Sakari Löytty

A Creative Collision?: the Musical Developments Born out of the Encounter Between Finnish Missionaries and Owambo Culture Sakari Löytty

Pre-colonial Owambo culture in northern Namibia was rich in music and dance. After the arrival of the Finnish missionaries in 1870, interaction between the Finns and the Owambo people brought about a decline of some cultural practices, while it simultaneously contributed to the creation of new musical categories. This book investigates the historical background and contemporary cultural interaction between Finnish missionaries and Owambo people in northern Namibia. It seeks answers to questions on the nature, structure, history and contextual meanings of contemporary music in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia. What effects did the Finnish missionaries have as music educators and how were they equipped to meet a foreign culture and local customs? This study posits the theory that, while there were cultural collisions, the end result was bi-directionally creative contributing to the birth of new musical phenomena. While it discusses the reception and creative assimilation of the western musical influence into Owambo culture, it shows how new habits of Christian congregational singing and choir music have become popular forms of music making in Namibia today.