Different from the Tibetan epic The Life of King Gesar and the Mongolian epic Jangur, the epic Manas of Kyrgyz ethnicity features not just one hero, but eight generations of a family.

Kyrgyz is an old ethnic minority in China, now mainly dwelling in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
The epic of Manas begins with the story of his parents, and his birth, and continues with his life story, and then of his son Semetey and his grandson Seytek. It includes the story of the battles of the Kyrgyz against their enemies, but also gives details about the culture of the Kyrgyz, and about the world as it was known to the Kyrgyz in past centuries. Although written records about the history of the Kyrgyz and their neighbors are scarce, the epic of Manas is full of information on these topics. The epic also provides a lot of information about the customs of the Kyrgyz in past centuries.  Through the epic, the Kyrgyz were able to pass on the knowledge and wisdom of their elders to the younger generations.

The people who learned and sang the epic are called Manaschi. They still exist today and are very respected members of their communities. They evolved over time from the shamans of the Kyrgyz people. A manaschi candidate has to become an apprentice at a young age to one or more elder manaschis, and learns parts of the epic by listening to the elders perform it for many years. When he or she is ready, Manas or some other character in the epic will appear to the candidate in a dream, and instruct the candidate to perform the epic. From that point on, the candidate becomes a true manaschi, and often has the ability to improvise his or her own version of the epic. Manaschi who can thus improvise their own version are called Great Manaschi, while those who merely repeat someone else' version are called Half Manaschi. Nowadays, it is possible to learn Manas at a conservatory, and many young Kyrgyz are doing so.