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

In the south-east 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. In order to counter colonial influences, Moluccan theologians aim to better connect Christianity with the cultural and religious realities of congregants. Christian Izaac Tamaela proposed and instigated the transposition of Moluccan traditional music to the Moluccan Protestant church. This book is about the contextualization of church music. The book 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 Christianity 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 transform Moluccan traditional music. For a selection of the audio-visual material, visit the website www.jiplensink.nl/tt