CHOTUR THE ORPHAN. Part-1 In ancient times, in different parts of the vast steppe, there lived two herders — Aalybay and Musabay. They had countless sheep. The herders constantly migrated with their flocks. One day, Aalybay and Musabay met and became friends. But they were not together for long — it was time to drive the flocks to other places.
SOCIAL HIERARCHY OF WOMEN Reliable information about the social structure of the Kyrgyz people can be found in various sources from the second half of the 19th century. During the Soviet period, social relations were viewed from the perspective of class struggle theory. While not denying social and property differentiation, it should be noted that the system of social relations functioned on the basis of patriarchal-clan relationships. Different strata of society can be grouped according to
The Quarrel of Chubak and Almanbet The head of the warriors, Kyrgyl, At forty, he still sinned. A well-known adulterer, He did no good for the people, He was known as a gossip in the folk. And once he spread a rumor That at night Chubak Met secretly with Kanikei. Learning that Almanbet and Syrgak Had gone on reconnaissance to Beijin, He said to Chubak in front of the warriors: — Son of Khan Akbalta, Chubak! Didn’t know you were such a fool. Though you are a Noygut hero, You are lower than a
Khoshan Khoshans are the Kyrgyz version of the well-known dish called manti. The general cooking technique is indeed similar. However, while manti are steamed in a steamer, khoshans are browned in a pan and then stewed in a small amount of water. The difference in taste is simply colossal; each dish has its own charm. Ingredients:
Yurt of the Laylak District (above), yurt of the Alay Valley (below). Motifs of the appliqué ornament on the dome of the yurt (right). Decorations of Southern Kyrgyz Yurts Let’s move on to the description of the external decorations of southern Kyrgyz yurts. Several variations are noted. In the Alay and Uzgen districts, a woolen strip (20–25 cm) with appliqué or a red wool fringe (tor chachy) is attached to the edge of the "uzuk." In other districts (Naukat, Frunze, Batken, Laylak,
The Great Campaign. The Wounding of Manas and the Return of the Kyrgyz to Talas. Part-2 Meanwhile, Konurbay was plotting something sinister. He was relentlessly thinking of a plan to kill Manas. He could not sleep at night, nor find peace during the day because of this thought. Manas' palace was guarded by forty choro and Kyrgyl. They drove away anyone who approached him with words, if someone understood their language, or with the point of spears and the edge of swords, if someone did
KYOCHPESBAI AND HIS SON SHUKURBEK Once upon a time, in ancient times, there lived two rich men. One was named Kyocherbai the Wanderer, and the other Kyochpesbai the Settler. Kyocherbai would migrate with his herds to the summer pastures of the jailoo every spring and return for wintering in late autumn. Kyochpesbai, on the other hand, never migrated anywhere and always lived in one place. But one year, Kyochpesbai's livestock completely ate all the grass around his camp, and he was forced
Transformation of Land Use Among the Kyrgyz There existed a patronage system that was most vividly manifested in wealthy collectives. Affluent leaders distributed the products of collective labor, expanded networks of social ties, and provided legal protection for their wards. Community heads were consulted for advice and assistance, and they had to find solutions to complex situations. This contributed to the development of a paternalistic psychology. The paradox was that, on one hand, any
Appointment of Almanbet as Commander-in-Chief In the valley of the Sary-Tal river The warriors on the march Set up a large camp. They stuck their spears in the soft ground, Threw their swords into the bushes, And let the horses graze. Some, escaping the heat, Bathed naked in the river, Others slept under the tent. Having trampled the grass in a circle, They organized a game of ordo. Appointing a large baiga, They played toguz-korgol here. As if a thousand troops Had set off on a great campaign
Boman-boza. This dish is prepared similarly to khoshan, but instead of frying, it is steamed, like manti. Boman-boza is round in shape. In the classic version, boman-boza is made from lamb and tail fat.
Components of the Yurt To understand the fastening system of the components of the yurt, it is necessary to sequentially examine the order of its installation. As is the case everywhere among the Kyrgyz, the installation of the yurt is the responsibility of women (men only helped to lift the heavy hoop). First, the door frame is set up, and the lattice walls are stretched, placing them in a circle. The edges are connected by tying them with twine or narrow woven tape (ribbon). The top of the
The Great Campaign. The Wounding of Manas and the Return of the Kyrgyz to Talas. Manas imposed a heavy tribute on Beidzhin. Meanwhile, Konurbai fled to the farthest Beidzhin to Karakhan and told him about the defeat that Manas inflicted on them. - This spawn, the villain Manas, will not leave us alive, - he concluded his story and wept.
