Humai literally means throat, and it is said that it was learned from birds. The spirit of birds is very important for shaman practice. There are many kinds of Mongolian Humai, which are mainly divided into two styles: deep Humai and whistling Humai. The singers in Shenzhen and Shanghai sang the basic bass in a normal voice, while highlighting the bass and subharmonics below an octave.
In Whistling Humai, the highlight is the high-pitched part above the basic bass, which produces an effect similar to a sharp whistle. In both cases, the basic bass is produced by tightening the vocal cords, and the melody is produced by adjusting the shape and size of the mouth, opening and closing the lips and moving the tongue.
Humai profile:
Humai is mainly distributed in Xilin Gol, Hulunbeier Grassland and Hohhot in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and it can also be heard in Mongolian inhabited area of Altai Mountain in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Mongolia, Tuva, Russia and other regions and countries.
Humai, as a special national singing method, is an outstanding creation of Mongolian people. It conveys the Mongolian people's profound philosophical thinking and understanding of the natural universe and everything in the world, and expresses the Mongolian people's pursuit of harmonious survival and development and healthy and upward aesthetic taste. In 2008, it was selected into the UNESCO representative list of human intangible cultural heritage.