The Fifth International Symposium on Traditional Polyphony ...

On the Polyphonic Singing Styles in Ainu Traditional Music and Some
Recent Changes
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Genres: Several tentative categories have been mentioned in previous studies about the classification of
Ainu music (Kubodera, 1939; Chiri, 1960; Monbetsu-cho Kyodo-shi Kenkyu-kai, 1966; Nhk, 1965; Tanimoto,
1989; Chiba, 1996b; Kochi, 2007).
Among the indigenous peoples of northern Asia, Ainu music has been said to have a much larger variety
of genres (tab. 2; Tanimoto, 1989: 122).
Tab. 2 is referring to Rie Kochi (Kochi, 2007)
songs for dances
songs
Recitation of words
oral literature with
melodies
throat singing
circle dances (for festivals)
dances mimicking animal
movements
tapkar (elder male solo recitation and dance)
songs and dances concerning
the rhythms and movements of
various labors
Crane, whale, sparrow, grasshopper,
fox, and so on
pounding, farmwork, rowing boat,
gathering plants, and so on
dances performed by males sword dance, bowing dance
dances to test endurance
sitting songs (festival songs)
Lullabies
melodies of birds and insects cuckoo, dove, lark, cicada, and so on
lyrical songs
Incantations
words of prayer, formal greetings
heroic epics
mythic epics
tradition of only Sakhalin Ainu; a kind of game between two people, making
various sounds from their throats and the letting them resound within the
megaphone formed by hands in front of the mouths of the two
Tanimoto indicates the situation and musical character as: “classifying Ainu songs by performing
situations, two categories can be set: 1. songs for rituals and festivities; 2. daily life songs. <strong>The</strong> former is sung
by groups and has more traditional character, and the latter by individuals, much of it strongly influenced by
Japanese folk songs” (Tanimoto, 1989: 125).
Among the above, songs and dances for festivals are sung by more than one individual, so are especially
relevant to the theme today.
2. Styles of Ainu choral singing
Broadly speaking, there are four types of singing styles in traditional Ainu choral singing: 1) canonic