3. 4 Tensions in Traditional Worship Song and Music
In this section we will consider how the charismatic movement has impacted on traditional worship song. We will first consider the origin, development and nature of both traditional and charismatic worship songs. We will then consider the points of departure that have caused tensions in relation to the traditional worship song.
Traditional worship song
The SCS traditional liturgical hymn draws its roots from two different sources. The first source is a song book, called Sebhat LeAmlak which consists of two volumes and is written in Amharic. According to the MYS textbook on Christian Worship and Liturgy, the songs of the first volume were composed by the earliest missionaries of the nineteenth century. The textbook states that some of these songs were written as metrical paraphrases of passages of the Scriptures, while others were direct
translations of Swedish hymns. The melodies of these songs were patterned on the melodies of the missionaries’ home traditions (MYS 2004: 185). The songs of the second volume were composed and compiled by Ethiopian nationals, but with melodies similar to the melodies of the songs of the first volume. According to the EECMY Book of Liturgy and Worship, these two volumes of songs have been regarded as part of the doctrinal elements and theological identity of the EECMY (EECMY 2008: 20).
Charismatics, for their part, criticized these songs as being irrelevant for contemporary worship. The charismatic respondents suggested three reasons for this. The first is that the difficulties of the Amharic language for uneducated members of the rural congregations. Therefore, these songs have not been in use in all of the rural congregations. Even in the urban congregations, most of the congregants cannot sing them because of the difficulties of the Amharic language and the melodies of the songs. The second is that, since the melodies of the songs are inherited from western churches, they are difficult to learn. There is no one from among the older generation who is well acquainted with the melodies of these songs and able to teach the younger generations. The third reason is that even if there is a possibility of learning the melodies of these songs, their melody is uninspiring. Therefore, concluded the respondents, these two volumes of songs do not fit the atmosphere of contemporary worship in any way (CRBG 18-08-08 and CRAG 28-07-09).
terms as ‘antiphonal singing’ (1988: 355) and Henning terms as ‘responsorial’ (2006: 4). This was a song particular to the evangelical churches of southern Ethiopia, mostly in the Kambata, Hadiya, Wolayta and Sidama regions. A traditionalist respondent explained the origin, development and vitality of this type of song as follows:
The missionaries and some nationals, who followed them, preached the gospel to us. We believed in Jesus Christ and began to follow him. But when Italians invaded the country the missionaries were forced to leave the country. Indigenous preachers, who were visiting us as replacements to the missionaries, were forbidden freedom of movement by Italians. We were left alone, yet continued to meet up and worship on Sundays. Since we had no scripture, preachers and leaders among us, we were merely praying to God to lead, help and bless us. It was an occasion of absolute helplessness and hopelessness for the converts of the missionaries. It was on such a helpless and hopeless occasion that God revealed this type of song to some perceptive persons who circulated it throughout the region shortly afterwards. When we started singing this song, we were quite thrilled, comforted and encouraged. Our faith was renewed and strengthened. Thereafter it has been loved and esteemed in the region as a particular gift of God (TRAA: 14- 07-09).
A missionary researcher, who investigated the origin, development and significance of this type of song in the evangelization of the region, suggested that it was perceived as one of the first obvious fruits of the Holy Spirit in the region. According to his findings, this type of song was the gift of the Holy Spirit to the earliest Christians of the region that were suffering from not having the Bible, hymns,
worship. The missionary considered the song to have embodied an authentic meaning and quality of contextualized worship (Henning 2006: 4).
This song is led orally by a person assigned from the congregation whose voice fits it best. The assigned person comes to the platform and leads the singing from the front. The congregation follows the person by repeating the first directive word again and again. The leader animates and flavours the song by mixing it with some biblical texts and the life situation of the community. A traditionalist respondent explained his heart-felt esteem for this song, for example, in the following:
This song has been the feature that has acquainted us with true Christian worship in a far easier way than the preached word. Through this song God spoke to our societies in the church, funerals, weddings, family worships, etc., When we sing this song, we feel as if we were drinking from a special stream which flows from the house of the Lord, because when the song reflects our personal situations, some people convulse in laughter; some dissolve with tears; some sing with their eyes shut and in personal reflection, and some sing with a smiling face and joy in agreement with the leader. It lifts the hearts and mind of the congregations in mid-air and gets them into a definite worship atmosphere. It is a priceless element in inspiring and stimulating worship. This song was a peculiar ingredient that enhances the splendour and grandeur of our worship. (TRAA: 14-07-09).
Nevertheless, this highly esteemed form of traditional song has disappeared from the current worship scene as a result of the impact of the charismatic movement. In fact, charismatics do not make any explicit objection to the use of this song in worship,
composed and highly contextual songs, charismatics have influenced congregations to relinquish this song, albeit unintentionally.