Jakkai Siributr: (Im)material Culture and The Antinomy of Ornamentation
Publication information:
Abstract
This paper examines a contemporary performance of the Kyrgyz epic Manas as a living site of identity formation and affective transformation. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in 2024 at Tulpar-Tash, a sacred site in northeastern Kyrgyzstan, it focuses on an encounter with the epic storyteller (manaschi) Kulmat Sydykov and his audience. Drawing on Mikhail Bakhtin’s concept of the chronotope, I analyze how live epic performance brings together mythic time, the embodied time of performance, and the personal temporalities of listeners. I introduce two concepts: the story-event, when a listener’s personal narrative is transformed through engagement with the epic, and the meta-event, the temporary fusion of epic, performative, and biographical chronotopes into a shared field of meaning. Through an ethnographic case of emotional transformation beyond linguistic understanding, I argue that epic performance remains a powerful medium for negotiating memory, identity, and ethical reorientation in the present.
Presenter Biography
Veronica Caciolli is an art historian, curator, and lecturer. Museum curator for 11 years, she still collaborates with public institutions on the overlaps between art and anthropology. She published with Silvana Editoriale, Electa Mondadori, Gli Ori, Altralinea, Wip, Postmedia Books, and Mousse Publishing. Her book on the relationships between esotericism and contemporary art will be released in 2026 with Mimesis International. She teaches in different Academies and Universities in Italy.