Performing traditions of the storytellers of the epic «Manas»

Abstract

The Kyrgyz perceive “Manas” not only as an oral-poetic work, but also as a living substance that has made a significant contribution to the development of national consciousness. The epics of many peoples of the world have ceased their primordial existence in oral form; they are imprinted only on paper and have taken a book form, which means that they cannot develop further in the traditional way. The legend of Manas was not lost in time thanks to the storytellers-manaschy, who carefully preserving and creatively processing it, passed it on from generation to generation. The Kyrgyz have always considered the important and significant role of the manaschy. They inspired the warriors, escorting them to the next combat battle to defend their homeland; were next to the ancestors at fateful moments for the Kyrgyz; were the highest spiritual orders who carried the wisdom and generosity of the people. The author of the article notes that storytellers face science with the task of investigating the functions of the live performance of “Manas”, which contains a ritual character. Until now, the performance of this epic was perceived only as an aesthetic action. The live narration of the Manas epic affects the sensitive channels of the audience. The basic factors influencing the consciousness of the listener of a live epic narration are the rhythm, voice and non-verbal reactions of the narrator, as well as the plot and nature of the episode being told. All this is a special type of coding of human consciousness with energy information. The author, comparing the work of some manaschy, which have not yet been considered as a scientific object, and the work of the storytellers of the epic of a number of other peoples of Central Asia, on the basis of his observations and additional information, reveals the peculiarities of performing traditions, and also comes to the conclusion that manaschy – a carrier of rich sacred information, and storytelling is one of the specific forms of cultural and spiritual communication, which requires further deep scientific research.