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Heroic Kirgiz epic
May 22, 2011, Sunday
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THE Kirgiz ethnic minority concentrated in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous region in the west of China, pride themselves on their descent from the hero Manas, whose life and progeny are celebrated in one of the best-known facets of their oral tradition: the Manas epic.
Traditionally sung by a Manaschi without musical accompaniment, epic performances take place at social gatherings, community celebrations, ceremonies such as weddings and funerals and dedicated concerts. Regional variations abound, but all are characterized by pithy lyrics with phrases that now permeate the everyday language of the people, melodies adapted to the story and characters and lively parables.
The long epic records all the major historic events of greatest importance for the Kirgiz people and crystallizes their traditions and beliefs. The Kirgiz in China and the neighboring Central Asian countries of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan regard the Manas as a key symbol of their cultural identity and the most important cultural form for public entertainment, the preservation of history, the transmission of knowledge to the young and the summoning of good fortune.
Manas was inscribed in 2009 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
(UNESCO website)
Traditionally sung by a Manaschi without musical accompaniment, epic performances take place at social gatherings, community celebrations, ceremonies such as weddings and funerals and dedicated concerts. Regional variations abound, but all are characterized by pithy lyrics with phrases that now permeate the everyday language of the people, melodies adapted to the story and characters and lively parables.
The long epic records all the major historic events of greatest importance for the Kirgiz people and crystallizes their traditions and beliefs. The Kirgiz in China and the neighboring Central Asian countries of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan regard the Manas as a key symbol of their cultural identity and the most important cultural form for public entertainment, the preservation of history, the transmission of knowledge to the young and the summoning of good fortune.
Manas was inscribed in 2009 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
(UNESCO website)
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