By blending traditional Inuit songs with modern compositions, two sisters have harnessed an ethereal sonic landscape.
As children, sisters Kayley Inuksuk Mackay and Tiffany Kuliktana Ayalik didn’t consider throat singing to be anything special – it was a pastime and something fun to do while growing up in Yellowknife, N.W.T.
However, as they got older and wanted to learn more songs, they found it difficult.
“We knew something had happened, but we didn’t know the ins and outs of residential school, of colonization, when we were children,” Ayalik said. “When we were old enough to have that information shared with us, it started to feel different. We started to have a different lens on the practice.”
Before its revision in 1951, the Indian Act enforced by the Canadian government made it illegal for First Nations to practise their culture and religion. At that time, throat singing was on the brink of extinction and punishably by fines or even jail time. This resulted in the singing going underground.
“Thank goodness for the work of Inuit women – they were able to preserve a lot of the songs,” Ayalik said. “We do still have access to some of them and it’s very graciously shared among Inuit … Especially now since we’ve had this gorgeous renaissance of throat singing and folks are being encouraged to practise it again. It’s really beautiful to see how much sharing there is among Inuit women.”
Improvisation plays a significant role in throat singing, as does a ‘follow-the-leader’ style game. Ayalik said for the majority of throat songs, both people sing the same part at different times in canon, creating a “who’s making what” type sound. Listening to your singing partner is critical, as is not being afraid to make a mistake.
With the help of a looping pedal, the sisters have blended Inuit-style throat singing with modern compositions and interpretations to create the multi-layered harmonic music that is the sound of their singing duo PiqSiq.
Due to the often impromptu nature of the songs, no two PiqSiq concerts are ever the same.
Having a background singing in church choirs, the duo realized the power and ritual in group singing.
“Just being the two of us, we don’t have access to a hundred throat singers … But with the touch of a button, we’re able to create a lush sounding multi-part symphony soundscape that would only be able to live in our heads and imagination,” Ayalik said. “It’s exciting for us to, in our own way, imagine into a realm where maybe there are 100 Inuit singing all together … it’s a dream that we’re making happen in the way we know how … maybe one day we’ll be able to amass that many voices to sing something together.”
PiqSiq doesn’t just sing on the stage either, since the practice can be “spur of the moment” when they see another throat singer.
“It’s one of those fun things where you’re passing through the Rankin Inlet Airport and you see someone else who might know some songs and you have a few minutes, so you sing a few together, you teach each other a song, you record it on your phone, and off you go,” Ayalik said.
They view their singing as not simply a reclamation of culture, but a broader defining of what indigeneity can look like and to challenge “stick-in-the-mud” ideas concerning “the right way to be an Indigenous person.” The wisdom of their ancestors have allowed them to continue practising their culture in a modern context so that they can be Inuk no matter where they are or what they’re doing, so long as they are in alignment with Inuit values.
“I think that it also challenges what people think of quote un-quote Inuit culture or Inuit music or what Inuit sound and look like,” Ayalik said.
PiqSiq will be performing in Nanaimo at the fourth annual Sumsháthut (sun) Festival, organized and co-produced by Tsatassaya White of Snuneymuxw and Hupacasath First Nations. It will be celebrated at the Snuneymuxw Learning Academy, 1984 Woobank Rd. on Sunday, Dec. 3, from 10 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. and will also showcase Coast Salish song and dance. The trading post market place will be open until 4 p.m. and performances run from 5-6:30 p.m.
Tickets for the event can be purchased at www.crimsoncoastdance.com.
READ MORE: Indigenous festival welcoming the sun returns to Nanaimo
mandy.moraes@nanaimobulletin.com
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