Strengthening Christian Identity through Scripture Songwriting in Indonesia

Bible translation and indigenous hymnody have always been important parts of the localization of the Christian faith. In this study, we describe how local songwriters creating songs with lyrics based on translated scriptures play a vital role in the process of localization in Christian communities in Indonesia. We focus primarily on thirty-nine scripture songwriting workshops that we and our colleagues conducted over the past six years in Indonesia, as well as ongoing interactions we had with communities in Ambon and Central Sulawesi. We begin with a literature review to establish the influences which shaped our songwriting workshops and our motivation for conducting them, and then we describe the workshops themselves and the process of musical localization that took place. Throughout the study, we highlight the role of local agency, the importance of fusion genres, and the creation of unique Christian identities through the localization of music.

A Methodology in the Development of Indigenous Hymnody

In this helpful essay on the contextualization of music for the Christian church the author provides specific guidelines for even the non-musical missioner who wants to learn how to promote indigenous Christian music.

Developing an Indigenous Hymnody

The article describes an investigation in depth of the possibilities of using indigenous musical forms of the iKalahan people of the Philippines and even indigenous tunes for an indigenous hymnody. The various instruments and musical patterns are described first, then the forms of various types of songs: Verse forms, metrical patterns, themes, situations in which they are used, etc. The author experimented successfully with the use of such music both for the translation of metrical Psalms and for original hymnology. Previous articles on this topic are: “Developing Hymnology in New Churches,” PA Vol. 9, No. 6 (special issue, Nov.–Dec. 1962); Elaine T. Lewis, James M. Riccitelli, and William A. Smalley, “More About Developing Non-Western Hymnody,” Vol. 11, No. 1 (Jan.–Feb. 1964), pp. 35–46; Vida Chenoweth and Darlene Bee, “On Ethnic Music,” Vol. 15, No. 5 (Sept.–Oct. 1968), pp. 205–212; and Dorothy James, “Toward an Ethnic Hymnody,” Vol. 16, No. 1 (Jan.–Feb. 1969), pp. 34–38.