Indigenous Hymnody on the Mission Field: Worship in the Language of the People by Terry L. Baldridge

Communication is of primary importance within any culture group. The process becomes more complex, however, when persons from more than one culture are involved. Missionaries, for the most part, have realized that in order for them to be able to communicate the gospel message to those of other cultures, it is necessary to speak the language of the people whom they are trying to evangelize. In contrast, the language of music, until recently, has generally been approached in an ethnocentric manner. “We must accept that the Holy Spirit can inspire and speak through vernacular music expression just as through vernacular prayer and Bible translation, or else deny the universality of God” (Chenoweth 1984, 30).

Music is universal but it is not a universal language. Just as there are many different spoken languages and dialects around the world, there are also many different languages of music which are indigenous to various culture groups and just as varied as their spoken languages. “Both speech and music convey meaning to every individual in a given society while allowing for degrees of receptivity” (Chenoweth 1985, 12). In order to communicate, however, the speakers must have a language in common. Just as linguists are equipped with the tools necessary to learn languages, develop written forms of those languages, and translate scriptures, so ethnomusicologists are trained to decipher foreign musical languages. One of the best ways they do this is by participating in the music of the culture. The goal of the missionary-ethnomusicologist is to help new Christians of another culture find an indigenous musical expression which will allow them to respond to their new-found Savior and Lord. “The most effective musical language will always be the first language of the local group, even though they may be familiar with other styles” (Hunt 1987, 17).

Missionaries in the past have sometimes assumed that since there was no Christian musical idiom in a culture, that their own Western hymns would work if only the texts were translated. They failed to recognize, perhaps due to lack of training, that communicating the gospel message through a foreign musical style can sound just as alien as another spoken language. A hymn includes music and text, and both must communicate. If only one is understood, then only half the message is received (Goudeau 1980).

It is the indigenous or heart music of a culture which will speak most profoundly to the emotions of the people in that culture (Avery 1996). It also reinforces the indigenous culture, gives the Biblical message an authority it would not otherwise have, and shows that the missionary places value upon the people and their culture. “There is nothing in the New Testament to suggest that the evangelized need adopt the cultural ways of the evangelist” (Chenoweth 1984, 31). Music is more easily supplanted than speech, and so the results of replacing indigenous music with Western hymns is more rapidly realized. In a culture with an oral musical tradition, one generation of suppressed indigenous musical expression can cause that tradition to be lost (Chenoweth and Bee 1968).

Rejection of indigenous music may also cause some rituals to be secretly retained as well as alienating composers and musicians from the church (Chenoweth 1984). In some cases negative acculturation has occurred when missionaries have denounced the native culture as evil and suppressed indigenous elements. This negative indoctrination is difficult to overcome. It causes tension between the Christians and non-Christians within the culture, and also alienates the non-Christians from anything associated with the church. Sometimes it is not until the first or second generation of Christians is gone that indigenous elements can be incorporated into worship.

In cultures where Western influence has been strong, it is often difficult to define the indigenous culture because outside influences have been assimilated. In an area where Western hymnody has already been introduced, it is not the missionary’s responsibility to remove this element from the host culture. The missionary should allow the Holy Spirit to work among the people as an indigenous Christian culture is developed. Sometimes, as in many countries of Africa, a blending takes places and a new musical expression emerges. Western elements may be changed and adapted to fit better with the indigenous culture.

Every culture has its folkways or norms of expressions. When these become universally accepted in a culture, everything is judged by these norms and evaluated either good, or bad, or in poor taste. Deviant behavior may even be dubbed as immoral. Judging everything else according to our own norms, or folkways, or mores, is ethnocentric. These judgements are not necessarily Christian. (Key 1962, 257)

Study of missionary efforts around the world has shown that the introduction of foreign hymnody has left a legacy which is often quite difficult to overcome (Goudeau 1980, 53-86).

1.Foreign hymns can hinder musical communication.

2.Foreign hymns can distort linguistic communication.

3.Foreign hymns are easily susceptible to pagan reinterpretation.

4.Foreign hymns encourage the identification of Christian worship with foreign forms.

5.Foreign hymns can encourage a denial of indigenous culture.

6.Foreign hymns can damage indigenous cultures.

7.Foreign hymns can encourage nationalistic reactions.

