Kazakh myths and legends, reflecting the life and history of Kazakhs, form an important part of the cultural heritage of the people. They tell about significant events from the past, about the origin of geographic and architectural objects on the territory of the country, and about outstanding legendary and historical figures.
A special place is occupied by legends about Kazakh heroes – batyrs. They praise their heroism and courage, loyalty, and patriotism. Such legends include the story of Queen Tomiris, epic legends about Koblandy and Bogenbai batyrs, and many others.
The theme of many Kazakh legends is love, especially tragic stories of lovers. They are the story of the beautiful Aisha-bibi, Bayan Sulu, the girls Balkhash, and Kozy Korpesh.
The Legend of Aisha-Bibi
The famous mausoleum of Aisha-bibi was erected near the city of Taraz. The legend about Aisha-Bibi’s love for Karakhan is associated with its origin.
Aisha was the daughter of an important person Hakim-Ata, a disciple of the great religious leader Ahmed Yassaui. At the age of 16, she fell in love with Karakhan, but Aisha’s father was against this marriage. He believed that Karakhan was not worthy of his daughter. Not receiving the consent, the young man returned to his native lands, located on the site of modern Taraz. In desperation, Aisha decided to leave home and went to Karakhan’s house.
“You will pass six rivers, but you will not be able to pass the seventh,” the father cried out, seeing his daughter running away. These prophetic words came true. On the way, crossing the seventh river, she was mortally bitten by a snake hiding under the stone. Aisha-Bibi was buried in this very place.
Learning about this tragedy, Karakhan rushed to the burial place. Heartbroken, he gave the order to build a mausoleum on the grave of his beloved. Even today it stands on a hill like a monument to great love. Today women come to the mausoleum and ask for happiness in marriage and motherhood.
The legend of the dombra
Many centuries ago, two giant brothers lived in the Altai mountains. The younger liked to play his dombra for hours. So, he forgot about everything in the world, fascinated by the sound of the instrument. In turn, his older brother was narcissistic. He dreamed of fame and honor, and therefore he decided to build a bridge over the stormy river. So he began to collect stones for the bridge, while the younger brother was playing.
Several days passed. The younger brother was in no hurry to help in the construction of the bridge, continuing to play his favorite instrument. In the end, angry, the older brother grabbed the dombra and hit it on the rock. The musical instrument was smashed leaving a clear imprint on the stone. Many years passed and people found this stone, and they began to make new dombras from this imprint. Thus, the amazing melody of dombra, which had been silent for many centuries, sounded again.
