Khumai, Mongolia

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"Khumai", also known as "Haolin·Chaoer", is a superb singing form of the Mongolian polyphonic singing method Chaoer (chor), and is a "throat" art. Using special vocal techniques, 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 hit the vocal cords violently, producing a thick bubble sound, forming a bass part. On this basis, the oral cavity is cleverly adjusted, the overtones are strengthened and concentrated, and a transparent, clear, high-frequency part with a metallic sound is sung, and an extremely beautiful sound effect is achieved.

About the origin of Khumai, the Mongolians have a peculiar saying: In ancient times, our ancestors were active in the deep mountains. They saw river branches diverging, waterfalls flying, and the mountains singing and the valleys echoing. It was breathtaking and could be heard for dozens of miles. He imitated it, and Humai was born. Among the Mongolians in the Altai Mountains of Xinjiang, Khumai is still popular today. The repertoire of Khumai is not particularly rich due to the limitations of special singing skills. Generally speaking, there are three types: one is to sing beautiful natural scenery, such as "Ode to the Altai Mountains" and "Water of the Ebu River"; the other is to express and simulate the cute images of wild animals, such as "Cuckoo" , "Black Walking Bear" and the like, retaining the musical remnants of the pig hunting culture period in the mountains and forests; the third is to praise horses and grasslands, such as "The Four-Year-Old Haliu Horse" and so on. In terms of its music style, Khumai mainly focuses on short-key music, but it can also sing some short long-key songs, and there are not many such songs. Judging from the legend of Khumai and the theme and content of the repertoire, the singing form of "throat voice" must be a product of the Mongolian forest hunting culture period

From the perspective of the sound production principle, Khumai should be viewed Composition is a special form of vocal Chaoer and the inevitable result of the development and sublimation of "Haolin Chaoer" choral art. As mentioned before, when ancient Mongolians participated in wars, they had to sing the Teochew chorus loudly before fighting. After a successful hunt, they would also vent their anger and sing and dance enthusiastically. In the overwhelming sound waves, the ethereal overtone effect is naturally produced. Obviously, the Mongols tried to skillfully transplant the basic elements of Chaoer choral art into one person. After a long period of exploration, this unique vocal form was finally created. The emergence and development of Khumai is the product of the development and progress of Mongolian music. It has made a qualitative leap in the understanding and mastery of acoustic laws. On the road to exploring the secrets of sound, the Mongols finally achieved a breakthrough. It is said that the art of singing and singing of heroic epics was very popular in the Mongolian grasslands as early as the 13th century. According to research by musicologists, many ancient books in my country (including the "Book of Songs") record a singing art of the northern grassland people - " "Xiao" is the original form of "Haolin Chaoer". In this way, its history can be traced back to at least 2300 years ago. If this inference is true, the "History of World Music" will be rewritten from the basic part of the birthplace of human polyphonic music culture. This is not mystical or conjecture. Just by comparing the Mongolian pronunciation of "Chaoer" with the chorus, harmony and chords of Western polyphonic music and many ethnic texts, we can get a glimpse of its inner connection. Chaoer is accurately pronounced as "chor" in Mongolian; the terms related to it in European countries such as harmony, chords, chorus, and hymns are chorus (English), chord (French), and chor (German), and their root words are Such striking similarity is no coincidence. But so far, the history of Chinese music has never recorded the origin of polyphonic music of the Chinese nation itself. So, was polyphonic music introduced to China from the West, or was it radiated from China's Altai region (Xinjiang) to the West? The fact is that "chor" (chor) has a history of more than 2,300 years, and Western polyphonic music was first produced in the 9th century 1100 years ago. The prosperity of chorus and hymns has reached the 14th to 17th centuries. It can be seen that China, which has always been regarded as the East without polyphonic music, may actually be the mother and birthplace of Western European polyphonic music.

Because of this, the "Khumai" art inherited and spread by the contemporary Mongolian nation has not only caused a sensation in the international music scene, but also attracted experts and scholars in sociology, anthropology, history, culture and art from all over the world. has attracted great interest and widespread attention, and has been highly valued by ethnomusicologists, experts and scholars in the vocal music field.

Mr. Lu Ji, honorary chairman of the Chinese Musicians Association and a leading figure in music theory, pointed out: "The Mongolian people have a song in which one person sings two parts at the same time. Outsiders cannot imagine it. We should study and study it seriously." Inner Mongolia Music Association Honorary Chairman Mor Jihu recently wrote: "Haolin Chaoer music is the oldest musical heritage of mankind with ancient cultural relic value. It is a living musical fossil and the most unique musical heritage of all races and nations discovered so far. Scientific exploration and understanding of the value of musical heritage. "In terms of inheriting and developing the exquisite Mongolian cultural heritage of "Khumai" (Haolin Chaoer), the Inner Mongolian grasslands lag far behind other Mongolian areas such as the foothills of the Altai Mountains. For example, Mongolia has already listed "Khumai" art as a "national treasure"; Tuva and Russia regard "Khumai" as the "national soul"; both countries have discovered and researched "Khumai" art. It is listed as a national key art discipline and introduced into the Mongolian vocal music teaching system. my country's Central Conservatory of Music has also listed "Khumai" art as an important part of the national key art discipline project - "World Ethnic Folk Music", and Professor Chen Ziming, the former party committee secretary and world ethnomusicology expert, personally led the research .

"Khumai" has been extinct in the grasslands of Inner Mongolia for more than 100 years, and is also on the verge of being lost among the Mongolian people in the Altai region of Xinjiang. Therefore, saving, discovering and developing this cultural heritage, which was originally the Chinese nation, is a top priority and has immeasurable practical significance and far-reaching historical impact. The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region is the area with the largest Mongolian population. It is a bounden duty to inherit the ancient magical and highly skilled Mongolian vocal art of Hehongchang.

Fortunately, since the 1990s, people with lofty ideals in the art world of Inner Mongolia have learned "Khumai" art through various channels such as "inviting in" and "going out", and have improved rapidly. Among them, Siqin Bilige, Zhang Zhaoxiang, Jiri Mutu, Baoli Dao and Baoli Da are the outstanding ones. Since the 1990s, they have been active on the music stage at home and abroad (visiting Japan and Australia successively). Among them, Siqinbilig was hired to give lectures and perform demonstrations at the Central Music Department. Their audio and video recordings have been performed many times at home and abroad. Played at various academic seminars.

As early as the 1980s, Morji, a knowledgeable scholar in our area

then gave the poster some videos of Khumai singers from all over the world!

Japan-Makigami Koichi /videos/koichi.mov

Khakassia Vyacheslav Kuchinov, Khakassia /videos/kuchinov.mov

Evgenii Ulbugashev, Khakassia /videos/ulugsm .mov

Mongolia Sandak Chaf, Mongolia /videos/chaf.mov

Tibet Drepung-Loseling Monks, Tibet /videos/monks.mov

Taiwan Bunun Men's Choir /videos/posi.mov

Tuva Khoomei /videos/kokhoomeism.mov

Kargyraa /videos/seveksm.mov

Sygyt /videos/gennadism.mov Borbangnadyr /videos/olegsm.mov

Parade of the Throat-Singers /videos/parade95.mov