Discourse on Illness and Healing in Selected Gospel Songs in Southwestern Nigeria.
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Date
2011
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Publisher
School of Performing Arts, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra
Abstract
The study examined the discourse on themes of illness and healing in gospel music in Southwestern Nigeria since the early 1980s. It also identified factors responsible for the regular occurrence of these themes in Nigerian gospel music recordings. Adopting contextual, cultural-hermeneutical, musicological and discographical approaches, this study carried out a textual analysis of recordings of selected gospel musicians from the Southwestern part of Nigeria. Interviews were also conducted with some gospel musicians to obtain information about the theology underpinning their songs, and their perceptions of what they considered as illness and healing. Lastly, secondary sources such as books, articles in journals, Newspaper articles, and internet sources were consulted. The findings show that gospel musicians perceived illness not only as a state of physical, but also as a spiritual, social and even political disorder that all needed to be restored to optimum functionality
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Keywords
Nigerian gospel music; Gospel songs; Illness and Healing; Southwestern Nigeria
Citation
Journal of Performing Arts. 4, 2011 (2); 131 – 147