Humai (Tuvan: Хөөмей; Mongolian: Хөөмий, meaning "throat"), also known as laryngeal singing, double-voice singing, multi-voice singing or Haolin Chaoer, is a kind of ethnic group in the area around the Altai Mountains. The way of singing is not unique to Mongolians.
Humai is a magical singing art created by the aborigines of the Altai Mountains. It has been spread in a vast area before Mongolia formed a nation in the 12th century: a singer sings two songs at the same time purely with his own vocal organs. voice part. The basic structure of the Khoomei voice relationship is a combination of a sustained bass and the melody flowing above it. It can be divided into "Overtone Hoomei", "Tremophon Hoomei", "Compound Hoomei" and so on. It is unique among the folk songs of various ethnic groups in China.
According to research, the history of Khoomei can be traced back to the period of the Huns, that is, Khoomei was produced in the era of the Huns. The ancestors of the Mongolian Plateau devoutly imitated the sounds of nature in hunting and nomadic activities. They believed that this was an important way to effectively communicate with nature and the universe and live in harmony. As a result, certain potentials of the human vocal organs were developed, and one person imitated a waterfall The "harmony" can be produced when the sound of mountains, forests, and animals is heard, which is the prototype of Humai.
Regarding the birth of Humai, the Mongols have a strange saying: the ancient ancestors were active in the deep mountains, saw the diversion of rivers, waterfalls, and mountains and valleys, which were moving and soul-stirring. They imitated them and produced Humai. Khoomei. Among the Mongolians in the Altai Mountains of Xinjiang, there is still Humai. Humai's repertoire is not particularly rich due to the limitation of special singing skills. Generally speaking, there are three types: one is to chant beautiful natural scenery, such as "Ode to the Altai Mountains" and "Ebu River Water"; the other is to express and simulate the cute images of wild animals, such as "Cuckoo" , "Black Walking Bear" and so on, retaining the music relics of the pig hunting culture in the mountains and forests; the third is praising horses and grasslands, such as "Four-year-old Sea Monkey" and so on. In terms of its music style, Khoomei is mainly composed of short-tune music, but it can also sing short long-tune songs, and there are not many such repertoires. Judging from the legend of Humai and the subject matter of the repertoire, the singing form of "throat sound" is a product of the Mongolian mountain forest hunting culture period.
Artistic features The Humai singing method was produced under special regional conditions, production, and lifestyle. Its vocalization method and sound characteristics are relatively rare, and it is different from the world-famous Mongolian long-tune singing method. Vocal music experts describe this singing method as "high as Climb to the top of the sky, go down to the bottom of the vast sea, and as wide as the edge of the earth." Humai has a special principle of vocalization. Sometimes the vocal cords vibrate, sometimes they don't. It uses the air in the cavity to resonate. It uses special voice skills, one person sings two parts at the same time, forming a rare multi-part form. The singer uses the breath-holding technique to make the breath violently impact the vocal cords, making a thick bubble sound, forming the bass part. On this basis, cleverly adjust the oral resonance, strengthen and concentrate the overtones, and sing transparent and clear high-pitched parts with metallic sounds to obtain incomparably beautiful sound effects.
As a special form of folk singing, Humai is an outstanding creation of the Mongolian people. It conveys the Mongolian people's deep philosophical thinking and understanding of the natural universe and all things in the world, and expresses the Mongolian people's concept of pursuing harmonious survival and development and healthy and upward aesthetic taste.
representative work
China
Dulenzana "Auspicious Mongolia", "Mongolian Nomad", Alateng Ao Dao "Struggle", "If I Don't Have You", "The Devil's First Kiss", "The Gift of the Soul to Me" [2]
Republic of Tuva
huun huur tu "Where Young Grass Grows"
kalmykia republic
Okna Tsahan Zam《Tsahan Zam - Edjin》
Inheritance meaning
Khoomei is one of the oldest art forms of the Mongolian people. It retains more elements of the original singing, and it is a long-standing echo from the depths of the national memory. , ethnology, and folklore research all have important value.
Because of this, the Humai art inherited and spread by the contemporary Mongolian nation has not only caused a sensation in the international music scene, but also attracted great interest and widespread attention from experts and scholars in sociology, anthropology, history, culture and art, and more. It is highly valued by ethnomusicologists, experts and scholars in the field of vocal music. Mr. Lu Ji, honorary chairman of the Chinese Musicians Association and a leading figure in the field of music theory, pointed out: "There is a Mongolian song in which one person sings two voices at the same time. Outsiders can't imagine it. We should study it carefully." Inner Mongolia Musicians Association The honorary chairman Morjihu recently wrote: "Haolin Chaoer music is the oldest music heritage of human beings with ancient cultural value, a living music fossil, and the most unique music heritage of all races and nations that have been discovered so far. The music heritage of scientific exploration and understanding value." In inheriting and developing "Humai", the exquisite Mongolian cultural heritage, the grasslands of Inner Mongolia lag far behind other Mongolian areas such as the foothills of the Altai Mountains. The art of Humai is listed as a "national treasure"; the Republic of Tuva in Russia regards Humai art as the "national soul"; both countries have included the discovery and research of Humai art as a key national art discipline, and introduced it into the Mongolian vocal music teaching system. The Central Conservatory of Music of China also listed Humai art as an important part of the national key subject of art - "World Folk Music". Professor Chen Ziming, Secretary of the Party Committee of the original academy and an expert in world ethnomusicology, personally led the research.
Humai has been extinct in the grasslands of Inner Mongolia for more than 100 years, and it is also on the verge of extinction among the Mongolian people in the Altai region of Xinjiang. Since the 1990s, people with lofty ideals in the art circle of Inner Mongolia have learned various singing skills of Humai from Mongolian master Humai through various channels such as "please come in" and "go out", and have improved rapidly. Among them, Siqin Bilig, Zhang Zhaoxiang, Jiri Mutu, Baolidao and Baolida are outstanding. Since the 1990s, they have been active on the music stage at home and abroad (visited Japan and Australia successively). Among them, Siqin Bilig was hired to give lectures and perform demonstrations at the Central Music Center. Various forms of academic seminars are played. As early as the 1980s, well-known scholars in our district, such as Morjihu and Da Buhechaolu, began to investigate, research and introduce "Humai"; Different forms of vocal music (such as folk art singing and a cappella) are introduced to the stage; the establishment of the Oriental Film and Television Academy in 2000 truly introduced Humai art into the center of national art teaching.
It is an important and urgent task to rescue and protect the magical singing art of "Khoomei" from extinction.
In November 2019, the "List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage Representative Project Protection Units" was announced. Pavilion) was qualified as a protection unit for the "Hoh Mai" project.