Myths about Bayan-Sulu and Kozy Kopresh.

“Look at life as the night looks at the day!
Like a doe funny - on mountain cliffs,
How labor looks at dormant laziness...
But always beware of risk and profit..."

Georgy Vasilyevich Tveritin (1899 – 1921). Poet and translator of poem "Kozy-Korpesh and Bayan-Sulu" in 1927.

Tours behind ancient legends of Kazakh people.

Epic "Kozy-Korpesh and Bayan-Sulu" was first published in 1812 in Kazan in Russian. The authenticity of this legend is confirmed by a unique archaeological find - a golden belt. A fragment is depicted on the belt: a seated female figure against a background of poplars, bent over the head of a killed horseman.
The found belt belongs to the finds of the 18th century. It was found in the eastern part of the Irtysh in the steppe among the Altai Mountains. The Golden Belt is currently in the Hermitage. One of the first researchers of the epic, A. Pushkin, heard and wrote down the poem while in the villages of Orenburg.
In 1927, in the new capital of Kazakhstan, Kyzyl-Orda, the first translation of the poem into Russian was made, preserving its poetic form. The publication of the book "The Song of Kozy-Korpesh and Bayan-Slu", in a circulation of 3,000 copies, was carried out by the People's Commissariat of Education of Kazakhstan. The book then cost 60 kopecks.

Kozy Korpesh - Bayan Sulu.

In ancient times, between the mountains Tarbagatai and Alatau, and the lakes Balkhash and Ala Kul, two unusually rich, noble and powerful sultans roamed: Karabay and Sarybay. An unbreakable friendship connected them for many years; not a day passed without the friends seeing each other, without one going somewhere to visit without the other, without the hunt, baiga or some other celebration being arranged by one without the participation of the other.
They shared both joy and sorrow equally, and in trouble and misfortune each tried to help the other as much as he could. One day, in the spring, both friends went hunting, and having traveled no further than half a day's ride from their villages, they saw a maral standing motionless on a small island.
Having ridden up to a bowshot distance, Karabai was already preparing to shoot his arrow at the animal, when Sarybai, having looked closely at the animal, suddenly stopped his friend:
- "Don't shoot, brother, please, and I won't either; after all, this is a female maral, and she is just about to lamb.
If we kill her, we will destroy the lamb together. Remember that you and I have wives at home in the last days of pregnancy, and perhaps by sparing the innocent animal we will do a good deed, and God will help our wives at the moment of childbirth."
Karabai listened to the advice of his faithful friend, and, lowering the bow, threw it over his shoulder, and put the arrow back in the quiver, and the friends rode on in search of prey. They rode all day, but did not find the animal anywhere, and in the evening they stopped to rest by a small stream.
Here, talking about the adventures of that day, they remembered the incident with the maral, and again Sarybai said to his friend:
- "Listen, friend: in this meeting of ours with the maral, I see God's direction. When you wanted to shoot, my heart suddenly sensed that I would not live long, that my family would soon be orphaned. If some misfortune happens to me, in memory of our friendship, I ask you not to leave my family without your help and advice."
Karabai consoled his friend as best he could, tried to dispel his gloomy forebodings, but Sarybai was sad all the time and finally suggested to Karabai, in celebration of their long-standing friendship, to make a vow between themselves and seal it with an oath; this vow was that if their wives give birth to sons, then these sons should live among themselves as brothers; but if daughters are born, then the daughters should be sisters.
And if one has a son, and the other a daughter, then from the day of birth they should be considered groom and bride.
- “We, having become related in this way,” added Sarybai, “will never be separated until death, we will divide all our property in half; - and with the death of one of us, the other will consider the family of the deceased friend his own family.” And the friends swore to each other that they would fulfill this vow and announced it to all the servants and guests who were with them on the hunt.
And so, while they were uttering the usual oath in such cases, a black starling flew in from somewhere above and landed on Sarybai's head, then with a loud chirp the starling began to jump first on one, then on the other of the friends. "This starling foretells joy for us," said Karabai.
- "This is a messenger from God. He will bless our covenant."
- "Yes," answered Sarybai.
- "But he also foretells misfortune for one of us, and since he fell first on my head, this misfortune threatens me."
Having performed the usual evening prayer, the friends mounted their horses and went home accompanied by the entire retinue of guests, hunters and servants. Everyone rode at a walking pace, giving the horses, exhausted during the day, a rest, and it was already getting noticeably dark when both friends noticed a Kirghiz galloping straight towards them?
- "This is probably a messenger from one of our wives," the friends decided among themselves.
And indeed, the Kirghiz was approaching, joyfully waving his cap over his head:
- "Give me a suyunchu (gift)," the messenger shouted.
- "I bring you good news, your wives have just safely given birth to babies. Karabai has given birth to a son, and Sarybai to a daughter".
Hurry home! Karabai and Sarybai rushed off on their dashing runners like a whirlwind, and soon the entire retinue was left behind. For some time the friends raced side by side, but Sarybai's horse was better and soon overtook the other horse.
- "Don't hurry!" Karabai shouted.
- "Hold your horse, night is descending upon the earth, and I cannot keep up with you, because my horse is tired and stumbles over the stones!"
But Sarybai did not listen to anything and kept flying forward, urging on his exhausted horse with blows of his whip. Suddenly his horse tripped over something with its front legs and turned over its head, dragging its rider along with it in its fall. Karabai, who had arrived in time, jumped off his horse and rushed to help, but, bending down to Sarybai, he saw with horror that his friend, having hit his head on a stone, was lying motionless, covered in blood.
