| This dissertation investigates the phenomenon of inculturation, with its theoretical, political and sociological implications, in Indonesian Christian music, with a focus on central Java and the island of Flores. Inculturation, a theory formed by 20th century Catholic thinkers, also functions in the discipline of anthropology under such names as indigenization, contextualization, and acculturation. In my dissertation I examine how inculturational theory is applied to music, what methods and materials are used, and how the results lead to the transformation of traditional culture. I link inculturation and music to the problems of self-definition and the creation of group identity (religious and ethnic) through church music. The very subject of my research is the manifold and multiple manifestations and representations of music inculturation that are the result of indigenous/local innovation and creativity. However, I am concerned not only with music and musical processes but also with drama, dance, musical instruments, clothing, written texts, fine arts, and architecture. I show how music coexists and "collaborates" with these various domains and elements, participating and co-creating the inculturational scene in Indonesia as it does in other parts of the globe. |
