THE INDIGENOUS MUSIC OF CHRIST APOSTOLIC CHURCH IN NIGERIA AND THE DIASPORAS: A PROOF OF CHRISTIAN TRANSFORMATIVE MUSICALITY

Abstract

One of the distinguishing identities of any Church movement is music. Christ Apostolic
Church (C.A.C) in Nigeria and the Diasporas at her inception came with her peculiar music
firmly rooted in the Pentecostal theology of the church and in indigenous African musical
culture. It became a great tool in the spirituality, evangelisation and proselytisation
processes in the Church. Today, not only has C.A.C. influenced Nigerian Christian music
greatly, but also dominated the gospel music, one of the most popular music genres in
Nigeria. This paper, hinged on transformative and functionalism theories, aims at exhuming
the philosophical theology, performance practices and the evolution of this Pentecostal brand
of music, both at home and abroad. Employing theological, musicological and historical
approaches, the paper as a sacred musicological study, discovers that C.A.C. music is highly
functional with deep metaphysical connotations. From indigenous native airs, anthems,
hymnody, art music and lyric-airs to gospel music, its style forms one of the manifestations of
indigenous Pentecostalism; as it has been instrumental to the diverse operations, spread and
acceptability of the Church. The Church extended overseas through migration, had her music
‘carried’ along, though not without re-contextualised modifications. This paper concludes
on the note that the Church, bearing in mind her leadership roles, should strive to uphold the
legacies that earned her identity; especially her musical culture.