The Tale of Manas. The Great Campaign. The Conspiracy of the Six Khans.

The Great Campaign. The Conspiracy of Six Khans.

When preparations were being made for the memorial for Kökötöy, Manas ordered forty Kyrgyz clans to slaughter countless livestock, and forced all the oldest and noblest Kyrgyz and Kazakhs to listen to his command.

For anyone who did not obey his orders, Manas shouted, and often lashed the disobedient with a whip across their backs. Then the noblemen despaired of maintaining their power and dignity, and the wealthy did not hope to keep their possessions.

Several khans harbored resentment against Manas for all this and, gathering together, began to consult among themselves:

- It seems Kanкор wants to exterminate the entire Kyrgyz people. Shall we endure this? We need to eliminate his forty choro, and show him what it means to insult khans like us.

Thus the rebellious khans initiated a fierce quarrel. Hearing this, the elder Koshoy tried to reason with them:

- My children! Your intentions will not lead to good. Can one open their heart to a guest who has spent only one night in your yurt? Should a guest, who has come for the first time to stay overnight, know what troubles exist in the family? Can such deeds be done? For this would mean exposing oneself to the mockery of friends and the malice of enemies. Let Manas complete the grand toý, let him see off the guests. And when the steppes become quiet again, when they rest from the noise of the guests of the country, then I will become your leader, and if things do not improve and Manas does not obey us, I will hand him over to you myself.

Thus Koshoy managed to calm the rebels for a time.

But when twelve months had passed since the guests departed, fourteen khans under Manas again came to Koshoy and said:

- We were forty Kyrgyz tribes, roaming in the lush steppes. We grazed huge herds of livestock. And now, due to one recklessness, because of this fool Kökötöy, we have lost our livestock, we have been ruined to dust, and only nine tribes remain. The Kazakhs who lived among us were also devastated by Manas. Last year during the toý, you stopped us, promising to tame Manas. Where is your promise? - they asked the old batyr.

And Koshoy replied to them:

- Listen to what the old man says, abandon the destructive quarrel! If you do not listen, then go and attack Manas, but beware, - the wrath of Kanкор is fierce! Do not let this unnecessary venture bring terrible misfortune upon your heads.

Several khans - Akbay, Mambet, Agysh, Kodzhosh, Kökkeön, Sultan, Chegish - heeded Koshoy's words and decided to distance themselves from the rebels. But Muzburchak, the son of Buu Daybek, Kazakh Kökchö, Tyoshtyuk, the son of Eleman, Jamgyrchi, the son of Eshtak, Urbyu, the son of Taza, Synchibek from Andijan gathered at Tyoshtyuk's place, in the Alai valley, in the area of Anyrdynsazy, and held such a council:

- We are equal to Manas: our fathers were joldosh. It is not fitting for us to endure his rude shouts and suffer the blows of his whip. We will attack Manas and destroy his ails, - they decided.

Only Urbyu sat aside and remained silent, not saying a word at the toý. Muzburchak and Kökchö became angry with him:

- Why are you silent, brave one? Just recently at the memorial for Kökötöy, Manas's whip struck your back. You endured such an insult that all of us turned red with shame for you then. Where is your honor now, brave one?

Is it not for nothing that the proverb says: "A man’s honor is like a hare's reed." Now we need to act. If we rise up and do not cowardly hide among the ails, we will restore our dishonored honor. Tell us clearly your word: will you be a jigit and go with us, or will you remain submissive to Manas with a stain of shame! All of us, the khans sitting here, want to hear your word, Urbyu!

Urbyu was completely confused and said:

If you are starting a quarrel, I cannot boast,
That I will bring you Manas's head.
If you do not start the campaign, I cannot boast,
That I will go out alone.
But if you go out,
Then I cannot fall behind you.
For my position is not great,
My ail is small,
My head is bald,
My relatives are hostile to me, -
Such a loser am I.

