#y'mang

In many northern cultures, music tends to have common trends characteristic of Y'mang generally.

There is a heavy emphasis on percussion; percussion is the most vital part of Y'mangi music, and drum is the primary instrument that Photuna is depicted with in the north.

The rhythm is often heavy with syncopation, vertical and horizontal hemiola, tuplets, and other features. A good rhythm is vital to the songs, and is more important than event a melody. Layers of percussion that build with more musicians over time is another common practice.

The Ahohana

Another common characteristic of Y'mangi music (assuming is does have a melody) is a style of singing that may or may not contain lyrics. In public and/or communal settings it traditionally tends to be louder belting with shifts and vibrations in the voice (called the "ahohana" in Sk'ausiya). If not that style, then it tends to be more of a chanting style (the oduhna). In private or quieter settings, it's typically a more soft style of singing.

The ahohana has the nickname of roughly "soul singing" because it's a style that is viewed as someone letting their soul guide their singing, and it's thought that the ahohana is the most accurate representation of the soul's voice.

The ahohana is usually flexible, meaning that pre-written lyrics are plenty common, but improvised lyrics or improvised melodies and harmonies are even more common. The latter is incredibly common in large community and spiritual settings.

i feel the urge to add an example of what i’m aiming for in regards to the vibrating/shifting belting sort of singing. It would be pretty similar to Song Sohee’s performance of Odolttogi. Just imagine the non-percussion instruments are removed and percussion instruments were enhanced or added to and i think you’d get pretty close.

The Oduhna

There is another style of singing, called the oduhna in Sk'ausiya.

(Umada kalaiɔq)

The kalaiɔq is the primary symbol of the Y'mangi peoples of the north where it's primarily found, but it can also be found in small areas of northern Serdu and Kayouya. Kalaiɔq are large land animals that have been domesticated to be used as mounts, work animals, and war animals.

They are hardy, muscular creatures who are opportunistic generalists and are willing to eat a huge variety of meats and plants that they can get access to. They've been seen stealing carcasses from other predators.

In the wild, females live in large herds with their offspring while males live in slightly smaller bachelor herds. During mating season, the male and female herds loosely join together for a while before splitting off again. In mating season, females tend to choose their desired partner from the bachelor herd members.

Origination Note: The kalaiɔq was the animal that showed up in my original dream that I created Amatɔqa from! It was such a vivid dream and the creatures captured my attention so much that it really inspired me to create a world from it.