcoal because the restrained black supposedly restrains the threatening black, a classic example of sympathetic <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Practices that seek to intervene in the course of events through specific actions or formulas.\" tabindex=\"0\">magic<\/span> in the sense of James <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"James George Frazer (1854-1941); British anthropologist; main work The Golden Bough (1890-1915).\" tabindex=\"0\">Frazer<\/span>.<\/p><p>These practices are to be understood within the framework of the taboo and purity concepts of South Siberian religion, which in numerous detailed rules demarcates the ordered fabric of the world from the lower realm.<\/p><p>Roberte Hamayon, in <em>La chasse a l&#8217;ame<\/em> (1990), read them as part of a &#8220;kinship economy&#8221; in which illness and death are addressed as breaches of order.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s6 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s6\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s6h elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s6h\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Parallels in Other Cultures<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s6c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s6c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s6t elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s6t\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Structurally comparable figures include: Yama in Vedic and Buddhist India; Hades in the Greek <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The passing on of knowledge and narratives across generations.\" tabindex=\"0\">tradition<\/span>; Hel in Norse <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of the transmitted mythological narratives of a culture.\" tabindex=\"0\">mythology<\/span>; Mictlantecuhtli in the Aztec <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of the gods of a religion or culture.\" tabindex=\"0\">pantheon<\/span>; and Osiris in his function as judge of the dead rather than as dying god.<\/p><p>Within Siberia itself there are parallel figures such as <em>Yer-Khan<\/em>, the counterpart of <em>Aiy Tojon<\/em> among the Yakuts.<\/p><p>The Buddhist-Tibetan transformation of Erlik into Erlig Khaan as Yama equivalent is the subject of a <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Handed over to the sacred through a religious act and thereby set apart from the everyday.\" tabindex=\"0\">dedicated<\/span> study by Walther Heissig (<em>Die Religionen der Mongolei<\/em>, 1970). This shows how an indigenous underworld figure was integrated into Tantrism and overlaid there with its own attributive layers.<\/p><p>From a phenomenology-of-religion perspective, it is noteworthy that virtually all three-tiered cosmological systems (upper, middle, lower) include an underworld <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A being venerated as divine within a religion.\" tabindex=\"0\">deity<\/span> who is simultaneously a figure of dread and a guarantor of order. Erlik is therefore not an anomaly but an instructive example.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s7 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s7\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s7h elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s7h\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Contemporary Reception and Research<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s7c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s7c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s7t elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s7t\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In modern Tuvan and Altaic <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The traditional folk culture with customs, narratives, and songs.\" tabindex=\"0\">folklore<\/span>, Erlik functions more as a figure of dread than as an object of cult; in popular reception (fantasy novels, online games) he appears partly as a &#8220;dark antagonist.&#8221; Academically reliable treatments are found in Andrei Znamenski, Roberte Hamayon, and in the Russian-language collection <em>Mify narodov mira<\/em> (vol. 2, 1992).<\/p><p>An important scholarly debate revolves around the question of how much of the current &#8220;dark&#8221; image of Erlik predates Islam and Buddhism and how much arose from Christian-missionary demonization in the 18th and 19th centuries. Verbickij and other missionaries simply translated &#8220;Erlik&#8221; as &#8220;devil&#8221; in their dictionaries, and later scholarship long accepted this uncritically.<\/p><p>Andrei Znamenski&#8217;s <em>Shamanism and Western Imagination<\/em> (Oxford 2007) has reconstructed this history of distortion comprehensively and argues for a restoration of the historical Erlik as an ambivalent figure of order beyond Christian-dualist schemas.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s8 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s8\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s8h elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s8h\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Research Debates and Open Questions<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s8c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s8c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s8t elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s8t\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Three research questions remain open. First: what earlier form did Erlik have in proto-Turkic religion prior to contact with Buddhism and Christianity? Anokhin&#8217;s material suggests he was older and more autonomous than the Buddhist identification with Yama implies.