I was intrigued by the similarities that weave their way through all of the cultures we have studied. One that particularly stood out to me was the spiritual aspect—the belief that music has a “higher purpose”. As it was created, it has the ability to inspire transcendence and connect people, both the musicians and listeners. It can join one with the divine. Within this belief are common characteristics: ritual, repetition, the importance of silence, balance and harmony as seen in nature, oral tradition, and the value of community. These can be seen in the Yeibichai songs and Enemyway ritual of the Native Americans; the BaAkan belief that God is everywhere in this world; the k’antu of Latin America, the bhajan songs and ragas of India; shakuhachi of Japan, where the goal is to reach enlightenment; and the gamelan music of Indonesia.
Through the study of these various cultural traditions, I have reflected on what they can contribute to my understanding of my own culture. The cyclic nature of life, for instance, was a recurring theme that reaffirmed my practice of observing the church’s liturgical year. It is not only the continual process of change, but the repetitiveness and constant renewal of nature that allows one to begin to understand truth. Another particular idea of interest to me was found in the chapter on Japan: “The intellect is not needed in the pursuit of truth. We can search to know about things, but we do not really know them. To know them, we must throw away our notions of scientific investigation and logical reasoning and instead rely on a heightened awareness and intuition about life.” This quote resounded deeply with my own beliefs. It is amazing to see such similarities in cultures that on the surface seem completely different from our own.
In our study of Africa, we learned about their belief that music is a necessary and normal part of life. I am interested in discovering further how our own society is lacking in this vision, and in finding ways that we can, as a culture, better appreciate the gift of music.