Chirgilchin Throat Singers:
Music from the middle of nowhere
By Debby Tewes
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ruled the steppes from Ukraine to China. The Scythians were superb equestrians and their rich burial mounds or kurgans are often
filled with exquisite gold artifacts and frequently included their horses to accompany them to the afterlife. Burials also included
servants and family members. In the late 1940s, just after the Great Patriotic War (WWII), Tuva asked to be merged into the Soviet
Union and cast their lot with the Soviets; but because of the remote region in which they live, Soviet cultural influence has been kept
minimal.
In religious matters, the people of Tuva embrace Buddhism, showing reverence for the Dalai Lama, a cultural nod to the
Southeast Asian belief systems. They also practice Shamanism, an animist belief system. The western use of the term shaman as
used in new age spiritual practices, is actually borrowing from the religions of the Central Asian peoples. The chanting and
drumming of the shaman shares many characteristics of Native American drum circles.
The most fascinating aspect of Tuvan culture for me is the musical form called throat singing or Khoomei. As the entertainment
coordinator for Asian Moon Festival, I had a chance to explore the musical offerings of many Asian cultures, but I had long wished to
bring throat singers to the festival. Throat singing is a rather strange sounding musical form in which the artist forms the notes in
his throat, controlling muscles and air flow to produce multiple tones simultaneously. The various styles are exalted to art forms, in
which the best artists compete in contests for prizes. A documentary, "Genghis Blues" (1999 Wadi Rum Productions), highlighted
the odd journey of Paul Pena, a Black, blind, San Francisco blues artist who was the son of immigrants from Cape Verde, Africa.
Paul heard throat singing on his shortwave radio and taught himself to perform the kargyraa style. Paul attended a concert of
Kongar Ool Ondar, a master throat singer from Tuva, at a show in San Francisco where, at the "meet and greet" after the concert,
Paul serenaded Ondar with his own throat singing. Ondar was so impressed that he invited Paul to Tuva to compete in the national
championship. Paul was dubbed "Earthquake" for his deep, rumbling kargyraa and ultimately won the event.
Asian Moon Festival provided an opportunity to share Asian music and artistic forms that usually do not have a wide audience in
the United States. Music and art are a means of transcending cultural divides. Language is often a barrier, causing
misunderstanding and suspicion. Music takes us beyond culture and speaks a language with no words, yet communicates in ways
that we understand in our hearts. The people of Tuva live in a very remote location, isolated from the rest of the world and yet
something in their music inspires awe in their audience. Throat singing is thought to mimic the sounds these nomadic people
heard in nature; sygyt, the wind whistling over a sea of grass; khoomei, a creek gurgling over rocks; and kargyraa, the thunder
echoing over the steppes. The instrument used to accompany the music, the igil is carved to honor the horse. Another form of
khoomei is called ezengileer, which mimics the sound of horse hooves. The horse is an integral part of their lives and history.
One of the best parts of presenting these bits of culture to an audience is when you peek out from back stage and see the
expressions on people's faces as they discover something for the first time and have that "Oh, Wow" moment. I still remember
taking the members of Chirgilchin for an interview at Channel 4 in Milwaukee. Chirgilchin are Tuvan throat singers that appeared at
Asian Moon the last couple of years. The news segment producer was insistent that I bring a food sample, no people, and I was
equally insistent that I had something better. I sat on the couch with the interviewer, a young man who rather indifferently asked a bit
about the group and then the camera cut to the throat singer who was doing an amazing sygyt. The interviewer turned to me with his
jaw dropped. He couldn't believe the incredible sounds the man was producing. I don't think they missed the food.
You can hear Chirgilchin at http://www.chirgilchin.com/ and click on the "You Tube" connection.
If you ask most people to name something from Asian culture, they usually will think of martial arts,
Chinese fan dancing, Japanese kabuki or Indian Bharatnatyam dance. Few people can identify some of
the less well known cultural forms and that prevents a greater understanding of Asian culture. Culture is
fluid and mobile, unfazed by borders. Wherever people travel and meet, culture is shared and adapted.
Culture allows the artist to find something that tickles their fancy and puts their own spin on an art form.
African American musical forms are a great example of this evolution, from the griots or story tellers in
Africa to modern jazz, blues and hip hop. Asian artistic culture has evolved but perhaps not as visibly.
Tuva is part of the former Soviet Union, in an area just north of Mongolia. The people there share ethnic
and cultural characteristics with the Mongolians. They proudly trace their ancestry to the Mongol Hordes
that rode the steppes of Central Asia. Archaeologists have also found evidence of Scythian burials,
ancient nomadic warriors who
An Igil showing carved
horse head