A zhyrau (also, jïraw) is a singer of epic poetry in the

Kipchak language Cuman or Kuman (also called Kipchak, Qypchaq or Polovtsian, self referred to as Tatar () in Codex Cumanicus) was a West Kipchak Turkic language spoken by the Cumans (Polovtsy, Folban, Vallany, Kun) and Kipchaks; the language was similar to tod ...

s and cultures of Central Asia, in such countries as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Karakalpakstan. In the latter culture two such kinds of singers of ''

dastan Dastan () is an ornate form of oral history, an epic, from Central Asia, Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan. A dastan is generally centered on one individual who protects his tribe or his people from an outside invader or enemy, although only occasion ...

'' ("tale, narrative") are distinguished: the '' baqsï'' sings lyrical epics containing stories about love and adventure (which Karl Reichl compares to medieval Western romance), accompanied by the

dutar The ''dutar'' (also ''Dotara, dotar''; ; ; ; ; ; ; ) is a traditional Iranian long-necked two-stringed lute found in Iran and Central Asia. Its name comes from the Persian language, Persian word for "two strings", دوتار ''do tār'' (< � ...

; ''zhyrau'' sing heroic epics, accompanied by the

kobyz The kobyz or qobyz, also known as the kylkobyz, is an ancient Turkic bowed string instrument, spread among Kazakhs, Karakalpaks, Bashkirs, and Tatars. The Kyrgyz variant is called the ). The kobyz has two strings made of horsehair. The resonat ...

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{{reflist Culture of Central Asia Oral history