An Inquiry Into Contextualized Christian Expression in North India
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© 2011 M. J. Gracin ii ABSTRACT AN INQUIRY INTO CONTEXTUALIZED CHRISTIAN EXPRESSION IN NORTH INDIA M. J. Gracin Liberty University The riches of India’s ancient and diverse culture are proclaimed from the music that communicates the heart of Bharat Mata – Mother India. This sentiment resounds across the vast geographical area of India in songs from Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians and Bollywood composers. The question of how Christians might express their faith in light of societal, historical and religious amalgamations is the topic of discussion for this project. The inquiry will focus on the music culture of North India, specifically as it is expressed in the city of B_____, Uttar Pradesh. A six week field study was conducted in India to interview Hindu musicians and non-musicians. Audio and video recordings were made of the interviews, and photographs and recordings were made of various performances. The analysis endeavors to fill the gap concerning an understanding of the need for contextualized Christian expression and recommendations are presented for carrying out the task. iii CONTENTS CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................5 Project Significance ...............................................................................................................5 Definition of Purpose .............................................................................................................9 Intended Outcomes .............................................................................................................. 10 System of Assessment .......................................................................................................... 10 Delimitations of the Study ................................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................. 12 Historical, Cultural and Religious Background ................................................................. 12 Hindu Perceptions of Christianity and the West ................................................................ 15 Contextualized Christian Expression.................................................................................. 20 Ethnomusicology Studies of North India ............................................................................ 24 Literature Summary Map ................................................................................................... 61 Concluding Remarks on Literature .................................................................................... 62 CHAPTER III: PROJECT DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION ............................................ 64 Design ................................................................................................................................... 64 Literature and Study Design ............................................................................................... 71 Project Plan .......................................................................................................................... 72 Project Implementation ....................................................................................................... 75 CHAPTER IV: SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................. 159 Commentary on Elements of Musical Style ...................................................................... 159 Commentary on Other Aspects of Devotional Music ....................................................... 162 Future Exploration ............................................................................................................ 165 Strategy the Four-Fold Plan .............................................................................................. 166 Concluding Thoughts ........................................................................................................ 175 APPENDIX A – RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRES ............................................................... 176 APPENDIX B – IRB APPROVAL ......................................................................................... 182 APPENDIX C – AUDIO-VISUAL EQUIPMENT LIST ......................................................... 183 APPENDIX D – SONG TRANSCRIPTIONS AND RECORDINGS ...................................... 184 GLOSSARY ........................................................................................................................... 203 Musical Terms ................................................................................................................... 203 Musical Instruments .......................................................................................................... 209 Cultural and Hindu Religion Terms ................................................................................. 214 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................... 216 iv Page | 5 CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION If someone mentions the word, “India,” pictures of brightly colored saris, rare Bengal tigers, the Taj Mahal, or perhaps, the stunning political revolution of Gandhi may come to mind. The riches of this ancient culture exceed the vibrant images of historical and contemporary memory, and even greater treasures are proclaimed from the music that communicates the heart of Bharat Mata – Mother India. This sentiment resounds across the country’s vast geographical area in songs from Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists and Christians. With widely differing cultures north to south, and unique people groups found within each state, district and city, the question of how Christians might express their faith in light of societal, historical and religious amalgamations is the topic of discussion for this project. The inquiry will focus on the music culture of North India, specifically as it is expressed in the city of B_____, Uttar Pradesh, and endeavors to fill the gap concerning an understanding of contextualized Christian expression. Project Significance India is the seventh largest country in the world (land mass), with the second largest population at 1.2 billion, which includes over 2500 unique people groups, living in 28 political states and union territories (CIA - The World Fact Book 2009; List of Chief Ministers in India 2009). Over 2200 people groups are considered least reached (Joshua Project 2010): they have no Bible in their language, no churches, and few, if any, Christians laboring among them. In light of these statistics, the significance of this project may seem infinitesimally small. However, just as massive oceans are filled one raindrop at a time, the need for researchers to investigate stumbling blocks and remedies to the reception of the Gospel will be met one people group at a Page | 6 time. Though only a small raindrop, this project is significant in terms of its contribution to the greater whole of evangelism in India. The Significance of Music “All the religions have taught that the origin of the whole of creation is sound.” (McIntosh 2005)1 A key area of expression in any cultural setting is music. In the context of Hindu spiritual expression, music is one of the vehicles that transports devotees from a state of being that interacts with the natural world to one of engaging the supernatural (Viladesau 2000; Gort 1989). Music tends to generate a real time experience, and is similar to prayer and meditation in which it compels one to forget the past, suspend thoughts of the future and live in the present where God is encountered. The music of India in the North is called Hindustani and tradition holds that it can be traced to a prehistoric and mythological past (Sahai-Achuthan 1987). It has a Persian influence on account of the period of Islamic conquest and is contrasted with the Carnatic music of the South where resistance to foreign invasion enjoyed greater success. Counted among the world’s most well-known and ancient, Hindustani music has emerged virtually unscathed by the West considering India’s colonial past and modernized present (Neuman 1980). In light of this art’s veracity to remain intact despite an existence in a world vastly different from the one which gave it birth, it follows that evangelical work should give great consideration to it. Appavoo, Giles, Choondal, Sherinian and Dicran advocate the use of folk music genres for expression among Christians in India. These scholars state the bulk of contextualization research has been carried out in the southern area of India (Giles 2003; Dicran 2000). Few 1 This quote is attributed to a Sufi teacher from India named Hazrat Inayat Khan who subscribed to the universal oneness of all faiths and creeds. Though the quote is poignant in light of its corroboration with the creation account in Genesis, on the contrary, I cannot disagree with Khan’s philosophy more. Page | 7 address Northern tribal music, and only two theses were found that dealt with indigenous forms from the North repurposed for Christian worship. In the thesis Hindi Christian Bhajans: A Survey of their use By Christians and a Critique by Hindu Music Professionals a Hindu meeting called a satsang was conducted in the United Kingdom by an evangelist and singer named Subhash Gil. Indian spiritual songs were sung and an invitation was made to the Hindu participants to receive Christ. The response was