Manas epic grows in stature

    By WU YANBO | China Daily Global | Updated: 2023-07-28 07:13
    Share
    Share - WeChat
    The Manas is performed in different areas of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. [PHOTO/XINHUA]

    More translations, wider audiences ensure Kirgiz legend is becoming wider known

    After the wedding ceremony, guests sat around and listened to an old man sing. He sang throughout the night until the morning arrived. His listeners had one bowl of butter tea after another, and none of them looked sleepy.

    In 1953, when the newly founded People's Republic of China began national research on ethnic languages, Hu Zhenhua, a young graduate of an institute known today as Minzu University of China, arrived in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to study the language of the Kirgiz people on the Pamir Plateau.

    For a year, Hu and his colleagues traveled through all the grazing areas and pastures, sleeping in yurts with the Kirgiz people, herding cattle and sheep. He learned the Kirgiz language and participated in weddings, funerals, sheep and horse racing, and other folk activities.

    The singing happened after many gatherings. What was it about? Hu didn't understand much at first. Later, after listening to it many times, he learned that it was a millennia-old epic known as Manas, and the singer who sings it is called a manaschi.

    The young linguist was intrigued. He traveled back to Xinjiang again and recorded the Manas being sung many times. "I was 22 when I encountered the singing. Studying Manas has since been the most important theme of my research career," said Hu, who is a professor at Minzu University of China.

    The country has invested huge efforts in the conservation and promotion of Manas. The epic Manas was included in the first batch of national Intangible Cultural Heritage lists in 2006 and was added to UNESCO's Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009.

    President Xi Jinping watched a Manas performance during his trip to Xinjiang in July last year, and talked with some of the manaschi.

    "Cultural heritage such as Manas is not only the precious wealth of ethnic minorities but also of the whole Chinese nation. We should do a good job of protecting, inheriting, and sorting out the work so that it can be carried forward," he was quoted by Xinhua News Agency as saying.

    Soul of a people

    The epic Manas appeared in the 9th to 10th centuries. It tells the story of the extraordinary life of Manas, the hero, and seven generations of his descendants who led the Kirgiz people to fight against invaders and other evil forces. It illustrates the spirit of indomitability and unity and embodies the Kirgiz people's yearning for a better life, which is regarded as the soul of the Kirgiz.

    Said to be 19 times longer than Homer's Odyssey, the epic spans eight chapters in 18 volumes and boasts more than 234,000 lines, making it the second-longest epic in the world.

    "Manas, as a verse epic sung by folk artists, has dual properties of literature and folk art," said the UNESCO intangible heritage inscription.

    "It records valuable information on the reproduction, survival, production, and development of the Kirgiz people, with rich contents about history, customs, literature, language, economy, military, medicine, astronomy, religion, ethics, and morality, and has become an indispensable encyclopedia for understanding and studying the Kirgiz people."

    Hu, the professor, said in the epic, mountains, lakes, rapids, strong winds, eagles, and tigers are often used to symbolize heroes. It contains almost all the folk styles of the Kirgiz people, such as myths and legends, custom songs, and proverbs, which are related to the unique lifestyle and natural environment of the Kirgiz people.

    The epic not only has a clear historical context, sharp and complex dramatic conflicts, distinct characters, and story twists, but also has beautiful and flowing sentences, vivid metaphors, with harmonious but strong rhythm, which is easy to sing.

    "Wherever there are Kirgiz people, there are Manas concerts. For thousands of years, performers have sung the Manas, processing and embellishing ancient wisdom," said Hu.

    "Whenever there is a festival get-together, a manaschi always sings the epic. Some manaschi can sing from night to morning, or even for days and nights in concert competitions."

    In addition to Xinjiang, the main places where Manas is sung are Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. Kirgiz people who live in Afghanistan and northern Pakistan also perform the Manas.

    1 2 3 4 Next   >>|
    Top
    BACK TO THE TOP
    English
    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
    国产成人无码久久久精品一| 人妻精品久久久久中文字幕69| 狠狠躁夜夜躁无码中文字幕 | 亚洲成a人无码av波多野按摩| 亚洲综合无码AV一区二区| 亚洲va中文字幕无码久久| 国产精品无码av在线播放| 高潮潮喷奶水飞溅视频无码| 亚洲国产a∨无码中文777| 天堂AV无码AV一区二区三区 | 国产日韩精品无码区免费专区国产 | 国产强伦姧在线观看无码| 亚洲AV无码一区二区二三区软件 | 亚洲国产午夜中文字幕精品黄网站| 国产成人无码a区在线视频| 亚洲AV无码乱码在线观看富二代| 中文字幕日韩第十页在线观看| 人妻少妇精品中文字幕av蜜桃| 亚洲国产精品无码久久青草| r级无码视频在线观看| 男人的天堂无码动漫AV| 亚洲国产精品无码久久SM| 国产午夜精华无码网站| 直接看的成人无码视频网站| 亚洲欧美日韩中文字幕一区二区三区 | 四虎成人精品无码| 亚洲爆乳精品无码一区二区三区| 老子午夜精品无码| 日本无码小泬粉嫩精品图| 免费无码又爽又刺激一高潮| 免费A级毛片无码无遮挡内射| 亚洲国产中文v高清在线观看| 狠狠精品久久久无码中文字幕| 91中文字幕在线| 91中文在线视频| 久久精品中文字幕第23页| 一二三四在线观看免费中文在线观看 | 亚洲AⅤ无码一区二区三区在线| 久久久无码精品午夜| 中文字幕无码毛片免费看| 亚洲精品乱码久久久久久中文字幕|