On top of the world

Photo of This Land arctic expedition, courtesy Diane Whelan, National Film Board of Canada.

The north can grow on you.

If you enjoyed the documentary “This Land”, here is Diane’s interactive story of her trip giving a day by day account of her journey, showing distance travelled, temperatures, and hours of daylight.

To quote Diane “I had never ridden a snowmobile before. I arrived in Yellowknife a few days early to teach myself the basics. After just a few hours on a rented machine I was doing well, so, I set off for one last quick ride across a frozen lake. The machine stalled. After 20 minutes of struggling to get the machine to start, I knew I was in trouble. In a half hour it would be total darkness, and I had at least an 8 kilometre walk back to town, no flashlight, cellphone, or water. Just 100 useless dollars in my pocket. I was thinking “great, my journey hasn’t even started, and I’m going to freeze to death in Yellowknife, how freaking embarrassing." In the dimming light I noticed a small black speck in the distance. I jumped up and down waving my hands in the air and, sure enough, 10 minutes later a local 10 year old boy named Henry was there. He said “My mom saw you in the telescope in her kitchen and sent me to help”.

Horizonal Everest in the Canadian arctic

For the best effect when you watch this film, don't forget to toggle for large screen. Documentary courtesy Film Board of Canada. "

In March 2007, seven Canadian and Inuit rangers and one documentary filmmaker set out to cover more than 2000 km of the harshest terrain on the planet. They confront blizzards, labyrinths of crushed sea ice and near-impassable glaciers, with temperatures hovering around -50°C, to raise a flag on the northernmost tip of Canadian soil. With a mesmerizing soundtrack by Nunavut-born throat singer and narrator Tanya Tagaq and spectacular footage of the Arctic landscape, Dianne Whelan's documentary captures the epic adventure with raw immediacy."

If you like Tanya Tagaq’s singing, the song is called ”Force” and is available for download.

Singing between classes

Here is an example of Inuit throat singing, performed by a couple of school girls between classes in Gjoa Haven, Nunavut. One of the girls makes very interesting sounds. One sound even sounds like a frog.

Inuit throat singing

Photo courtesy: freespiritgallery.ca.

I’ve always been fascinated with the Canadian north, and I’ve always wanted to go there.

One of the things I find interesting is Inuit throat singing. It sounds strange the first time you hear it, very primeval, but then you realize there is a pattern, and it’s very beautiful.

“Originally, Inuit throat singing was a form of entertainment among Inuit women while the men were away on hunting trips. In the Inuit language Inuktitut, throat singing is called katajjaq, pirkusirtuk or nipaquhiit depending on the Canadian Arctic region. It was regarded more as a type of vocal or breathing game in the Inuit culture rather than a form of music.

In Inuit throat singing, two Inuit women would face each other either standing or crouching down while holding each other's arms. One would lead with short deep rhythmic sounds while the other would respond. The leader would repeat sounds with short gaps in between. The follower would fill in these gaps with her own rhythmic sounds. Sometimes both Inuit women would be doing a dance like movement like rocking from left to right while throat singing.”

The sounds would vary, and often would emulate sounds found in nature. The first woman to run out of breath, laugh or break the rhythmic sequence would be declared the loser of the game.

Sadly inuit throat singing was forbidden by Christian priests for nearly 100 years. Fortunately this ban was lifted some decades ago, and there has been a revival of this art form.