Epic of Manas

{{Short description|Kyrgyz traditional epic poem}} {{italic title}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2026}} {{Infobox poem |name = ''Epic of Manas'' |image = |image_size = 260px |caption = Statue of Manas in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan |subtitle =  |author =  |original_title = Манас дастаны |original_title_lang = ky |translator =  |written = 18th century |first =  |illustrator =  |cover_artist =  |country =  |language = Kyrgyz |series =  |subject = The interactions of a Kyrgyz warrior and his progeny with neighboring peoples |genre = Epic poem |form =  |meter =  |rhyme =  |publisher =  |publication_date =  |publication_date_en =  |media_type =  |lines = Approximately 553,500 |pages =  |size_weight =  |isbn =  |oclc =  |preceded_by =  |followed_by =  |wikisource =  }}

The '''''Epic of Manas'''''{{efn|{{langx|ky|Манас дастаны|Manas dastany}}, {{small|arabized:}} {{lang|ky-arab|ماناس داستانی}}, {{IPA|ky|mɑnɑ́s dɑstʰɑnɯ́|IPA}}}} is a lengthy and traditional epic poem of the Kyrgyz people of Central Asia. Versions of the poem which date to the 19th century contain historical events of the 8th century; however, Kyrgyz tradition holds it to be much older. The plot of ''Manas'' revolves around a series of events that coincide with the history of the region—primarily the interaction of the Kyrgyz people with other neighbouring peoples.

The government of Kyrgyzstan celebrated the 1,000th anniversary from the moment it was documented in 1995. The mythic poem has evolved over many centuries,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Terbish |first1=Baanjarav |title=The Sart Kalmaks in Kyrgyzstan: people in transition |journal=Central Asian Survey |date=February 2021 |volume=40 |issue=3 |pages=313–329|doi=10.1080/02634937.2021.1884045 |doi-access=free }}</ref> being kept alive by bards called ''manaschy'' or ''manaschi''. The first written reference to the eponymous hero of ''Manas'' and his Oirat enemy Joloy is to be found in a Persian manuscript dated to 1792.<ref name="auto">Tagirdzhanov, A. T. 1960. "Sobranie istorij". Majmu at-tavarikh, Leningrad.</ref>

The ''Epic of Manas'' is the longest historical epic poem known and has been described as "the longest poem ever published".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Longest poem ever published |work=Guinness World Records |access-date=2026-03-13 |url= https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/67403-longest-poem-ever-published }}</ref> Holding the Guinness World Record for the longest epic, it is a monumental feat of oral tradition. It consists, in one of its dozens of iterations, of approximately 500,000 lines (~2 to 2.5 million words), making it roughly 20 times longer than Homer's ''Odyssey'' and ''Iliad'' combined, 2.5 to 3 times longer than the ''Mahabharata''. The most famous version of ''Manas'' (by the bard Sayakbay Karalaev) is estimated to have over 2 million words, which still edges out the ''Mahabharata''{{'s}} 1.8 million.

==Narrative== [[Image:Kyrgyz Manaschi, Karakol.jpg|thumb|upright|A traditional Kyrgyz ''manaschi'' performing part of the epic poem at a yurt camp in Karakol]]

The epic follows a genealogical line through eight generations of heroes—Manas, Semetey, Seytek, Kenenim, Seyit, Asylbacha-Bekbacha, Sombilek, and Chigitey—though the first three (Manas, Semetey and Seytek) have been the most frequently recorded and are the most widely recognized in Kyrgyzstan.

The epic begins with the destruction and difficulties caused by the invasion of the Oirats. Jakyp reaches maturity in this time as the owner of many herds without a single heir. His prayers are eventually answered, and on the day of his son's birth, he dedicates a colt, Toruchaar, born the same day to his son's service. The son is unique among his peers for his strength, mischief, and generosity. The Oirat learn of this young warrior and warn their leader. A plan is hatched to capture the young Manas. They fail in this task, and Manas is able to rally his people and is eventually elected and proclaimed as khan.

Manas expands his reach to include that of the Uyghurs of Raviganjn on the southern border of Jungaria. One of the defeated Uyghur rulers gives his daughter to Manas in marriage. At this point, the Kyrgyz people chose, with Manas' help, to return from the Altai mountains to their "ancestral lands" in the mountains of modern-day Kyrgyzstan. Manas begins his successful campaigns against his neighbors accompanied by his forty companions. Manas turns eventually to face the Afghan people to the south in battle, where after defeat the Afghans enter into an alliance with Manas. Manas then comes into a relationship with the people of Mā Warāʾ an-Nahr through marriage to the daughter of the ruler of Bukhara.

The epic continues in various forms, depending on the publication and whim of the ''manaschi'', or reciter of the epic.

