--

Allthe nations!JOU have made willcome andworship!J0U' 0 Lord, andglorifg!Jour name. - rsalm 66:~
Vol. 3, No.3, 2006

Editorial
In this issue:
For years now we have been hearing terms like
EditoriaL............................................................... 1
"worship wars" and thinking about conflicts between
people with different worship preferences. But what about Contested Symbols: Music, Revolution, and
the conflicts that come when musicians and church music Renewal in Ethiopian Protestant Churches 1
become unwillingly entangled with politics and revolution?
False and True Worship in Romans 1 16
What happens when the government tries to co-opt your
church music for political purposes - which kingdom do Report on the National Seminar on Praise
you serve, and at what cost? and Worship in Cameroon 20
Church music is rarely just a collection of songs; it Soundless Sound System 21
involves identities, symbols, and rituals. There can be a
tug-of-war over the meaning of such identities and symbols, Book Review
with many contenders---church and state, elders and youth, The Heart of Worship Files 21
conservative and liberal, Orthodox and Pentecostal-all
pulling on the rope. And there can be plenty of rope bums. CD Reviews
In his article Vernon Charter presents a masterful We Come Dancing 22
panorama of how all this played out over a two-decade
period of religious, political and social upheaval in Ethiopia.
EthnoDoxology (ISSN 1540-6903) is a publication of
When we teach about worship in church seminars, Artists in Christian Testimony and is indexed in the
Romans 1 is not often the first biblical passage we tum to Christian Periodicals Index.
for insights. Yet in our second article, Ron Man shows us
the multi-faceted riches of this passage: descriptions of false
worship, true worship, and the power of the Gospel to
remake sinners into worshipers (the goal of redemption).
Contested Symbols: Music,
Rejoice with us as we present another sampling of
God's work among the nations. Revolution, and Renewal in
Ethiopian Protestant Churches
by Vernon Charter, University of Alberta, 1997
Luther on Worship
"One cannot argue with a song. "
Johann von Staupitz, Luther's mentor, asked (Maurice Bloch 1986)
him once, "Luther, what happens if all this "It is hard to argue with a song, unless you have
works, if you have your Reformation. written another anthem to sing. " (David Kertzer, 1988)
What happens to the devotions, and to the
pilgrimages, and to the relics, and to all the
wonderful things of the Church; and to the Christianity took root in what is now northern Ethiopia
marvelous, majestic liturgy, with all of its pomp around A.D. 330, with the conversion of King Ezana and
and ceremony; all these things that we've grown members of the ruling class of the Axumite kingdom. 1 Since
up with and that we love so dearly and that are that time, for more than seventeen centuries, the Ethiopian
so close to our hearts? What will be left when Orthodox Church has been the most significant influence in
you're through?" And Luther said, "Christ." shaping Ethiopian culture and identity, and in giving this
country its unique position in African history as a Christian
(told by Michael Horton on the tape "Worship: The
country. During that time, adherents to Orthodox Christianity
New Testament Pattern"from 1998 Philadelphia
have come mostly from the Semitic Amharas and Tigrays of
Conference on Reformed Theology)
the central and northern highlands. Other Christian groups
appeared much more recently and are concentrated mainly
b A
among the Cushitic and Nilotic (sometimes called "tribal")

I
peoples in the south and west, who historically have practiced
"African traditional" or "animistic" religions (see Cotterell
1983:13-15). These churches have grown rapidly since the
beginning of missionary activity in the nineteenth century, so
that today Protestants make up more than ten percent of the
population of Ethiopia. 3
Since the 1960s, what may be called a musical revolu­
tion has been taking place throughout the churches in southern
Ethiopia. The appearance of a new generation of musicians
and composers in all the Protestant churches and the
"explosion" (L. and P. Ba1isky 1996: 1) of new modes of
Politics, Ritual and Symbols
musical expression have been deeply disturbing, as well as
profoundly revitalizing forces during a period of devastating The processes by which the agents in this narrative

political and social upheaval. In almost every congregation, moved from conflict to concord and solidarity may be

established hynmodies and traditional forms of musical considered in relation to a general "theory of ritual politics"

expression have been largely replaced by a new creativity described variously by sociologist Randall Collins (1985,

which has emerged since the 1960s and which has given a 1986, 1988) and anthropologist David Kertzer (1988, 1996).

new countrywide prominence to the Protestant churches The elements of their theories that are significant to our pur­

(L.& P. Balisky 1996). pose may be summarized under the following propositions:

In this paper I investigate the role of music in the crises

1. Political systems andpoliticalprocesses are embodied in,

which faced Ethiopian churches during the period from the and expressed through, symbols; political actors manipulate

mid-1960s through the years of the so-called Marxist revolu­

these symbols in order to gain and exercise power.

tion (1974-1991). I draw on aspects of Durkheimian and

Weberian sociology, together with elements of conflict theory
as articulated by Randall Collins (1985, 1988) and David
Kertzer (1988, 1996), as an analytical framework within
which to explore two different, but not unrelated, areas of
conflict in which music played a significant role.
In the first area of conflict, music became a contentious
issue among many Ethiopian churches during the sixties and
early seventies, when more and more young people were
identifying with the Pentecostal-charismatic revival move­
ment which began in Ethiopia in 1964 and in the music which
came from that movement. In the divisions which developed
While politics is concerned with the distribution and
use of power among individuals or groups of individuals,
according to Kertzer: "Rather little that is political involves
the use of direct force, and though material resources are
crucial to the political process, even their distribution and use
are largely shaped through symbolic means" (1988:2). In most
cases, "creating a symbol or, more commonly, identifying ~
oneself with a popular symbol can be a potent means of .
gaining and keeping power, for the hallmark of power is the
construction of reality" (1988:5). 4
2. Rituals are an important means through which symbols are

between young people and the leaders of their churches, usedfor political ends.

music came to symbolize a cluster of critical emotional issues

relating to history, tradition, identity, values and authority.
In the violence and secessionist wars throughout the
country spawned by the military revolution in 1974, many
churches found themselves faced with conflict of another sort.
Musicians were among the many targets of intimidation and
arrest by the authorities because of the perceived "subversive"
character of their music, as well as their resistance to govern­
ment attempts to co-opt their music for political purposes.
During this period, young people who had left the churches
over the charismatic controversy began to return to those
churches, where a widespread process of reconciliation was
occurring between the young people who had earlier chal­
lenged the leadership and church leaders who had opposed
and ostracized the youth. In this paper I will argue that the
external political pressures during the revolution were instru­
mental in creating the climate of renewal and revitalization
which developed in the churches, and that in the process, mu­
sic was, as one observer has indicated, "the most significant
peacemaker" (Fargher 1988).
Ritual in its most general sense has been defined as
"action wrapped in a web of symbolism" (Kertzer 1988:9);
more specifically, it involves "any symbolic behavior that is
socially standardized, repetitive, and meaningful" (1988: 123).
Through the enactment of ritual, "political leaders are able
to tap the passions of their groups' members and sympathiz­
ers" (1996:124), as well as to influence the feelings and
perceptions of those who may not necessarily be intellectually
or morally committed. 5
This view of politics challenges models based on
rational argumentation and cognition, and has at its heart the
assumption that people make political commitments primarily
on the basis of emotions. These commitments are not neces­
sarily shaped by rational or moral considerations, or even by
shared beliefs, but by the emotional force of the symbols
themselves. In politics, "solidarity is produced by people
acting together, not by people thinking together" (Kertzer
1988:98).6
3. Rituals and the symbols they embody may be used to rein- .,..".,
force control, as well as to undermine and challenge it.

