Literature—Central Asia
It is difficult to imagine Central Asia without literature. Of the epic literature and poetry produced by numerous Central Asian ethnic groups, scholars are most familiar with Turkish and Persian literature and, to a certain extent, writings and oral compositions in Arabic and Urdu. Some of the oldest forms are odes to Tengri, the predominant monotheistic belief system of the eleventh through thirteenth centuries. Next came the chorchok (also known as sav, jir, dastan), oral histories, as well as didactic stories drawn from that genre.
Poetry writing was one of the earliest pastimes in Central Asia. Folk poets still perform poetry at teahouses, as they accompany themselves with a stringed musical instrument generally known as the kobuz. Other performers often join in, contesting for top honors and monetary and other awards. This musicopoetic competition has always been an eagerly awaited entertainment feature at special occasions such as weddings and funerary feasts. Or a traveling minstrel may recite and act out an entire epic, such as the Manas (c. 995, the national epic of the Kyrgyz people, centering on a heroic figure called Manas), Iskandarnameh (The Book of Alexander the Great, by the Persian poet Nezami, c. 1141–1203), or Shahnameh (The Book of Kings, compiled by the Persian poet Firdawsi, c.
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