The author first got acquainted with Tuvan music in 1991, at the 2nd International Congress of Jew’s Harp Music in Yakutia, Russia. Among other ethnomusical bands from Russia’s various regions and CIS states, the Tuvan band stood out with its special techniques of playing the khomus (Jew’s harp) and of throat singing which accompanied their music. One of them, Gennadii Chash, later tutored the...
This article concentrates on the characteristics of shamanic practice in Tuva, a republic within the Russian Federation. While delineating the unique features of shamanic craft, such as a lack of trance, the analysis concentrates on the significance of sound and music as indispensable elements of the shamanic repertoire. In short, the article argues that the organizational structure of the...