The Legend of the Treasure of a Thousand Mares

(Source: Sagatbekov Kanat, resident of Manyrak village)

Long ago, at the foot of Mount Manyrak, not far from the Tasten wintering site, the Red Rock towered. From time immemorial, a legend about the untold riches hidden in its depths was passed down from mouth to mouth in these parts. They said that a whole herd was hidden inside – a thousand mares that could make any owner the richest man in the steppe.

According to legend, the entrance to the treasure was in a deep cave in the Tekezhegen rock, on the other side of the Qyzyl River. In its dark womb was a hole, and in it was a peg made of hawthorn. The legend said: whoever manages to pull out this peg will open the way to untold riches.

My maternal grandfather, Suleimenov Iisbek, herded cattle in these places for many years. He knew about the legend from childhood – it was told to him by his grandfather, Esengeldy. These lands belonged to the Bogish clan, and the story of the hidden treasure lived in our family for many generations.

But in 1933, rumors of treasure reached the Reds. Soldiers came to the village with orders to find the treasure – and take it. They tortured the inhabitants, demanding that they reveal the secret place, and spared no one. From my grandfather’s mother, Kamila apa(grandmother), I heard that in that terrible year they cruelly dealt with one of the shepherds, trying to find out the truth from him. My grandfather’s father, Suleimen, was far away that day – and perhaps this saved him from certain death.

But no matter how much the soldiers searched, no matter how much they broke apart the rock and combed the banks of the Qyzyl, the treasure remained unfound.

Years later, the elder Qydyrmolla led Sultan Aymukhambetov to that very cave. At the entrance, they found a rusty iron crowbar – a clear trace of someone’s desperate attempts to penetrate the secret storage.

What happened to the thousand mares? No one knows. Perhaps they are still hidden in the depths of Red Rock, awaiting their true heir – the one who will one day find the hawthorn stake and solve the ancient mystery that is the stuff of legend.