TORONTO -- Inuk throat singer Shina Novalinga is using TikTok to show her cultural pride and is using her fame both for charity and to release a throat-singing album later this year.
鈥淵ou sing from your throat and from your heart,鈥� she told CTVNews.ca in a video interview. 鈥淲e imitate the sound of nature, the sound of animals and we really connect with our spiritality with our voice and the vibration that we鈥檙e creating.鈥�
While the 22-year-old Montreal college student spends most of her time studying business management, it鈥檚 her side hustle on where she鈥檚 become more well known.
In her videos, which have racked up millions of views on the platform, she films herself and her mother performing traditional throat singing duets, which involve two women standing face-to-face as they grunt and take deep breaths to sing in a harmonious rhythm.
It鈥檚 part-collaboration-part-competition to see who can outlast the other. But for Novalinga, who鈥檚 been throat singing since childhood, doing it over TikTok has become a way to bond with her mother, Caroline.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something that we鈥檝e been practising for such a long time,鈥� Novalinga said. 鈥淚t was always natural to me.鈥�
She鈥檚 also used her platform to share parts of her life, including showing her mother or her sporting her mother鈥檚 custom-made parkas with fur-lined hoods. In Indigenous culture, all parts of the animal are honoured and used.
Novalinga posted her first TikTok last March, during the height of the pandemic, and originally began posting just for fun. But after she began showcasing her culture and performing throat-singing twists on covers to popular songs, her following exploded to 1.3 million strong.
Novalinga said she was initially nervous posting her first throat-singing video because she was unsure how people would react. 鈥淏ut now, I think everyone is starting to appreciate throat singing.鈥�
are under the age of 34 and primarily use the app to perform song covers and dances to trending tunes. And through 鈥淣ative TikTok,鈥� a subculture on the platform, Indigenous creators from across Canada and the U.S. have been collaborating and sharing their stories, perspectives and culture with Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike.
Novalinga said she鈥檚 used her platform to connect with other Indigenous creators. Her latest collaborator is hoop dancer James Jones, more popularly known as to his 2.4 million followers online.
鈥淲e have this beautiful community that comes together and supports one another and we鈥檙e learning so much from each other,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just beautiful to learn鈥� and have that support and I feel it鈥檚 really needed.鈥�
She鈥檚 also used her platform to donate to charity. Earlier this month she to create individual care packages filled with mittens, hand sanitizer, feminine hygiene products and other essentials for Indigenous women living at a local shelter in Quebec.
鈥淲e think about our people and think of ways to help our community, ways to support each other and since we just grew this platform very recently, we thought 鈥榳hy don鈥檛 we use it for a good cause?鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an important part of our values.鈥�
While the throat-singing practice -- whose name varies depending on region in Canada -- is unique to Inuit people, overtone singing or throat singing is also performed by the Tuvan people in Russia and Tibetans.
But the practice has a sordid history history in Canada with Christian missionaries banning throat singing for the Inuit people centuries ago, . The skill of throat singing is relatively rare, but it鈥檚 had a resurgence beyond Indigenous circles since the 1980s thanks to Canadian Inuk singer Tanya Tagaq and TikTokers like Novalinga.
鈥淔or us to take that back and to embrace that and teach the world about the Inuit culture, it just means so much more to me because we鈥檙e preserving [it],鈥� she said. 鈥淚t helps me connect with my mom and my family, my ancestors and my grandmother.鈥�
In 2014, the Quebec government recognized katajjaniq or Nunavik throat singing as its first cultural item to be given the intangible cultural heritage designation.
Later this year, Novalinga is looking forward to taking her craft to an even larger audience by with her mother.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one of the few throat-singing albums out there, especially Inuit throat singing,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e almost lost that part of our culture so for us to throat sing and record it鈥� it鈥檚 just very beautiful. We鈥檙e very excited.鈥�
