World: 35M, Nunavut 0

Katajjait singing

Much of the the Top 100 2020 comes from regions barely affected by the global COVID-19 epidemic. More than a month after I painted the previous Inuit entry, the numbers for Nunavut (the Canadian Inuit Province) remain at zero. The katajjait vocal style features two women singing/breathing into each other's mouths so their voices resonate. Needless to say that COVID-19 would easily spread in the process. Nunavut is the location with most recordings in this top 100 followed by the Solomon Islands. I just read in the news today that the Solomon Islands recorded their first case of COVID-19. Maria and I both work in public spaces in a city where the virus is spreading rapidly. I thought it would be wise to get ourselves tested which we did today: the results came back negative. The song illustrated is a Qiarpaa, a variation of the katajjaq genre that really are considered games rather than music. This particular example from the collection Canada: Jeux Vocaux Des Inuit was performed by Issumartarjuak and Watuak and recorded by Roman Pelinski at Eskimo Bay.