Comparison of the two full versions of Sagymbay and Sayakbay
For better clarity, we will first list the events that make up the scheme of both versions.
The version of the epic "Manas" by Sagymbay Orozbakov contains events presented in the following chronological order:
• I. The birth and childhood of Manas. The section begins with the genealogy of Manas, followed by the story of the grief of childless Jakyp and his dreams. Then the birth of Manas is described, his childhood years, the struggle with the Altai Kalmyks and the Boratyrs sent by Esenkhan, encounters with the Boratyrs sent by the Kashgar Khans and the armies of the Manchurian Khan Neskara and the Chinese Khan Nykera. Then it talks about the arrival of the envoy from the prophet, about Manas' acceptance of Islam and his election as Khan of the Kyrgyz.
• II. The campaign of Manas and Koshoy to Kashgar. In addition to the description of battle episodes, the section contains the tale "About Doo and Peri".
• III. The campaign of Manas to Central Asia. The section consists of two parts. The second part describes the unity of Manas with the maiden-warrior Saykal, who almost emerged victorious in the duel. After the second campaign, Manas remains in Central Asia.
• IV. The war of Manas with the Afghan Khan Shoruk.
• The section is a continuation of Manas's campaign to Central Asia.
• V. The arrival of Almambet. The section describes the birth and youth of Almambet and his arrival to Manas.
• VI. The marriage of Manas. The story of how Manas married Kanykey, while Almambet married Aruyka.
• VII. The campaign of Manas to the north. In addition to the campaign, it describes the meeting of Manas with his relatives, the Kyozkomans.
• VIII. The war of Manas with the Afghan Khan Tyulkü. This section talks about how Manas, after defeating Tyulkü, reconciles with his brother Akhun-khan, who will be the father of Ai-Churek. Further, it narrates the arrival of the Kyozkomans at Manas's camp.
• IX. The campaign of Manas to the west. The section describes the conquest of the Caucasus.
• X. The transfer of Manas to Talas. Here, in addition, the conspiracy of Japak against Manas is described.
• XL The campaign of Manas against Aigan-khan. In addition to military episodes, the section contains a story about the hero's marriage to the daughter of Airan-khan.
• XII The conspiracy of the Kyozkomans against Manas.
• XIII. The memorial for Koketey. A detailed description of the memorial and the events occurring during it ends with a description of the conflict that arose between the Chinese and the Kyrgyz.
• XIV. The conspiracy of the Khans contains a description of the conspiracy of the rebellious Khans, who, even at the memorial for Koketey, were preparing to rise against Manas.
• XV. The great campaign. The richest in military episodes section ends with the description of Manas's victory over the Chinese and his return to Talas.
• XVI. The minor campaign. This section contains a story about the birth of Semetey and describes Manas's pilgrimage to Mecca. It further narrates the last battle of Manas with the Chinese, his death, burial, and the construction of the mausoleum.
BRIEF CONTENT OF THE MAIN EPISODES OF THE FIRST PART OF THE EPIC "MANAS" according to the version of Sayakbay Karalaev
I. The birth and childhood of Manas. According to tradition, the epic begins with a listing and brief biography of Manas's ancestors.
After the death of Karakhan, the Kyrgyz were captured by Chinese warlords – Molto and Alooke and suffered countless misfortunes. The sons of Karakhan who tried to resist were exiled to different parts of the world. Jakyp, sent to the Altai lands with a forty-member Kyrgyz family, mines gold, cultivates the land, and becomes fabulously wealthy, but constantly complains about his fate: he is childless. The seers of Esenkhan inform their ruler that a boy named "Manas" is to be born among the Kyrgyz, who will conquer and devastate them. The Khan orders his warriors to find and bring this boy to him. They find the son of the Samarkand Eshen named Jarman and take him away, thinking that this is Manas. Meanwhile, Jakyp has a prophetic dream: "As if he holds the sun in his right hand, the moon in his left hand, and then rearranges them, from somewhere a huge golden sword descended from the heavens, which shone over the whole world." Interpreters explain this dream of Jakyp, saying that he will have a son who will conquer China, where the foot of Iskander, Sulayman, and the legendary Rustam has never stepped, where there have never been wars and where the world flood has not reached. Soon a boy is born, named Manas, but to avoid suspicion, he is temporarily given the false name Chondjindi, which means "the great fighter." The boy grows up as a mischievous child. To strengthen him and help him learn about life, his father gives him to his shepherd named Oshpur to help herd the lambs. Together with Oshpur, he lives until the age of 12, but remains just as mischievous. The meaning of his false name follows him everywhere. The victory over a detachment of Kalmyks numbering 700 warriors is the first major feat of Manas. From this moment on, the boy returns to his true name – Manas. Upon receiving news of Manas from the barely surviving Kocku after the battle, Esenkhan sends 10,000 warriors against Manas led by Dongu and Joloy. Manas defeats Joloy's army, who barely escapes. On the advice of Akbalta, Manas sets out to find his people and the famous Kyrgyz hero Koshoy.
