Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part II of a four part pancocojams series that showcases brief excerpts about certain forms of Black church music in Southern Africa.
The text sources for this series are one doctoral thesis from Zambia, an excerpt from a South African social science book, and an excerpt from a South African article that was published online as a pdf file by semanticscholar.org.
Part II is divided into two sections. Section A presents a summary of a 2016 social science book by Austin C. Okigbo entitled Music, Culture, and the Politics of Health: Ethnography of a South African AIDS Choir Section A also presents a brief excerpt from that book which provides information about certain forms of Black South African church music.
Section B presents a brief excerpt from a 2005 doctoral thesis that includes information about certain forms of music in South African churches.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/10/black-church-music-in-zambia-excerpt.html for Part I of this series. Part I presents a brief excerpt of a 2015 doctoral thesis for the University of the Western Cape written by Kapenwa Kondolo. The thesis is entitled "The Ministry of Music: A Case Study On The United Church of Zambia And The New Jerusalem Church".
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/10/information-about-south-africas-urcsa.html for Part III of this series. Part III provides information about Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) and showcases videos of URCSA services.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/10/videos-examples-of-south-africas-urcsa.html for Part IV of this series. Part IV showcases videos of URCSA services. Special focus in these videos is on some members of that denomination playing uMpampampas (a Bible-sized cushion covered with leather. It is held in one hand and beaten with [the palm of] the other and other indigenous musical instruments as an integral part of their church services.
The content of this post is presented for ethnomusicology, cultural, and historical purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Austin C. Okigbo for this research and writing and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
I present excerpts of online books, thesis, articles, discussion forums etc on pancocojams as a means of raising awareness about the subject matter that is found in those sources. I encourage visitors to this blog to read these sources in their entirety. That said, I confess that I've not read the entire content of these showcased sources.
These excerpts are given on this blog "as is" except for citations/notes. I've added ellipses in brackets [...] to indicate the content that I've not quoted.
Page numbers are given at the bottom of each page and refer to the content that is found on that page.
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PART A: ONLINE SUMMARY OF THIS BOOK
From https://books.google.com/books?id=R1gDDQAAQBAJ&dq=Amakhorasi&source=gbs_navlinks_s "Music, Culture, and the Politics of Health: Ethnography of a South African AIDS Choir" by Austin C. Okigbo
Lexington Books, Aug 3, 2016 - Social Science - 236 pages
"This book is an ethnographic study of a HIV/AIDS choir who use music to articulate their individual and collective experiences of the disease. The study interrogates as to understand the bigger picture of HIV/AIDS using the approach of microanalysis of music event. It places the choir, and the cultural and political issues addressed in their music in the broader context of South Africa’s public health and political history, and the global culture and politics of AIDS."
-snip-
Here's a quote from that book: "Members of Siphithemba made me understand that they preferred to be designated a gospel choir, rather than a HIV/AIDs chorus."... [page 83; Google Books]
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PART A - BOOK EXCERPT
From Google Books:
"[page 81] Chapter 5
In South Africa, two recognizable forms of singing are commonly called gospel music. The first is the gospel chorus (in Zulu, amakhorasi). Amakhorasi are short songs of usually one to two verses, plus a refrain. A gospel chorus is led by a soloist, who improvises on a few verses and may introduce
[page 82]
several more in any given performance event by simply manipulating the theme and existing texts of the song while cueing the choir and congregation into the refrain, which is easy to memorize. The style is consistent with an African oral medium of performance, and the theme often speaks to individual and community experience, a personal relationship with God, repudiation of sin, rejection of Satan, salvation and peace with God, and eschatological vision. Lead soloists tend to reinforce these themes by inserting sermonettes and/or brief prayer formularies (discussed in details below). The style of singing is generally accompanied with handclapping and dance and it resembles the indigenous form of vocal music.
In South Africa, the African independent churches were the earliest Christian groups to perform amakhorasi - which explains its proximity to indigenous forms of vocal music. The advent of the American Pentecostal movements since the 1960s saw the popularization of this style of singing, but the mainstream denominations, such as the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian, and Dutch Reformed churches, which had built the mission churches of the colonial era, frowned on this style of music until recently. Although they have become more open to the performance of amakhorasi) in their spaces, the style has yet to be fully integrated into their liturgical activities.
A second form of gospel music found its way into the soundscape of South Africa again via the presence of Black American churches, including the African Methodist Episcopal Church and other evangelical groups. Mega churches modeled after those of the likes of Bishop T. D. Jakes are now part of the urban culture, drawing in especially the younger generation of Black urban dwellers between the ages of 18 and 45. [...] The music of these Pentecostal churches, like their Black American models, make use of instruments of contemporary popular music, including drum sets, electric bass, synthesizers, electric guitars, and heavily amplified sound systems. Trained musicians often arrange the songs, though their arrangements are often not written down, but are performed by talented artists.
