Kyrgyz Epic Manas
Kyrgyz epic Manas, the epic of heroes, is one of the "Three Great Epics" in China which can be dated back to the 10th century and formally finished in the 13th century with more than 230,000 lines, composed of eight parts. It was passed down orally from generation to generation as an encyclopedia of Kyrgyz history. It was inscribed in September, 2009 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
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Epic Manas
The Epic of Manas is a traditional epic poem of the Turkic peoples, especially the Kyrgyz people. Manas is the name of the epic's hero. The poem, with close to half a million verses, is twenty times longer than Homer's Odyssey and Iliad combined, or about twice as long as the Mahabharata. It is a patriotic work recounting the exploits of Manas and his descendants and followers, who fought against the Uyghurs in the 9th century to preserve Kyrgyz independence. Although the epic is mentioned as early as the 15th century, it was not set down in written form until 1885. Different opinions abound regarding the origin of the epic: the 7th—10th centuries, the 11th and 12th centuries, and the 15th through 18th centuries.
Epic Manas, Kyrgyzstan
The Manas epic is not exactly a single work ... but rather an encyclopedia collection of folk myths, fairytales, legends, songs and poems which have been combined and grouped together around a central character - Manas, his son (Semetei) and grandson (Seitek). It has been suggested that many of the episodes may have begin as separate verbal compositions - which were after assimilated into the Manas epic.
The Epic of Manas
Throughout the ages the Epic of Manas went the round, enriching and getting new shades, but keeping a clear storyline. True skill of the narrative work was achieved by national storytellers called “manaschy”. They can tell fascinating stories about the great hero Manas and his exploits for many hours. Each manaschy has his own style of presentation and his own interpretation of the events of the epic, but all of them keep to the same storyline. Currently 35 different iterations of the epic are known. They were written from the words the famous and skillful narrators S.Orozbakov, S.Karalaev, Togolok Moldo and others.
Knowledge Graph
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1 The Epic of Manas is a traditional epic poem dating to the 18th century but claimed by the Kyrgyz people to be much older.
2 The monumental epic Manas is the most treasured expression of the national heritage of the Kyrgyz people.
3 Today there are about sixty versions of the epic Manas recorded from various epic singers and oral poets.