Kobyz

Kobyz might be considered one of the widely-spread musical instruments of the Kazakh people. Kobyz is the bow instrument. Kobyz is made of the whole wooden piece. It is one of the ancient way of producing the musical instruments in the human history. And it is explained not by the technical undevelopment or absence of metal devices. Kobyz has no upper board and consists of a hollowed, covered with bubble hemisphere with the attached handle on the top and the bottom that stands for fixation. Two strings that are tied on kobyz are waved from the horsehair.

There are lots of myths and legends about this instrument. According to Kazakh traditions, kobyz was created in the valley of the Syr Darya river. The nomads associate the appearance of kobyz with the name of Korkyt, a semi-mythical character who is considered the creator of the instrument, the first musician and composer. More reliable references to Korkyt are found among the ancient manuscripts of Turkic tribes. Researchers believe that the prototype of the legendary old man was the hero of the Oghuz epic, which is called Kitabi dede Korkud, that is, the book of Grandfather Korkyt. More details are in this release!