In vain did Karabai try to bring him to his senses; Sarybai was dead. Both horse and rider were killed. The hunters who rode up picked up the body and everyone quietly moved forward. Karabai rode sad and thoughtful: he felt sorry for his dead friend, and fear for the future overcame him.
- "Sarybai was right," he thought,
- "When he said that the starling foretold not joy, but misfortune. Apparently our vow is not pleasing to God, and Sarybai's death serves as a warning to me." When the sad train arrived home, the weeping and sobbing of women filled the village: not joy and festive merriment greeted the birth of babies, but general sadness and the inconsolable grief of the family...".
Having buried Sarybai, Karabai, true to his word, announced his vow to everyone and, after holding a wake, arranged a magnificent celebration in honor of the birth of the babies. This celebration lasted a whole month. The boy was named Kozy Korpesh, and the girl Bayan.
According to custom, fortune tellers were invited to tell fortunes about the fate of the newborns, and one of the fortune tellers predicted that the fate of the newborns would be unhappy if they ever got married. Karabai, in accordance with his promise, took under his protection the family of his deceased friend, in which supervision of the cattle and property and all management of affairs passed to the brother of the deceased Sarybai - Apsebai.
But neither Karabai himself, nor his wife, the mother of Kozy Korpesh, nor his closest relatives believed in the successful outcome of the vow and did not want the future marriage.
- "This marriage will be unhappy," said Karabai's wife.
- "I do not want to marry my son to Sarybai's daughter, who, as soon as she was born, immediately destroyed her father."
Karabai was of the same opinion.
- "The baby's fate will be unhappy," he thought:
- "From the very beginning, all the omens were unfavorable, and the last prediction of the soothsayer indicates that this marriage must be prevented as much as possible."
Only old Apsebai, Uncle Bayan, did not share the general fear and, true to ancient customs, did not want Karabai to break the oath given to his deceased friend.
- "A great misfortune will fall on your head," he persuaded Karabai.
- "Oath-breaking, terrible of all, and God will punish you, and because of your fault, He will punish your son too."
In the depths of his soul, Apsebai harbored the intention of promoting the future marriage and, if possible, to fulfill the oath given by friends. The thought of changing his promise took possession of Karabai more and more, but he could not bring himself to openly break his oath; therefore, under various pretexts, Karabai began to move further and further away from Sarybai’s family with his herds, and by the end of the following summer he had migrated to the Tarbagatai Mountains.
Sarybai’s family and his clan, having lost sight of their old friend, with Apsebai at their head, went to the northeast, deep into the Kirghiz steppes. Even during his lifetime, Sarybai, while wandering in the foothills of the Alatau, came across the tent of a poor Kalmyk, who, due to illness, fell behind his clan and was left alone in the mountains with a small number of cattle and a young son.
Sarybai took them under his protection, and when the old Kalmyk died, Sarybai took the boy as his foster child and began to keep him as a member of his family, entrusting him with the supervision of part of the farm and numerous cattle. The boy's name was Kodar kul.
Growing up, he began to show extraordinary strength and courage and, being an attentive and thrifty owner, gradually took into his own hands all the management of household affairs and the farm. Sarybai's wife, seeing Kodar's zeal and obedience, became very attached to her adopted son and, having lost hope of marrying her daughter Bayan to Kozy Korpesh, she intended her to be Kodar kul's wife, so that Kodar, having married Bayan, upon her coming of age would become a full member of the family and successor to the late Sarybai, who, in addition to Bayan, had three more daughters:
- "Ai, Tansyk and Aigyr, but had no male offspring at all."
Fifteen years had passed since the death of Sarybai and the birth of Bayan, when her mother finally died. Apsebai by this time had grown very old and decrepit, and all power finally passed into the hands of Kodar kul, who, with his thrift and care, not only did not upset Sarybai's fortune, but increased it so that his family became the richest in the entire neighborhood.
Bayan, growing up and developing, turned into a young girl of wondrous beauty; the nickname "supu" became inextricably linked with her name, and the fame of her beauty began to spread throughout the steppe. The place where Sarybai's family roamed was named Bayan aul in honor of the beauty and became a favorite gathering place for all the youth.
Suitors, seduced by the beauty and wealth of the bride, flocked to Bayan aul from all sides with proposals and rich gifts, so that the jealous Kodar, out of fear of losing his bride, decided to move from the place and with all of Sarybai's relatives migrated to the place of his birth, to the Ala Tau mountains.
Most of all, Kodar Kul feared the appearance of Kozy Korpesh fiancé, about whom he knew from stories, especially since he could expect assistance from old Apsebai, who remained the eldest in the clan, at any time. Apsebai had long ago managed to convey to Bayan about the oath given by Karabai to her deceased father, and admonished her more than once not to betray the parental covenant and not to marry Kodar, but to hope and wait until the end for the fiancé, who sooner or later must appear.
The old man repeatedly turned to fortune tellers and soothsayers and received answers from all of them; that there was not much time left to wait, that the fiancé would appear when his golden braid grew; by this braid he should be recognized.
About predictions: and the sign of the groom Apsebay also conveyed Bayan, and the beauty all the more willingly gave her word to her uncle to await the arrival of Kozy Korpesh and refuse Kodar, because the rude, clumsy and enormous Kalmyk was hateful to her and greatly annoyed her with his courtship and courtesies.
When Kodar kul moved with all the auls and numerous herds, Apsebay followed them and, in order not to lose the way later and to inform Kozy Korpesh about it, if fate ever brought him to see him, he put signs along the roads and tracts, persuading Bayan supu to do the same.
