RSSA diocese has come up with a CD of hymns in the Santal language in an attempt to standardize liturgical music and help Catholics merge their tribal culture with their faith.
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Tribal Catholic singers record their first audio |
Rajshahi diocese acted amid concern that a haphazard approach to Church music was harming the overall effort to inculturate the Catholic faith among the Santal.
People were singing the “same” hymns, but these differed from parish to parish, confirmed Father William Murmu, parish priest in Andharkota. The audio production “was really important for proper inculturation of liturgy, as well as for our culture,” he told UCA News.
The northern diocese´s Liturgy Commission launched its first audio CD in the Santal language on Nov. 26. The CD and an audio cassette version each contain 12 hymns.
According to the 2007 Catholic Directory of Bangladesh, Santal Catholics account for 30,000 of the 55,000 Catholics in Rajshahi diocese. Others belong to the country´s Bengali majority and to the Paharia, Munda, Oraon and Mahali tribal groups.
Father Murmu is a member of the liturgy commission and was a driving force behind the CD project.
Another Santal priest, Father Ignatius Bindu Hembrom, said the Church considers music an essential part of liturgy and encourages Catholics to sing hymns and play liturgical music correctly.
“Inculturation makes liturgy lively and meaningful for the people of God. It helps to communicate with God effectively,” he added.
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A priest gives instructions during a recording of the CD |
A subcommittee of seven priests, all of them musicians and members of the Liturgy Commission, worked for more than a year to produce and publish the CD and cassette titled “Orhe Sarhao” (praise and glory).
Santal parishioners took part in the recording sessions, held Nov. 10-12 this year at Banideepti Recording studio of the Catholic bishops´ Christian Communications Center (CCC) in Dhaka.
“We´ve started sending these audio CDs and cassettes to different parishes, with instructions to the parish priests to conduct regular hymn classes for parishioners,” Father Murmu reported. They are also available at CCC outlets and diocesan centers across the country.
Bimol Kisku, 30, a Santal catechist, expressed his appreciation: “I think this initiative will help people sing to God correctly.”
Lewis Murmu, a 27-year-old graduate student, called it a “matter of great joy” for Santal Catholics that “will also help younger generations to sing correctly in the days to come.”
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