How I imitate nature's voices | Snow Raven (re-release)

Summary

TED Talks Daily: "How I Imitate Nature's Voices" | Snow Raven (Re-release)

Episode Date: April 3, 2026
Speaker: Snow Raven (with host Elise Hu)
Theme: Listening to Nature—Blending Indigenous Wisdom and Sonic Artistry

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Episode Overview

This episode of TED Talks Daily features a re-release of a 2024 TED Next talk and performance by Snow Raven, an Arctic Siberian singer and sound artist of the Indigenous Saha people. Snow Raven shares her journey of listening deeply to the natural world and mimicking its voices—from owls to wolves—as a way to communicate with and honor nature. The episode highlights both her personal story and her belief in the transformative, connective power of listening.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Transformative Power of Listening

• Listening as Connection:
  Snow Raven opens by emphasizing the value of deep silence and listening, describing it as a “powerful gift the universe has given humans to connect with nature.”

  “The first thing I did when I arrived was drop into silence and listen. Listening is one of the powerful gifts the universe has given humans…” (03:55)

• Learning Nature’s Voices:
  She recalls from a young age “learning the language of the birds and the animals around her” (00:14), which became her lifelong practice.

2. The Art of Mimicry and Imagination

• Embodiment through Listening:
  Snow Raven explains that she not only imitates animal sounds, but also embodies their essence through imagination and movement.

  “I listen with my imagination and become an animal that I hear. I move like it moves. I seek what it seeks. I cry with its cry.” (04:44)

• Connecting with Specific Animals:
  She takes listeners through a poetic tour of her homeland's animals, describing their unique behaviors and symbolic meanings among the Saha people:
  • Owl (Kakan): Night vision, presence, and silent flight
  • Brown Kite (Alia): Announcing the arrival of summer with joy
  • Loon: Longing and parental love
  • Crane: Divine dancer—happiness for those who witness
  • Brown Bear (ehe): An imposing presence, yet eats little berries
  • Reindeer (Taba): Lords of the tundra, running great distances
  • Wolf: A hunter’s loneliness and yearning for freedom
  • This segment not only communicates sounds but also cultural lore and emotion (04:55–07:55).

3. Imagination as Superpower

• Intertwining Sound and Imagination:
  Snow Raven frames listening as a creative, imaginative act, not just passive reception:

  “The superpower of listening is that it leaves the room for imagination to dance with a sound.” (08:50)

4. Live Performance

• Demonstration:
  Snow Raven transitions from speaking into an evocative sound performance, mimicking the calls and cries of the animals she described.
  • (Performance begins at 09:01)
  • The host and audience react in awe at her ability to conjure the wild through her voice alone.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Greeting in Saha Language:

  “This is the way indigenous Saha people greet one another. This phrase has no exact English translation, but it means: I greet the universe in your person.” (03:55)

• Creativity in Listening:

  “Let’s listen, ignite our imagination, and summon our animal superpowers here and now.” (08:55)

• Host’s Introduction:

  “Those sounds you just heard were not a series of recorded bird sounds. That’s actually music producer and singer Snow Raven…” (00:14)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:14 — Host’s introduction to Snow Raven and her craft
• 03:55 — Snow Raven’s Saha greeting; opening reflections on listening
• 04:44–08:55 — Animal stories and cultural meanings interwoven with mimicry philosophy
• 09:01–10:46 — Live performance segment: imitating nature’s voices
• 11:34 — Host thanks Snow Raven, closes the main talk content

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Tone & Language

• Snow Raven’s voice weaves tradition, poetic imagery, and passion for nature.
• Her language is reverent, imaginative, and celebratory—rooted in Indigenous ethos.
• The host, Elise Hu, maintains an atmosphere of curiosity and admiration.

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Summary Takeaway

"How I Imitate Nature’s Voices" is a moving meditation on attentive listening as a bridge between humanity and nature. Snow Raven’s story and performance invite listeners to reclaim the simple, profound act of listening—to the land, to its creatures, and to ourselves. Her message, grounded in Indigenous wisdom and artistic expression, serves as a powerful reminder: by opening our senses and imaginations, we can rediscover ancient connections and spark new reverence for the natural world.

Transcript

[A]

You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host Elise Hu, and those sounds you just heard were not a series of recorded bird sounds. That's actually music producer and singer Snow Raven, who is a member of the Saha people from the Arctic Siberia. Born and raised in one of the most remote cold places on Earth, she was only three years old when she started to learn the language, as she calls it, of the birds and the animals around her.

