Throat singing duo PIQSIQ celebrates Inuit culture at Japanese festival

Inuksuk Mackay and Tiffany Ayalik of PIQSIQ performed at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, in June. The throat-singing duo said that it was ‘really cool’ to share Inuit culture in Japan and to see the similarities between Inuit and Japanese cultures. (Submitted by Inuksuk Mackay and Tiffany Ayalik)

By RCI, CBC News

Yellowknife-based sisters performed at the World Expo in Osaka

Yellowknife-based throat singing duo PIQSIQ says performing for Japanese fans was a unique celebration of Inuit culture and finding similarities between Arctic and Japanese traditions.

Sisters Inuksuk Mackay and Tiffany Ayalik performed in Osaka in June as part of the World Expo.

“The culture is so generous and so respectful and open, and it just felt like we were able to talk about our culture and what it’s like to be Inuk and living in the North, and a little bit about history in a way that was really celebrating,” Ayalik said.

“Sometimes when we talk about culture here, there’s just like a different context in Canada, and it’s always about reconciliation and it can be really heavy.”

The pair said that travelling to Japan is something they’ve dreamed of since childhood, and they got to share it with their family as well. Mackay’s husband and sons travelled with PIQSIQ to perform demonstrations of Inuit games.

Mackay said that some audience members had visited the Arctic or read up on Inuit culture and had lots of questions for them about life in the North.

“So that was really cool to know that across the world, there were people who were really interested in culture,” she said.

Mackay said there were lots of commonalities between Inuit and Japanese cultures too, like respect for elders and children and the value they both place on culture itself.

Beyond their performances, the sisters and their family spent time exploring a new country. They said visiting Nara, a city known in part for its temples and the deer that roam around, was one highlight. Ayalik says sharing that with family up North made her laugh.

“I sent videos to other family in Nunavut and they’re just like ‘this food is just walking around,’” she said.

The pair said the experience is one they won’t soon forget. They hope one day to come back and travel to the north of Japan to collaborate with Ainu singers, a traditional Japanese music. And if it’s up to her family, Mackay says that trip could happen before long.

“My sons are already trying to learn Japanese on Duolingo,” she said.

This article is republished from RCI.