Yoik experiences and possible positive health outcomes: an explorative pilot study

Abstract

Background: Yoik is an old vocal music tradition of Sami, the indigenous people inhabiting Northern Fennoscandia and Kola peninsula in Russia. Studies of music therapy (MT) and especially singing have documented improvements in social and overall functioning in people with severe mental disorders and positive effect on depressive symptoms and sleep quality. Possible connections between yoik and health are so far underexplored. Objectives: The overall aim of this study was to explore whether yoik may have the potential to positively influence people’s health and well-being. The research questions were: 1. What are different persons’ experiences with yoik? 2. Can yoik experiences be related to health outcomes? Methods: Explorative, qualitative interviews with 13 participants were conducted in the Norwegian counties Finnmark, Troms, Nordland, and Trøndelag. Findings: The findings suggest qualities in yoik that are comparable to positive effects of Music Therapy (MT) in general. Yoik may contribute to emotion management, i.e. processing negative emotions and inducing positive ones in people acknowledging yoik as something positive. Conclusion: Yoik may be considered an important marker of social and cultural belonging for many Sami people. Yoik seems to have an underresearched potential as an intervention in culture sensitive healthcare and health promotion work that deserves to be further investigated.

Sami yoik, Sami history, Sami health: a narrative review

“…It is taught in kindergartens, schools, high schools and universities, weekend workshops and, not least, festivals [1,19]. Not only that yoik has survived a history of assimilation pressure as an element of vocal expression and communication in everyday life for many Sami, it has evolved to new forms and in fusion with different musical styles [1].…”

“…In a recent qualitative pilot study on the topic “Yoik and health” conducted in 2015, Hämäläinen and colleagues hypothesise that yoik must be considered an important marker of social and cultural belonging for many Sami people and, moreover, that it may contribute to emotion management [19]. The authors argue that yoik presents a means for a direct and non-cognitive expression of emotions [19].…”

“…The authors argue that yoik presents a means for a direct and non-cognitive expression of emotions [19]. It is thus different from talking about or discussing feelings, and is in this way rather similar to art related expressions of emotions such as for example painting.…”

“…Hanssen has presented some interesting findings suggesting a possible significance of yoik as a valuable cultural symbol in intercultural health care communication with elderly Sami patients in nursing homes [17,18]. Moreover, Hämäläinen et al conclude that yoik serves as a cultural resilience factor by being an important marker of social and cultural belonging and an instrument for emotion management on an individual bases [19]. …”

“…This does not mean that the significance of yoik as a potential health promoting factor has been unnoticed in academic writing, but in most health related research reports this hypothesis has been discussed within a broader context of culturally important activities or contents of life [15–18]. To our knowledge, there is only one qualitative pilot study [19] directly targeting the question, whether actively practicing or passively listening to yoik can have health-promoting effects and could thus be a cultural resilience factor within the Sami culture. Due to the distinct features of yoik, which can and is often practiced without the use of words, directly expressing feelings and describing its subject with musical means, we hypothesise that a potential mechanism of action maybe through emotion regulation and the feeling of belonging.…”