Saint Thomas Christian music
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Saint Thomas Christian music refers to the
History
The Saint Thomas Christians trace their origins to the evangelical activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. The community grew under the influence of migration from Syrians, members of the Church of the East. The community's modern musical traditions may be derived from this connection.[1] Into the 20th century, Saint Thomas Christian liturgy was performed and sung in the Syriac language, though today this largely has been replaced with the local language, Malayalam.[2] Due to the community's resistance to outside influence and isolation, the music of the Saint Thomas Christians may preserve elements of the earliest forms of Christian music.[3]
Scholar Israel J. Ross compares Saint Thomas Christian music to that of the Jews in Kerala. Jewish music influenced the early Christian music ancestral to the Saint Thomas Christian forms, and Jews have lived in similar conditions to the Thomas Christians in Kerala for centuries.[3] As such, Christian and Jewish music and culture in Kerala feature many parallels and similarities.[4] For example, a Saint Thomas Christian blessing given by a dying father to his children is similar to the Jewish Amidah.[5] These similarities may reflect a common origin in the ancient Middle East.[6]
The Saint Thomas Christian father's blessing, as compared to the Jewish Amidah | |||
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Saint Thomas Christian blessing | Amidah | ||
God gave his blessing to Abraham, Abraham gave that blessing to Isaac, Isaac gave that blessing to Jacob, Jacob ...to my forefathers, My forefathers...my parents, And my parents...to me, Now, dear son (daughter), I give that blessing to you. | Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, and God of our fathers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, the great, mighty and revered God... | ||
Ross 1979 |
Structure
Saint Thomas Christian music derives from archaic Syriac forms, with little discernible influence from
The
The
Chant accentuation
Traditional chant accentuation derives from the Syriac standard, which was instituted by the scholars known as the
Thoma Parvam
One important Saint Thomas Christian song is the "Thoma Parvam", or "Song of Thomas".[10] The song contains a colophon claiming it was first written in 1601 by a certain Maliekel Thoma Ramban, though the manuscripts are of a much later date. The words give an account of Thomas the Apostle's purported evangelical work in India in the 1st century.[11]
References
- JSTOR 833968.
- ^ JSTOR 833968.
- ^ JSTOR 833968.
- JSTOR 833968.
- JSTOR 833968.
- ^ JSTOR 833968.
- JSTOR 833968.
- ^ Chummar Choondal (1983). "Christian folk songs". Kerala Folklore Academy, p 56.
- JSTOR 833968.
- ISBN 978-0-19-826377-7.
- ^ Thoma, P. J. (1984). "The South Indian Tradition of the Apostle Thomas". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 56: 83–85.