Title page 1 The Craft of Yoiking Title page 2 The Craft of Yoiking Philosophical Variations on Sámi Chants Stéphane Aubinet PhD thesis Department of Musicology University of Oslo 2020 Table of contents Abstract vii Sammendrag ix Acknowledgements xi Abbreviations xv Introduction 1 The Sámi 2 | The yoik 11 [Sonic pictures 17; Creation and apprenticeship 22; Musical structure 25; Vocal technique 29; Modern yoiks 34 ] | Theoretical landscape 39 [Social anthropology 46; Musicology 52; Philosophy 59 ] | Strategies of attention 64 [Getting acquainted 68; Conversations 71; Yoik courses 76; Consultations 81; Authority 88 ] | Variations 94 1st variation: Horizon 101 On the risks of metamorphosis in various practices Along the horizon 103 | Beyond the horizon 114 | Modern horizons 121 | Antlered ideas 125 2nd variation: Enchantment 129 On how animals and the wind (might) engage in yoiking Yoiks to non-humans 131 | The bear and the elk 136 | Enchantment and belief 141 | Yoiks from non-humans 147 | The blowing of the wind 152 | A thousand colours in the land 160 3rd variation: Creature 169 On the yoik’s creative and semiotic processes Painting with sounds 171 | The creation of new yoiks 180 | Listening as an outsider 193 | Creaturely semiosis 200 | The apostle and the genius 207 vi The Craft of Yoiking 4th variation: Depth 213 On the world inside humans and its animation Animal depths 214 | Modal depths 222 | Spiritual depths 227 | Breathed depths 231 | Appetition 236 | Modern depths 241 | Literate depths 248 5th variation: Echo 251 On temporality and dreams Echoes from the past 254 | Echoes from the dead 263 | Echoes from the future 270 | Echoes from dreams 275 | Echoes from texts 284 6th variation: Primordial 293 On the yoik’s origins How old is the yoik? 296 | The origins of music 301 | Thirst for existence 312 | Satan’s chant 321 | Earthbeats 330 nth variation: He io lo lei lo! 337 On the power of repetition and interruption Appendix 1: Experimental study 345 On cross-cultural experiments and the possibility of translation Introduction 345 [The yoik 350; Recordings 350; Kautokeino 351 ; The High Ardenne 352 ] | Methodology 353 | Results and discussion 357 [Recognition from yoiks 357; Familiarity with animals 358; Correlations between results 361; Differentiation in choices 363; Results per animal 365 ] | Summary and conclusion 371 Appendix 2: List of yoikers 373 Appendix 3: Map 381 References 383 Written documents 383 | Audio(-visual) documents 415 | Conversations 417 | Yoik courses 418 | Consultations 418 Index of names 419 Abstract The yoik is a vocal technique practised by the Sámi of Northern Europe. It relies on circular melodies, chanted in everyday life and a cappella , with or without lyrics. Each melody evokes a particular being, usually a person, an animal species, or a place. ‘Yoiking them’ is a way of making them present, exploring an attachment, and unfolding memories. The yoik is considered by many of its practitioners as a gift received from the environment, a mysterious craft that they come to know through personal experience and experimentation. This thesis is based on conversations with yoikers, active in either the ‘traditional’ or ‘modern’ practices, and an apprenticeship in the craft of yoiking. It constitutes a series of essays, or ‘philosophical variations’, aimed at taking the yoik seriously and unfolding some of its philosophical affordances. As in the musical variations on popular melodies by classical composers, writing the yoik in variation means hosting it within another practice bearing its own constraints and possibilities. Practices of yoiking and writing are thus put in a dialogue at times converging, at times diverging, but always intended to be mutually stimulating. Various voices from social anthropology, ethnomusicology, psychology, theology, ethology, and the history of philosophy join the dialogue along the way. The variations are ‘philosophical’ in that each of them creates one concept: horizon, enchantment, creature, depth, echo, primordial. Each concept seeks to capture a layer of depth perceived in the yoik’s practice: (1) the risks of metamorphosis; (2) the chants of animals and the wind; (3) the creation of yoiks as outgrowths of the sensuous world; (4) the inner landscapes of humans; (5) the resurgence of past memories and of the dead; (6) the roots of human chants in a chthonic, original past; and ( n) the power of repetition and interruption. Sammendrag Joiken er en vokalteknikk som er praktisert av Samene i Nord-Europa. En joik er en sirkulær melodi, vokalisert i hverdagen og a cappella , med eller uten tekst. Hver melodi fremkaller et bestemt vesen, vanligvis en person, en dyreart eller et sted. ‘Å joike noen’ eller ‘noe’ er en måte å gjøre dem tilstedeværende, å utforske en tilknytning og gjenopplive minner. Ifølge mange joikere er joiken en gave mottatt fra omgivelsene, en mysteriøs kraft som kommer til gjennom personlige opplevelser og eksperimenteringer. Denne avhandlingen er basert på samtaler