The epic "Manas" is a heroic narrative based on the legends of the Kyrgyz people, which were passed down from generation to generation.
Brief description of the epic
The main storyline of the epic is the struggle of the Kyrgyz people for independence from external invaders. “Manas” describes semi-real events that took place in the history of the Kyrgyz people.
The epic “Manas” has become a harmonious symbiosis of historical facts and mythological beliefs of the inhabitants of Kyrgyzstan. Thanks to this monumental folklore work, we have an idea of the life, way of life, traditions and customs of the Kyrgyz people in ancient times.
For example, “Manas” describes very vividly that in a moment of acute danger from the invaders, women abandoned their household chores and, along with men, heroically defended their homeland.
History of the epic
For many centuries, the epic was passed on from mouth to mouth by storytellers, people who collected and supplemented it bit by bit. It should be noted that due to the colossal volumes, the epic was transmitted only in certain blocks.
This has led to the fact that in our time the epic exists in more than 35 variations, each of which has differences. The central character, after whom the epic was named, is the hero Manas, whose image combines all the people’s ideas about heroism and courage.
The epic begins with the story of the birth of the life of the hero Manas. Even during his youth, Manas, together with his father, participated in the heroic confrontation with the Chinese and Kalmyks, for which he received the respect and love of his people.
After Saint Khizr appeared to the hero, he decided to convert to Islam, and together with his family moved to live in the vastness of Central Asia. The second part of the epic describes the events that happened to the Kyrgyz people during the time when Manas lived in other lands.
The cruel Chinese invaded their lands and placed the protagonist’s friends, equally courageous heroes and warriors, in prison. Manas learns about the events taking place in his homeland and returns to protect his people. After a heroic war with the Chinese, and then with the Afghan Khan, Manas leaves with a hermit who helps him learn the highest wisdom of life.
This part describes the marriage of Manas and the birth of his children. In the third part, Manas dies, the reader learns the details of his funeral: the Kyrgyz people, as a sign of gratitude, built a tomb for Manas, decorated with precious stones and metals.
However, along with the death of the hero, his heroism is reflected in the courageous actions of his children and grandchildren, who became worthy successors of Manas.
Like the most voluminous epic in the world.
Encyclopedic YouTube
- Stamps
1 / 5
In addition, researchers recognize the most significant records of the part about Manas made by the storytellers Togolok Moldo (1860-1942), Moldobasan Musulmankulov (1884-1961), Shapak Rysmendeev (1863-1956), Bagysh Sazanov (1878-1958), Ibraim Abdyrakhmanov ( 1888-1960), Mambeta Chokmorova (1896-1973)
The most famous Xinjiang storyteller Jusyup Mamai (Kyrgyz.) Russian(Jusup Mamai) - his version of the 8 parts of the epic occupies about 200 thousand lines and was published in 18 volumes in Urumqi (1984-1995).
For a comparative assessment of the volume of epics, it is important to keep in mind the poetic size: basically “Manas” is composed with 7- and 8-syllable syllabic verses, but in Sagymbay Orozbakov’s version there are 4-, 5- and 6-syllable verses, close to rhymed prose, and in Sayakbai Karalaev's version there are also lines from 9-syllable to 12-syllable.
History of the epic
Tradition traces the origin of the epic to the legendary era, calling the first performer the comrade-in-arms of Manas himself, Yrchi-uul, the son of Yraman, who sang the hero’s exploits at his funeral; the songs and laments that existed separately among the people were combined into one epic by the legendary singer Toktogul (the Kyrgyz of the first half of the 20th century believed that he lived 500 years ago). Other storytellers are known to tradition, as well as the names of many 19th-century manaschi whose work was not recorded.
Modern scholars have not come to a consensus about the time of the epic. Hypotheses have been put forward that its basis is connected with the events of the history of the Kyrgyz in the 9th century. V. M. Zhirmunsky believed that the historical background of the work as a whole corresponds to the conditions of the 15th-18th centuries, although it contains more ancient ideas.
The first mentions of the epic date back to the 16th century. They are contained in the semi-fantastic work of Majmu at-Tawarikh, where Manas is shown as a historical figure acting together with the real-life Tokhtamysh, Khorezmshah Muhammad, etc.
