The Conclusion of the Mourning for Koketey
On the eighth day, Bakai gathered
The comrades and told them,
That good news had arrived:
— The Tulpaar of Manas, Ak-Kula,
Has outpaced all the horses on the way.
Following Ak-Kula is the steed
Of Jolo's Ach-Budan.
And so many prize victories
The enemies will not forgive the Kyrgyz.
And they might ambush Ak-Kula,
Firing shot from their guns.
The Tulpaar of the Chinese, Ach-Budan,
Looks like Ak-Kula, like a brother.
I ask you, my brave Almanbet,
To put on your Chinese attire
And in Chinese language
To shout in support of Ak-Kula.
Then our horse will come alive
And take the designated prize.
Almanbet was glad of the advice,
He put on his Chinese robe,
And to disguise himself,
He covered himself with an embroidered blanket.
Taking Alma for his own,
The Chinese bowed to him.
And he sees, at the foot of the mountains,
Rushing towards them at full speed
The steed of Manas, Ak-Kula.
Behind him, like an arrow,
Flies the Chinese Ach-Budan.
Both steeds resemble
Two playful hares,
Difficult to distinguish.
Riding out to meet them, Alma
Began to shout loudly, “Ach-Budan!”
The enemies lying in ambush
Did not shoot at Ak-Kula.
As soon as the first horse of the baygi
Rushed to the shores of Kegen,
It became clear to everyone at once,
That on its saddle sits
A young warrior from Talas,
Under him biting the reins
Is not Ach-Budan, but Ak-Kula.
Manas's battle squad
Rushed to protect the horse.
They shouted without sparing strength —
And the horse of the Kyrgyz won!
(Satisfied Almanbet did not know
That the deceptive move with Ak-Kula
Would end in great trouble).
He drove into the valley of Bokmurun
A herd for a prize of two thousand.
Manas distributed all the prize horses
To his warriors.
Then they served beshbarmak —
One tavak for four.
Boso, kumys, and strong arak
Flowed like a river for the guests —
The victorious feast thundered in the mountains!
Tired from games and revelry,
The guests fell asleep soundly.
In the deep night in Karkyra
The restless Neskara
Gathered all the Chinese khans.
— Why did we come to the feast,
If in the duel and bayge
None of us won?
No one could hit in the jambs,
In the kurash, Jolo lost,
And Koshoy insulted him.
And you too, Khan Konurbai,
Manas knocked you off your horse with a spear.
Like fools, we were duped in the races
By the treacherous Almanbet —
There is no forgiveness for the traitor!
We suffered defeat everywhere.
The burot grows bolder every day,
There is no obstacle for him in the mountains.
Just give the Kyrgyz freedom!
It seems they have forgotten how they
Fled from us to Altai!
Today we will restore here
Our violated honor!
Covering ourselves with the darkness of night,
We will arrange a bloody feast for them!
Tie the warriors tightly!
Kill the fighters on the spot!
Gather all the horses into herds,
Before dawn breaks,
Immediately drive them to China! —
Thus commanded Khan Neskara.
The Chinese hero Konurbai,
The head of the Kalmyks, Khan Jolo,
And the leader of the Solon, Ylama,
And with them the old Neskara —
All, who feasted yesterday,
Having agreed among themselves,
Began a cruel raid.
And it was a hellish scene!
Like a raging storm, a flood!
The ashes of bonfires, and smoke, and soot
Obscured the starry sky.
Yurts burned, live cattle.
The offended Jolo wreaked havoc.
And Konurbai — a scoundrel, a villain
Bound and killed people.
Others drove away the horses.
Kettles, dishes, and bags
Rolled down the slopes.
And right before the eyes of the men,
They raped the young women,
And under the cries of mothers
They bound the young girls.
And everywhere were screams, moans, blood!
Kumys, ayran, and milk
Flowed from the full bags.
No one had ever seen such cruelty
From the enemy before!
Manas with his squad
Was trapped in the rocks among the stones
In a narrow gorge, where a tributary
Flows into the turbulent Kegen.
From there, he could not break free,
To give the enemy a worthy fight
And curb their raid.
When dawn broke in the mountains,
It was impossible to look
At that merciless devastation:
Houses burned to the ground,
Dead bodies everywhere,
As if at night through the mountains
A deadly hurricane passed,
Creating Sodom in Karkyra.
In the morning, Khan Manas gathered
The people who remained alive.
They cleared the stone rubble,
Freeing the entrance to the gorge.
In anger, the khan said to his squad:
— Just yesterday I was convinced:
As long as I have Almanbet,
Chubak, Syrgak, wise Bakai,
The enemy will find no mercy from us!
He will be defeated, vanquished!
But last night’s memorial feast
Ended in disgrace for us!
Having gorged on free food,
Like fools, they fell into drunkenness!
They forgot that enemies surround us
Dreaming of smashing our brains!
And the entire guard fell into a stupor,
Like a herd of donkeys, they slept!
To atone for our guilt
And restore our former honor,
We must destroy the enemy!
Chase, rescue our people
And return the stolen horses!
Choro, burning with shame,
Swore to rush anywhere,
To catch up and destroy the enemy.
But Almanbet objected:
— There’s no need to hurry, my Manas.
Misfortune has befallen us:
We are defeated, ruined,
Our herds have been stolen,
And we have no reliable strength.
We cannot catch the Kangays.
While we gather
Troops and battle horses,
Khan Konurbai and Neskara
Will approach the wall of China.
And there is a strengthened guard —
And we will suffer, believe me,
Another defeat and disgrace.
With the strength we have now,
We cannot go into battle, Manas!
I overheard that Esenkhan
Learned what happened in Karkyra,
And he is preparing forces there
To give a response to the Kyrgyz troops.
I was told the day before yesterday,
That Konurbai and Neskara,
Agreed among themselves
To return from Karkyra home,
To unite all forces,
To march on Talas
And crush our khanate!
And my advice to you, Manas,
Is to gather all the Kyrgyz khans,
To create a mighty armada,
To always be ready
To defend our native land.
Otherwise, Konurbai will come,
And pick us off one by one! —
Said Almanbet to Manas.
His advice was wise.
And so in the valley of Karkyra,
Where the joyful feast was held yesterday,
They buried the slain in tears,
Reciting the Quran for the deceased.
Thus, the grand memorial feast
Ended in bloody disaster!
And Karkyra, our native land,
Was washed with Kyrgyz tears.
And what Khan Manas planned,
Became a fateful mistake!
You will remember it more than once,
Until you finish the tale.
Epic "Manas". The Duel of Manas with Konurbai