Kurmanbek

Kurmanbek

 

a Kirghiz heroic epic. The protagonist, Kurmanbek, gathers the far-flung clans and tribes of Kirghizia around him and courageously defends the freedom and independence of his people from foreign invaders.

Four variants of the epic are known. Kurmanbek was first recorded by K. Miftakhov from the narrator M. Musulmankulov in 1923 and published in 1928. The second version (unpublished) was recorded in 1958 from Manan Kalandarov, who lived in Dzhirgatal’ Raion in Tadzhikistan. The version of the Soviet Kirghiz akyn (folk bard) K. Akyev, published in Kirghizia in 1938 and 1957, is the most complete. S. Dyikanbaev’s variant was recorded in 1966.

REFERENCE

Kebekova, B. “Kurmanbek” eposunun varianttary. Frunze, 1961.