<\/p><p>Second: to what extent is the Altaic Erlik tradition continuous with the Yakut <em>abasy<\/em> tradition and discontinuous with the Mongolian Erlig-Khaan tradition? L. P. Potapov argued for a split hypothesis here, which is being revisited in more recent research.<\/p><p>Third: what role does Erlik play in the contemporary Tuvan and Altaic neo-<span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A religious system in which specialists communicate with the spirit world.\" tabindex=\"0\">shamanism<\/span> scene, which develops partly against, partly alongside the Russian mainstream? Marjorie Mandelstam Balzer has shown in several essays that modern shamans deliberately draw on Erlik to articulate an indigenous alternative to the dominant Russian Orthodox symbolism.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s9 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s9\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s9h elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s9h\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Relationship to the Yama Tradition<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s9c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s9c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s9t elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s9t\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The identification of Erlik with Buddhist Yama is, from the perspective of religious history, one of the best-documented cases in Mongolian-Tibetan religion.<\/p><p>Walther Heissig showed in <em>Die Religionen der Mongolei<\/em> (1970) how, over several centuries, the Altaic Erlik merged with the Indo-Tibetan Yama \/ Shinje without a complete substitution taking place. Instead, a double-layered figure emerged in which either the Altaic or the Buddhist layer is activated depending on context.<\/p><p>This layering is an instructive example for the religious-studies field of &#8220;translation studies&#8221;: how precisely is a concept transferred from one tradition to another, which semantic shifts are unavoidable, and what hybrid forms arise from the translation process?<\/p><p>A concrete instance: in the Tibetan <em><span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In Tibetan Buddhism, the transitional state between two existences; the Bardo Thodol describes the phase after death.\" tabindex=\"0\">Bardo<\/span> Thodrol<\/em> (&#8220;Tibetan Book of the Dead&#8221;), Yama appears as the holder of a mirror that shows the dead person his or her deeds in life. This idea is absent from the autochthonous Altaic Erlik complex but present in the late-Mongolian Erlik conception, pointing to the Buddhist layer.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s10 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s10\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s10h elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s10h\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Sources and Reference to the Culture Hub<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s10c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s10c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s10t elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s10t\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Those wishing to study the Erlik complex in its full breadth will find on the overview page <a href=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/siberian-shamanism-and-tengrism-steppe-and-taiga\/\">Siberian-Tengrist Tradition<\/a> the most important cross-references to related figures such as <a href=\"\/en\/uelgen-god-of-light-of-the-altai-peoples\/\">Ulgen<\/a> and the lower <em>abasy<\/em> harmful beings. A. V. Anokhin&#8217;s <em>Materials on the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A religious system in which specialists communicate with the spirit world.\" tabindex=\"0\">Shamanism<\/span> of the Altaians<\/em> (1924) remains the most important primary source.<\/p><p>For the Buddhist overlay, Walther Heissig&#8217;s <em>Die Religionen der Mongolei<\/em> (1970) and Klaus Sagaster&#8217;s studies are the standard references. For the critical examination of missionary distortions, Andrei Znamenski&#8217;s <em>Shamanism and Western Imagination<\/em> (Oxford 2007) is the best available work.<\/p><p>L. P. Potapov&#8217;s standard work <em>Altaiskij schamanizm<\/em> (St. Petersburg 1991) offers the most comprehensive Soviet-Russian synthesis and should not be overlooked in Erlik research.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s11 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s11\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s11h elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s11h\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Phenomenology of Religion: The Underworld<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s11c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s11c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s11t elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s11t\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Erlik belongs to the phenomenology-of-religion spectrum of underworld deities, which Mircea Eliade treated extensively in <em>Forgerons et alchimistes<\/em> (1956) and in his <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A religious system in which specialists communicate with the spirit world.