Mourning for Kököktöy. Part - 3
Manas was placed in the yurt of the glorious and renowned girl Toorun. The entire people who had come to the ash, pushing each other, were eager to see Manas and crowded around his yurt.
Chagyray, the skilled sonchi who served Khan Alooke, wanting to find out what Manas was like, peeked through the hole of the yurt. However, the fearsome appearance of Manas frightened him so much that his heart could not withstand such fear and burst.
The stunned Chagyray fell lifeless, and the tale of the swift death of the skilled sonchi lingered among the people for a long time.
At that time, Bokmurun came to Manas, brought him a gift of the steed Archa-toru, and said:
- We have not started the ash because we were waiting for you, batyr! Now decide for yourself when to begin.
And he invited Manas to the council of Koshoy.
But the Kalmyk batyr Joloy, arriving at the ash, dissatisfied with the food that was served to the whole people, went to where the meat was being cooked, forcefully took a whole cauldron of meat from the cooks, and ate it. However, he was still not satisfied. When he was about to take another cauldron, one of the cooks went and complained to Bokmurun. Bokmurun became angry:
- Ah, may he fall through the ground! If he had told me he was hungry, I would have brought him meat to his yurt. - Saying this, he jumped onto his Maanikera.
When Joloy saw this horse, he envied Bokmurun and rode to Konurbay for advice on how to take it from its owner. Joloy praised Maanikera to Konurbay and said:
- I want to find a reason to obtain this steed for myself!
Then Konurbay summoned Bokmurun to himself and said:
- You, Kököktöyev Bokmurun,
Whose stinking ayran and kurut have blossomed!
You honor the head of the buruts
More than me.
As soon as Manas arrived at your ash,
You presented him
The Tulpar Armator.
And this steed, once saddled,
Is not ashamed to appear even in Beijing
Or to ride around it!
This steed would be worthy
To carry any of us.
Who would dare to dress up nicely,
And ride out to Karashaars!
This steed has a proud head carriage.
It is like a goat,
It would be worth presenting as a gift
To Esenkan himself next spring.
Right now in your hands
Is a horse named Maaniker.
Give me Maaniker, burut!
Listen to my words, burut!
If you do not give me Maaniker,
If you do not heed my words,
I will destroy your ash,
And ruin your ail,
I will turn your toy into hell,
I will punish the whole people.
Then Bokmurun replied to Konurbay:
- I must consult with my relatives, - and hastily rode to Koshoy. Koshoy said to Bokmurun:
If Konurbay asks,
Then you should give him Maaniker.
For sooner or later comes the time
For every horse to become a gift.
The horse has long been
Meant to serve as a gift.
For your Maaniker, no matter how much he is praised,
Is still just the dung of a mare.
And the Chinese Konur is fierce,
He can destroy and devastate,
He can annihilate everyone without a trace.
For your clan, my child,
The peace of your ail.
Do not be greedy!
He who spares a horse,
Is doomed to see only the ground forever.
He who spares a hunting bird,
Is doomed to see only the empty sky forever.
What else can he see?
Having discussed this matter with the Kyrgyz batyrs, Koshoy decided to give Maaniker to Konurbay, but still advised Bokmurun:
- Since Manas - the ajidary has arrived at the ash, be careful that there is no storm and that he does not become angry if you do this without consulting him.
Urbü took it upon himself to talk about this with Manas. The Kyrgyz batyrs led by Koshoy arrived at Manas and found him sitting on the throne, while forty choro at that time, divided into two parts, were playing in ordo.
To his abaka Koshoy, the lion Manas gave the most honorable place to his right.
Then Urbü began his speech and managed to utter only one word: "Manas!" But at that moment Manas looked at him so fiercely that he lost all his words and could not squeeze out anything more.
Koshoy became angry with Urbü and began to speak himself:
Konurbay from Andzhi-Beijing,
The great kalday, cursed by the spirits of the dead.
Asks Bokmurun for Maaniker.
Here we have come to you for advice!
Hearing what Koshoy said, Manas became furious and shouted:
- Oh, abake! Where is your reason?
How can you speak such words to me?
At a time when my power
Has reached the brilliance of the sun,
How can one yield to the threats of Konurbay
And give him the steed?
