Khöömii, hooliin chor, 'the harmony of the throat', or Mongolian throat singing, is a particular variant of diphonic singing practiced by the Mongolian people in Mongolia, Inner Mongolia (China), and the Republic of Tuva (Russia). Since 2009, it has been inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO, under the name 'Mongolian art of long song, khoomii'.

The art of Mongolian throat singing relies on an ancestral vocal technique based on a fundamental sound (drone) onto which, through the placement of the lips or tongue, harmonics (numbering more than forty) are added to form a melody of two, or even three voices altogether.

In Mongolia, many Mongolian herders in the western provinces are skilled practitioners of this art, which is essentially masculine (women are only beginning to practice it nowadays). It would seem that there is a link between the development of this vocal art in Mongolia and the geographical peculiarities of the country. Indeed, Mongolia's vast open steppes allow sounds to travel great distances. Ethnomusicologists who study throat singing also point out that khöömii was an integral part of the pastoral animistic culture still practiced today. Frequently, singers venture far into the countryside in search of the appropriate environment for practicing throat singing.

According to the animistic worldview, all elements of nature possess a spirituality identified not only by their form or location, but also by the sounds they produce. Thus, originally, khöömii would have been the way humans found to imitate the sounds of nature in all its spirituality. In this part of Asia, you can also find numerous musical instruments whose sounds imitate the noises nature makes: animal sounds, wind, water, and more.

We invite you to witness a demonstration of this ancestral art in the company of a Mongolian throat singer who will explain the basic techniques to you.