Ity by way of Scripture Songwriting in IndonesiaMatt Connor 1,two, and Matt Menger two,3, 1 2Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc., Orlando, FL 32862, USA Globe Arts, Dallas International University, Dallas, TX 75236, USA SIL International, Dallas, TX 75236, USA Correspondence: [email protected] (M.C.); [email protected] (M.M.)Abstract: Bible translation and indigenous hymnody have often been important components of your localization from the Christian faith. Within this study, we describe how regional songwriters creating songs with lyrics based on translated scriptures play a crucial role within the method of localization in Christian communities in Indonesia. We focus primarily on PR5-LL-CM01 Epigenetics thirty-nine scripture songwriting workshops that we and our colleagues performed more than the past six years in Indonesia, at the same time as ongoing interactions we had with communities in Ambon and Central Sulawesi. We start using a literature evaluation to establish the influences which shaped our songwriting workshops and our motivation for conducting them, then we describe the workshops themselves plus the course of action of musical localization that took place. All through the study, we highlight the role of local agency, the importance of fusion genres, and also the creation of distinctive Christian identities via the localization of music. Keyword phrases: musical localization; fusion; hybridity; songwriting; bible translation; ethnodoxology; ethnoartsCitation: Connor, Matt, and Matt Menger. 2021. Strengthening Christian Identity through Scripture Songwriting in Indonesia. Religions 12: 873. https://doi.org/10.3390/ rel12100873 Academic Editors: John MacInnis and Jeremy Perigo Received: 12 August 2021 Accepted: 7 October 2021 Published: 13 October1. Introduction Most of the fifteen members from the songwriting group Pontong crammed into our tiny, sweltering studio to record a current composition. Anez Latupeirissa, a church musician educated in Western hymnody, had lately returned from a trip towards the remote island of Haruku. He had heard a traditional marinyo calling the village together and was Dabrafenib-d9 Epigenetics inspired to create a brand new song inviting Moluccans to worship. As the recording light turned from green to red, a retired Ambonese policeman began beating the tifa, a regular Moluccan hand drum. This was shortly followed by a piercing huele yodel by John Beay, a pastor who had served in the remote mountains of Buru. Latupeirissa started singing in a wealthy Western classical vocal style followed by steady electric guitar chords in addition to a simple chorus in harmony, chanted by the rest in the Pontong members. The goosebumps raised on my arms, and I noticed tears brimming inside the eyes of your musicians around me. This fantastic mix of language, musical style, and creativity had led to a truly hybrid and one of a kind faith-affirming moment for everyone inside the space. Right after the last notes of your last huele died away, the members of Pontong were silent for any long time, engulfed inside a holy moment.1 This small songwriting group in Ambon, Indonesia, that I (Author 1) worked with in the story above is amongst the quite a few groups that had been born out of scripture songwriting workshops in Indonesia. In the course of the previous six years, we and our colleagues conducted thirty-nine such workshops, representing more than 1 hundred languages, spread across the majority of the Indonesian archipelago. We additionally facilitated much more extended and in-depth work with songwriters and arts groups in the Indonesian provinces of Maluku (Author 1) and Central Sulawesi (Author two). Our prima.