To worship God in our way: disaffection and localisation in the music culture of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia

Abstract

The article examines change in the music culture of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN), using the concepts of localisation and disaffection. The term disaffection is used to describe church members’ discontent with the degree of cultural relevance of the means of musical expression used in the church. Such disaffection can motivate localisation, which in turn is seen as a process of bringing one cultural sector that is dominated by imported cultural elements closer to the surrounding local culture. Through a music-cultural analysis of both musical structure and performance practice, the article attempts to discern what elements of musical performance in ELCIN are sites for disaffection that motivates church members to promote localisation of the music culture of the church.

JOURNAL OF THE MUSICAL ARTS IN AFRICA VOLUME 7 2010, 17–50