On one of the mountains Bayan threw her golden comb, and this mountain from that time to the present day has retained the name "Altyn tarak" (golden comb); in another place she threw away the feather that she wore in her hair, called in Kirghiz "karkara", and this tract received the name "Karkaraly".
Upon arrival at the new place, Bayan sulu'three sisters soon died, and she alone inherited all of her father's untold wealth. Kodar kul, having completely removed old Apsebai from affairs, began to persistently pursue Bayan with his proposals to marry him as soon as possible.
In order to get rid of the annoying suitor and delay the marriage until the arrival of the passionately awaited Kozy Korpesh, Bayan sudu, not having the strength to openly resist Kodar's desire, resorted to tricks. She promised to marry him, but only after he had completed three tasks that she would entrust to him.
Kodar agreed, and Bayan sulu entrusted him with the task of taking stock of all of her numerous cattle. When these works were completed, she ordered him to dig deep wells in all places of the waterless steppe, so that the grazing cattle could have enough water everywhere.
The last, most difficult work consisted of Kodar finding a low place near the grave of his sister Tansyk, equipping a large pack train with large leather bags and carrying water from the Ayagoz River until an artificial lake was created, and Bayan ordered the banks of this lake to be lined with salt, necessary for the cattle.
Despite the insurmountable difficulties, Kodar kul decided to carry out this last work: day and night the work continued without interruption, an endless convoy of camels for a whole year moved from the Tansyk tract to the Ayagoz River and back, and finally the artificial lake was ready and in this form, under the name of Lake Tansyk, it exists to this day.
Bayan Sulu, having no more excuses to refuse Kodar, was finally forced to set a date for the wedding, which was to take place no later than the following month. Karabai, having separated from Sarybai's family, did not live long either. Three years later he died, having strictly instructed his elderly mother and his wife, the mother of Kozy Korpesh, not to tell the boy anything about his bride, Bayan, for fear that this marriage would not take place and would not entail the predicted misfortunes.
Kozy Korpesh grew up and by the age of seven he already looked like a teenager, demonstrating extraordinary strength. Often, in games with peers and teenagers, he inadvertently inflicted serious injuries on his comrades, and in a fight with adults, he not only always turned out to be the winner, but, in the heat of the moment, miscalculating the force of the blow, he killed his opponents.
With these incidents Kozy Korpesh caused no small grief to his mother, and especially to his grandmother, who after Karabai's death remained the eldest and most honorable person in the family. One day his grandmother was sitting at the door of her yurt and spinning ram wool, and Kozy Korpesh, who was already 15 years old, was playing asyk (knucklebones) with his friends nearby.
The old woman was in a bad mood and had been angry with her grandson since the morning, and Kozy Korpesh, wanting to annoy her even more, began to throw his knucklebones so that they would fall into her yarn and interfere with her work. Once, having managed to do it, Kozy Korpesh threw his asyk so accurately that it hit the yarn wound on the spindle and tore it.
Not remembering herself from anger, the old woman jumped up from her place and burst into abuse and reproaches.
- "See what a big blockhead you've grown up to be," she cried.
- "Wouldn't it be better for you to mount a horse and find your bride instead of playing childish games?"
- "What bride?" asked Kozy Korpesh.
- "Yes, your bride..."
But then, having come to her senses, the old woman tried to turn everything into a joke. However, Kozy Korpesh began to interrogate her so persistently that she was unable to make excuses and finally said. Go to your mother: your mother knows everything and will tell you everything.
The mother realized from the very first time that the grandmother could not stand it and broke her word given to Karabai. Therefore, she tried with all her might to convince her son that it was all a joke, and she did not want to say who the bride was or where she lived.
Then Kozy Korpesh, pretending to believe his mother's words, asked her to prepare her favorite dish - "kuyrmash". The mother was delighted and, having prepared the kuyrmash, served it to her son on a platter. Kozy Korpesh, seizing an opportune moment, quickly thrust the hot wheat into his mother's hand and squeezed it tightly with his own.
The mother began to cry from the intense pain, and Kozy Korpesh began to inquire: who was the bride and where was she.
Unable to bear the pain any longer, the mother finally answered:
- "The bride Bayan is the daughter of Karyabai, let me go, I will tell you everything."
Having freed his mother's hand, Kozy Korpesh listened to her detailed story about the vow of Karabai and Sarybai, but the mother knew nothing more. The fame of Bayan's beauty and wealth spread everywhere. But with Kodar's migration from Bayan aul, the trail was lost, and where and how to find the bride - the mother could not explain to Kozy Korpesh.
Koz y Korpesh decided to go to Bayan-aul and there. having made inquiries, set out on a further search in the footsteps of Kodar Kup.
- "Don't go, my son," the mother begged.
- "Your father bequeathed before his death to refuse the bride, because this marriage will bring you misfortune."
- "If my father has changed his word, I must correct his sin and fulfill his oath," answered Kozy Korpesh. 
But the bride has already been betrothed to the hero Kodar Kup, who will kill you.
- "I will fight him to the death, and if I am destined to take Bayan as my wife, I will win, and if not, then only death will force me to refuse the bride."
- "But the bride is far away and where - no one knows, the journey ahead is long; wild animals and evil people will lie in wait and destroy you on the road."
- "I am not afraid of wild animals or evil people, I will be able to defend myself from them."
