The Epic of Koroghlu (; ; ; ) is a heroic legend prominent in the oral traditions of the Turkic peoples, mainly the Oghuz Turks. The legend typically describes a hero who seeks to avenge a wrong. It was often put to music and played at sporting events as an inspiration to the competing athletes. Koroghlu is the main hero of epic with the same name in Azerbaijani, Turkmen and Turkish as well as some other Turkic languages. The epic tells about the life and heroic deeds of Koroghlu as a hero of the people who struggled against unjust rulers. The epic combines the occasional romance with Robin Hood-like chivalry.
Due to the migration in the Middle Ages of large groups of Oghuz Turks within Central Asia, South Caucasus and Asia Minor, and their subsequent assimilation with other ethnic groups, Epic of Koroghlu spread widely in these geographical regions leading to emergence of its Turkmen, Kazakh, Uzbek, Tajik, Azerbaijani, Turkish, Crimean Tatar, Georgian and Kurdish versions. The story has been told for many generations by the "bagshy" narrators of Turkmenistan, fighter Ashik bards of Azerbaijan and Turkey, and has been written down mostly in the 18th century.
Koroghlu
Koroghlu is a semi-mystical hero and bard among the Turkic people who is thought to have lived in 16th century. The name of "Koroghlu" means "the son of the blind", "the son of ember" or "the son of the clay" (the clay refers to death) in Turkic languages. His real name was in Azerbaijani, in Turkish or in Turkmen, which was a loanword from Persian رُوشن Rowšan meaning light or bright.
Turkmen tradition
In Turkmenistan, the epic is called which translates as "the son of a grave" and holds a special place among the Turkmen epics.
The Turkmen people refer to performers specialized in as dessanchy bagshy (musicians performing songs from dastan). Within Turkmenistan, dessanchy bagshy are encountered in two regions of the country: and Lebap. Outside of Turkmenistan, the tradition is found in neighbouring countries — including Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Iran — and in other places where Turkmen ethnic groups have historically lived.
The epic of tells the story of the hero, , and his forty jigits (warriors) that includes descriptions of all major traditional events of Turkmen life. Sections in prose that describe the events alternate with sections in poetry that express the characters’ feelings.
The first "chapter" of the epic is about a miraculous birth and heroic education of (he grows up with grandfather Jygalybek and aunt ), raising the winged horse called Gyrat, building the Chandybil fortress and gathering warriors. Next are the stories about the marriage of to a fairy-tale girl, (the hero falls in love with a girl in his dream, goes in search of her, overcomes obstacles, takes her to Chandybil), about revenge on for kidnapping his aunt, , about the adoption of Ovez, about saving him from captivity and about his marriage. The "chapters" about battle with , making a way into an enemy camp, the attack of the Sultan’s troops on the country of and the abduction of Ovez, the adoption of Gorogly Hassan, the son of a blacksmith, are of a heroic nature. The cycle ends with the story of the death of , who retired to a cave in old age.
Various art forms are employed in the oral performance of , including narration, singing, vocal improvisation, and acting. Dessanchy bagshys are known for their prodigious memory, outstanding musical skills, and intelligence, which are all necessary qualities for performing the epic. Performers should master traditional musical instruments — such as the dutar (a two-stringed plucked instrument) and the gyjak (an instrument resembling the fiddle)— and be able to sing various melodies of the epic, performing improvisation.
Under the supervision of his master, in addition to learning the repertoire and perfecting his skills, the apprentice of the baghshy learns moral and ethical norms of the epic performance. For the transmission of knowledge, teacher bagshys use a variety of techniques and materials. When the apprentice is ready, his knowledge is thoroughly evaluated. The master then gives his blessing to the new performer, who is thus granted the right to perform the epic independently and teach students of his own.
This system of transmission ensures a constant flow of knowledge from one generation to the next and maintains skill levels and standards. In addition, the Turkmen National Conservatory, the State School of Culture and Arts, and various specialized school facilitate the acquisition of dutar skills by learners before they enter training with a dessanchy bagshy master.