Page 2 EthnoDoxology Volume 3, No.3

 In his study of religion, Durkheim emphasized that
rituals are the primary means by which people express and
dramatize their social interdependence and their common
bonds: "Rites are, above all, means by which the social group
reaffirms itself periodically" (Alpert 1965: 138). This reaf­
firmation, or "revival," "is the function of religious or secular
feasts and ceremonies, public addresses in churches or
schools, plays and exhibitions-in a word, whatever draws
men together into an intellectual and moral communion"
(Durkheim 1972:229).
The Durkheimian view foregrounds one feature of ritual,
the fostering of social solidarity. In political terms, ritual is
used to preserve and legitimize existing political systems,7
as for example in the pageantry and ceremonies surrounding
monarchy (see Firth 1973:87fl). However, if ritual is em­
ployed to support the status quo, it may also be the instrumen­
tal basis of social conflict. "True, kings use ritual to shore up
their authority, but revolutionaries use ritual to overthrow
monarchs" (Kertzer 1988:2).
Applying the Durkheimian view of ritual to ideas of
Marxian class consciousness and Weberian status groups,
Collins asserts that ritual is fundamental to all political situa­
tions, including those involving conflict and political change­
"...that ritual is the mechanism by which solidarity groups
are both formed and mobilized; hence that ritual creates the
actors of politics; and that ritual is a weapon usable by some
groups to dominate others by manipulating emotional solidar­
ity as well as the lines of group identification to the advantage
of some and the disadvantage of others" (1988: 117).8
4. "Political competitors...not only fight through ritual, but
also fight over ritual, that is, over their right to identifY with
powerful rites" (Kertzer 1996:128).
Collins maintains that "rituals are weapons upholding
and renegotiating the class structure" (1985: 157), and that
ritual may thus be conceived as "the 'means of emotional
production,' parallel to Marx and Engels' 'means of mental
production,' that ensured domination in the realm of
ideas" (1985: 147). Viewed in this way, politics becomes
"a struggle by, with, and over 'the means of emotional
production'" (1988:117).
For successful ritual depends upon certain material
conditions: the ability to assemble a group physi­
cally, the paraphernalia to carry out impressive
"stage management" (in the Goffinanian sense),
the resources to re-enact and reproduce the
symbols emotionally charged by participation in a
history of past rituals. These resources are differen­
tially distributed in society, depending upon its
kind of stratification; hence the degree of inequal­
ity in the distribution of the "means of ritual pro­
duction" is a major determinant of what groups can
compel potential opponents to join their emotional
and symbolic coalition. And some aspects of poli­
tics, usually covert, concern the critical struggle
itself over the control of these means of ritual
production (1988:117).
EthnoDoxology Volume 3, No.3
The story that occupies our focus concerns the ways in
which the control of central expressive symbols became the
object of struggle in the Ethiopian context. Basic to our analy­
sis is a recognition of the political dynamics which surround
all social interaction, and which condition both solidarity and
conflict in human relationships.
Ethiopian Politics
The history of the 3000-year-old kingdom of Ethiopia
came to an end with the dethroning of Emperor Haile Selassie
in the revolution of 1974. Ethiopia is a prime example ofa
political regime that preserved itself for many centuries
through the power of its central rituals and symbols. Selassie,
who came to power in 1930, was the last emperor, a very
wealthy and powerful ruler of a medieval feudal society in
which most of the country's material resources were owned
and controlled by a small number of aristocratic families (see,
e.g. Tiruneh 1993:ch. 1; Bailey 1980:ch. 2). For most of his
reign, Selassie was the dominant icon for Ethiopian society
as a whole, a figure whose power of "symbolic mystification"
was astounding. In spite of corruption, nepotism, and exploita­
tion, he cultivated the adulation of the Ethiopian populace
through his skilful use of the symbols and rituals which
surrounded the monarchy and which permeated Ethiopian
society.9
For many centuries, a strong symbiotic bond between
monarchy and church in Ethiopia was maintained through rich
traditions of the origins and history of the kingdom. Most
powerful of these was the belief that the Ethiopian monarchy
were the direct descendants ofMenelik I, a son of the Queen
of Sheba and King Solomon,10 and that Selassie was the 225th
successive monarch in this line (Thompson 1977:7). The
personal titles, "King of kings," "Elect of God," "Conquering
Lion of the tribe of Judah" (Thompson: 103), which Selassie
assumed, were powerful symbolic representations of this
myth, which served to undergird and maintain his central
position in Ethiopian politics and culture throughout most of
his reign.
Many of the rituals and festivals of Ethiopian religious
and national life were also means by which the established
Page 3

