ASATAYAK – is an ancient musical instrument of the Kazakh people. Priests and shamans used it in their affairs. The shamans used it along with the sounds of kylkobyz and dangyra. The word “asa” in Uzbeks is pronounced “asoii”, in Uighurs “hassa”, and means stick. In general, the name was formed from two words, similar in meaning. When describing this tool, ethnographers used different names: “рosoh”, “wand”, “cane”, “crutch”, “flask”, “wasp”, “musa-wasp”.

    Making the instrument: Depending on the manufacture, asatayak can be of a “dome”, “flat-headed”, “moon-shaped”, “snake-headed”, “oblong”, “shovel-shaped”. The instrument is played by clanging, shaking in rhythm. Asatayak is made from oak, maple, birch, and hawthorn. On the front side various pendants, rings are attached to extract sound.