TUVAN -THROAT

HISTORY OF TUVA 

Tuva is known today as being a subject of Russia. However, it has not always been under Russia's control. Tuva was originally controlled by the Xongnu Empire from 209 BC - 93 AD. It was then under Xianbei State's control from 93 AD - 234 AD. Tuva was also a part of China's Qing Dynasty from 1758 to 1911. Lastly, Tuva became independent as the Uryonkhay Republic before coming under Russia's rule.

 

The capital of Tuva was established as Belotsaksa and is also a part of Mongolia. In 1911 Mongolia became independent but was still under the protection of Russia. In 1912, the Russian Revolution ended the imperial autocracy which led Tuva to be occupied from July 5, 1918, to July 15,1919 by Alexander Kolchaks White Russian Troops. From July 1919 to February 1920, Tuva was under the control of communist red army until they were occupied by China from February 1920 to June 1921. Lastly, Tuva was a signatory to the March 1992 treaty that created the Russian Federation. In the following year, a new constitution was made for the republic creating a 32 parliament. 

TUVAN PEOPLE

Many Tuvans are Turkic speaking people who follow tibeatan Buddhism. Most Tuvan people live in yurts which are made of felt cloth covered wooden frame tents. Most lifestyles of the Tuvan people are semi-nomadic cattleman, horse breeders, sheepherder etc. Many Tuvans speak a Tuvan language which belongs to the Siberian branch of the Turkic language. Thier language has four dialects which include, central, western, northeaster and southeastern.

TUAVN THROAT SINGING 

 & HOW IT WORKS 

Khoomei, otherwise known as throat singing, is a type of overtone singing, which the singers produce two or more pitches. One of the sounds that are produced is a " Jew harp metallic warbling " sound while the second is a " growling moan" type sound. Both sounds are made by regulating the larynx, mouth, and abdominal muscle carefully. The history behind Khoomei and its origin is unknown, but some believe its originated in Chandmani Sum a town in Khovd. In Tuvan-throat singer, Khoomei, is one of the four ways Tuvan people sing.

KHOREKTEER 

Khorekteer is the " chest voice" of Khoomei. It refers to the feeling of the chest resonances pressure. Khorekteer is the launching pad into Khoomei, Sygyt, and Kargyeaa.

SYGYT 

Sygyt is translated to "whistling" and is a midrange fundamental and has a strong, flute-like or a piercing harmonic that resembles whistling. The sygyt is performed by raising the tongue while the tongue seals the gums. A small hole is left back, behind the molars, while air is directed between the teeth. The lips are bell-like shaped with usually an “ee” vowel. 

KARGYRAA

" Kargyraa" is known as the " deep sounding " style of the Tuvans-throat singing. Kargyraa has a deep growling sound to it and is technically related to Sardinian bass singing in "Canto" a tenor choir. One of the way this style is performed is by constricting the larynx, which brings the vestibular folds together. This produces an undertone which is exactly half the frequency of the fundamental produced by vocal folds. Thier is two types of Kargyraa: Dag (Mountain) and Xovu ). 

 

Dag- A deeper sound 

Xovu- is a raspier sound which is sung a higher pitch with more throat tension and less chest resonance.

In this video, you can hear a lot of the techniques and the styles I've talked about. One of the clearest to recognize to me is " Sygyt" I really enjoyed learning about the people of Tuvan and their history and culture. I find it very fascinating how they can manipulate their voice to make them sound so beautiful. A little fun fact, usually men traditionally sing in throat singing but now it's becoming common for women to learn as well. Throughout Tuva history it was believed that Singing Tuvan throat singing for women could cause infertility. 

One of the women in Tuvan -throat singing was Choldak- Kara Dyun, she was the mother of the famous throat singer Soruktu kaygus. Dyun was known to sing throughout her life while sometimes milking her cows, singing lullabies to her children and sometimes drinking Tuvan Araga (Fermented milk alcohol)

A second women was the wife of Bilek-Ool a famous Tuvan Singer. It was believed that she sang khoomei because it was innate to her from birth. She would sing in public in the 1950's to 1960's.

Tyra Kyzy, founded in 1998, Kyzy is an all-female folk ensemble performing Tuvan throat singing. Tyra Kyzy was under the direction of Choduraa Tumat, it is the first and only women group in Tuva that performs all styles of Tuvan Throat singing.

Here's a video of AMAZING women throat singing. See if you can point out some of the styles and techniques used through a higher chest range? 

“Tuva.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 1 Dec. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuva.

“Tuvan Throat Singing.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Oct. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuvan_throat_singing.

“Tuvan People, History, and the Most Facts.” Discover Altai, https://www.discoveraltai.com/tuvan-people/.