Alash and Tuvan Throat Singing

Learn about Tuvan throat singing! 🐦

The Tuvan are Indigenous peoples described as a cross-national ethnic group separated by national borders of China, Mongolia, and Russia. The majority live in Russia and number 263,934 according to a 2010 census. There are some issues with China classifying Tuvans as Mongolians, with one Tuvan elder saying “Most Tuva live outside of China, so we were afraid that once we were classified as Mongolian people, gradually we would be assimilated into Mongolia and lose our own language and culture.”The Tuvan language has 4 main dialects based on geographical location, but this may be in Russia specifically with further dialects outside of it. The influence of global languages like Russian and Mandarin has had a negative impact, but there are approximately 280,000 Tuvan speakers worldwide. The Tuvan language belongs to the Northern or Siberian branch of the Turkic language family. It closely relates to other languages such as Khakas and Altai, but its closest relative is the nearly extinct Tofa language.

Skiing is an activity the Tuvan people have been doing for thousands of years. Some experts believe those in the Altai mountains may have been the earliest humans to master skiing for the purpose of hunting. There are ancient cave paintings that show how they would track an elk and lasso it while skiing downhill! China has banned the practice and made the mountains a conservation area, but the Tuvan people still actively and legally practice a catch and release method of hunting elk in this traditional way.

Tuvan throat singing, with Mongolian throat singing, is a style of singing that originated in the Altai mountains of western Mongolia. The main technique is known as Khöömei, which literally means pharynx and is believed to have been learned from birds. Khöömei is a form of singing that imitates sounds of nature by using distinct vocal sounds like a drone and a melody of harmonics. There are many Khöömei techniques in Mongolia that are generally grouped within the two main styles of kharkhiraa (deep Khöömei) and isgeree Khöömei (whistled Khöömei). Sometimes Khöömei is known as Hooliin Chor, which means throat harmony.

Khöömei was added to UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009. Some of the techniques Khöömei singers need to learn is how to relax their abdomen and control pitches through a combination of movements involving the lips, throat, tongue, and jaw. By doing this, “a professional singer can deliver sounds that resemble the wind swirling among rocks, rivers running through valleys, or birds chirping in the forest.” There was a short documentary in 2020 called "Amazing Music from Nature" which featured Khöömei.

The song this week features the group called Alash. They founded in 1999 and are known as one of the most celebrated Tuvan Throat Singing groups. They have several recordings, have toured the United States extensively conducting workshops at schools, and they won first prize at the International Xöömei (throat singing) Symposium competition in 2004. They use traditional instruments, do online events occasionally, and plan to tour in the States this November and December. Alash has a passion for teaching and promoting understanding between cultures. Their tours often include workshops where they introduce Tuvan music to students in primary, middle and high schools, colleges, universities, and music conservatories. Children as young as 8 and 9 have learned to throat-sing with this approach.

The song’s description says the people of Tuva have three predominant styles are called khöömei, kargyraa and sygyt. Khöömei is the softer sounding drone usually in the low-mid to midrange of the singer’s normal voice. Sygyt is 'whistling' with a midrange fundamental and characterized by strong, flute-like or rather piercing harmonics. Kargyraa has a deep, almost growling sound to it, and is technically related to Tibetan Buddhist chant.

~Enjoy the song and learn more with the resources below~

** Information was found by searching the internet and sources like Wikipedia.

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Artist Quote:

“We are inspired by the music of our grandparents, and their grandparents”

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Current Events:

A sad reality is that the highest level of poverty among Russian regions is registered in Tuva, officially the Republic of Tyva and where the majority of Tuvan people live. One article says 34.1% of the population is living below the official "survival minimum." This has opened the doors to Russia’s paid recruitment of soldiers to fight in its war in Ukraine by disproportionately drawing from the country’s Indigenous peoples. A BBC article from a year and a half ago showed Tuva as the region with highest number of deaths (48.6 out of 10,000). The Nenets Autonomous Okrug was close with 30 out of 10,000, but while St. Petersburg has 2.5 deaths for every 10,000 men and Moscow has 1 death for every 10,000 men. This means if you are a man of military age living in Russia’s two biggest cities, your chances of being killed in Ukraine are ten times lower than the areas of the Tuvans and Nenets

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Learn More Links:

Tuvan Talking Dictionary Alash Ensemble, Tuvan throat singers carrying the proud traditions of Tuvan music into the future

Saving our Identity: An Uphill Battle for the Tuva of China | Cultural Survival

UNESCO intangible cultural heritage: Khoomei, Mongolian throat-singing tradition- China.org.cn

Ukraine war: Tuva and Buryatia pay the highest price, but latest BBC Russian casualty figures show poverty not ethnicity the key factor

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Song: Tuvan Throat Singing Masters: Alash Ensemble