The Great Campaign to China. Part - 2 As dawn broke in the skies, On the helmets of fierce warriors, On sharp peaks it played A reflected glimmer from the sun. Like a sign of war it fluttered The red banner with a green spear, So that the enemy could see and tremble. From the warriors marching to battle, The earth trembled beneath their feet. And ahead on Ak-Kul, With an impenetrable shield, With a merciless sword, Ach-albars, In all his glory Under the red flag stood Khan Manas. Like a fierce
The Bald Shepherd This happened a long time ago. A noble warrior named Sokbay was riding across the steppe when he saw an immense herd of cows in a valley by the river. A bald young shepherd, bold and fierce, was tending the herd. The noble warrior approached the shepherd, greeted him, and asked: — Whose herd is this? The shepherd was surprised.
Practice of Material Support for Economically Weak Members of the Community Communities were usually heterogeneous in social composition: they included both prosperous herders and the poor. Often, the latter would join wealthier relatives, which allowed them to migrate and support their families. In the 19th to early 20th centuries, there was a widespread practice of material support for economically weak members of the community.
The Great Campaign. Victory over Konurbai. Part - 2 Manas inflicted a bloody massacre on the Chinese, driving many into the turbulent waves of the Sarysu. Konurbai could not stop his fleeing army, became confused, and, without engaging in battle with Manas, fled as well. Half of the Chinese troops, fleeing from the slaughter, perished, drowning in the river. Konurbai sent a messenger to Beijing, and a new numerous army arrived from there, led by Madykan-doo. But Almambet, before their arrival,
Jumshak-et (soft meat) This culinary recipe is intended for all lovers of authentic Asian cuisine. Jumshak-et is a dish from Kyrgyzstan, where people love to cook food from lamb and its offal. Method of preparation: For the filling, chop the raw fat, onion, and garlic into small cubes, finely chop the jussai, drizzle with vinegar, mix, and leave to marinate for 1-2 hours, then add the steamed rice. Rinse the meat, clean it from membranes and tendons, cut it into 4 portions, slightly pound it,
Yurt Walls The walls of the yurt (kerege) are retractable. They consist of a lattice of sticks that are given a curved shape on a machine called tez. When the yurt is set up, this curve is noticeable; the wall has a slightly convex shape outward at its lower part. The length of the sticks depends on the size of the yurt (ranging from 200 to 290 cm). The upper part of the sticks, like those of the dome, is flattened. The diameter of the middle part of the stick is 2.5–3 cm. To drill holes in
The Great Campaign to China On the forty-first day in the morning On the argamak Ak-Kula Manas rode out to the square. And twenty warriors-choro Galloped to his left, And as many fierce fighters Galloped to his right — His loyal guard. The restless dobulbas Thundered like thunder across all Talas. With anger unhidden, Our enraged lion looked at the khans. — Bring everyone to me here! — He ordered his choro. The khans appeared at once. And now they stand before him, Shaking hands timidly and
ALYKE AND BARYPZHAN There lived two friends named Sarykan and Karakan. Sarykan had a son, Alyke, and Karakan had a daughter, Barypzhan. Soon, Karakan moved with his family far to the west.
Kydyr (the elder) with his family in front of their yurt. Mountain Semirechye, Kyrgyzstan. Aksu District, Karakol County. First third of the 20th century. Joint Labor of Community Members The community was managed by the elders of the village (ayil aksakals) - representatives of the older generation who held high social status and were identified by their names. The aksakals resolved economic and social issues, governed based on leadership qualities and real personal authority. They bore moral
Tan-mosho Ingredients: 0.5-1 liter of liquid (milk, water, or a mixture of both), 1/2 cup of vegetable oil or 3-4 tablespoons of melted butter, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1-2 tablespoons of sugar, 20-50 g of yeast, 1-1.2 kg of flour (the amount of flour depends on its quality).
Dome Poles for the Yurt The process of making the wooden frame of the yurt proceeds as follows. The prepared wood is dried by the craftsman, stripped of its bark, planed with a tartky, and shaped to the required thickness and form. All parts of the frame, except for the frame itself, are subjected to bending.
The Great Campaign. Victory over Konurbay. Almambet and Syrgak, having left Beidzhin, crossed the Sary-Suu River and encountered numerous herds of horses on their way. Seeing them, they sent their spare horse Kartkyureng to lead all the herds towards Manas's troops. Almambet and Syrgak beat the drums, fired several shots from their rifles, and began to drive the herds. (58). Noticing this, the Chinese herder Janibay, leading forty herders on his red stallion, attacked Almambet and Syrgak.
