The Tale of Manas. Remembrance of Kököktöy. Part - 1

Mourning for Kökötöy

Kökötöy, the khan of Tashkent, had eleven daughters but no sons, and this saddened his heart. The daughter of the mergen, the beautiful Bektoru, fell in love with the batyr Töshtük and became pregnant by him. When Töshtük was about to leave, Bektoru asked him:

- Tell me, what should I do with the child that lives in my womb, as your amanat?

- If it is a son, - replied Töshtük, - then take him and place him with Kökötöy's camel herd at the black stone of Baigary. Kökötöy will find him and make him his son. If it is a daughter, then raise her and marry her off to a place where she will not shed tears.

Bektoru gave birth to a son and did as Töshtük said.

Kökötöy indeed found the child, announced to everyone that the boy was born of his own baybiche, and held a grand feast, at which the boy was named Bokmurun, to avoid the evil eye. Bokmurun grew brave and courageous, and he became a mighty batyr.

Since Kökötöy helped Manas during the war with Panus-khan of Tashkent and switched his army to Manas's side, he became his most loyal ally. Manas became very attached to him and thought:

- How can I repay Kökötöy for his loyalty and friendship? I would give him wealth, but his own possessions do not fit within his holdings. I would travel the whole world to find him a beautiful wife, but he has already passed eighty-four years of age.

Thus thought Manas and finally decided:

- If Kökötöy dies before me, then I will spare no livestock, invite all the neighboring ails from the four corners of the world, and arrange a great feast that will glorify Kökötöy in all lands. This will be my way of honoring him.

When Manas was in Talas, Kökötöy suddenly fell gravely ill. Feeling death approaching, he summoned his relative Baymyrza and said to him:

- Baymyrza! My illness is worsening; before I die, I will not be able to see my son Bokmurun and pass on my last words to him. So you must convey my words to him: when I die, let him not waste livestock on mourning; let him hold a modest mourning, like a widow's wedding, like the games of old women; let my funeral go unnoticed. Livestock is needed for the living, and Bokmurun is still young; with his childish mind, he will think that I need honors and will waste all the livestock on a feast.

Let them not inform anyone of my death, not even Manas, the son of Jakyp, for if he finds out, he will spare no livestock and will think to arrange a huge feast to glorify Kökötöy. Let not only Manas be unaware of my death; let not all the people of my ail know about it.

- Baymyrza, my dear! Convey these words of mine to Bokmurun, without spilling or losing anything from them.

At that time, Bokmurun was going to fetch his bride Kanyshai, the daughter of Khan Tyulkü. When he returned with her, Kökötöy was already dead.

Bokmurun mourned terribly that he could not see his father before his death and hear his last words. He wept loudly, and the gathered people joined in his lament. The ail was filled with cries, sobs, and praises for Kökötöy for his glorious deeds.

When night fell, Baymyrza called Bokmurun to him and said:

Listen to your father's words!
He spoke them before his death,
He left them to you as a testament:
- Conduct the funeral quietly,
Like a widow's wedding,
Like the games of old women.
Kyrgyz, - my own yurts,
Let them not know of my death.
Can glory and fame
Bring the dead back to life after death?
Let him bury me without expense,
And let my bones rest in peace.
Let him not bring ruin to my people.
Let him not waste wealth.
Let him not scatter gold and white silver,
- Thus said your father before his death.

But he said something else, although I did not understand whether he said it seriously or in jest:

- Inform everyone of my death,
All the people who swarm on the surface of the world.
Gather the whole world for my mourning.
Horse races, wrestling, competitions.
Arrange a battle on peaks,
So that all my deeds become known to the world.
Hold a grand mourning,
As if you were grieving
For the demise of the entire Kyrgyz people.

This is what your esteemed father commanded, having lost his mind before death. Hearing all this, Bokmurun said:

- Kökötöy-khan has died; my only advisor now is you. Tell me, how shall we bury Kökötöy? After all, his testament is twofold!

And Baymyrza replied to him:

- Slaughter an old mare, call the people of your ail, and arrange a feast like a widow's wedding, like the games of old women.

But Bokmurun objected:

- I see I will hear nothing sensible from you. I will go to the lion Manas; he was my father's only true friend in joy and sorrow. Let him advise me on what to do.

Bokmurun saddled his marvelous steed Maanik, rode for just one night, and arrived at Manas in the morning.

Upon arrival, he told him about the death of his father Kökötöy and his difficult situation:

- I have come to you for advice, aba! My father has died, and I am young; my head is not yet filled with wisdom. When he was dying, I was not at home. He bequeathed me to hold a grand funeral, to invite people from the east and west, to arrange a rich feast, and then to carry out deeds that would be a model for the whole world. Kökötöy has much wealth, but I need to treat not only the Kyrgyz but also the Kalmyks and the Chinese. What should I do now?

