Powerful Sounds of Prayer. Christianity and Electricity in Northern Malawi

Bibliographic Data

ID4299794
AuthorsPiotr Cichocki (0000-0003-0999-477X, University of Warsaw, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume18
Issue11-12
Publication date2024-12-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligion Compass (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1749-8171 • E-ISSN: 1749-8171
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/rec3.70006
OpenAlexW4405654275
LanguageEN
References cited25

The Christianity in Northern Region of Malawi serves as an illustrative case study where technological objects affect religious practices. To elucidate the role of material objects in the constitution of the religious world, the article discusses the example of electricity as a key infrastructure and its role in bridging the modern material world with the colonization of religious practices. Within this analyze, religiosity is conceived not merely as a system of symbols but rather in terms of holistic, embodied, yet institutionalized practices. The pivotal role played by electric musical instruments concerns the establishment of a centralized public sphere closely intertwined with a Christianization project and technological advancements. Electronic keyboards operate within a religiously significant electrical infrastructure, which is intricately interwoven with political and religious ideologies, embodiment, and subjectivity. The electronic sound becomes agents of profound influence, imbuing religious musical experience with the affect of civilization. This transformative impact, however, also underscores the historical marginalization and suppression of indigenous drumming traditions, initially by early missionaries, and later by institutionalized Christian churches. The historical relation between electricity, embodied affect, and religion are exemplified by two case studies: the history of the industrial Presbyterian mission of Livingstonia and the adoption of electric instruments by Katawa Singers and other local gospel choirs. Paradoxically, the development of electrical infrastructures obscures significant asymmetries within the religious socio-spiritual world. In the Northern Region, other spiritual practices rooted in ancestral reverence and traditional healing modalities construct an antagonistic yet interconnected network that is overshadowed by the mediated public sphere shaped by technical developments

Archaeology · Christianity · Prayer · Psychotherapist · Theology · Traditional medicine · African cultural and philosophical studies · African history and culture studies · African studies and sociopolitical issues · History · Medicine · Philosophy · Psychology

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