Renowned Manas scholar Raisa Kydyrbaeva has passed away

Raisa Kydyrbaeva, a renowned manas scholar, passed away at the age of 96. This sad news was announced by the Chingiz Aitmatov Institute of Language and Literature.
Photo from the internet. Raisa Kydyrbaeva
Raisa Kydyrbaeva was born in 1930. In 1952, she completed her studies at the Faculty of Philology of Kyrgyz State University, and in 1956, she finished her postgraduate studies at the Maxim Gorky Literary Institute in Moscow.

Since 1956, she began her career at the Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz SSR, starting as a junior research fellow. Throughout her long career, she held various positions, including senior and chief research fellow, and headed the "Manas" department at the Chingiz Aitmatov Institute of Literature at the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic. She worked at this institution until 2025.

Raisa Kydyrbaeva is the author of numerous significant scientific works dedicated to the epic "Manas," including studies on its genesis, variability, poetics, and the performance skills of manaschi.

She also served as a scientific consultant for the documentary film "Uluu Manaschi" (1988) directed by Melis Ubukeev and founded a scientific school in the field of folklore studies, preparing many doctors and candidates of sciences.

Among her scientific monographs and studies, the following can be highlighted:

• "Tradition and Individuality of the Epic 'Manas';


• "Genesis of the Epic 'Manas';


• "Ideological and Artistic Features of the Epic 'Sarinji Bokoy';


• "Poetic Traditions of the Epic 'Zhanil Myrza';


• "Performance Skills of Manaschi";


• "Variants of the Epic 'Manas';


• "Epochs, Generations, and Manaschi" and many others.