The six rebellious khans pondered the plan of the campaign for a long time and finally decided:

- No, we will not endure any longer!
Is it not true that the powerful Kanкор
Has a more populous ails than ours?
Are his people braver than ours?
Is his nation larger than ours?
Do we concede to him in bravery?
Does he rely on mountain ridges?
Is he more majestic than us?
Let us send a message to Manas.
Let it be delivered to him by messengers.
We will frighten Kanкор to the point of losing consciousness,
So that it will always gnaw at him, as soon as he thinks about it.
Let Manas think:
It turns out, the Kyrgyz know how to resist! -
And from now on will measure his actions accordingly.
If he does not stop being arrogant,
If he hastens to start a fight,
He will come to our lands
And call for the gathering of troops,
We will indeed gather forces
And move towards him, as if visiting.
We will come to him with countless people,
Like a torrential rain and a mountain stream,
We will come with such a number of people,
That there will not be enough space for pastures.
We will arrive with such a number of souls,
That there will not be enough pastures on the jailoo,
We will come there with troops,
With all the noble khans we will come.
Thus we will descend upon Kanкор,
Ah, may he perish!
We will throw his battle banners to the ground,
His fortresses will be trampled by our troops,
We will disgrace him before the whole world,
And all this under the pretext of coming as guests.
If the army of the six khans moves,
If countless people swarm,
Manas alone will not be able to accept them,
As worthy guests,
Even if he gathers the whole world.
This Kanкор, who knows no restraint,
Will not be able to receive so many guests properly.
Then we will destroy his hearth,
Then we will slaughter his livestock,

Under the guise of guests we will commit robbery and devastation,
We will lead away all the milking mares,
We will come with authority and violence,
And then we will lay all the blame on him, saying:
- After all, you yourself conceived this idea! -
Let us then, unexpectedly and by surprise, take revenge,
On Kanкор, who is mightier than a lion,
On Antkor, who is known as a wise man.
If he proves to be insufficiently respectful,
If he begins to scold or reproach us,
We will beat his companions,
And declare a general devastation of his ails.
We will destroy his gardens with flowers,
And ruin his entire yurt.
Let the stubborn torе, who considers himself a leader,
Feel something other than submission.
In his yurt we will dig a well,
We will set a cauldron on his chest.
We will drive away all four kinds of his livestock.
We will pin him to the ground,
This arrogant Kanкор.
Let his relatives mourn,
Let his enemy rejoice,
Let his ails scatter across the world.
We will manage to put him in his place.
This power-hungry Kanкор.

The rebellious khans decided to first attack Manas, then capture the elder Koshoy and other loyal to Manas people. They sent a messenger to Akhun-khan of Afghanistan, but he refused to join them.

Then the six khans equipped six batyrs, mounted them on swift steeds, handed them a letter to Manas, and sent them on their way.

The six messengers crossed the Chakmak ridge, through Chatyrkul, Naryn, Jumgal, and Susamyr, and arrived in Talas after eight to ten days. Before departing for Manas's ails, they stopped to gather their strength. At that moment, Manas noticed them.

- These riders are surely the messengers of the rebellious khans, as the caravaners informed us, - he said to his attendants.

Bring them to me in my camp without beatings and mockery, but, look, frighten them so that they lose the ability to think, so that their hearts become like mice.

Upon hearing such an order, the chief of the guard, Joорунчу, struck the battle akdool, and many warriors surrounded the six sent ones. Someone drew a bow, someone prepared a spear, someone strapped on a rifle, someone drew a sword from its sheath, and all seemed to prepare for an attack. The six batyrs, terrified to the point of losing consciousness, were led through the gates of the camp. There, thirty jeldets attacked them, pulled them off their horses, dragged them along the ground, and thrust them down before the khan, ordering them to honor him with a salutation. Terrified to the point of insensibility, the messengers bowed low to Manas and his forty choro, but no one responded to their greeting, except for Bakay. After a moment, Aджибай turned to the trembling messengers and asked them:

- Why have you come here?

Then the envoys, with trembling hands, pulled out the letter and handed it to Aджибай. After this, they were taken away, locked in one of the houses, and kept there for six days. To glorify Manas's generosity, while they were in captivity, they were prepared all sorts of luxurious dishes, in which there was everything.

