Celebrating the diversity of indigenous nations, cultures and religions, the essays which comprise this volume discuss the musics performed by a wide variety of peoples as an integral part of their cultural traditions. These include examinations of the various styles of Maori, Inuit and Australian Aboriginal musics, and the role of music in Korean Shaman rituals. Indeed, music forms a key component of many such rituals and belief systems and examples of these are explored amongst the peoples of Uganda, Amazonia and Africa. Through analysis of these rituals and the part music plays in them, the essays also open up further themes including social groupings and gender divisions, and engage with issues and debates on how we define and approach the study of indigeneity, religiosity and music. With downloadable resources featuring some of the music discussed in the book and further information on other available recordings, this is a book which gives readers the opportunity to gain a richer experience of the lived realities of indigenous religious musics.

As an ethnography of Central Australian singing traditions and ceremonial contexts, this book asks questions about the vitality of the cultural knowledge and practices highly valued by Warlpiri people and fundamental to their cultural heritage. Set against a discussion of the contemporary vitality of Aboriginal musical traditions in Australia and embedded in the historical background of this region, the book lays out the features of Warlpiri songs and ceremonies, and centers on a focal case study of the Warlpiri Kurdiji ceremony to illustrate the modes in which core cultural themes are being passed on through song to future generations.

Consisting of original scholarship at the intersection of indigenous studies and religious studies, the Handbook of Indigenous Religion(s) includes a programmatic introduction arguing for new ways of conceptualizing the field, numerous case study-based examples, and an Afterword by Thomas Tweed.

This book examines the critical and often undervalued contributions of women to the culture, well-being, and subsistence of their communities as active, powerful, and wise ritual specialists. From the Dalit midwives in India to the women of the Nahua region in the state of Morelos, Mexico, from the indigenous nations in Turtle Island in Canada to the shamans (male and female) of South Korea and Vietnam, there are still many vital indigenous cultures around the world in which women often hold positions of religious authority and leadership. Women and Indigenous Religions addresses specific issues in the study of religion, such as the multifaceted tensions between indigenous traditions and gender and the genealogy of positions of authority in religion or spiritual matters. A close examination reveals that native religions, with their women specialists, are still a source of inspiration for millions of men and women even in the "advanced" areas in the world. This fact challenges the opinion that indigenous cultures are becoming extinct.

Indigenous peoples of Brazil have come to faith in Christ in large numbers in recent decades. As Christianity takes root in each culture, it may incorporate expressive forms of music and art, which can range from those identical to earlier cultural forms to those which are fully imported. But what happens when musicians and artists of a local indigenous community fuse elements from a variety of genres and create their own music? Are they just imitations of external forms? Or are they authentic creations from elements that have now become their own sounds, too? Christian musicians among the Xerente (pronounced Sheh- ́ren-teh) have created their own fusion genre(s) to express their faith, communicate the gospel, and edify their churches. Their music includes elements from their cultural tradition as well as from (secular) genres of the northeastern region of Brazil. Is it, then, authentically Xerente? As we discuss in this book, independent of tangible markers or its long history, the authenticity of an art form can be demonstrated through a number of connections with the community and signposted by its meaning and function among the people, as well as the competence and agency of the people in their artistic choices.

Doctoral Thesis / Dissertation from the year 2024 in the subject Didactics - Theology, Religion Pedagogy, grade: 3.95 (A), University of Ghana, Legon (Selinus University of Sciences and Literature), course: Theology and Ethics, language: English, abstract: Africans have the capability to express their primal knowledge to enrich their Christian faith. Their primal spiritual knowledge is expressed through oral means such as singing accompanied by drumming and dancing. The expression of their primal spirituality helps them to present their spirit, soul and body wholly to God. This primal condition of being spiritual is the personal quality prior to any other religious beliefs, such as Christianity. Therefore, African Christianity is how to live the Christian faith and worship God within the African way of life, and not necessarily syncretising different systems of religious beliefs, but the expression of the soundness of Africanness. Hence, the thesis has been grounded in The Concept of Africanness in African Christianity, which is how Christianity would communicate with African cultural heritage. A distinct way of expressing Africanness can be noticed when Agbadza and Bᴐbᴐbᴐ music and the lyrics that are akin to Scripture are engaged in some African churches to worship God. This primal expression is functionally identical in the Apostles Revelation Society, and some branches of the Global Evangelical Church (hereinafter called the ARS and GEC, respectively). Nevertheless, while Agbadza is culturally considered as war music among the Anlo-EƲe, Bᴐbᴐbᴐ music among the EƲedome is also seen as immoral and frown upon. Notwithstanding these mixed feelings towards Agbadza and Bᴐbᴐbᴐ cultural music, majority of Christians get exceedingly excited about the engagements between these cultural music and Christian faith in their churches. The main objectives of the study are to find out why they get excited when these cultural music are being engaged in the churches, and the war and immoral nature of these music. In addition, the theological and ethical thoughts on some selected lyrics are considered. Finally, what would the ARS and GEC do differently to lay bare the impact these cultural music should have on their communities, which guarantee their future and sustainability in the churches. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, theological, ethical, and phenomenological methods are blended as qualitative technique has been adopted in data collection and analysis. The reason why the worshippers get excited about these cultural music had been explored, and the theological and ethical thoughts on the practice were examined.