Religious Chants Research Articles

Religious Chanting and Self-Related Brain Regions: A Multi-Modal Neuroimaging Study.

This protocol presents a multi-modal neuroimaging approach to explore the potential brain activity associated with repetitive religious chanting, a widespread form of mind training in both Eastern and Western cultures. High-density electroencephalogram (EEG), with its superior temporal resolution, allows for capturing the dynamic changes in brain activity during religious chanting. Through source localization methods, these can be attributed to various alternative potential brain region sources. Twenty practitioners of religious chanting were measured with EEG. However, the spatial resolution of EEG is less precise, in comparison to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Thus, one highly experienced practitioner underwent an fMRI scanning session to guide the source localization more precisely. The fMRI data helped guide the selection of EEG source localization, making the calculation of K-means of the EEG source localization in the group of 20 intermediate practitioners more precise and reliable. This method enhanced EEG's ability to identify the brain regions specifically engaged during religious chanting, particularly the cardinal role of the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). The PCC is a brain area related to focus and self-referential processing. These multimodal neuroimaging and neurophysiological results reveal that repetitive religious chanting can induce lower centrality and higher delta-wave power compared to non-religious chanting and resting state conditions. The combination of fMRI and EEG source analysis provides a more detailed understanding of the brain's response to repetitive religious chanting. The protocol contributes significantly to the research on the neural mechanisms involved in religious and meditative practices, which is becoming more prominent nowadays. The results of this study could have significant implications for developing future neurofeedback techniques and psychological interventions.

The Robotic Multi-Care Network: A Field Study of a “Robot Grandchild” in South Korea

Technical solutions are being presented for the healthcare and welfare of the aging population. One example is Hyodol, a robot developed for older adults living alone in South Korea. By offering various services such as religious chanting, dementia-prevention quizzes, and daily medication reminders, Hyodol is expected to serve as a companion for lonely older adults. This paper analyzes how the robotic care program for older adults is operating within the Korean public welfare system. Based on our fieldwork at regional welfare institutions and older adults’ homes, we show that the robots along with its monitoring system, older adults, institutional managers, caregivers, company staff, and family are forming what we call a “robotic multi-care network.” Within this network, the elderly users cultivate their own ways of building relationships with the robot, some perceiving it as a “grandchild” while others view it as a medium to connect with caregivers. The introduction of the care robot at the welfare institutions does not make their elderly care work unmanned, nor does the robot substitute for human caregivers. Instead, it displaces and redistributes the caregivers’ tasks and responsibilities, leading to multiple eldercare practices—tactile, digital, proximate, remote.

Effect of Dzikir (Religious Chanting) Therapy on The Anxiety Level of Third-Trimester Pregnant Women Facing Labor

ABSTRACT Anxiety in the third trimester of pregnancy is often related to impending labor and childbirth. In Indonesia, 28.7% of pregnant women in the third trimester experienced anxiety. The negative impact of anxiety during pregnancy includes the risk of miscarriage and fetal abnormalities. Non-pharmacological therapies based on Islam, such as dzikir (religious chanting) therapy, have been developed. To determine the effect of dzikir (religious chanting) therapy on the anxiety level of third-trimester pregnant women facing labor in the working area of Bandar Negeri Suoh Primary Health Care in the year 2023. This research was quantitative in design and employed a pre-experimental design with a one-group pretest and posttest design. The population of this study consisted of third-trimester pregnant women in the working area of Bandar Negeri Suoh Primary Health Care in July. The total was 35 people, with 30 people as the sample. The sampling technique used is purposive sampling. Moreover, the data analysis involved univariate and bivariate analyses with the Wilcoxon test.The results of this r esearch showed that the average anxiety level of third-trimester pregnant women facing labor before undergoing dzikir (religious chanting) therapy was 21.4, and after undergoing dzikir (religious chanting) therapy, it decreased to 10.7. Bivariate analysis revealed that there was an effect of dzikir (religious chanting) therapy on the anxiety level of third-trimester pregnant women facing labor, with a p-value of 0.000. An effect of dzikir (religious chanting) therapy on the anxiety level of third-trimester pregnant women facing labor in the working area of Bandar Negeri Suoh Primary Health Care in the year 2023. Keywords: Anxiety, The Dzikir (Religious Chanting) Therapy, Pregnant Women

