L’épopée orale turque d’Asie centrale. Inspiration religieuse et interprétation séculière
Authors: Reichl Karl 
Published: May 2024

The first chapter provides a short introduction to the Turkic oral epic of Central Asia (Bref aperçu de l’épopée orale turque d’Asie centrale). Among the various traditions of Turkic oral poetry, this and the following chapters focus on the epics of what is termed the « central traditions », i.e. the oral poetry of the Uzbeks, Uighurs, Kazakhs, Karakalpaks and Kirghiz. In these traditions different types of singers can be distinguished: baxši, aqïn, žïraw, manasči and others; these singers are in general professionals who have acquired their art and their repertoire in the course of a more or less formal training with one or more master singers. Although there are many similarities between these traditions, there is also a fair amount of variety as to the form, the genre and the manner of performance of the epics. Epics can be in verse, they can be in a mixture of verse and prose; the verse can be in octosyllabic lines, often alliterating, or in lines of eleven/twelve syllables, often rhyming; in the singers’ repertoire there are both heroic epics and lyrical love romances (dastans); the singer might perform the epic in chanting without the accompaniment of an instrument (as the Kirghiz manasči), he might accompany himself on a plucked or bowed instrument, and he might be further accompanied by another musician or even a small ensemble.

In the second chapter the influence of Islam on the Central Asian oral epics is discussed (Le héros et le saint: l’influence islamique sur l’épopée turque d’Asie centrale). Islamic influence is found in epics and oral narratives of an overtly religious persuasion as well as in secular heroic epics and romances. The former (called džañnāma in Uzbek) celebrate the deeds of the Prophet and his followers and successors, their wars against the infidels and their achievements as Moslem leaders. These narratives have also influenced non-religious epics such as for instance the Uzbek dastan of Yusuf and Ahmad. An important role in these and other epics is given to various helper saints, in particular to ‘Alī, the Forty Saints, the Twelve Imams, and various pirs and holy men. In discussing the heterodoxy in the invocations of these saints it is argued that the most important source of religious inspiration in the epics must be sought in the popular Islam of Central Asia, which incorporates many pre-Islamic elements.

In the third chapter the pre-Islamic strata as found in the Central Asian epics are further examined (Le héros et le chamane: les strates archaïques de l’épopée turque). It is shown that there is an intimate connection between epic singer and shaman. This emerges from the use of terms like baxši for both the bard and the shaman, from the symbolism of the singer’s instrument, comparable to that of the shaman, and from initiation visions and sicknesses found both among bards and shamans. A closer view at two Altaian epics (Kögütey and Altay Buučay) shows that in this tradition the world of the pre-Islamic Turks is well preserved, but similar archaic strata can also be detected in the epics of the central traditions, among them the transformations of the hero and his horse, heroic adventures in the underworld, various mythological figures and the reanimation of the hero. The fourth chapter is concerned with questions of interpretation (“Sens” et “conjointure”: problèmes d’interprétation). With reference to the distinction between sens and conjointure as made in the introduction to Chrétien de Troyes’ Érec et Énide it is argued that an oral epic such as Qoblan or Manas should not only be interpreted on the textual level but must also be interpreted from a pragmatic point of view. While a close reading of the epic as a work of verbal art (plot, characterisation, style, narrative structure and narrative technique) is indispensable for its analysis, a fuller understanding presupposes a knowledge of the function an epic performance has in an oral (or partially oral) society and the place an epic occupies in its value system. Heroic epics like Qoblan or Manas are felt to be historical (by singer and audience) and they play an important role in identifying the roots of an ethnic group and in re-inforcing its identity. While these heroic epics are believed to reflect historical truth, they have nevertheless undergone considerable transformation in the course of their transmission, thus conforming in the plot and motif structure to mythic patterns as described by M. Eliade.

The final chapter examines the actual performance of Central Asian oral epics (La voix vive: aspects de la performance). With the help of the terminological apparatus of the ethnography of communication the various constituents of an epic peformance are described and the event character of oral epic poetry is underlined. By the same token, the comments on the musical aspects of performance in the first chapter are elaborated, with examples from the various central traditions of Turkic epic poetry. While the recitation of epic contains many dramatic elements, the performance of Turkic epic poetry does not cross the borderline to drama as in some African or Asian traditions. It is stressed in concluding that as an oral art the performance aspects of Turkic epic are of the utmost importance for its full appreciation.