China recently suggested Kyrgyz oral epic Manas be included into UNESCO’s World Heritage list. However, China’s proposal has provoked a debate among Kyrgyz NGOs. According to Toktaiym Umetaliyeva, president of the NGO Association, it is the Kyrgyz parliament’s direct responsibility to take responsibility for nominating the epic. Umetaliyeva argues that Kyrgyz authorities have missed the opportunity to elevate the status of Kyrgyzstan’s cultural heritage.

Former president Askar Akayev initiated promoting the role of the Manas epic. In 1995, Akayev held a national celebration of the 1,000th anniversary of the epic, inviting guests from across the world. The holiday emphasized the epic’s exceptional length and richness. Akayev replaced the post-Soviet ideological space with ideas and images from the epic. Numerous statues of Manas and posters depicting the hero decorate Kyrgyz cities and villages.

The former president mobilized the academic community to distill the ten maxims from its script as guidelines for the Kyrgyz nation. The maxims promoted patriotism, national unity, and good personal behavior. Although the maxims were unsuccessful in educating the people about their importance, the eminent place of the epic in the public space is undeniable. For Akayev, Manas symbolized both a call for national unity and an example of tolerance for other peoples.

Unlike Akayev, however, incumbent president Kurmanbek Bakiyev disregarded the centrality of imposed images such as Manas in his politics. While the leader did not intentionally seek to decrease Manas’ public exposure, the initiative was taken over by non-state activists. Schools still teach the importance of Manas in national cultural life, while experts refer to the epic’s heritage as centrally important in Kyrgyz identity. In a way, Akayev’s depiction of Manas continued to live in the public space even though political regimes changed.

The recent call from Kyrgyz NGOs for bringing back the Manas legacy reflects both the popularity of Akayev’s project and the implications of Bakiyev’s passive stance on national ideology. The shortage of government-produced images and ideology created a space for various actors to discuss what these projects should be, how they should be constructed and whether Kyrgyzstan needs them. In the first two years of the Bakiyev regime, government employees and civil society activists tried to stage common forums on how ideological thinking should continue in the country. Former State Secretary Adakhan Madumarov came up with his own project, which lacked state funding and was doomed to remain unfulfilled.

Although Umetaliyeva’s statement is far from a call for re-apprising the Manas epic on a national level, but rather a criticism of Kyrgyz politicians’ lack of initiative since the issue is instead promoted by China, it still raises questions regarding the epic’s importance several years after Akayev’s leadership came to an end. If the parliament indeed contests China’s nomination and approaches UNESCO independently, the epic might play a more important role in the politics as well as the cultural life of Kyrgyzstan.

China’s claim that the epic has roots in its Western parts raised eyebrows among Kyrgyz activists. The proposal emanated mostly from the ethnic Kyrgyz population in China, while Beijing might see it as part of its domestic and foreign policy in the troubled region. The epic’s story develops across what is today considered to be Central Asia and Western China. However, for many Kyrgyz, the story is centered within the present borders of Kyrgyzstan.

This year, the Suleiman Mountain in Osh was included in the UNESCO list. Kyrgyz NGO activists have been lobbying for the inclusion of the site for several years, but have met resistance from local entrepreneurs who wished to use the site for business ventures. For Kyrgyz activists, the recognition of the site represented a modest victory over other competing forces. Their activism was particularly noticeable since the government has been suppressing the work of local NGOs by adopting tougher legislation. Should the NGOs’ recent announcement to promote Manas be taken into account by the government, this could imply a more forthcoming role for civil society activism in the country’s cultural life.

By contrast, should Bakiyev fail to take over the initiative on promoting Manas on the world stage, he is likely to be remembered as a president who failed to protect the nation’s greatest cultural heritage. Of all Bakiyev’s flaws – from corruption to authoritarianism – Manas might yet prove equally prominent.