Tiks

Têgh (Shinasthana: 帝, têgh) or Djang′-têgh was a Themiclesian deity attested from the Dark Ages to modern times.

Name

Têgh is unambiguously an *-s derivative from the root têk, whose meaning is obscure.  Graphically, it consists of the glyph for "tree" (木) with some sort of bouding line, drawn in the shape of a vice or sash, of uncertain significance and a horizontal line above the tree. The line above the character has been interpreted as that which appears in the word for spirit or god, grji (示), but this is not uncontroversial. This interpretation has led some to argue that Têgh represents a ceremonial pole.

An alternative interpretation of têgh relies on graphical and phonetic similarity to the Chikai pictogram 𒀭, which has the value *diŋir in reconstructed Proto-Chikai. In Chikai religion, diŋir is a prefix applicable to the gods that reside in the heavens, which is also associated with Têgh. This comparison is popular amongst scholars who investigate parallels between Themiclesian religions and that of the Chikai and Achahan empire, with which early Themiclesian peoples traded. However, the phonetic connection is considered "untenable" by mainstream scholars, who do nevertheless not deny that some sort of horizontal transfer of theological characteristic could have occurred and may be responsible for apparent similarities between Têgh and the Chikai concept of diŋir.

History

The earliest mention of Têgh as a confirmed theonym in Themiclesia is dated to the mid-5th century BCE, on a set of jars of the sort that contains sacrifical victims. The jars read:

云一，五。云二，五。云三，五。帝史，二。

The First Cloud, to it five. The Second Cloud, to it five. The Third Cloud, to it five. Têgh, who sends [them], to it two.

Some scholars believe that the final jar should be read as "he who is sent by Têgh" or "Têgh's envoy", rather than as "Têgh who sends them". The Clouds are naturalistic deities whose presence was frequently prayed for, ostensibly for precipitation.

A similar formula is seen with some frequency on oracular inscriptions, which date again to the 5th century and later. It seems from the earliest texts, Têgh is a deity recognized by many Meng-cultural communities that settled in Themiclesia. Têgh is invoked along with weather deities for good weather and, in connection to it, good agricultural yield. It is often assumed that the early state in Themiclesia was associated with organized agriculture and the storage or distribution of its yields, and this fact is taken to be material when transcribing Têgh from a weather or agricultural god to a god of political power, which is his principal image in the Archaic Period. Marler writes:

The early Themiclesian settlement was characterized by agriculture, and its survival depended entirely on percipitation and the absence of natural disasters. If Têgh is regarded to have power over rain, then it seems reasonable to understand a similar power over the survival of a settlement.

In the Springs and Autumns of Six States, an anthology of cultic calendars from 385 BCE onwards, Têgh's permission is sought when a settlement is to be founded. If a settlement is afflicted with natural disasters or bad weather to the extent its viability is questionable, priests asked if it was Têgh's will to end the settlement. There are four instances where an unfavourable response, i.e. Têgh intends to destroy the settlement, has prompted the diviner to declare that the settlement should be moved to a new location. In the P.rjang VI chapter of the Book of Documents, the king P.rjang VI asserts that Têgh would extend life in a new settlement that he is about to found. The chapter is purported to date to about 295 BCE, but many suggest it is a later attributed text.

Scholars since the 18th century have noted that, compared to offerings to ancestors and other deities, Têgh receives very little attention and meagre portions. Cyclical sacrifices, which developed in the 3rd century BCE and require the slaughter of cattle or even humans on a regular basis, excludes Têgh. In the very terminable instances where Têgh is offered sacrifices, they are less-valued animals like dogs, sheep, and fish. This disparity, despite the fact that Têgh is seen to cause rain and snow, has spurred extensive discussions about the theology of Têgh (viz. below).

At the end of the 3rd century in Tsjinh, Têgh's cult achieved a new level of prominence in received texts. The idea that Têgh has established Tsjinh in the location where it was became a powerful argument against pretenders' attempts to relocate the throne to different places; oracles were consistently interpreted that Têgh looked favourably upon the present city. This change is connected with the disorder of the Quarrel of Princes, which lasted from 160 to 130 BCE; during this period, rulership became disputed, and usurpers appear to have either controlled the throne or seized it directly. However, it is worth noting that the nature of rulership prior to the Quarrel is still murky at best, and medieval historians' negative conclusions on the Quarrel might tend to comparisons with the ideals of kingship in their own time.

Around the turn of the final century BCE, Têgh was viewed as the patron of rulers, and his naturalistic aspect diminished. Fewer oracles referred to him as the sender of wind and rain, and more became concerned with the interpretation of political events in terms of his will. This became the most pointed at Sjin, where the idea that Têgh controlled the rise and fall of cities was formalized, independently of his aspect as a god of nature. This is evidenced from a formulaic tablet that records praising songs to an uncertain deity:

Têgh who grants life to cities!

Têgh who causes death to cities!

Têgh, by whose glorious command my lord the Patriarch of Sjin is established!

Têgh, by whose sweet favour my lord the Patriarch of Sjin's city is perpetuated!

Despite this, Sjin does not appear to have upheld the cult of Têgh in material terms. Increases in the volume of sacrifice were very modest. In Tsjinh, Têgh's appearance in cultic activities faded over the next two centuries. Whatever the nature of Têgh's worship in the Archaic Period, there are no known cultic buildings dedicated to him, a fact that has complicated the understanding of his theology by later scholars.

Around the start of the Classical Period, Têgh's role as the god recognized throughout the Meng people was challenged by the cult of Te-lin, who appears as a warrior deity at first in the peripheries of established cities. Te-lin's cult gradually incorporated many of the elements of the ancestral cult and became a dominant cult in the Tsjinh area. Te-lin received royal patronage starting in 221. Nevertheless, Têgh's role as the god who "raises and razes" cities was unmoved.

See also

• Themiclesia