Saturday, November 14, 2015

the music of the steppes


Dear friends and followers,

It has been a while that I published here at my personal weblog. As you all (maybe) know I am Always busy with my daily haiku meme Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. This weekend however I have a guest host Hamish Managua Gunn (a.k.a. Pirate), because I needed a weekend off. Hamish published his first post yesterday (November 13th) and told us more about a wonderful musical instrument, the Kobyz, a violin-like instrument with two strings and played with a 'fiddlestick'. It's a wonderful instrument, but maybe you ask your self ... what is a kobyz and where those it come from?

It's a musical instrument from Central Asia especially the region of the Altai Mountains. This month at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai we are on a journey through this beautiful region following the path of the shamans. For the shaman the kobyz was a sacred musical instrument and according to legends it had the power to banish evil spirits. Listen to the following piece of music, this is how the kobyz sounds:




As I read the post by Hamish I really was in awe ... I had never heard from the kobyz, but as I listened to several videos in which the kobyz is been played I was "sold" to this wonderful musical instrument. I used it to meditate and contemplate about "how to write a haiku inspired on the kobyz, as I listened to the music I felt wonderful and relaxed and inspired I wrote the following haiku:

sound of the earth
an eagle points the path of the shaman
finally free


© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... I hope you did like this post. By the way if you have time you have to tune in on You Tube and listen to the music of Kazachstan .... really awesome.

2018 July: Re-published on Carpe Diem's Summer Retreat 2018

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I think irs great how you took the theme and opened it up. Yes, I should look at more videos and het the feel of this instrument of the steppes and mountains,
What a great shaman haiku Chèvrefeuille! - Quite something, to be honest, really always amazed how you 'pull them out of the hat.' Thanks very much for the positive words!

Chèvrefeuille said...

You are so welcome Hamish, my friend ... it has been a wonderful weekend thanks to you ...

Adas Alcove said...

Beautifully penned. I had not heard a Kobyz before but love the sound. I was trying think of how to describe it and read your poem. "the sound of the earth" Yes, that's what the sound reminds me of. It is an earthy sound and it makes me think of the smell of freshly dug earth.