The first written reference to the eponymous hero of Manas and his Oirat enemy Joloy is to be found in a Persian manuscript dated to 1792–93.

[5] Use of the Manas for nation-building purposes, and the availability of printed historical variants, has similarly had an impact on the performance, content, and appreciation on the epic.

Kazakh ethnographer and historian Shokan Shinghisuly Walikhanuli was unable to find evidence of folk-memory during his extended research in 19th-century Kyrgyzstan (then part of the expanding Russian empire) nor has any been found since.

Narrators who know all three episodes of the epic (the tales of Manas, of his son Semetey and of his grandson Seytek) can acquire the status of Great Manasçı.

Great Manasçıs of the 20th century are Sagımbay Orozbakov, Sayakbay Karalaev, Şaabay Azizov (pictured), Kaba Atabekov, Seydene Moldokova and Yusup Mamay.

Contemporary Manasçıs include Rysbek Jumabayev, who has performed at the British Library,[10] Urkaş Mambetaliev, the Manasçı of the Bishkek Philharmonic (also travels through Europe), Talantaaly Bakchiev, who combines recitation with critical study,[11] and Doolot Sydykov, noted for lengthy performances (including a 111 hour recitation over five days).

Arthur Thomas Hatto made scholarly editions with facing English translations of the Manas tales recorded in the 19th century by Shokan Valikhanov[14] and Vasily Radlov.

A mausoleum some 40 km east of the town of Talas is believed to house his remains and is a popular destination for Kyrgyz travellers.

Legend has it that Kanikey, Manas' widow, ordered this inscription in an effort to confuse her husband's enemies and prevent a defiling of his grave.

Politician and government official Kasym Tynystanov tried to get the poem published in 1925, but this was prevented by the growing influence of Stalinism.

Ideologist Andrei Zhdanov, Stalin's "propagandist in chief", prevented this, calling the poem an example of "bourgeois cosmopolitanism".

The struggle continued inside Kyrgyzstan, with different newspapers and authors taking different sides; one of its supporters was Tugolbay Sydykbekov.

[17] In 2023, the manuscript version of the epic was included by international organization UNESCO in the Memory of the World Programme.