MUSICAL CHOICES IN EARLY BAPTIST MISSIONS AMONG THE XERENTE

Resumo

The people group in central Brazil known by the name `Xerente` has had a Baptist missionary presence for almost seventy years. Through multiple approaches, the work has produced fruit and a Bible translation into the native language is well under way. In the early stages, choices were certainly made regarding music for Christian worship. Given the traditional western character of those choices, one may surmise that certain pre-determining concepts governed their decisions. However, the development of the following decades unveils rather a growth process both among the missionaries and among the local believers. This essay considers the motivation for the introduction of Western hymnody, compares it with the present musical perception of the Xerente, and makes relevant the question of authenticity in artistic worship forms particularly for cross-cultural contexts.