Pamyua ( ) (literally: "its tail" in

Yup'ik The Yup'ik or Yupiaq (sg & pl) and Yupiit or Yupiat (pl), also Central Alaskan Yup'ik, Central Yup'ik, Alaskan Yup'ik ( own name ''Yup'ik'' sg ''Yupiik'' dual ''Yupiit'' pl; russian: Юпики центральной Аляски), are an I ...

from ''pamyuq'' "tail of animal or kayak; chorus of song; upper stern-piece of kayak") is a

musical group from

Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

Overview

Brothers Stephen and Phillip Blanchett, of

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...

and African-American descent, formed Pamyua in 1995 with the goal of combining and preserving their cultural and religious backgrounds through music. Pamyua's music is self-described as "tribal

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

", " world music" and "

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became po ...

", drawing inspiration from Russian Orthodox chants, traditional

music, R&B and most notably South African male choral group,

Ladysmith Black Mambazo Ladysmith Black Mambazo are a South African male choral group singing in the local vocal styles of ''isicathamiya'' and '' mbube''. They became known internationally after singing with Paul Simon on his 1986 album ''Graceland'', and have won m ...

. An early influence was the African American gospel played in their father's church in

Wasilla Wasilla ( Dena'ina: ''Benteh'') is a city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, United States and the fourth-largest city in Alaska. It is located on the northern point of Cook Inlet in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley of the southcentral part of the st ...

, Alaska. Most of their songs are based on traditional Yupik,

and

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

ic chants, but the group is well known for reinterpreting them in modern styles, such as the song "Cayauqa Nauwa", which has been performed

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

(''mengluni'', 1998) and with

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

influences (''Caught in the Act'', 2003), as well as traditionally (''Drums of the North'', 2005). Integral to their staged performances is instrumentation, such as the Cauyaq drum, and mask dancing which evokes and honors traditional

Yup'ik dancing Yup'ik dance or Yuraq, also Yuraqing (Yup'ik ''yuraq'' sg ''yurak'' dual ''yurat'' pl) is a traditional Inuit style dancing Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. Th ...

. Pamyua has toured across the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and the world, performing at many world music festivals. In 2003, Pamyua won the Record of the Year

Nammy The Native American Music Awards (also known as the NAMAs or "Nammys") are an awards program presented annually by Elbel Productions, Inc., The Native American Music Awards Inc., and The Native American Music Association, a 501(c)(3) non-profi ...

for their album ''Caught in the Act''. They performed at the opening celebration of the

National Museum of the American Indian The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States devoted to the culture of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers. The museum has three ...

in 2004. The National Museum of the American Indian also released a compilation recording featuring the music of Pamyua. Pamyua has provided background music for ''

Flying Wild Alaska ''Flying Wild Alaska'' is a documentary television series that aired on Discovery Channel in 2011 and 2012. The show features the Tweto family from Unalakleet, Alaska who run the Alaska airline Era Alaska. They operate the hub operations from ...

''. They also performed the theme song for ''

Molly of Denali ''Molly of Denali'' (stylized as ''MOLLY of DENALI'') is an animated children's television series produced by Atomic Cartoons in association with WGBH Kids, created by Dorothea Gillim and Kathy Waugh for PBS Kids and CBC Kids.

''.

Discography

*''

Mengluni ''mengluni'' is an album by Pamyua released in 1998 by Ellavut Records. ''mengluni'' was the debut album by Pamyua. The title is the Yupik Yupik may refer to: * Yupik peoples, a group of indigenous peoples of Alaska and the Russian Far East * Y ...

'' (1998) *''Verses (Apallut)'' (2001) *''Caught in the Act'' (2003) *''Drums of the North'' (2005) *''Side A/Side B'' (2012) Phillip Blanchett

References

External links

Interview on The World Music Foundation Podcast
{{Authority control Musical groups from Anchorage, Alaska Musical quartets Yupik music