Rereading Texts of Music and Dance in the Hebrew Bible: The Spirituality of Music and Dance in Zimbabwe (original) (raw)
Related papers
The Bible and Music in African Christianity
ABJournals, 2024
This bibliographic study explores the interplay between the Bible and music within the context of African Christianity. Underpinned by the theory of syncretism, the paper employs a contextual thematic analysis to unravel the nexus between African indigenous music and Christian worship and draws implications for both scholarship and practice. Findings indicate that early European missionaries incited a satanic impression against the use of African indigenous music among Christian worshippers. It was contrarily revealed that Bibleinformed use of African music in Christian worship is imperative for evangelisation, deeper spirituality, and faster church growth in Africa. In conclusion, the paper emphasises that the Bible and (indigenous) music are inseparable. It also maintains that music has the transformative power of fostering community cohesion, religious identity, and spiritual devotion among African Christians. Finally, the paper recommends greater collaboration among scholars, theologians, music educators, and gospel music practitioners in the African context in accomplishing the goal of the gospel.
The Study of Zimbabwean Music by Zimbabwean Scholars
2018
This book provides a transdisciplinary approach to Zimbabwean music by Zimbabwean scholars. It not only covers aspects of Zimbabwean music from a musicological point of view, but also opens up a wide range of subjects of broad academic interest in Africa and elsewhere. Themes of interest include music and land reform; nationalism in relation to musical culture in Zimbabwe; music with regard to the youth (such as dancehall music); the use of gospel music for religious and political purposes; the interrelation of specific types of music (for instance, mbira) in rural and urban spaces; the relationship between people living across borders (for instance, Shona-speakers along the border of Zimbabwe and Mozambique); current understandings of the liberation struggles since 1980; historical approaches to Zimbabwean music during colonial times; and music and gender.
Sacrosanctum Concilium: Music in Liturgical Celebrations in an African Context
Akwaba, Revue semestrielle de théologie et de culture, 2015
RESUME Cet article se focalise sur la musique dans la célébration liturgique dans un contexte Africain et établit le lien existant entre la liturgie et la musique. Le fait que la Constitution sur la Sainte Liturgie accorde l'importance à l'art musical et à l'inculturation, signifie pour l'Eglise en Afrique, que la musique est l'un des aspects de l'inculturation. Cette réflexion montre la nécessité de développer la musique à partir des diverses cultures et traditions dans lesquelles l'évangile a été annoncé pour une participation plus active des fidèles à la célébration. En promouvant l'inculturation de la musique liturgique, cette contribution souligne son rôle dans la célébration du mystère pascal. Il apparaît donc que la musique dans les célébrations liturgiques en Afrique partage les trois qualités essentielles de la liturgie: la sainteté, la beauté de la forme, et l'universalité. ABSTRACT This paper focuses on liturgical music in an African context and establishes a link between liturgy and music. This reflection shows the need to develop music from different cultures and traditions in which the gospel is announced in order to form the full, conscious and active participation of the faithful in the celebration. In so doing, it claims that liturgical music in Africa shares three essential qualities with liturgical celebrations: sanctity, goodness of form, and universality.
Signs of the Spirit: Music and the Experience of Meaning in Ndau Ceremonial Life by Tony Perman,
Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue canadienne des études africaines, 2021
Contemporary conversations on the twentieth-century study of Africa1 have, to a significant extent, revolved around the need for increased and elaborate African agency. While this agency may take different forms, I propose that we could condense the discourse to three critical tenets. First, contemporary Africanist scholarship should distinguish the communities with which they are working, specifying the distinct condition of that community in relation to those that surround them. Secondly, Africanist scholarship calls for the elevation of communities from objects of study to partners in knowledge production. Finally, scholarship and, particularly, Western Africanist scholarship, must be constantly conscious of engaging existing local and African scholarship on the relevant communities and topic – even if only for context. It is within this academic moment that Signs of the Spirit has been published. Centred on the intersection of music and spirit-invoking ritual among the Ndau people of Eastern Zimbabwe, Tony Perman’s ethnomusicological project triumphs on several fronts, yet falls into some of the seemingly inevitable traps of agency outlined in the opening paragraph.
The role of the Old Testament in (Jewish) Music
This is a brief overview and discussion in the context of Jewish Music studies. It is also applicable and potentially of interest to Christian (and other) thinkers with interests in music and Scripture as well as culture.
CHURCH MUSIC AND MINISTRY: A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE
Journal of Christian Musicology, Ajilaoorun Pub. Ltd. Ile Ife, 2020
Church music plays significant roles in social, religious, and social gatherings in Africa. God gave people the gift of music and commanded its usage for the edification of man. The term “Church music” covers three major aspects of ministry within the context of a local church, namely; Congregational music, choral music, and instrumental music. A piece of music with appropriate biblical text can serve as a response of prayer, praise, a testimony of God’s faithfulness, or a response to an initial revelation of God during worship, or any Christian convergence. Although there may be a lot of confusion on what may be termed as church music, this study seeks to identify the term and discuss the ideals of church music in worship and other Christian convergence from physical and non-physical (spiritual) perspectives of Church music and ministry addressing the problem of lack of structure in the organization of church music ministry. Church music ministry allows Christians to be stewards of their gifts and is a valid medium of propagating the gospel. The study adopts literary and theological approaches and notes that music gives room for the edification of Christians, contributing its quota in building a network of musicians as they unite with other church leaders in raising offerings of praise and thanksgiving to God. It notes that church music should carry a message, express heartfelt praise to God, and/or a divinely inspired message of God to parishioners. It argues that Church music, of necessity, should be from disciplined Christian minds, to prepare true worshippers, reconciling them back to God.
2020
Zimbabwean apocalyptic literature (songs of liberation) was produced during the colonial and post-colonial era to critique oppressive measures. Apocalyptic literature evinces itself in the following characteristics: symbolism, dualism, pseudonymity, eschatology, revelation, vaticinium ex eventu and exhortations. Zimbabwean apocalyptic music, like Jewish apocalyptic literature was developed to answer the difficulties associated with the justice of God in the light of suffering under repressive leadership. In the Jewish context, the genre developed during the post-exilic period. In the context of this article, songs of liberation in Zimbabwe form this type of apocalyptic literature. One would assume that there was a direct influence of Jewish apocalypticism on Zimbabwean apocalyptic music. However, it is undeniable that Jewish apocalyptic ideology or features are very prominent in Zimbabwean liberation music. Although apocalyptic music in Zimbabwe is attributed to musicians like Thoma...
Christian music in contemporary Africa: a re-examination of its essentials
Christian music in contemporary Africa: a re-examination of its essentials Christian music all over Africa (be it liturgical church music or gospel), in contemporary times has become so popular and well grown howbeit in divergent dimensions. As a result, there have been questions, debates and confusions both by insiders and outsiders of the Christian faith on what exactly constitutes Christian music. There then arises the need to theorise the fundamentals of Christian music, exhuming the Biblical, musical and socio-cultural basis for its performance practices. This article examines various principles that should guide contem-porary Christian musicianship, especially as contained in the Scriptures; arguing that the practice of Christian music cannot be divorced from Bible even when the principles of musical sound organisation and the socio-cultural needs of the society have to be observed. The tension created by the superim-position of the three is also resolved. This article is ther...