A kobzar was an itinerant Ukrainian bard who sang to his own accompaniment, played on a multistringed kobza or bandura.
Slobozhan kobzar P. Drevchenko and Poltava kobzar M. Kravchenko in Kharkiv 1902
Kozak Mamai playing a kobza
The kobza, also called bandura is a Ukrainian folk music instrument of the lute family, a relative of the Central European mandora. The term kobza however, has also been applied to a number of other Eastern European instruments distinct from the Ukrainian kobza.
18th century kobza
Cossack with a kobza, watercolor drawing, published in 1847
Kobzar Ostap Veresai playing a bandura, 19th century
The instruments are made today in prima (soprano), alto and tenor and contrabass sizes