8.Foreign hymns can stifle spontaneous musical expression.

9.Foreign hymns are usually more difficult to sing.

10.Foreign hymns can hinder evangelism.

Goudeau also discusses the three-fold appeal of indigenous hymnody. Indigenous hymns effectively communicate through music and words, they reinforce cultural integrity, and are culturally satisfying (87-102).

Music can assist the missionary in entering a culture and communicating the gospel message. Music is a significant expression of culture, and using an indigenous musical language reinforces cultural viability. It also functions as a mnemonic aid with texts, attracts attention, and facilitates the transmission and reception of certain kinds of information. Music is also beneficial in reaching various social groups within a culture. Group singing requires such coordination that it tends to unify a group psychologically and spiritually (Hunt 1987, 17-21).

1.Music often breaks the barrier against women’s expression.

2.Music gives the reticent and the timid a personal expression.

3.Music is especially valuable in reaching children.

4.Music attracts population segments hostile to the gospel.

5.Musical activities organized around common-interest groups provide both appeal and incentive.

6.Music establishes the Christian group in the community.

Several different approaches have been taken by missionaries when working with music on the mission field (Hunt 1987, 112). The least acceptable and the most enthnocentric approach is to assume that Western hymns are the only good church music. Only slightly better is the approach of adapting Western melodies to sound more like indigenous music. Using existing indigenous melodies with Christian texts can sometimes be acceptable if former associations with other texts and performance situations do not hinder the communication of the Christian message. New songs written by the missionary in the indigenous style can serve to encourage the people themselves to compose songs. The missionary should not, however, reserve this responsibility for himself. The people should be encouraged to assume the responsibility of music leadership and composition as soon as possible if the church is truly going to become indigenous.

In discussing the communication process of music evangelism, Hunt (1987, 45-59) refers to the missionary-musician as the initiator and the person being evangelized as the receptor. The text of the music transmits the message, but it is the music itself which becomes the frame which carries the message to the receptor. If the frame cannot be understood by the receptor, then it becomes a barrier to the receptor’s ability to understand the message. Changing the frame into an indigenous form of music invites reception and renders retransmission possible. It is this retransmission which becomes the key to evangelism in any culture.

Just as the missionary learns the spoken language of the people and, in so doing, becomes bi-lingual, the music missionary learns the musical language of the people and becomes bi-musical. The techniques used by both are very similar. The music missionary must listen to as much music as possible and identify truly indigenous elements. If the music is part of an oral tradition, then it must be written down and analyzed. Participation in the music, perhaps through learning to play instruments of the culture, assists the missionary in learning the indigenous musical language. Showing enough interest in the culture to learn to play an indigenous instrument says to the people that you value them and their culture. In attempting to understand another musical language, there are several questions the missionary must ask (Friesen 1982, 85-91).

1. Song Types

How many song types are in the culture? What are the cultural settings of the songs? On what occasions are the songs sung? What is the purpose of each style and each song?

2. Instruments

What instruments are used? Who plays them? Is it consistent for all song types? Which instruments accompany singing? Are some songs sung without instruments?

3. Singers and Instrumentalists

Who sings/plays what types of songs? Is there solo singing/playing?

4. Technical Characteristics

What are melody, pitch, rhythm, and harmony like?

After the indigenous music has been analyzed, then it must be decided which song types are appropriate for Christian application and which instruments can be used. The missionary must also determine if existing melodies can be used with Christian texts. Continuity of culture is vital to the indigenous development of Christianity. Indigenous Christians sensitive to the leadership of the Holy Spirit are the best judges as to what is acceptable in the development of indigenous hymnody. High musical standards should be maintained as music for worship is developed. “A musical medium which is merely enjoyable must be regarded as inferior no matter how great the music’s appeal. The function of a hymn is to glorify God, to edify man and to fix man’s attention on God. Anything less is inadequate as a motivation for hymn-singing” (Chenoweth and Bee 1968, 210). Every aspect of the culture must ultimately be evaluated in light of biblical principles.