order was legitimized. The Orthodox festival of Maskal,
which celebrated the finding of the "true cross," was the
most impressive of all, an event of unsurpassed splendour,
ceremony, and symbolism among all Ethiopian festivals.
It was the Emperor's "day"-and Haile Selassie­
flanked by his lions on chain leads- ... led a huge
procession of his ministers and nobles and retainers
through the streets of Addis to Maskal Square,
where a huge bonfire was lit at dusk on the 27th [of
September]-Maskal Day. The Emperor himself,
surrounded by colourfully-dressed priests swinging
censers, lit the bonfire, and tens of thousands gath­
ered to cheer (Thompson 1975: 111).
The power of this ritual was also linked to a legend
that as the bonfire burned down, if it fell towards
the palace, the following year would be good
dies by divine inspiration. 14 Zema has its own musi­
(Thompson: 112).11
cal system (scales, rhythmic patterns, and vocal in­
During the actual revolution of 1974, hardly a
shot was fired. The real struggle for power came
through the public management of symbols-
in particular the image of the emperor himself. One
reporter says: "the main weapon in the final stages
of Ethiopia's revolutionary process was not the gun,
but the [TV] tube" (Thompson 1975:100). The most
telling thrust came on September 11th' the night before
Selassie was arrested, with the broadcast of a specially doc­
tored film of the Ethiopian famine, intercut with scenes of
the emperor's lavish banquets and shots of him feeding large
chunks of meat to his pet chihuahua Lulu, who accompanied
him everywhere he travelled (Marcus 1994:188; Vivo
1978:24). In this way, the state's most powerful symbol
became the revolutionary council's most potent weapon.
The revolution was a succession of carefully orches­
trated rituals, constructed to undermine the position of the
emperor by weakening his credibility. The most critical ritual
of all was his arrest by the Ethiopian military, at 6 am on
September 12th. Here again, symbolism was significant. After
summoning Selassie in the palace and reading a proclamation
of his overthrow and arrest, a group of officers led him down
the steps outside the palace, where instead of the huge maroon
Mercedes limousine which had been the emperor's accus­
tomed means of conveyance, a small blue Volkswagen was
waiting. The small man was unceremoniously hustled into
the back seat of the small vehicle and driven away, the final
symbolic gesture in a revolution which was constructed
around such expressive symbols.
Orthodox Church Music
We noted previously the powerful influence of the
Orthodox Church in Ethiopian life and society. The liturgy of
the Ethiopian church has historically been a very effective
source of support and solidarity for the Amharic-speaking
elite who have controlled the country for millennia, and a
defence against externally-induced change. Because of the
tradition of royal patronage, the churches and monasteries
were the major centres of learning and artistic production in
Page 4
Ethiopia until the present century, and it was there that the
sacred music of the Church continued virtually unchanged for
so many centuries. 12 .~,
In Ethiopia, a strict distinction has long been maintained ......,
between zafan, secular music, the music of everyday life, and
zema, the sacred music of the Church. Zcifan is regarded as
"worldly, serving only the sinful flesh" (Kebede 1971 :40); it
is an improvisational art, practiced by both women and men,
unlike liturgical music, which is preserved in notation, and is
the exclusive domain of trained male liturgical specialists 13
(Shelemay 1982:52).
According to church tradition, zema was introduced into
the Orthodox liturgy during the sixth century by Saint Yared
(born c. 496, Ethiopian calendar), who is popularly credited
with composing all of the Ethiopian liturgical melo­
flections), and is executed by dabtara, non-ordained
male clergy, whose training for the profession may
take as many as twenty years. Although this music
has been preserved in notation since at least the
fourteenth century, it is transmitted and performed
as an essentially oral tradition. 15 Notation serves as
a safeguard against innovation and change, while
orality helps to insure preservation and continuity over time
(Shelemay 1982:63; see also Shelemay & Jeffery 1993).
Protestant church music
Although non-Orthodox Christianity is of very recent ,
provenance in Ethiopia, Protestant groups have also devel­
oped distinct musical traditions. Next to the Orthodox Church,
the two largest Ethiopian church communities are the Evan­
gelical Church Makene Yesus (ECMy), which includes
mostly churches in the Lutheran and Presbyterian traditions;
and the Kale-Heywet Church (KHC), a large independent de­
nomination, which grew out of the work begun by the Sudan
Interior Mission (SIM) in the late 1920S1 6 (Fargher 1996;
Bakke 1987). The ECMY claims more than a million adher­
ents in Ethiopia and Eritrea, and the KHC more than three
million (Johnstone 1993; Fargher 1996:309).17
Ever since the Reformation, Protestant churches have
traditionally emphasized the singing of hymns by the congre­
gation as a central aspect of their worship ritual. In Ethiopia
two distinct types of Protestant hymnody developed during
the first half of this century, one using translated Lutheran
hymns with their Western tunes, and the other based on
indigenous musical practices. Lutheran hymns predominated
among the ECMY churches, and were favoured by educated
Ethiopians, including many Orthodox Christians, who
regarded them as badges of modernity (Wallace 1962; L.& P.
Balisky 1996:5). "Indigenous" hymns flourished mainly
among the mission-related tribal churches in the southwest,
from the 1930s through the 1970s. Largely free of external
musical influences,18 these so-called "antiphonal" hymns were
adapted to Christian worship from the songs of everyday work ~
and recreation: ~.
EthnoDoxology Volume 3, No.3
7
 In [the south] group singing was antiphonal and 1993:42-45). Among the latter were a significant number of
people sang as they worked in the fields, forest or students and young people who had moved to the cities for
house-building. The "field tunes" became "church education or employment, many of whom supported the
tunes." The converts made up their own words and unsuccessful military coup of 1960. Some became involved
sang antiphonally in Sunday services. The words with the Ethiopian Student Movement, a radical leftist
were never written down but through constant use association in the university, colleges, and secondary schools
they did become somewhat fixed. Except in the in Addis Ababa, whose activism gave significant impetus to
Amharic-speaking congregations in Addis Ababa, the revolution which eventually overthrew the imperial regime
no western hymns or tunes were used (Fargher (see Lefort 1983:27-30; Harbeson 1988:77-78; Keller
1996: 192-193; see also Davis 1980:79-80). 1988:176-177; Tiruneh 1993:29-30). Corruption, massive
Antiphonal hymnody employed the "call and response" inflation, economic exploitation, and famine fuelled the
formula associated with traditional song in many parts of frustration of a society for whom the existing order held little
Africa. Texts were frequently based on biblical stories or hope of meaningful reform. At the same time, the secessionist
teaching, sung in local melodic and rhythmic patterns. threat in Eritrea and hostilities along the border with Somalia
Although very few of these hymns survived beyond the in the disputed Ogaden region, contributed to growing ethnic
seventies, Davis' description of Wallam tensions and resentment towards imperial rule (Ofcansky and
sense of the musical structure: Berry 1993:45-50).
Wallamo singing is a c
the same period, many young people became
notes on the same musi
Pentecostal-type revival movement which
It is always antipho
among university and college students in the
work together,
out the late sixties and early seventies, it
seems to be good
ther regions, attracting large numbers of
phrase followed by
churches of all denominations. Although
refrain in unison
pression, the revival had limited connec­
ionaries or denominational Pentecostal­
Antiphonal hymn
pears to have originated as a spiri­
tions where illiteracy was
odox students (L.& P.
most of the KHC congrega

established (Cotterell 1973:6 ,

ent came a new style of

.~ Instruments were not used, perhaps, as Bea
suggests, because of their association with pre-Christian
(1996:6). However, as Fargher points out,
In the south the drums were for dancing and funer­
als, bugles for business, and stringed instruments
for bards. The expatriates may have had something
to do with this but even while they were absent
from 1936-1944 [during the Italian occupation],
they were not used. The type of singing used in the
services was not traditionally accompanied and this
may well have been the main reason for the
non-use of musical instruments (1996:192).
Thus, by the 1960s, there were three church music tradi­
tions in Ethiopia: Orthodox zema, translated Western hymns,
and indigenous antiphonal hymns. In less than two decades
both the translated and the antiphonal hymns would virtually
disappear, a consequence of new musical developments
that were soon to appear. 21
Music after 1960
The years which led.up to the revolution of 1974 were
characterized by political and social ferment, together with
growing opposition to the Selassie regime. Resistance from
the nobility to even the most superficial reforms initiated by
the emperor led to a growing polarization of political forces
_ between traditionalists and radicals (Ofcansky and Berry
ed and performed by solo
of guitar or accordion. The
nal and devotional, reflecting the
smatic spirituality. The texts of the
hile the melodies displayed the
s of traditional folk music (L. Balisky
al initiative appears to have originated
i .cians and artists associated
.s Ababa. These musicians
e early stages of the revival
. Balisky 1996:7; B.& M.
soon gained a wide audience
io Voic e Gospel (RVOG) in Addis
became known to young people by this means.
ties, and especially during the years of the
n, cassette recordings became the primary means
y which the music was shared and spread throughout the
country (L.& P. Balisky 1996:9).
The musical efforts of these national artists sparked a
burst of creative activity among Ethiopian young people
during the late sixties and early seventies, so that composer­
singers and choirs began to appear in many churches. The
appeal of the new music and the impulse to compose and
perform it was much more than simply a popular new fad.
Kebede notes that the belief that creativity is God-given is
de~ly-rooted in the Ethiopian mentality: "Inspiration, that
impulse for creativity, is bestowed upon the human few only

