Tiks

Tiks
God of the sky, fate, death
Other names	Djang′-têgh
Abode	Kochab
Parents	none
Offspring	uncertain

Têgh (Shinasthana: 帝, têgh) or Djang′-têgh was a Themiclesian deity attested from the Dark Ages to modern times. Têgh was venerated as a sky deity and divine arbiter of cities and rulers, but in later literature he became a god of fate and death.

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.

In the 5th-century work Antiquities of Themiclesia, Têgh is spoken of as a demiurge of the cosmos; however, the material world is composed of all the elements that Têgh hates and casts away. The entire world and its gods exist in the "divine rubbish bin", and life is an unintentional consequence of having been touched by Têgh in the process of consolidating it and clearing the High Heavens for himself. Indeed, Têgh appears to be a god that lives in a complete vacuum and desires absolutely nothing, not even the company of the other gods. In this era, texts have consigned Têgh to his destructive aspect.

We note that Têgh's theology in the 5th century and onwards seems to be limited to destroying states. Unlike his 1st-century self, who grants both victories and defeats in battle, he does not merely appoint defeat, but causes desolation and extinction. While Te-lin was often said to be "glorious in the slaughter of his enemies", it was always Têgh who terminates a nation or settlement. In this guise, Te-lin was more or less doing things humans could perform, except much more effectively, but Têgh made his decisions from on high from which there was no escape.

In the 5th century, Têgh is consistently called Djang′-têgh (上帝), or the "Têgh above".  This may have been a response to distinguish him from the various other uses of the character 帝, which also writes têk, meaning "agnate".

Theology

The theology of Têgh has attracted the attention of many scholars of religion, both in the domestic and comparative aspect.

It is generally recognized that Têgh is a sky god in the sense that natural phenomena like raining, lightning, thunder, clouds, and the heavenly bodies are generally under his sphere of influence. Despite this, clouds, thunder, and stars are separately deified and considered able to perform acts independently. Perhaps from the aspect of controlling nature, early Meng Themiclesians may have thought of Têgh as the source of natural order, to which many authors appeal to explain the paucity of sacrifices to Têgh and his secretive nature. Also from this aspect are derived his apparent control over the fate of settlements, which in the Dark Ages and early Archaic Period was heavily dependent on agriculture in its immediate peripheries; only later did states grow powerful enough so as to import food in significant quantities and sustain a population beyond local capacity. This shift in economy seems to be associated with the growth of different cults.

Some scholars argue that, despite the power Têgh wields, he is not given much attention because his actions are either unpredictable or his character capricious. This may be a reflection of the unpredictable nature of weather, or a growth in scientific knowledge that rendered Têgh redundant in predicting them. They contend that the rise of empiricism and rationalism, evident in the compilation of more accurate calendars that guided agricultural activities in the Archaic Period, weakened Têgh's anthropomorphic character already from a very early time, such that offering sacrifices to him was considered unlikely to yield benefits. This stands in contrast with deified ancestors, whose destructive impulses could be mollified by means of sacrifices and consantuineity with worshippers was a dependable factor in acquiring their favour. Marler writes:

Humanity is evidently viewed as unable to alter what Têgh has commanded. That being the case, knowledge of his plans is valuable so that humanity can work around them, but any attempt to change his mind may be dispensed with. If it is determined that Têgh wished to destroy a settlement by afflicting its fields with drought or torrential rain, the people in the settlement were told to relocate; however, this interpretation must have been the last resort for diviners and represents a final surrender to nature, an admission of defeat after all recourse to the supernatural had been exhausted. Têgh was not bound by lines of descent to favour any city and came to represent, in later centuries, the inalterable realities of life. Têgh evolved into the god of fate and its foremost herald—death—after his aspect in sustaining human life and the throne of kings were either rationalized or assigned to other gods.

This unchanging, static aspect of Têgh apparently lent itself to being a god of rulership to justify either moving or not moving settlements, a drastic event that usually signified change in leadership and economic re-organization in Antiquity. In multiple instances, priests have interpreted oracles addressed to Têgh as evidence that the population should not consider exiling themselves to a less auspicious place. In the late 2nd and early 1st century BCE, Têgh reached an apogee in prominence as the patron of rulers, whose position in their cities was compared to Têgh. Multiple chapters of the Book of Documents refer to Têgh as the god that punishes cities and sends omens. Former K.rang, attributed to the 6th century but actually written in the 1st, has the ruler state that "because you have forgotten your ancestors' devotion for my royal ancestor, Têgh aroused great omens before us, and his punishment from above you cannot escape; your ancestors will not rescue you from death."

However, Têgh's usefulness evidently did not carry into foreign policy. While priests consistently portray Têgh as a royal patron god that punishes and kills individuals who did not love the ruler, Têgh was not a dependable god in war. Many believe that this extension of Têgh's role in the 1st century BCE reflected the growth of royal power as a natural order, rather than a re-imagining of Têgh's divine powers. That is to say, Têgh's unpredictability mirrored the despotic powers that rulers wished to achieve in this period, and his control over natural order, that of the ruler's supreme position. Gradually replaced with Te-lin, who embodied some opposite principles. After Te-lin, a god of warriors, acquired the status as patron deity of the polity, Têgh further evolved to embody the uncertainty, unknown fate against which it was the duty of both humanity and gods alike to fight. This fight is not imagined as a world-ending battle, but as a constant struggle between two philosophies, and it is implied that the gods and humanity would eventually be defeated by fate.

The later aspect of Têgh as the creator of the cosmos appear to be the junction of two separate aspects of the deity, the one about natural order and the other about his disregard for life. Indeed, life is portrayed as an unintentional or even undesirable consequence of Têgh's early actions of collecting cosmic waste and then forming Earth with it.

Cult

The cult of Têgh was not very pronounced in ancient times, and it does not appear from the written record that Têgh enjoyed a dedicated shrine or temple.

See also

• Themiclesia