List of world folk-epics

World folk-epics are those epics which are not just literary masterpieces but also an integral part of the worldview of a people. They were originally oral literatures, which were later written down by either single author or several writers.

African languages

 * T'heydinn, a Mauritanian epic ensemble
 * Gassire's Lute, a West African epic about the fall of the Ghana Empire
 * Bayajidda, a West African epic
 * Eri, a West African epic
 * Oduduwa, a West African epic
 * Silamaka, a West African epic
 * Epic of Sundiata, a West African epic about the rise of the Mali Empire
 * Lianja, a Central African epic
 * Mwindo epic, a Central African epic
 * Kebra Nagast, an Ethiopian epic

American languages

 * Popol Vuh, a K'iche' epic
 * Diné Bahaneʼ, a Navajo epic

Southwest Asian languages

 * Bahman-nameh, a Persian epic about the story of Bahman, son of Isfandyar
 * Banu Goshasp-nama, a Persian epic about the daughter of Rustam
 * Kush Nama, a Persian epic recounting the story of Kush the Tusked and Abtin.
 * Faramarz-nama, a story about the Persian hero Faramarz
 * The Garshasp-nama of Asadi Tusi, a Persian epic about the hero Garshasp
 * Shahnameh, the national epic of Greater Iran and world's longest epic poetry written by one poet
 * Mem and Zin, a Kurdish folk and love epic
 * Sirat Bani Hilal, an Arabic epic recounting the journeys and conquests of the Bani Hilal tribe
 * One Thousand and One Nights, also known as "the Arabian Nights", is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales
 * The Daredevils of Sassoun, an Armenian folk epic
 * The Knight in the Panther's Skin, a Georgian epic poem
 * Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest epic of the world from Mesopotamia
 * The Hebrew Bible

East and Central Asian Languages

 * Epic of King Gesar, a Tibetan epic
 * Secret History of the Mongols
 * The Tale of the Heike, a Japanese epic
 * Jewang ungi, a Korean epic
 * Irk Bitig, a book about Turkic legends from Dunhuang, China
 * Alpamysh, a Turkic epic
 * Alp Er Tunga, a Turkic epic
 * Epic of Manas, a Kyrgyz epic
 * Book of Dede Korkut (Korkut Ata), an Oghuz epic
 * Oğuzname, an Oghuz epic
 * Kutadgu Bilig, a Karakhanid epic
 * Mupamipa, a Lahu epic
 * Olonkho, a Yakut

South Asian languages

 * Khamba Thoibi Sheireng, a Meitei language epic poem, consisting of 39,000 lines, based on the story of Khamba and Thoibi, from India.
 * Numit Kappa, a 1st-century Meitei language epic poetry from India.
 * Meghnad Badh Kavya, a Bengali language epic from India by Michael Madhusudan Dutt.
 * Mahabharata, a Sanskrit epic from India; known as Bharatayuddha in Indonesia and the second longest epic in the world ( the longest epic is Epic of Manas)
 * Ramayana, a Sanskrit epic from India.
 * Panchatantra, a Sanskrit epic of animal folktales from India.
 * Sarala Mahabharata, an Odia language epic, India
 * Jagamohana Ramayana, an Odia language epic poem, India
 * Five Great Epics of Tamil literature, India:
 * Cilappatikaram
 * Manimekalai
 * Cīvaka Cintāmaṇi
 * Valayapathi
 * Kundalakesi
 * Mailaralingana in Kannada, India
 * Manteswami Kavya, in Kannada, India
 * Male Madeshvara, in Kannada, India
 * Epic of Siri, in Tulu language from Karnataka, India
 * Koti and Chennayya, in Tulu language, Karnataka, India

Southeast Asian languages

 * Sepha Khun Chang Khun Phaen, a Thai epic about the adventures of Khun Phaen, a Siamese folk hero.
 * The Tale of Kiều, a Vietnamese epic poem in lục bát.
 * Lục Vân Tiên, a Vietnamese epic poem in lục bát.
 * Klei khan Y Dam San, an epic of Rade people in Central Highland (Tây Nguyên), Vietnam.
 * Hikayat Hang Tuah, a Malaccan, and Malay epic
 * Bidasari, a Malay epic
 * La Galigo, also known as Sureq Galigo or La Galigo, is an epic creation myth of the Buginese people from South Sulawesi, Indonesia Written in an Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian) language, it is the longest epic in the world.
 * Nagarakertagama, an Indonesian epic
 * Ibong Adarna, a Spanish-era Tagalog epic
 * Biag ni Lam-Ang (Life of Lam-Ang), an epic of the Ilocano of northern Luzon, the Philippines
 * Ibalong Epic, a 60-stanza fragment of a Bicolano full-length folk epic of Bicol Region of the Philippines.
 * Hinilawod, an epic of the Panay-Bukidnons of Panay, the Visayas, central Philippines.
 * Darangen, an epic of the Maranao of Mindanao, the Philippines. Derived from the Ramayana

European languages

 * Kalevala, a Finnish epic
 * Kalevipoeg, an Estonian epic
 * Lāčplēsis, a Latvian epic

Celtic languages

 * Mabinogion, a compilation of Welsh myths and legends
 * Matter of Britain, a compilation of Welsh myths and legends
 * Mythological Cycle, a compilation of Irish myths and legends
 * Ulster Cycle, a compilation of Irish myths and legends
 * Fenian Cycle, a compilation of Irish myths and legends
 * Cycles of the Kings, a compilation of Irish myths and legends
 * Táin Bó Cúailnge, an Irish epic
 * Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire, an Irish lament

Germanic Languages

 * Volsunga saga, a Scandinavian saga
 * Edda, a collection of Icelandic poems
 * Njál's saga, an Icelandic saga
 * Nibelungenlied, a German epic poem
 * The Lion of Flanders, a Flemish national epic
 * Van den vos Reynaerde, the Middle Dutch collection of the cycle of fables around Reynard the Fox.
 * Beowulf, an Anglo-Saxon epic written in Old English
 * Le Morte d'Arthur, a collection of Arthurian legends in Middle English (note that Malory's epic is based on the Celtic Matter of Britain listed above)

Italic and Romance Languages

 * Aeneid, a Roman epic
 * Os Lusíadas, a Portuguese literary epic
 * La Araucana, an American Spanish epic
 * The Lay of the Cid, a medieval Spanish epic
 * The Song of Roland, a medieval French epic

Slavic Languages

 * Pan Tadeusz, a Polish literary epic
 * The Tale of Igor's Campaign, an East Slavic epic
 * Epic of the Forgotten, a Bulgarian poetic saga
 * The Baptism on the Savica, a Slovene literary epic
 * Judita, a Croatian epic
 * On the Track of the Sun – The Red Warriors from Chorasmia, a Croatian epic
 * The Mountain Wreath, a Montenegrin epic poem

Albanian language

 * Cikli i Kreshnikëve, an Albanian epic

Greek language

 * Iliad, an Ancient Greek epic
 * Odyssey, an Ancient Greek epic
 * Theogony, an Ancient Greek epic

Northeast Caucasian languages

 * , a Lezgin folk epic