- "On the way there are deep lakes, fast rivers, high mountains, dense forests. Where can you overcome all the difficulties? You are alone, young and inexperienced." - "I will take a horse that can step over lakes and rivers, and cross high mountains, and I will make my own way in the forest, and even if I cut my way for a year, I will not return back."
Seeing that no admonitions help and nothing can interfere with her son's decision to go on a long journey, the mother said goodbye to him with tears. Having chosen the best horse from his numerous herds, armed with a bow and arrows, a naiza and a kylych, Kozy Korpesh set out the very next day to search for a bride.
And the mother, still not losing hope of returning her son from the road, consulted with her old grandmother and both decided to turn to one sorceress for help. The sorceress, having accepted rich gifts, promised to hinder Kozy-Korpesh on his further journey and immediately set off after him.
Having overtaken Kozy Korpesh, the sorceress turned into a wild she-camel and rushed towards him with a furious roar. But Kozy Korpesh was not afraid, he snatched his sabre from its sheath and rushed at the enraged she-camel, the she-camel could not stand it, turned back and disappeared from sight.
Kozy Korpesh rode on and suddenly saw that a stormy and deep river blocked his path, the waves rushed with noise and roar, white foam boiled like in a cauldron. Kozy Korpesh did not even try to find a ford, but rushed straight into the boiling waves on his dashing horse.
But as soon as the horse managed to jump into the water with his front legs, the river disappeared and a smooth road opened up again. Kozy Korpesh rides on, and the day has already begun to lean toward evening, and then something blue appeared in the distance - either mountains or a forest, spread out across the road.
It was almost night when he rode closer and saw that it was a forest, and so dense that it was impossible to get through it on horseback or even on foot, and the forest spread out so far that there was no end in sight, and there was nowhere to go around it.
Kozy Korpesh stopped, thought about what to do, but did not think for long, drew his sabre and began to chop down the forest.
- "I will," he thought, "even if I chop for a year, I still will not go back."
And as soon as he struck the first tree, the tree fell with a groan and the forest disappeared from sight at once. And the sorceress turned into mountains and lakes; but sees that nothing can stop Kozy Korpesh and she decided to use her last resort to distract him from the road with rich prey, to knock him off the path so that he would get lost and, not finding the road, turn back.
She turned into a golden fox and ran out to meet Kozy Korpesh. As soon as he saw the prey, he grabbed his bow and chased after it, thinking to run up and shoot an arrow at the fox; but the fox hid in a hole at the very moment he was preparing to shoot.
Kozy Korpesh got off his horse and began to rummage around in the hole with an arrow; the hole turned out to be deep, and the arrow did not reach the fox, but when he took the arrow out of the hole, he was surprised to see that it had turned completely golden.
Then Kozy Korpesh tried to lower his whip into the hole and the whip immediately turned gold. Here Kozy Korpesh began to put everything he had with him into the hole, and soon all the saddlery; weapons, stirrups, bow and arrows - everything turned gold.
Kozy Korpesh, finally not finding anything else that could be gilded, lay down on the ground face up and lowered his scythe into the hole, and when he pulled it out, the scythe also turned gold.
- "Well, that's enough," said Kozy Korpesh.
He mounted his horse and set off on his further journey, but as soon as he started moving, the fox ran out of the hole again. Kozy Korpesh did not chase after her, he had already lost a lot of time, and he rode on without even looking back at the fox.
Kozy Korpesh rode for a long time and finally arrived at the place where the aul of Bayan Sulu once stood. Nothing remained of the former aul, only the places where numerous yurts had once stood were overgrown with weeds. Kozy Korpesh got off his horse, tied it to a bush for support and decided to make a stop here, rest, spend the night, and examine the tracks the next day and ride on.
He collected some dry horse droppings, made a fire and began to fry the meat of a killed saiga, when suddenly he saw an old man walking towards him, his clothes were thin, all in rags, his feet were bare and wounded from the stones, he himself was barely walking alive and leaning on a stick - it was obvious that the man was sick.
The old man approached the fire, greeted him. And Kozy Korpesh began to question the old man:
- "Where are you coming from, babai (grandfather)? What is your name and how did you end up alone here, in this deserted place?"
- "My name is Apsebay," - the old man answered.
- "I am coming from afar to find the son of Karavai Kozy Korpesh and to announce to him his bride, the beautiful Bayan, who is waiting for him any day now and does not know how to get rid of the hated Kalmyk groom Kodar Kul."
And then old Apsebay told everything in order, starting from the day when Sarybay died and ending with the time when the villain Kodar took everything into his own hands and, fearing the appearance of Kozy Korpesh, migrated far away, and in the end drove him, an old man, out of the house, not even giving him a skinny little horse.
- "I have been walking for many days already," - the old man said.
- "And infirmities have overcome me; my strength is gone; I will probably have to die here; not having fulfilled the vow given by my brother to his friend Karabay." Kozy Korpesh was delighted and told the old man his name, but Apsebay did not believe him right away, he shook his head incredulously and said:
- "Show me your braid?"
Kozy Korpesh took off his hat, and when Apsebay saw the golden braid, he hugged him and cried with joy. In the morning, Kozy Korpesh got up at dawn, but Apsebay did not get up: the old man had fallen ill. Having somehow gathered his strength, he told about the road, what signs were placed along the way, what places one had to go through, he repeated everything several times so that Kozy Korpesh would remember it better, and then he finally fell into unconsciousness...
No matter how Kozy Korpesh was in no hurry to set off, he did not dare to leave the sick old man alone; however, He did not have to wait long; by the evening of the same day the old man died. Having buried him, Kozy Korpesh rode on; now he was riding the right road, had found all the signs along the way and, following from one tract to another, soon saw in the distance many yurts and numerous herds.
