Manas

Manas is an epic of the Kirgiz people and is the second-longest epic in the world, with over 234,000 lines, second only to the Epic of Gesar. It is included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

Manas originated in the 9th to 10th centuries and tells the story of the legendary hero Manas and his descendants, who led their people in a struggle for independence and freedom against raiding and enslavement by foreign forces. The poem consists of eight parts, each named after the hero of that section, with Manas serving as the overall title. For centuries, the epic has been passed down through oral tradition and has become an integral part of the Kirgiz people’s cultural heritage. The recitation of Manas has been incorporated into the daily life of the Kirgiz people, and wherever the Kirgiz live, the epic of Manas is performed.

Manas is a valuable literary masterpiece that combines Kirgiz folk literature and music. It is also considered an encyclopedia of Kirgiz folk culture, and provides important insights into the distribution of various ethnic groups in ancient Xinjiang, as well as Kirgiz history, culture, literature, and folklore.

《瑪納斯》

《瑪納斯》是柯爾克孜人的英雄史詩，也是全世界第二長的史詩，共有23.4萬多行，僅次于《格薩爾》，被列入人類非物質文化遺產代表作名錄。

《瑪納斯》產生于9至10世紀，敘述了柯爾克孜傳說中的英雄瑪納斯及其子孫，前后八代人領導族人反抗異族的掠奪與奴役，爭取獨立自由的故事。全詩由八部組成，分別以每部主人公的名字命名，并以瑪納斯作為總名。千百年來，《瑪納斯》一直口耳相傳，其演唱已經融入柯爾克孜人的生產生活，有柯爾克孜人的地方就有《瑪納斯》的演唱。

《瑪納斯》集柯爾克孜民間文學、音樂為一體，是一部珍貴的文學典籍；同時，它也是柯爾克孜民間文化的百科全書，對研究古代新疆各民族的分布和柯爾克孜歷史、文化、文學、民俗等具有重要價值。