Timeline
- 1st millennium BCThe epic "Manas", according to Manas scholar Munduk Mamyr, originated in the 1st millennium BC.
- 16th century16th century – the earliest references to the epic “Manas” appear in the collection «Majmuʿ at-Tawarikh».
- 18561856 – the epic “Manas” was first recorded on paper by Chokan Valikhanov. The Kazakh researcher Ch. Valikhanov is considered the scholar who first published accounts of the epic «Manas».
- 18991899 – a fragment of the epic «Manas» was published in Kazan.
- 19031903 – the first manaschi whose voice was recorded on a phonograph was Kenzhekara.
- 19251925 – Kasym Tynystanov sent a letter to the Central Committee proposing the introduction of the epic «Manas» into the school curriculum.
- 19411941 – the first article in Kyrgyz folklore studies dedicated to research of the epic «Manas» was published by Manas scholar Ybyrayim Abdrakhmanov: «On the centuries in which Manas existed», in issue №3 of the journal «Soviet Literature and Art».
- 19411941 – poet and writer Semyon Lipkin won the competition for translating the epic «Manas» into Russian.
- 19521952 – the first conference devoted to the epic «Manas» was held.
- 19621962 – the first scholarly work on the epic «Manas», a PhD dissertation, was defended by Manas scholar Samar Musaev.
- 19741974 – Manas Airport was put into operation.
- 19951995 – the UN declared the Year of Manas.
About the epic
The epic “Manas” is the most voluminous work and has the largest number of variants. The National Academy of Sciences of Kyrgyzstan preserves about 70 variants of the epic.
The work with the largest bibliography is the epic “Manas”. There are more than 3 thousand scholarly, literary and other works dedicated to the epic.
The first encyclopedia in the world compiled on the basis of an epic is the two-volume “Manas” encyclopedia.
The work that contains the greatest number of toponymic mentions is the epic “Manas”. It includes more than 500 geographical names.
Variants and records
The variant of Sagymbay Orozbakov, recorded by Y. Abdrakhmanov in 1922–1926, contains 180378 poetic lines. The published variant of Sayakbay Karalaev contains 500553 lines; it is 20 times longer than the Iliad and the Odyssey, 5 times longer than the Shahnameh, and 2.5 times longer than the Mahabharata.
The first recorder of S. Karalaev's variant was Belek Soltonoev. The prose version of S. Karalaev's tale was recorded by Kasymkul Nanaev.
The epic of S. Karalaev, recorded in 1960 by Tursun Uraliev on magnetic tape, has a length of 45 thousand metres.
The heaviest book in the Kyrgyz language is the epic “Manas” as presented by Zhusup Mamai. The book weighs 6 kg.
The first translation of the epic “Manas” into a foreign language was by Vasily Radlov.
The first illustrations for the epic “Manas” were drawn by Boris Smirnov.
The first prose edition of the epic “Manas” was published by S. Musaev; Kенеш Jusupov prepared it as a literary work for children; writer Ashym Zhakypbekov presented it as a novel.
The works of the Kazakh writer and scholar Mukhtar Auezov devoted to the epic "Manas" attracted attention among scholars across the Soviet Union.
The first actor in the history of the Kyrgyz dramatic theatre to perform the role of Manas was Kunbolot Dosumbaev.
The first film about Manas was directed by Melis Ubukeyev.
Folklore and legends
In popular oral tales, Manas, Koshoi, Semetey, Seytek are described as people of gigantic stature.
In Kyrgyz history the fastest steed is Taitoru. According to manaschi accounts, in a multi-day race of 643 horses he outran all, even at the age of 56.