Rekuhkara (from Sakhalin Ainu ; or in Hokkaidō AinuRefsing, Kirsten The Ainu Language Aarhus University Press 1986) is a style of singing, similar to Inuit throat singing, that was practised by the Ainu until 1976 when the last practitioner died.Nattiez, Jean-Jacques The Rekkukara of the Ainu (Japan) and the Katajjaq of the Inuit (Canada) A Comparison in Le Monde de la musique, Vol. 25, No. 2, 1983. The Sakhalin spelling or the Japanese spelling ( in Katakana) can also be encountered.Shimomura Isao (下村五三夫), Itō Daisuke (伊藤大介) 樺太アイヌの喉交換遊びレクッカラ について Kitami Institute of Technology, 2008
The Ainu method involved two women facing each other, with one forming a tube with her hands and chanting into the oral cavity of her partner. The technique is essentially one where the "giver" provides the voice and the "receiver", holding her glottis closed, uses her vocal tract to modulate the sound stream.
Attempts have been made to recreate the sound of this practice.
See also Ainu music Culture of Japan Inuit throat singing Throat singing
References