Editing Epic of Manas (section)

{{Short description|Kyrgyz traditional epic poem}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox poem
|name                = ''Epic of Manas''
|image               = Manas Heykeli (yandan).jpg
|image_size          = 260px
|caption             = Statue of Manas in [[Bishkek]], [[Kyrgyzstan]]
|subtitle            = <!-- Subtitle or descriptor                      -->
|author              = <!-- Author(/s)                                  -->
|original_title      = Манас дастаны
|original_title_lang = ky
|translator          = <!-- Translator(s), if original not in English   -->
|written             = 18th century
|first               = <!-- First published in                          -->
|illustrator         = <!-- Illustrator used consistently throughout
                            (where illustrations are a major feature)   -->
|cover_artist        = <!-- Cover Artist                                -->
|country             = <!-- Country of original publication             -->
|language            = [[Kyrgyz language|Kyrgyz]]
|series              = <!-- Series (if any)                             -->
|subject             = The interactions of a Kyrgyz warrior and his progeny with neighboring Turkic, Mongolic, and Chinese people
|genre               = Epic poem
|form                = <!-- Form (i.e. Sonnet, Quatrain, Ode...etc)     -->
|meter               = <!-- Meter: (i.e. iambic pentameter)             -->
|rhyme               = <!-- Rhyme scheme: (i.e. ABBA CDDC EFFE GG)      -->
|publisher           = <!-- Publisher of main publication
                            (prefer 1st edition)                        -->
|publication_date    = <!-- Date published (1st edition). Use
                            {{Start date|YYYY|MM|DD|df=y}}, trimmed as needed. -->
|publication_date_en = <!-- Published in English (1st English edition)  -->
|media_type          = <!-- MMedia type (paperback, hardback)           -->
|lines               = Approximately 553,500
|pages               = <!-- Pages (prefer 1st edition)                  -->
|size_weight         = <!-- Size and Weight                             -->
|isbn                = <!-- [[International Standard Book Number|ISBN]] -->
|oclc                = <!-- [[OCLC]]                                    -->
|preceded_by         = <!-- Preceded By
                            Title of prior poem in series               -->
|followed_by         = <!-- Followed By
                            Title of subsequent poem in series          -->
|wikisource          = <!-- Title of work if in the public domain and hosted at English Wikisource -->
}}

The '''''Epic of Manas'''''{{efn|{{langx|ky|Манас дастаны|Manas dastany}}, {{smaller|[[Kyrgyz alphabets#Arabic|arabized]]:}} {{lang|ky-arab|ماناس داستانی}}, {{IPA|ky|mɑnɑ́s tɑstʰɑnɤ́|IPA}}; {{zh|瑪納斯}}}} is a lengthy and traditional [[Epic poetry|epic poem]] of the [[Kyrgyz people]] of [[East Asia|East]] and [[Central Asia]]. Versions of the poem which date to the 19th century contain historical events of the 8th century, though Kyrgyz tradition holds it to be much older. Manas is said to be based on [[Bars Bek]], the first [[khagan]] of the [[Yenisei Kyrgyz Khaganate|Kyrgyz Khaganate]]. The plot of Manas revolves around a series of events that coincide with the history of the region, primarily the interaction of the Kyrgyz people with other [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]], [[Mongolic peoples|Mongolic]] and [[Chinese people|Chinese]] peoples.

The government of Kyrgyzstan celebrated the 1,000th anniversary from the moment it was documented in 1995. The mythic poem has evolved over many centuries,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Terbish |first1=Baanjarav |title=The Sart Kalmaks in Kyrgyzstan: people in transition |journal=Central Asian Survey |date=February 2021 |volume=40 |issue=3 |pages=313–329|doi=10.1080/02634937.2021.1884045 |doi-access=free }}</ref> being kept alive by bards called ''manaschy'' or ''manaschi''. The first written reference to the [[eponymous]] hero of Manas and his [[Oirats|Oirat]] enemy Joloy is to be found in a Persian manuscript dated to 1792–93.<ref name="auto">Tagirdzhanov, A. T. 1960. "Sobranie istorij". Majmu at-tavarikh, Leningrad.</ref> In one of its dozens of iterations, the epic poem consists of approximately 500,000 lines.