Photo from the internet. Raisa Kydyrbaeva
Raisa Kydyrbaeva was born in 1930 and graduated from the philological faculty of Kyrgyz State University in 1952, where she studied the Russian language. In 1956, she completed her postgraduate studies at the Maxim Gorky Literary Institute in Moscow.
Since 1956, she began her career at the Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz SSR as a junior researcher. Throughout her working life, she held various positions, including senior, leading, and chief researcher, and headed the "Manas" department at the Chingiz Aitmatov Institute of Literature until 2025.
As the author of numerous scientific works, Raisa Kydyrbaeva made a significant contribution to the study of the epic "Manas," exploring its genesis, variability, poetics, and the performance skills of manaschi.
She was also a scientific consultant for the documentary film by Melis Ubukeev "Uluu Manaschi," released in 1988, and founded a scientific school in the field of folklore theory, preparing many doctors and candidates of sciences.
Among her works, the following monographs and studies stand out:
- "Tradition and Individuality of the Epic 'Manas';
- "Genesis of the Epic 'Manas';
- "Ideological and Artistic Features of the Epic 'Sarinji Bokoy';
- "Poetic Traditions of the Epic 'Zhanil Myrza';
- "Performance Skills of Manaschi";
- "Variants of the Epic 'Manas';
- "Epochs, Generations, and Manaschi" and others.
