Inuit throat singing
Encyclopedia
Overtone singing
Overtone singing, also known as overtone chanting, or harmonic singing, is a type of singing in which the singer manipulates the resonances created as air travels from the lungs, past the vocal folds, and out the lips to produce a melody.The partials of a sound wave made by the human voice can be...
, is a form of musical performance uniquely found among the Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
. (There used to be a similar style, Rekuhkara
Rekuhkara
Rekuhkara is a style of singing, related to Inuit throat singing, that was practised by the Ainu until 1976 when the last practitioner died...
, practiced by the Ainu
Ainu people
The , also called Aynu, Aino , and in historical texts Ezo , are indigenous people or groups in Japan and Russia. Historically they spoke the Ainu language and related varieties and lived in Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin...
in Hokkaidō, but that has since died out.) Unlike the throat singers in other regions of the world, particularly Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
, Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
and Tuva
Tuva
The Tyva Republic , or Tuva , is a federal subject of Russia . It lies in the geographical center of Asia, in southern Siberia. The republic borders with the Altai Republic, the Republic of Khakassia, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Irkutsk Oblast, and the Republic of Buryatia in Russia and with Mongolia to the...
, the Inuit performers are usually women
Woman
A woman , pl: women is a female human. The term woman is usually reserved for an adult, with the term girl being the usual term for a female child or adolescent...
who sing only duet
Duet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
s in a kind of entertaining contest to see who can outlast the other. However, at least one notable performer, Tanya Tagaq, performs throat singing as a solo artist and as a collaborator with non-throat singing musicians such as Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
. The musical duo Tudjaat
Tudjaat
Tudjaat are Madeleine Allakariallak and Phoebe Atagotaaluk, two Inuit women from Nunavut, Canada who are keeping the ancient tradition of Inuit throat singing alive. Tudjaat got its start when Madelaine, who performed as part of a backup chorus with Susan Aglukark's third CD, was noticed by its...
performed a mixture of traditional throat singing and pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
.
New World terms
The name for throat singing in CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
varies with the geography:
- Iirngaaq - some NunavutNunavutNunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...
communities - Piqqusiraarniq or Pirkusirtuk - Igloolik and Baffin IslandBaffin IslandBaffin Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut is the largest island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest island in the world. Its area is and its population is about 11,000...
- Qiarvaaqtuq - Arviat
- Katajjaq or Katadjak - NunavikNunavikNunavik comprises the northern third of the province of Quebec, Canada. Covering a land area of 443,684.71 km² north of the 55th parallel, it is the homeland of the Inuit of Quebec...
and South Baffin - Nipaquhiit - some Nunavut communities
History
Originally, katajjaq was a form of entertainment among Inuit women while men were away on hunting trips, and it was a regarded more as a type of vocal or breathing game in the Inuit culture rather than a form of music.Performance
Two women face each other usually in a standing position and holding each other's arms. Sometimes they will do some kind of dance movements while singing (e.g., balancing from right to left). One singer leads by setting a short rhythmic patternRhythm
Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
, which she repeats leaving brief silent intervals between each repetition. The other singer fills in the gap with another rhythmic pattern. The sounds used include voiced sounds as well as unvoiced ones, both through inhalation
Inhalation
Inhalation is the movement of air from the external environment, through the air ways, and into the alveoli....
or exhalation
Exhalation
Exhalation is the movement of air out of the bronchial tubes, through the airways, to the external environment during breathing....
. The first to run out of breath or be unable to maintain the pace of the other singer will start to laugh or simply stop and will thus lose the game. It generally lasts between one and three minutes. The winner is the singer who beats the largest number of people.
At one time, the lips of the two women almost touched, so that one singer used the mouth cavity of the other as a resonator
Resonator
A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance or resonant behavior, that is, it naturally oscillates at some frequencies, called its resonant frequencies, with greater amplitude than at others. The oscillations in a resonator can be either electromagnetic or mechanical...
, but this is less common in present day. Often, the singing is accompanied by a shuffling in rhythm from one foot to the other. The sounds may be actual words or nonsense syllables or created during exhalation.
"The old woman who teaches the children [throat singing songs] corrects sloppy intonation of contours, poorly meshed phase displacements, and vague rhythms exactly like a Western vocal coach."
Inuit throat singing in popular culture
- John MetcalfJohn MetcalfJohn Metcalf may refer to:* John Metcalf , British civil engineer* John Metcalf , Canadian writer and editor* John Metcalf , NASCAR series driver, see 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series...
