Religion has changed the face of the world more than once in the history of mankind and led to the rise or fall of empires. But the new system of beliefs and rituals did not always have thousands of followers. In our review of 10 rather strange religious movements that did not last long.
1. Taki Onkoy - Painful Dance
Thirty years after the Spanish conquest of the Inca empire, a huge religious rebellion broke out against the Catholics. People wanted a return of faith in the traditional Andean gods. This religion was named Taki Onquoy (Painful Dance) in connection with the ecstatic dance of its followers. The new religion was supported by the last ruler of the Incas, Tupac Amaru, who believed that earlier the Christian god helped to conquer the Incas, and now it was time for the Andean gods to defeat the conquerors. However, due to ethnic and class differences, many local residents sided with the Spaniards and the religious movement was disbanded after a massive campaign organized by the priest Cristobal de Albornoz.
2. Ak Jang - Burkhanism
In 1904, 12-year-old Chugul, the adopted daughter of the Siberian shepherd Chet Chelpanov, reported that she saw a number on a white horse and considered this animal to be the embodiment of the legendary Oirot Khan, the prophet-ruler of the Altai people. She said that Oirot-Khan was sent by the supreme deity of the Kalmyk people, Burkhan, to create a new faith that would return the Altaians to ancient greatness. Burkhanism or ak jang (white faith) was a combination of elements of shamanism, Christianity and Buddhism, and there were very strict rules in this faith. The followers had to give up all things related to Russia, stop contacts with Russians and baptized Altai, stop shamanic practices and wear only blue and yellow clothes. Religion's popularity began to wane by 1930, and soon ak jang became an urban legend.
Promotional video:
3. Tonhak - Eastern teaching
The first new religion in modern Korea, Donghak was founded in 1860 by a young scholar named Cho Zhe-Woo. While wandering through the countryside on a spiritual pilgrimage, Cho heard a voice that told him, “Don't be afraid. Humanity calls me the Supreme Sange. I was sent to save humanity. " Following this, Cho founded Donghak ("Eastern Teaching"), a mixture of neo-Confucianism, traditional shamanism, folk religion and Taoism. He preached that Sangjenim, Lord of the Universe, would soon incarnate in this world and open the gates to heaven, while humanity would suffer from a mysterious disease. The Joseon government finally became alarmed by the new teaching after the peasant uprising in 1894, and once and for all suppressed both the uprising and the new religion.
4. Karmat - the teachings of Hamdan Karmat
At the end of the ninth century, an offshoot of Shiite Islam was created, which is actually one of the first communist societies in Bahrain. After the death of the Prophet Muhammad, the Ismailis split into two groups. The first group believed that Muhammad died and power passed to Ubaydah-Allah Mahdi, the founder of the Fatimid dynasty, and the second consisted of those who denied the death of Muhammad and believed that the prophet would return to bring peace to the world.
The second group was soon dominated by the charismatic preacher known as Hamdan Karmat. This is how the sect got its name Karmati and actually became a revolutionary movement of internally displaced farmers who wanted to overthrow the traditional power structures of the Muslim world. Their society was based on equality, excluding taxes. The sect was eventually disbanded after it lost control of Bahrain in 1077. Believers dispersed to other religions.
5. Chupu - worshipers of the goddess of the earth
In 1801, a major messianic movement emerged among the Chumash Indian tribe in California. At that time, epidemics of pneumonia and pleurisy were raging among the people. One day a young woman stated that the goddess Chupu had come to her in a dream in order to warn that any Chumash who agreed to be baptized would die, and those who had already been baptized could renounce their faith and start worshiping Chupu. The goddess also allegedly threatened with death anyone who told the missionaries about the dream.
To cancel the baptism of people, an analogue of the Christian consecrated water called "Tears of the Sun" was used. The new religion caused great condemnation among Franciscan missionaries, who considered the woman a witch and forced her to publicly deny. In 1824, an armed uprising broke out in response to the beating of the newly converted Chupaists. After the siege by Mexican troops of the mission, where the rebels were, they were forced to surrender. This is how the Chumash new religion was destroyed.
6. Babism - Bab
The Babism sect originated in the 19th century in Iran. This movement was based on the teachings of Sayed Ali Mohammad Shirazi, known as "Bab". Accordingly, the new religion was named in the same way. Believers of this religion believed that Shirazi had found the hidden twelfth Imam and advocated an end to the rule of Sharia law based on the Koran and the destruction of sacred sites of previous religions.
The Babism religion virtually disappeared when its leader was executed in 1850. Today it is believed that there is modern Babism, which is practiced by several thousand people, but they hide their faith.
7. Joachimites - followers of Joachim Fiore, Italian mystic
Joachim Fiore was an Italian mystic who claimed to have had a vision during a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. In this vision, he saw that history is divided into three periods: the age of the Father (which lasted from creation until the birth of Jesus Christ), the age of the Son (which lasted from the life of Christ until the birth of Joachim), and the age of the Spirit (which probably began during the life of the Italian Mystic). In the third period, as he assured, "the eternal time of love and freedom" will come.
Joachim acquired many followers, which, of course, the Catholic Church could not allow. His teaching was declared heresy.
8. Nakaydoklini - the flow of the prophet Nakaydoklini
In 1881, a new religion emerged in Arizona among the White Mountain Apache tribe. The founder of this religion was a prophet named Nakaidoklini, who claimed that he could communicate with the dead. He preached that the dead Apache warriors would rise from their graves in order to expel the whites from the country they had conquered. The prophet also stated that if he received enough horses and blankets, he would revive two deceased leaders. In the end, he blamed his failure on the presence of white people on the sacred land of the Indians.
The believers in Nakaidoklini lost the battle with the Europeans, and the prophet himself was killed. This is how this religion was destroyed.
9. Tugi - worshipers of the goddess Kali
Perhaps this is one of the most violent religions, which originated in the 13th century. In northern India, members of a religious assassin sect captured white tourists and sacrificed them to the goddess Kali. Over time, the religious aspect of Tuga appeared to have declined, and the sect became more like a criminal gang than a cult. The movement was finally destroyed by the British in the 19th century.
10. White Lotus
This religion originated in the 10th century and was actually a mixture of Buddhism and Taoism. The religion, called the White Lotus, was characterized by faith in the Eternal Mother, the creator of humanity, who could bring salvation to all. This movement was developed in China, where small secret societies began to appear. The white lotus was actually an alternative to the organized state religion.
Eventually, the White Lotus religion disappeared in the 18th century after a nine-year peasant revolt that swept through 5 provinces and was suppressed by government forces.