Musicking in the spirit: worship, community and the making of locality among Nigerian Pentecostals in the diaspora

Abstract

The proposed eight-month research internship is conceived as part of the post-doctoral research (process 17/08316-8), funded by FAPESP and currently ongoing in Brazil. This research aims to understand the ways in which local musicking informs the global circulation of popular religious movements, such as Nigerian Pentecostalism, and it investigates (trans)localities of musicking, as places extending beyond distinct geographic locales to encompass the transcendental dimensions of diasporic religious experience. A multi-sited methodology is essential to understand practices, perceptions and experiences of 'musicking' among distinct migratory Nigerian Pentecostal settings. Ethnographic fieldwork in Sao Paulo and in virtual communities of music evangelism has already commenced, whilst field trips to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Lagos, Nigeria are being scheduled with research advisors and consultants. The proposed eight-month research internship will allow for a unique examination of Nigerian Pentecostal congregations in Manchester and London. This opportunity will enable further comparisons across migrant worship contexts in the UK, Brazil, and Nigeria, whilst aiding deep understandings of the role of local musicking in the moulding of globally-spread traditions. Research outputs, in the modalities of a monograph publication, peer-reviewed articles, an ethnographic website and (inter)national conference presentations, will fill in an important gap in the understudied movement of Nigerian Pentecostal Christianity. At the same time, they will generate rich interdisciplinary dialogue and boost public awareness of the relevance of Ethnomusicology and the Anthropology of Music to wide audiences.