Manas approved Bokmurun's desire, although he was somewhat worried, and said to him:

- Now you go home and, without hesitating or fearing anyone, begin preparations as you have planned. They should serve as a model for all the people.

Hearing these words, Bokmurun, unnoticed by anyone, returned to his ail in the night darkness.

After the kyrk-asha, which took place ceremoniously, he gathered all his people and said:

- Kökötöy enriched us all. There is no one who has not experienced his generosity. Before his death, he bequeathed me to hold an ash, and I want to fulfill this.

Everyone agreed with Bokmurun. At that time, it was spring, and the livestock began to fatten significantly.

In the third year after Kökötöy's death, Bokmurun raised his battle banner, dismantled the yurts, and called the great batyrs - Koshoy, Urbyu, Kökchö, Akun-khan, and others.

When the batyrs gathered, he told them of his desire to hold a grand mourning, fulfilling his father's last wish.

The batyrs, led by Koshoy and Kökchö, approved this decision.

- What do you think, in which land is it better to hold the ash? - Bokmurun asked them.

Everyone expressed their opinion, and in the end, Koshoy said that it would be most convenient to feast in Karkyra, and everyone agreed with this.

Then Bokmurun raised all the yurts of his people, gathered all the livestock, and moved towards Karkyra.

The possessions of the last poor man
Were covered with bright red carpets.
The horses on which the girls rode
Were adorned with pairs of bells.
All the kelins wore kete.
Their wide ribbons.
Fluttering in the wind, reached the ground.
The kelins were seated on bay trotters.
All the women were dressed in kamku fabric.
The heavy hems of silk garments.
Freely spreading, reached the ground.
The women sat on black trotters.
The very last poor man looked rich,
As if he had reached the night of Qadir.
The girls dressed in red garments,
The light edges of their silk outfits,
Shimmering in the sun, reached the ground.
The girls were given white, like snow, trotters.
In short, everything was done in such a way
That to the surrounding peoples, it seemed
As if this migration was touched by the blessing of Khizir.
Every poor man drove up to a thousand rams.
All the Kyrgyz of vast Tashkent
Moved towards Beruu.
The livestock they led by the halter
Consisted of swift-footed camels.
The very last poor man
Led behind him thirty to forty mares.
All the cows mooed -
Thus moved this caravan.
All the sheep bleated -
Thus moved this caravan.
People from other ails
Stopped in amazement at such abundance.
All the horses neighed -
Thus moved this caravan.
Some of the outsiders, not knowing what was going on,
Thought that a caravan of rich people was moving.
And the wise men concluded,
That this was the depot of Manas's hands.
All the camels were covered with fabrics.
They fitted the harness.
All the nazy were sharpened to a shine
The camels' throats were the size of a kyonyok.
All the other possessions
Were loaded onto black one-humped camels with bells.
The caravan resembled a mighty army.
The camels lay down, they were saddled.
They drove all their adornments in such a way
That the edges covered them and reached the ground.
From the cries and noise, it buzzed in the head.
The green banner of Kökötöy
Floated high and sparkled in the sun.
His battle banner fluttered in the wind.
The golden crescent on it
Sparkled as if touched by the rays of the moon.
Stately azamats.
The bravest jigits.
Accompanied this procession.
If one were to recount everything, words would not suffice,
From beginning to end, one could not encompass it with the eye.
The head of the caravan lagged behind the tail
By a distance of three days' journey.
If the people and livestock of the caravan
Were to be lined up in a row,
It would take a hundred days to walk around it.
The herds of horses were driven slowly to gain fat.
People ate horse meat to their fill,
Chewing juicy geese, from which the fat flowed.
Having placed the hunting birds on their hands
They rode, entertaining and enjoying themselves.
Through Oluy-Ata, Chimkent,
Along the riverbed of Sayram,
They moved in an unbroken stream
Of a multitude of people, in vast numbers.
With great noise, they drove the livestock.
Tying the foals with ropes.
They rested freely for seven days.
Then they set off again,
And again moved noisily and cheerfully.
Finally, making one stop on the way,
The caravan arrived at Bashy-kopre.
To let the sheep graze and gain fat.
So that the guests could feast to their heart's content.
The herds were driven leisurely.
Therefore, only after twenty days
They arrived in Almaty.
They rested there for six days,
And the horses filled with juice.
In Eshik and Turgen,
Where they plow the land.
Joyfully settled his people
Er Bokmurun - a true man.

The Tale of Manas. The Conspiracy of the Kozkamans