This was the place where Bayan and Kodar Kul were staying. Before reaching the aul, Kozy Korpesh dismounted from his horse, unsaddled it and let it go free; he put all his weapons and good clothes in a secret place, and he himself, having changed into a thin robe and a torn hat, set off on foot to the aul to hire himself out as a herdsman.
He arrived at the place just on the day when Kodar Kup had finished his last job, and had finally forced Bayan Sulu to consent to the marriage and set the wedding day. The new herdsman was accepted willingly and Kozy Korpesh entered into the service of Bayan Sulu under the name of Kotyr Taz.
She entrusted him with the care of her favorite goats, which she visited and milked every morning. The very first time Kozy Korpesh saw his bride, his heart trembled, he walked around all day not himself - so struck was he by the beauty of Bayan Sulu; although he had heard a lot about her beauty, he had never dreamed of such a beauty.
Kozy Korpesh had already lived in the aul of his bride for several days, but he still could not open up to her, he kept waiting for a suitable opportunity, but this opportunity did not present itself. One day Kodar Kul went to the mountains for a few days to his Kalmyks, and Bayan Sulu, left alone, decided to listen to songs.
Those close to her pointed out to her the new herder Kotyr Taz, as a great master of playing the dombyra and singing songs. Bayan Sulu was sent for him. Kozy Korpesh appeared, sat down at the threshold of his mistress's yurt, tuned his dombyra and began to sing.
He sang many songs, and in the end he sang about a beauty who was the most beautiful in the world, and how this beauty was waiting and waiting for her groom, in a word, he sang her his whole story and hers and in the end he finished his song like this:
- "Soon, soon the groom will appear, he is close, he even knows whether the first in beauty and wealth in the whole steppe girl will accept him."
Bayan understood that this song was composed about her, and that the singer had sung it for a reason, she looked at him for a long time and intently, but how could she recognize the groom in the poor herder?
- "Probably a messenger sent from him," - she thought.
Having improved the time, she managed to whisper to him:
- "Tell him that I have been waiting for him for a long time and will accept him properly only let him hurry".
And from then on Bayan often began to visit her favorite herd and linger there for a long time and ask the herdsman about the desired groom. Kozy Korpesh told her everything, only he did not dare to reveal his name, but noted that the beauty must have liked him, because when he dared to flirt and joke with her, she did not take offense at his jokes, laughed merrily and looked at him affectionately with her wonderful eyes.
It happened soon after that Bayan's favorite goat Supu awkwardly jumped off a cliff and broke her leg. Hearing about this, Bayan herself hurried to the herd and began to reproach the herdsman. Finally, Kozy Korpesh could not stand it, grabbed the beauty in his arms and began to kiss her.
Bayan got angry, broke away from the herdsman's hands and hit him on the head, from this blow the hat fell from Kozy Korpesh's head, and suddenly the girl saw how the golden braid on the back of his head flashed. She remembered the groom's sign and recognized him; Kozy Korpesh then confessed everything too.
They spent the whole day together, thinking and figuring out how best to arrange the matter and announce the wedding and decided to keep everything a secret for now, until they migrated to a new place; only Bayan Sulu did not agree to leave the groom as a herdsman and took him as her personal servant, ordered him to dress in good clothes and be with her constantly.
A few days later Kodar Kul returned from his trip. He was very unhappy that Bayan had chosen a new herdsman as her servant; he did not recognize the former Kotyr Taz in the handsome and stately Zhigit. From then on, Kodar, not daring to openly oppose the wishes of Bayan Sulu and to command against her will, began to look for a pretext to accuse Kozy Korpesh of something and drive him away as an unreliable person; however, Kozy Korpesh behaved so carefully that he did not give any reason for accusations.
Soon the aul of Bayan Sulu migrated to a new place. Upon arrival there, as usual, they set up yurts and began to fence off pens for small cattle in order to drive them in at night. When (it was necessary to drive in stakes for the pens), it turned out that Kodar kul had forgotten a new hammer in the same place, and this mallet was so heavy that ten people could not move it from its place.
Kodar decided to play a cruel joke on Kozy Korpesh, send him for this hammer, and when he, not being able to bring it, showed up empty-handed, accuse him of negligence, beat him up and drive him out of the aul. Having come to the old place on Kodar’s instructions, Kozy Korpesh found the hammer; he put the strap that was at the handle on his finger and went back, waving the hammer like a button...
Suddenly the strap broke, and the hammer flew off to the side, so far that it fell right in the middle of Lake Ala Kul. Kozy Korpesh had to return to the aul empty-handed. He got furious Kodar kul:
- "Oh, you lazy dog, unfortunate baigush, he shouted. You can't even be trusted to herd sheep, let alone be a servant, get out of here, go where you came from and don't let your foot set foot in the village!".
And Kodar kul rushed at Kozy Korpesh with his fists. Kozy Korpesh could not stand such an insult, his eyes lit up with anger.
- "How dare you call me a beggar, nameless Kalmyk offspring, adopted Kirghiz!" - he cried out in response.
- "I, Kozy Korpesh, am the son of the noble Karabai, and Bayan Sulu is my bride!"
And he grabbed Kodar by the belt, across the body, Kozy Korpesh lifted him up and threw him to the ground. Kodar kul almost hit the ground to death and lay unconscious for a long time, and when he came to, all the people had already gathered around Kozy Korpesh and Bayan Sulu; and they began to congratulate the groom and the bride.
