Singing the Kyrgyz Manas: Saparbek Kasmambetovs Recitations of Epic Poetry by Keith Howard

Singing the Kyrgyz Manas: Saparbek Kasmambetovs Recitations of Epic Poetry Reviews

• 
  Csenge

  This book was my first encounter with the epic of Manas and it left me wanting to read more. The episodes only take up about 60 pages of the book, but they are well selected, eloquently translated (in prose) and make for a great story with great characters. The book's introduction to the epic, its performance, and how storytellers all have their own styles and variations on it, is well written and interesting. The storyteller whose work is recorded in this book demonstrates not only great skill and talent, but also a sense of humor and great empathy.
• 
  Joseph F.

  I always thought the Mahabharata was the worlds longest epic. Alas, it is not nearly as long as this epic that is sung and belongs to the people of Kyrgystan.
  
  Unfortunately, this epic is not too accessible; several years ago I downloaded a short version of it on my Kindle. This version also gives us just a small taste of this massive work: a few scenes from the lives of Manas and his son Semetey. These tales are part of the first two sections of the triptych, nothing is told of the third part. But the stories told are vivid and satisfying. It partly deals with the warrior Manas and his fights with the enemies of his people: the Chinese.
  
  Halfway through this short book, we leave the stories and move on to a few scholarly essays on epic literature. The essays are informative but a bit stilted; I would have liked to have read more of the epic.
  
  I don't know why a complete, or near complete version of this epic is not available in a competent English translation. The reason may be because the work is still sung by specialists. With each recitation there is a difference in story details and length. It perhaps has not been standardized enough to be immortalized in written form. Indeed, this version is the work of Saparbek Kasmambetov, a singer of Manas. The book even comes equipped with two CDs with his singing.
  It's quite the experience to hear how this living art form is sung, but I can't say I enjoyed it much: very repetitive and chant-like. It's also in a foreign language of course. Not that I'm complaining, it's just very alien to what most of us in the west grew up with.
  
  I don't know how available this book is; I spent around 75 dollars for mine. It was worth it, only because I'm an epic literature fanatic.