what is the name of a form of musical competition unique among the inuit of nunavut? course hero

What kind of music do the Inuit play?

Many contemporary Inuit musicians now blend aspects of traditional Inuit music with mainstream popular music genres such as rock, pop and country music. Inuit vocal games are usually played by two women facing each other in close proximity.

What kind of music is played in Nunavut?

Acoustic and electric guitars are now played everywhere in the territory, producing folk, country, pop and rock music in Nunavut with a distinctly northern artistic flair. Sounding as if it were perhaps invented specifically for another modern musical form adored by youth, the Inuktitut language is brilliantly suited for hip hop lyrics!

When and where did Inuit vocal games begin?

The exact year and location when and where Inuit vocal games began is unknown because the Inuit did not keep written records. However, some records of explorers and missionaries document vocal games in Alaska and the Canadian Arctic in the 19th century.

How are traditional Inuit dance skills being incorporated into dance groups?

When visitors witness Nunavut athletes performing traditional Inuit games for the first time, with huge jumps and dazzling acrobatic skill, they see how these powerful abilities have now been incorporated into the repertoires of dance groups like the Clyde River Hip Hoppers and in circus troupes like Artcirq from Igloolik.

Where did the Inuit play vocal games?

The exact year and location when and where Inuit vocal games began is unknown because the Inuit did not keep written records. However, some records of explorers and missionaries document vocal games in Alaska and the Canadian Arctic in the 19th century. Vocal games could also be found in Japan, among the Ainu, under the name rekkukara (or rekuhkara ), and among the Tchukchi (or Chukchi) of East Siberia. Vocal games in Canada thus constitute evidence that the Inuit belong to a circumpolar cultural and musical civilization that reaches far beyond the present borders of this country.

What are the Inuit games?

Inuit vocal games describe central Canadian Arctic practices that are both musical and ludic (spontaneous or playful). According to regional differences, these can be divided into several genres with different names.

What is a throat game?

First known to non-Indigenous people as guttural songs or throat songs (sometimes referred to as breathed songs), they were later designated more accurately as throat games by ethnomusicologists Beverley Diamond and Nicole Beaudry. Yet it is the Inuit term katajjaq that is most often used. However, it applies only to Arctic Québec and to the south of Baffin Island. Netsilingmiut (Netsilik), Iglulingmuit (Igloolik; Iglulik) and Kivallirmiut (Caribou Inuit) vocal games do not necessarily feature the throat sounds typical of katajjaq that are so striking; and they often refer to a narrative text absent from katajjaq. Thus, it appears simpler to adopt a more neutral and less specific term such as vocal game. In Inuit terminology, these games belong to the larger family of ulapqusiit (traditional games) and are designated more precisely as nipaquhiit, that is “games done with sounds or with noises” ( nipi ).

How is Katajjaq constructed?

Katajjaq is basically constructed from repeated motifs (themes) and the succession of chosen morphemes (a word, or part of a word, that has a meaning). It also does not seem to follow a narrative logic (i.e. tell a story). The repetition of a motif (e.g., hamma) is characterized by a specific pattern of intonation and a pattern based on the alternation of sounds that are voiced (when the vocal cords vibrate) and un-voiced (no vibration of the vocal cords), and/or breathed in (sound made while inhaling) and breathed out (sound made while exhaling). The motif is repeated an undetermined number of times. Most of the time, the second voice's motif is identical to that of the first, but with an imitation-like time lag (of a half-beat) corresponding to the breathing-in, breathing-out alternation.

Do Inuit have a generic term for music?

The Inuit have no generic term for “music,” but this does not deter ethnomusicologists and music lovers from their interest in the sound components of these games. It is, no doubt, for this reason that several recordings have, all or in part, featured these vocal games.

What was the traditional Inuit throat singing practice?

Metcalfe and Degrandpre were showcasing for the world the traditional Inuit art of throat singing, a culturally significant practice almost lost in history -- one that is thankfully making a resurgence, and that Arctic cruise passengers just might get to witness live.

Why did Inuit women sing?

Ancient Inuit women used throat singing to entertain one another while the men in their communities were away on long hunting trips. Sang in this way, as a duet, it was a type of contest to see which singer could outlast the other. However, Inuit women across the Arctic also used throat singing to soothe fussy babies, ...

Who sang at Justin Trudeau's swearing in ceremony?

It was a scene that won over the hearts of millions of Canadians in early November 2015, when 11-year old Inuit throat singers Samantha Metcalfe and Cailyn Degrandpre performed at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s swearing-in ceremony.

Where is throat singing practiced?

Throat singing is still practiced in many Inuit communities, particularly in Greenland and Canada’s Arctic.

Who are the youngest Inuit throat singers?