Seni Hadrah Sebagai Media Dakwah Dalam Membangun Syiar Islam di Masjid

Islam always calls on the followers to be active spreading its values. People are attracted with Islamic of da’wah spreading through the art of Hadrah in Bohar Village, Taman District, Sidoarjo Regency, East Jawa. Da’wah is not only performed using printed or mass media, and preaching but also employing art. This study explores the Islamic value widespreading (syi’ar) utilising the art of Hadrah as da’wah media. The researcher analyses its roles and performances and reviews the obstacles of syi’ar at the mosque of Al Manshur. The research approach is descriptive qualitative which collect the data through interview and documentation. The finding shows that the mosque’s caretakers called Takmir and organisation of IPNU-IPPNU Ranting Bohar employs Hadrah to widespread the Islamic values as da’wah media. Hadrah has its roles with da’wah messages to impact the people and youth positively to recite and sing a religious chant praising Prophet Muhammada of sholawat. Hadrah connects good communication between Takmir and organisation of IPNU-IPPNU for a collaborative relation to create, develop, and spread the Islamic values at the mosque of Al Manshur.

Under the Guidance of the Prophet: Charisma and Religious Authority in Contemporary Madura, Indonesia

This ethnographic study explores the phenomenon of religious authority held by a murshid (Sufi Master), Kiai Haji Abdul Mannan, in Madura, Indonesia, despite his unconventional background. Applying Max Weber’s theory of charismatic authority, the research delves into the factors enabling the rapid attraction of jamā‘a (followers) and the establishment of his religious influence. This study emphasizes the pivotal role of the murshid’s charisma in building his religious authority and highlights how the newly founded majelis dhikr (religious chanting group), known as Majelis Dzikir Nurut Tauhid, consolidates the jamā‘a and fortifies the murshid’s religious authority. This study provides profound insights into how religious authority can thrive and endure within the Madura context, even when the religious leader possesses an unconventional background. The main argument of this study is that the religious authority of the murshid is constructed upon charisma, charismatic claims, and a cohesive community of followers. It offers a compelling example of the intricacies of religious authority dynamics in society.

Upaya Penanaman Nilai-Nilai Pendidikan Agama Islam Pada Anak Usia Dini Di Paud Pelita Hati

The purpose of this study was to find out the efforts to instill the values of Islamic religious education in early childhood at Pelita Hati PAUD. The methodology in this study uses descriptive qualitative. The results of the study show that the inculcation of Islamic religious values in early childhood at Pelita Hati Early Childhood Education is an inculcation of Islamic religious values which is carried out through the process of managing PAUD activities. There are 3 levels of achievement in the development of instilling Islamic religious values, namely the level of achievement in the development of aqidah, by introducing religious chants, the second level of achieving moral development, which can be in the form of praying, loving fellow human beings, protecting the environment and so on, and the third the level of achievement of the development of worship is by teaching children to learn to pray.

Erratum: Modulation of the Neurophysiological Response to Fearful and Stressful Stimuli Through Repetitive Religious Chanting.

An erratum was issued for:Modulation of the Neurophysiological Response to Fearful and Stressful Stimuli Through Repetitive Religious Chanting. The Authors section wasupdated. The authors section was updated from: Hin Hung Sik1, Georgios T. Halkias1, Chunqi Chang2, Junling Gao1, Hang Kin Leung1, Bonnie W. Y. Wu1 1Centre of Buddhist Studies, The University of Hong Kong, 2School of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen University To: Hin Hung Sik1, Georgios T. Halkias1, Chunqi Chang2, Junling Gao1, Hang Kin Leung1, Bonnie WaiYanWu1 1Buddhism and Science Research Lab, Centre of Buddhist Studies, The University of Hong Kong, 2School of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen University.

