» Edit Band Information
» Edit Albums
» Add a Review
» Add an Album
» Add News | Shu-De
Real World Records
Search
Shu-de - Voices From The Distant Steppe
Voices From The Distant Steppe
SHU-DE
RELEASED 07 FEBRUARY 1994
Sygyt, Khoomei, Kargyraa (Styles Of Throat-singing)
Aian Dudal (Songs Of Devotion And Praise)
Beezhinden (Coming Back From Beijing)
Buura
Durgen Chugaa (Tongue Twisters)
Throat-singing And Igil (Untitled)
Yraazhy Kys (The Singing Girl)
Shyngyr-Shyngyr
Baian-Dudai
Khomus Solo (Jaw's Harp Solo)
Meen Khemchim (My Khemchik River)
Opei Yry (A Lullaby)
Tyva-Uriankhai
Chashpy-Khem (The River Chashpy)
Kadarchynyng Yry (The Nomad Song)
Kham (Shaman R ...read more
Real World Records
Search
Shu-de - Voices From The Distant Steppe
Voices From The Distant Steppe
SHU-DE
RELEASED 07 FEBRUARY 1994
Sygyt, Khoomei, Kargyraa (Styles Of Throat-singing)
Aian Dudal (Songs Of Devotion And Praise)
Beezhinden (Coming Back From Beijing)
Buura
Durgen Chugaa (Tongue Twisters)
Throat-singing And Igil (Untitled)
Yraazhy Kys (The Singing Girl)
Shyngyr-Shyngyr
Baian-Dudai
Khomus Solo (Jaw's Harp Solo)
Meen Khemchim (My Khemchik River)
Opei Yry (A Lullaby)
Tyva-Uriankhai
Chashpy-Khem (The River Chashpy)
Kadarchynyng Yry (The Nomad Song)
Kham (Shaman Ritual)
LISTEN ONSPOTIFY
LISTEN ONAPPLE MUSIC
LISTEN ONOTHER
Real World Logo
SHU-DE
LINER NOTES
The Tuvan people are a little- known and distinct ethnic group said to be descendants of Gengis Khan. Tuva lies just north of the Mongolian border, in what was recently the southernmost state of the USSR. Geographically, it is situated precisely at the centre of Asia. In 1910 Douglas Carruthers, an eccentric English traveller, marked the spot with a stone. Today, a carved monument stands on the banks of the great Yenisey River, inscribed with the words “Centre of Asia”, written in Tuvan, Russian and English.
Tuva is surrounded by a ring of impregnable mountains that have kept it isolated for centuries. Even today, no railway has penetrated the mountains to link the country with the rest of world. The landscape of Tuva has remained virtually virgin; it is like an unspoilt microcosm of many of the world’s natural environments. Desert, steppe, taiga and tundra are all enclosed by the staggering mountain peaks. Reindeer herders live in ‘tee-pee’s’ in the north, making their living by fishing and hunting for sables, foxes, and other pelts; in the south, Tuvans, who used to head for China in caravan trains many years ago to trade in tobacco and silk, today raise camels; in the western mountains people keep sturdy yaks for milk, meat and fur; while sheep, the predominant livestock in Tuva, are found in all these landscapes.
Like neighbouring Mongolia, Tuva was an independent state up until 1944 when it joined the USSR and became a Republic. In 1990, Tuva acquired its sovereignty once again, independence being solemnly declared during one of the sessions of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Tuva. The population numbers some 300,000 people, with 80,000 living in the capital, Kyzyl, on the Yenisey River. Thanks to their geographical isolation they have managed to resist the attempts of the Soviet authorities to erode their unique cultural identity.
Tuva is traditionally a nomadic culture of horse-riding shepards, moving across the immense spaces of the steppe and living in round felt houses known as “yurts” or “gers”. Surrounded by the great natural beauty of the land, the nomadic Tuvans have never wanted to dominate their environment. Their culture is deeply in touch with the dramatic, sometimes harsh, landscape. These nomads would set up camp at dusk, as the sun was setting across the steppe and turning the rough grasses gold to blood red. As the silhouettes of the craggy mountains loomed closer with the approaching night, they would watch the sky and the stars through the open chimney-vent of their yurt.
Tuvan people see themselves as an integral part of nature, as its offspring, speaking and understanding its language. Three days after a child is born the placenta is buried under the earth floor of the yurt, beneath the parents’ bed, connecting the child’s life and soul forever with the Earth. When a group leaves a camp-site, it is vital that the area is left clean and tidy. « hide |
Similar Bands: Huun-Huur-Tu Contributors: SlothcoreSam,
|
