However, Junmurgirchi could not fall asleep at the same time. He woke up all of a sudden. The stainless sky was dotted with a lamp-liked moon surrounded by several twinkling stars. In addition, the imposing silhouette of Manas’ famed horse was also in sight. As a result, he came to the conclusion that Manas had already put up at the place of Shigai. He worried about the security of the young men so that he broke in and led them out of the yurt. In addition, he hid the horses into an inconspicuous cave. It was in the yurt of Junmurgirchi that the two young men received the hospitality.
At that time, an old Qalmaq man named Kytkhei was nosing around for the whereabouts of Manas’ magical steed. This man was noted for his skill of foreseeing things with divine accuracy. On one day, he led a group of Qalmaq bandits headed by Tetkhai into the yurt of Shigai. As a fearless woman, Shigai’s wife named Kaltirbashi greeted the bandits who bore down on her home with sardonic sneers. She satirized the bandits’ wrongdoing, saying angrily: “Do you guys want to hold the wedding ceremony in my room? Don’t you know that I have no daughters who are supposed to marry you?”
Tetkhai was short in stature and used to speaking to others with an arrogant tone of voice. “Our two soldiers were killed by Kyrgyz people. But their remains were unaccounted for. I think average persons are unable to do that. The murderers must be Junmurgirchi and Shigai. You old bitch! Where is the magical horse? Just hand in the horse in time. Otherwise, we will kill all of you,” Tetkhai said with a minatory tone of voice.
Although Junmurgirchi had never revealed the real identity of Manas to others, the smart woman made sure that the brave man must be Manas. On the other day, she gave Shigai a telling-off for the succession to the throne. “You are not qualified for the throne. You should go to hell instead. The fame of Shigai Khan should be relegated to the rubbish heap,” she reprimanded her
Legend of Manas
husband repeatedly. Knowing for sure that Manas was in the neighborhood of his house, Kaltirbashi felt that she could always figure on the hero’s help. As a result, she lashed out at Qalmaq people more severely than before. She reproached Qalmaq people for the atrocities they committed in the territory of Kyrgyz people. “So many Kyrgyz people were killed by you, including those pregnant women, children and youths. Do you have the evidence that those two Qalmaq people were slaughtered by us? Is it reasonable to force us to make up for the loss of their lives? Don’t churn out the cock-and-bull stories. You are making a play for all our possessions. What we have right now is nothing but our lives. We shall not fall prey to your irrational fears,” she emphasized indignantly. After her sound telling-off, she drew a sword out of a scabbard forcibly and made for the fierce enemies quickly. “I will kill all of you,” she snarled at the enemies loudly out of resentment. At such a crucial moment, Manas also rushed into the room swiftly. Before all the forty Qalmaq people could get enough time to square off with the warrior, Manas gave the cruel enemies a sound thrashing. Every violent blow dealt by Manas told immediately. Then Manas asked Majik to pull them outside the yurt and cut off their heads. Finally they buried all the forty remains under a sand dune. He witnessed Manas’ valor and skill on the battlefield. As a result, he felt relieved to believe that Kyrgyz people’s humiliation would come to an end one of these days.
As an old saying went that a warrior must have got his own edge tool. As a matter of fact, Junmurgirchi had thought it over for a long time. He took Manas and Majik to visit the prophet Bakai who was known for his extraordinary wisdom.
Bakai also went in for the necessary preparation of top-notch weapons for Manas. He did not stop the contacts with Balta, Koshoi and others. After Manas made for his yurt, he also asked someone to fetch Koshoi and a blacksmith called Boluehkbai.
Boluehkbai said:
“I will take grass from the marshland,
And dry it in the sun to make it as my fuel.
I will ask others to dig out the land soil,
With a view to unearthing the coal underneath.
I will have those stalwart guys with great stature,
Manas Drives Enemies off and Fellow Villagers Elect and Proclaim
37
the Teen as Khan of Their Clan
Who are renowned for pitting one against ten,
Forging steel by striking their hammers.
I will turn the land into a sea of flames,
And get the high furnace to send out purple lights,
And get the molten pig iron to flow out like milk.
A wide range of weapons, which is as merciless as strong lions,
Is a proof of our unrivaled power,
Before the fierce and cruel enemies. ”
With the help of the lame blacksmith, a total of 5,000 soldiers led by Junmurgirchi and Shigai began to fetch and carry for Manas round the clock. They developed a common belief to the effect that they should make strenuous efforts in producing magical weapons and armor which could not be penetrated by a saber or a spear.
Two years later, Boluehkbai succeeded in making a sword with two blades, an iron spear, a lance and a crescent-shaped axe. Chubak, the only son of Balta, fetched a coat armor for Manas from Buudayik, a Kazak khan. Kara Khan’s queen, the mother of Manas’ wife Kanikei, sewed the impenetrable coat armor later on. The 11-year-old Manas assumed an awe-inspiring look after putting on the white coat armor and taking up all the arms. Everyone was shocked to see the handsome War God of Moon descending to the world.