The
bakshy are traditional
Turkmen musicians. Historically, they have been traveling singers and
shamans, acting as healers and spiritual figures, and also providing the music for celebrations of weddings, births, and other important life events. They sing either
a cappella or to the accompaniment of traditional instruments (primarily the two-stringed lute called the
dutar.) The Turkmen
bakshy tradition is closely related to the larger
Turkic Ashik tradition.