Tuvan Shamanism and Throatsinging with Chingiz Kam and Arrington de Dionyso

In Chingiz’s own words – “I was born on the banks of the mighty Siberian river Yenisei and raised in the city of Kyzyl, Republic of Tuva. I have the title of Brown Bear Shaman. In my family, both on my father's side and on my mother's side, there were ancestors of shamans. Ancestors come from Tes-Khemsky and Ovyursky districts, the Republic of Tuva, which is located on the border with Mongolia.

Childhood and youth were mostly spent at the shepherd's camp of my grandparents. They have kept their culture of nomadic life up to the present. Every vacation I came to them and helped them with the housework. During this time, my special connection and love for nature and animals was formed. Just like all Tuvans always, I pastured sheep and goats, sang songs in the steppes and in the mountains. I recognized life around me through the prism of Tuvan traditions. During this period, I met many spirits of the mountains, taiga, and rivers of my native places. They sometimes appeared in the form of deer, bear, wolf, snowy owl, eagle and other animals, and sometimes as strong strange short winds.

All my life I clearly felt that someone was watching me closely. They were invisible defenders. When I was very ill, my ancestors came in dreams in the guise of various familiar people and fumigated with the help of artysh (juniper), after which I quickly began to recover. I have never been able to get lost in a dense forest or in an unfamiliar area. I felt many strange inexplicable things very accurately and my correct decisions were formed from this. Some people felt that I was a shaman and asked me to make charms and amulets. 

Ancestral shamans also gave life lessons and the necessary knowledge for shamanic practice to one degree or another. They began to actively “work” at the time when I was about 27 years old. At that time, I had already graduated from the university and worked in my specialty. Any technique stopped working next to me, because of this there were problems at work. Reality seemed to become unreal and I experienced health problems, but the results of all tests showed that I was healthy. This went on for a couple of years, until the ancestors of the shamans “in their own ways” found me a mentor - a practicing Tuvan shaman, who is also a member of the “Adyg Eeren” society. I was initiated by three strongest shamans of the “Adyg Eeren” society, one of whom was the Supreme Shaman of Tuva. So I started my practice in a shamanic clinic in Kyzyl.”

Chingiz will conduct a powerful healing ritual adapted to this space and share his personal "Algysh" - an ancient shamanic spiritual chant. Everyone may benefit: some will have a unique chance to touch one of the most ancient spiritual traditions on earth; some will have an unforgettable cultural experience; and some will receive spiritual and physical healing. 

Chingiz will be the first shaman of his lineage to travel to the Midwest of the United States.

Arrington de Dionyso will present “Voice Mask” a musical performance ritual utilizing improvisatory structures to showcase an entrancing virtuosity with a variety of extended vocal techniques such as traditional Tuvan throatsinging combined with simple elements such as aluminum foil and PVC pipes to enhance the “soul” of vocal sound.

As a “punk ethnomusicologist gone rogue”, Arrington has traveled the world in search of primordially potent sounds. He’s worked extensively within the Jathilan trance music traditions of East Java, the Master Musicians of Jajouka (Morocco), and is a devoted student of Siberian shamanism.

www.arrington.bandcamp.com