EthnoDoxology Volume 3, No. 3 PageS

 when God (FeTari) wills to communicate with the mass
through a work of art" (Kebede 1971 :57). Pentecostal spiritu­
ality also placed great emphasis on the exercise of supernatu­
ral gifts, including the gift of music. To be a musician, as Lila
Balisky relates, was considered a divine calling for which the
musician was accountable to God:
[A] young person would struggle to know if
he had the "gift," and then if he felt he did, or if
other people told him he did (or she-there were
women singers, too), then they would develop that.
And you see, to be a really full-fledged gifted
singer, you had to be able to compose your words,
your tune, which was never written down (even
today there's nothing written of the tunes, except
very few cases), the ability to sing, and the ability
to play an instrument. So you had to be a very
talented person, right, to become a good soloist
(L.& P. Balisky 1996:9).
Two important new musical gemes emerged among
Ethiopian churches within the decade between 1964 and the
beginning of the revolution, neither of which had previously
been associated with Ethiopian churches. One of these
featured the solo singer, who composed, performed, and
accompanied hislher own music, sometimes together with one
or more other instrumentalists. It has been suggested that the
solo singer was cast in the role of the azmari, the traditional
Ethiopian minstrel whose songs, accompanied by masenko
(one-string fiddle) or krar (five-string lyre), combine enter­
tainment, local gossip and social criticism (Fargher 1988:356;
Balisky n.d.:6).25 It may be that the musicians from the
National Theatre who created the religious solo song in the
early stages of the charismatic movement were among the
azmari who were employed by the Theatre (see Kebede
1976:291-293).
Yigeza Desta and Dr. Legese Wetro (with the author,
2002), two of the musicians involved with the renewal
movement of the 60s. Both were song writers and
organized some of the first choirs to appear in this period.
The second musical geme which appeared in churches
during this period was the music of the mezemiran (choir).26
As with the solo singers, each choir composes and performs
its own songs, writing the texts, but creating and preserving
Page 6
I
the musical settings orally (Balisky n.d.: 1; L.& P. Balisky
1996: 14-15). Ethiopian choirs sing in unison, with similar
accompaniment to the solo singers--in essence an ensemble of ~
solo singers. 27 There appears to be no historical precedent for
church choirs in Ethiopia (cf. B.& M. Coleman 1996:3).18
The popularity and rapid proliferation of choirs at this time is
attributable to historical factors which we will consider later.
As with the solo song, choral singing had antecedents in
Ethiopian secular folk music, which according to Kebede,
"follows a choral style which may generally be characterized
as containing simple antiphonal and responsorial elements...
commonly accompanied by hand-clapping, dancing, and
ululation or illilta" (1971 :56).19
A church choir in rehearsal, Addis Ababa (2002).
, Along with solo and choral singing, a new congrega­
tional hynmody emerged, consisting mostly of songs, OJ the
choruses of songs, of the solo singers and choirs. During
the years of the revolution, because of censorship and the
difficulty of printing, hynm singing continued as an essen­
tially oral practice, transmitted through performance and
through the thousands of cassette tapes which circulated
through the country (Balisky n.d.:5-6). Thousands of these
songs have entered the churches, giving congregations a new
freedom in worship, since the songs were eminently singable
and easily learned even by non-literate worshippers. They also
encouraged physical involvement, including handclapping,
swaying, and ilillta30 (see Fargher 1988:356-357). Through
the charismatic movement, bodily expression became for
the first time an important element of worship in Ethiopian
evangelical worship (Fargher 1988:354-355; L.& P. Balisky
1996: 11). As we shall see, this development did not go
unchallenged.
Conflict in the churches
,
While enthusiasm for the new music was almost univer­
sal among the youth, the infusion of Pentecostal activity,
along with the new forms of musical expression that emanated
from the charismatic movement, were regarded to a great ex­
tent with deep suspicion by the leadership of the established
churches, who saw these manifestations as disruptive, and ~'
EthnoDoxology Volume 3, No.3
 doctrinally and morally aberrant (see esp. Fargher 1988:
349-350). Many young people left the established churches,
.' formed independent "home church" fellowship groups
~ (Fargher 1988:351), and in some cases, new church denomi­
nations (Barrett 1968:31). The largest of these, the Mullu
Wungel ("Full Gospel Believers' Church") grew rapidly and
formed congregations in many parts of the country, especially
during the early years of the revolution (Fargher 1988:345­
353). Other youth maintained their church affiliations, in spite
of deep generational differences. "By the early 1970s, a deep
rift existed; there was a generation gap and both sides were
full of bitterness" (Fargher 1988:353).
Brian Fargher's analysis of the Ethiopian charismatic
movement (1988) points to several critical factors which
fuelled the controversy. In the first place, many young people
had experienced through their association with the movement
a spiritual dynamic they had apparently not found in their own
churches. Their enthusiasm and zeal often expressed itself in
criticism of the leadership and of the established worship
patterns of the churches. In a society where control and
authority were traditionally the exclusive domain of elders,
they questioned the rigid dominance of leaders who were
often barely literate. 3 ! Priests, pastors, and elders on their part
viewed the young enthusiasts as fanatics and threats to their
authority and to accepted tradition. Although the young
people sincerely wanted to contribute in worship and ministry
and often had much more education than their elders, they
were generally excluded from any kind of leadership becau
of their age (Fargher 1988:345-347).
/~ Although there were gifted musicians among the yo
people, in some cases this also became a cause of disagree­
ment and alienation. In the first place, musical instruments
such as guitars and accordions were banned in many churches
because of their association with popular dance bands
(Fargher 1988:355). Solo singing was also suspect, first
because of its focus on the individual (particularly the young
individual). Furthermore, the similarity of the new music to
current popular styles (cf. Faleto 1994: 198ft) implied an
unwarranted concession to secularism. More than likely,
the parallels with the azmari tradition, which also directly
influenced popular secular singing, raised red flags and the
spectre of zafan for many.32
Choirs also drew negative criticism because of their shib
shiba (swaying bodily movement), hand-clapping and illilta
(ululation) (L.& P. Balisky 1996:11), which as we noted
above were all associated with secular folk song. 33 Murray
and Bea Coleman tell of one elder from a Kale-Heywet
church, the first convert in his area, who deplored such
expressions because "that was the old life, and he didn't
want anything to do with it." His ultimate argument: "If it
had been right, the older missionaries would have taught it
to us!" (Coleman 1996: 11).
Music, identity, and heresy
~ At their core, the conflicts surrounding church music
. . involved two issues: (1) the political and moral identities of
EthnoDoxology Volume 3, No. 3
I
the factions; and (2) the question of heresy. In both cases the
debate centred in defining the historical meaning of the central
symbols. Concerning the connection between history and
identity, Kertzer says:
We all fashion identities for ourselves; we tell
stories to ourselves as well as to others. Threats to
such symbolic constructions represent threats to
our basic selves.
The symbols by which we define ourselves in
the present...are for the most part symbols that
represent the past....
Changing the past threatens to undermine our con­
struction of ourselves, while pressures to change
our political [or moral] identity in the present press
us to rewrite the past, that is, to alter the symbolic
construction of the past (1996:6-7).
The political identity of the elders was linked to a tradi­
tional (i.e. historically constructed) social hierarchy in which
age determined power and position. This construction was
reflected symbolically in the organization of the antiphonal
hymn: the song leader (usually an elder) controlled the
performance through the selection or creation of text, while
the congregation confirmed his role by their response. This
arrangement represented what Collins describes as the
"ritualized interaction between order-givers and order­
ers" (1988:114).
Likewise, the conception of moral identity also hinged
n the maintenance of historically constructed hierar­
ies-in this case hierarchies of value. Musical instruments,
performers, and behaviours became weapons for those who
challenged the historical constructions of the status quo, and
targets of attack for those threatened by this challenge. The
objections of the elder quoted by Bea Coleman indicate that
the music in question became a moral symbol because of his
own construction of history. For the elder, the music pointed
to a way oflife, an identity that he rejected; that rejection was
affirmed by the authority of an historical figure-the mission­
ary. For the young musicians, the music did not carry the
same negative associations, nor did the missionary's influence
have the same meaning. This difference of perspective was
reflected in an observation by Lila Balisky:
I was talking to one [young person] about the song
"Take the Name of Jesus with You," in Amharic,
and comparing it to the song of a new soloist in
Ethiopia. And she says, "Oh," she says, "we hear
the new song so much better. It means...so much to
us, compared to the old translated [hymns]." So it
depends what generation you are (1996:4).
The question of doctrinal or moral heresy ties in, as
Collins has demonstrated, with both a Durkheimian view of
ritual and a Weberian theory of religious organization, and is
applicable with equal validity to religious and secular disputes
(Collins 1986). Collins defines "heresy" as "an idea, a
doctrine, or a symbolic action that provokes righteous anger,
and often violent repression" (213).
Page 7
 Debate consists...in showing deviation from
canonical principles, and in name-calling.
Pronouncing the name of a heresy in an angry tone
is the last word in debating tactics: You are but
an Albigensian! ... a Manichee! ... a Communist! ...
a Trotskyite!
The procedure is ritualistic in the Durkheimian
sense. The conflict concerns group membership.
The doctrine or gesture symbolizes the group
and its standards of loyalty; it is a traditional
formulation used on ritual occasions, and to depart
from the accepted formula is to challenge the group
structure: to split it, change its organization, or put
forward a new leadership (213).
In Weberian terms, heresy conflicts are political processes
involving "struggle by organized groups and their leaders,
in which the object is to benefit from emotional forces that
confer legitimate identification with the essence of the
community" (215).
Participants in the charismatic movement were often the
objects of verbal denunciations from the churches, as well as
exclusion and even excommunication, either for perceived
doctrinal deviation--for example, in teachings regarding the
Holy Spirit-- or for behaviour that departed from the accepted
standards within the churches. "Enthusiasm," manifested by
loud singing and praying, clapping, ululation, speaking in
tongues, aggressive preaching, and "rowdy" or "unruly"
behaviour, gave rise to the derisive term "Penty," which w
applied to all such enthusiasts (Fargher 1988:349, 352).34
Attacks of this sort were often reciprocated in kind:
Fathers attacked their children as "Penty;" the
youth replied by attacking the older generation as
''blind leaders of the blind;" they attacked them for
being cowards and traitors (so the youth said)
because they refused to identify themselves with
the issues which the young people considered to be
crucial; they attacked them for their pride of office,
for loving authority above ministry; they attacked
them for being dependent upon overseas funds for
their salaries (1988:352).
In conflicts over music those who opposed the practitio­
ners of the new music invoked terms or concepts that also
implied "deviation from canonical principles" of morality
within the church. Charges of secularity and sensuality­
implicit in the term zafan-assumed the existence of a moral
consensus regarding distinctions of secular and sacred. To
label music and musical behaviours as zafan linked the music
and its performance to contexts and practices that by general
agreement of those in power were regarded as evil.
"The conflict of puritans against compromisers" (Collins
1986:240-241), so common in heresy debates, was clearly
reflected in the initial stages of this narrative. If the ultimate
"winners" appear to have been the "compromisers," this was
not simply a victory of recalcitrant musicians, in which the
winners took all. In fact, although compromises were made,
PageS
they led, as we shall see to a new consensus among the
warring factions.
The Ethiopian Revolution
The political revolution which began in 1974 was
engineered by the military, with broad support from
academics and students. Its program was Marxist, confronting
the appalling economic and social problems of the country
through a revolutionary agenda which included these
elements: overthrow and elimination of the ancien regime,
redistribution of land; literacy and educational programs,
especially among non-Amharic peoples; education of the
masses in revolutionary ideology, transforming a medieval
feudal society into a socialist state; disestablishment of the
Ethiopian Orthodox Church; famine relief; and unifying the
country, which was deeply fractured by ethnic rivalries (Vivo
1977; Bailey 1980; Ofcansky and Berry 1993:50-57). Unfor­
tunately, the revolution soon degenerated into an internal
power struggle between the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary
Party (EPRP) and the Dergue (members of the ruling military
junta, led by the president, Lt. Col. Haile Mariam Mengistu).
During the horrendous "Red Terror" and "White Terror"
struggles of 1976 and 1977, and in the succeeding years, con­
trol was maintained through terror, imprisonment, violence,
and mass execution of real and imagined opponents (see e.g.
Tiruneh 1993:chs. 7_9).35
By the end of 1977, the Dergue had more or less
icated the EPRP, and was now occupied with secessionist
liberation movements on various fronts. 36 The intimida- ~.
n and arrest of suspected opponents, including many who
refused to support the war effort, continued. Coercion and
resistance involved a symbolic struggle with the government's
ritual symbols, which were designed to strengthen control and
to identify traitors and enemies.
Among these rituals were numerous mass rallies and
public demonstrations staged to promote the war effort in the
north, east, and south. 37 Two symbolic acts were required to
demonstrate support of the regime: raising the clenched left
fist and chanting ideological slogans: "We must destroy our
enemies," "Religion is drugging the masses," and "God is
dead" (Cotterell 1983:18-19; Fargher 1988:353). Many who
refused to comply were arrested and charged with supporting
the enemy cause. 38
For these and other reasons, churches often found
themselves in conflict with the government, and this conflict
frequently expressed itself in an ongoing battle over music
and the rituals that it supported. In spite of political pressure
and intimidation-and perhaps because of it-throughout the
late seventies and the eighties, Protestant congregations grew
rapidly,39 and music became more and more a centrepiece of
worship in the southern churches, as well as in many central
urban congregations. Fargher relates that "within the brief
space of about five years (approximately 1973-1978) almost
every Protestant church in the country had at least one owned
young people's choir" (1988:355). It was not uncommon for ,A"".
churches to have from three to five kwayirs, because of the
EthnoDoxology Volume 3, No.3

