Spirit work
The Kazakh baksy and the kobyz
The baksy sings to a horsehair fiddle until trance, and speaks with ancestral spirits for a person in trouble.
Presented by ClearTrust Customs described as customs, free to read.
A baksy is a traditional healer and singer of the Kazakhs and neighbouring Turkic peoples, and the kobyz is the two-stringed horsehair fiddle linked with the baksy and the legendary Korkyt Ata. In the old rite the baksy plays and sings in a trance, calls aruaq, ancestral spirits and helpers, and is believed to lift a sickness or a bad spell from the person who has come. Islam arrived centuries ago, and the rite sits beside it, with verses and names of Muslim saints mixed with older images.
This is an outline of a custom, said as belief and practice. It is not instruction, it does not say that the rite works, and it is not medical advice.
What goes into it
- KobyzToolA horsehair fiddle of the shaman.
- Juniper or incensePlantBurned to cleanse the room.
- WhipToolHeld as a symbol in the rite.
- Prayers and Quranic versesWordRecited at the opening.
- Song to the aruaqWordCalls the ancestor spirits.
- Yurt or homeSpaceWhere the session takes place.
- Tool
- Plant
- Word
- Space
Each part has an equal wedge. The ring shows what goes into the rite, not how much. Colour is the part's role.
The steps, drawn
Each drawing shows the kind of act in that step. Details differ from place to place, family to family and practitioner to practitioner.
Step 1: Cleanse The room is smoked with juniper or incense. Step 2: Speak The baksy opens with prayers and calls the ancestor spirits. Step 3: Circle The kobyz is played to a rising rhythm until trance. Step 4: Read The baksy speaks the spirits' words to the person. Step 5: Offer A gift of food or a donation is made. Step 6: Close A blessing ends the session.
The session
The patient is seated in a yurt or a home, and the baksy opens with prayers, sets a fire or incense of juniper, and plays. Rhythm and cries rise, a whip may be held as a symbol, and the baksy then speaks with the voice of the spirits. The session ends with a blessing and sometimes with a sacrifice or a gift of food, according to local custom.
History and change
Under Soviet rule baksy were harassed, and Islamic reformers have also called the rite improper. Since independence in 1991, kobyz music has been revived as a national art, and some baksy work openly again. Scholars separate the baksy as healer from the baksy as epic singer, and note that the music has been given a stage form far from the rite.
What it is for
- Seek relief from a sickness or a spell
- Honour ancestral spirits
Who does it
Related entries
Also part of it, and being written: Baksy (The healer and singer.), Kobyz (The instrument.), Tengrism (The sky religion beneath it.).
Sources and further reading
Original text and drawings by the EveryJaadu desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Closed or sacred detail is left out. If we have something wrong, tell us.