Abstract

Despite the enduring international popularity of the Zulu Christian chorus “Siyahamba” as a song of protest and praise, South African ethnomusicologists have not yet investigated its origins as well as its cultural and political significance. This article reports the results of an historical study which indicated that the earliest documented performance of the chorus took place in Dundee in the current uMzinyathi district of the former Natal province (now KwaZulu-Natal or KZN), South Africa, in 1952. No earlier publications or handwritten records of its score or lyrics have been found. However, it appears that this musical work has a longer undocumented history, connected to rural Methodist or Pentecostalist communities of the province. It originated in a church environment as a devotional chorus and grew to be closely associated with the anti-apartheid movement after it was adopted by the international campaign against the racist regime from the mid-1980s. “Siyahamba” has been perceived both locally and internationally as a popular song of praise with a strong political significance thanks to the popular songbook Freedom Is Coming by Anders Nyberg, the Swedish-South African composer and choral conductor, who made the earliest known field recording of the chorus, and dozens of influential hymnals that include “Siyahamba”. Chanted at rallies and public events, the historic South African tune continues to encourage campaigners for change worldwide.

摘要

尽管祖鲁基督教合唱团“Siyahamba”作为一首抗议和赞美之歌在国际上经久不衰，但南非民族音乐学家尚未调查其起源及其文化和政治意义。本文报告了一项历史研究的结果，该研究表明，最早记录的合唱表演发生在 1952 年南非前纳塔尔省（现在的夸祖鲁-纳塔尔或 KZN）的当前 uMzinyathi 区的邓迪。已找到其乐谱或歌词的出版物或手写记录。然而，这部音乐作品似乎有更长的无证历史，与该省的农村卫理公会或五旬节派社区有关。它起源于教堂环境中的虔诚合唱团，并在 1980 年代中期被反对种族主义政权的国际运动采用后，逐渐与反种族隔离运动密切相关。由于流行歌本，“Siyahamba”已被本地和国际视为具有强烈政治意义的流行赞美歌曲瑞典-南非作曲家和合唱指挥家安德斯·尼伯格（Anders Nyberg）带来了自由，他是最早已知的现场记录合唱团的人，他还录制了数十首有影响力的赞美诗，其中包括“希亚汉巴”。在集会和公共活动中吟唱这首具有历史意义的南非曲调继续鼓励全世界的活动家进行变革。