's 1990 operaOperaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
TornrakTornrakTornrak is the third opera by Welsh composer John Metcalf. It has an English-language libretto by Michael Wilcox with Inuktitut sections translated by Blendina Makkik. Set between the worlds of the Canadian Arctic and Victorian Britain, it features Inuit throat singing and other extended vocal...
features throat singing by the Inuit characters. - A scene of Inuit throat singing appears in the 1974 Timothy BottomsTimothy Bottoms-Early life:Bottoms was born in Santa Barbara, California, the eldest son of Betty and James "Bud" Bottoms, who is a sculptor and art teacher. He is the brother of actors Joseph Bottoms , Sam Bottoms and Ben Bottoms . In 1967, Bottoms toured Europe as part of the Santa Barbara Madrigal...
film The White DawnThe White DawnThe White Dawn is a Canadian film, released in 1974, and directed by Philip Kaufman and stars Warren Oates, Timothy Bottoms, and Louis Gossett, Jr. It portrays the conflict between aboriginal peoples' traditional way of life and Europeans' eagerness to take advantage of them. The film employs...
. - The 2003 filmFilmA film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
The Snow WalkerThe Snow WalkerThe Snow Walker is a 2003 Canadian film based on the short story "Walk Well, My Brother" by Farley Mowat. It was written and directed by Charles Martin Smith and starred Barry Pepper, James Cromwell, and Annabella Piugattuk....
contains a scene of Inuit throat singing. - The 2001 film Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner)AtanarjuatAtanarjuat is a 2001 Canadian film directed by Zacharias Kunuk. It was the first feature film ever to be written, directed and acted entirely in Inuktitut...
has a scene with Inuit throat singing. - The 2007 film, Wristcutters: A Love StoryWristcutters: A Love StoryWristcutters: A Love Story is a 2006 comedy-fantasy-romance film written and directed by Goran Dukić, starring Patrick Fugit, Shea Whigham, and Shannyn Sossamon. It is set in a strange afterlife way-station that has been reserved for people who have committed suicide.It is based on Etgar Keret's...
, features a "mute" character named Nanuk who practices this style of throat singing. - A rather imaginative variation on throat singing is featured in the 2007 Dan SimmonsDan SimmonsDan Simmons is an American author most widely known for his Hugo Award-winning science fiction series, known as the Hyperion Cantos, and for his Locus-winning Ilium/Olympos cycle....
novel, The TerrorThe Terror (novel)The Terror is the name of a 2007 novel by American author Dan Simmons. The novel is a fictionalized account of Captain Sir John Franklin's lost expedition of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror to the Arctic to force the Northwest Passage in 1845 - 1848...
. - In a scene of the The Simpsons MovieThe Simpsons MovieThe Simpsons Movie is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the animated television series The Simpsons. The film was directed by David Silverman, and stars the regular television cast of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress...
(2007), Homer SimpsonHomer SimpsonHomer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
is shown throat singing with an Inuit woman in order to have an epiphanyEpiphany (feeling)An epiphany is the sudden realization or comprehension of the essence or meaning of something...
. - Rick MercerRick MercerRichard Vincent "Rick" Mercer is a Canadian comedian, television personality, political satirist, and blogger.Mercer first came to national attention in 1990, when he premiered his one man show Show Me the Button, I'll Push It, or Charles Lynch Must Die at the Great Canadian Theatre Company in...
, in an episode of his self-hosted show Rick Mercer ReportRick Mercer ReportRick Mercer Report is a Canadian television comedy series which airs on CBC Television...
, attempted to throat sing with an Inuit woman when he visited the 2008 Arctic Winter Games2008 Arctic Winter GamesApproximately 2,000 athletes, coaches, team staff and officials participated in the 2008 Arctic Winter Games in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories in Canada, celebrating the 20th event. The 2008 games took place from March 9 through March 15. Events were held in and around the city of Yellowknife...
in Yellowknife. - An August 2008 an AT&TAT&TAT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
radio commercial references kadajjat/throat singing in reference to the speaker's roommate. - In 2005, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra recorded The Four Seasons Mosaic CD and DVD documentary. A reinvention of Vivaldi's Four Seasons by Mychael Danna featuring Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra; Jeanne Lamon, violin; Aruna Narayan, sarangi; Wen Zhao, pipa and throat singers Aqsarniit (Sylvia Cloutier and June Shappa).
- The electropop band Row of Cookies incorporated a sample of Inuit throat singing in their version of the song New Girl Now by Honeymoon Suite.
- The British ITV documentary Journey to the Edge of the World features Billy Connolly in the Canadian Arctic. In the second episode, he visits a pair of women demonstrating the finer points of throat singing.
External links
- Mustrad.org, Inuit Throat-Singing
- UBU.com, Canada Inuit Games and Songs, UbuWeb Ethnopoetics