This pig is too presumptuous.
Let me try to fight him!
Can I yield to him
When my greatness
Has risen like the brilliance of the moon?
This pig has become too arrogant.
Let me clash with him once in a great battle!
Only when Manas perishes,
When he stands before eternal judgment.
When the universe is conquered by the Chinese,
When they move forward without resistance, -
Then, Koshoy, you can give them as a pledge,
Not only the horse but also your own daughter.
Today he threatens to demand Maaniker,
Tomorrow he will seize Chalkuyruk from Tyoshtyuk,
And then he will encroach on Akkula.
Will not all the Kyrgyz clans,
Having given away the steed,
Embrace the dried-up riverbed with its exhausted water,
And not fall like weakened atans?
Will not misfortune befall the young man - azamat?
If you give the horse without a fight?
Will not Manas end up in hell for this
In the afterlife?
How could you dare to say such words in my presence?
If it were not you, Koshoy,
But someone else,
I would have cut off his tongue without waiting for the end of his words!
Thus, in anger, Manas replied to Koshoy and, striking loudly with his battle akdool, hitting the ground with his akkelte, jumped on his horse and rushed into battle with the Chinese.
Behind him, forty choro moved in a crowd
With noise and battle cries.
A torrent of blood flowed.
Countless were the slain.
They slaughtered the Chinese,
Their aybalty, falling silently on their heads,
Destroyed many enemies.
Konurbay's face then darkened with a gloomy cloud of despair, he jumped on his horse and disappeared into the distant mountains.
From the Chinese camp, the old man Alooke with sixty jan-junya separated and arrived at Manas with a confession.
They brought with them as a gift for Manas a beautiful steed Kylgaru - the blood brother of Algara, the famous steed of Konurbay.
Manas accepted their confession, and peace was made.
When evening came, throughout the camp of the guests, heralds loudly shouted, sitting on their sleek horses:
- In the morning, the races will begin, prepare the tulpars, ride them, cool them down!
The first prize will be nine thousand white camels, ninety thousand heads of cattle, one hundred thousand sheep, the last prize will be nine heads of cattle and ninety sheep. A total of sixty-one prizes were designated.
More than two thousand horsemen expressed a desire to participate in the baige. Then Manas called Almambet and said to him:
- Look, all the people are stirred by the thirst for prizes! So many horses cannot be let loose in the baige, and if you don’t let them go, they will be offended. Bring on a storm and cold, then only the strong will endure the race, only the tulpars will receive prizes, while the others will perish along the way.
Almambet summoned a storm and cold upon the land, and when the horses raced in the trial run, half of them fell (46). The riders sitting on them were left with only the reins in their hands, and they did not expect to survive. Only the best tulpars raced ahead.
- Prepare the horses for the baige! - the heralds shouted again.
A multitude of people, lined up in rows, awaited the start of the competition. Only a thousand tulpars participated in the baige, after another thousand perished due to the storm.
Among the steeds was the mare of the heroine Orongu. As a female creature, it was decided to let her go first. Akkula was to follow her.
- From what place shall we let the horses go? - they asked Manas.
But his answer was preempted by Urbü, who said:
- Let them be led for two days to the place where the race will start, and on one day they will race back.
Manas became angry at such insubordination from Urbü and struck him hard with a whip. Urbü swayed and nearly fell to the ground, but still managed to keep his feet.
Koshoy was angry that Manas struck Urbü:
- Oh you, Manas, Manas! You seem to be very full of yourself, - he said. - You have clearly become too proud. And have become like a pot of sour kumys. If you do not drop your airs, Manas, beware, you will still get what’s coming to you from Koshoy!
Urbü, hearing Koshoy stand up for him, grew bold and insulted Manas with daring words. Then Koshoy became angry at Urbü's audacity and threw him out. Manas, in anger, thought to take revenge on Urbü, but Koshoy mediated and settled the matter. Manas was angry and silent, did not say a word for the duration it takes to cook a pot of meat, but then spoke:
- Let the steeds run there for six days and let them reach Turkestan. Let sixty men be the drivers, and six hundred men bring the lost horses back on the right path.
After the horses set out, the people began to feast and enjoy the meat.
The Tale of Manas. Mourning for Kököktöy. Part - 2