II. The youth of Manas.
Meeting him in the region of At-Bashi and consulting with him, Manas along with his ails migrates to the Talas Valley. Offended by his father, who scolded him for supposedly wasting livestock, Manas leaves home and goes into the steppe. There he meets the old wizard Babadyikan – the patron of farmers, who advises him to start sowing grains, and with the harvested grain, he buys the horse Akkulu. Then he meets the sacred prophet Khizir, who gifts the hero six swords that descended from the sky. Manas, setting out in search of his kin, meets Bakay, Adzhibay, and Shuutu, who become his choro, and together with them, Manas returns to his city.
After some time, Manas stands against the oppressor Alooke, who by this time had colonized Andijan and completely ruled the Andijan valley. Manas defeats his army, and Alooke himself is killed by Manas during an attempted attack. The wealth that was left by the Chinese is distributed by Manas among the local population.
Pleased with Manas's generosity, the people elect him as their Khan, and the local ruler Khan Shooruk, frightened, hastily gives his daughter Akylay to Manas. Then the story of Chubak begins. Chubak is the adopted son of Akbalta, whom the childless Akbalta found in the field at six months of age. From the age of six, Chubak studies in Medina. Upon returning to his homeland – Aylai, Manas appears to Chubak in a dream. Chubak goes in search of Manas. On the way to Manas, Khizir unexpectedly appears to Chubak and gifts him a war horse – Kökala. At this time, Manas, while hunting, finds Kumayyk. He now needs someone to go out and train the puppy. On the advice of Chubak, who has just arrived, and his uncle Bakay, Manas decides to marry Kanykey; she is courted and given Kumayyk to take care of him. After this episode follows the episode about the Kyozkomans (this is how Usen and his children are called, which literally means – boar's eyes). Usen, the brother of Jakyp, after many years of living in China, migrates with his now grown sons to Talas and asks Manas to shelter them. Manas gladly agrees and allocates them a certain number of livestock and property. But after some time, they plot something bad – to kill Manas, take Kanykey as their wife, and seize power for themselves. They invite Manas to visit and treat him with poisoned kumys. Sensing something wrong, Kanykey sends Manas's companions after him. Manas's companions kill the Kyozkomans and save Manas.
III. The great campaign.
During a feast at Tyoshtyuk, which was held on the occasion of Tyoshtyuk's return home after seven years of wandering underground, twelve Kyrgyz Khans and beks conspired among themselves and, ignoring Koshoy's advice, decided to crush Manas. However, when faced with Manas, they were frightened and in response to his question: "Why have you come, friends?" they replied that they had decided to stand against Konurbay. Manas decides to go on a campaign; Almambet is chosen as the commander of the Kyrgyz troops. Almambet introduces new military orders and principles. He counts the entire army, which amounts to 42 tumen. After forty days and nights of travel, the army stops for a rest. At the suggestion of Bakay and Manas, taking with him Syrgak and 50 famous war horses of Adzhibay - Kartkuren, Almambet sets out for reconnaissance. After their departure, Chubak, who succumbed to the instigation of the head of forty heroes - Kyrgila, offended that he was not taken on the reconnaissance, creates a scandal and rushes after Almambet and Syrgak, ignoring Bakay's pleas. Upon receiving the news, Manas sets out after them. Chubak catches up with Almambet and, ignoring his wise words, starts insulting him, calling him an outsider and a traitor. Manas arrives at the moment when they have already drawn their swords, separates them, and expresses his displeasure at their behavior. Almambet and Chubak reconcile and apologize to Manas. After that, the four of them ascend to the top of Tal-Choku, which was the Kyrgyz-Chinese border, and look through a telescope at enemy lands. At Manas's request, Almambet tells about the situation of the Chinese, as well as his own story (biography), which at one time Bakay and Kanykey forbade him to tell Manas: "His father, Azizkhan, mother – Altynay, daughter of Sooronduk. After quarreling with the Chinese rulers, who intended to kill him, Almambet, at his mother's advice, accepted the Muslim faith and left his homeland. He lived for six years with Kokche. But after the slander that pursued him everywhere, Almambet leaves Kokche and makes a pilgrimage to Mecca, from where he returns to Bukhara, where he meets Bakay, who brought him to Manas."
