On the steppes of Kazakhstan and in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan, among Turkic-speaking peoples who have identified with Islam for centuries, a figure has survived that scholars compare to the Siberian shamans: the baksy (in Kyrgyz also bakshy). Unlike the Siberian shaman, the baksy did not as a rule use the drum, but a deep-toned bowed instrument, the kobyz, linked to one of the most beautiful legends of Central Asia.
Who the baksy was
The baksy was a specialist consulted in cases of illness, misfortune, childlessness or loss, according to the traditional ideas of the community. Ethnographic sources of the 19th and early 20th centuries describe him playing and singing invocations, entering a state of intense excitement, calling his helper spirits and trying to drive out those held responsible for the harm.
Some characteristic features of the sessions described by observers:
- singing accompanied by the kobyz, sometimes for many hours;
- intense movements, leaps, sometimes spectacular feats such as contact with red-hot iron;
- the invocation of a host of spirits, called by various names;
- the active presence of the family and neighbours.
As in Siberia, the baksy's vocation was often described as a call from the spirits, accompanied by a crisis.
The kobyz
The kobyz, or qyl-qobyz, is an instrument with two strings of horsehair, played with a bow also strung with horsehair. Its body, carved from a single piece of wood, is open at the top and covered at the bottom with a skin. Its sound is low, vibrant and rich in overtones, and it is often compared to a human voice or the lament of an animal.
In the Kazakh world the kobyz was regarded as a sacred instrument. On traditional examples small mirrors, metal pendants, owl feathers and other protective objects were hung, recalling the decorations of the Siberian shamanic costume.
The legend of Korkyt Ata
The kobyz is bound to the figure of Korkyt Ata, «Father Korkyt», revered by the Turkic peoples as sage, bard and first baksy. His name also appears in the Book of Dede Korkut, the epic collection of the Oghuz Turks, where he is the sage who names the heroes and sings their deeds.
In the Kazakh version of the legend, Korkyt dreams that he is destined to die young. To escape death he travels to the four corners of the world, but wherever he goes he meets people digging a grave: it is his own. He then returns to the banks of the Syr Darya, his homeland, and builds the first kobyz. As long as he plays, death cannot approach. He plays day and night until, overcome by weariness, he falls asleep: death then comes in the form of a snake.
The legend powerfully unites music, death and transcendence. The sound of the kobyz is what holds the end at bay, and so the instrument becomes the baksy's vehicle to the world of spirits.
Shamanism and Islam
One of the most interesting aspects of the baksy is his relationship with Islam. The Kazakhs and Kyrgyz converted to Islam gradually, and in many communities Islamic religion merged with older beliefs without erasing them.
| Element | Traditional origin |
|---|---|
| Helper spirits, ancestors | pre-Islamic Turkic religion |
| Muslim saints, angels, jinn | Islam |
| Qur'anic formulas in invocations | popular Islam |
| Kobyz and ritual song | baksy tradition |
In the baksy invocations recorded by ethnographers the names of traditional spirits and Muslim saints appear side by side. This synthesis is typical of the popular religiosity of Central Asia.
From repression to the stage
In the Soviet period the baksy were persecuted like other religious figures, and many lines of transmission were broken. The kobyz, however, survived as a musical instrument, adapted even to orchestral music. The memorial complex dedicated to Korkyt Ata, in the Kyzylorda region of Kazakhstan, is today a visited site and a symbol of cultural identity. Studio Esoterico Cornelio sees in the kobyz a rare example of a ritual instrument that has crossed the centuries, transforming itself without losing its memory.
In short
- The baksy is the ritual specialist of the Kazakhs and Kyrgyz, compared to the Siberian shamans.
- Instead of the drum he played the kobyz, a bowed instrument with horsehair strings.
- The legend of Korkyt Ata tells of the invention of the kobyz to keep death away.
- Baksy invocations combine ancient spirits and Muslim saints.
- The kobyz survived repression as a musical instrument and cultural symbol.
