On Saturday, August 24, the Nõmbra Light Festival near Kose in North Estonia is set to take place. This year's festival has a special focus on yoiking - a traditional form of song in Sámi music performed by the Sámi people of Sapmi in Northern Europe. It will also feature performances by the Siberian Huskies from Paasiku Dog's Manor in Harju County.

"Yoiking is a form of Sámi song. All the different smaller Sámi tribes had different names for this way of singing, but it is a very original singing style," explained composer Peeter Vähi.

Starting in the second half of the last century, yoiking started to become more visible in the wider culture, said Vähi.

"All sorts of jazz, rock and electronic stuff has been done, because the world doesn't really know many original Sámi songs. Two of the guys who first brought yoiking music to the wider world were This week, world famous Finnish Sámi yoiker Wimme Saari visited the ETV "Ringvaade" studio with some Siberian Husky dogs, who demonstrated the yoiking they will be performing at this weekend's Nõmbra Light Festival. According to the animals' owner Viljar Krohvi, the 25 dogs, who live at the Paaiku Dogs' Manor often enjoy greeting new guests with a song.

On Saturday, August 24, the Nõmbra Light Festival near Kose in North Estonia is set to take place. This year's festival has a special focus on yoiking - a traditional form of song in Sámi music performed by the Sámi people of Sapmi in Northern Europe. It will also feature performances by the Siberian Huskies from Paasiku Dog's Manor in Harju County.

"Yoiking is a form of Sámi song. All the different smaller Sámi tribes had different names for this way of singing, but it is a very original singing style," explained composer Peeter Vähi.

Starting in the second half of the last century, yoiking started to become more visible in the wider culture, said Vähi.

"All sorts of jazz, rock and electronic stuff has been done, because the world doesn't really know many original Sámi songs. Two of the guys who first brought yoiking music to the wider world weret Nils-Aslak Valkeapää and now Wimme Saari."

Peeter Vähi also worked with Saari himself, more than 20 years ago, when they made Arvo Iho's movie "The Heart of the Bear." "At that time, we invited Wimme to play music and also with electronics. It was synthesizer music, not the original yoiking," Vähi added.

"At the moment, we have 25 Siberian huskies in Paasiku," said Viljar Krohv, owner of Paasiku Dog's Manor.

The way huskies howl is very similar to yoiking and singing in general. "We say to people who come to visit us, you see, the dogs are singing a song to greet you, when the dogs begin singing with all 25 of their voices."

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