Altyn-Torgu, 'Golden Silk', is a named maiden of the Shor heroic epic, the destined bride whose winning motivates the hero's quest. Her episode turns on a contest of strength and skill among suitors, a characteristic structure of the alyptyg nybak in which the marriageable heroine is both prize and agent, testing the alp before she is won. She belongs to the gallery of named epic women preserved in the Shor sung-epic tradition.