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Kyrgyz ancient traditions shared with world

10.02.2015

The Aigine Cultural Research Center together with the Manas epic chanters, Kubanychbek Almabekov and Samat Kochorbaev, represented Kyrgyz culture at the Fifth International Conference of Elders of the World’s Ancient Cultures and Traditions at the Ganapathi Sachchidananda Ashrama in Mysuru, India, on 31 January – 5 February 2015. The Epic of Manas is a traditional epic poem of the Kyrgyz people. Organized by the International Centre for Cultural Studies (ICCS), the conference focused on ‘Universal Wellbeing: Sustaining Nature, Culture and Communities’ and was attended by elders of nearly 40 countries and 73 different cultures from across the globe.

Participants discussed the issues of globalization, technology and leadership and its impact on the ancient cultures and traditions of the world today. The conference opened with prayers led by elders of the various traditions. The character, Kubanychbek Almabekov, blessed the participants with the Kyrgyz ‘bata’ (or blessing in Kyrgyz language), while Samat Kochorbaev chanted verses from the ‘Manas’ that were related to the theme of the conference.

During the event, Dr Gulnara Aitpaeva, the head of ‘Aigine’, made a presentation on the ‘Sacred Sites of Kyrgyzstan: Places of Wellbeing, Unity and Diversity,’ involving epic chanting, the ‘komuz,’ a local instrument, and singing. The presentation focused on the social functions of sacred sites and their role in preserving peace and fostering unity among various pilgrims and pilgrimage practices. The presentation was based on Aigine’s ten years of research and its findings from the seven provinces of Kyrgyzstan.

The second presentation was on Model of Leadership, portrayed in ‘Manas’ epic of Kyrgyz people. The monumental epic, Manas, is the most treasured expression of the national heritage of the Kyrgyz people. Composed and sung entirely in oral form by various singers throughout the centuries, Manas is regarded as the epitome of oral creativity. As nomads, the Kyrgyz had no written language. However, they excelled in oral composition, which they artistically employed in their traditional poetry and epic songs.

The presentation evolved into a panel discussion in which participants freely addressed their questions to epic chanters. During the session, three traits of Manas’s leadership role were identified – his magnanimous character and generosity; strategic long-term vision and ability to unite his 40 warriors with different tribal background; his personal capacity to overcome challenges and follow all the rules developed for the whole community.

On the third day of the event, the Kyrgyz delegation presented and demonstrated a ritual ceremony for one year old children who start to make first steps – tushoo kesuu, which involved two small Indian children.

“The most interesting part was that, during the conference in 2012, we presented the ceremony ‘balany beshikke saluu’ (putting a child to cradle), and this year’s ceremony became logical continuation of the former. Thus, we were able to demonstrate sustainability of the process. The ceremony received positive feedback and involved proactive participation of different delegations. Thus, the Kyrgyz delegation succeeded in presenting and sharing its ancient traditions and wisdom with the world’s community”, said Aitpaeva.

The presentation of the Kyrgyzstan delegation and the ritual led to dynamic discussions and raised many interesting questions and gave way to new cooperation possibilities and joint studies on world epic heritage and sacred sites pilgrimages.

The conference became the second event Aigine participated in, as in March 2012, a Kyrgyz delegation took part in the Fourth Gathering of Elders in Haridwar, India.

See the photo report