A Taste of Joik with Master Joiker Ailloš

Master Joiker Ingor Ánte Áillu Gaup, Ailloš

Ailloš grew up in a reindeer-herding family in Guovdageaidnu (Kautokeino) on the Norwegian side of Sapmi, which is the traditional Sami area, encompassing northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Kola Peninsula of Russia. As a child, he lived in a goahti, a traditional Sami dwelling somewhat like a tepee. Today, reindeer herders no longer live year-round in goahtis, so Ailloš belongs to the last generation that had the privilege of growing up in a goahti.

In the 1970s he formed his own rock band, Ivnniiguin, which is considered to be the first band with original Sami rock music. In 1981, he helped launch the Sami National Theatre Beaivvaš, based in Guovdageaidnu, which uses North Sami as its primary performance language. Beaivvaš has toured extensively around the world visited the Pacific Northwest in 2024. In 1999, Ailloš was awarded the Aillohaš musikkpris, given to Sami musicians who have made significant contributions to Sami music. In 2003, he was awarded Nordlysprisen, which honors achievement among musicians and composers in northern Norway.

Ailloš has been steeped since childhood in the Sami joik tradition. Considered one of the world's oldest musical forms, joik is a vocal technique ranging from chant to melody, and is deeply meaningful: It is intended to capture the essence of a person or thing, to serve as a signature or identity mark, to remember or stay close to someone who is not present. It is often said that one does not joik about someone; instead, one joiks them. Ailloš has toured the world as a joiker, composing music for - and acting in - theater and television productions in such countries as Norway, Germany and the United States. Ailloš is also a sought-after joik teacher, leading both in-person and online classes.