Many of my distant relatives live in the Appalachian mountains. It is picturesque part of the country. It is also a region that is rich in religious and cultural history. Many of the songs in US history have originated in this region as has many spirituals that are sung in churches today. There is an incredible way of singing that is unique to this region called Sacred Harp/Shape Note singing (see videos below). Bible stories and music are part of the oral tradition of this region. These stories and music are passed down from generation to generation. Something that is not done in the rest of the country. Young people to elderly will sit in a room for hours on end singing bonding generations together. This region of the country has always been looked upon as the backward region of the country and spoken of with derision. The US government cares little about so many in this region except for its rich natural resources.
In checking out some of my favorite blogs today I found a link to this story about the mountain top strip mining that is destroying the region. Mountain tops have went from this:
What I found unique was a Baptist publication that was voicing their objections to this kind of mining. Usually Baptists could care less about environmental issues such as this. Their view, like Armstrongism, is that "God is going to soon return and burn it all up anyway. It is better to save souls than worry about the environment."
In his prize-winning volume titled Uneven Ground: Appalachia since 1945, Appalachian scholar Ron Eller comments:
"Appalachia endures as a paradox in American society in part because it plays a critical role in the discourse of national identity but also because the region’s struggle with modernity reflects a deeper American failure to define progress in the first place.... We know that Appalachia exists because we need it to exist in order to define what we are not. The notion of Appalachia as a separate place, a region set off from mainstream culture and history, has allowed us to distance ourselves from the uncomfortable dilemmas that the story of Appalachia raises about our own lives and about the larger society."
In her groundbreaking study, Appalachian Mountain Religion, Deborah McCauley writes that Appalachia harbors a unique form of Protestantism born of "oral tradition," the "centrality of religious experience," and the "reality of the land." McCauley concludes that "the mountainous terrain that is the Appalachian region has had enormous impact on its character, its texture, and its religious values."
Building on the work of Eller and McCauley, Greg Griffey insists that: "By destroying the mountainous landscape of a geographical region formed millions of years ago, we are now effacing, and thereby choosing to forget, storied identities that have beckoned habitation, provided navigation through space, and evoked senses of rootedness in the mountains for thousands of years." His thesis explores "the interconnectedness of place, the environment, and religious and cultural thought," a communal network challenged by mountaintop removal in "tangible and intangible" ways. Vanishing Mountains
Sacred Harp/Shape Note singing:
I found my three years in Central and Eastern Kentucky, which was coal country, to be one the of the best experiences I had in moving around for the church.
ReplyDeleteYou see the damage and the attempts to reclaim it to meet minimum standards in places, but the country is beautiful.
I found the people to be the most loyal and sincere people I have ever worked with and for. They gave too much and expected too little. I felt safe in Kentucky in some strange way being from New York.
If the right Kentucky woman came along..... I"m gone...ha.
Den
Very good article! My relatives in NE Tennessee are musical like many folks throughout the Appalachian who settled in various pockets of the region. Many were from Scotland and brought this type of music with them. It was passed from generation to generation over many centuries from mother to daughter nothing written down, all from memory.
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of Jewish hymns that are without musical scores. The melody is the same just the words and the tempo change. The messianic Jews I worshiped with while I was doing research for a book on the Levitical priesthood had services full of song and dance. That was such a stark contrast to the WCG where I grew up that I was overwhelmed at times. The Pentecostals copied this form of worship in their services but took it "over the top" in many ways ruining the beauty and purity of this form.
These folks to me are the true "Salt of the Earth."
Very positive and informative article..thanks!
Thanks for posting this. I had an opportunity to attend several of these singing sessions in Atlanta about 25-30 years ago and I really did enjoy the experience.
ReplyDeleteI also viewed the next video about the indians and their singing traditions. There is a great similarity in their style and the shape note singing. I have great great grand parents from two diferent southeast indian tribes in my ancestry. Maybe that is why I found this style so intriguing. It is in the blood so to speak.
Michael:
ReplyDeleteThere is an excellent book out called 'Albion's Seed'. It talks about the four British pathways that settlers from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland immigrated to this country. Each tended to settle into separate regions bringing their unique accents, music and culture with them. A lot of that carries over to this day
'Albion's Seed'.
ReplyDeleteThanks NO2HWA, I can't wait to read it - very fascinating stuff!!!
As a musician I eat this kind of stuff up...maybe the purist in me longing for a simpler time:<)
Thanks millions.
Homer:
ReplyDeleteThat is really intriguing about your Indian ancestry and the music aspect.
I have some Indian ancestry too, my paternal great grandfather was 100% Indian...but I forget what tribe. Might be where I get my love of music, and the outdoors or it might be from my maternal Hebrew great grandmother?? or both. I am sure it IS in the blood!
What a soup, huh?
Thanks for sharing.