The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has declared the first manuscript of the Kyrgyz epic Manas as a shared heritage of humanity.

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov hosted UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay during her official visit to the country.

Azoulay presented Zhaparov with a certificate regarding the inclusion of the manuscript recited by the Manas poet Sagynbay Orozbakov into the intangible cultural heritage list.

The Manas Epic, which has been passed down orally for 1,000 years, is considered the ideology and encyclopedia of the Kyrgyz people. It was first in 1867 from the recitation by Sagynbay Orozbakov, who was born in the Issyk-Kul region of Kyrgyzstan, with a compilation of 180,378 verses.

Sagynbay Orozbakov became the first poet to get Manas epic transcribed in the country's history. Then the text was recorded in the oral composition in 1922, completing it in 1926.

The Manas Epic narrates the traditions, customs, beliefs, perspectives, power struggles, relationships with clans and other nations, fairy tales and moral values of the Kyrgyz people.

Dec. 4, the date on which the epic was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, is celebrated annually as Manas Epic Day.