Throat Singing, Iqaluit

Throat singing is a very interesting cultural thing to do in Iqaluit. It is like a friendly competition between two lady singers face to face to sing the longest. Years ago throat singing was banned by Christian priests. Throat singing is considered as vocal games or verbal art by the ethnomusicology.


In the singing competition two women face each other their vocal abilities while producing a rhythmic pattern. The first to run out of breath or be unable to keep the speed of the other singer will start to laugh or simply stop and will thus lose the game. The game lasts between one and three minutes and the winner beats the largest number of people.