Hunt stresses that the missionary should encourage indigenous leadership in the church and in the music of the church. The people need to believe that “their music is acceptable, their spiritual gifts valid, and their talents valuable to God and to the church” (Hunt 1987, 125). Sometimes it is possible to use even a non-Christian composer within the culture to assist in the creation of new melodies specifically for use by Christians. This would also draw that person into the church and provide a form of evangelistic outreach. “When a people develops its own hymns with both vernacular words and music, it is good evidence that Christianity has truly taken root” (Chenoweth and Bee 1968, 210). The process of determining which elements of a culture can be used with the Christian message is not an easy task. There are some general guidelines, however, which can be followed (Hunt 1987, 121-121).

1.Everything good in a culture should be retained.

2.Everything obviously and inherently evil should be discarded.

3.One may trust the Holy Spirit in the gray areas, especially as He guides a new believer if that believer is being carefully discipled.

4.Missionaries should carefully and prayerfully evaluate how much of their message and how many of their standards are biblical and universal and which are conditioned by their own cultural background.

5.The missionary should regard the tools of culture as an important means of communication, second only to language.

The relationship of text and music is extremely important in communicating the gospel message through music. For the music missionary attempting to assist new Christians in the development of indigenous hymnody, not only is a working knowledge of the musical language vital, but a functional knowledge of the spoken language is also invaluable. Some languages naturally contain a greater percentage of multi-syllabic words. More syllables, and therefore notes in the musical setting, may be required to say the same thing in another language. This makes it difficult to take Western hymns and simply translate them. Many African languages are closely associated with music and rely upon speech rhythms. Since rhythm is so much a part of the language, improvisation is a vital element in the indigenous musical culture (Warnock 1983, 70). In such a culture, having the music in a written form is more important to the outsider studying the music than it is to participants within the culture. The music missionary must allow for spontaneous composition if the hymnody of the host culture is to be a truly indigenous expression of their faith.

A culture possessing a tonal language presents an additional dimension to be considered. It has often been by accident that linguists have discovered that the language they are trying to learn is tonal. Setting the same word to different melodic pitches can change the meaning of the word drastically. The music missionary must be careful to examine indigenous musical settings of a tonal language to see how strictly any tonal variations are followed. When texts are set to music, care must be taken to be sure the music enhances and not confounds the communication of the text.

Music in itself does not really convey meaning. It is only through former association that meaning is communicated to the hearer. For this reason, first-generation Christians are sometimes reluctant to include certain aspects of their indigenous music in Christian worship. Some elements may be so closely associated with former pagan practices that a barrier for Christian usage becomes apparent. The music missionary has a responsibility to point out that it is the association and not the music itself which is erecting the barrier. Past association, however, can often be very strong and, in some instances, it is not until a second generation of Christians is developed that certain elements can be incorporated without fear of negative implication.

Sometimes it is possible to use folktunes which have lost their original associa-
tions, or even current melodies with associations which are not opposed to the gospel message. In some instances, where Christianity is just beginning to develop in a culture, missionaries have been able to use indigenous hymns from a related culture group where Christianity has already been established. There are often enough similarities between the music of the two cultures that the borrowed music does not seem totally foreign. This can also encourage indigenous development within the local culture. When the people see what others like them have been able to develop, they are encouraged to do the same.

Music missionaries are a relatively new development. In 1963 Vida Chenoweth was the first music missionary associated with the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL). She developed a method of analyzing indigenous music in her assignment in Papua New Guinea, and as a result was able to compose original melodies in an indigenous style which the people thought were their own (Chenoweth 1972). Twenty years later there were six music missionaries in various assignments (Chenoweth 1984). Later in her career, Chenoweth went on to teach at Wheaton College where she trained many missionaries in the development of indigenous hymnody. Today SIL has over two dozen ethnomusicologists serving in world mission areas. The Southern Baptist denomination alone has fifty-one missionaries whose primary assignment is music and an additional sixty-six whose secondary assignment is music (Atkinson 1997). These categories represent two types of missionaries involved in music–music missionaries and missionary musicians. For missionary musicians, music is their secondary assignment, but music missionaries possess the following traits (Hunt 1987, 37-38):

1.They are first and foremost missionaries, called to win the lost, to disciple converts, and to nurture national churches.

2.The primary area of their mission assignment is music, although, like any missionary, they will be active in most phases of the work of their mission and accept nonmusical assignments as one of the privileges and obligations implicit in their appointment.

3.They are qualified by formal training for professional work in church music and normally are experienced in church music work before appointment.

4.The majority of their missionary activities are music ones.

