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Kyrgyzstan is a rugged, mountainous country crossed by
Tian Shan Mountains that begins in Xinjiang, China.
It has been home to nomadic peoples since ancient times, who lived on grasslands and lakes created by melting permafrost.

Kyrgyzstan, Road to Grasslands. Asia Culture Museum Archive Collection

Numerous roads spring up and disappear above the grasslands,
followed by villages and cities, and people create stories that extend further in time and space than the grassland itself.

The Kyrgyz people consider the epic Manas as their origin, much more than the snowcapped mountains of Tian Shan or the grasslands.
Manas is sometimes called “The Illiad of the Grasslands,” but compared to Homer’s “Illiad” and “Odyssey,” Manas is 20 times longer than the 2 epics.
This vast epic has long been passed down by word of mouth.
Manas reciters, or Manaschi, pass on this epic of more than 500,000 lines solely from their memory.

A house of a nomadic family. Asia Culture Museum Archive Collection

In a small village near Issyk-Kul, the second-largest mountain lake in the world after the Lake Titicaca, the villagers scale the mountain in May to graze the flock.

Tajibek (49), Manaschi and farmer. Asia Culture Museum Archive Collection

Mr. Tajibek is a descendant of the nomadic people who have nurtured the flocks in this village. He works as a farmer all day, but he is also a Manaschi, the reciter of the Epic of Manas.
His father and grandfather had been Manaschi as well.

For Yntymak (7) and Aqlai (6), Manas is a legend, a tale, and a history that must not be forgotten. Asia Culture Museum Archive Collection

Just as he works the field and nurtures the flock, Mr. Tajibek recites the Manas to his children.
The favorite thing for his young children are taming the young donkey, but soon enough, they will learn to memorize and recite the Manas.

Like the roads built on grasslands, their lives continue along this long story.
Asia Culture Museum Archive Collection

And just as grassland’s winds never cease to fly, they continue the old epic across generations and lives.
What stories are we creating today, and what stories are we relaying to our children?
Perhaps our children need old stories more than advice toward the future.
After all, the grown-ups know the past better, and the children know the future.

Just as water from the permafrost flows and nurtures small trees, old stories nurture our children to youth.

Permafrost on the Tian Shan Mountains and a tree on the grassland.
Asia Culture Museum Archive Collection