Tonality of Folk Funeral Chants in the Rzeszów Region

Folk religious chants have already been the object of scientific study for several decades. The matter of morphological features of the religious repertoire in the living tradition includes several basic factors, such as poetic text structure (versification, strophic structure), stylistic and formal properties, metre and rhythm, melodics, and tonal considerations (cf. B. Bartkowski, Niektóre ce-chy muzycznej metrorytmiki polskich pieśni religijnych żyjących w tradycji ustnej, “Summarium. Sprawozdania Towarzystwa Naukowego KUL” 1978, no. 3 (23), p. 250). The purpose of this article is to present and analyse the tonal phenomena occurring in folk religious chants performed throughout the funeral rite in the region of Rzeszów (Rzeszów region – a region in South-Eastern Poland inhabited by the ethnic groups of Lasowiacy and Rzeszowiacy, which covers the approxi-mate area of the current ten districts (Tarnobrzeg, Stalowa Wola, Nisko, Kolbuszowa, Leżajsk, Mielec, Ropczyce-Sędziszów, Rzeszów, Przeworsk, and Łańcut). -cf. Kolędowanie na Rzeszowszczyźnie, ed. K. Smyk, J. Dragan, Kolbuszowa – Kraków 2019, p. 8, and range maps, pp. 382–383), especially during the prayer for the deceased at home, the procession to the church, the procession to the cemetery, and the inhumation at the cemetery). The musical scales upon which the melodies of the individual chants are based have particular significance in terms of their musical shape. In fact, the tonality, which constitutes a note system, influences the interval structure, the relationships between individual notes, the melody and, indirectly, the regional conditions for the performance of the chants (cf. B. Bartkowski, Niektóre cechy…, p. 250). The material will be presented based on the scale range criterion while individual tonal phenomena will be presented using selected examples.

Physiological Effects of Cryptic Ancient Religious Chants

Aim: One of the variables that contributes to higher academic achievement is awareness. In Indian schools, traditional practises are applied to improve mental skills with the purpose of adding value. Prayers and other mantras, for example, can help to regulate and enhance the cardiovascular heart's rhythm while also modifying baroreflex sensitivity.
 Method: 50 healthy individuals were selected for the study. Comparisons of the effects of reciting Mary's petitions or mantra during voluntary breathing and metronome device control on rate of respiration, spontaneous pulse, blood pressure, and brain circulation in the RR region. The purpose of this study is to compare the impact of singing the Gayatri mantra (GM) on awareness to the function of letter substitution (DLST). Respiratory frequency, normal breathing, baroreflex sensitivity, heart oscillation frequency were recorded. The Bonferroni adjustment was utilised in the frequent measurement analysis of difference.
 Conclusion: With the DLST net, both of these times showed complete upgrades in total points. In comparison to PL (3.85 percent), the extent of the development of net points was large after GM (22.67 percent). When repeated seven times per minute, both prayers and mantras generate a noticeable, forceful, and simultaneous rise in present-time cardiovascular system pulsations. The sensitivity of the baroreflex also increases significantly, from 9.2 (SD 4.4) to 11.7 (4.5) ms/mm Hg, P0.06.

Modulation of the Neurophysiological Response to Fearful and Stressful Stimuli Through Repetitive Religious Chanting.

In neuropsychological experiments, the late positive potential (LPP) is an event-related potential (ERP) component that reflects the level of one's emotional arousal. This study investigates whether repetitive religious chanting modulates the emotional response to fear- and stress-provoking stimuli, thus leading to a less responsive LPP. Twenty-one participants with at least one year of experience in the repetitive religious chanting of "Amitabha Buddha" were recruited. A 128-channel electroencephalography (EEG) system was used to collect EEG data. The participants were instructed to view negative or neutral pictures selected from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) under three conditions: repetitive religious chanting, repetitive nonreligious chanting, and no chanting. The results demonstrated that viewing the negative fear- and stress-provoking pictures induced larger LPPs in the participants than viewing neutral pictures under the no-chanting and nonreligious chanting conditions. However, this increased LPP largely disappeared under repetitive religious chanting conditions. The findings indicate that repetitive religious chanting may effectively alleviate the neurophysiological response to fearful or stressful situations for practitioners.