\" tabindex=\"0\">shamanism<\/span> volume. Characteristic is the ambivalence: underworld deities are not simply &#8220;evil&#8221; but represent the necessary shadow area of the cosmic order.<\/p><p>A particular feature of Erlik is his function as both cause and resolver of illness. The black <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A religious specialist attributed with mediating between humans and the spirit world.\" tabindex=\"0\">shaman<\/span> negotiates with Erlik for the return of lost souls, a classic model of &#8220;shamanic negotiation&#8221; that Roberte Hamayon developed in contrast to Eliade&#8217;s &#8220;ecstasy&#8221; model.<\/p><p>From a religious-anthropological perspective, the separation of &#8220;white&#8221; and &#8220;black&#8221; shamans with distinct divine addresses is noteworthy. This dual structure is found as clearly as among the Altaians and Tuvans in only a few Siberian traditions; it is probably of later religious-historical origin, perhaps arising under Buddhist influence.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s12 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s12\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s12h elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s12h\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Methodological Reflection<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s12c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s12c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s12t elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s12t\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Working with Erlik sources raises several methodological problems. First: the oldest sources are the records of Christian missionaries (Verbickij, Chivalkov) from the 19th century, who systematically identified him with the Christian devil. Stripping away this missionary layer is methodologically demanding.<\/p><p>Second: the Buddhist identification with Yama has introduced additional layers of meaning that cannot easily be separated from the autochthonous Altaic Erlik layer. Walther Heissig&#8217;s layer model is helpful but remains open to discussion.<\/p><p>Third: contemporary shamanic practice around Erlik is fragmented after the Soviet era; what we observe today is not an unbroken continuity but a reconstitution based on ethnographic texts. Andrei Znamenski has reflected critically on this.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s13 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s13\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s13h elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s13h\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Erlik in Contemporary Popular Culture<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s13c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s13c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-s13t elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-s13t\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In contemporary popular culture, Erlik is surprisingly present. He appears in several Russian fantasy novels, in online computer games (including <em>Path of Exile<\/em> and <em>Smite<\/em>), in heavy metal lyrics, and in the manga and anime world. This reception often distorts the historical image considerably, yet it keeps Erlik as a culturally active figure.<\/p><p>From a religious-studies standpoint this reception is ambivalent: it maintains Erlik in cultural memory while at the same time trivializing him. Andrei Znamenski pointed to the tension between scholarly reconstruction and popular appropriation in <em>Shamanism and Western Imagination<\/em> (2007).<\/p><p>In the Altaic and Tuvan republics themselves, Erlik is less prominent in folk culture than Ulgen or Tengri; he remains a rather peripheral figure who plays a role in shamanic practice but not in the public representation of the region.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp27518a4a e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"cp27518a4a\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp20374ec2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"cp20374ec2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Erlik Khan in the Altaic Creation Narrative: Co-Creator of an Imperfect World<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp23d083fe e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"cp23d083fe\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp2fdabf2c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cp2fdabf2c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In the creation narratives of the Turkic-speaking peoples of the Altai, Erlik, also known as <em>Erlik Khan<\/em> or simply <em>Erlik<\/em>, plays an ambiguous but indispensable role.<\/p><p>Several versions recorded by ethnographers of the 19th and early 20th centuries describe how in the beginning there was only water, and how the creator god, frequently identified with <a href=\"\/en\/uelgen-god-of-light-of-the-altai-peoples\/\">Ulgen<\/a>, brings earth up from the primordial waters with Erlik&#8217;s participation.<\/p><p>In a widespread narrative form, the two dive in bird form, or send a creature to dive, in order to retrieve earth from the floor of the primordial sea. Erlik secretly keeps some earth in his mouth, intending to create his own world.<\/p><p>When the creator god causes the retrieved earth to expand, the hidden earth in Erlik&#8217;s mouth also begins to grow, forcing him to spit it out. From this spat-out earth arise the marshes, the impassable and barren regions. The <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A recurring thematic element in art or narrative.