The Arrival of the Envoys to Manas Six envoys rushed From six noble clans On a long journey to the Talas River, Where Khan Manas set his throne. And there they saw: Gates with a stone wall Shining under golden paint. A ravine filled with water, So that the enemy could not approach, And a powerful guard around. The envoys, not knowing what to do, Stood for a long time at the gates, Not knowing how or where to start: Knock on the door or shout, Until Zhoronchu-Kazakh Appeared before their eyes.
The family of Kokumbai Chinin with a native borzoi and a trained golden eagle. Village of Kyzyl, Pishpek District, Mountain Semirechye. 1925. COMMUNITY The community, as one of the main traditional institutions, played a key role in the social structure of the Kyrgyz. Alongside the family and tribe, it served as the basic social structure upon which the entire system of social relations was built. This type of community of people had both social and economic functions aimed at ensuring the
The Great Campaign. The Story of Alambet. Er Manas, how could it be, That I do not know the location of Beidzhin? How could I not know The ancient Beidzhin that you see in the distance? This is the place where I ran in my youth in an open dress, This is the place where my mother gave birth to me, This is the place where my umbilical cord was cut, This is the place where I grew from small to big. Day by day I had successes. In that great Beidzhin visible in the distance, There it is, standing
THE KHAN, THE TWINS, AND THE EVIL WIVES In ancient times, there lived a certain khan. This khan had forty wives, but he had no children. One day, the khan was traveling with his entourage and met three sisters on the road. — What can each of you do? — asked the khan.
Zhansak Any feast for Kyrgyz people begins and ends with tea, and it is customary to serve sweets with tea. In Kyrgyzstan, it is common to make sweets from the gifts of nature: nuts, fruits, berries, and fragrant mountain honey – for example, zhansak. This sweet is a type of candy. But unlike modern candies, they contain not a gram of chemicals.
Portable Dwelling of the Kyrgyz Kyrgyz wood craftsmen (zhygach usta) have mastered the production of the wooden frame of the yurt over time. The oldest among them learned this craft from their fathers and grandfathers and still cherish everything passed down to them through tradition. Usually, craftsmen made the frame of the yurt upon order, but it was also common to produce it in advance, without an order. In some cases, such work was done collaboratively by brothers living in different
The Conspiracy of the Kyrgyz Khans Hey! In the mountains, where the sunny Alay — The blessed land of the Kyrgyz, On that spring day gathered Six khans from six clans: The esteemed, glorious Muzburchak, From Andijan Sanzybek, Son of Elaman er-Toshtyuk, From Sar-Arka the Kazakh Kokche, And from Kemina the old khan Urby, And from the eshteks Jamgyrchy. Arriving at this invited feast, The khans whispered among themselves: — Inviting to the koketeev ash, Manas took all power for himself, He mocked
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,
Tarantas between the city of Karakol and the village of Preobrazhensky. Early 20th century Means of Communication of the Kyrgyz in the Second Half of the 19th Century Until the second half of the 19th century, the main means of movement across most of modern Kyrgyzstan were pack trails. In the valleys, they resembled dirt roads, which could accommodate simple wheeled carts. If the trail narrowed, it could only be traversed with difficulty by a rider on horseback or to transport some cargo. The
DIYKANBAI AND THE DEV Once upon a time, there lived a brave hunter named Dıykanbay. He had no livestock in his pens and lived solely on what he hunted. Dıykanbay was not only brave and strong but also a resourceful man. One day, Dıykanbay, along with another hunter, set out to track down some roe deer. They went into the mountains and stumbled upon a huge dev. The dev's nose was the size of a wineskin, and his legs were like a pair of tree trunks. When the dev saw the two hunters, he
Aigul Cookies Very tasty, delicate in flavor. Just melts in your mouth. Very easy to prepare; the main thing is to use good quality butter, and then the cookies will turn out well. The amount of sugar can be reduced if it is too sweet. To connect the cookies, use boiled condensed milk. Thick jam or thick cream also works well. It is important to chill the dough well before baking; you can freeze a piece of dough or place the baking tray with the cookies in the freezer. Ingredients for making
The Great Campaign. Reconnaissance. Meanwhile, Alma and Syrgak arrived at the pass where the white argali - the guardian of Konur - was located, and at the lake where the cunning duck - the messenger of Konur - lived. The argali and the duck, sensing Alma's approach, fled. Hearing the sound of the argali's bell, the two hundred thousand people who were camping at the pass of Mount Angushtu packed up and also fled, fearing an invasion by foreigners. The scouts found no one at the
SETTLEMENT AND DWELLING The presence of two different types of economic activities in the 19th and early 20th centuries—nomadic animal husbandry and settled agricultural-animal husbandry—determined the existence of two types of dwellings among the Kyrgyz: portable and permanent. Semi-nomadic Kyrgyz simultaneously used both types of dwellings. The settling down and transition to agriculture as the main occupation led to the gradual disappearance of portable dwellings from the lives of a
The Conclusion of the Mourning for Koketey On the eighth day, Bakai gathered The comrades and told them, That good news had arrived: — The Tulpaar of Manas, Ak-Kula, Has outpaced all the horses on the way. Following Ak-Kula is the steed Of Jolo's Ach-Budan. And so many prize victories The enemies will not forgive the Kyrgyz. And they might ambush Ak-Kula, Firing shot from their guns. The Tulpaar of the Chinese, Ach-Budan, Looks like Ak-Kula, like a brother. I ask you, my brave Almanbet,
WISDOM, HAPPINESS, WEALTH Once upon a time, Wealth, Happiness, and Wisdom were walking together down the road and argued about who was the strongest of all. Wisdom boasted to Wealth and Happiness: — I am the strongest. If a person has no wisdom, they will have neither wealth nor happiness! — If there is no happiness, then wisdom and wealth are of no use to a person! — said Happiness.
