Postcard from Bishkek

There is a long standing and recurring theme in mythology of someone descending into the underworld, often, (but not always), with the purpose of locating a deceased loved one.

Classic examples are Orpheus, (the Greek hero whose songs could charm both gods and wild beasts and coax the trees and rocks to dance), who descends to Hades in search of his wife Eurydice, which inspired Offenbach’s operetta “Orpheus in the Underworld” – famous for it’s Can Can.  What often surprises people is that this is just one of many such operas on the story of Orpheus, which provided one of the earliest “staple” themes for this particular art form, with almost 70 different works including examples by Debussy, (which he started but was never finished), Gluck, Haydn, Monteverdi and Telemann.

Orpheus, however, isn’t the only example of this storyline.  Greek and Roman mythology also had the gods Aphrodite, Dionysus and Hermes as well as the heroes Hercules, Persephone and Demeter, Psych, Odysseus, Theseus and Pirithous  descending to Hades; in Egyptian mythology Osiris makes the journey; in Ancient Sumerian mythology, Enkidu, Gilgamesh and Inanna; in Norse mythology Hermod; in Japanese, Izanagi; in Mayan, the twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque; in Buddhism Kuan Yin; in the Vedas, Indra; in Welsh, Pwyll; and then there is Dante in the Divine Comedy.

The Kyrgyz also have their Orphean character – Toshtuk, (Toeschtueck or Teshtyuk).

I happen to know someone called Toshtuk, so when I came across references to a piece of experimental theater based on the minor epic, (or dastan) of Er Toshtuk, I took a particular interest in finding out more about it.  The drama piece was created by the Yana Arts Group in New York and performed in both New York and Bishkek in 2008, receiving complimentary revues.

The dastan is thought to be one of the oldest of the Kyrgyz epics, which was probably based on an old shamanistic tale, being passed down through generations as part of an oral tradition that also encompassed other Turkic groups of Southern Siberia and Central Asia, such as the Kazakhs and Tartars.

The first transcription of the epic was made by the linguistic Academician V. V. Radlov, (who is sometimes referred to in the West by his German name, Wilhelm Radloff), during his expeditions to through Central Asia between 1862 and 1869.  He published it, together with extracts from the “Manas” epic and the legend “Zholoy Khan” in his Examples of the Folk Literature of the Northern Turkic Tribes, which he published in 1885.

He heard the epic performed by an unknown akyn in the Shamsy area of Northern Kyrgyzstan, but he was not very complimentary about the performance, suggesting that the performer might not have been familiar with all of the material, (it’s a strange story with a mix of mythical elements); that the constant stopping and repeating passages for transcription, without the usual interaction of an audience and the fact that the man appeared tired from having already performed several other pieces, all made the process of recording and transcribing the epic difficult.

Fortunately, however, we are not reliant on Radlov’s version, as the dastan has been the subject of several research projects.  That is just as well, because Radlov was treated with suspicion during the Stalinist repressions as his work was seen as supporting nationalist and separatist movements.  As with Manas, there are several known versions, including ones by Dzh. Dzhamgyrchiev, (recorded in 1927), S. Karalaev, (who appears on the 500 som note  and was recorded in 1939), and K. Suranchiev, (recorded in 1940).

The first part of the epic tells the story of the miraculous birth of the hero to elderly parents.  When he learns that nine of his older brothers disappeared while safeguarding their father’s countless herds he sets off to search for them in order to return them to their native land.

This adventure is followed by an episode about the search for brides for the band of brothers when he finds his wife Kenzheke.  Returning from the courtship, his father falls into the hands of a witch who demands Toshtuk ’s soul as a bribe for his freedom, and the youth is forced to go in search of it, accompanied by a magical horse to aid him in his quest and plays a vital role in protecting him, warning him of dangers and performing many difficult tasks.

Toshtuk and his steed, enter the underground world.  Here he meets very unusual people who befriend him and help him in his various struggles with dark forces.

In one episode he encounters a one eyed monster that has stolen many valuables from the upper world and he kills it by driving a fire-iron into his single eye.  In another he searches for the foals of a spotted mare.  In another episode he comes across a nest in the Tree of Life, containing a brood of chicks.  Every year the mother bird hatches a clutch of eggs and the chicks are eaten by a dragon that lives in the roots of the tree.  Toshtuk fights the dragon and kills it earning a promise from the grateful mother bird to help him return home.  In yet another, his horse rescues him from the bottom of a dead lake with a wonderful cauldron of forty ears.

Eventually Toshtuk fights with the ruler of the underworld, defeating him and destroying all the evil demons, is finally able to return to the surface, carried on the wings of the grateful mother bird.

However, that’s not the end of the story.  Once on the surface of the earth once more, he is persuaded by the giant demon of death, Choyuna, to pull him out of a deep pit where he has been imprisoned by his enemies.  The ingrate giant then robs Toshtuk of his horse, and casts him into a deep pit.  The bird returns and saves him from certain death and Toshtuk once more goes in search of his lost soul.  He finds it hidden in the souls of forty starlings, in the black trunk, located in the body of the mountain sheep.  Finally, overcoming his artful enemy, Toshtuk is able to return home where he was happily reunited with his relatives.

 

Tags: For_the_Record, Kyrgyzstan, Legends, Traditional_Culture