Manas Drives Enemies Off and Fellow Villagers Elect and Proclaim the Teen as Khan of Their Clan
In order to rid himself of the surveillance by Qalmaq tribe members, Jakip and his family members moved to the forest tucked away in the Barlikhun Valley. None of the Qalmaq tribe members opted to live there. So Manas spent the following six years peacefully after his birth. He began to help his father graze the cattle and sheep. As a good person, Manas would often hand out the grain rations and livestock owned by his family to the herdsmen. Sometimes, he would also distribute some beef and lamb to the poor people after killing some of his livestock as an expression of sympathy or solicitude. Having seen the decrease of the number of livestock, Jakip was unhappy with what Manas did. Sometimes, he would blow his stack and complained about that. Quarrels broke out very often between the father and son. Jakip’s grouse always left Manas immersed in a sense of frustration and disappointment.
After wrangling with his father on one day, Manas made up his mind to get away from his father in fury. He headed for the Turpan alone. At first, he had nothing to do right there. So he had no choice but to loiter on the streets all day long until he bumped into his father’s close friends Karanoroi accompanied by his son Majik.
The athletic build and handsome appearance of Manas reminded Karanoroi of what he had hitherto only known by hearsay before. He rejoiced with wild
Legend of Manas
excitement over such a casual meeting that he let Majik and Manas be sworn brothers.
While staying at the home of Majik, Manas found that there was no water which could be used to irrigate the wheat seedlings. As a result, Manas and Majik organized fellow villagers to dig wells so that plenty of underground water was transported into the dry farmland. Thanks to the big efforts of the youngsters, the villagers scored a bumper harvest finally. Karanoroi was fairly satisfied with their wisdom and abilities.
Shortly after hearing about the whereabouts of his son, Jakip came over to the home of Karanoroi at once. He used a total of 60 camels to carry the wheat reaped by Manas back to Barlikhun. Before Jakip returned home with a full load of grain, he made a promise in front of Karanoroi to the effect that he would help his old friend move to the grassland in the following year.
Hardly had Jakip arrived at his home when he set off on another trip to where Chingirshi lived. He took with him a lot of wheat, treasures and cheese which were carried by a total of 50 camels. Jakip wished to swap such a large fortune for Chingirshi’s throne.
However, he was not summoned by Chingirshi for three days. Overwhelmed by a fit of anxiety hidden in the depth of his heart, Jakip was set on requesting an interview at the king’s yurt by himself. “Oh, Your Majesty, what’s up with you? All our Kyrgyz people are missing you. Please accept our loyalty and gratitude. Please accept the gifts I presented to you,” said Jakip.
“What can I do for you?” said Chingirshi, who kept blinking with excitement due to such a large fortune.
Jakip was ravished with joy and went on his words: “When I lived in Aktokoi, Qalmaq tribe members made harassment incessantly and the population of my horse could not be on the rise. In order to avoid the attacks launched by them, I’ve got settle in Barlikhun. I can not forget the Buruultow Sea. You know, I settled down right here simply for the sake of counting on your support. However, such a nominal title is not beneficial to me at all. I hope that you will also make me Khan right now.”
After hearing all the words of Jakip, Chingirshi received all the gifts that Jakip gave to him without saying any word of courtesy. The vast territory betweent the Buruultow Sea and Chiagan was put under administration of Jakip. What was more, he was made the Khan of the territory and got a formal
Manas Drives Enemies off and Fellow Villagers Elect and Proclaim
23
the Teen as Khan of Their Clan
certificate of appointment.
Since then, Jakip had become an authentic king who left Barlikhun for the region named Altay. Jakip succeeded in realizing his dream by means of bribing Chingirshi with large quantities of wealth and wheat reaped by his son. On one day, a thin and weak horse colt with grey hair in the stable owned by Chingirshi reminded him of what Balta said before: “A steed is bound to become Manas’ beast for riding. But this steed was raised in the stable of Chingirshi before that. Its physical traits include grey foetal hair covering the light yellow body, a build similar to that of a medium-sized donkey, a pair of fore legs as thick as the wooden clubs used to pat sheep wool, as well as a pair of eyes showing a firm and persistant look. It hasn’t really grown in maturity yet. So no one can recognize such a real steed. If Chingirshi asks you what you want to get, you should utter the name of the horse colt. I will keep a close on that. And you should also be scrupulous in sorting it out from the ordinary horses. Under no circumstances should we lose such an opportunity close at hand.” “Is there any possibility for such a thin and weak colt to become a steed galloping at full speed in the battlefield? I have no idea of what Balta is thinking about,” he said to himself.
Jakip requested an audience with Chingirshi once again. “If you permit, I am longing to go back home,” Jakip said. He gave all the camels brought with him to Chingirshi. “Jakip, I have appointed you to be a king. Can’t you return home empty-handed as a king? You can take all the camels back home because they can help you move the yurts and belongings. Just select a top-quality fur robe and a sturdy horse for your glorious homecoming after winning high honors. Otherwise, you would lose face,” remarked Chingirshi.