On June 1, the great storyteller of the epic "Manas," Jusup Mamay, passed away at the age of 96. The epic storyteller will be buried today, June 2, in Ak-Chie.
According to the information policy department of the presidential administration, on May 30, President Almazbek Atambaev signed a decree awarding Jusup Mamay the highest honor "Hero of the Kyrgyz Republic" along with the special badge "Ak Shumkar."
The epic storyteller was awarded for his exceptional personal contributions to the preservation of the great epic "Manas" and other epic works, as well as his outstanding contribution to enriching the historical and cultural heritage of the people of Kyrgyzstan.
Reference
Jusup Mamay was an epic storyteller and public figure, born on April 18 (according to other sources - May 4) 1918 in the village of Merkech, Ak-Chie district, in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (China). He learned to read and write at the age of seven. He recounted the epic "Manas" up to the eighth generation. According to him, the epic consists of 500,000 lines.
The version of the epic "Manas" performed by Jusup Mamay was published in China in Arabic. Other epics such as "Toshduk," "Mamaké Shopok," "Kobon," and "Toltoy" were also published. He was awarded the Order of "Manas" of the I degree in the Kyrgyz Republic and held the honorary title of People's Artist of the Kyrgyz Republic.