\" tabindex=\"0\">motif<\/span> explains mythologically why the world is not perfect.<\/p><p>This narrative belongs to a widely distributed type of earth-diver creation myths attested throughout northern Eurasia and North America. Noteworthy is Erlik&#8217;s morally ambivalent position: he is not simply a destroyer but a co-creator whose self-will and cunning simultaneously complete and damage the world.<\/p><p>When evaluating these narratives it should be borne in <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"An incorporeal being to which effects in the world are attributed.\" tabindex=\"0\">mind<\/span> that the records date from a period when Altaic religion had already been touched by Christian and Buddhist ideas. Some researchers have therefore asked whether the emphasis on an adversarial co-creator was intensified by such influences. A definitive answer is not possible.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp2032381e e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"cp2032381e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp2549d4d3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"cp2549d4d3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Lord of the Underworld: Erlik's Realm and the Shamanic Descent<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp2699d7d9 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"cp2699d7d9\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp215c60fe elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cp215c60fe\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Beyond the creation narratives, Erlik is known above all in Altaic and more broadly Siberian religion as the lord of the underworld and master over the dead. His realm is described in the sources as a gloomy region beneath the earth into which the deceased pass.<\/p><p>Erlik is also regarded as the originator of illness and death; according to Altaic belief, the life-force or soul of a person who fell seriously ill could have been abducted into the underworld by Erlik or his messengers.<\/p><p>A particular form of shamanic practice was connected to this idea. Whereas the celestial journey to Ulgen was an ascent, the journey to Erlik was a descent.<\/p><p>The shamanic specialist described in ritual songs how he traveled down into Erlik&#8217;s realm, overcame obstacles, and finally appeared before Erlik to negotiate, for example to reclaim the abducted soul of a sick person or to bring offerings. Wilhelm Radloff recorded such descent accounts, and they were later given much attention in comparative shamanism research.<\/p><p>Caution is called for in interpretation. The recorded texts are concrete performances, not timeless scripts, and their generalization into a pattern of shamanic underworld journey, as undertaken by Mircea Eliade among others, has been criticized by more recent research as overly schematic.<\/p><p>What can be stated is that in Altaic practice Erlik was not a merely feared being to be avoided, but a power with whom the specialist actively entered into negotiation in the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A regulated sequence of symbolic actions with religious or cultural significance.\" tabindex=\"0\">ritual<\/span>. Dealing with Erlik was not defense alone but a regulated, risky communication.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp2907420d e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"cp2907420d\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp2fc29be0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"cp2fc29be0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Erlik between Indigenous Tradition and Foreign Influence: A Research Debate<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp215c8e40 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"cp215c8e40\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp27662833 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cp27662833\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The figure of Erlik stands at the center of a long-running research debate about foreign influences on Inner Asian religion. Striking at the outset is the name itself: Erlik, or Erlik Khan, is linguistically and conceptually linked to the Yama of the Buddhist tradition, who entered Mongolian and Tibetan-Buddhist thought as Erlik Khan.<\/p><p>The question is whether the Altaic underworld figure was always constituted in this way or whether it was reshaped by Buddhism.<\/p><p>A second line of debate concerns dualism. The opposition of Ulgen above and Erlik below, of creation and harm, of heaven and underworld, reminds some scholars of dualistic religious systems, such as Zoroastrian ideas that may have spread via the Central Asian trade routes, or the Christian opposition of God and devil that arrived with the Russian mission.<\/p><p>Since the sources date only from a time when all these contacts had long existed, the original stratum can scarcely be isolated.<\/p><p>Methodologically cautious research draws the conclusion that Erlik probably goes back to an indigenous conception of an underworld power, but that this conception was reshaped and its contours sharpened by Buddhist and possibly further influences. Important here is the warning against a widespread misunderstanding: Erlik should not hastily be equated with the Christian devil.<\/p><p>In the Altaic narratives he is not an absolutely evil being but a necessary part of the world order with whom humans and their ritual specialists had to come to terms.