The English historian Arthur Thomas Hatto believes that Manas was
After the death of the Kyrgyz Khan Nogoi, the old enemies of the Kyrgyz, the Chinese, taking advantage of the indecisiveness of his successors, seized the lands of the Kyrgyz and forced them out of Ala-Too. Nogoi's descendants are expelled to distant lands. Those who remain fall under the cruel yoke of the invaders. Nogoy's youngest son Zhakyp is expelled to Altai, and for many years he is forced to serve the Altai Kalmaks. By farming and working in gold mines, he was able to get rich. In adulthood, Zhakyp becomes the owner of an incalculable amount of livestock, but his soul is gnawed by resentment that fate has not given a single heir. He grieves and prays to the Almighty for pity, visits holy places and makes sacrifices. Finally, after a wonderful dream, his eldest wife conceived a child, nine months later she gave birth to a boy. On the same day, a foal is born in Zhakyp’s herd, which he destined for his newborn son.
To celebrate, Zhakyp throws a big feast and names the boy Manas. From childhood, unusual qualities manifest themselves in him; he differs from all his peers in his extraordinary physical strength, mischief and generosity. His fame spreads far beyond Altai. The Kalmaks living in Altai are in a hurry to tell the Chinese Khan Esenkan the news that the rebellious Kirghiz have a batyr, who, while he is not yet mature, should be captured and destroyed. Esenkan sends his spies, disguised as traders, to the Kyrgyz and gives the task of capturing Manas. They catch the young hero playing ordo and try to capture him. Manas, together with his peers, captures the spies and distributes all the goods of the caravan to the common people.
The army of many thousands of the Kalmak hero Neskara is sent against the Kyrgyz. Having united all neighboring peoples and tribes, Manas opposes Neskara and wins a brilliant victory over his army. Having appreciated the merits of the young hero, seeing him as their protector, many Kyrgyz clans, as well as neighboring tribes of Manchus and Kalmaks, decide to unite under his leadership. Manas is elected khan.
Manas enters into an unequal battle with the Uighurs and wins. In this battle, the khan of the Kyrgyz tribe of Katagans, Batyr Koshoi, provides him with invaluable assistance. One of the defeated Uyghur rulers, Kayypdan, gives Manas his daughter Karabyoryk, who herself expresses a desire to become the batyr’s wife.
At the suggestion of Koshoy, Manas decides to return to the people the native lands of Ala-Too, captured by the opponents of the Kyrgyz. Gathering an army, he enters the battle and wins. The Kyrgyz decide to migrate from Altai to their ancestral lands. Manas and his family are located near the sacred black mountains of Aziret.
The old enemy of the Kyrgyz, the Chinese Khan Alooke, decides to stop the expansion of the Kyrgyz and begins to prepare for the campaign. Having learned about this, Manas urgently sets out on a campaign with his forty warriors. He easily disperses the enemy army and captures the headquarters of Khan Alooka. Seeing the determination and courage of the hero Manas, Alooke decides to make peace with the Kirghiz and, in recognition of his submission, gives Manas his son Booke.
At this time, on the southern borders, the confrontation between the Kyrgyz clans and the Afghan Khan Shoruk intensified. Having gathered an army, Manas enters the battle. The defeated Afghan ruler enters into a diplomatic marriage alliance with the Kyrgyz, marrying his daughter Akylai to Manas and sending forty of her servants with her.
A separate plot branch of the epic tells the story of the hero Almambet. It covers events from the moment of his birth to his arrival to Manas. Almambet's father Sooronduk was one of the major Chinese commanders. For a long time he was childless, and, having reached adulthood, finally finds a son. From childhood, Almambet comprehends science, masters the art of magic and witchcraft, studies at the school “Doctrine of the Dragon” (in Kyrgyz language “Azhydaardyn okuusu”), children from noble families study with him, but turns out to be the best among them in learning, and later grows up into a brave warrior. Judgment, honesty, courage make him famous. At a young age, Almambet becomes his father's successor, leading all the troops of the Chinese army. One day, while hunting, he meets Khan Kökçö, who calls him to the light and to leave witchcraft. Returning home, Almambet calls on his relatives to convert to a new faith. Neither parents nor relatives even want to listen to Almambet. Sooronduk orders the arrest of his son, who abandoned the “faith of his ancestors.” Having escaped from the Chinese, Almambet finds refuge with Kökçö. Almambet's generosity, rationality and justice contribute to the strengthening of his glory. But the horsemen of Khan Kökçö are jealous of their ruler’s new confidant. They spread a false rumor about the closeness of Almambet and the wife of Khan Kökçö Akerçek. Unable to bear the slander, Almambet leaves Kökçö.