Modulation of the Neurophysiological Response to Fearful and Stressful Stimuli Through Repetitive Religious Chanting

In neuropsychological experiments, the late positive potential (LPP) is an event-related potential (ERP) component that reflects the level of one's emotional arousal. This study investigates whether repetitive religious chanting modulates the emotional response to fear- and stress-provoking stimuli, thus leading to a less responsive LPP. Twenty-one participants with at least one year of experience in the repetitive religious chanting of "Amitabha Buddha" were recruited. A 128-channel electroencephalography (EEG) system was used to collect EEG data. The participants were instructed to view negative or neutral pictures selected from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) under three conditions: repetitive religious chanting, repetitive nonreligious chanting, and no chanting. The results demonstrated that viewing the negative fear- and stress-provoking pictures induced larger LPPs in the participants than viewing neutral pictures under the no-chanting and nonreligious chanting conditions. However, this increased LPP largely disappeared under repetitive religious chanting conditions. The findings indicate that repetitive religious chanting may effectively alleviate the neurophysiological response to fearful or stressful situations for practitioners.

How Did the Archaic Become the Avant-Garde? The Case of Ljubica Marić (1909–2003) Through the Prism of Contemporary Sources

The historical-biographical method takes precedence in the first part of this study, focusing on the analysis of the heterogeneous and changing context of Ljubica Marić’s (1909–2003) work throughout her long life, with an overview of the most up-to-date biographic and monographic literature on the subject. This study also describes the composer’s research of the Byzantine musical heritage in Serbia––namely, the system of religious chants known as the Octoëchos or the Book of Eight Tones. These analytical considerations aim to determine how conflicting creative tendencies came to be reflected in Marić’s works through an analysis of two pieces from her opus magnum: Oktoiha 1 [Octoïcha 1] for symphony orchestra (1958–59; rev. 1998) and Vizantijski koncert [Byzantine Concerto] (1959) for piano and orchestra, with an overview of the genesis of her musical language. The discussion of the two selected works is followed by a consideration of their critical reception when they premiered. Finally, the paper reflects on Ljubica Marić’s later works and her legacy today.

Religious Chants – The Diversity of Church Hymns Types

"In the Romanian musical space, in the Orthodox Church hymns’ repertoire, there is a great variety of non-liturgical chants intended to be sung in different moments of the liturgy. The moments these chants can be introduced are during the kinonikón, the believers’ communion and the end of the liturgy. Either they are called kinonikón, hymns, Calophonic Hirmos, spiritual or liturgical chants; the religious chants became a part of the Orthodox rite, training the Christians ‘community in the church chant. Having appeared in diverse historical contexts and being written by Byzantine music composers, by priests, by church singers and local liturgical communities, these religious chants have deeply been rooted both in the ancient liturgy ritual, and in the different moments of religious activities, pilgrimages, conferences, spiritual gatherings. Having an extremely accessible melodic line and being constructed on doxological, doctrinarian and moralizing character texts, the religious chants are an efficient means of making the Christian communities more dynamic. Keywords: kinonikón, hymn, religious chants "

Repetitive Religious Chanting Invokes Positive Emotional Schema to Counterbalance Fear: A Multi-Modal Functional and Structural MRI Study.

