Formation of storytelling skill of Manaschi

The formation of storytelling skill of a performer of oral folk art, and the process of comprehending the storytelling art are important and urgent problems in folklore. The author reviews these problems on the example of the formation of storytelling skills of one of the talented storytellers of the epic "Manas", the Chinese Kyrgyz storyteller Zhusup Mamai. English folklorist A. B. Lord identifies three stages of the storyteller's development: 1. the beginner manaschi, when listening to his teaser, learns the plots, gets to know the heroes and their names, 2. the study is a process of imitating his teaser, 3. the repertoire expands and the storyteller's skill grows, the singer masters the storytelling art perfectly, learns new songs. The same stages of formation of storytelling skills are observed among Kyrgyz storytellers. This is confirmed by the facts of the biography of the famous manaschi from China Zhusup Mamai, which are given in the article.