Oral legacies: Epics and tales told by songs

Kirgiz people: Epic of Manas 

Manas is a large-scale heroic epic of the Kirgiz people passed down from generation to generation orally since the 16th century. Named after the warrior Manas, the epic also records the lives of his descendants for eight generations, depicting how the Manas family led Kirgiz tribes against marauders, brought traitors to justice and empowered the weak.