Tuvan Throat Singing

chillibreeze writer — Aazar Annis

If I was asked a month ago what ‘Tuvan throat singing’ was, I would have had absolutely no idea. As a self proclaimed fan of peculiar music, I searched high and low for my next fix and was quite amazed when I stumbled upon what the people of Tuva have to offer.

Tuva or Tyva Republic is a federal subject of Russia, inhabited by a Turkic people related to the nearby Mongolians. Tuvans have been cattle breeding nomads for thousands of years and their culture of throat singing is an ancient one. The Tuvan male herders practice throat singing and recently, even women have started to take up this art form.

Tuvan throat singing is considered a variant of overtone singing where two or more pitches are produced simultaneously over a primary pitch to create a psychedelic, mesmerizing sound that entrances the listener. Tuva has become known around the world for this varied style of singing. Traditionally considered to be a solo effort, the singer would travel far and wide to use the landscape or places with natural acoustics such as cliffs, caves, and rivers. With Tuva’s open landscape and the 9000 rivers running through the republic, the geographical location of the region has contributed greatly to its music.

Around 1995, two brothers – Roko and Adrian Belic, set out on a journey to the isolated region of Tuva, which couldn’t even be found on a map back then! They were accompanied by a blind blues musician Paul Pena and some friends who offered to help shoot what would later become the Academy Award nominated documentary, Genghis Blues (1999). The documentary is the story of the journey Paul Pena takes with the brothers when he is invited by a famous throat singer, Kongar-ool Ondar, to Tuva to participate in a throat singing competition.

Tuvan music of today has now expanded its horizon and artists are no longer afraid of using non-traditional influences. An ensemble of musicians often come together and form groups to give a more pulsating vibe to throat singing, using a wide array of instruments that mimic the sound of water, wind, and animals. Some famous groups from Tuva who’ve achieved fame are Huun Huur-Tu, Chirgilchin, and the Alash Ensemble.

Human mimicry of the sounds of nature is considered as the root of throat singing. Just like the Sufi saint singers and various exponents of the Indian Bhakti movement, Tuvan’s belief in spirits and identifying the spirituality of objects in nature is evident in their musical practices. The people from the indigenous shaman population of Tuva were early practitioners of throat singing and they did it in order to connect with their natural surrounding and to call upon ancestral spirits to discover birthplaces and aid them in hunting. Shepherds would use it to herd animals. Each song had a certain meaning attached to it, depending on where the person was and whether he was working or relaxing.

While the term ‘Khoomeii’ is used as a generic term to denote all throat singing techniques of the region, it is also the most well known form of throat singing. It is a softer sounding style, requiring less tension on the larynx of the singer than in other styles. The pitch is manipulated with a combination of lip, throat, jaw and tongue movement and by manipulating certain vowels (ee, ay, ah, oh, oo). This style of singing produces an effect that can be equated with wind swirling among the rocks.

‘Sygyt’ means whistling and in this style of throat singing, strong and piercing flute like sound is produced. While the way the pitch is manipulated is similar to the ‘Khoomeii’ style, Sygyt is described as ‘an imitation of the gentle breezes of summer, the songs of birds’.

‘Kargyraa’ (pronounced Kar-gi-ra) style of throat singing is technically related to Tibetan Buddhist chant. The larynx is constricted to produce a deep, heavy and almost growling sound in this style. This is often described as ‘the howling winds of winter or the plaintive cries of a mother camel after losing her calf’.
Thus, the different styles of Tuvan throat singing highlight the sacred bond of Tuvan people with nature and deeply express the communion of nature with song. This homage paid to nature through a reproduction of its sounds is now known throughout the world, even though many still aren’t aware of the existence of the Tuvan Republic.

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Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in June, 2010. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.

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—About our writer:

Aazar says, "I hold a Post-Graduate Diploma in Journalism from Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan, New Delhi and a graduate degree in English literature from Delhi University. I am a published poet and have also written a play for the G.D.Goenka School, titled ‘Wind Beneath My Wings’. Apart from a keen interest in theatre - I have participated in three NSD workshops, I also enjoy photography."

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