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WOSAS/CD151/track1 R418.wav |
| an Epic of Manas story | |
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| Sound recording, song and story; a section of epic singing from the epic cycle, The Epic of Manas, from central Asia and the Kyrgyz Republic, sung by Ryspai Isakov, a Kyrgyz Manaschi in the Pavilion at the Beyond the Border Festival, St Donats Art Centre, Llantwit Major, South Glamorgan, Wales, 3rd July 2005 | |
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| Introduction and explanation by Ben Haggarty, followed by section of the epic of Manas sung by Kyrgyz Manaschi Ryspai Isakov. In order to bring Ryspai out of his trance and stop the performance his interpreter sat in front of him and used a camera flash. | |
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| A Manaschi is an epic singer who has devoted his or her life to singing the epic of the founder of the Kyrgyz nation, the blue-skinned warrior, Manas. The Manas epic is an encyclopaedic compendium of narratives. Ostensibly it tells of how the hero Manas, and his forty companions united many Turkic tribes into one nation and how they secured Kyrgyzstan as their homeland. On one level it is a sprawling epic of death and war, but on other elvels it is a story of a close knit family, giving detailed accounts of the daily and domestic life of a nomadic, pasoralist community. On another level it also contains magical tales of animal/human transformations, strange beasts and dissappearing sorcerers etc - wonders which betray the pre-Islamic animism of the region, traces of which survive even in the present day culture. Some children dream of Manas, which indicates that they may become a Manas singer. Children as young as eight years old are taken to special classes to learn the epic. The epic is first learned by rote, which also establishes the rhythmic pattern of the recitals and verse construction. Then in their teen years, provisional Manaschis may be permitted to improvise their own versions. Senior Manaschis then decide whether or not someone has the true gift or calling, and then help these students to develop and perform in public. The story is chanted on a variety of very marked rhythms, which are said to recall the act of riding. The tradition has a distinctive style of emphatic gesture. In performing episodes of the epic, some Manaschi are considered to become direct communicators with the spirits of Manas and the other founding ancestors. Manaschi appear to become lost in a trance like state when they recite the epic, and accomplished Manaschis will perform for up to six hours at a time. | |
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| audience:- | adult |
| language:- | Kyrgyz; English |
| recording quality | |
| condition:- | good |
| completeness:- | complete |
| duration:- | 0 hours, 26 minutes, 47 seconds |
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| Beyond the Border Festival was founded in 1993 by Ben Haggarty, Artistic Director of the Crick Crack Club, and David Ambrose, the then Director of St Donats Arts Centre, Wales. The Festival was founded as The Beyond the Border International Festival of Storytelling and Epic Singing, but became known simply as Beyond the Border. The festival ran from 1993 to 2006 co-directed by the two founders: with Ben Haggarty programming storytellers and David Ambrose programming musicians. Since 2007 the festival has been directed by David Ambrose. The festival is a weekend event running on the first weekend of July annually; attracting around 2,500 people from across Britain and from overseas. The festival is sited at St Donats Arts Centre and in the grounds of St Donats Castle in the Vale of Glamorgan on the South Coast of Wales. Beyond the Border was initiated as part of the UK Year of Literature in 1995. The successful bid submitted by Academi Wales, prominently featured a storytelling festival. The original Director of the UK Year of Literature was Maura Dooley, who had been at the South Bank Centre in London when Ben Haggarty ran the Third International Storytelling Festival there in 1989. Maura Dooley supported the proposal brought to her by Ben Haggarty and David Ambrose to hold an International festival and series of summer schools at St Donats Castle and to begin Beyond the Border in 1993 in order to build an audience and a core of Wales-based artists for the Year of Literature in 1995. However before the plan could be implemented Maura Dooley resigned from her post (the position was later taken by Sean Dorran). Despite this, St Donats Arts Centre was committed to the festival and Beyond the Border was launched in July 1993. The 1993, 1994 and 1995 festivals were accompanied by summer schools, which produced a number of storytellers including Megan Lloyd, Francis Maxey, Richard Berry and Michael Harvey. | |
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| storytelling; singing:- |
manaschi; epic singer: Ryspai Isakov male / Kyrgyz |
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| storytelling; singing:- |
Master of Ceremonies; Festival Co-Director: Ben
Haggarty male / British / born 30.11.1958 / occupation performance storyteller; promoter |
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| origin:- | Kyrgyzstan, Asia, central |
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| Festival programme | |
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| Ryspai Isakov attending the festival, with interpreter and the Kyrgyz ambassador | |
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| Ryspai Isakov performing in the Peoples Palace | |
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| Click to enlarge images | |
| programming:- |
Festival Co-Director: Ben Haggarty Festival Co-Director: David Ambrose |
| administration:- |
administrator: St Donats Arts Centre |
| storytelling; singing:- |
St Donats, Llantwit Major, South Glamorgan, Wales: St Donats Art
Centre: Pavilion
03 Jul 2005 festival: Beyond the Border Festival |
| gift from:- |
St Donats Arts Centre |
email to The LCIS