The Throat Singer

The Throat Singer

Here where the wind wails in the heights
He waits with his companion horse
Hears the need for his spirit’s song,
Heeds the call to release the chant.

Deep the drone of introduction,
Dependent the demanding beat
Delivered as an overtone,
Descant to the dim horizon.

Hangs the haunting, wistful whistle,
Has the singer’s song suspended,
Hand of God in sound harmonised,
Hardens to the rumbling ringing.

When the singer slows and softens,
Wending through the eerie ending
Where the silence seems so sudden,
Wheels high aloft the falcon’s flight.


Line Count: 16

The Traditional Mongolian Meter is thought to date back to Genghis Khan but the first record of this more sophisticated form is the 17th century. It is a little different than most forms in that the lines are head rhymed. Alliteration is a prominent element of the form.

The elements of Traditional Mongolian Meter are:

1. written in any number of quatrains.
2. syllabic, usually 7 to 8 syllables lines
3. head rhymed, meaning the first syllable in each line rhymes with the first syllable of the ensuing lines. Often the first syllable is considered head rhyme but it needs to be alliterated with the other lines. Rhyme scheme aaaa bbbb cccc etc. (Remember the rhyme is at the beginning of the line, not the end.)
4. alliterated, although alliteration can occur within a couplet and need not be contained within a single line. If true or near rhyme is not present, alliteration of the first word of each line is a must.

An example of Mongolian throat singing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rmo3fKeveo