And then the hero accidentally meets Manas, who went hunting with his forty horsemen. Manas has long heard about Almambet and therefore greets him with honors and arranges a feast in his honor. Manas and Almambet become twin cities.
And since Manas married Akylai and Karabyoryk in order to make peace, the hero asks his father Zhakyp to find a wife for him. After a long search, Zhakyp arrives at Khan Atemir in Bukhara, where he has taken a liking to the daughter of Khan Sanirabiga. Zhakyp wooes her, pays a rich ransom, and Manas, according to all the rules, takes Sanirabiga as his wife. The Kirghiz call Manas's wife the name Kanykey, which means “who married the khan.” Forty horsemen of Manas marry forty girls who arrived with Kanykey. Almambet marries the daughter of the patron saint of wild mountain animals, Aruuke.
Having learned about Manas, relatives who were in exile far to the north decide to return to him. These are the children of Zhakyp’s elder brother, Usen, who lived for many years among foreign people, took wives from the Kalmaks and forgot the customs and morals of their ancestors. Among the Kalmaks they were called Kezkamans.
At this time, Manas is forced to go to the aid of the batyr Koshoy. The Afghan Khan Tyulkyu, taking advantage of Koshoy's absence, raids the Katagan tribe and kills the son of the Kyrgyz hero. But Tyulkyu’s younger brother, Akun, decides to avoid bloodshed and settles the feud that broke out between the Kyrgyz and Afghans. Tyulkyu admits guilt, pays a ransom for the murder of his son Koshoy and cedes his throne to Akun. Manas and Akun enter into a friendship agreement and agree that their children, if they have a boy and a girl, will be engaged. In addition, the son of the Kyrgyz Khan Kökötöy (who settled in Tashkent after the expulsion of Panus), Bokmurun expresses a desire to marry Tyulkyu’s daughter named Kanyshay. On the advice of Manas, Bakai goes to Tyulky for matchmaking and performs all the required rituals.
During Manas's absence, the Közkamans arrive. Kanykei happily greets her husband's relatives and, according to custom, gifts them with everything necessary for running the household. Returning from a campaign, Manas arranges a feast in honor of his relatives. He gives them land, livestock and various utensils. Despite such a warm welcome, the envious Közkamans plot against Manas. They decide to poison the hero, take the throne and take possession of all the property of Manas. The Kezkamans find a convenient time to lure the batyr and his squad to visit. Returning after another campaign, Manas gladly accepted the invitation. Poison is mixed into the food of the hero and his warriors. The surviving Manas solders off all his warriors and returns to headquarters. The Közkamans are looking for those responsible for the failure, a quarrel breaks out between them, they all use knives and die.
The glorious Kyrgyz Khan Kökötöy, having reached old age, leaves the world. Having left his son Bokmurun a will with instructions on how to perform a burial and how to arrange all posthumous rituals, he also bequeaths to seek advice from Manas. After burying Kökötöy, Bokmurun prepares for three years to organize a funeral feast. Manas takes control of Kökötöy's funeral feast into his hands. Numerous guests from the most distant countries arrive for the funeral feast. Bokmurun offers rich prizes to the winners of various competitions. A number of Kyrgyz elders and khans of certain clans express dissatisfaction with the fact that Manas alone controls the course of the funeral feast. They gather a council and decide to openly express their demands. But the conspirators are pacified by Elder Koshoi. He persuades them not to start a quarrel in front of numerous guests, among whom are old enemies of the Kirghiz, and promises the conspirators to pacify Manas after the funeral feast.
