Ethnomusicology

I'll start with some background information to help you get a feel for what I was involved in last week.

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnomusicology) defines
ethnomusicology as "the study of social and cultural aspects of music and dance in local and global contexts."; "the study of making music".

West Papua has a variety of different languages. Indonesian is the offical language of the country, but from Ache to Papua (from East to West) individuals use their local language to communicate clearly. This is one reason why translation work is crucial in this area of the world. People are misunderstanding the clear message of the Gospel, simply because it's in a language they don't completely understand.

We're finding that it's also important to study the way they make music. This expression of creativity allows for praise and worship in a unique and personal way. My friend, Erin, is an ethnomusictologist- I might have just made that word up, but it seems to fit- and she is partnering with different translation projects to study and encourage them to make their own worship music. (Cool, huh?) This past week I had the chance to tag along with her to see up close what kind of work she's apart of.

In the Kimtuk people group, which started their translation project in the 70's, our friend, Phil, is working with them to translate stories from the life of Christ into their language to gain a better understanding of scripture. He and Erin administered a week long workshop teaching participants how to write the music and lyrics of a song. Participants were encouraged to use accounts from the Bible as the backbone of their songs. The final day of the workshop was used to record their songs, which will later be compiled into a CD or tape (yes, those things are still around here!) That's where Larry comes in. Larry set up all the recording equipment in a thatched roof house that stood on stilts. He spent hours listening to the bands through headsets and marking where the songs started and ended.

How special it was for me to see what my friends do here. I was so encouraged by the passion of one certain individual. His "band" were the elders of the village. They sang two songs- one with a drum, and one without. His voice was so strong, even though it was quivering with age. He sang out with all his heart. I was being drawn into his worship. The words meant nothing to me (although to those around me they meant everything), but I was being drawn into the presence of God by this man. Have you ever been drawn into the presence of the Creator like that? Maybe it's by seeing an amazingly colorful sunset, smelling the flowers, or gazing up at the clouds.

Here are some photos:

You know you're going some place special when your friend says,"Hold on, we have to fix the bridge."

We did NOT go on this one.

A thatched roof house- not the location of recording

Larry- the sound guy

The Gang- Larry, Phil, Erin

first band to test out the equipment

New use for Chacos (sandals)- keeping the mics from picking up the vibrations in the floor

lunch break- more to come on an upcoming post!

Handmade bass- they play with it lying on the ground. Can you see how many strings there are? Just two!

homemade stand up/lay down bass

A group of young people- they were the focus of the week, because these songs will be passed on through them.

The group of orang tua (older people). 

I tried to upload a video, but that kind of stuff just doesn't happen here! It was a long day, but I'm so thankful that I witnessed music in the making.