A Tale of Two Heroes: Kyrgyzstan in Search of National Role Models

Abstract

National identity can be based on a wide variety of shared markers that encourage members of a given community to identify with their putative conationals. National heroes comprise one such potential shared marker. This paper focuses on national hero creation in Kyrgyzstan, a small Central Asian country currently in the active phase of nation creation. Specifically, it examines the ways in which Kyrgyz nation creators are deploying the figures of Manas, a legendary hero of the eponymous oral epic, and Kurmanzhan Datka, an actual historical personage from the nineteenth century. For the contemporary Kyrgyz, Manas provides a highly masculine, aggressive portrait of a national unifier, while Kurmanzhan, no slouch herself in the unifying and heroic categories, lends a touch of pragmatism and statesmanship to the national imaginary.