The Epic of "Manas". The Attack of Neskara

The Attack of Neskar

The ruler of the Manchus became
Twenty-year-old Neskar —
Hot-headed, bold, young,
Always satisfied with himself.
He knew that the Burut tribes
Had fled from their native land
And now lived in Altai.
In a short time, they had amassed
Cattle, horses, and wealth in abundance.
And, as the old prophet said,
A fierce hero was born there,
Growing stronger every day,
As soon as he gathers strength,
He will unleash a great devastation on everyone.
— He is now thirteen years old.
While Manas has not yet matured,
Has not seized power in the region,
The Kyrgyz must be defeated,
Manas must be captured alive,
Their horses and cattle taken.
As soon as Manas grows up,
He will come to war against us,
Devastate and defeat everyone! —
Such was the command he gave to the troops.
Arming them to the teeth,
He set out on a campaign to Altai.
Having traveled a long and thorny path,
He approached the Mongolian steppes.
In Ken-Aral ruled there
A hero named Jai-san.
And Neskar said to him:
— I am going to war against Manas.
Let’s unite our forces —
It will be easy to deal with him!
We will divide the cattle and horses,
Take their daughters as wives,
And capture their sons into slavery.
But the Mongolian khan refused:
Jai-san was friends with the Kyrgyz.
The Mongols — inhabitants of the steppes
Pastured their cattle and horses,
Each clan had
Their own land and their own aymak.
But Jai-san could not gather
A strong fighting detachment.
Self-loving Neskar
Gave his troops free rein here:
He went rampaging across the steppes,
Committing violence and robbery,
Causing bloodshed there.
They revelled, drank to drunkenness
Intoxicating arak made from milk,
Slaughtering fat mares,
They danced merrily by the fire.
In an unequal battle, Jai-san himself
Was wounded, imprisoned in a dungeon,
But he did not betray
The Mongol khan at the cost of his life.
The Altai Kazakh Aydar-khan
Learned that Neskar
Was coming to raid Manas.
And he called his son Kokche
To him and said:
— Kyrgyz and Kazakh are like brothers,
It’s time for us to be together.
Take the warriors, the horses,
Hurry to Manas as fast as you can!
Kokche, at the age of sixteen,
A brave warrior and hero,
Came to Manas with a strong, battle-ready retinue,
As if he were a relative.
And here are two twin brothers:
One Kyrgyz, the other Kazakh —
They swore in blood and tears
To always be in brotherhood,
Never to be separated.
Er-Manas was glad and happy:
With the arrival of brave Kokche,
A great strength gathered.
When Neskar saw
That before him were not children —
Armed troops,
He immediately turned back.
Manas rushed after him,
But the Chinese horse was swift,
And the winged steed Chabdar-at
Saved Neskar from death.
Er-Manas returned,
Saw how the captured troops trembled before him:
They were afraid that now they
Had become slaves to the Kyrgyz.
— My friends! — said Manas. —
I release you to freedom!
Go to your homes,
And if you join us,
You will receive a horse and a sword.
We will defend together
Freedom, homeland, and honor!
And former enemies
Became friends and relatives here.
About the Burut tribes
Led by the young leader Manas,
That he is generous and kind,
Word spread everywhere.
From all sides they came to him,
Those who had been wronged, oppressed.
Once his warriors
Decided to have a great celebration,
To show off their bravery to each other.
They hunted wild boars,
Shot with accurate arrows
At deer, argali, and goats;
Raising hunting birds to the sky,
They caught foxes and wolves;
They competed in agility, wrestling,
In er-sayyshe and shooting.
And the oldest, Kutubai —
He was twenty-five years old,
A joker, a trickster, a silver-tongued —
Gathering the boys around him,
Decided to play a trick on Manas:
— To maintain order among us,
We must immediately elect a khan!
He must be strong, bold,
Articulate, generous, and single.
And whoever wants to become khan,
Must cook us beshbarmak,
For the feast, let him bring
His favorite argymak! —
He said, winking slyly.
But not a single daring fool
Took this foolish step.
Everyone knew the truth about it,
That without a horse, no Kyrgyz is anyone.
— What is your answer, er-Manas?
You are brave, bold, and daring,
You are the youngest among us.
As soon as you slaughter your horse
For beshbarmak,
You will become khan at that moment!
But if you are stingy, Manas,
We will have to look for others.
Hurry up with your answer! —
Said the crafty Kutubai.
In response, Manas said:
— Here all the warriors are gathered!
You all wear men's trousers.
But if you are drawn,
Like a woman in labor is drawn,
To the stallion's beshbarmak,
I will bring you a horse as a sacrifice,
And I will walk on foot!
And immediately the young hero
Threw them the reins — chylbyr.
A loud, united laugh rang out,
And, shaking the heavens,
The whole retinue laughed.
Kutubai embraced Manas:
— Don’t be angry with us, brother!
You are the youngest among us,
And you were born to be khan by fate.
But we were afraid of one thing:
What if you, like your father, are stingy!
And we decided to play a game:
To test your greed.
But God saw, you are a good fellow,
And proved that you are not stingy!
You will be khan for all Kyrgyz.
The time will come — you will see for yourself!
You must get used to power!
Manas's young friends,
Having seated him on a sweaty terdik,
Lifted him high above their heads
And placed him, as on a throne,
On a yellow stone under the mountain,
As if it were golden…

Epic "Manas". The Victory of Manas over the Envoys of Esenkhan