Karin and Kathy Kettler, sisters from Nunavik in northern Quebec, are among the youngest generation of Inuit throat-singers. At the Circumpolar Music and Dance Festival this past year held in Anchorage, Alaska, they performed and shared their knowledge of throat-singing.

What is throat singing?

Throat singing is an Inuit oral tradition that’s been passed on from generation to generation with no record of when it began. According to Watchers of the North’s history, this is mostly due to the fact that for a long time the Inuit did not keep any written records or documents. As noted on Canada Pages , Inuit throat-singing is considered in the ethnomusicology as a form of “verbal art.” While this is not the only culture to practice throat-singing—it also exists in the Russian Arctic, Scandinavia, Northern Japan, Tibet, Mongolia, and South Africa—the uniqueness of Inuit practice is how female-centered it is, and how it’s based on more of a game than a song.

What type of music does Nunavut play?

Modern musicians from Nunavut generally blend traditional Inuit music with mainstream forms of popular music such as rock, pop, country or gospel, though traditional music and other styles retain some popularity. Well-known musicians from the territory include Lucie Idlout, Itulu Itidlui, Simon Sigjariaq, Mary Atuat Thompson, William Tagoona, ...

What is the music of Nunavut?

Music of Nunavut. Nunavut is a territory of Canada, inhabited predominantly by the Inuit and to a much smaller degree other members of the First Nations. Inuit folk music has long been based primarily off percussion, used in dance music, as well as vocals, including the famous Inuit throat singing tradition. Early European immigration brought new ...

What instruments did the Inuit use?

Inuit folk music has long been based primarily off percussion, used in dance music, as well as vocals, including the famous Inuit throat singing tradition. Early European immigration brought new styles and instruments to Nunavut, including country music, bluegrass, square dancing, the button accordion and the fiddle .

What is throat singing in the Inuit?

Inuit throat-singing is performed by two women standing face to face. They repeat different sounds in a swift rhythm in a form of contest to see who can last the longest.

What kind of music do Inuit people play?

Many Inuit enjoy the accordion and fiddle sounds introduced to them by whalers and fur traders. Acoustic and electric guitars are now played everywhere in the territory, producing folk, country, pop and rock music in Nunavut with a distinctly northern artistic flair.

Who are the Inuit performers in Arviat?

It is the home of renowned Inuit performers Charlie Panigoniak and Susan Aglukark. In the fall, Arviat hosts the Inuumariit Music Festival. The Inuit performance art of throat-singing, called 'katajjaq' in Inuktitut, is the only vocal game of its kind in the world.

What did the Inuit call the sounds of speech?

Traditionally, the Inuit did not have a specific word for what English-speaking people call 'music.'. The closest word in Inuktitut is 'nipi' — which includes music, the sounds of speech, wild animals, the forces of nature and noise.

What do Nunavut people appreciate?

Nunavummiut greatly appreciate good music, dance and drama! At specific times of the year — such as when the sun returns to end the long, dark winter night, at the beginning of springtime and when summer finally arrives — communities all across Nunavut stage celebrations and games. These events include traditional Inuit performing arts, ...

What is the song called when the Inuit play drums?

The Copper Inuit living near the Coppermine River in the western Kitikmeot region have two categories of music. A song is called ‘pisik’ if the performer also plays drums, and ‘aton’ if the performer only dances. Traditionally, the Inuit did not have a specific word for what English-speaking people call 'music.'.

What is theatre in Nunavut?

Theatre. The performance art of staged live theatre in Nunavut is culturally based in the ancient Inuit traditions of storytelling and shamanic ritual. The unique and often very contemporary worldview of the Inuit people is a truly fresh perspective in the dramatic narrative arts. The most famous theatre group in Nunavut is based in Pond Inlet.

Overview

Katajjaq

Katajjaq (also pirkusirtuk and nipaquhiit) is a type of traditional competitive, but cooperative, song, considered a game, usually held between two women. It is one of the world's few examples of overtone singing, a unique method of producing sounds that is otherwise best known in Tuvan throat-singing. When competing, two women stand face-to-face and sing using a complex method of following each other, thus that one voice hits a strong accent while the other hits a weak, mel…

Cultural role

Influence from Western culture

Vocal games

Musical instruments

Distribution

Notable performers

History

Terminology

Performance

Categories of Vocal Games

• Inuit vocal games can be divided in two major categories: katajjaq (or plural katajjait), practised around the coast of Arctic Québec, in the Belcher Islands, south of Baffin Island and, in a rather scattered fashion, in the rest of Baffin Island (where it might be called pirkusirtuk [orpirqusirtuq; pirqusirartuq]); and the Netsilingmiut, Iglulingm...

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Vocal Games Artists