The Last Manaschi

The Kyrgyz of Central Asia

Directed by Caspar Haspels

The Last Manaschi is a portrait of Qaba Atabekov, the man who is regarded as the last great representative of the Manas Epos. This oral tradition tells the story of the Kyrgyz nomads in Central Asia.
The Manas is a monumental work of 500,000 lines (the longest epic in the world). It tells the story of the heroic struggle of the Kyrgyz people led by Manas and later by his son Semetei and grandson Seitek. In addition to stories about the battle against hostile tribes, the epic also includes a wealth of information about their everyday life.
The narrators, the Manaschi, passed the stories down from generation to generation. Not only were they esteemed for their knowledge, but also for their dramatic delivery. These verses are the treasures of the collective memory of the Kyrgyz.

American Anthropological Association, 2002
Western Psychological Association, 2002

48 min. Video or DVD. Sale $195. Video rental $75.