Kattajjatiit coming together

ALISON BLACKDUCK

IQALUIT — Kattajjatiit of the circumpolar world unite!

Avataq Cultural Institute is organizing the world’s first gathering of Inuit throat singers, or kattajjatiit, in Puvirnituq, Nunavik this September.

Project coordinator Taqralik Partridge said that since she began organizing the gathering last January she’s received interest from Nunavummiut, Nunavimmiut, Akukitturmiut (Greenlandic Inuit), a Tuvan singer in Montreal, and Buddhist monks living in Atlanta, Georgia.

“We faxed 30 invitations to kattajjatiit a few days ago, and, so far, at least 15 invitees have accepted,” Partridge said in a telephone interview from her office in Montreal.

Called Kattajjatiit Katimanirjuangat, the event will be attended by 60 kattajjatiit between September 10 and 14.

But Partridge, who’s studied and performed kattajjaq for the past three-and-a-half years, said she’s worried that more than 60 Inuit will want to attend.

“I just got a call from a reporter in Nuuk,” she said. “He told me that there’s a group of youth who are so excited they’re already planning fundraisers to pay for their way to Puvirnituq.”

Partridge said staff at Avataq and kattajjatiit around the North have talked about having such a gathering for some time now, but nobody considered organizing in earnest until Avataq President Robbie Watt decided last September that the gathering was long overdue.

The gathering’s purpose is fun and serious, Partridge said.

“We really want to stress that it’s about bringing the older and younger generations of kattajjatiit together so they can learn from each other and listen to what each has to say about the way the genre is changing,” she explained.

One of the anticipated outcomes of Kattajjatiit Katimanirjuangat is the formation of a professional kattajjatiit association that will advocate for performers, as well as ensure that kattajjaq isn’t “bastardized” by Inuit and non-Inuit who want to appropriate kattajjaq and exploit it commercially.

“Throat-singing is part of our rich cultural heritage,” Watt said. Watt is one of the few male kattajjatiit. “We need to safeguard this art as soon as possible.”

Partridge estimates that the overall cost of the gathering will be about $200,000 — more than half of which is related directly to travel costs.

But Partridge said she’s been in negotiations with representatives of Air Inuit, who, according to her, are considering making some type of deal with Avataq.

“If it works out with Air Inuit, we can reduce the budget by about $100,000,” she said.

So far, Partridge has raised $37,000 in grants and donations from the Canada Council for the Arts, Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, and the Kakivak Association. She’s still lobbying other groups like the Quebec government’s arts council for money.