A year later, the conspirators demand from Koshoy that he head their embassy to Manas and help them remove the wayward ruler. Koshoi, citing his age, refuses to follow the lead of the conspirators. Then they decide to send messengers to Manas to inform him that all the noble heads of the Kyrgyz clans are going to visit him as guests. Their plan was to come to Manas in a large group, force him to make some mistake in the ritual of hospitality, start a quarrel and then make demands to renounce the title of khan. Manas agrees to receive noble guests with all their numerous retinue. Arriving guests are met by forty warriors and all arrivals are accommodated in their yurts and villages. Having seen such unity of the warriors and having become convinced of the unshakable power of Manas, the Kyrgyz khans understand that they are in an awkward situation. When asked by Manas about the purpose of their arrival, no one dares to answer anything intelligible. Then Manas informs them that news has reached him about a campaign being prepared against the Kirghiz. The Chinese Khan Konurbay, who harbors a grudge for previous defeats, gathers an army of thousands to once again subjugate the Kirghiz. Manas calls on the Kyrgyz khans to forestall the enemy and go on a campaign themselves, with united forces to defeat the enemy on his territory and stop all attempts to conquer the Kyrgyz. The khans are forced to accept Manas's offer. Bakai is elected Khan of all the Kyrgyz for the period of the great campaign, and Almambet becomes the main commander of the Kyrgyz army. He leads them to the Chinese capital Beijing.
Having passed a long and difficult path, the Kyrgyz army reaches the borders of the Chinese state. Leaving the army at a halt, Almambet, Syrgak, Chubak and Manas go on reconnaissance. Having penetrated deep into enemy territory, they hijack numerous herds. Chinese troops rush in pursuit of the hijackers. A battle ensues, the Kyrgyz manage to defeat and disperse the enemy army of thousands. According to the epic, Manas and his army (Tyumen) capture Beijing (“Beezhin” translated from the Kyrgyz language as “bad mare”) and rule for six months. The Chinese pay them tribute and declare their desire to make peace. Manas generously decides to spare Konurbai and the rest of the Chinese nobles. But Konurbay could not accept defeat and one by one kills the best Kyrgyz warriors. Almambet, Chubak and Syrgak die. Having secretly penetrated the battle headquarters of Manas, Konurbay inflicts a mortal wound on the hero, hitting him in the back with a spear when the unarmed hero was performing the morning prayer bagymdat namaz. Returning to his homeland, Manas cannot recover from his wound and dies. Kanykey buries the hero in the kumbez. The tragic ending of the first part of the trilogy achieves realistic authenticity. Manas' dying testament speaks of tribal strife and the weakening of the power of the Kyrgyz people united by Manas. The birth of Manas's son, Semetey, already predetermines the future revenge for his father's defeat. This is how the second poem arose, ideologically and plot-related to the first part, dedicated to the biography and exploits of the son of Manas Semetey and his associates, who repeat the heroism of their fathers and achieve victory over foreign invaders.
Not even forty days have passed since the death of Manas when Zhakyp begins to demand that Kanykey be given as a wife to one of Manas’s half-brothers. Manas is replaced by his half-brother Kobesh, who oppresses Kanykey and seeks to destroy the baby Semetey. Kanykey is forced to flee with the baby to her relatives. Semetey grows without knowing its origin. Having reached the age of sixteen, he learns that he is the son of Manas and expresses a desire to return to his people. He returns to Talas, where his father's headquarters was located. The enemies of Manas, among whom were the half-brothers Abyke and Kobesh, as well as the warriors who betrayed him, die at the hands of Semetey. Batyr marries Aichurek, to whom he was engaged even before birth, according to the promise of Manas. He raids Chinese territory and kills Konurbai in single combat, avenging his father's death. Semetey is betrayed by Kanchoro, who entered into an agreement with the enemy Kyyas. Having received a mortal wound from Kyyas, Semetey suddenly disappears. His devoted comrade-in-arms Kulchoro is captured, and Aichurek becomes the prey of his enemies. The traitor Kanchoro becomes khan. Aichurek is expecting Semetey’s child, but no one knows about it.
The heroic poem "Semetey" is the most frequently performed cycle of the trilogy. The courageous heroes of the poem also become victims of injustice, but the culprits of their death are not foreign invaders, but internal enemies.
The third part of "Manas" - "Seytek" - is dedicated to the epic narrative of the struggle against internal enemies. It tells the story of the hero Seitek, the grandson of Manas, and is a logical continuation of the previous parts. This part contains the same ideological basis associated with the desire to preserve the unity of the people, get rid of external and internal enemies and achieve a peaceful life. The plot basis of the epic “Seytek” is made up of the following events: the upbringing of Seytek in the camp of the enemies of his father, who does not know about his origin, the maturation of Seytek and the revelation of the secret of his origin, the expulsion of enemies and the return of Semetey to his people, the unification of the people and the onset of peaceful life. The images of Semetey and Seitek reflect the desire of the people to preserve the legends of Manas in the heroic life of his descendants.
Manas studies
1000th anniversary of the epic
In 1994, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on the worldwide celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the Manas epic. The celebration took place in 1995. The main celebrations were held in Talas. On the occasion of the anniversary, the Commemorative Gold Order “Manas-1000” and the Commemorative Gold Medal were established.
Influence
In philately
The duty commanded by God has been fulfilled...
A. S. Pushkin “Boris Godunov”
A century and a half has passed since Russian scientists Chokan Valikhanov and V.V. Radlov informed the world that the “wild stone” Kyrgyz, roaming the foothills of the Tien Shan, have the greatest oral and poetic masterpiece - the heroic epic “Manas”. Episodes of the Kyrgyz legend were recorded, published, and translated into Russian and German.
Many scientific works have been written about the trilogy “Manas”, “Semetey”, “Seytek”, scientific conferences have been held, and in 1993 the 1000th anniversary of the epic was celebrated at the world level.
Years passed, but our valiant hero never reached the broad masses; few people know the content of the epic itself, not only abroad, but also in the homeland of Manas. And the reason, apparently, is that the text of “Manas” is very voluminous and multivariate. It is impossible to translate it into verse, and in a prose translation “Manas” loses half of its artistic merits. Imagine an uncut ruby! “Zhanbashtap zhatyp sonunda” is one thing, that is, lying on your side and admiring nature, listening to a manaschi storyteller, and another thing is reading about all this yourself. But the main reason, perhaps, is that until now, whether in prose or poetry, it was not the artistic content of the epic that was translated, but its execution in the interpretation of one or another storyteller. This is the same as translating not a drama by W. Shakespeare, but his production on stage, or, let’s say, not a novel by A. S. Pushkin, but an opera by P. I. Tchaikovsky “Eugene Onegin”.
So, like the storytellers of “Manas,” I dreamed...
I went to visit my Manas and saw: he came out of the felt yurt and in all his fighting glory was prancing on his white horse around the closed circle of the paddock. People are standing around, admiring the greatness of the Kyrgyz hero. And the guide enthusiastically talks about his glory and past exploits. And Manas himself is already gray-haired, and Ak-Kula has dark streaks around his eyes. I tried to open the gate of the pen, but, alas, my strength was not enough. And I, as always, called for help from my faithful and powerful friend - Great Russian language and sat down to translate, or rather to write a poetic translation of “Manas”.
Historians have proven that the events of the tale took place in the Middle Ages AD, so they had to abandon fantasy and fairy-tale hyperbole, religious and other layers of pan-Turkism and pan-Islamism introduced by storytellers after the tragic events of 1916, when the Kyrgyz people, finding themselves between two great powers: Russia and China, was subjected to brutal genocide.
In 1856, Ch. Valikhanov called the epic “Manas” the steppe “Iliad”. I consider the epic “Manas” to be the Bible of the mountains and steppes, and therefore I tried to preserve biblical motifs, clarify and generalize the parable thoughts of the Great Legend. To the best of his abilities, he tried to preserve the canonical plot of the epic, build the logic of the characters’ behavior and the development of events, and convey the figurative flavor of the Kyrgyz language.
The first, one might say, trial edition of my “Tale of Manas” was published in 2009 in a small edition and immediately went to the people. The Ministry of Science and Education recommended the book as an additional textbook on the epic “Manas”. In the Russian Academic Theater named after. Ch. Aitmatov carried out a literary and dramatic production of the same name performed by Kyrgyz actors in Russian.
The second edition of “The Legend” is supplemented by a retrospective preface by Academician B. Yu. Yunusaliev, at the end of the book there is a scientific summary by Professor G. N. Khlypenko. Undoubtedly, the works of famous Kyrgyz scientists will complement readers’ knowledge about the outstanding masterpiece of the Kyrgyz people.
I hope that the Russian text of “The Tale of Manas” will become the basis for translating the Kyrgyz epic into other languages and that our legendary hero will rush along the equator of the globe.
Good journey to you, my valiant Manas!
Mar Baydzhiev.
Academician B. M. Yunusaliev
(1913–1970)
KYRGYZ HEROIC EPIC “MANAS”
The Kyrgyz people have the right to be proud of the richness and diversity of oral poetic creativity, the pinnacle of which is the epic “Manas”. Unlike the epics of many other peoples, “Manas” is composed from beginning to end in verse, which once again testifies to the special respect the Kyrgyz people have for the art of versification.
