Music & Performance Art
ᓂᔾᔭᐅᓯᔭᕐᓂᖅ ᑕᑯᕋᕐᓈᖅᑕᐅᓂᖏᓪᓗ

Nunavummiut greatly appreciate good music, dance and drama!

At specific times of the year — such as when the sun returns to end the long, dark winter night, at the beginning of springtime and when summer finally arrives — communities all across Nunavut stage celebrations and games. These events include traditional Inuit performing arts, like storytelling, throat-singing and drum dancing, while also staging traditional Inuit games, which are athletic competitions of strength, agility, dexterity and stamina based on critical skills honed for excellence in hunting and arctic survival. These festive events often feature live music, dancing, theatrical performances and circus acts, plus they include communal feasts of traditional Inuit foods that are prepared for one and all to enjoy!

Traditional Inuit music is based around drums used in dance music and storytelling, plus a vocal style called ‘katajjaq’ in Inuktitut, Inuit throat-singing, which has become popular in Canada and abroad. The technical characteristics of Inuit music include story singing, complex rhythmic organization, relatively small melodic range averaging about a sixth, prominence of major thirds and minor seconds melodically, with undulating movement.

The Copper Inuit living near the Coppermine River in the western Kitikmeot region have two categories of music. A song is called ‘pisik’ if the performer also plays drums, and ‘aton’ if the performer only dances.

Traditionally, the Inuit did not have a specific word for what English-speaking people call 'music.' The closest word in Inuktitut is 'nipi' — which includes music, the sounds of speech, wild animals, the forces of nature and noise.

.

The Inuit performance art of throat-singing, called 'katajjaq' in Inuktitut, is the only vocal game of its kind in the world.

Until the arrival of Europeans and Americans, followed by the advent of musical recording technologies, Inuit music was traditionally only used in spiritual ceremonies, often to ask the spirits for good luck in hunting, as well as in simple lullabies for children. Unlike most cultures, traditional Inuit music is remarkable for its stoic lack of work songs and love songs. Inuit musical traditions were modified with the arrival of foreign sailors, especially those from Scotland. The Inuit soon learned to play these whalers’ musical instruments, the accordion and the fiddle, as they learned to dance jigs and reels.

Inuit throat-singing (‘katajjaq’) is a type of traditional competitive song, considered a game, usually held between two women. It is one of the world’s few examples of overtone singing, a very unique method of producing sounds vocally. When competing, two women stand face-to-face and sing using a complex method of following each other, so that one voice hits a strong accent while the other hits a weak one, melding their voices into a nearly indistinguishable single sound. They repeat brief motifs at staggered intervals, often imitating natural sounds, like those of geese, caribou or other wildlife, until one runs out of breath, trips over her tongue, or begins laughing — at which point the contest is concluded. This vocal game is totally unique to the Inuit!

The main Inuit percussion instrument is the wooden frame drum called the ‘qilaut’ that is made from bending narrow strips of wood into a circular frame with a handle protruding. Originally, caribou skin was stretched across the frame. Nowadays synthetic membranes are used. These drums can reach a metre (three feet) in diameter but are usually smaller. It is struck on the edge of the rim with a ‘qatuk,’ a wooden stick, wand or beater. The sound is a combination of the percussive whack on the wood and the resulting deep vibrations from the stretched membrane.

The Inuit art of throat-singing, like Inuit drum dancing, has been enjoyed since time immemorial yet as other musical traditions, instruments and sounds arrived in Nunavut, they have been combined and merged with the expressive musical forms of the native people. Many Inuit enjoy the accordion and fiddle sounds introduced to them by whalers and fur traders. Acoustic and electric guitars are now played everywhere in the territory, producing folk, country, pop and rock music in Nunavut with a distinctly northern artistic flair. Sounding as if it were perhaps invented specifically for another modern musical form adored by youth, the Inuktitut language is brilliantly suited for hip hop lyrics!

Arviat has strong musical roots and traditions. It is the home of renowned Inuit performers Charlie Panigoniak and Susan Aglukark. In the fall, Arviat hosts the Inuumariit Music Festival.

Meet our members

STORIES

5 Cool and Usual Place in Nunavut

Read More

5 Things To Do In Pond Inlet

Read More

5 Things to do in Rankin Inlet

Read More

Three Days in Iqaluit

Read More
Arctic Animals in Nunavut

Meet the Majestic Arctic Animals of Nunavut

Read More
Northern entertainment

In Nunavut, experience Inuit culture on the land or in the studio

Read More
Dog sled team running with musher

See Nunavut the original authentic way—by dogsled

Read More
Freshly caught Arctic Char

Nunavut’s a paradise for fishers, no matter the season

Read More
Parks Canada photo

In Nunavut, there’s a special place for every traveller

Read More
Narwhal whales in a break in the ice

Capturing the spirit of the Arctic in Nunavut

Read More
Discovery Lodge room

Where to stay during your once-in-a-lifetime Arctic adventure

Read More
Fishing drying on rack - Parks Canada

Get a Taste of the Arctic While in Nunavut

Read More

Packing for your Arctic Expedition Cruise

Read More

The Beauty of Immersion

Read More

Camping at the Top of the World

Read More

Walking on the Wild Side

Read More

Preparing for the Adventure of a Lifetime

Read More

Stepping Towards the Floe Edge

Read More

Navigating the Beautiful North

Read More

A Plan for all Seasons

Read More

A Paddle and an Ancient Vessel

Read More

Qaggiavuut: Strengthening The Nunavut Performing Arts With Training, Support And Space!

Read More

Travellers Drink From Iceberg – Nature’s Water Fountain!

Read More

10 Fun Facts About Narwhal: Are Narwhal Endangered?

Read More

Things To Do While Visiting Iqaluit: the Capital City of Nunavut

Read More

Majestic Fjords and More: Pangnirtung

Read More

Maud Returns Home: Summer 2017

Read More

Filming Worlds Apart

Read More

On the Land in Cambridge Bay: 3 Days of Adventure!

Read More

10 Things To Do While In Nunavut

Read More

Arctic Challenge: Skiing the Ashuyak Pass

Read More

The Beautiful Flowers of the Arctic

Read More

Feed Your Mind with the Iqaluit Audioguide

Read More
Scroll to Top