The estimation of information about the origin and distribution of the Mongolian Khuumii

Abstract

Background: Khoomii is Mongolian traditional art and a way of expressing the nation’s sense in music and poetry. It is said that throat signing was invented long time ago but the precise time is not known. The throat singing is a Mongolian classic, professional and traditional folk art, which is a registered on the UNESCO in 2010. Khoomii has been in the center of researchers attention and terminology of throat singing has been explained in many different ways. Some scholars state that khoomii is imitation of other sounds. Khoomii was developed in various ways in different parts of the country but origin of it stayed the same. It is the only traditional art that is sang by pair of sounds. There are different types of khoomii and Mongolian throat singing is divided into 4 man categories, Kharkhiraa, Isgeree, Narmai, and Shaahai. “Kharkhiraa” is similar to bass sound and it comes out of depth of a chest. “Isgeree” is a sound from an oral cavity. “Narmai” is a sound from nose. “Shaahai” is a sound when a singer squeezes his or her voice. Mongolian Khoomii singers versify when they throat sing. Tuva throat singers do not versify but sometimes lulling when they sing. Khoomii can be sung in a modern music tune and also with the sound of all musical instruments. Mongolian throat singers have been the subjects of study for the world music critics and all the locals of Chandmani soum, Khovd province of Mongolia said to perform khoomii well. The Mongolians have been developing this art, however Mongolian researchers and throat singers are in concern of mechanism of the throat singing in terms of the specific tone, and circumstances arise from the throat. The tale of Khoomii: Once upon a time, a little orphan boy lived in a tall mountain’s foot for 3 years. The mountain had lots of different sounds of eco and when the wind blows hard, a loud noise was created. As the little boy had no one but the nature to express himself he started mimicking the eco. When his voice reached other people in the area through wind, locals called it “Khoomii”. There are also isolated traditions elsewhere—for instance, among the Bashkirs of the republic of Bashkortostan in southwestern Russia and among Xhosa women and girls in south-central South Africa. A form of throat-singing is also used by Tibetan Buddhist monks of the Dge-lugs-pa sect during ritual performances and by the Inuit (Eskimos) of northern Canada during vocal games. None of these practices, however, involves the manipulation of harmonics that characterizes the Altai-Sayan traditions. Conclusion: Although there are numerous researches on the history, art, geography and phonetic nature of the origin anddistribution of the Khuumii, there is a lack of scientific research on the anatomical structure and physiology, indicating the need to expand the scope of research in the future.