A Panorama of Expressions of Inuit Musical Culture
Kenojuak Ashevak (1927-2013), Guardians of Katajjaniq, 1992, lithography, stencil, 17/50, 51.2 x 66 cm. Collection of Jean-Jacques Nattiez. © Reproduced with the permission of Dorset Fine Arts. Photo MMFA, Christine Guest
On view from November 10, 2022, to March 12, 2023, TUSARNITUT! Music Born of the Cold is the first exhibition to highlight the breadth and diversity of Inuit musical expression in the visual arts of the circumpolar north, dating from pre-colonial times to the present. It also presents the contexts in which the works were performed, be it the interior of an igloo, on pack ice of a bygone era, or in more contemporary settings. Jean-Jacques Nattiez co-curated Tusarnitut! with Lisa Qiluqqi Koperqualuk, in collaboration with Charissa von Harringa. In this article, he discusses the main themes of the exhibition and sheds light on the connections between Inuit visual art and two prominent musical traditions: drum dancing and throat singing.
Jean-Jacques Nattiez
TUSARNITUT! brings together approximately one hundred sculptures, prints, drawings and installations by renowned Inuit artists that attest to the significance of music in Inuit culture. Drawn from the collections of the MMFA, Avataq Cultural Institute and local and international lenders, these works were produced by Indigenous peoples living in the Arctic and subarctic regions of Inuit Nunaat. This vast area encompasses the territories and shared international homelands of the following people: the Yup’it and Iñupiat of northern Alaska; the Nunavimmiut (Ungava), Iglulingmuit (Iglulik), Kivallirmiut (Caribou), Netsilingmiut (Netsilik), Inuinnait (Copper) and Inuvialuit of Inuit Nunangat in Canada; the Kalaallit of Kalaallit Nunaat in Greenland; and the Chukchi of Chukotka, Siberia. Accompanying these works is a rich corpus of museum objects, archival photographs, documents and field recordings that contextualize the dynamic evolution and critical cross-cultural transformations of Inuit music and aesthetic expression in the arts.
Lucassie Echalook (born in 1942), Two Women Performing Katajjaniq, 1974, stonecut, artist’s proof 1, 23.5 x 22 cm. Collection of Jean-Jacques Nattiez. Photo MMFA, Denis Farley
Drum dancing and throat singing
TUSARNITUT! highlights the distinction between drum dancing and throat singing, and filmed performances of the two genres are cast onto the gallery walls throughout. At the entrance to the exhibition, the display of sculptures and prints situate the visitors in the perspective given to various aspects of drum dancing and throat singing in the rest of the exhibition. Selected for their aesthetic qualities, the renown of their creators and their stylistic originality, these works evince, among other things, the positions of the dancers’ and singers’ bodies and the interactions between artists in different creative settings.
Artworks revealing the diversity of Inuit music
The exhibition is not intended to be an exhaustive representation of the diversity of Inuit visual arts, nor of the complete works of a single artist. Rather, the artworks were specifically selected to present a circumpolar perspective of both the diversity of musical expression across the Arctic and the consistency in aesthetic quality and ingenuity of Inuit artists, from Alaska to Greenland. To reinforce the links between specific works of art and the musical domains they reference, the public can access complimentary audiovisual content in the form of sound and video clips. These can be experienced by scanning the QR codes on wall labels.
Marius Kayotak (1947-2008), Drum Dancer with Arms Raised, n.d., antler, whalebone, wood. Collection of Jean-Jacques Nattiez. © Public Trustee for Nunavut, Estate of Marius Kayotak. Photo MMFA, Christine Guest
Chris Audla, Women Playing Nipaquhiit, Surmounted by a Drum Dancer, n.d., antler. Collection of Jean-Jacques Nattiez. Photo MMFA, Christine Guest
The influence of shamanism
According to the celebrated Inuitologist Bernard Saladin d’Anglure, “Shamanism was the cornerstone on which the Inuit system of thought, of beliefs and of rituals rested.” This premise also extends to the musical expression of these peoples. Before entering the section on drum dancing, visitors are introduced to some fundamental principles of shamanism, such as the invoking of spirits from the natural and animal kingdoms to ensure the community’s survival. In fact, this was the original purpose of drum dance songs and throat singing. The latter were often inspired by an imitation of the wind, water or certain animals, as we can see in this drawing of a throat singer and geese.
Pitseolak Ashoona (1904-1983), Untitled (Women Playing Nipaquhiit on a Boat with Two Geese), 1974, coloured pencil, felt-tip pen. Collection of Jean-Jacques Nattiez. © Reproduced with the permission of Dorset Fine Arts. Photo MMFA, Christine Guest
Throat singing not only served as a form of entertainment, but was also integral in the division of labour: the role of female throat singers was to exert their influence on the animal spirits or those of the elements while the men hunted and fished. This invocation was performed during the celebratory rituals of tivajuut, which involved an exchange of spouses while donning masks – seen here – and intoning a particular melody. These works are extremely rare and it is an immense privilege to be able to present them in this exhibition.