On another level, South Africa has seen streams of Black American gospel artists and their secular (especially soul) counterparts come and go, leaving their sonic imprints on the nation’s soundscape. These artists have influenced numerous emergent gospel artists in South Africa. For example, Rebecca Malope, host of SABC’s Gospel Time, celebrated in South Africa as the queen of South African gospel, discussed with the Sunday Times the
[page 82]
formative years of her career as a gospel singer and the inspiration she drew from American soul singers: “I wanted to sing. I wanted to sing like Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder, Anita Baker. But using my own voice. (Sunday Times 2008)
The emergent gospel including Rebecca Malope, Deborah Fraser, Sipho Makhabane, Mthunzi Namba, and Benjamin Dube, have successfully created a South African version of Black American soul by combining elements of Black American soul with their indigenous amakhorasi style.
[...]
The most commonly heard gospel tunes in South Africa, either on the radio waves or in churches, are those with repetitive refrains set to call and response patterns, but with room for elaborate solo improvisations.
[...]
[page 83]"....
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PART B: EXCERPT
From https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/44f5/464c1570df0258d80affad087a77371f5782.pdf
"Echoes of orality in Christian Xhosa songs
M.M. Somniso
School of Language, Media and Communication
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
PORT ELIZABETH
[...]
Abstract
Echoes of orality in Christian Xhosa songs
This article is an attempt to investigate and explore certain patterns in traditional Christian Xhosa songs as found in Xhosa music.
[...]
3. Types and nature of Christian Xhosa music
According to Somniso (2002:123), Christian Xhosa music is a subtype of Xhosa music, and can further be divided into specific genres such as hymns, amakhorasi (music phrases), gospel and Zionist music. The sketch below illustrates a general classification of Xhosa music:
[...]
[134]
In this illustration it is clear that there are four types of Christian Xhosa music: hymns, amakhorasi, gospel and Zionist music. This article will focus particularly on amakhorasi and Zionist music, and will also use Ntsikana’s hymns as references when necessary.
[...]
According to Hodgson (1980:1-2) Ntsikana was the son of Gaba who was a hereditary councillor to Ngqika. Ntsikana is linked to the beginnings of Christianity among the amaXhosa. He is remembered for preparing the way for the gospel among the amaXhosa during the early nineteenth century, and is revered by many Africans as a prophet and a saint. Ntsikana composed four hymns which were woven into the liturgy used in his services. Singing Ntsikana’s hymns was accompanied by traditional dances. The reason for using Ntsikana’s hymns in this article is that they lend themselves to the traditional style when they are sung. Amakhorasi and Zionist songs are oral by nature and simple to use in worship services.
They are also meant to be sung by everybody in church during church gatherings. These songs are very popular among the amaXhosa and some of these Christian Xhosa songs have been recorded by the Department of African languages at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.
The themes of amakhorasi and Zionist songs are religious in nature and express, among other things, the love of God/Jesus, hope, happiness, healing and praising. These songs are sung during Christian gatherings, whether formal or informal. Preachers also use these songs during their sermons to raise the spirits of their followers. When these spiritual songs are sung, the aura of traditional songs is prevalent within them. It is therefore important to discuss the influence of traditional songs upon Christian music.
4. The influence of African traditional songs on Christian music
Independent churches such as the Zion Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church of Southern Africa have long ago terminated their relations with their colonial masters. It is against this background that these churches no longer adhere to the European style of singing. Other churches, such as the Zion Church of Christ, compose their own church music that reflects African elements. The music used in these churches is accompanied by instruments and dance. Some mainline churches, among others the Uniting Presbyterian Churches and the African Evangelical Church, have also adopted the African style of singing. The African style of singing finds to a great extent expression in the way in which amakhorasi
[135]
are sung. The nature of amakhorasi is similar to that of traditional music. [...]
Even among amaXhosa there are still those who believe that the incorporation of traditional musical elements into Christian music reduces the solemnity of the service. Forms of worship are also extensively expressed in music. For the amaXhosa the nature of music need not contain Western elements in order to be relevant for today. According to Courlander (1963:35) Afro-American Christian songs include a wide range of styles, idioms and substance. Amakhorasi and Zionist songs have also been altered to conform to the nature of African traditional music. Amakhorasi adapted as Christian songs include elements of traditional music and are sung purely in a traditional way. Traditional songs are concerned, among other things, with social practices such as marriage and initiation. Amakhorasi and Zionist songs, on the other hand, express the feeling of the society in which these songs have been created from a Christian angle. Amakhorasi and Zionist songs reflect the attitudes and aspirations of Christians, whilst traditional songs mark and celebrate social change.
