Kobyz
The kobyz (Kazakh: қобыз) is an ancient string instrument played with a bow and have two strings made from hoursehair. The front-bottom part usually covered by from goat's leather.
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.