Tuvan Throat Singing

By Nobleman Nash Hollowhill - September 10, 2009

 

The Tuvans are a tribe of Mongolians who originated the practice of Throat Singing. The tradition now stretches across Asia, including Tibet, Japan, Siberia, Russia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan among others. The only explanation I have ever personally read on the origin of this art form is that a man was dreaming and heard a voice. The voice was at once deep like that of a grown man, and high-pitched like a little girl’s. He was entranced by the beauty of this voice, and upon waking he realized it was coming from his own throat. From this experience, he taught others to mimic the sound and developed this unique art. It is a long and difficult process to learn to Throat Sing correctly, because it requires that the breath be slowed down in order to draw the note out for as long as possible. The deep drone created by vibrating the lowest vocal chords is maintained while formants, or mouth positions are manipulated to bring a greater clarity to the high, flutelike overtones from which a melody is produced. The tongue is moved back and forth as in whistling, the jaw moved up and down, and the lips are warped in all manner of shapes in order to produce the widest range of vowels, which controls the pitch of the harmonic overtones.

Since teaching myself to Throat Sing in March 2009, I have undergone radical transformations of identity and reality perception, not unlike those which I experience under the influence of entheogenic drugs. Because the process is one of the most effective methods of reaching deep meditative states, I enter levels of extreme relaxation, clarity of thought, childlike wonder, and an understanding of the existence of God within me. I can Throat Sing most effectively while lying down in the Yogic Corpse Position with my head tilted back and all of my muscles gradually relaxed and stretched. I discovered this position when practicing both Throat Singing, and didgeridoo playing, when it was necessary for me to focus entirely on my breath and use all of my energy as fluidly as possible. However, recently I have discovered that Throat Singing is possible and extremely enlightening while doing other Yoga Postures requiring me to kneel, stand, or walk as in Tai Chi. I have used Throat Singing to channel creative energies when it was necessary to concentrate on a watercolor painting or wood sculpture. The benefits of this practice seem to go on forever.

As I mentioned earlier, I am experienced in psychedelic drug use, and prior to learning to Throat Sing, I regularly indulged in various hallucinogens which I believe aided my exploration of Meditation, Yoga, and Tai Chi. On my menu were daily various self-centering practices, daily doses of THC (weed/hash, smoke/vape/cook), and weekly doses of wilder drugs like Salvia (eat/smoke/infuse), Psilocybin (eat/smoke/infuse), LSD (blotter paper/liquid eyedropper), and DMT (in combination with THC or freebase). When I experimented with Throat Singing while under the influence of each one of these substances, and sometimes in combination with each other (THC/Salvia, THC/Psilocybin, THC/LSD, Salvia/Psilocybin, THC/Salvia/Psilocybin, Psilocybin/LSD, THC/Psilocybin/LSD, THC/DMT) I realized that Throat Singing is a natural sobering process that cuts through literally anything. I incorporate mantras into my practice and focus on the meaning of each syllable as well as concentrating on the drone to keep my consciousness from wandering, and giving the soundwaves I’m creating free reign in determining the movements I make with my mouth to make the higher tones more audible.

As a side note, on my first salvia trip I had the distinct impression that I experienced time reversing, or my mind moving backwards. This I believed at the time was due to my having overdosed on salvia, and because my two parents’ family trees were coming to an apex in my own identity for the purpose of procreation or some other cosmic duty that was bestowed upon me at that very moment, and because my ego was being swept away by these waves of primal terror, I would not be able to perform the task expected of me, thus the universe as I saw it was coming to a grinding halt on my account. This experience has been echoed in my practice of throat singing, while under the influence of psilocybin various times. Though nowhere near as intense, the experience of riding the very edge of linear time has been mirrored in these experiences, and I believe it to be the result of bringing my consciousness of the immediate past and future so close together through concentration, that the distinctions that usually create the illusion of the present are lost. Whether this be real or hallucination is beyond my ability to comprehend.