med joikere, aktive enten i den ‘tradisjonelle’ eller ‘moderne’ praksisen, og praktisk opplæring i joiketeknikk. Den inneholder essays, eller ‘filosofiske variasjoner’, som tar joiken på alvor og avdekker noen av dens filosofiske muligheter. Som i musikalske variasjoner over populære melodier komponert av klassiske komponister, betyr det å skrive joiken i variasjoner å vare på dens grunnelementer innenfor en annen praksis som både har egne begrensninger og muligheter. Å joike og å skrive settes i dialog, som kan være konvergerende eller divergerende, og som er gjensidig stimulerende. Ulike stemmer fra sosialantropologi, etnomusikologi, psykologi, teologi, etologi og filosofihistorie blir med i dialogen underveis. Variasjonene er ‘filosofiske’ fordi hver av dem skaper et konsept. Avhandlingen benevner disse konseptene som horisont, fascinasjon, skapning, dybde, ekko, og urtiden. Hvert konsept fanger en dimensjon av dybde oppfattet i joikens praksis: (1) risikoene i metamorfose; (2) dyrenes og vindens joikende stemmer; (3) veksten av den sanselige verden i skapningen av nye joiker; (4) den indre landskapet i mennesker; (5) revitaliseringen av minner og de døde; (6) joikenes røtter i en underjordisk, original fortid; og ( n) kraften til repetisjon og avbrudd. Acknowledgements I am deeply thankful to everyone who has accompanied me during the past three years. In particular, I want to express my gratitude to my supervisors. Gro Birgit Ween’s input has been invaluable since the day she became involved. I have particularly appreciated her enthusiasm, the sharpness and relevance of her observations, her attention to postcolonial research and to writing strategies, the time she invested in reviewing my texts, and her encouraging comments at each of our meetings. I owe to her constant reflections on my own approach and situation as a researcher. Nanette Nielsen has been accompanying me for a long time, from my student work on Jordi Savall to this PhD on the yoik, via film music history. Over the years, her continuous feedback on the form and requirements of academic writing has been significant. I am especially grateful for the trust and liberty she gave me in all my projects. Tim Ingold supervised my work while I was staying in Aberdeen in the autumn of 2017, but he already supported this project two years earlier, before it even started. He received me at his department shortly before his retirement and granted me many hours of attention when most of the ideas gathered in these pages were starting to emerge. I was enchanted by our conversations about Sápmi and the way germs of ideas always seemed to flourish when shared and developed in his office. I feel lucky to have had the chance of working with him. Hugo Reinert reviewed a previous version of this work as part of a ‘mid- term evaluation’ that took place in October 2018. I am grateful for his insightful comments and fruitful suggestions. xii The Craft of Yoiking My thanks also go to all the people met in Sápmi, Norway and elsewhere who gave me their time and trust; to my hosts in Finnmark, who never hesitated to assist me in every way they could; to my yoik teachers; to the yoikers or scholars quoted in the following pages; to all the Sámi interlocutors who have guided me towards the craft of yoiking; to those who helped me arrange or participated in my consultations; and to all the yoik enthusiasts and inspiring people I have met along the way. My greatest gratitude goes to Andreas and Astrid Njarga, Kjell Rune Balto, I ŋgor Ántte Áilu Gaup, Frode Fjellheim, and Ola Graff, for the attention they gave me. I also wish to thank my colleagues at the Department of Musicology and the Faculty of Humanities in Oslo who helped me by offering their guidance and advice, by providing opportunities for seminars and lectures or publications, by entrusting me with fundings, or by tolerating my long absences. I am especially thankful to my fellow PhD candidates – Agata, Andreas, Emil, Marek, Tejaswinee, Tore, Ulf, and everyone else – for the input we gave each other in our works (especially with Tore Størvold and Andreas Ervik), for the fun we had together in the past few years, and for the pleasant time spent in the so-called ‘Old Office’ when I first joined the department. I consider myself fortunate to have enjoyed serene and comfortable working conditions in Oslo and everywhere else I stayed. For this, I thank again the persons responsible at my home institution, as well as the Department of Social Anthropology in Aberdeen and the Laboratoire d’Anthropologie Sociale in Paris, both of which have generously welcomed me and inspired me with their research. I remain grateful to Lucienne Strivay and Christophe Pirenne, who were willing to supervise this thesis at the Université de Liège until our plans Acknowledgements xiii changed. Lucienne Strivay also deserves my gratitude, along with John Philippe Van Tiggelen, for the supervision of my master’s thesis on the yoik at the Université catholique de Louvain.