Manas

The great unifying khan and warrior-hero of the Kyrgyz and eponym of their national epic. The long-awaited only son of the herdsman Jakyp, he rallies the dispersed tribes, reclaims the Talas homeland from Kalmyk and Chinese overlords, and leads the Great Campaign against Beijin, dying of his wounds soon after — the founding act the rest of the trilogy answers to.

Parentage

• Jakyp

Children

• Semetey

Domains

• heroic leadership
• war
• tribal unity

Relations

• spouse: Kanykey
• sworn companion: Almambet
• companion: Bakai
• companion: Chubak
• companion: Syrgak
• companion: Ajybay
• companion: Koshoy
• enemy: Konurbay
• enemy: Joloi
• enemy: Neskara

Sources

• A. T. Hatto, 'The Birth of Manas', Asia Major 14.2 (1969), pp. 217-241; W. Radloff, Proben V (1885), the Manas cycle