Reindeer Jazz
Music; Ambiance: Yoik singing
JM: We’re listening to the sound of a “yoik,” an ancient form of music created by the Sami people, nomadic reindeer herdsman who once roamed across all of Scandinavia. I’m Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet.
AH: “Yoiks is a traditional music of the Sami people, and in yoiks the melody is more important than the words.”
JM: Annukka Hirvasvoupio is a musician from Tampere, Finland. She and other young Samis are trying to keep the ancient tradition of yoiking alive. Yoiks are difficult to define – part chant, part epic, and part free form song – they’re meant to paint a musical portrait of a person or a place.
AH: “In a yoik there is no verses. The improvisation is a very important thing in yoiking. In yoiks there are not so many words, and if they are some words you can say, or sing, or yoik them. You can, you can make up them, words also when you are yoiking and so the words are also improvised – like the melody.”
JM: So with words being unnecessary, and the melody and sounds subject to improvisation, you might think of yoiking as a kind of ancient “reindeer herdsman scat singing.”
AH: We’ll hear more about yoiks and Sami culture in future programs. Pulse of the Planet is presented by the National Science Foundation.