==History== thumb|upright|Turgan Berdike uulu, first Kyrgyz traveler to Hungary, translator of ''Manas'' to Hungarian<ref>Passages 2024 385.p. Almásy György (1867-1933) és Turgan Berdike-úlu (1890- ?)</ref>

Scholars have long debated the exact age of the epic, as it was transmitted orally without being recorded. However, historians have doubted the age claimed for it since the turn of the 20th century. The primary reason is that the events portrayed occurred in the 16th and 17th centuries. Hatto remarks that ''Manas'' was "compiled to glorify the Sufi sheikhs of Shirkent and Kasan ... [and] circumstances make it highly probable that... [Manas] is a late eighteenth-century interpolation."<ref>Akiner, Shirin & Sims-Williams, Nicholas. Languages and Scripts of Central Asia. 1997, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. p. 99</ref>

Changes were made in the delivery and textual representation<ref>{{cite book |title=Notes on the Cultural History of the Kirghiz Epic Tradition |date=2000 |publisher=Indiana University Press |location=Bloomington}}</ref> particularly the replacement of the tribal background of Manas. In the 19th-century versions, Manas is the leader of the Nogais, while in versions dating after 1920, Manas is a Kyrgyz and a leader of the Kyrgyz.<ref>Akiner, Shirin & Sims-Williams, Nicholas. Languages and Scripts of Central Asia. 1997, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. p. 104</ref> Use of the ''Manas'' for nation-building purposes, and the availability of printed historical variants, has similarly had an impact on the performance, content, and appreciation on the epic.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Plumtree |first1=James |editor1-last=Thomson |editor1-first=S. C. |title=Medieval Stories and Storytelling: Multimedia and Multi-temporal Perspectives |date=2021 |publisher=Brepols |location=Turnhout |isbn=978-2-503-59050-9 |pages=239-301 (pp. 273-278) |chapter=A Telling Tradition: Preliminary Comments on the Epic of Manas, 1856–2018}}</ref>

Attempts have been made to connect modern Kyrgyz with the Yenisei Kirghiz, today claimed by Kyrgyzstan to be the ancestors of modern Kyrgyz. Kazakh ethnographer and historian Shokan Shinghisuly Walikhanuli was unable to find evidence of folk-memory during his extended research in 19th-century Kyrgyzstan (then part of the expanding Russian empire) nor has any been found since.<ref>1980. 'Kirghiz. Mid-nineteenth century' in [Traditions of heroic and epic poetry I], edited by A. T. Hatto, London, 300-27.</ref>

While Kyrgyz historians consider it to be the longest epic poem in history,<ref>Урстанбеков Б.У., Чороев Т.К. Кыргыз тарыхы: Кыскача энциклопедиялык сөздүк: Мектеп окуучулары үчүн. – Ф.:Кыргы. Совет Энциклопедиясыныны Башкы Ред., 1990. 113 б. {{ISBN|5-89750-028-2}}</ref> the Sanskrit epic ''Mahabharata'' and the Tibetan ''Epic of King Gesar'' are both longer.<ref>Amartya Sen, The Argumentative Indian. Writings on Indian Culture, History and Identity, London: Penguin Books, 2005.</ref> The distinction is in number of verses. ''Manas'' has more verses, though they are shorter.

==Recitation== ''Manas'' is the classic centerpiece of Kyrgyz literature, and parts of it are often recited at Kyrgyz festivities by specialists in the epic, called ''manaschy'' ({{langx|ky|Манасчы}}), which tell the tale in a melodic chant unaccompanied by musical instruments.

Narrators who know all three episodes of the epic (the tales of Manas, of his son Semetey and of his grandson Seytek) can acquire the status of Great ''Manaschy''. These included Sagymbai Orozbak uulu, Sayakbay Karalaev, Shaabai Azizov (pictured), Kaba Atabekov, Seidene Moldokova, Eshmat Mambetjusup, Jusubakun Apay and Jusup Mamay of the 20th century. Contemporary ones include Rysbek Jumabayev, who has performed at the British Library;<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gullette |first1=David |title=The Genealogical Construction of the Kyrgyz Republic: Kinship, State and 'Tribalism' |url=https://archive.org/details/genealogicalcons00gull |url-access=limited |date=2010 |publisher=Global Oriental |location=Folkestone |page=[https://archive.org/details/genealogicalcons00gull/page/n164 153]|isbn=9781906876104 }}</ref> Urkash Mambetaliev, the ''manaschy'' of the Bishkek Philharmonic; Talantaaly Bakchiev, who combines recitation with critical study;<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Plumtree |first1=James |title=A Kyrgyz ''Singer Of Tales'': Formulas in Three Performances of the ''Birth of Manas'' by Talantaaly Bakchiev |journal=Доклады Национальной академии наук Кыргызской Республики |date=2019 |pages=125–133 |url=https://www.academia.edu/41232534}}</ref> and Doolot Sydykov, noted for lengthy performances (including a 111-hour recitation over five days).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Калыков |first1=Мундузбек |title=Манасчы Доолот Сыдыков установил рекорд — он читал эпос «Манас» пять суток |url=https://kloop.kg/blog/2021/09/06/manaschy-doolot-sydykov-ustanovil-rekord-on-chital-epos-manas-pyat-sutok/ |website=kloop.kg |language=Russian |date=6 September 2021}}</ref> Adil Jumaturdu has provided "A comparative study of performers of the ''Manas'' epic."<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Jumaturdu|first1=Adil|title=A Comparative Study of Performers of the ''Manas'' Epic|journal=The Journal of American Folklore|date=2016|volume=129|issue=513|pages=288–296|doi=10.5406/jamerfolk.129.513.0288|s2cid=163241388 }}</ref>

