Currently at the Wycliffe Centre, ETP is holding a course in Ethnomusicology and Performing Arts to explore “ways of encouraging and developing indigenous forms of creative Biblical worship that reflect the hearts and culture of such peoples.”
On a similar theme, I was encouraged to see this post by Jonathan, a vernacular media specialist in Tanzania, about a trip he made recently:
After a visit to Makete a few months ago, our current project team leaders told me of an elderly man (Babu) who has many Bible-based songs stored in his head and heart and all in his mother tongue (MT) of kiKinga! Babu had nearly pleaded to have someone record them so he could pass them on and even develop a method of teaching others how to write songs in their MT. I had started a little communication with the translation team (Tanzanians) working in Makete about coming to record Babu in the near future [...]
After dinner, Babu’s brother’s wife, we’ll call her Bibi (grandmother), arrived to meet us. She is Babu’s partner in song creation and singing. They offered to sing a kiKinga song for us much to our delight.
It was only about a minute and a half into the first song when I heard Mbogela join in the singing. I don’t know if he already knew the song or if he picked it up that quickly because he was hearing his MT. Near the end of the song, he turned to look at me and pointed to his heart. A gentle, emotional smile formed across his face and as I looked into his eyes, I saw feelings no words would come close to describing. It was in that moment that I truly understood the significance of people interacting with God in their mother tongue, otherwise known as their heart language. read more
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Tags: Ethnomusicology, Tanzania, Vernacular Media
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