Manas: Kyrgyz National Legend

Manas was a Kyrgyz warrior who supposedly lived about 1000 years ago. Everyone here knows who Manas is: they make movies about him, there are statues all of the place, Manas street is one of the larger streets in Bishkek, people dressed up as Kyrgyz warriors sell soft drinks in advertisements. Stuff like that.

Talas is the supposed home of Manas. Manas Ordo is a large complex that houses a museum, statue garden, and the mausoleum where Manas was thought to be buried. There are debates as to whether he could have actually been buried there. The inscription says that some Khan’s daughter is buried there. However, when they opened up the tomb, they found the skeleton of a large man--over six fee tall. It was common practice to bury great warriors in secret. Otherwise, their enemies would come a desecrate the graves. Therefore, it’s possible that the Khan’s-daughter story was a ruse to disguise Manas’s true burial place.

People still come to Manas Ordo on a regular basis. It’s considered a holy site, and people will often pray at the tomb. Shamans will hold ceremonies there as well. There is a fine line between shamanism and Islam in Kyrgyzstan. Actually, there isn’t any line at all and it’s not only in Kyrgyzstan. Worshipping at saints’ graves and believing in special powers that derive from sacred sites is one of the most wide-spread beliefs among Muslims all over the world, even though it’s not mentioned in the Q’uran and is generally frowned upon my the Muslim intelligentsia.

I’ve included a few pictures in the photos section of the blog.