The Memorial Feast for Koekoetoey Khan: A Kirghiz Epic Poem in the Manas Tradition

The Manas epic is a Central Asian epic that tells the story of an uncertain new khan, Boqmurun, who holds a great feast to commemorate his predecessor, Kökötöy. Warriors and their retinues come to compete in horse races, jousting, and wrestling, but none can beat the supreme hero, Manas.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 400 pages
Publication date: 07 July 2022
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

This magnificent Central Asian epic, which has been passed down through the ages and is now brought to life in a new translation, transports the reader to a world of nomads, warriors, and horse lords. I am a steel-fanged lion, a dragon ready to pounce, a mighty poplar with golden branches rising up to the sky.

The bard Saghïmbay Orozbaq uulu composed his oral telling of the great Central Asian Manas epic in the early twentieth century, although it draws on far older sources. This vivid episode from his narrative tells the bravura story of an uncertain new khan, Boqmurun, who holds a great feast to commemorate his predecessor, Kökötöy. From east and west, warriors and their turbulent retinues come to compete in horse races, jousting, and wrestling, and soon insults are hurled and scores settled violently. Yet none can beat the supreme hero, the mighty, truculent Manas. By turns earthy, stirring, bombastic, and funny, Saghïmbay's work stands as a monument to the oral culture of a nomadic people.

Daniel Prior's landmark translation includes a "How to Read the Epic" section, commentary, maps, and illustrations. Composed in oral performance by Saghïmbay Orozbaq uulu, Translated by Daniel Prior.

Weight: 292g
Dimension: 198 x 129 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780241544211