KUBAIR

KUBAIR, 1) a poetic genre of the Bashk. folklore and oral tradition. The earliest of the surviving K. go back to the 14th century. Yyrau and sesens were creators of K. The K. verse is based on the 7‑step metre. The number of strophes ranges from 4 to 30 or more lines with a plain or mixed rhyme. Usually performed to the dumbyra musical instrument. Most K. tunes could be combined into one melodic type, most properties of which come from a no‑semitonal pentatonic scale of a major mode. The following K. are to be distinguished: about batyrs, where famous feats of real personalities — defenders of the motherland and clan leaders are glorified, etc; philosophical and didactic (aytyem); and lyrical, in which motherland grandeur and beauty are poetically glorified along with the explicit willingness to protect it. In the history of the modern Bashk. lit., the K. genre was most popular among such authors as R.Y.Garipov, K.Aralbay, R.A.Sultangareyeva et al. 2) Ref. Epic.