Fact is that throat singing is done by many of the shamanic peoples throughout Siberia and Mongolia, and it is actually a shamanic trance and healing technique as used by those cultures, as it is in Tibet and other places (while the Tibetan Buddhists may not always acknowledge it their spiritual practices owe much to traditional shamanism, including the Geser myth which is originally Mongolian. All of the tribal peoples throughout these regions have been negatively impacted by the Chinese and Russian governments, particularly after the advent of Communism. However, since Westerners have become interested in shamanism, there is a lot of shamanically oriented tourism going on and, even with the negative immpact of that, it is helping to preserve both the culture and the music, since the government is willing to make money on this interest.

Have all of the above-mentioned cds and love them, Plus a few more, including Tenores di Bitti, the Sardinian version of throat singing. Check it out-- Catholic influenced but with the sound of the, wind, the cows and the sheep in the different "voices". Very compelling because it is a European tradition but clearly also based in our ancient shamanic past,as well as the troubadour and Catholic religious tradition...

Bekki