By Alan L ThiekIntroduction
Hymns play a very important and unique role in Christian worship. Central to Christianity is worship and one of the most important and popular ways of worshiping God is to sing praises to him. The praises that we sing to God are mostly in the form of hymns. Hymns essentially are songs in praise of God.
Brief History of Hymn Singing
Hymn singing has been associated with Christian worship since the very beginning of Christianity. We find in Matthew 26: 30 that our Lord Jesus and the disciples sung a hymn after they had finished eating the ‘Last Supper’. Acts Chapter 16:25 tells us that Paul and Silas were singing hymns to God in prison at Philippi. These are just examples to show how old, deep rooted and important hymn singing is in Christian worship.
Hymns have different purposes. Hymns enable congregational worship; they teach spiritual and doctrinal truths. They tell Christian stories. They give hope in times of hardships and sufferings. They bring out emotions, comfort us and strengthen us.
Hymns are made up of two essential parts; text and tune. Text and tune are two essential parts of a hymn which made a hymn “a hymn”. Here in this essay we will lay emphasis on the text rather than the tune.
Appropriation of Israelite History and Hmar Christian Hymnology
History is the vehicle of God’s revelation. God’s revelation comes in the form of history. By looking at the history of Israel we can learn how God revealed to His people. And it is on this revelation of God’s to His people, the Israelites, that Hmar hymn writers find inspiration.
We, the Hmar’s are a community living in the North Eastern parts of India. Our forefathers had no contact with the outside world. They lived in their ‘village states’ where the village chief and his council rules. They were nature worshippers. Their religion was close to what we today call animist. However, with the coming of a Welsh Christian missionary in our area during the opening years of the 20th Century, this was to change forever. In 1910 a Welsh missionary Mr.Watkin R. Roberts came in our area, he was the first missionary ever to come to our land. His ministry was blessed and within about three to four decades the majority of the Hmar community was converted to Christianity. And this great change, this conversion in to a new religion, has a very deep impact in our culture, tradition and society. The old religion was laid to rest and with it our old socio-religious-cultural practices. Our people stop talking about ‘PIELRAL’-a city which is supposed to be in the next life in our old belief, and now began to talk about New Jerusalem or New Canaan. Such was the impact that our people began to talk about the patriarchs; Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as if we are their blood descendents. In fact the impact was so deep and profound that some of our people actually claimed themselves to be the lost tribes of Israel and converted to Judaism.
From this background, I believe, one can imagine the kind of songs and hymns the Hmar’s will have. Even a casual observer of our hymns won’t fail to notice the impression that the Israelite history has on the minds of our hymn writers. Our songwriters made liberal use of Israelite history in their songs. Using imageries and allusions they compare the history of the Israelites, especially their wanderings in the wilderness and the hardships they faced there, as to that of a Christian believer, facing many hardships and difficulties in life.
In the passages below we will explore how, the Hmar Christians used Old Testament history in the hymns/choruses and songs in our language.
One of the Hmar’s most famous hymn writers is Rev.Thangngur, who was converted to Christianity in 1910 to be one of the first Hmar to be converted to Christianity. Given below is a song composed by him titled New Canaan.
NEW CANAAN
By Rev. Thangngur
On my way to New Canaan,
I sojourned in the desert;
It’s hard for me to get the right path.
Show yourself in pillar of fire and cloud
And shine forth on my way.
Oh! My savior, come and deliver me,
I’m afraid I will not reach Canaan
Under the clouds of despair
I wondered in tears and despair.
From the rock of the desert,
Let the crystal fountain flow forth;
For the tired sojourners to drink
While we are in the desert,
That we will not long for Egypt.
Thousands have entered before me,
In the New land of Canaan;
Why should I long for the land I’ve left?
I will leave this place of death,
And will go towards the city of life.
In this song ‘New Canaan’ the author compares his Christian life to that of the Israelite exodus from Egypt and their wandering in the wilderness. He takes the exodus experience as an analogy to his Christian life. He starts the song with the line ‘On my way to New Canaan’ He depicts his life as a journey towards Heaven (New Canaan). The word New Canaan here is an allegorical representation of Heaven. The author appropriated the Israelite experience, their wandering in the desert on their way to Canaan using imageries to describe his own spiritual life. He compares his spiritual life to that of the Israelite exodus experience, a sojourner in a desert surrounded by difficulties, hardships and trials. He finds it hard to move forward due to the difficulties of life just as the Israelite finds it hard to move forward due to the many hardships and trials they faced in the desert. The author asks for Gods guidance and presence just like He guided and led the Israelite in the desert and showed His presence by pillar of cloud and fire.