 desire to participate (L.& P. Balisky 1996:17; B.& M.
Coleman 1996:9; Keefer 1996).
The authorities also recognized that the choirs were a
source of solidarity and pride for the churches, and that young
people were drawn to the churches because ofthe music. 40
The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Youth League tried in
many places to co-opt the church musicians for rallies which
they staged to mobilize the youth. Under their instigation,
the militia interrupted church gatherings and attempted to
commandeer the musicians; choir after choir was arrested,
their instruments were confiscated for refusing to cooperate.
Many churches were closed by the government during the late
seventies, and their facilities expropriated. 41 Under these
conditions, congregations often held clandestine church
services in homes or in the open air. When possible, music
was performed, often very quietly, and without instruments,
and hymns were whispered by the worshippers to avoid being
heard by the authorities (L.& P. Balisky 1996:11-12; B.& M.
Coleman 1996:9).
The following excerpts from an interview with Lila and
Paul Balisky suggests some of the factors that contributed to
the continuing development of music during this crisis:
VC: "You talked about the proliferation of choirs
and so on. Why during that periodparticularly?"
LB: "Well, the churches were under great stress,
and many of the formal churches were closed, and
the people were forced to 'house church' mode,
which continued for quite a few years. And I just
think that this was a gift of the Spirit to the church.
And each individual believer could produce this
beautiful music, if he had the natural gift at all.
When you think about that, it was a marvellous sort
of revelation or experience for them, that they
could create this beautifUl stuff that everybody
could sing.... "
PB: "Another perspective on the reason why this
proliferated: I think when one's faith is being chal­
lenged, this causes one to go inward, the reasons
for this- 'Why am I a Christian? '-and when there
was opposition, as Lila said, this caused them to
reflect on their own faith. And the traditional an­
tiphonal singing didn't seem to answer the ques­
tions of the high school students, that was their fa­
thers' faith. They had to internalize something on
their own. And then secondly, this was a way that
young people could group together, these choirs.
They'd never had this before, and all of a sudden,
there were high school kids [who] would get into
groups of twelve to twenty, and one local church
may have up to three or four choirs. And this gave
another sort ofidentity in the church... ".
LB: "And I think it was a wondeifUlly comforting
thing-you know what music is to people-and I
~: think it was a boon and a solace during those
EthnoDoxology Volume 3, No.3
I
years. And that was part of its explosion" (L.& P.
Balisky 1996:9-10).
Solo singers also found themselves in similar circum­
stances, because of their public prominence and influence. All
music was subject to strict official censorship, and indoctrina­
tion of musicians was part of the dictatorship's program of
weeding out "subversive" elements (Faleto 1994:199). The
case ofTesfaye Gabbiso is typical.
Tesfaye Gabbiso42
Since the seventies, Tesfaye Gabbiso has been a nation­
ally-prominent solo singer and a religious leader in Ethiopia.
Tesfaye grew up in a Kale-Heywet church in Sidamo, and
later joined the Mullu Wungel after encountering the charis­
matic movement in the 1970s. By the mid-seventies, his
recordings were widely disseminated throughout the country,
and continue to be sung in many churches today.43 In 1979,
Tesfaye was arrested, along with others from the church of
which he was the spiritual leader (Balisky n.d.:4).44
Tesfaye's
songs were
labelled as
"political,"
particularly
because of
their empha­
sis on yidilna
yiwugyia­
battle and
victory over
the enemy.
Since Am­
haric poetry
is usually
based on the
Tesfaye Gabbiso with the author (2002) concept of
sam-enna­
warq -"gold from wax", double-layered meanings--(see
Levine 1965, McBride and Haddad 1994; Felato 1994:200) it
is hardly surprising that lines such as these were suspected of
having political overtones:
On this earth I am facing a great battle;
I'll keep quiet. You fight for me.
I have seen the successful fight of those who extol you.
And I have learned from their triumphant song.
(Balisky n.d.: 17, translated by Lila W. Balisky)
The one who bruises you has risen against you.
Christian, take care; you are surrounded by the enemy.
Study your surroundings; let not your strength be flimsy.
Fight vigorously; see the rewards you will have.
CHORUS:
Putting on Jesus (lit. getting dressed),
Pick up your armour. Fight a good fight in him.
Jesus will win. Do not doubt about the victory.
(Balisky n.d.:21, translated by Lila W. Balisky)
Page 9
 During his seven years of imprisonment, the authorities
also attempted to enlist Tesfaye for their own rituals. At one
stage he was called on to sing revolutionary songs at a huge
public rally in the south of the country. Compliance could
well have purchased better treatment, perhaps even his
release. 45 However, instead of capitulating, he sang one of
his own songs, expressing his faith in the power of God.
For this act of defiance, he paid dearly in personal suffering
(p. Balisky 1996:11-12).46
Tesfaye identified closely with the characters from the
Old Testament book of Daniel, whose religious convictions
led them to acts of political disobedience. 47 Resistance of this
sort is "a central theme" in his songs (Balisky n.d.: 11).
A friend of the dead, a sinner was I.
Within the brief space of about five years
Believing the Lord, I was saved from loss.
(approximately 1973-1978) almost every congrega­
And though now I am forced to deny this life of mine,
tion in the country had at least one gowned [robed]
I will not deny my Jesus and worship an object.
young people's choir (Fargher 1988:355).
CHORUS:
I refuse, I refrain.
I will not worship at an image.
I will not kneel down before a man-made thing.
From the burning anger ofNebuchadnezzar
My Lord whom I serve will deliver me.
Since his release in 1986, Tesfaye Gabisso has continued
to be a leading singer and spiritual leader in the country. His
courageous resistance in prison has made him a powerful
symbol of strength and authority in recent years.
The resolution of conflicts
As we saw, churches were badly fragmented in the
sixties because of disagreements between young people and
church leadership over various issues
relating to the charismatic movement. By
the mid-seventies, most of the charismatic
groups scattered throughout the country
had been broken up because of the Red
Terror or had gone into hiding, and many
young people began to return to their
own churches, "taking with them their
music" (Balisky n.d.:5).48 By that time a
new climate of cooperation was emerging
in the churches, and a process ofrecon­
ciliation had begun. Youth and leaders
were negotiating ways of working
together, young people's organizations
were formed, youth were given represen­
tation on church committees and boards
and a share in leadership, above all, in the
leadership ofworship49 (Fargher
1988:354). By 1980 the new music was
well-established in nearly all the Protes­
tant churches, almost completely replac­
ing the earlier traditions of translated and
Cassette tapes were the primary means of school kids [who] would get into
indigenous hymns. There are reports of
the new music spilling over into some spreading the new music during the years groups of twelve to twenty, and one
of persecution.
Page 10
Catholic and Orthodox churches as well (L.& P. Balisky
1996:10).
Concerning the role of music in the process of renewal, ~.
Fargher makes this remarkable observation:
The most significant peacemaker was music. The
revival movement introduced three things into
almost all of the churches and thereby gained itself
a place within, rather than outside, these churches.
Hundreds and thousands of new hymns were
written. The author's name was never attached to
the hymn, and once accepted it became public
property. New instruments were introduced into
worship services, thus facilitating further change.
Peacemaking efforts within the church were a major
factor in the process of renewal. A second and equally impor­
tant influence stemmed from the churches' response to the
brutal, totalitarian dictatorship which sought to dominate it
throughout the years of the revolution. The courage and sin­
cerity of youth and elders alike, under shared experiences of
persecution and suffering, forged a new solidarity within the
church. 50
Perhaps the Weberian conception of nationalism is
applicable in a localized sense to a community formed under
these conditions. National identity is, according to Collins, "a ~
specifically political sentiment" (1986:152), not necessarily
based on ethnic or linguistic distinctions, a sentiment "linked
to memories of a common political destiny" (Weber 1968:
923). "It is the history of having fought
together as part of a common state,
against common enemies, for common
political ideals, that constitutes the bond
