You had better marry Markdoom,
In order to comfort her
By helping her festering psychological scar heal up.
So your blood debt should have been paid in time.”
Invasion of Kyrgyz Nationality’s Territories by Alooke and Manas’
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Birth at a Time of Danger and Adversity
Adelbek came over to Markdoom’s place afterwards,
In a bid to cajole her into accepting his fine-sounding suggestion:
“Markdoom, a poor woman,
I need to communicate with you face-to-face.
You have neither family members nor relatives around you.
At present, Jakip is all set to tie the knot with you.
Let me come up with an idea for you:
You had better cry and scream at the top of your voice for a couple of days,
Turning to him for comfort all day long.
Your request of reviving the dead child should be aimed to deprive him of sound sleeps.
You should not set about accepting his offer of treasures,
Nor could you long for a compensation of steeds,
Let alone his camels.
At such a time of his mental unease,
You had better force him to marry you.
Only in this way can you lead a happy life.”
Shortly after hearing what Adelbek said, Markdoom kept silent and got lost in deep thought. The widow decided to comply with his suggestion simply because she considered it to be a reasonable idea. Discomposed constantly by Markdoom, Jakip swore to marry her later on. Markdoom gave birth to two brave sons Serik and Serhaq for Jakip. That was what happened later on.
The news that Manas was spotted in the woods had got about everything. In order to prevent the members of Qalmaq tribe from raising doubts, Jakip invited all the old people in the village to chat with him. A cornucopia of delicious dishes were served to entertain the well-respected old people.
“Adelbek, village head. You take considerable liberties with what you saw in the forest. And such a rumor that my son is named Manas has already spread afar and got me to lose face entirely. I don’t have offspring at all. Do you think it is fair for me to bear the brunt of such profound jeers right now?
Legend of Manas
It seems that Adelbek is meant to do so. So you should make apology to me in front of all the people who are present in here,” Jakip said in a solemn voice.
As a person with the gift of the gab, Adelbek appeared that he had already been geared up for Jakip’s censure. “Manas is supposed to be born quite soon. The under-covers dispatched by the Qalmaq tribe members are vying with each other in a bid to find out the whereabouts of the child. Such a matter does make much difference to the life of a person and the fate of our ethnic group. So how dare I take the liberty of making up the story? Up to now, a wide range of signs have shown that Manas will be born into your family. That child told me face-to-face that Manas is the son of Jakip. What is going on in the woods is not a fabrication,” Adelbek said.
All the old people who were present at the banquet began to tightly hold their own collars out of curiosity immediately after hearing their dialogue. “My God, what an amazing matter it is! We ask Sea God Buruultow’s favor for the child,” they said. In order to keep from Qalmaq people’s suspicion, nobody mentioned that in public later.
However, Qalmaq people’s under-covers walked back and forth in the neighborhood of Jakip’s home everyday after Chiyirdi was expecting. In spite of Qalmaq people’s surveillance, Jakip pretended to be quite happy every day. Moreover, he presented herds of cattle and sheep as well as top-quality kumiss to Qalmaq tribe chiefs. On one day, Qalmaq tribe chiefs were seen going on a drunken binge. Jakip moved to avail himself of this opportunity to put forward his idea hidden in the depth of his mind. “Kunes Pasture Land shouldn’t be home to my livestock any longer because it cannot accommodate a larger number of animals. A human being’s self-esteem depends on the number of livestock. Please don’t forbid my access to the areas around the Buruultow Sea(1). The reason is quite obvious: Those areas are much more helpful to the breeding of livestock,” Jakip said. Thanks to Jakip’s long-time flattery, Qalmaq tribe chiefs approved his request eventually.
Chiyirdi had been pregnant for more than three months. With a fragile appearance, she had peaked and pined day after day. In addition to losing weight every day, she threw up a great deal of food every day. Jakip was responsible for keeping his wife company round the clock. “What has
1: It means “change of fate.”
Invasion of Kyrgyz Nationality’s Territories by Alooke and Manas’
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Birth at a Time of Danger and Adversity
happened to you? Honey! You are getting weaker and weaker with the lapse of time. What’s going on with you? Just tell me the fact please. After all, you have been my wife for so many years,” said Jakip, gazing attentively into his wife’s sickly face.
“I have lost my appetite. I am craving for the mouthwatering delicacies which are not easy to be found all over the world. On the other hand, it is impossible for you to get them,” said Chiyirdi, who pressed her chest with both hands.
“Honey, don’t say so. I swear to find them out as long as you can tell me what they are like. Come on, just tell me. What on earth do you wish to have as a meal?” asked Jakip in an anxious voice.
Looking into Jakip’s face with an anxious look, Chiyirdi replied that she had got the fidgets these days. “A sweet melody coming from afar seems to waft around my ears all along. If the eyeballs of a phoenix flying in the heaven fell down into my mouth, I won’t fret about anything. Besides, I am dreaming about wolfing down the tigers’ hearts and lions’ tongues. I know for sure that only the above-mentioned things can help me get rid of the torture of worries. How can we find out all these things? Oh, Jakip. My wishes might be unrealistic and hard to be fulfilled,” she said. Shortly after saying such words, she felt nauseated and could not help throwing up once again.