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Isochronisms of Antistructure in the Black Holiness-Pentecostal Testimony Service

Isochronisms of Antistructure in the Black Holiness-Pentecostal Testimony Service Isochronisms of Antistructure in the Black Holiness-Pentecostal Testimony Service Jon Michael Sperlcer Rite of Intensification The ritual of testimony commenced when the first of black spirituals asked, "Who will be a witness for my Lord?" and someone among that marginal people answered, "I will be a witness for my Lord." Thereafter the ritual has been principally maintained by and learned from black women who are the bearers of the tradition of "having church." Throughout the history of its evolvement, testimony service has functioned to prepare the religious cultus to endure the ways of the world by shaping and rejuvenating its common consciousness. In so doing, the maternal cultus has carried in its womb the perpetual rebirth of the churched and the larger black community. Insofar as this rebirth occurs each week when the churched gather to worship, it is a rite of intensification. It has allowed them through singing, testifying, and shouting, to sing, speak, and act the good God has done for them during the past week, thereby intensifying their faith and community for the week just begun. Adapting the model of anthropologist Bruce Reed, it becomes apparent that testimony service is not only a rite of intensification http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Black Sacred Music Duke University Press

Isochronisms of Antistructure in the Black Holiness-Pentecostal Testimony Service

Spencer, Jon Michael
Black Sacred Music , Volume 2 (2) – Sep 1, 1988
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Copyright
© Copyright 1988 JBSM/Jon Michael Spencer
ISSN
1043-9455
eISSN
2640-9879
DOI
10.1215/10439455-2.2.1
Publisher site
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Abstract

Isochronisms of Antistructure in the Black Holiness-Pentecostal Testimony Service Jon Michael Sperlcer Rite of Intensification The ritual of testimony commenced when the first of black spirituals asked, "Who will be a witness for my Lord?" and someone among that marginal people answered, "I will be a witness for my Lord." Thereafter the ritual has been principally maintained by and learned from black women who are the bearers of the tradition of "having church." Throughout the history of its evolvement, testimony service has functioned to prepare the religious cultus to endure the ways of the world by shaping and rejuvenating its common consciousness. In so doing, the maternal cultus has carried in its womb the perpetual rebirth of the churched and the larger black community. Insofar as this rebirth occurs each week when the churched gather to worship, it is a rite of intensification. It has allowed them through singing, testifying, and shouting, to sing, speak, and act the good God has done for them during the past week, thereby intensifying their faith and community for the week just begun. Adapting the model of anthropologist Bruce Reed, it becomes apparent that testimony service is not only a rite of intensification

Journal

Black Sacred Music – Duke University Press

Published: Sep 1, 1988

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