of national solidarity" (Collins 1986:152).
The concept of the spiritual "society,"
which has been a common feature of
religious movements of many kinds,
including those of Christian origin, 5I
undoubtedly strengthened the sense of
fellowship among these beleaguered
Christians.
But the experience of the Ethiopian
churches shows that their solidarity was
also fortified by a sense of prestige, for
which music became an extremely
powerful symbol.
This was a way that the young
people could group together, these
choirs. They'd never had this before,
and all ofa sudden, there were high
local church may have up to three or
EthnoDoxology Volume 3, No.3
 four choirs. And this gave another sort of identity
to the church [andJ to the young people (p. Balisky
1996:10).
[IJt was the one place
where young people
could really give their
hearts to something and
do something for the
church. .. Then the Marx­
ists, when they saw the
influence of that music,
they tried like everything
to commandeer these
kids and try to get them
to sing the revolutionary
songs to those tunes.
And oh boy, there was
war then! I mean, kids Church choir, Mullu Wungel church, Addis Ababa (2002).
went to prison, and
everything else for that. The majority just wouldn't
cave in to that at all. They couldn't give their
hearts to that (M. Coleman 1996:9).
The important point is that music was not only a source
of comfort and consolation; it was a focus of pride and
emotional commitment. Membership in a choir was itself a
prestigious position, and the competition to be admitted into
a choir was often very keen (see L.& P. Balisky 1996:17).
The resistance mounted by churches and by their musicians
r-t0 political coercion was strongly linked. to ~s no?on of
jo'iJrestige, which is a basic element of nationalIsm, ill the
Weberian scheme:
The power of any state [or social unit] to command
its populace is enhanced to the degree that obedi­
ence can be enforced by prestige rather than by the
immediate application offorce (Collins 1986:152).
Or in Weber's own words, "The prestige of power
means i~ practice the glory of power over other communi­
ties" (1968:911).
Summary and conclusions
My general thesis has been that music w~s a significa~t
agent in a process of change which took place ill many ~thlO­
pian churches since the sixties. Major social transformation
occurred in the context of conflict, where music was a con­
tested symbol. Tied to this symbol were emotional issues of
history, tradition, identity, value and authority. The first stage
in the process involved conflict between youth and elde~s. The
outcome was not solidarity, but division and fragmentation.
In the second stage, the two factions found themselves
confronted with a common oppressor in another politic
conflict. The struggle involved various kinds of rituals, as
well as competition for the control of musical symbols.
Maintaining control enabled the churches to enhance their
~tanding and authority, and also contributed to renewal of
_ .:iolidarity within a badly fragmented church.
EthnoDoxology Volume 3, No. 3
In the third and latest stage, a series of transformations
have followed. The traditional repertoire has been replaced by
new musical forms and processes. Music has significantly
changed the social dynam­
ics of many churches, so
that young people now have
a significant role in church
management and ministry.
Music has become a
primary mode of evangel­
ism and church growth,
especially among young
people, who are a large
majority in many congrega­
tions. The prestige ofthe
churches has been enhanced
through the massive distri­
bution of cassette tapes,
which are played every­
where. And it has contributed significantly to ecumenicity
among the different denominations (Fargher 1996:305).
In sum, it may be said that music has become the domi­
nant liturgical symbol in most churches since the 1980s
through the new prominence given the solo singer, the choirs,
and the congregation.
Note: Several musical examples related to this article may be
downloadedfrom our website at www.ethnodoxology.org.
1 For the history of Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, see
Ullendorff1960 and Yesehaq 1983.
2 Although the Roman Catholic Church has attempted at various
stages to gain a foothold in Ethiopia, these efforts have been
mostly unsuccessful. Catholics presently make up less than one
percent ofEthiopia's population (Johnstone 1993).
3 Johnstone gives a figure of more than 6 million Protestant
adherents from 36 denominations, out of a total 1990 population
ofmore than 45 million (1993:213-14). The two largest groups,
the Kale-Heywet Church (81M-related) and the Evangelical
Church Mekane Yesus (Lutheran) make up four-fifths of
Ethiopian Protestants. 1995 statistics published by the Kale- .
Heywet Church claim for that denomination alone a membership
of3.2 million (Fargher 1996:309). Other sources, who dismiss
the non-Orthodox population as "relatively few" (Harbeson
1988) and "miniscule" (Isichei 1995), appear to disregard
information from these churches.
4 Firth identifies the various instnunental functions of symbols
as expression, communication, kn~wledge, a~d contro~ (1973.: ,
76-91). Concerning the latter function (refemng to Wnght MIlls
social analysis), he notes:
Those in authority attempt to justify their rule
over institutions by linking it, as if it were a
necessary consequence, with widely believed-in
moral symbols, sacred emblems, legal
formulae. These central conceptions may refer to
a god, the 'vote of the majority,' the 'will of the
Page 11
 people,' the 'divine right of kings'... [S]uch
symbols do not form an autonomous realm within a
society; their social relevance lies in their use to
justify or to oppose the arrangement of power and
the positions of the powerful within this arrange­
ment; their psychological relevance lies in the fact
that they become the basis for adherence to the
structure of power or for opposing it (Firth 1973:86­
87; Mills 1961).
5 Kertzer identifies four aspects ofthe political value ofritual: (1)
in providing symbolic representation of the party; (2) in legitimi­
zation and mystification; (3) in promoting solidarity among party
members; and (4) in fostering particular understandings ofpoliti­
cal reality (1996: 125ft).
6 In this regard, Clive Kessler also maintains, ''The symbolic is
not a residual dimension of purportedly real politics; still less is it
an insubstantial screen upon which real issues are cast in pale and
passive fonn. The symbolic is real politics, articulated in a special
and often most powerful way" (1978:244-245). Perhaps the most
graphic demonstration of this fact was the Nazis' use ofritual
symbols, the swastika, the flag, and the Nazi salute, to instill
patriotism and loyalty during the twenties and thirties (Kertzer
1988:163-167).
7 Although Durkheim does not deal specifically with ritual as a
politically conservative force, his ideas ofthe sacralizing function
ofritual (separating the sacred from the profane), its operation
in creating a moral order, and its place in reinforcing group
membership, feed into the "sacred" rites surrounding political
institutions, whether monarchical or republican (see Collins
1988:116-117).
8 See Collins' detailed analysis of the ritual basis of stratificati
and class conflict (1985:143-162). Kertzer, in a similar vein
writes, "All this leaves ritual with a more important political role
than it would have if it only served to cement whole societies.
Since it can bind together all sorts ofpolitical groups, it plays a
key part in the struggle of competing power seekers, factions,
and subsocieties, and it is a valuable tool in building nationalism,
societal chauvinism, and the conditions ofwar" (1988:66).
9 During the 1950s when the imperial army was brought in to
end a rebellion of peasants against the landowners in southern
Ethiopia, it was said that "hundreds of peasants died crying
'Long live the Emperor'" (Viv6 1978:53).
10 The biblical account (I Kings 10 and II Chronicles 9) is
elaborated in the Kibre Negest (Glory ofKings), which describes
the visit of Etaigay Saba (Queen of the South) to the court of
Solomon in Jerusalem, at which time she converted to the
religion ofIsrael. The birth ofMenelik, through the marriage
of Solomon and the queen, was the reputed origin ofthe
"Solomonic dynasty," which bolstered both the religious and
political establishment in Ethiopia throughout much of its history
(Budge 1928:l45ff; Fargher 1996:8-11).
11 Thompson relates that after the 1974 revolution, the authori­
ties' attempt to abolish the Maskal parade and bonfire brought a
strong outcry, and the event was staged at the last moment, with
the acting mayor ofAddis Ababa assuming the role previously
carried out by the emperor (1975:112).
12 During the sixteenth century, when the country was ravaged
Page 12
by Muslim invaders, most manuscripts and cultural historical
artifacts were lost in the destruction of churches and monasteries.
The liturgy, which is memorized by all clergy, was preserved
intact, and was a primary agent of cultural continuity and renewal
for the country in the following centuries (Marcus 1993:30-34;
Fargher 1996:12-13).