Kodar understood that all his hopes had come to an end and that he had no choice but to pack up and leave the village of Bayan for good for the mountains to his Kalmyks.
- "Well, remember," - Kodar said to Bayan Sulu at parting.
"This is how you thanked me for all my care for you and your good. This is how you paid me for my labors and work, which you cunningly forced me to do in order to delay time. Now I will not come to you alone, but I will raise a whole volost of Kalmyks against your entire family, I will destroy your boy-groom, and I will take you by force as my wife."
Kodar Kul went to the mountains, stirred up the Kalmyks and went to war against Kozy Korpesh. And Kozy Korpesh found his horse and weapons, gathered the zhigits from all the villages, armed them and prepared for defense. It was not long before Kodar returned, with incalculable strength he appeared before the villages, riding ahead on his heroic horse Karabakh.
Kozy Korpesh rode out to meet him, two hundred select zhigits surrounded him, waiting for a sign to fight. Kozy Korpesh himself was on a red horse, which was priceless; all his weapons glittered with gold, in his hands was a golden spear with a yellow banner.
With a wild cry, the Kalmyks rushed at the Kirghiz, but the zhigits did not lose heart and at a sign from Kozy Korpesh, like falcons, they flew to meet the enemy. Ahead of everyone, Kozy Korpesh was rushing like a whirlwind, heading towards the enemy's midst, where he saw his enemy Kodar.
Kodar could not stand it and, fearing a one-on-one fight with Kozy Korpesh, got mixed up in the crowd of his Kalmyks. Like grass under a scythe, the Kalmyks began to fall, struck right and left by the well-aimed blows of Kozy Korpesh. The Kalmyks could not withstand the friendly onslaught and soon turned back, fleeing in all directions from the Zhigits who were already pursuing them, and Kozy Korpesh, long since outstripped everyone and was still flying forward, catching up with Kodar Kul, who was fleeing in the distance.
Now the enemy was close... Kodar Kul saw that he could not escape Kozy Korpesh, he looked around - there were no one of his own, so he could not avoid a one-on-one fight. He turned back his Karabakh, and both horses and riders clashed chest to chest.
Kozy Korpesh was exhausted by the previous battle with numerous enemies, and Kodar grabbed him with his huge hands and tried to knock him off his horse. The two heroes fought for a long time, sometimes Kodar Kul would defeat Kozy Korpesh, sometimes Kozy Korpesh would gain the upper hand.
Finally, Kozy Korpesh managed to free his right hand and hit the enemy in the throat with his fist with all his might. Kodar Kup's vision blurred from this blow and, as if mown down, he fell from his horse to the ground, and Kozy Korpesh had already dismounted and, pressing his knee on the enemy's chest, tied him with a lasso.
Kodar pleaded and began to ask for mercy, but Kozy Korpesh did not take pity, his heart was inflamed with anger. He tied the enemy by the legs to his stirrup and dragged him along the ground. He dragged Kodar until evening, and finally Kodar began to ask to let him go, promising to renounce all claims to Bayan Sulu and swearing to bear no malice against Kozy Korpesh and to do nothing against him.
Then Kozy Korpesh took pity, untied Kodar and let him go in all directions, promising, for his part, not only to forget all the evil, but to be a good friend from now on: to Kodar, if only he kept his word and renounced Bayan to court, Kozy Korpesh even returned Kodar's horse and weapons and allowed him to return to the aul of Bayan and, without fear of any hostility, to continue to live, as before, as a member of the family.
Kodar kul remained in the aul, and everything went on, apparently, as before. They began to prepare for the wedding of Kozy Korpesh and Bayan Sulu, but Kodar Kul did not sleep, he hid the anger in his heart for a long time, and as soon as he recovered, he began to think up how to destroy Kozy Korpesh and take possession of his bride.
First of all, he tried to win over Bayan Sulu's old aunt, the sister of the late Sarybai, and with her assistance he managed to enlist allies among Bayan's other relatives, some of whom he seduced with affection and promises, and others with gold and gifts.
Thus, more than half of the relatives entered into an agreement with Kodar Kul and promised him their help against Kozy Korpesh. Having enlisted allies, Kodar began to travel again in the villages of his Karabakh and shout loudly that he would not allow the wedding, that now he would not give in to Kozy Korpesh, and could even deliver his head to the village on a pike.
Bayan Sulu found out about this and soon became convinced that almost all of her relatives were ready to prevent her wedding with Kozy Korpesh. It was necessary to come up with something and not allow a fight between Kozy Korpesh and Kodar, since this fight could end in a general quarrel and drama between all the relatives...
Most of the relatives were on Kodar's side, and therefore victory could easily be on his side. Meanwhile, Kozy Korpesh, having learned of Kodar's plans, began to prepare to measure his strength with him once again and swore an oath not to spare him this time.
Having gathered a handful of loyal zhigits around him, Kozy Korpesh in anger threatened to kill all of Kodar Kuda's supporters, and only with caresses and kisses did Bayan Supu manage to tame his friend's anger and persuade him not to start an internecine slaughter.
Bayan persuaded Kozy Korpesh to retire for a short time to a secluded place called Shok Terek, near Lake Balkhash, and she herself decided to announce to her relatives that her fiancé had gone home, and then immediately give orders to move to a new place, in the direction where Kozy Korpesh's relatives were.
Bayan hoped that those of her relatives who had become hostile to her would not go with her, and she would leave in this way only with friends, and then Kozy Korpesh could boldly come to her, without fear of Kodar Kuda, who, left without allies, would humble himself and submit to his fate.