[B]

The first thing I did when I arrived was drop into silence and listen. Listening is one of the powerful gifts the universe has given humans to connect with nature.

[A]

Today, we're resharing her talk and performance from 2024, where she shows us how she mimics the sounds of life around her and what all of us can learn if we only take the time to stop and listen a little more. That's coming up right after a short. This episode is brought to you by Planet Visionaries, a podcast in partnership with the Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative. If you've been feeling overwhelmed by climate headlines lately, here's something worth your time. A show focused on solutions. It's called Planet Visionaries, hosted by Alex Honnold. Yes, the climber from Free Solo, now turning his attention to protecting the only planet we've got. What makes this show stand out is the people you'll hear from scientists, explorers and storytellers who are actually building a better future and making it feel tangible, human and possible. One conversation features coral restoration leader Tituan Bernacote, along with legendary oceanographer Sylvia Earle, sharing what it really takes to restore our oceans. In partnership with the Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative, this is Planet Visionaries. Listen or watch on Apple sponsors, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you're listening to this podcast. This message is brought to you by Apple Card Apple Card members can earn unlimited daily cash back on everyday purchases wherever they shop. This means you could be earning daily cash on just about anything, like a slice of pizza from your local pizza place or a latte from the corner coffee shop. Apply for Apple Card in the Wallet app to see your credit limit offer in minutes. Subject to credit approval. Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Salt Lake City branch terms and more [e-mail] this episode is brought to you by Duck AI. AI can be incredibly useful, but sometimes it gives me pause to think that my chats might be saved somewhere forever. Between work stuff and embarrassing personal questions, a lot of us share more with AI chatbots than we realize and information shouldn't come at the cost of your Privacy. That's why DuckDuckGo built Duck AI so you can chat privately with the same AIs you might already be using, like ChatGPT or Claude, and protect your data from hackers, scammers and data hungry companies. There's no account required, it's completely free. Plus it's from DuckDuckGo, known for protecting your data, not collecting it, so you can chat freely without worrying about your AI conversations getting stored or exploited. If you want to use AI without giving up your privacy, visit Duck AI Talk today. That's Duck AI Talk, a private way to chat with AI from DuckDuckGo, where AI is always optional and private.

[B]

This is the way indigenous Saha people greet one another. This phrase has no exact English translation, but it means I greet the universe in your person. My name is Snow Raven and I'm from the Republic of Sakha Yakutia in Arctic Siberia, the most cold, settled place on Earth, where winter's temperature can drop as low as negative 96 Fahrenheit. So after six years being away from Sahayakutia, I returned this summer to see my family and also visit our ancestral home. The first thing I did when I arrived was drop into silence and listen. Listening is one of the powerful gifts the universe has given humans to connect with nature. It is by listening that I have learned how to mimic nature. I listen with my imagination and become an animal that I hear. I move like it moves. I seek what it seeks. I cry with its cry. The owl Kakan, for instance, it has night vision. It can see all around him and it also flies without making a sound. The Alia brown kite soars on a heated air and with joy announces the arrival of the summer. When I hear the loon, I feel its longing for its partner. Alongside its love of the baby, it carries. The crane. The dance of this beautiful bird is so stunning and divine that Sakha people believe that the happy are the eyes who even once witnessed the dance of a crane in a wilderness. The ehe, the brown bear. It's so mighty and it terrifies everything all around him while even he eats but little berries. The reindeers Taba are lords of tundra and they run thousands of miles in huge herds to restore and recover their energy. They have a special breath. In a wolf's cry. I can hear the loneliness of the hunter and its yearning for the freedom beyond the body. It sees the moon and wants to join it in the sky. So the superpower of listening is that it leaves the room for imagination to dance with a sound. Let's listen, ignite our imagination and summon our animal superpowers here and now

[A]

it. Sam. It.

[C]

Minutes.

[A]

Oh,

[B]

Marcel, thank you.

[A]

That was Snow Raven at TED Next 2024. This talk was originally published in November of that year. And that's it for today. TED Talks Daily is part of the TED Audio Collective. This talk was fact checked by the TED Research team and produced and edited by our team, Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Brian Greene, Lucy Little and Tansika Sangmarnivong. This episode was mixed by Lucy Little. Additional support from Emma Tobner and Daniela Ballaraizo. I'm Elise Hu. I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh idea for your feed. Thanks for listening. We're lost. It feels like we're going round in circles.

[D]

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[A]

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[E]

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[A]

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[E]

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[D]

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[E]

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[D]

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