13 Because of its "sinful" character, "it was never considered
worthy of preservation" (Kebede 1971:40).
14 The Ethiopian Synaxarium (Lives ofthe Saints) records:
Now in those days there was no singing of hymns
and spiritual songs in a loud voice to well-defined
tunes but men murmured them in a low voice. And
God, 'wishing to raise up to himself a memorial,
sent unto him three birds from the Garden of
Edom, and they held converse with Yared in the
speech of man, and they caught him up, and took
him to the heavenly Jerusalem, and there he learned
the songs of the Four and Twenty Priests of
heaven... And he arranged hymns for each season
of the year, for summer and winter, and spring and
autumn, and for festivals and Sabbaths, and for the
days of the Angels, the Prophets, the Martyrs, and
the Righteous, in three modes ... (Budge 1928:875­
876) [see Shelemay 1982 n.2 for bib1.]. The similarity
with the legend of Pope Gregory's composition of the
Western Church liturgy at about the same time is
striking (see Shelemay 1982:54).
the zema bet (church school for liturgical musicians),
ugh the liturgy exists in manuscript, most study is done at
t, when the darkness necessitates oral learning (Shelemay
2:56).
The Sudan Interior Mission, an interdenominational evangeli­
cal missionary agency, was founded in the late nineteenth
century. The name SIM International was adopted in 1982,
the original name being replaced by "Society for International
Ministry." The mission today has more than 1,000 workers in
Africa and South America. The history of the SIM is related in
Fuller 1967 and Davis 1985, while its activity in Ethiopia is
related in Cotterell 1973, Davis 1980, and Fargher 1996.
17 See note 3 above.
18 The SIM, whose missionaries initiated the church movement
in southern Ethiopia, had adopted a policy of"indigeneity" from
the beginning, by which they aimed to avoid making the
churches financially or culturally dependent on foreign agencies.
The congregations in the churches they planted designed and
built their own buildings, appointed and supported their leaders,
pastors, and evangelists, developed their own administrative
structures based on local models, and developed their own forms
and modes ofworship (see esp. Fargher 1996:chs. 3,4; also
Cotterell 1973:160-61; Davis 1980:76ff.).
19 Pentatonic modes prevail among most groups in Ethiopia
(Cotterell 1973:160).
20 E.P. Balisky's "African Indigenous Songs and Church
Growth." (1972), not yet seen by this author, includes a selection
of antiphonal hymns from the Sidamo church (L.W. Balisky
n.d.:25).
21 Since the indigenous hymns were a completely oral tradition,
EthnoDoxology Volume 3, No.3
--
very few ofthem have been preserved. Brian Fargher notes that 1988:352n).
by 1986, in the Sidamo area only two antiphonal hymns were 35 Some sources estimate that as many as 100,000 civilians,
~ known to be still in use (1996:57). particularly students, church leaders, and educated professionals
• 22 Barrett refers especially to a major emphasis in this movement were arrested between 1976 and 1978, thousands of whom died
on healing, exorcism, glossolalia and evangelism (1968:31; in prisons and concentration camps (Ofcanscy & Berry
see also Fargher 1988:348-350). 1991:328-329; see also Marcus 1994:ch.13). "It is only the
23 The National Theatre was a government-supported institution exception from among the generation aged between fifteen and
founded in 1955 to develop and promote Ethiopian expressive about forty at that time who have not gone through imprisonment
culture, including both traditional and modern music. It brought and some kind of torture" (Harbeson 1988:211).
together a contingent of azmaris (traditional folk singers), 36 Throughout the seventies and eighties, the Dergue was occu­
dancers, and actors, as well as a zemenawi orchestra, a band pied with insurgencies involving at least twenty opposition
which specialized in "modern Ethiopian dance music," melodi­ groups in the north (Eritrea and Tigray), south and east (the
cally derived from Ethiopian folk music, but performed with Ogaden, Bale, Sidamo, Arsi, and Mar) (see Cotterell 1983:18;
western instruments (Kebede 1976:293). Ofcasnsky and Berry 1993:59-62).
24 The Radio Voice of the Gospel was operated by the Lutheran 37 Vivo 1978 gives glowing descriptions of these demonstrations.
World Federation until it was taken over by the government in (e.g. 111-113; 120ft); by contrast, Harbeson's account of the
1977 (W. & E. Bockelman 1972:18ff; Shelemay 1991:125-127; same events describes them as leading to "the most horrifying
L. Balisky n.d. :9).
carnage in the history ofthe country" (1988:211).
25 For detailed historical and ethnographic studies of the azmari,
38 Concerning the notorious Nazi rallies ofthe 1930s and the
see Powne 1968:61-67; Kebede 1971:167-179; 1975, 1976.
Nazi salute, historical antecedents of these rituals, Kertzer notes:
26 Mezemiran (literally "singers") is the most frequently used
''There were few more powerful ways to oppose the regime than
designation for a choir. However, in some urban centres, the
to refuse to cooperate in such a ritual; by the same token, the
anglicized kwayir is also commonly used (Keefer 1996).
ritualized form allowed the regime to identifY opponents or to
27 Ethiopian vocal music is monophonic, and the concept of
destroy their self-respect" (1988: 167). Cotterell refers to Rev.
vocal harmony has been largely unknown, except in a few urban
Gudina Turnsa, general secretary of the ECMY, who with his
ECMY churches.
wife was accused of involvement with the Oromo Liberation
28 Aurelia Keefer attended the eighteenth anniversary of "one of
Front (1983:17).
the oldest choirs in the country," which was celebrated in Ad
. Cotterell relates that by 1980, there was "an extraordinary
Ababa in the late 1980s (Keefer 1996).
d tide ofpeople into the churches":
/~ 29 Typical of "choral" folk songs are zefen (songs ofa happy, It happened in the rural areas, but perhaps more
• jovial character, often sung on festive occasions to mark births, markedly in the capital. Churches were forced to
engagements, weddings, and national holidays (Kebede 1971:60; hold their services in duplicate and even in triplicate.
see also Powne 1968:70-75), Yebe'alat zefonoch (ceremonial Discipling the masses of new Christians became an
holiday songs) (Kebede 1971 :71-73), mezmur (educational almost insoluble problem. A discipleship class in
songs for school children) (1971:74), andzemenawi zema one church began on Monday and by Thursday had
(contemporary songs, which have appeared since the 1930s) to be discontinued because it had already filled the
(1971 :75; 1976). Powne refers to the musho a funeral lament in church and every available overflow area (1983: 19).
which the alKash, a professional female singer of laments is
supported by a choir (1968: 77-80; see also Kebede 1971:69). Between 1975 and 1990, Protestants are reported to
30 Illilta is the ecstatic trilled 'joy cry" common in singing in
have increased from around 300,000, barely one percent of
many parts of Africa. It entered Ethiopian churches for the first the population, to upwards of six million, 13 percent of the
time through the charismatic movement. population (Cotterell 1983:12-13; Johnstone 1993:214).
31 "At least 85% ofthe membership of all denominations was
Concerning this phenomenon, Cotterell observes: "It is not
made up ofrural fanners and their fumilies. These were devout clear that persecution leads to growth. It does, however,
Christians, but biblically illiterate, and academically worlds apart appear that growth leads to persecution" (1983: 17).
40 Young people "are the majority ofthe congregation..., maybe
from the young people. It was these men who were the leaders in
thousands ofrural congregations" (Fargher 1988:346). eighty percenf' (L. Balisky 1996: 17).
41 The regime's initial programs ofland reform, collectivization,
32 According to Kebede, the azmari were social outcasts, despite
their sophisticated skills in musical and poetic improvisation famine relief, literacy, and national construction, were strongly
(1971:173-177; 1975). Their songs are often full ofbiting sar­ supported by many ofthe evangelical churches. Church members
casm, slander, and sexual innuendo (McBride & Haddad 1987). in some rural regions held positions ofleadership in the newly­
33 Liturgical dance is practiced in the Orthodox liturgy, but had
formed Farmers' Associations, and regularly began business
no counterpart in Protestant worship (L.& P. Balisky 1996: 11). meetings with prayer and hymn singing, and some Christians
34 ''Penty'' refers to ''Pentecostal;'' used in this sense it implies
were said to "persecute" atheists for being "anti-progressive"
"trouble-maker, rebel, traitor." The term was also used by the (Fargher 1996:303). "Almost every citizen belonged to one mass
revolutionary government for all religious enthusiasts, whose organization or another" (e.g. the Revolutionary Ethiopian
l behaviour was regarded as a threat to society (Fargher Women's Association, the Revolutionary Ethiopian Youth
Association, the Peasants' Association, or the Urban Dwellers'