After much hesitation, Kozy Korpesh finally agreed to Bayan Sudu's proposal and left for Shok Terek, and Bayan, having announced the departure of her fiancé, gave orders to move and ordered to collect and bundle their property. Her assumption was apparently justified, the discord ceased, Kodar Kul's supporters, having quarreled with Bayan, refused to follow her and decided to remain in the same place; Kodar Kul himself declared that he would go to his Kalmyks and remain there forever.
Only Bayan Sudu's old aunt did not believe her niece and suspected that Kozy Korpesh was hiding somewhere nearby. Day and night she guarded Bayan, went to bed in the same yurt with her and kept watching to see if Bayan Sudu would receive any news from her fiancé.
And the aunt noticed that every day, at dawn, Bayan quietly got out of bed, parted the felts of the yurt, and a starling flew into the hole, sat on the girl's shoulder and seemed to whisper something in her ear.
- "This is the messenger of Kozy Korpesh," thought the old woman and decided to catch the starling and find out the truth from it.
And so, the day before the supposed departure on a journey to a new place, the old woman got up in the morning earlier than Bayan, went to the spot she had noticed, parted the felts and put her sleeve to the hole. Not expecting a trap, the starling flew into the sleeve, and the old woman grabbed it, immediately retreated to her room.
There she began to inquire of the bird where Kozy Korpesh was hiding, but the starling stubbornly remained silent; then the evil old woman began to torture him, tearing out feathers from the living one, and pulled him until she had exposed his back and wings, trying to grab the skin as well; but the starling, despite the torment, was still silent and did not want to answer her questions.
Finally, the starling could not stand it, said only:
 "Shok Terek", - and with these words he died.
In order to hide the traces of the crime, old Aunt Bayan roasted the starling and ate it, and then, calling Kodar Kul, told him everything. After some reflection, both allies decided that Kozy Korpesh must, apparently, be hiding in the Shok Terek valley, and therefore Kodar had to immediately go to this place and try to capture Kozy Korpesh by surprise.
That same morning, Kodar Kul, having invited Bayan's relatives who were in alliance with him, went to Shok Terek. The day was hot and Kozy Korpesh, waiting for a messenger from his bride, fell asleep carefree in the shade of a poplar. Hearing the approaching tramp, Kozy Korpesh woke up and, in bewilderment, saw a crowd of horsemen riding towards him, among whom he recognized Kodar Kul.
Jumping to his feet, Kozy Korpesh grabbed his bow and arrows and prepared to defend himself, but one of his relatives shouted to him that Kodar Kul had come to make peace and say goodbye, as he intended to migrate to his lands beyond the Alatau ridge.
- "If Kudar is leaving, then there can be no talk of any enmity between us," said Kozy Korpesh.
- "I do not remember evil and am ready to consider Kodar my friend."
With these words, Kozy Korpesh put his bow and arrows on the ground and went to meet the arrivals. But at that moment Kodar Kul, hiding behind the horsemen, quietly drew his bow and shot a poison-filled arrow, which sank halfway into Kozy Korpesh's chest. He fell, bleeding.
That same day, Bayan Sudu, having waited in vain for the starling and tormented by an unaccountable melancholy, gathered her friends and, under the pretext of inspecting a place for a new camp, went with them to Shok Terek to visit her fiancé.
Not reaching halfway to Shok Terek, the girl met a group of horsemen, in front of whom rode Kodar Kul on a black horse, holding something high on his peak. Having reached Bayan Sulu, Kodar quickly shook and lowered his peak, and Koza Korpesh's head fell onto the dusty road at the feet of the horse on which Bayan was riding.
Without saying a word, Kodar Kul rode on. Bayan Supu fell to the ground with a scream and lay there for a long time above the head of her beloved; then she got up and, ordering her friends to return home, went alone to Shok Terek to find the body of Koza Korpesh, in order to die in the same place where her dear fiancé had ended his life.
Having found his body, she took the arrow out of his chest, put the severed head to his shoulders and, bending over the corpse, began to sob, pray and ask God to revive her fiancé, even if only for a short time, to say goodbye to him. She prayed for a long time, without raising her face from the dear corpse, and suddenly it seemed to her that someone was standing in front of her.
Raising her eyes, she saw some old man who asked her affectionately:
- "Why are you crying so bitterly, beauty?"
- "Oh, how can I not cry, bogeyman: I have lost my beloved fiancé, killed by a treacherous hand, and so, in despair that I did not even have time to say goodbye to him, I ask God for mercy to grant me his life again, even for three days."
- "You ask little, beauty, ask for three years."
- "I do not need three years, I want to die with him."
- "Well, ask for at least three months!" - "I don't need three months, three days are enough for me."
- "Well, let it be your way," said the old man and disappeared at that very moment.
And Bayan, joyful and touched, suddenly saw how Kozy Korpesh's head grew to his shoulders, his eyes opened... He sighed, raised himself up and sat up. The groom and bride lived inseparably for three days and three nights. Kozy Korpesh told her about Kodar's treachery and made Bayan Sulu promise to avenge his death, and Bayan swore to fulfill his wish and, having accomplished her revenge, die and lie in the same grave with her groom.
At the end of the third day, Kozy Korpesh, sensing the proximity of death, tightly embraced his girlfriend and died in her arms. After Kozy Korpesh's death, Bayan Sulu returned home and, having gathered all her relatives and all the people, announced that her fiancé had died, that there was no room for any quarrels or discord now, and that she was ready to marry Kodar Kul immediately, only asking to give her time to bury Kozy Korpesh and hold a funeral feast for him.
