RUSSIAN-SPEAKING MANASCHI MAR BAIDZHIEV
Professor G. N. Khlypenko.
“The duty, bequeathed by God, is fulfilled…”. These words of Pushkin’s chronicler Pimen from the drama “Boris Godunov” were taken by Mar Baidzhiev as the epigraph to his “Tale of Manas”. And here’s why.
Touching the epic “Manas” is touching Eternity, touching God, for “Manas” has been for the Kyrgyz people a profound expression of national self-awareness, the highest measure of spirituality, and a priceless monument of culture for many centuries.
It is a grand epic that narrates the deeds of three generations of heroes: Manas, his son Semetey, and his grandson Seitek. Formed over centuries, it vividly reflects the history, ethnography, psychology, and customs of the people, incorporating many genres of Kyrgyz folklore.
The creators of “Manas” — the folk storytellers-manashchi — are revered as outstanding figures. The continuous refinement of the epic also occurred with the active participation of listeners, who meticulously monitored the quality of the performance, responding not only to the preservation of traditional components of the epic but also to innovative deviations from them. The telling and listening of the epic represented a unique act of collective contact with the sacred, something holy for all.
The art of the manashchi is, in essence, a one-actor theater. In telling the epic, the manashchi does not use musical instruments: his hands must be free for expressive gesturing. “Manas” is performed in a chant-like manner, or rather — recited. The recitative of the performer, combined with expressive facial expressions, is so vivid that even listeners who do not know the Kyrgyz language can grasp the content of the tale.
According to legend, the first storyteller can be considered the poet — companion of Manas — Jaysan-yrchi, who rode on horseback among the troops and announced important events in verse, proclaiming the orders of Manas. The first manashchi whose name has been preserved in the folk memory is Keldibek, who lived in the second half of the 18th century.
Among his successors, the most famous were Balik, Naimanbay, Tynibek, and Choyuke. The most outstanding manashchi of the 20th century were Sagynbay Orozbakov and Sayakbay Karalaev. The texts recorded from them differ not only in volume but also in high artistic qualities. The first part of the trilogy — “Manas” — was recorded from Sagynbay Orozbakov. The most complete version of the trilogy “Manas”, “Semetey”, and “Seitek” was recorded from Sayakbay Karalaev and contains about 500 thousand poetic lines.
After what has been said, one can imagine the creative, social, and historical responsibility that Mar Baidzhiev took upon himself when he embarked on the “Tale of Manas”. After all, he stood in line with the storytellers-manashchi and challenged them, claiming his own Baidzhiev version of “Manas”! But did he have the necessary creative experience for this? Yes, he did.
The People's Writer of Kyrgyzstan Mar Baidzhiev, who by that time had more than fifty years of professional experience, proved to be a multifaceted creative personality: a playwright and prose writer, screenwriter, theater and film director. His theatrical dramaturgy (“A Holiday in Every Home”, “Groom and Bride”, “On Saturday Evening”, “Long-Distance Train”, “Criminal Case”, etc.) received wide recognition, and his play “Duel” gained worldwide fame. Films made from his scripts have been awarded the highest prizes and diplomas at all-Union and world film festivals (“Descendant of the White Leopard”, “Golden Autumn”, “Someone Else's Happiness”).
Many films and television films have been made based on his dramatic and prose works (“Downpour”, “We Are Men”, “Knockdown”, “Train of Fools”, “Occasion”). And who better than Baidzhiev could take on “Manas”, which organically combines various forms of art: verbal, theatrical, and visual!
However, to realize such a grand idea as the “Tale of Manas”, it was necessary to be an extraordinary connoisseur of the epic “Manas”. Mar Baidzhiev turned out to be just such a specialist, for whom “Manas” runs through his entire personal and creative biography, acquiring fateful significance.
Kyrgyz Heroic Epic "Manas"