Mission organizations today seem more open to sending missionaries whose primary assignments are in areas other than preaching. Countries which are antagonistic toward Christianity may not allow preaching missionaries to enter, but they will allow persons in business, agriculture, education, music, and other areas to come in and help their people develop those skills. Several new programs have been developed recently for the sole purpose of training music missionaries. The Summer Institute of Linguistics now has a full-time enthnomusicologist on staff and offers an ethnomusicology training program in addition to their music classes for regular missionaries. A newsletter, entitled EM News and devoted to music activities on the mission field, is now being published by SIL. Music in World Cultures, housed at Crown College, is a new organization offering a master’s degree program designed specifically for missionaries whose primary assignment will be music.

The Asian Institute for Liturgy and Music (AILM) at Trinity College in Quezon City, Philippines, organized the Asian School of Music, Worship and the Arts which offers a master’s degree in church music. A primary focus of this program is the use of indigenous music and instruments in worship. They also have a staff ethnomusicologist who travels throughout Asia recording and transcribing examples of indigenous Christian music. AILM has published several collections and recordings of this music.

As more missionaries are provided with training in ethnomusicology, more people around the world will be encouraged to praise God in an indigenous style of music which speaks most directly to the people of their culture. This will enhance the communication of the gospel message and cause the kingdom of God to be enlarged. This, after all, should be the ultimate goal of any missionary effort. There has never been a truly Christian culture, and yet it is impossible to communicate the gospel message without using the tools of culture. Christianity has successfully penetrated and survived in a wider variety of lifestyles and cultures than any other religion on earth. It survives precisely because it is acultural and its demand is other-worldliness. It does not despise culture, nor does it worship culture (Hunt 1987, 117-118). It was God who created diversity among his people, and it is through this diversity that the Kingdom finds its strength. “Why would anyone want to capture all the birds of the forest, paint them grey and give them all the same song? God made each one, and each has its song to sing for him” (Chenoweth 1984, 35).

Selected Bibliography

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Avery, Tom. 1996. Music of the Heart: The Power of Indigenous Worship in Reaching Unreached Peoples with the Gospel. Mission Frontiers. 18:5-8 (May-August): 13-14.

Carrol, K. 1956. Yoruba Religious Music. African Music. 1:3:45-47.

Chenoweth, Vida. 1972. Melodic Perception and Analysis. Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea: Summer Institute of Linguistics.

________. 1984. Spare them Western music!. Evangelical Missions Quarterly . 20 (January): 31-35.

________. 1985. Music in Cross-Cultural Communication. Notes on Anthropology. 1: 12-14.

Chenoweth, Vida and Darlene Bee. 1968. On Ethnic Music. Practical Anthropology 15 (September-October): 205-212.

________. 1971. Comparative-Generative Models of a New Guinea Melodic Structure. American Anthropologist . 73 (June): 773-782.

Clouse, Duane. 1985. Ethnomusicology Misjudged? Notes on Anthropology. 2 : 10-12.

Cowan, Marion M. and Marjorie E. Davis. 1959. Hymn Writing in Aboriginal Languages. Glendale, CA: Summer Institute of Linguistics.

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Goudeau, Eugene. 1980. Toward an Indigenous Hymnody. M.A. Thesis, Harding Graduate School of Religion.

Hodges, Catherine A. 1996. Ethnomusicology in Missions: What It Isn't, What It Is, and Why It Matters Anyway. EM News. 5:3 (August): 4-6.

Hoffman, J. Samuel. 1984. Church Music on the Mission Field. Missionary Monthly. (August-September): 22-23.

Hunt, T. W. 1987. Music in Missions: Discipling Through Music. Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.

James, Dorothy. 1969. Toward an Ethnic Hymnody. Practical Anthropology. 16 (January-February): 34-38.

Key, Mary. Hymn Writing with Indigenous Tunes. 1962. Practical Anthropology. 9 (November-December): 257-262.

King, Louis L. 1962. Indigenous Hymnody of the Ivory Coast. Practical Anthropology. 9 (November-December): 268-270.

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McCoy, Gary W. 1984. “Music Mission Trends Among Korean Baptists.” Southern Baptist Church Music Journal . (January): 28-29.

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Neeley, Paul. 1996. God's Plan, Power, and Praise Among the Ife. EM News. 5:3 (August): 9-10.

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