The delighted Kodar Kul was now again ready for everything that Bayan would demand of him. Therefore, he agreed not only to once again take over the management of her household, but also to organize the funeral and funeral feast. Bayan Sulu ordered him to prepare for the funeral dinner (as) "forty she-camels without calves, forty mares without foals, forty cows without calves, and forty sheep without lambs" and to drive this cattle to the place designated for the funeral, near the Ayagoz River, and to invite all the people there for the funeral feast.
On the way to Ayagoz, Kodar had to stop and wait there for Bayan to arrive with the body of Koza Korpesh. Meanwhile, Bayan Sulu herself, accompanied by women, girls and a huge crowd of people, went to Shok Terek, where the body of the deceased Kozy Korpesh was dressed for burial, wrapped in thin felt and expensive carpets so that the corpse could lie in the open air for several days while the grave was being prepared.
Then, having loaded the body onto a camel, the entire funeral train moved to the burial site. Upon arrival at the well where Kodar Kul was waiting, Bayan Sulu pretended to be ill and announced that she could not go further until she recovered, and she would recover only when one of the young zhigits decided to go down into the deep well and get water for her with his hat.
And since the well was very deep, instead of a rope, the one descending had to use Bayan sulu's braid, which was so long that it reached to the very bottom of the well.
- "Whoever goes down, I am destined to marry him," Bayan added in conclusion, obviously wanting to entrust this matter to Kodar kul.
Without a moment's hesitation, Kodar kul volunteered to fulfill the beauty's wish and, grabbing her braid, began to descend into the well. But as soon as he reached the bottom, Bayan cut her braid with a knife blow, and Kodar kul fell to the bottom.
Taking all this as a joke, Kodar, having collected some water, began to shout to be lifted up and, turning to Bayan, who was bending over and looking at him, said with a smile:
- "I would like your joke very much, but not in such a cramped place, it is so dark and cold here!"
- "This joke," Bayan answered, "is similar to the one you played on my fiancé. Now sit here and pray to God that death will come for you soon."
With these words, Bayan Sulu walked away from the well and ordered the hole to be covered with forest, and from above pile up stones and fill up a burial mound. Having thus finished with Kodar Kul, Bayan Sulu now had to make a grave for Kozy Korpesh and die in this grave next to his body.
Having gone to Ayagoz, Bayan chose a high place and ordered that a grave be dug and material for a monument be prepared. At this time, not far from their camp, a huge merchant caravan, heading to the Turkmen, settled down for the night.
The owner of the caravan, who was also its leader (caravan bash), noticed a gathering of people nearby, went to see what it was, and then saw Bayan supu. Her beauty struck the caravan bash so much that he could not sleep the whole night after that, and in the morning he sent an embassy to Bayan with an offer to marry him.
The caravan bash offered all the wealth that was in the caravan as a bride price, but if the beauty did not agree to this, the caravan leader ordered that she be told that he would not leave the place without her and was ready to take her by force in an emergency.
Bayan Sulu was deeply saddened when she received this offer. Once again she had to get rid of an annoying offer, and precisely at the time when she had already mentally said goodbye to life and was preparing to die. In order not to provoke any violent actions on the part of the powerful caravan bash by her refusal, Bayan decided to invite him to her place and personally talk to him.
When the merchant arrived, Bayan Sulu received him with honor, treated him from her own hands and, in response to the offer, announced that she would agree to marry him, but not now, but when she finished building the monument. This construction would take a long time, and so Bayan asked the caravan bash to go on his way without delay and postpone the wedding until his return.
Charmed by her beauty and kindness, the caravan bash, in order to speed up the time of the marriage, offered to take on the construction of the monument.
- "I have several thousand people," he said, and I will do everything in a short time, just tell me where and how big to put the monument."
Bayan took him to the place where a hole had already been dug, outlined the base of the monument with a stick, and to indicate its height, she took off and threw up her expensive maiden hat. That same day, the caravan bash, having gathered all his people, began work.
From the Arganaktinsky Mountains to Ayagoz (about 150 miles) he placed a chain of people at such a distance from each other that the stone for laying the monument, mined from the mountains and processed by craftsmen, could be passed from hand to hand to the very grave, where other craftsmen laid it into the walls.
Very soon the monument was ready. Bayan examined it and was pleased. The body of Kozy Korpesh was brought in through the open door of the monument and lowered into the pit; all the cattle brought were slaughtered, and the funeral dinner (as) began.
Bayan herself dressed herself in expensive clothes and personally treated the guests. All the young people, enchanted by the beauty of the hostess, lost their heads, and everyone was ready to go and do whatever the beauty wanted at her request.
When the usual games and competitions for prizes began, the capricious beauty suddenly announced that she would immediately marry the one who, having climbed to the very top of the monument, would jump down from there. There turned out to be a great many hunters, and the caravan bash himself, having finally lost power over his subordinates, was one of the first to die, trying to fulfill the proposed competition.
When all the contenders for Bayan supu's hand perished, she gathered her relatives, divided all her incalculable wealth among them and bequeathed to be buried in the same grave with Kozy Korpesh. After this, she entered the door of the grave, went down into the pit where the body lay, and with the dagger that she wore at her belt; struck herself in the chest with such force that she died immediately.

The End.

Authority:
Works of Orenburg Scientific Archival Commission. "Antiquities of Kirghiz and Orenburg Steppe." Compiled by I.A. Castagne. Kazakh folklore and literature in collections of Russian orientalists-Turkologists before beginning of XXth century. Almaty, 2022.