EthnoDoxology Volume 3, No. 3 Page 13

Association) (Harbeson 1988:261).
According to Harbeson, these organizations became mecha­
nisms for "harassing, detaining and eliminating" all forms of real
or imaginary political organization (1988:262). Churches thus
became objects of such harassment, for a variety of reasons. Paul
Balisky relates that 738 churches were closed by in the Walayta
region, where the Kale-Heywat churches were the strongest
(L.& P. Balisky 1996:11).
42 Biographical information regarding Tesfaye Gabbiso is from
Lila Balisky's unpublished paper "Ethiopia's Tesfaye Gabbiso:
Theology in Song" (n.d.), as well as from personal conversation
with Lila and Paul Balisky.
43 In the popular songbook Weddase Amlak, published in 1991
(Addis Ababa: Geja Mereret Hiywet Church), one-fifth of the
155 songs are by Tesfaye Gabbiso (Balisky n.d.:27).
44 His arrest was reported by the Keston News Service, an British
agency which monitors religious persecution: "Tesfaye Gabisso,"
No. 217, 24 January 1985,22.
45 Throughout his imprisonment, Tesfaye was subject to
"constant intimidation and offers ofrelease ifhe repeated the
slogans" (Keston New Service 1985:22).
46 For this act, he was "thoroughly beaten and maligned in a very
cruel way" (p. Balisky 1996: 12). During his imprisonment,
Tesfaye spent six months in solitary confinement, because ofthe
conversion of a number of fellow prisoners through his influence
(Keston College 1985:22).
47 See especially the ordeal of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed­
nego, whose refusal to worship the image ofKillg Nebuchadn
zar resulted in their being thrown into a burning furnace (Dani
chapter 3). The story is recalled in five ofTesfaye's songs, and
trial by fire is mentioned in other songs as well (Balisky n.d.: 10).
48 ''From 1960-1975 the renewal movement shifted out ofthe
churches, into the homes, and then back into the churches
again" (Fargher 1988:351).
49 "Little by little the older generation began to acknowledge
its shortcomings and mistakes. This did not happen suddenly or
in anyone particular place. It was a gradual softening which took
place over a number ofyears. Slowly, thanks to tireless peace­
makers, both sides of the conflict began to see that it was possible
to make minor concessions and to minister to one another. . .. A
consensus of opinion was gradually reached on how much repeti­
tive singing and handclapping should take place during worship
services. Fora for talking to one another, and thereby curbing
criticism, were set up" (Fargher 1988:354-355).
50 ''The community that faces death together has a special bond.
It is a 'community ofpolitical destiny' (Weber) of a sort matched
by no other. Such groups acquire a solidarity deriving from a
'community of memories' deeper than ethnic, linguistic, or other
cultural ties" (Collins 1986:156).
51 The identity ofthe Old Testament nation ofIsrael is as much
religious as it was political. The concept is applied in New Testa­
ment theology to the Church in I Peter 2:9: "But you are a chosen
people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to
God..." (New International Version).
Page 14
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