Subakozhoyeva Ch. T.

Comparative Analysis  of Different Variants of “Manas”, Kyrgyz Heroic Epos  (at the example of the first part of the “Keketey’s Funeral” episode)      Р. 112 –131/

UDC 821.512.154-131.09

DOI 10.37724/RSU.2022.76.3.012

Abstract. Being an extensively long epic work, “Manas” has numerous variants, which can be explained by narrators’ inability to memorize the whole bulk of the text. Therefore, sharing a common plot, different variants of this epic work bear witness to narrators’ eloquence and improvisation. The investigation of different variants of this epic work is an important task. Collecting, writing down, publishing and comparing different variants of the epos, researchers can better understand the storytelling skills of manas tellers. The article compares several variants of the “Ketekey’s Funeral” episode from the Manas epos as written down by Ch. Valikhaov and narrated by S. Orozbakov, S. Karalev, Jusup Mamay and our contemporaries Talantaaly Bakchiev, Kamil Mamadaliev and Aziz Biymyrz uulu. An in-depth investigation and comparison of different variants of the Manas epos enable a researcher to get profound knowledge about the Kyrgyz people’s history and culture, enable a researcher to trace the development of the Manas epos retold by narrators belonging to different generations. A comparative analysis of different variants shows that, following the traditional epos, all the variants are characterized by a different choice of words, a different manner of narration.

Keywords: folklore; “Manas”, Kyrgyz heroic epos; manas tellers, “Keketey’s Funeral”, Ch. Valikhaov, S. Orozbakov, S. Karalev, Jusup Mamay, Talantaaly Bakchiev, Kamil Mamadaliev, Aziz Biymyrz uulu.

 

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