Chubak and Manas remain at the Tal-Choku pass, while Almambet and Syrgak go further, along the way they destroy the cunning fox Kuu Tylku, the cunning wild ram Kuu Kuldja, the cunning duck Kuu Urdak, the cyclops Malgun, Kanyshay, who were the guards of the Chinese borders. Then they pass through the area where Almambet was born, meet the head of the horse herders Karagul, and with the help of Kartkuren, steal numerous herds of horses from Konurbay, which once belonged to the Kyrgyz. Upon receiving news from Karagul, who barely escaped from Almambet's hands, Konurbay sets out in pursuit with a large army and catches up with them. During the battle, Almambet and Syrgak alternately rescue each other. Manas sees what happened in a dream, and together with Chubak sets out to help Almambet and Syrgak. Acting together, the four heroes force the enemies to flee, but they soon receive significant reinforcements, and the battle intensifies. In the end, the enemies suffer defeat, and Manas becomes the Khan of the Far Beidzhin (Chot Beijin). Using cunning and treacherous tricks, Konurbay wounds Manas – and the battle begins anew. Manas's army suffers significant losses in the battles. He loses his closest friends – 12 companions of his military retinue. Returning to his homeland, Manas dies from his wound.
MEMORIAL FOR KOKETEY
It should be noted that such a large, independent episode as - "The Memorial for Koketey" in the version of Sayakbay Karalaev is narrated not in "Manas", but in "Semetey," as a memory of Toltoy, which has a very deep logical meaning. This tradition can also be traced in other storytellers.
Koketey, one of Manas's senior companions, before his death bequeaths to his son - Bokmurun, to arrange a memorial (ash). A messenger, traveling through various kingdoms, summons guests, threatening that those who do not respond to the call will be crushed by Bokmurun. Rulers from different countries come to the memorial with their armies, as if preparing for a campaign. Besides allies, the opponents of the Kyrgyz also arrive: Joloy, Konurbay, Neskara. Renewing himself as the new ruler of the Kyrgyz, the young Bokmurun ignores Manas and does not invite him to the memorial. Taking advantage of this, Konurbay decides to intimidate the Kyrgyz and forcibly take Bokmurun's war horse – Maaniker. Finding himself in a hopeless situation, the hosts of the memorial decide to invite Manas. Manas, enraged at Konurbay, including Bokmurun, begins to beat Konurbay's people and establish his own order. Frightened, he apologizes and presents gifts to Manas. According to tradition, games and competitions follow. In archery, the golden ingot suspended on a pole is won by Manas. In other competitions, whether wrestling or tournaments, the winners turn out to be Manas and his choro. In the belt wrestling, the old man Koshoy wins, defeating the giant Joloy. In the end, they test whose horse will arrive first and tear down the banner of Koketey – this is a matter of honor and glory for the clan that presents the horse. During the competition, the horses are affected in various ways, and the opponents' horses are killed and maimed, for which ambushes are set up. And yet, in the races, the horses of Manas and his supporters arrive first. After dealing with the organizers of the memorial, Konurbay forcibly takes the prize. Enraged, Manas rushes in pursuit of Konurbay, but Koshoy and Bakay hold him back.
Comparisons of the plots of the poem "Manas" by Sagymbay and Sayakbay