There are more than 65 written versions of parts of the epic. Arthur Thomas Hatto made scholarly editions with facing English translations of the ''Manas'' tales recorded in the 19th century by Shokan Valikhanov<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Hatto |editor1-first=Arthur T. |title=The memorial feast for Kökötöi-khan (''Kökötöidün ashy''): a Kirghiz epic poem |date=1977 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9780197135938}}</ref> and Vasily Radlov.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Hatto |editor1-first=Arthur T. |title=The manas of Wilhelm Radloff |date=1990 |publisher=O. Harrassowitz |location=Wiesbaden |isbn=9783447030106}}</ref> Kyrgyz scholar Kambaraly Botoyarov (1944–1994) further researched the Arabic-script Kyrgyz text recorded by a Kazakh scribe who helped Shoqan Walikhanov. <ref>Ботояров Камбаралы. Көөнөргүс мурас / Жооптуу ред. Т.К.Чоротегин. – Бишкек: Айбек, 1996. URL: https://new.bizdin.kg/media/books/Көөнөргүс_мурас.pdf</ref>

An English translation of the version of Sagymbai Orozbakov by Walter May was published in 1995 as part of the commemoration of the presumed 1,000th anniversary of ''Manas''{{'}} birth (and re-issued in two volumes in 2004), and a substantial episode of this variant translated by Daniel Prior was published in 2022.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Orozbak uulu |first1=Sagymbaĭ |editor1-last=Prior |editor1-first=Daniel |title=The memorial feast for Kokötöy Khan : a Kirghiz epic poem in the Manas tradition |date=2022 |publisher=Penguin |location=London |isbn=9780241544211}}</ref>

The earliest sound recording was made in 1902 and 1903 of a performance of a narrative concerning Semetey by Kenje Kara.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Obolbekov |first1=Ishembi |last2=Prior |first2=Daniel |title=The semetey of Kenje Kara: a Kirghiz epic performance on phonograph with a musical score and a compact disc of the phonogram |date=2006 |publisher=Harrassowitz |location=Wiesbaden |isbn=978-3-447-05138-5}}</ref>

==Legacy== {{main|Manas Ordo}} thumb|The alleged burial site of the eponymous hero of ''Manas'' Manas is said to have been buried in the Ala-Too mountains in Talas Province, in northwestern Kyrgyzstan. A mausoleum some 40 km east of the town of Talas is believed to house his remains and is a popular destination for Kyrgyz travellers. Traditional Kyrgyz horsemanship games are held there every summer since 1995. An inscription on the mausoleum states, however, that it is dedicated to "...the most famous of women, Kenizek-Khatun, the daughter of the emir Abuka". Legend has it that Kanikey, Manas' widow, ordered this inscription in an effort to confuse her husband's enemies and prevent a defiling of his grave. The name of the building is "Manastin Khumbuzu" or "The Dome of Manas", and the date of its erection is unknown. There is a museum dedicated to Manas and his legend nearby the tomb.

