| WOSAS : F61 |
WOSAS/CD34/track4 R70.wav |
| an Epic of Manas story | |
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| Sound recording, song and story; a section of epic singing from the epic cycle, The Epic of Manas, from central Asia and the Kyrgyz Republic, sung by a Kyrgyz Manaschi, recorded on location in the Kygrgyz Republic by Ben Haggarty and Sianed Jones, whilst on a research trip in 2000 | |
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| A section of epic singing sung and chanted by a young apprentice Manaschi. | |
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| A Manaschi is an epic singer who has devoted his or her life to singing the epic of the founder of the Kyrgyz nation, the blue-skinned warrior, Manas. The Manas epic is an encyclopaedic compendium of narratives. Ostensibly it tells of how the hero Manas, and his forty companions united many Turkic tribes into one nation and how they secured Kyrgyzstan as their homeland. On one level it is a sprawling epic of death and war, but on other elvels it is a story of a close knit family, giving detailed accounts of the daily and domestic life of a nomadic, pasoralist community. On another level it also contains magical tales of animal/human transformations, strange beasts and dissappearing sorcerers etc - wonders which betray the pre-Islamic animism of the region, traces of which survive even in the present day culture. Some children dream of Manas, which indicates that they may become a Manas singer. Children as young as eight years old are taken to special classes to learn the epic. The epic is first learned by rote, which also establishes the rhythmic pattern of the recitals and verse construction. Then in their teen years, provisional Manaschis may be permitted to improvise their own versions. Senior Manaschis then decide whether or not someone has the true gift or calling, and then help these students to develop and perform in public. The story is chanted on a variety of very marked rhythms, which are said to recall the act of riding. The tradition has a distinctive style of emphatic gesture. In performing episodes of the epic, some Manaschi are considered to become direct communicators with the spirits of Manas and the other founding ancestors. Manaschi appear to become lost in a trance like state when they recite the epic, and accomplished Manaschis will perform for up to six hours at a time. | |
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| language:- | Kyrgyz; English |
| recording quality | |
| condition:- | good |
| completeness:- | complete |
| duration:- | 0 hours, 0 minutes, 45 seconds |
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| storytelling; singing:- |
manaschi; epic singer; storyteller male / Kyrgyz / child |
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| origin:- | Kyrgyzstan, Asia, central |
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| Sianed Jones during field trip to Kyrgyzstan | |
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| Ben Haggarty during field trip to Kyrgystan | |
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| Ben Haggarty with manaschi Nazarkul Seidrahmanov during field trip to Kyrgyzstan | |
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| traditional singer performing for Ben Haggarty and Sianed Jones | |
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| A child or apprentice manschi performing for Ben Haggarty and Sianed Jones | |
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| Manaschi, Nazarkul Seidrahmanov performing for Ben Haggarty and Sianed Jones | |
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| members of field trip and Manschi, Nazarkul Seidrahmanov | |
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| Kyrgyzstan landscape | |
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| Click to enlarge images | |
| storytelling; singing:- |
Kyrgyzstan, Asia, Central
2000 private performance; research trip |
| field recording from:- |
storyteller: Ben Haggarty musician; singer; composer: Sianed Jones |
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