"Manas" as performed by Sagymbay and Sayakbay "Manas" as performed by Sagymbay and Sayakbay is recorded in full. This is the distinguishing feature of both from other storytellers, as all other known and living storytellers currently perform only excerpts of "Manas," primarily serving as performers of the second and third parts of the trilogy "Semetey" and "Seitek." Such are Togolok Moldo, Akmat, Shapak, Janibai, Moldobasan. Among contemporary
Devices for Transporting Goods The *chiyne* sled was often used for transporting goods, especially in the second half of the 19th century. It had no wheels and consisted of two parallel poles 3-4 meters long, secured with rawhide straps nailed across the crossbars. The front ends of the poles were tightly tied to the sides of a pack or riding saddle, while the rear ends spread apart to a width of 1.5-2 meters and dragged along the ground. Among some farmers, a two-wheeled cart of the Kokand
The Great Campaign. The Quarrel of Almambet with Chubak. After Almambet's departure, forty choro of Manas began to play in ordo, splitting into two parts. The leaders of the game were Kyrgyl, Chubak's comrade, and Azhybay, from Almambet's squad. Four mares were designated as the prize. The side of Kyrgyl lost. As the game neared its end, Jaynak from Kyrgyl's party struck the khan with a tompo, knocking him down, who was lying close to the boundary. - You threw without
Kyrgyz Woodworking Masters Woodworking masters also make musical instruments (Fig. 84) from juniper and apricot wood. The southern Kyrgyz string instrument (komuz) is essentially identical to that made by Kyrgyz masters in the north. There are many variations in the length of the neck and the degree of flattening of the resonator. In the past, ancient Kyrgyz musical instruments such as the bowed kyiak (also called kyzhak) and the flute choor were made in the south. Now, the youth do not play
The Duel of Manas with Konurbai The son of Koketey Bokmurun The latter announced the tournament. — While the horses gallop From the distant alaman-baygi, Let the contest of er-sayish End the memorial feast. For the prize of two thousand horses Will be awarded to the one who wins. The loser must give up His horse as well! — He shouted at sunset. In the morning, all the people gathered. Here the sun rose to its zenith, But for the tournament of er-sayish No one stepped forward: In a tournament
THE SEVEN SONS OF THE OLD WOMAN Once upon a time, there lived a poor old woman who had seven sons. Each of her sons learned a special, wondrous skill. One day, the old woman said to her children: — My children, your father left behind a single bow as inheritance, and I will give it to the one of you whose skill is the best and most needed! One by one, the sons began to tell what they could do.
MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION The primary animal for horseback riding since ancient times has been the horse - at. People traveled long distances faster on it than on other riding animals. In the context of extensive livestock farming, it was used for transporting pack loads. Various sources testify that the ancestors of modern Kyrgyz almost never did without horses. Figuratively speaking, sitting on a horse, people spent more time than walking on the ground. The ancient tradition of horseback
"MANAS": LANGUAGE AND STYLE OF THE EPIC The text is taken from B. M. Yunusaliev's article "The Kyrgyz Heroic Epic 'Manas'" The Kyrgyz people have every right to be proud of the richness and diversity of oral poetic creativity, the pinnacle of which is the epic "Manas." Unlike the epics of many other nations, "Manas" is composed entirely in verse, which further attests to the special respect the Kyrgyz have for the art of versification. The
The Great Campaign. Almambet takes command of the army. Manas, riding at the head of the army, arrived at the plain of Chemuyuch, by the banks of the Chu, set up tents, and sat down to play chess. When Almambet, who was at the very end of the army, arrived and saw that everyone had unsaddled their horses, that many had undressed, made themselves shade from the sun with their capes, and carelessly collapsed to sleep, he was filled with anger. He approached Manas and said: - My Tere! What is