IntroductionDuring hard times, religious chanting/praying is widely practiced to cope with negative or stressful emotions. While the underlying neural mechanism has not been investigated to a sufficient extent. A previous event-related potential study showed that religious chanting could significantly diminish the late-positive potential induced by negative stimuli. However, the regulatory role of subcortical brain regions, especially the amygdala, in this process remains unclear. This multi-modal MRI study aimed to further clarify the neural mechanism underlying the effectiveness of religious chanting for emotion regulation.MethodologyTwenty-one participants were recruited for a multi-modal MRI study. Their age range was 40–52 years, 11 were female and all participants had at least 1 year of experience in religious chanting. The participants were asked to view neutral/fearful pictures while practicing religious chanting (i.e., chanting the name of Buddha Amitābha), non-religious chanting (i.e., chanting the name of Santa Claus), or no chanting. A 3.0 T Philips MRI scanner was used to collect the data and SPM12 was used to analyze the imaging data. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to explore the potential hemispheric asymmetries in practitioners.ResultsCompared to non-religious chanting and no chanting, higher brain activity was observed in several brain regions when participants performed religious chanting while viewing fearful images. These brain regions included the fusiform gyrus, left parietal lobule, and prefrontal cortex, as well as subcortical regions such as the amygdala, thalamus, and midbrain. Importantly, significantly more activity was observed in the left than in the right amygdala during religious chanting. VBM showed hemispheric asymmetries, mainly in the thalamus, putamen, hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebellum; areas related to skill learning and biased memory formation.ConclusionThis preliminary study showed that repetitive religious chanting may induce strong brain activity, especially in response to stimuli with negative valence. Practicing religious chanting may structurally lateralize a network of brain areas involved in biased memory formation. These functional and structural results suggest that religious chanting helps to form a positive schema to counterbalance negative emotions. Future randomized control studies are necessary to confirm the neural mechanism related to religious chanting in coping with stress and negative emotions.

Biological responses of Sri Lankan rice (Oryza sativa L.) varieties to rhythmic sound patterns (music and religious chants)

Abstract. Munasinghe DSP, Weerakoon SR, Somaratne S. 2020. Biological responses of Sri Lankan rice (Oryza sativa L.) varieties to rhythmic sound patterns (music and religious chants). Nusantara Bioscience 12: 154-161. Influences of music cause either promoting or restricting the growth of plants. The effects of Pirith chanting and rhythmic sound patterns (Western classical music, Eastern classical music, Rock music) were focused in the present study. Seeds of Two (02) rice varieties (Bg 300 and Kuruluthuda) in f0 and f1 generations were subjected to dormancy break treatment, kept in a soundproof confined chamber, and arranged in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with two (02) replicates and 10 seeds per replicate. Seeds were germinated under the three sound rhythms, Pirith chanting, and silence. Plants kept under silence served as the control. Sound rhythms and Pirith were played separately for an hour, at 30 cm distance away from the seeds with an intensity of 55-60 dB for seven (07) days continuously, maintaining equal environmental conditions. Following seven (07) days, the percentile germination rate was recorded. Germinated seeds were planted in plastic pots filled with paddy soil, up to ¾ of the total depth, and pots were arranged in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with five (05) replicates and three (03) plants per replicate. Following one week, plants were subjected to sound rhythm treatments and silence for three (03) months continuously. Measurement of growth and yield performance were recorded every fortnight. Significantly different (p < 0.05) growth and yield performances in both generations were observed under Pirith, Eastern Classical and Western Classical music. Higher rates of growth were observed for rice varieties exposed to Pirith, Eastern and Western classical music. Similarly, yield was also higher compared to rice varieties exposed to rock music. The findings suggest that soft rhythmic sounds are the most appropriate type of music which improved growth and yield performance of rice varieties, Bg 300, and Kuruluthuda. However, further studies are needed to confirm present results and to elucidate the mechanism of responses to Pirith chanting and other rhythmic sound patterns using phytochemical and biochemical analyses.

The Personalistic System of Healthcare in Indonesia: A Case Study

The healthcare reality is composed of biomedical, naturalistic, and personalistic systems. Although the three healthcare systems go separately, to some extent they are overlapped. This study aims to explore alternative healing practices in Indonesia based on the personalistic system. The method used is a case study. Data was collected in several big cities (Bandung, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Palembang, Batam and Makassar) in Indonesia through Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with stakeholders of healthcare programs on media, interviews with physicians, alternative therapists and patients, observation of alternative therapies, and media content analysis. The results indicate that the healthcare practices based on the personalistic system is widespread throughout Indonesia, including religious treatment (often called ruqyah) involving religious chants and prayers. With some using herbal medicine, a lot of alternative therapies based on the personalistic system have been promoted through word of mouth (interpersonal communication) by common people as patients as well as through the electronic media (especially television), and print media (especially newspapers) in many areas in the country.