After reading the letter, Manas invited all the envoys of the rebellious khans to a feast that lasted six days.

After that, they were mounted on horses, each was given a horse and a richly embroidered chapan as a gift, handed a reply letter to the khans, and sent home.

Meanwhile, the six khans impatiently awaited the return of their messengers:

- How did Manas receive you, what did he say? - they bombarded the arrivals with questions:

- Oh great ones, - said the sent ones,
May your Manas wither away!
A mere mortal has no strength
To speak to him about his affair.
Who knew what would come of it?
On the very first day, he imprisoned us,
And we lost our minds from fear.
We were dragged by the guards - jeldets,
Each of whom was like a lion.
We were locked in an iron-bound house.
From fear we lost our minds.
We were not let anywhere from captivity,
And from the terrible Manas's mouth.
We did not hear a single word.
We were imprisoned for six days
And fed us all sorts of dishes,
On the seventh day, they sent us back,
And each of us was given six new clothes,
With collars embroidered with gold!
They gifted each of us a Bedouin steed,
And then handed us the letter.
Here are these Bedouin purebreds - they stomp the ground at the yurt,
And here is Manas's letter - in our hands.
It needs to be thought through properly.
Mullahs, take it, read the letter! -
The letter was read in a chant in deep silence:
- "I give you wise advice - wake up!
In starting any affair, one must look at its end.
I give you from beginning to end forty days,
Whoever is wise, let them come to me in these days.
Whoever does not come in time,
Will be ruined and expelled."

The ominous lines of the letter alarmed the khans. They were bewildered, and not a trace remained of their previous fervor. Only one Er Tyoshtyuk, son of Eleman, stood firm and was angry at the cowardice of the khans.

- You yourselves started the quarrel, and now you shamefully hide in the bushes like timid hares, - he thundered angrily.

Oh you, khans, may the grave of your fathers be cursed!
You, it seems, spoke nonsense,
Not thinking through your actions?
Hardly is there a single brave man in your ails.
Hey, you, khans, may curses fall on the grave of your grandfathers!
Hardly is there a single courageous one in your lands.
Starting with the cowardly elder Muzburchak,
May heaven punish you all!
Manas is calmly at home,
And you have provoked him yourselves.
Now even in your own jailoo
He will not leave you in peace.
If he has harbored anger against you, this Manas,
He is not such an enemy,
That it would be easy to deal with him alone.
He will wipe you all out without a trace.
For he, like a writhing ajidar,
Can bring many troubles upon your heads.
You have already stepped on the tail of a sleeping snake;
Now, if it opens its mouth,
And inhales even one breath of air,
Then you will all fly into its mouth.
How do you think to oppose him alone?
In the East, where the day is born, one of you lives.
In the West, where the day fades, another of you lives;
Your ails stand far from each other.
Now you have provoked Manas,
And you will receive your due for it.
If the torе Manas-batyr
Attacks you on Akkul,
Who among you will find a fighter
To withstand his furious onslaught?
And now Manas will accomplish many deeds.
He will turn your summer into a harsh winter.
Unnoticed by all of us
He will set a trap,
To wipe you all out one by one.
Tyoshtyuk he will call: "My tоre!"
Muzburchak he will reproach:
- "I see that you only know how to sow discord!"
Jamgyrchi he will say: "You are a hero!"
Synchibek will hear from him:
- "You are a foolish, envious person!"
Urbyu he will scornfully throw:
"Weakling, you are always at the tail of others!"
In Kökchö's ears will sound: "You are foolish!"
Now if you turn back,
You will still fall into the boiling thick of troubles.

Let us try to move against Manas with countless troops. If the bright heart of Manas lets annoyance pass him by, then he will plunge into a sea of spoils. But if he is seized by rage, he will wipe us all out and drink our hot blood. Well, so what! If it is destined to die, then let us die better not alone, but all together.

The Tale of Manas. Memorial for Kökötöy. Part - 5