Kobyz
The kobyz is an ancient string instrument played with a bow with two strings made with hourse's hair.
Kobyzes traditionally were sacred instruments, owned by shamans and bakses (traditional spiritual medics). According to legends, the kobyz and its music could banish evil spirits, sicknesses and death.
In the 1930s, when the first folk instrument orchestras were established, a new kind of kobyz came into existence. It now had four metallic strings and is became closer to a violin. A modernized kobyz can be used to play both Kazakh music and the most complicated works of violin literature.
Until today, the tradition of playing the ancient kyl-kobyz is preserved. Its sound projects a unique almost magical force.