Kojojash is a

Kyrgyz Kyrgyz, Kirghiz or Kyrgyzstani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Kyrgyzstan *Kyrgyz people *Kyrgyz national games *Kyrgyz language *Kyrgyz culture *Kyrgyz cuisine *Yenisei Kirghiz *The Fuyü Gïrgïs language in Northeastern China ...

lesser

epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements Epic or EPIC may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and medi ...

tale that has been told for centuries. The Kyrgyz are an ancient Turkic tribe from

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

. Although there is evidence that the ancient Kyrgyz had a

runic alphabet Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, and for specialised ...

, epic tales such as this were never written down. They were passed from

generation A generation refers to all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively. It can also be described as, "the average period, generally considered to be about 20–⁠30 years, during which children are born and gr ...

to generation orally. These epic tales chronicle the history of the Kyrgyz people; they highlight the importance of

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ...

es and showcase the battles between internal and external enemies (Köçümkulkïzï). These tales are the only sources of ancient Kyrgyz history.

The characters

Kojojash

Kojojash is the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

of this epic tale. He is a very skilled

hunter Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

capable of slaughtering almost any animal. His skills are so high that he can provide for a tribe of twenty families. Those families rely on him for support. Without him, they cannot eat. Kojojash is too proud; his

pride Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...

leads him to his death. He cannot accept that some animals are able to escape from his gun. His lust to kill drives him to the

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on co ...

s where he meets his death.

Zulayka

Zulayka is the

wife A wife (plural, : wives) is a female in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until the marriage is legally Dissolution (law), dissolved with a divorce judgement. On the death of her partner, ...

of Kojojash and the interpreter of the dream. When Kojojash dreams of becoming lost on a cliff, she interprets this as a bad

omen An omen (also called ''portent'') is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change. It was commonly believed in ancient times, and still believed by some today, that omens bring divine messages fr ...

and begs him to stop hunting. Zulayka cares deeply for her

husband A husband is a male in a marital relationship, who may also be referred to as a spouse. The rights and obligations of a husband regarding his spouse and others, and his status in the community and in law, vary between societies and cultures, ...

. In fact, she chose him instead of he choosing her. She bears one son Moldojash.

Sur-Ecki

Sur-Ecki is the she-

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

that Kojojash swears to kill. The wife of Alabash, she has hundreds of

child A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

ren and is very prosperous. One day as she is feeding with her kids, Kojojash comes and slaughters all of them. She begs him to spare her husband and herself, so she may bear more children and continue the line of their

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

. Kojojash refuses and blatantly kills Alabash in front of Sur-Ecki's face. Sur-Ecki swears revenge and leads Kojojash on top a steep rocky cliff, in essence leading him to his death. At the end of the story, Sur-Ecki becomes the wife of Kojojash's son, Moldojash.

Moldojash

Moldojash is the

son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...

of Zulayka and Kojojash. He searches for his father's remains, but cannot find them. At the end of the tale, he marries Sur-Ecki, thus restoring peace between man and the goats.

The story

The tale begins by introducing Kojojash. Kojojash is a great hunter. He is revered by his

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

and provides for them by hunting. No animal can seem to escape him. One day, as Kojojash was walking through the

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

, he met a girl named Zulayka. Zulayka was choosing a husband from a crowd of men. When she saw Kojojash, she immediately chose him. The two were wed. One night, Kojojash had a

dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

. In his dream, he came upon a herd of goats and slaughtered every last one. On his way back, he became trapped upon a high cliff ledge. His wife interpreted this dream as a bad

. In the wilderness, the she-goat Sur-Ecki also had a bad dream. She dreamt that a hunter slaughtered all of her children. Both of these dreams act as foreshadowing for the events to come. As Kojojash is hunting the next day, the events of his dream begin to unfold. He comes upon a family of goats and slaughters all of the kids. The she goat Sur-Ecki pleads for Kojojash to let her husband and her live and reproduce, but Kojojash slaughters her husband Alabash in front of her face. Sur-Ecki swears

revenge Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." Pr ...

, and flees from Kojojash without being harmed. Kojojash swears to hunt down and kill Sur-Ecki. Kojojash returns home and reveals the events of the hunt to his wife. She is scared for his life and asks him to stop hunting. He refuses, since he is the sole provider of food for his tribe. Kojojash decides that he will continue to pursue and hunt down Sur-Ecki. As he is chasing her, she leads him onto a steep rocky cliff. Kojojash becomes trapped, just like in his dream. Kojojash calls out and his father finds him. He instructs his father Karïpbay to go to the

and have the carpenters build a

ladder A ladder is a vertical or inclined set of rungs or steps used for climbing or descending. There are two types: rigid ladders that are self-supporting or that may be leaned against a vertical surface such as a wall, and rollable ladders, such a ...

. After the ladder rescue attempt fails, Kojojash decides that his only option is

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

. He instructs his pregnant wife to name their child Moldojash if it is a son. And then, he throws himself off the cliff to his death. Zulayka bears a son, and names him Moldojash after her late husband's request. Moldojash searches for his father after he learns of Kojojash's death. He cannot find the remains, but he does find Sur-Ecki. He marries Sur-Ecki, and returns home to his people.

References

{{Reflist Köçümkulkïzï, Elmira. "THE KYRGYZ EPIC “KOJOJASH”." THE KYRGYZ EPIC “KOJOJASH”. 2004. 3 May 2007

External links

THE KYRGYZ EPIC “KOJOJASH”
Kyrgyz-language literature