The second stanza is an imagery of another Israelite experience in the desert, water flowing out of a rock for them to drink. Just as the Israelite drank of the water that flowed out of a rock and quench their thirsts, the author ask to God for water from the rock in order that he and other tired sojourners like him might drink an be satisfied. It is difficult to say what exactly the author meant by “Water from the rock.” However, it is likely that the author is asking for spiritual blessings, a revival so that he may be renewed, refreshed and be able to continue his journey in life afresh. The writer uses the flowing of water from the rock as an analogy and interprets in its spiritual perspective.
In the last stanza the author talks about his yearning for New Canaan. New Canaan here is an allegorical representation of Heaven. He asks himself a question saying, ‘why should he long for the land he had left? The writer uses an analogy to depict the World (Egypt) as a land of death. Finally he expresses his yearning for New Canaan, which is heaven.
The second song titled ‘Let’s Cross the Jordan’ is by the same author Rev. Thangngur
LET’S CROSS THE JORDAN
-Rev. Thangngur
1. Israel’s host in Egypt under Pharaoh’s bondage were freed:
Refusing to serve the tyrant and oppressive king,
They left the land of dire and doom.
Come and see how happily they marched forward,
Heading for the New Canaan, the Promised Land;
They crossed the Red Sea and reached the shore,
They assembled across the shore with shouts of joy,
God led them by his pillars of cloud and fire.
2. Let us leave the bondage of cruel and despotic Satan.
We have greater leader than Moses and Aaron:
Christ our King and the Holy Ghost.
Let us march forward-, and do not be afraid,
To New Canaan, better than the earthly one,
To pass through not only the Red Sea
But to cross Jordan bank beyond the desert;
Let us toil hard to reach the land of Canaan.
3. Jordan is not reachable for cowards, murmurs and grumblers.
Many did sing songs of praise across the Red Sea,
But most did not reach Jordan’s bank.
For us, let us march ahead ready for war,
Summon your strength to take Jericho’s fortress,
Our enemies will flee before us;
When we also overcome host of our enemies,
We will live in peace in the land of Canaan.
In this song the author beautifully narrates the Israelite exodus from the bondage of Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt. He narrates this event so vividly that it looks as though he was an eye witness to that incident. He depicts the exodus group as a merry band of people, leaving behind all their cares and troubles in Egypt, the land of death and doom, God leading them and showing his presence by way of pillar of cloud and fire, and them happily marching towards their Promised Land Canaan.
In the second stanza the writer uses the Egyptian bondage as an analogy to depict the cruel bondage of Satan. He uses the exodus of the Israelite from Egypt as an allegory and interprets in its spiritual context as an exodus from the bondage from sin into a new life in Christ (New Canaan).
In the last stanza the writer use the narratives of the internal crisis and dissentions that Israel faced just before entering Canaan as an analogy to depict the crises and dissentions that the church or believers usually face in different circumstances. The author exhorts the faithful to be ready to face opposition (Jericho) and reminds them that however strong the enemies might possibly be, they will crumble down before them, just like Jericho fell before the Israelite.
Conclusion
Though a people totally different from the Israel racially, linguistically and culturally, we just see how deeply influenced the Hmar’s hymns are by the Israelite History. The Hmar hymn writers use the narratives of the Israelite History as if it were the history of their own ancestors. This is what we call the ‘magic’ of religion. This clearly portrays how deep an impact a religion can have upon the lives, culture and society of a people. Hymns and songs are the expressions of our deepest thoughts and emotions, and the songs that we have studied are clear illustrations to show how deeply rooted the Israelite History is in the Hmar psyche. With full confidence we can say that the Hmar chapels will continue to echo to the singing of the hymns inspired by the narratives of the Israelite History for a long time to come.
Bibliography
1. Brown, Rosalin. How Hymns Shape Our lives. Cambridge: Groove Books Limited, 2001.
2. Independent Church Hymnal. Churachandpur,Manipur: Assembly Musical Society ICI Publications. 1992
3. Harrison, Anne. Sing It Again. Cambridge: Groove Books Limited.2003
Source: http://www.sinlung.com/?p=4284
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