National Epic Lessons to Foster Patriotism

Lessons on Manas, the Kyrgyz national epic, will be made compulsory in schools across the country in an effort to instill patriotism, but NBCentralAsia analysts warn against teaching an overtly ethno-centric interpretation of the story.



On June 6, State Secretary Adakhan Madumarov announced plans to introduce a compulsory course in Manas studies in schools, saying that this classic work contains all the right ideological elements needed for the nation’s spiritual revival.



The epic follows Manas, a ninth-century hero, and his heirs as they battle hostile tribes to unite the Kyrgyz and retain independence. Passed down orally by narrators, or manaschy, for centuries, the 500,000-line story was first written down at the end of the 19th century.



According to Abdyldajan Akmataliev, the director of the Centre for Manas Studies and Artistic Culture, teaching the epic in schools will help foster morality and patriotism and encourage people to learn more about Kyrgyz traditions and culture.



Historian Jamilya Darmanova believes there is an ideological vacuum in the country at the moment, which makes young people feel lost. They are in urgent need of this kind of patriotic education, she said.



NBCentralAsia analysts say the Manas studies course should avoid being too inward-looking and should take Kyrgyzstan’s ethnic diversity into account, as well as the trend towards globalisation.



Political scientist Marat Kazakbaev would like to see the introduction of a broader course on patriotism that is not confined solely to Manas. The scope for lessons on the epic itself is too narrow, he argues, and teachers will have to branch out and include other material anyway.



Analyst Mars Sariev says the ethno-nationalist slant put on the epic in the Nineties has failed to be inclusive, so it does not make sense to go ahead and introduce the course without first rethinking the whole philosophical approach to it.



“In this era of globalisation, the epic should not be taught to the current generation using old methods. The task for our philosophers and historians is to adapt and interpret the epic in a way that teaches the young to be successful and patriotic,” said Sariev.



But member of parliament Avazbek Momunkulov believes the proposal for a Manas course has come too late to instill a sense of patriotism as part of the nation-building process. It would have been better to use Manas right after the collapse of the Soviet Union, when people really needed a new ideology.



(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)