[...]
[136]
[...]
5. The composition of Christian Xhosa songs
[...]
The art of composing traditional songs among amaXhosa is guided by social customs. Any person can, for instance, compose songs, but these songs are not written down and do not accommodate dancing. Similar characteristics can also be indicated in amakhorasi and Zionist songs as they are also not written down by their composers. Both types of songs developed very quickly, as many Xhosa people have the ability to compose. The umhlabeli (lead singer) could also introduce a new khorasi or a Zionist song which he/she may have heard in another congregation. When amakhorasi are sung they are accompanied by instruments.
[...]
6. The use of accompaniment
The emergence of amakhorasi as an art form did not replace hymns, but is rather a functional evolution in Christian Xhosa music. Amakhorasi serve a practical function in the sense that they are sung in church, but carry the banner of Xhosa traditional songs. When these spiritual songs are sung, percussive effects such as clapping hands, stamping feet, and the use of instruments are incorporated. The use of instruments is very common among amaXhosa. The aim is to add sound to the human voice or the stamping of feet. For example, in traditional societies instruments such as iimpempe (whistles), iifluthi (flutes) amaphondo (horns), amahadi (bows), ikatari (guitar) and iikloko (rattles) are used by boys when they are dancing. Igubu (drum) and whistle are commonly used by diviners. Traditional women play uhadi (bow) and wear ankle rattles when they sing and dance. Some of the instruments mentioned previously can be used in churches and will be discussed briefly below. The aim is to highlight the overlapping use of some of these instruments.
The following instruments are sometimes used in some mainline churches and in most independent churches: tambourines/rattles, triangles, cowbells, umpampampas (Bible-sized cushion covered with leather and beat with the palm of one hand), drums, sound pipes.
[140]
Tambourine/rattle: A tambourine has a horseshoe shape and contains metal rings which produce the sound. Rattles have the same function, but are different from a tambourine, because rattles can be worn around the ankle, for example, by boys. Rattles are given different names by amaXhosa, for example ikloko, oonokhenkce or oonokroxo. In Zionist churches worshippers also make their own rattles/tambourines by making holes in a polish tin, and putting small stones inside it in order to make a sound when it is shaken. According to the Good News Bible a tambourine is a small drum with pieces of metal in the rim, held in the hand and then shaken. Tambourines were also used by women. To support this notion Judges 11:34 serves as an illustration: when Jephthah went back home to Mizpah, his daughter came out to meet him, dancing and playing the tambourine.
Triangle: The triangle is an instrument of steel bent into a threesided form. It is usually held by a string on the left hand and struck with a small bar of iron or steel with the right hand (Stainer,
1989:447).
Umpampampa: An umpampampa is a Bible-sized cushion covered with leather. It is held in one hand and beaten with the other. This is done to produce more sound and to regulate the rhythm.
Drums: There are many kinds of drums. The type of drum depends on the people themselves. Ugandan drums, Tanzanian hand drums, and Atumpan drums can for instance be used. Among the amaXhosa a similar drum is called igubu. The drum is open on both sides and these sides are covered by animal skin. Two sticks are used to beat the drum on the sides. Among amaXhosa this drum is mostly used by Zionist and diviners. Boys use it as well.
Sound pipes: It is an instrument which is blown, and is similar to a trumpet. To improvise sound pipes a pool pipe is sometimes used to make this instrument. According to Hamm (1975:111) African
(Hamm uses the term “native”) instruments are sometimes used to perform Westernised music, but the instrument utilised for the widest range of music styles is the valiha (tube zither) of Madagascar. South Africans sometimes use home-made instruments such as the igubu (drum). Listening to the sound of these instruments can evoke the spirit of oral tradition and one can experience the richness of Xhosa oral songs. In some churches Christians have gone further in blending
[141]
Christian songs with traditional music. The use of instruments differ from church to church. The Methodist Church of Southern Africa, for example, sing the same khorasi as the Uniting Presbyterian church, but in their case they are not allowed to use instruments.
[...]
Amakhorasi as a type of Christian Xhosa songs, should be seen as filling a vacuum in Xhosa churches. These songs represent the African spirit that has been missing. Some Xhosa people left their mainline churches and joined independent churches, the reason being that independent churches allow Xhosa traditional music. Amakhorasi and Zionist songs are typically African. [142]...”
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This concludes Part II of this four part pancocojams series.
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