Who Are the Tuvans?
The Tuvans are a Turkic people numbering approximately 300,000, primarily living in the Tuva Republic of the Russian Federation, situated between Mongolia and Siberia. Their homeland encompasses diverse landscapes including the Sayan Mountains, vast steppes, and the headwaters of the Yenisei River. The Tuvans are famous worldwide for their remarkable throat singing tradition, khöömei, which allows one singer to produce multiple simultaneous pitches.
Tuva was an independent country (Tannu Tuva) from 1921 to 1944 before incorporation into the Soviet Union. Despite decades of Soviet rule and suppression of traditional practices, Tuvans maintained their nomadic herding lifestyle, shamanic traditions, and musical heritage. Post-Soviet revival has brought international recognition to Tuvan culture, particularly through musicians who tour globally.
The Art of Throat Singing
Khöömei (throat singing) is a vocal technique in which a singer produces two or more distinct pitches simultaneously—a fundamental drone and one or more overtone melodies. By precisely controlling the mouth cavity, tongue, and throat, singers isolate and amplify specific harmonic frequencies that are normally inaudible, creating an ethereal whistling melody above the bass drone.
Multiple styles exist: khöömei (the generic term, also a specific middle-register style), sygyt (high whistling overtones), kargyraa (deep growling undertones), borbangnadyr (rolling), and ezengileer (stirrup style, mimicking the rhythmic bouncing of horse riding). Mastering these techniques requires years of training, traditionally passed from master to student.
Sound and Landscape
Tuvan throat singing originated in the interaction between herders and their environment. The music mimics natural sounds: the whistle of wind through mountain passes, the gurgling of streams, the calls of birds and animals. Traditionally performed outdoors, the acoustic properties of valleys and mountains were considered part of the music.
The Tuvans believe that natural features possess spirits, and music serves as a means of communicating with these forces. Singing in certain locations was believed to please local spirits and bring good fortune. This spiritual dimension distinguishes Tuvan khöömei from similar traditions found among Mongolians, Kazakhs, and other Central Asian peoples.
Nomadic Herding Life
Traditional Tuvan economy centered on herding yaks, horses, sheep, goats, camels, and reindeer (in northern regions). Families live in portable felt yurts called ög, moving seasonally between pastures. The Five Snouts (the five traditional domestic animals) provided meat, milk, transport, wool, and hides.
Despite Soviet collectivization and modernization, many Tuvans maintained herding traditions. The post-Soviet collapse actually revived traditional practices as collective farms dissolved and people returned to subsistence herding. Today, approximately half of Tuvans still engage in nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoralism.
Shamanism and Buddhism
Tuvans practice a blend of Buddhism (introduced from Mongolia and Tibet) and indigenous shamanism. Shamans (kham) serve as healers and intermediaries with the spirit world, using drums, chanting, and trance states. Soviet authorities persecuted shamans, but the tradition survived and has revived since 1990.
Buddhist monasteries coexist with shamanic practice, and many Tuvans see no contradiction between the two traditions. Natural sites—mountains, springs, unusual rock formations—are sacred places where offerings are left. The ovaa (stone cairn) at mountain passes receives offerings from travelers seeking safe passage.
References
- Levin, T. & SĂĽzĂĽkei, V. (2006). "Where Rivers and Mountains Sing: Sound, Music, and Nomadism in Tuva and Beyond"
- UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage: Tuvan throat singing
- Pegg, C. (2001). "Mongolian Music, Dance, and Oral Narrative"
- Van Tongeren, M. (2002). "Overtone Singing: Physics and Metaphysics of Harmonics"