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Mama Lisa

There was one scene (and I’ll try not to say too much about the movie in case you want to see it yourself) in which Homer has reached an all-time low. He happens upon a Medicine Woman who engages him in Inuit Throat Singing. Through the singing, Homer is supposed to have an epiphany (definition: “an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure”*) about his life.

It was fun to watch, but actually, Inuit Throat Singing wasn’t normally used to help people find themselves. Rather, it was used primarily by Inuit woman as a game to amuse children and to help pass the time in the winter while the men were away for long periods of time hunting.

The most common way it is done is that two women face each other. They put their arms on each other’s arms. They take turns “singing”. The singing is really a throaty sound – which involves the breath, sounds that come out of the throat and the regular voice. Some of the sounds that are made are meaningless and some are actual words.

Below you can hear an example of Inuit Throat Singing.

The video of the Inuit Throat Singing is mesmerizing. I don’t know if the process leads to having an epiphany, but it seems to have a meditative quality to it.

Many thanks to Clint Cora Leung at Free Spirit Gallery for allowing me to post his video. Clint sells contemporary Canadian aboriginal art on his site.

*Source: Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

-Mama Lisa