State Secretary Arslan Koichiev announced the publication. The book is part of a multi-volume series on Manas studies, organized, compiled and sponsored by public and political figure Karganbek Samakov.

The book’s editor-in-chief is Doctor of Historical Sciences and Candidate of Philological Sciences, Professor Sulaiman Kaiypov.

The publication is based on research by British epic scholar, folklorist and Manas scholar Arthur Thomas Hatto (1910–2010). In 1856, Kazakh scholar Chokan Valikhanov (1835–1865) recorded the episode Kokottoidun Ashy (Memorial Feast of Kokotoi) from a Kyrgyz manaschi from Issyk-Kul region with the assistance of his secretary.

The manuscript was written in Arabic script. In 1964, Kazakh academician Alykey Margulan discovered it in a Russian archive and introduced it into academic circulation.

In 1977, based on a photocopy of the manuscript, Arthur Hatto transcribed the Kyrgyz text into Latin script, translated it into English, and published his scholarly commentaries.

In the new edition, Hatto’s translation of Kokotoidun Ashy and his commentaries are presented in Kyrgyz for the first time. The translation and scholarly analysis were prepared by Tynchtykbek Chorotegin, professor at the Department of Regional Studies and Kyrgyz Studies at Jusup Balasagyn Kyrgyz National University.

The publication is intended for specialists in Manas studies, folklore and Kyrgyz studies, as well as readers interested in the history of research into the Manas epic.