The Kirghiz oral tradition encompasses a wide range of folk literature, including heroic epics (jomok), tribal genealogies (sanjira), ritual songs (aytimdar), elegies (koshok or emgek iri), love songs (süyü iri), life songs (turmux iri), children’s songs (baldar iri), and proverbs (makal-lakap) in rhymed verse, as well as myths (apsana or ulamix), tales (jöö-jomok), riddles (tabixmak), and jokes (hakaba) in prose. Folk compositions in rhymed verse are the cornerstone of the Kirghiz oral tradition, and the millennium-old epic Manas is the oldest among them. It has been created and handed down by generations of manaschïs living in different eras.