Religion in the Epic "Manas"
Comparing variants recorded from the words of different narrators, it is easy to notice not only thematic and plot coincidences but also certain similarities. They sometimes concern the composition of the epic; for example, the campaigns of Manas to the North and West are only mentioned by the narrator Sagymbay Orozbakov, while the pilgrimage of Chubak to Mecca is noted by Sayakbay Karalaev.
Sometimes the well-known motif of the unification of Kyrgyz tribes is replaced or accompanied by the motif of the unification of Turkic tribes, dictated by the ideas of pan-Turkism of recent times.
Religion, to one degree or another, finds reflection in every epic, because in order to influence the masses, the work "must reflect the prejudices" of the masses of its time. Traces of the ancient beliefs of the Kyrgyz are evident. For example, the main heroes swear before their campaigns, bowing to the sky and the earth:
Ubadadan tayrandy
Tebesy achyk kek urcyn!
Tetsgy tyktuu jyer urcyn!
Kto izmenit klyatve,
Pusht nakazhet ego chistoe nebo,
Pusht nakazhet ego zemlya,
Pokryta rastitelnostyu.
Sometimes the object of worship is military weapons or fire:
Akkeltinin ogu urcyn!
Kek keltinin chogu urcyn!
Pusht nakazhet pulya Akkeltin,
Pusht nakazhet zapal fitilya.
Of course, Islam, as the last dominant religion, also found its reflection. The Islamization of the epic has, it must be said, a formal superficial character. It is more noticeable in the motivations of actions. Thus, one of the main reasons for Alma-Mbet's departure from China was his acceptance of Islam. All epic heroes, including Alma-Mbet, are occupied with the chores of war and peaceful life; they do not even pray daily, as is required by religion from every true Muslim. Some episodes seem foreign, unrelated to the national spirit of the epic (for example, the pilgrimage to Mecca by Manas or Chubak).
Thus, introducing religious motives, the folk hero was intended to become either a champion or even a jealous spreader of Islam. In this, one should see the ideological influence of the patriarchal-feudal hierarchy on the narrators. Traces of this influence are noticeable in almost all variants of the epic, especially among the narrators Bagysh Sazanov and Sagymbay Orozbakov.
It should be noted that the ideological influence primarily affected the first part of the trilogy. This is explained not only by the duration of its existence compared to other parts but primarily by the saturation of grand events, heroic characters, and the vividness of the main figure - Manas.
A later lyrical-romantic poem "Semetey," with its love plot, narrating more about family and kinship relationships and the interactions between heroes, experienced less ideological influence. There are no traces of foreign ideology in the recently emerged poem "Seitek," which is in many ways similar in content to the second cycle of the epic.
However, no attempts can deny the national essence of "Manas." Ideological overlays, encountered in the form of substitutions of separate words, lines, motivations, and episodes, often even unrelated to the general idea, plot canvas of the epic, emerge as foreign bodies.
Kyrgyz Heroic Epic "Manas"