Traditional Tunes and Lived Religion in the Protestant Church on the Central Moluccas, Indonesia

Abstract

In the southeast of Indonesia, on the Moluccas, theologians are developing contextual theologies for the Moluccan Protestant church. The Moluccas were colonized by the Dutch for more than three centuries. As an effort of religious decolonization, Moluccan theologians aim to better connect Christianity with the cultural realities of congregants. This book is about the contextualization of church music. Christian Izaac Tamaela proposed and instigated the transposition of Moluccan traditional music to the Moluccan Protestant church. In the book, the author asks how traditional music, as framed within contextual Moluccan theology, is interrelated with lived religion. Vivid descriptions of liturgical practices, music traditions, and personal encounters map the entanglements between Moluccan culture, Moluccan Protestantism, and Moluccan music. The author traces the theological idea of traditional church music to lived religious practices and attitudes among ministers, musicians, and congregants. The resonances and dissonances of this process show the continuous transformation of Moluccan traditional music. For a selection of the audio-visual material, visit the website www.jiplensink.nl/tt.