In memory of Sarangerel Odigon

This page is in memory of Sarangerel Odigon. Sarangerel was a founding member of Circle of Tengerism. She was also a founding member of Golomt tuv, the Mongolian shaman’s association. She was the Foreign Outreach officer of Golomt tuv and a member of Hese Hengereg, the Buryat shaman’s association.

Sarangerel helped to organize the first Ulaan Tergel ceremony in Mongolia since the Communist regime. This Ulaan Tergel ceremony has become an annual event in Mongolia and is a testament of her dedication to keep the old traditions alive.

Sarangerel took her Foreign Outreach office seriously and spent many years teaching people in Western countries about Siberian and Mongolian traditions. She wrote books about our spiritual world view and had many articles published as well. She spent countless hours corresponding with people, trying to clear up the many misconceptions about our beliefs.

The best quality she possesed was her immense dedication to the spirits and the traditions of her people. She lived her life in complete service to the spirits.

She will be greatly missed.

Her work shall be carried on by her family, her friends, her students, and her peers. I pray in this way we can keep her memory alive.

We of Golomt tuv are greatly saddened to hear the news of Sarangerel Odigons passing. She was a founding member of our shaman organization and a part of our lives. We pray for her and her family.

We will remember her as a great shaman with honour and respect.

Sh. Sukhbat

President, Mongolia tuv

World Mongol News reported:

Tengerist shaman Sarangerel to be missed by many ----------------------------------------------------
World Mongol News - InterMongol Network 04/04/06 Boulder, Colorado, USA

An important figure of Mongolian shamanism today as well as a writer, scholar and activist, Sarangerel Odigon, who had passed away on February 28 this year, is being remembered by many around the Mongolian world. Author of two books on Shamanism, or what she and her co-practioners would prefer to call “Tengerism”, she is also the founder of Golomt Tuv, the Mongolian shaman’s association. She was also a member of Buryat shaman associations - Hese Hengereg and Han Hormasta. Finally, she was a founding member of Circle of Tengerism, the Mongolian shaman association in North America.

Born Mongol in the United States on August 20, 1963, Sarangerel later went to live in Mongolian regions of (the central) Mongolia, Buryatia and Tuva. She worked tirelessly to restore and reconstruct the ancient and the original belief system of the Mongols and to reintroduce it to the people around the globe. As a scholar and lecturer, and as the Foreign Outreach Officer of Golomt Tuv, she travelled back and forth between the Mongolias and the Western countries, giving lectures and workshops. In her first book, Riding Windhorse, she expressed that the ancient Mongolian spiritual belief system could offer a lot to help resolve some of the modern problems, such as environmental destructions and the lacking of harmony between the nature and humans.

“Tengerism” is a term that Sarangerel reintroduced and is increasingly being accepted by practitioners of Mongolian shamanism. A tribute page has been set up on the official website of Circle of Tengerism, and a collection of letters and articles remembering Sarangerel will soon appear on the site. “She spent countless hours corresponding with people, trying to clear up the many misconceptions about our beliefs,” mentions the website.

Shaman Chonobaatar, brother of Sarangerel and himself also a practioner of Tengerism, encourages people who knew Sarangerel and are interested in writing letters in her memory, to send their letters to him directly. “Saraa was a great Mongolian patriot and believed in pan-Mongolism and cared about all Mongols no matter what country they lived in,” wrote Chonobaatar in his response to a WMN inquiry on Monday. “Her favorite place was the majestic Sayan mountains and I believe that her sould shall rest there.”