Dear Editor,
In 1967 (I am a very old man) I was teaching Physics in a multi-ethnic, English medium school in Miri, in Borneo. Some of the students came from remote, recently become Christian, longhouses, travelling down-river maybe for two weeks to get to the school — no roads in the jungle in those days. One day, two of the Christian Union lads asked me a question.
“Sir”, they said, “Why are all our Christian songs translated from English hymns? Why can’t we have songs in our own cultural music?”
“Well”, I replied, “It’s like this. Your traditional music is closely connected with your old religion. When your parents’ and grandparents’ longhouse turned to the Lord, not long before you were born, they didn’t want to be reminded of their past immorality and superstitious practices, so they were pleased to have translated idol-free hymns.”
I added: “You have no personal experience of life governed by witch-doctors and superstition, so you don’t feel anything wrong with the old music. But I think you will agree your parents have good reason for singing the English hymns.”
What about your church? If there are friends converted from a background of drinking and night-clubbing, they will not want to be reminded or influenced back by disco-style music and songs. Have you considered their spiritual welfare in your choice of music?
The photo shows the very first Christian song book in the Penan language, produced in 1967 by two lady missionaries and given to me when I visited them in their jungle home. The Penans lived a nomadic life in the jungle, and so were the last tribe to be reached with the gospel. The first Penan student graduated from university in 2010. The hymns shown are Standing on the promises and I’m not ashamed to own my Lord.
Yours sincerely,
Carey Harmer
Sheffield
