Ritualistic use of religious music : a comparison between Old Testament and Psalms and Pedi Psalm-like songs of thanksgiving and lament

Abstract

In both the culture of ancient Israel and that of the modern-day Pedi people of South Africa the medium of song plays a signifi-cant role in expressing personal and communal views on how life affects those born into it. In this article the author attempts to provide a descriptive and comparative assessment of the vari-ous types of psalms in the Old Testament Psalter vis-à-vis Pedi psalm-like songs. Such an investigation has hitherto not been at-tempted and this paper is meant to investigate the Pedi psalm-like texts as texts equivalent to the biblical psalms in quality, structure and content. I analyzed Pedi psalm-like songs search-ing for the African ethical values inherent in them. I also com-pared the Pedi psalm-like songs and the biblical psalms; search-ing for the similarities and differences; thus asserting the rele-vance of the psalms to the contemporary African peoples. This bi-disciplinary approach between music and theology is a grow-ing trend in African musicology and African theology. Inevita-bly, some of what I say is based on my own experience.