A few words about the manaschi.
Saginbay Orozbakov (1867–1930). A genius storyteller of "Manas." He was born in the village of Kabyrga on Issyk-Kul. He recited the entire trilogy of the epic. From Saginbay, 180 thousand poetic lines of "Manas" have been recorded. His version is distinguished by the depth of philosophical thought, epic multi-layeredness of the plot, unparalleled poetic quality, and richness of language. M. Baidzhiev places Saginbay on par with W. Shakespeare.
Sayakbay Karalaev (1894–1971). A great storyteller of "Manas." He was born in the village of Ak-Olyon on Issyk-Kul. He studied under the outstanding manaschi of the 19th century, Choyuke and Akylbek. The entire trilogy of the epic, as well as the continuation about the feats of Manas's grandchildren Kenen, Alym-Saryk, and Kulan-Saryk, has been recorded from Sayakbay, totaling 500 thousand poetic lines. Sayakbay's tales are characterized by epic multi-layeredness, sharpness of plot, dramatic battle episodes, high artistic quality, and emotional performance.
Bagysh Sazan uulu (1878–1958). He was born and raised in Jumgal. From him, 101 thousand poetic lines of the trilogy have been recorded, including 41 thousand lines of "Manas." His version differs significantly from the tales of well-known manaschi.
Shaabay Azizov (1927–2004). The largest manaschi of modern times, grandson of the outstanding storyteller Choyuke. He was born in the village of Uch-Kainar in the Issyk-Kul region. Major episodes of "Manas" and "Seitek" have been recorded from him. M. Baidzhiev believes that Shaabay is a storyteller of a fundamentally new type, incorporating the best artistic traditions of the past while also mastering modern methods of montage thinking.
In the scientific theory of manas studies, there are concepts of jomokchu and jamakchi. Jamakchi is a performer of known versions of "Manas," while jomokchu is a creator, the author of his version of the epic. Mar Baidzhiev, as a jomokchu, creatively reinterprets individual motifs, plot developments, and interpretations of characters while using the variants of the aforementioned storytellers. Let’s provide a few examples.
The origin of the name Manas. According to S. Orozbakov, the consonants M, N, and S encode the names of three religions: M (from the word Muhammad) — Islam, N (from the word Nukh, i.e., Noah) — Christianity, S (from Sino-Tibetan Sin, i.e., Lion) — Buddhism. Developing this thought, M. Baidzhiev draws attention to the essence of each religion: Muhammad — "the messenger of God and prophet, // With a pure soul and body // He calls humanity"; Noah — "He is good in the holy Bible. // When the flood reached us, // He saved all the living from death"; Buddha — "Your God is yourself! — said Buddha, — // The scales on your two shoulders, // To be pure in your deeds, // Always weigh your actions!"
The arrival of Manas at the memorial for Koketey. According to S. Orozbakov's version, the dying Koketey asks his son Bokmurun to bury him very modestly, not to arrange a lavish memorial, and not to invite Manas and other khans and guests from the Chinese side, as bloody conflicts may arise. However, the young Bokmurun thought that his father decided to test him for stinginess and did everything the opposite: he rushed to Manas and asked him to lead the memorial. In other versions, the young Bokmurun decides to conduct the memorial himself. There are versions where Khan Urby manages the memorial, who, fearing Manas's sole power, forbids inviting him. However, in all versions, Manas arrives at the memorial after a special invitation and pacifies the unruly Chinese guests.
In M. Baidzhiev's "Saying," Manas decides:
Gathering at Koketey's feast
His enemies and foes
To arrange a battle parade,
So they can see once more
How formidable and powerful Manas is.
And here is the result:
Thus, the grand memorial feast
Ended in bloody disaster
And what Khan Manas planned,
Was a fateful mistake!
The transition of the Chinese warrior Almanbet to the Kyrgyz. The motivations vary: the struggle for power, the affirmation of the Muslim faith, national origin. In the book "The Great Campaign" (1946), Almanbet kills his own father for refusing to accept Islam. M. Baidzhiev in his scientific publications identifies Almanbet with the Russian prince Kurbskiy, who, offended by Ivan the Terrible, switched to the Lithuanians and waged war against his native Rus. In his "Saying," M. Baidzhiev deepens the tragedy of the hero. Before the campaign to China, Almanbet tries to convince the Kyrgyz people that the campaign will be easy ("Without a fight, everyone will surrender to us") and profitable ("And we will return home with war spoils").
And even the insightful Kanykey did not guess,
That the cunning Almanbet
Planned revenge on Konurbai,
Led the Kyrgyz troops
To his homeland China,
And there to restore by force
His violated honor.
The death of Sarala — Almanbet's horse. In almost all known versions, the mortally wounded Manas, returning to his homeland, encounters the horse Sarala with the dead Almanbet. In some versions, the Kyrgyz bury the hero, and his horse is sacrificed. In other versions, Sarala, left without a rider, throws himself off a cliff. And in M. Baidzhiev's "Saying":
Almanbet's horse Sarala
Was left alone by the hill,
And on the grave of the rider
Tears fell from brown eyes.
And this is perhaps much more tragic than in the original sources.
The poeticization of labor in the heroic epic. Manaschi Bagysh Sazanov, being a blacksmith, believed that improvements in life could be achieved not only through war but also through creative labor. M. Baidzhiev artistically realizes this idea in two tales: about how the exiled Kyrgyz survived thanks to agriculture ("And in autumn, the Altai region // Gave them a rich harvest"), and about how Manas, leaving the khan's throne, engaged in farming and "through his labor found // A fierce, good horse" Ak-Kulu. The wise Bakay, praising Manas, also declares to him:
But you are not a plowman! You are a fighter!
Defender of the holy homeland!
And this duty to you, Manas,
Is appointed by God and fate!
The native land must not only be plowed but also defended. This is what is called patriotism!
When embarking on the poetic retelling of "Manas," M. Baidzhiev fully realized that he should take into account the artistic perception of the epic by the modern reader. Times change — the forms of existence of the epic change over time. Oral tradition increasingly yields to written tradition. The artistic world of "Manas" is actively mastered by technical forms of art — radio, cinema, television.
"The epic is experiencing an informational renaissance," — this conclusion was reached by Chinghiz Aitmatov more than a decade ago. — "A modern person, living in the age of communications, no longer has enough time to perceive the epic, which requires immersion in the epic space. And then, he already has a different way of thinking, a different mentality. He is used to absorbing information in a compressed, concentrated form, as it is presented to him by newspapers and television. He needs something script-like"
(“Word of Kyrgyzstan,” August 26–28, 1995).
"Something script-like" — means close to drama as a stage genre of literature. It is precisely such a work that "The Saying of Manas" is, which is perceived as a response to the artistic challenges of the time. And it was created by none other than the playwright and screenwriter Mar Baidzhiev. An astonishingly accurate hit of Chinghiz Aitmatov's prophetic thought! This is also confirmed by Baidzhiev's own acknowledgment:
"In short, from an endless series, I make one episode and catch myself on the fact that I conduct my work according to the canons of film dramaturgy: spectacle, event, character, image, thought"
(“Word of Kyrgyzstan,” June 20, 2008. My italics. G. X.).
The suffering author's concept of "Manas" by M. Baidzhiev