Coming soon: My review of “Manaschi: The Singer of the Kirghiz Epic Manas”

This 21st-century study of past and present reciters of the Kyrgyz national epic, Manas, has just been translated from the Chinese (玛纳斯史诗歌手的研究). It includes much detail about the lives and cultivation of manaschi – mainly those based in Xinjiang – and performance of the epic, but I am perhaps most interested in the chapter entitled, The Manaschi … Continue reading Coming soon: My review of “Manaschi: The Singer of the Kirghiz Epic Manas” →

“Manaschi”: Enigmatic Adages in Hamid Ismailov’s new Novel

Just finished Hamid Ismailov's new novel Manaschi, about a conflicted half-Kyrgyz, half-Tajik man who feels increasingly fated to become a reciter of the ancient Kyrgyz epic poem, Manas. It's an oddly compelling tale in which Kyrgyz, Tajiks and Chinese laborers --- newcomers to the village which straddles Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan --- eventually come to blows in ways … Continue reading “Manaschi”: Enigmatic Adages in Hamid Ismailov’s new Novel →

The Epic of Manas (玛纳斯史诗): A Multilingual Guide to Related Links

《玛纳斯史诗》 The Epic of Manas A Multilingual Guide to Related Links Non-Han Oral Epics 《中国史诗》(Chinese) Comprehensive 591-page study of China’s oral epics by scholars Lang Ying (朗樱) and J. Rincindorji (仁钦道尔吉). Dedicates 40 pages to Manas, including synopsis, Kyrgyz oral storytelling tradition, and manasqi. The Manas Epic The Kyrgyz Epic Manas Selections translated, introduced and … Continue reading The Epic of Manas (玛纳斯史诗): A Multilingual Guide to Related Links →

Jusup Mamay, Manaschi: A Rehabilitated Rightist and his Turkic Epic

A while back I stumbled upon a short Chinese news item about a newly discovered handwritten manuscript of the Kyrgyz Epic of Manas (玛纳斯史诗). This centuries-old trilogy in verse recounts the exploits of the legendary hero Manas, and his son and grandson in their struggle to resist external enemies and unite the Kyrgyz people. Along … Continue reading Jusup Mamay, Manaschi: A Rehabilitated Rightist and his Turkic Epic →