Singing the Kyrgyz Manas: Saparbek Kasmambetov's Recitations of Epic Poetry

Abstract

Today, the Kyrgyz Manas is one of the most celebrated epic heroic poems in the world. At the turn of the new millennium it was appointed a UNESCO ‘Masterpiece in the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Mankind’, signalling its global importance. It sits alongside Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, or the South Asian Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa, although politics and language have arguably conspired against allowing it to become as well known. The first part of this volume contains seven key episodes, all of which are based on recordings made by one of today's most celebrated manasci, the bard Saparbek Kasmambetov. Three episodes are featured on the accompanying audio CDs. The second part explores epic poetry, Soviet, Kyrgyz and other scholarship on the Manas, and the life of Saparbek.