The Venue was the Shona Methodist Church that meets at the old military Methodist Church in Wynberg...and it was like when the children in the book The Voyage of the Dawn Treader fall through the picture frame into the sea.
The Shona people come from Zimbabwe. Many of them migrate down to South Africa to eke out a living. This is the one day of the week that they can be whole-heartedly, unreservedly Shona. It's wonderful. Their way of doing music is similar to the Xhosa way, but also very different...and VERY different again to the sort of white hymn sandwich or worship band concert-style worship. It presents as a wall of sound: completely all-around sound, with dancing and full voiced participation by everybody. The volume generated when a room full of people with big voices all sing out together without reserve is impressive. Also the floor shakes underfoot!
And they blow on kudu horns - painted white with duct-taped pvc pipe extensions. These horns get passed around and many people have a blow. They are used rythmically - super-vuvuzelas, - blown rythmically. There are also drums and maracas, so as I listened I realised that part of the wall of sound is an intricate pattern of rythms - very complex.
Then the melodies and harmonies began to emerge. (At one stage I realised we were singing to "auld lang syne" at triple speed :)) But the harmonies emerge on the off beat and elsewhere on the rythm-scheme, so that contributes to the dense texture too.
Then the white minister preached and we all slowed down to sedate pedestrian pace. The preachers were inducted with due pomp and ceremony. Finally the service finished with fine energy and more kudu-horn. I can heartily recommend the experience :)
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