The epic consists of half a million poetic lines and exceeds in volume all known world epics: twenty times the Iliad and the Odyssey, five times the Shahnameh, and more than two times the Mahabharata.
The grandeur of the epic “Manas” is one of the distinctive features of the epic creativity of the Kyrgyz people. It is explained by a number of significant circumstances, and, above all, by the unique history of the people. The Kyrgyz, being one of the most ancient peoples of Central Asia, throughout their centuries-old history were subject to attacks by the powerful conquerors of Asia: the Khitans (Kara-Kitai) at the end of the 10th century, the Mongols in the 13th century, the Dzungars (Kalmyks) in the 16th–18th centuries. Many state associations and tribal unions fell under their blows, they exterminated entire nations, and their names disappeared from the pages of history. Only the power of resistance, perseverance and heroism could save the Kyrgyz from complete destruction. Each battle was replete with exploits. Courage and heroism became an object of worship, a theme of chanting. Hence the heroic character of the Kyrgyz epic poems and the epic “Manas”.
As one of the oldest Kyrgyz epics, “Manas” is the most complete and broad artistic reflection of the centuries-old struggle of the Kyrgyz people for their independence, for justice and a happy life.
In the absence of recorded history and written literature, the epic reflected the life of the Kyrgyz people, their ethnic composition, economy, way of life, customs, mores, aesthetic tastes, ethical standards, their judgments about human virtues and vices, ideas about nature, religious prejudices, and language.
The epic, as the most popular work, gradually attracted independent fairy tales, legends, epics, and poems with similar ideological content. There is reason to assume that such episodes of the epic as “Wake for Koketey”, “The Tale of Almambet” and others once existed as independent works.
Many Central Asian peoples have common epics: the Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Karakalpaks - “Alpamysh”, the Kazakhs, Turkmens, Uzbeks, Tajiks - “Ker-Ogly”, etc. “Manas” exists only among the Kyrgyz. Since the presence or absence of common epics is associated with the commonality or absence of cultural, historical and geographical conditions during the period of the emergence and existence of the epics, we can come to the conclusion that the formation of the epic among the Kyrgyz took place in different geographical and historical conditions than in Central Asia. Events telling about the most ancient periods of the history of the Kyrgyz people confirm this. Thus, the epic traces some characteristic features of an ancient social formation - military democracy (equality of squad members in the distribution of military spoils, election of military commanders-khans, etc.).
The names of localities, names of peoples and tribes, and proper names of people are archaic in nature. The structure of the epic verse is also archaic. By the way, the antiquity of the epic is confirmed by the historical information contained in “Majmu at-Tawarikh” - a written monument of the early 16th century, where the story of the heroic exploits of young Manas is considered in connection with the events of the second half of the 14th century.
Manas(Manas) - the hero of the Kyrgyz epic of the same name - the hero who united the Kyrgyz.
The Epic of Manas is the longest epic in the world: it is twice as long as the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata, longer than the Tibetan epic about King Geser (in the version of "Manas", recorded from the storyteller Sayakbai Karalaev, there are 500,553 poetic lines).
History of the epic
The first mentions of the epic date back to the 16th century. They are contained in the semi-fantastic work of Majmu at-Tawarikh, where Manas is shown as a historical figure acting together with the real-life Tokhtamysh, Khorezmshah Muhammad, etc. Scientific research of the epic began in the 19th century by Ch. Valikhanov and V. Radlov. The texts of the Manas trilogy were completely recorded from 1920 to 1971. Among the translators of the epic into Russian are S. Lipkin, L. Penkovsky, M. Tarlovsky and others. The English historian Arthur Thomas Hatto believes that Manas was
The Kazakh writer M. O. Auezov penned the first monograph on the Kyrgyz epic “Manas” after the works of Chokan Valikhanov, creating a free version of its texts. Monuments were erected to both Kazakh researchers in Bishkek. Among the Russian scientists who studied the epic, it should be noted V. Radlov (author of the first Russian translation of fragments of the epic), P. Falev (author of the first Soviet study about “Manas” - the article “How the Kara-Kyrgyz epic is constructed”) and S. Malov.
The epic is divided into 3 parts: “Manas” itself, “Semetey” and “Seytek”. The main content of the epic consists of the exploits of the hero Manas. Also, in the most extensive versions of “Manas”, to the part telling about Manas’s grandson Seitek, tales are added telling about his son Kenen and grandchildren Alymsyrak and Kulansyrak.