<\/p><p>His classification as Ulgen&#8217;s counterpart describes a tension-filled complementarity, not a moral war. Related underworld rulers are known to other <a href=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/siberian-shamanism-and-tengrism-steppe-and-taiga\/\">Inner Asian cultures<\/a> as well.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-lit e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-lit\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-lith elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-lith\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Selected Bibliography<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-litc e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-litc\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-litt elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-litt\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul><li>A. V. Anokhin: <em>Materials on the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A religious system in which specialists communicate with the spirit world.\" tabindex=\"0\">Shamanism<\/span> of the Altaians<\/em> (1924)<\/li><li>Mircea Eliade: <em>Le chamanisme<\/em> (1951)<\/li><li>Walther Heissig: <em>Die Religionen der Mongolei<\/em> (1970)<\/li><li>Vladimir Basilov: <em>Shamanism in Siberia<\/em> (1984)<\/li><li>Roberte Hamayon: <em>La chasse a l&#8217;ame<\/em> (1990)<\/li><li>Andrei Znamenski: <em>Shamanism and Western Imagination<\/em> (2007)<\/li><li>L. P. Potapov: <em>Altaiskij schamanizm<\/em> (1991)<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgkw2-add-erlikkhan e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgkw2-add-erlikkhan\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgkw2-add-erlikkhan-t elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgkw2-add-erlikkhan-t\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In <em>Altaic<\/em>&#8211;<em>Siberian<\/em> belief, <em><span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A transmitted narrative about gods, origins, and the order of the world.\" tabindex=\"0\">myth<\/span><\/em> shapes Erlik Khan as ruler of the underworld and counterpart of Ulgen; shamanic songs of the Altai Turks and Buryats transmit his role in illness, death, and the guidance of souls.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-kwd e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-kwd\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-kwdc e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-kwdc\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-kwdt elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-kwdt\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><em>Related key terms: Erlik Khan Erlig Khaan Altai underworld Yama Buddhist overlay.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-cc e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-cc\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" id=\"iwg-cc-erlik-khan\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-ccinner e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-ccinner\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-cch elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-cch\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">iWell Guard and Protective Traditions<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-cct elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-cct\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div data-nosnippet=\"true\"><p>iWell Guard draws on the cultural-historical tradition of wearable protective objects, in the tradition of <a href=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/siberian-shamanism-and-tengrism-steppe-and-taiga\/\">Siberia \/ Tengrism<\/a> and many other cultures worldwide. 41 layers, genuine gold, platinum, silver, crafted in Germany. 30-day return policy.<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-ccb iwg-cc-button iwg-cc-cta-2026-05-13 elementor-widget elementor-widget-jet-button\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-ccb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" 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Not a medical device. No promise of healing.<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-disc e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-disc\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-erlikkhan-discw elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"iwgw-erlikkhan-discw\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<footer data-nosnippet=\"true\" class=\"iwg-disclaimer-block\"><p data-nosnippet=\"true\">iWell Guard is <strong>not a medical device<\/strong> and does not replace medical or psychotherapeutic treatment. The religious-studies content is cultural-historical contextualisation, not a recommendation for spiritual practice.<\/p><\/footer>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Erlik Khan, Altaic-Siberian lord of the underworld and counterpart of Ulgen Erlik Khan is the ruler of the underworld in South Siberian Tengrism and the mythic counterpart of the light god Ulgen. He represents death and disease and, at the same time, a necessary, ordered shadow side of the world. Harmful BeingSiberia \/ TengrismUnderworld God [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6506,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"Erlik Khan underworld god Altai","_yoast_wpseo_title":"Erlik Khan: Altai Underworld God, Myth and Sources","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Erlik Khan is the lord of the underworld in South Siberian Tengrism and the counterpart of Ulgen. 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