Educational Media Reviews Online

Kyrgystan, located in East Asia between China and Kazakhstan, became an independent nation in 1991. In rebuilding its national identity long suppressed by the Soviet Union, the Kyrgyz people began to honor individuals who told the Manas Epos or The Manas. The Manas is an oral epic poem detailing the story of the Kyrgyz nomads, and the men who preserve the work are called Manaschi. This excellent film by Caspar Haspels and Jon Kuljer (Banana Verdict, 1999) centers on the story of one of the few remaining Manaschi, Qaba Atabekov.

Atabekov was born in the early twentieth century, and began to learn and perform The Manas as a young man. The Manas is the story of the hero Manas, his son Semetei and grandson Seitek, and their struggle against the Chinese and other peoples. Also, the tale provides insights into the life and customs of the Kyrayz. At some 500,000 lines in length, The Manas is the long epic in the world’s literature. Manaschi like Atabekov dedicate their lives to preserving and telling this story. Atabekov also endeavors to record the epic on paper and to teach a new generation of Manaschi. The film uses no other narration than Atabekov and others not only introduce the view to the epic, but to give an overview to the harsh life of the Kyrgyz people. Overall quality of the film is quite good. However, the video used for this review lost audio during the last five minutes of the presentation.

This work is an excellent introduction to a little known part of the world and its people, and demonstrates that the storytelling tradition survives in the Information Age. The Last Manaschi is recommended for all school and academic collections.