Qumangaapik, female mask made for the Tivajuut Festival, 1976, seal leather, wolf fur. Université de Montréal, Faculty of Music. Photo MMFA, Christine Guest
A historical perspective
The exhibition retraces how musical expression was transformed across history by more widespread cultural practices. The links between Inuit music and shamanism were erased over the years under the influence of Christianization and through contact with the musical world of Qallunaat (non-Inuit people). Traditionally, drum dancing and singing was performed in the grand ceremonial igloo. The men danced in competition with each other, accompanied in song by their spouses. The one who performed the longest dance and composed the most compelling narrative poem was declared the winner of such contests.
Therese Natsiq Tulugatjuk (born in 1922), Untitled (Model Representing the Drum Dance in Iglulik), 1977, stone, antler. Collection of Jean-Jacques Nattiez. Photo MMFA, Denis Farley
Gradually, however, Western music encroached on Inuit cultural life. Certain works on view evoke the playing of the violin or accordion familiar to our culture, and others depict the use of mechanical or electronic instruments to record throat singing or drum dancing songs. Similarly, one artwork combines traditional drum dancing with contemporary pop music, demonstrating a blending of genres. Meanwhile, other contemporary artists such as Niap (Nancy Saunders) represent throat singing from an entirely new perspective.
Pootoogook Jaw (born in 1959), Musicians, about 1990, serpentine, skin, sinew, metal, fibre, bone. Museum of Anthropology, the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. © Reproduced with the permission of Dorset Fine Arts
Nancy Saunders (Niap) (born in 1986), ᑲᑕᔾᔭᐅᓯᕙᓪᓛᑦ Katajjausivallaat, the Cradled Rhythm, 2018, brazilian steatite, wire, sound recordings, headphones, pedestals, various dimensions. MMFA, purchase, Dr. Francis J. Shepherd Bequest. Photo Romain Guilbault
The final section of the exhibition reveals how far the origins of Inuit music date back. One shaman mask is estimated to be 1,000 years old, based on carbon-14 dating of the peat where it was found, next to fragments of a drum frame. In addition, videos show analogous sounds and choreographies between the throat singing of Chukchi in Siberia and the Inuit peoples in Nunavik. Given that these peoples crossed the Bering Strait hundreds of years ago, it could be argued that these songs constitute the earliest Canadian music!
Late Dorset, mask, reproduction. Canadian Museum of History, Gatineau. Photo Canadian Museum of History
A scholarly publication
The exhibition is complemented by an art book published in French by Presses de l’Université de Montréal. Written by Jean-Jacques Nattiez with a preface by Lisa Qiluqqi Koperqualuk, La musique qui vient du froid : arts, chants et danses des Inuit offers an anthropological and historical look at Inuit musical culture and a panorama of its diverse expressions. The added references to a host of online recordings, videos and archival documents make it a veritable anthology. Its abundant iconography highlights the myriad artistic representations of drum dancing and throat singing, including in sculptures, drawings and prints. Above all, this book is written as an homage to the immense artistic talent and musical virtuosity of these peoples who are born of the cold.
About the author
Jean-Jacques Nattiez is a musicologist and Professor Emeritus at Université de Montréal. He has published works on musical semiology, Richard Wagner and Pierre Boulez, and served as the editor-in-chief of a five-volume music encyclopaedia. As an ethnomusicologist, he has published recordings and studies on musical culture based in the oral tradition pertaining not only to the Inuit, but also the Ainus peoples of Japan, the Chukchi peoples of Siberia and the Ganda peoples of Uganda. His team of researchers produced the first recorded album of throat singing, which won the Grand prix international du disque from the Académie Charles Cros in 1979.
ᑐᓴᕐᓂᑐᑦ TUSARNITUT! Music Born of the Cold
November 10, 2022 – March 12, 2023
Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion – Level 1
Crédits et commissariat
An exhibition organized by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. The exhibition is curated by Jean-Jacques Nattiez, ethnomusicologist and Professor Emeritus at Université de Montréal, and Lisa Qiluqqi Koperqualuk, Curator and Mediator of Inuit Art, MMFA, in collaboration with Charissa von Harringa, Curatorial Associate.
Its presentation was made possible by Hydro-Québec and the outstanding financial support of the Government of Canada and the Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne. The MMFA wishes to underscore the contribution of its official sponsor, Denalt Paints, and its media partner La Presse.
TUSARNITUT ! was funded in part by the Government of Quebec, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des arts de Montréal.
