Traditional / folk music of Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan is part of the countries in Central Asia and the folk music and the culture is very close to its neighborhood countries like Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. Historically the folk music of the region is under heavy influence of Iran and Turkey traditions. This can be seen in the similarity of folk music instruments and also style of of the music in these regions. After the region conquered by Arabs, Kyrgyzstan was mostly part of Iran territory and it was part of the rich cultural civilization of Islam and Iran. Later in 20th century, it was part of Soviet Union so the music also influenced by the ruling too.
Some type of folk music in Kyrgyzstan which can named here are:
Manaschi
Historically Manaschi was a travelling musician (something like shaman), who was singing the heroic poems from Kyrgyzstan literature. Sometimes they also played komuz (lute style instrument which is Kyrgyz national symbols) while they were singing. In Kyrgyz Culture, Manaschi has a special kind of respect. Sayakbay Karalaev and Rysbek Jumabaev were two famous manaschis in Kyrgyzstan.
Aitysh
This type of folk music is in fact is a duel or competition between two persons (akyns). They do improvisation on verses with having the idea of rhythmic singing, chanting and exclaiming in their performance. Aitysh is usually between two person but sometimes more people participate. Sometimes akyns play komuz during their singing.
Some of the important instrument in the folk music of Kyrgyzstan other than komuz are: kyl kiak ( string instrument made of horsehair), sybyzgy (flute style instrument) and temir komuz which is known as jaw harp in other countries.
If you have some interesting information about folk music of Kyrgyzstan or you know some folk songs from Kyrgyzstan please kindly let us know about them, you can contact us through contact us page or simply send a song for us by clicking on "Post a Song" on the top of the page.
Traditional / folk songs for Kyrgyzstan
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