Gillespie, Kirsty (2013) Re-visioning the impact of missions on music in Papua New Guinea. In: Proceedings of the New Zealand Musicological Society and the Musicological Society of Australia Joint Conference. pp. 98-104. From: Joint Conference of the New Zealand Musicological Society and the Musicological Society of Australia, 2-4 December 2010, Dunedin, New Zealand.

PDF (Published Version) - Published Version Restricted to Repository staff only

Abstract

It is commonly perceived by onlookers that the introduction of Christianity into the lives of indigenous peoples in Papua New Guinea and the wider Pacific has had a negative impact on indigenous culture and music-making. While it is widely true that many missions were active in dissuading the performance of some ancestral musical styles, the encounter between missionaries and indigenous peoples is far more complex than a simple one-sided takeover. Indigenous peoples in Papua New Guinea have themselves acted as agents in adopting and reshaping the new musical forms that were used to convey Christian teachings. This paper considers the transmission of one Christian song form from the coast to the Highlands of Papua New Guinea in the 1970s, and which now forms the basis of many songs composed in vernacular languages, both within the church and outside of it.

Taking the music of the Duna people of the Southern Highlands Province as a case study, this paper looks in particular at Duna women's use of this song form as a vehicle for the expression of their personal and community concerns. Women's compositional creativity within the musical framework of this song form both represents a new mode of expression, and one that is contiguous with ancestral musical life. The paper reflects on the possibility that this new musical voice may contribute to a more empowered position for Duna women today, and in doing so radically re-visions the outsider’s perception of the Christian musical experience in Papua New Guinea.

Item ID:	47877
Item Type:	Conference Item (Research - E1)
ISBN:	978-0-473-24221-3
Related URLs:	Publisher
Date Deposited:	12 Oct 2017 02:43
FoR Codes:	16 STUDIES IN HUMAN SOCIETY > 1601 Anthropology > 160104 Social and Cultural Anthropology @ 60% 19 STUDIES IN CREATIVE ARTS AND WRITING > 1904 Performing Arts and Creative Writing > 190409 Musicology and Ethnomusicology @ 40%
SEO Codes:	95 CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING > 9503 Heritage > 950306 Conserving Pacific Peoples Heritage @ 50% 95 CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING > 9503 Heritage > 950304 Conserving Intangible Cultural Heritage @ 50%
Downloads:	Total: 5
	More Statistics