The reception of the poem in the USSR was problematic. Politician and government official Kasym Tynystanov tried to get the poem published in 1925, but this was prevented by the growing influence of Stalinism. The first extract of the poem to be published in the USSR appeared in Moscow in 1946, and efforts to nominate the poem for the Stalin Prize in 1946 were unsuccessful. Ideologist Andrei Zhdanov, Stalin's "propagandist in chief", prevented this, calling the poem an example of "bourgeois cosmopolitanism". The struggle continued inside Kyrgyzstan, with different newspapers and authors taking different sides; one of its supporters was Tugolbay Sydykbekov. By 1952 the poem was called anti-Soviet and anti-Chinese and condemned as pan-Islamic. Chinghiz Aitmatov, in the 1980s, picked up the cause for the poem again, and in 1985 finally a statue for the hero was erected.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m4pCCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA171|pages=165–84|first=Marlene|last=Laruelle|title=Kyrgyzstan beyond "Democracy Island" and "Failing State": Social and Political Changes in a Post-Soviet Society|editor1-first=Marlene|editor1-last=Laruelle|editor2-first=Johan|editor2-last=Engvall|publisher=Lexington Books|year=2015|isbn=9781498515177|chapter=Kyrgyzstan's Nationhood: From a Monopoly of Production to a Plural Market}}</ref>

In 2023, the manuscript version of the epic was included by international organization UNESCO in the Memory of the World Programme.<ref>{{cite news |author= |date=June 8, 2023 |title=The Manas epic manuscripts are included in the Memory of the World |url=https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/manas-epic-manuscripts-are-included-memory-world |work= |location=UNESCO |access-date=June 28, 2023}}</ref>

==Influence== * Liz Williams' ''Nine Layers of Sky'' (2003) writes a modern day account of Manas as a nemesis of the Bogatyr Ilya Muromets * University of Manas – the name of university in the city of Bishkek * The main international airport of Kyrgyzstan, Manas International Airport in Bishkek, was named after the epic * A minor planet, 3349 Manas was discovered by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh in 1979<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eHv1CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA439|page=439|title=Dictionary of Minor Planet Names|first=Lutz D.|last=Schmadel|edition=3|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|year=2013|isbn=9783662066157}}</ref> * The highest award in Kyrgyzstan is the Order of Manas * ''Manas'' – opera, composed by Abdylas Maldybaev

==Translations== ''Manas'' has been translated into 20 languages. The Uzbek poet Mirtemir translated the poem into Uzbek.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mirtemir (In Uzbek)|url=http://www.ziyouz.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=477&Itemid=49|work=Ziyouz|access-date=18 February 2012}}</ref>

==See also== *Manasology *Music of Kyrgyzstan

==Notes== {{notelist}}

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==External literature== * ''Manas''. Translated by Walter May. Rarity, Bishkek, 2004. {{ISBN|9967-424-17-6}} * Levin, Theodore. ''Where the Rivers and Mountains Sing: sound, music, and nomadism in Tuva and beyond''. Section "The Spirit of Manas", pp. 188–198. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2006 * ''Manas 1000. Theses of the international scientific symposium devoted to the 'Manas' epos {{sic|Millenial|nolink=y}} Anniversary''. Bishkek, 1995. * S. Mussayev. ''The Epos Manas''. Bishkek, 1994 * ''Traditions of Heroic and Epic Poetry'' (2 vols.), under the general editorship of A. T. Hatto, The Modern Humanities Research Association, London, 1980. * ''The Memorial Feast for Kokotoy-Khan'', A. T. Hatto, 1977, Oxford University Press * ''The Manas of Wilhelm Radloff'', A. T. Hatto, 1990, Otto Harrassowitz * ''Spirited Performance. The Manas Epic and Society in Kyrgyzstan.'' N. van der Heide, Amsterdam, 2008. * Van der Heide, Nienke. "Epic as Arena: Models of Statehood and the Kyrgyz Manas Epic." ''Epic Adventures'', edited by JanJansen and Henk M. J. Maier, (2004)65-70. LIT Verlag.

==External links== {{Commons category|Manas epic}} *[http://www.manas.edu.kg] at the Manas University, Kyrgyz Turkish Manas University *[http://aton.ttu.edu/turkishlist.asp Manas] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120105194245/http://aton.ttu.edu/turkishlist.asp |date=2012-01-05 }} at the Uysal-Walker Archive of Turkish Oral Narrative, Texas Tech University *[https://web.archive.org/web/20060207062235/http://www.silk-road.com/folklore/manas/manasintro.html In-depth site on Manas with translated sections of the epic] *[http://www.china.org.cn/english/27142.htm Manas] at China.org.cn *[https://web.archive.org/web/20080221182107/http://www.sras.org/manas_kyrgyz_hero "Manas: The Kyrgyz Odysseys, Moses, and Washington"], article examining the place of Manas in Kyrgyz mythology and national identity *[http://www.eposmanas.ru Epos "Manas"] Text of epic poems "Manas", "Semetey" and "Seytek", others kyrgyz epic poems. *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMDklwoLf34#t=1m29s Video of Manas Epic recitations]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Epic Of Manas}} Manas Category:Kyrgyzstani poetry Category:Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity Category:Turkic mythology Category:National symbols of Kyrgyzstan Category:Oral literature Category:Fictional Kyrgyzstani people * Category:Kyrgyz folklore