Alpamush - Alpamush

…Although there are some examples of the use of writing among nomads, such as the Turkic script from the late 7th century to the mid-9th century and the Mongolian script from the 13th century onwards, the nomads of Central Asia were basically unlettered people. As a result, they developed excellent oral literature, and in particular, long heroic epics such as "Manas" and "Alpamush" are still passed down orally and recited today among Turkic nomads such as the Kyrgyz and Kazakhs. On the other hand, among the settled people of the southern oases, foreign religions such as Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, and Nestorianism, which were brought over the Silk Road in the pre-Islamic period, were believed in, and the scriptures of these religions were translated into local Indo-European languages ​​such as Khotanese Saka and Tocharian. …

*Some of the terminology explanations that mention "Alpamshu" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…遊牧民の間における文字の使用については，7世紀末～9世紀半ばの突厥文字，13世紀以降のモンゴル文字など，若干の例はあるにしても，中央アジアの遊牧民は，基本的には文字をもたぬ人びとであった。そのため彼らの間ではすぐれた口承文学が発達し，なかでも〈マナス〉〈アルパムシュ〉などの長大な英雄叙事詩は，口伝えに今日もなおキルギス，カザフなどのトルコ系遊牧民の間に伝えられ愛誦されている。　一方，南部のオアシス定住民の間では，前イスラム時代，シルクロードを経てもたらされた仏教，ゾロアスター教，マニ教，景教といった外来宗教が信奉され，それらの宗教の経典が，ホータン･サカ語，トカラ語など現地のインド･ヨーロッパ語族系の諸言語に訳出された。…

※「アルパムシュ」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報