After the death of the Kyrgyz Khan Nogoi, the old enemies of the Kyrgyz, the Chinese, taking advantage of the indecision of his successors, seized the lands of the Kyrgyz and forced them out of Ala-Too. Nogoi's descendants are expelled to distant lands. Those who remain fall under the cruel yoke of the invaders. Nogoy's youngest son Zhakyp is expelled to Altai, and for many years he is forced to serve the Altai Kalmaks. By farming and working in gold mines, he manages to get rich. In adulthood, Zhakyp becomes the owner of an incalculable amount of livestock, but his soul is gnawed by resentment that fate has not given a single heir. He grieves and prays to the Almighty for pity, visits holy places and makes sacrifices. Finally, after a wonderful dream, his eldest wife conceived a child, nine months later she gave birth to a boy. On the same day, a foal is born in Zhakyp’s herd, which he destined for his newborn son.
To celebrate, Zhakyp throws a big feast and names the boy Manas. From childhood, unusual qualities manifest themselves in him; he differs from all his peers in his extraordinary physical strength, mischief and generosity. His fame spreads far beyond Altai. The Kalmaks living in Altai are in a hurry to tell the Chinese Khan Esenkan the news that the rebellious Kyrgyz have a hero, who, while he is not yet mature, should be captured and destroyed. Esenkan sends his spies, disguised as traders, to the Kyrgyz and gives the task of capturing Manas. They catch the young hero playing ordo and try to capture him. Manas, together with his peers, captures the spies and distributes all the goods of the caravan to the common people.
Kyrgyz folk epic, named after the main character.
The time of creation, as well as the genesis of the epic, have not been precisely established. One of the initiators of the study Manasa, Kazakh writer M. Auezov (1897-1961), based on the central episode dedicated to the campaign against the Uyghurs, put forward a hypothesis according to which the epic was created no earlier than 840. It reflected the events of the 9th and 10th centuries, that is, the period of the “Kyrgyz great power” , when the Kirghiz were a numerous and powerful people (some historical sources claim that at that time they had from 80 thousand to 400 thousand soldiers (Genghis Khan, who created an invincible state, had 125 thousand soldiers).
Episode Chon-kazat (Long March) tells about the struggle with a strong eastern state (Mongol-Chinese or Mongol-Turkic), within which the city of Beijin was located, which was forty or, in another version, ninety days’ journey from the Kyrgyz state.
Based on the fact that in 840 the Kirghiz conquered the Uyghur kingdom and took its central city of Bei-Tin, M. Auezov suggested that the conqueror of this city who died in 847 was Manas. The first songs of the poem about Manas, whoever he was by origin, were created in the year of the death of this historical hero, as required by custom. The reservation is important, because not a single proper name of the commanders or azho (the then name of the Kyrgyz khans) has been preserved from that era. Therefore, perhaps the hero’s name was different and only a later nickname remained for descendants (the name of a deity from the shamanic pantheon or from Manichaeism, which was then widespread in Central Asia).
Just like the poet-combatant from Words about Igor's Campaign sang another historical campaign, the warriors of Manas sang the events in which they took part. The main one among them is Yrymandyn-yrchi-uul (or Dzhaisan-yrchi, that is, the prince-poet), a comrade-in-arms of Manas. He is a warrior-hero, and therefore the obligatory dream that storytellers see before performing the epic can be interpreted symbolically - they participate in a feast, etc., as if they were also ranked among the choros, the comrades-in-arms of Manas. Thus, “Chon-kazat” was created either during the years of the campaign itself, or immediately after it.
The main core of the epic, which is characterized by many historical layers, was formed in the 15th-18th centuries.
Auezov M. . In the book: Auezov M. Thoughts from different years. Alma-Ata, 1959
Kyrgyz heroic epic "Manas". M., 1961
Kerimzhanova B. "Semetey" and "Seytek". Frunze, 1961
Zhirmunsky V.M. Folk heroic epic. M. L., 1962
Kydyrbaeva R.Z. Genesis of the epic "Manas". Frunze, Ilim, 1980
Bernshtam A.N. The era of the emergence of the Kyrgyz epic “Manas” // Encyclopedic phenomenon of the epic “Manas”, Bishkek, 1995
Find " MANAS" on
