Manas singer Jusup Mamay remembered

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The legendary life of Jusup Mamay, a singer of Kyrgyz epic "Manas", ended at the age of 97 in his hometown of Akqi County in Xinjiang on June 1.

Manas singer Jusup Mamay [File photo]



 

Tens of thousands of people wearing white mourned the late master in a public memorial service last week and paid their respect to the Manaschi.

"Manas" is an epic poem, which tells the story of Kyrgyz hero Manas and his seven descendants in more than 230,000 lines. Manas singers, also known as Manaschis, are highly regarded by Kyrgyz people for their good memory and narrative skills.

Among the 168,000 Kyrgyz people in China, very few can be called a Manaschi. Jusup Mamay was the only person who could sing the full length of Manas.

"Jusup Mamay was unique. Even though the epic is in text, his extraordinary memory and impromptu ability will never be reproduced," said Manbet Turdu, a Kyrgyz Manas scholar.

Jusup Mamay was born into a family of Manaschis in Merksh Village under Akqi County in April 1918.

He learned to sing Manas from his brother when he was eight. He was able to sing the epic completely at the age of 16. Most Manaschis spend their whole life learning the poem.

Jusup Mamay had a dream at the age of 13. In the dream, five men were riding horses and the rider in front told Jusup Mamay their leader was the hero Manas.

Because he dreamt about Manas, his parents warned their son that he could not sing Manas until he turned 40 or it would cause serious trouble.

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