Эволюция оперы на ранних этапах развития как музыкального театра

The opera originated in Italy. Researchers, right up to the exact date, say the time, when the first piece of music, called the opera today, was written. Nevertheless, the opera form has its own history, despite the fact that it was still a new art form at that time. The roots of this musical style go back to the musical everyday life of ancient Italian village entertainments, so-called «May» games, accompanied by songs and dramatic performances. Around the middle of the 13th century, in Umbria on the squares, people began to hold lauds, religious chants on the plots of gospel themes, which became in the next two centuries the basis for sacred performances (sacre rappresentazioni), a genre close to the mystery. In it, the music was also closely associated with the dramatic action. Thus, the opera, having arisen at the end of the 16th century as a kind of theatrical performance, accompanied by music, has its roots deep into the centuries of the Italian folk art. So, in the vocal class, it is necessary to acquaint students with the works of great composers, genres of musical art, theatrical productions and acting. At the same time, vocals, plastic, dance, acting – all this should be present in the future specialist at the highest professional level.

The Materiality of Sound, Mediation, and Practices of Listening: Observations from Historic and Contemporary Muslim Practices

In his book on the etiquette of listening, the eleventh-century scholar Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī develops a scenario which includes the context, the performer, and the listener who all contribute to turn listening into a transformative experience by which the soul of the listener is moved, his or her inner qualities are revealed, and his or her transactions with the Divine are set in motion. This paper explores in what way these elaborations are relevant for contemporary performers of religious chanting in Arab Sunni communities in the Eastern Levant. It understands chanting in Muslim religious practice as “sensational forms” (Birgit Meyer) that serve religious mediation. These sensational forms are both authorised and contested, and al-Ghazālī’s ideas constitute an eminent reference for many practitioners. The paper captures al-Ghazālī’s elaborations in two aspects: first, his conditioned licence of listening to music and singing as a way to engage with the Divine and earn religious merits. Second, an understanding of music’s materiality that is not necessarily bound to sonic properties but becomes evident in the effect music has on listeners. Taking the concept of sorrow (ḥuzn) as an example, I show how al-Ghazālī’s understanding of mediating sorrow, rooted in the appropriation of ancient Greek music philosophy, has given way to a broader understanding of how to convey and evoke sorrow among contemporary performers.

Saxophone jazz improvisation: texture and syntax parameters.

Saxophone jazz improvisation: texture and syntax parameters.

Traian Vulpescu and the Uniformity of Religious Chants

Abstract Folklorist, byzanthologist, university professor at the Conservatory of Music and Dramatic Art in Cluj, Traian Vulpescu was a key figure in the Transylvanian academic musical space. Among his scientific concerns there is the effort made in the introduction of the psaltic music in a region dominated by a strong oral authothonous musical tradition, synthesized in the collection The eight voices by priest Dimitrie Cunțanu from Sibiu. Saint John Chrysostom Mass: The Hymns and Irmoi of the Yearly Celebrations, which Traian Vulpescu wrote in 1939, was the means by which he wanted to make psaltic music more accessible in Transylvania and in the entire country. Using the collections made by Macarie Ieromonahul, Anton Pann, Dimitrie Suceveanu, Ion Popescu-Pasărea, Vulpescu built a personal transcription of the psaltic music in linear notation, choosing the most representative musical variant. The effort he made was fairly in vain because, being as multicultural as it was, the religious music in the area is special. Nevertheless, Traian Vulpescu’s collection is of utmost importance in the Transylvanian musical space, because it answers the Bishop’s Melchisedec Ștefănescu request, and that is to create a religious musical repertoire in linear notation, to be accessible to all Orthodox Romanians.