KHOOMEI: SOUNDS OF HARMONY

Ancient throat singing tradition thrives amid cultural shifts, Chen Nan and Yuan Hui report

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Khoomei, also known as throat singing, is an ancient vocal tradition which allows singers to produce the sounds of multiple notes simultaneously in their throats, creating a mesmerizing, harmonic sound that echoes the natural world — from the howling wind to the rumbling river.

The khoomei tradition is found in China, Mongolia and Russia. In China, it is practiced mostly by ethnic Mongolians in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. In Russia, it is followed by the same people in the Tuva region in southern Siberia.