Gorogly is an epic tale prominent in Turkic oral traditions, primarily among the Oghuz Turks. The epic describes the life and bravery of Koroghlu, a hero of the people who struggled against unjust rulers. It blends romance with Robin Hood-like chivalry.
As large groups of Oghuz Turks moved into Central Asia, South Caucasus, and Asia Minor throughout the Middle Ages, they assimilated with other ethnic groups, the Epic of Koroghlu spread widely in these regions, resulting in Turkmen, Kazakh, Uzbek, Tajik, Azerbaijani, Turkish, Crimean Tatar, Georgian and Kurdish versions of the epic.
Koroghlu is a legend describing a hero who seeks to avenge a wrong. It is often put to music and played during sporting events as an inspiration to competing athletes. This oral performing tradition in which the legend of Gorogly describes the glories of his forty cavalrymen.
Narration, singing, writing, composition, prose, and poetry are all used to tell the epic, which functions as an oral encyclopedia of traditional knowledge (for example, stock breeding, traditional healing, etc.).
As the tradition's transmission moves through a community, it helps children understand their own cultural identities and gives the bearer community a strong sense of social and cultural identity. The tradition helps nurture character, creative capacity, and artistic skills.
The epics of the Turkmen people reflect their aspirations for a happy life, freedom, and justice and promote values such as bravery, honesty, and friendship. These epics are performed by individual male and female performers in Turkmenistan who are specialists in the Gorogly epics.
They are usually held in seated positions to the accompaniment of stringed musical instruments, including the dutar or gyjak. Gorogly epic practitioners and bearers are actively involved with all national celebrations, cultural festivals, and social gatherings. They take part in annual competitions between Gorogly epic performers.
Ashik bards of Azerbaijan and Turkey have told the story for generations, and it has mostly been written down in the 18th century by the Bagshy narratives of Turkmenistan. The practice of the epic art is considered a vocation, with masters passing on knowledge and skills through informal teaching of pupils, as well as public performances.