Theophilus Appavoo

Reverend James Theophilus Appavoo (1940-2005) was a presbyter of CSI Madras Diocese and a member of the faculty of the Tamil Nadu Theological Seminary, Arasaradi, Madurai. He was involved in making village folk music the medium of musical expression among Dalit Christians. Zoë Sherinian, who became the Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology at the University of Oklahoma did her PhD on his work in folk music as a “liberative transformation system." Appavoo has been awarded a honorary Doctorate Degree by the Academy of Ecumenical Indian Theology and Church Administration, of which Dr. Rajaratnam is the Chancellor.

Appavoo´s musical ideas are considered as a strong vehicle for social change and spiritual development. According to Zoë Sherinian he has created a "musical theology of Liberation" which is musically disseminates it through songs and liturgies -- a significant strategy within the field of Dalit theology." Appavoo has develped a theoretical critique of the hegemonic cultural values transmitted and reinforced through indigenized Christian Carnatic music used primarily among Protestant community. The folk music composed by Appavoo stands out not only for its beauty, rhythmic vitality, and theologically powerful lyrics, but also for the way it has generated excitement and inspiration among Christians. His theo-musicalogical position that folk music is the form of Tamil Christian music with the greatest potential to empower and liberate Dalits from caste and economic oppression is significant. Appavvoo has never advocated conversion to the institution of Christianity, but tinsisted on conversion of all to the "kingdom values." He worked toward socially empowering the oppressed regardless of religion and changing the values of those who oppress, especially those Christians who continue to practice casteism. See "Dalit Theology in Tamil Christian Folk Music: A Transformed Liturgy by James Theophilus Appavoo" This chapter is contributed by Zoe C. Sherinian to the Popular Christianity in India: Riting Between the Lines, edited by Selva J. Raj, and Corinne G. Dempsey, and

published by SUNY Press, in 2002.


Read a synopsis of her dissertation

The Indigenization of Tamil Christian Music: Folk Music as a Liberative Transmission SystemZoe Carey SherinianDoctoral dissertation. Wesleyan University, Connecticut. 1998.In this dissertation I seek to understand the complexity of theindigenization of Christian music through examining the power dynamics ofculture contact, local hierarchies of musical style value, and indigenousagency in the South Indian Tamil Protestant Christian context.  I draw onthe Rev. James Theophilus Appavoo's concept of "Christian indigenization" ofmusic to consider the ideological debate over musical style in relation toTamil Christian social identities, particularly as a determinant of music'svalue as a transmission system that can facilitate social and spiritualliberation for poor and Dalit (former "untouchable" or oppressed) Indians.            The ethnographic focus of this dissertation is the TamilChristian production (composition, compilation, recording etc.) andtransmission of indigenized music from 1600 C.E. to 1994 and within thecontemporary Protestant Church of South India (CSI). Part one attempts toprove that one of the primary modes of transmission of Christianity to Tamilpeople in India has historically occurred through the medium of music, inmany cases indigenized music. I show how the three indigenous styles(karnatak, folk and light) as well as Western hymns have been used as ameans to transmit Christianity. I then describe contemporary patterns ofstyle use from the perspectives of caste, class, theological, anddenominational identity. Part two is an ethnographic description of the useof music styles among the three largest castes among Tamil Protestants, asrepresented by individuals, and of the production and transmission of musicat the Tamil Nadu Theological Seminary, where I conducted nine months ofinteractive, participatory fieldwork.  Part three is a case study of J. T.Appavoo, a Dalit Christian composer and theologian whose life and workexemplifies the contemporary complexity of style use ideology. I describeAppavoo's family and personal music history, changes in his commitment fromclassical karnatak music to folk music, and the development of his Dalitconsciousness. I then describe the three tenets of Appavoo's liberationtheology and his analysis of social and musical values that informs them.Finally, I musically, linguistically and theologically analyze a performanceof Appavoo's folk music liturgy to demonstrate his ideology of liberativetransmission through this style that he believes allows for re-creation andre-contextualization with every transmission, thus defining Christianindigenized music. (Author)

Also Refer

Reception and Advocacy of Tamil Folk Music: Performing Multiple Ethnographic Roles Among Dalit Christian Villagers.

Zoe Sherinian, University of Oklahoma

The Dalit Christian theologian Theophilus Appavoo (1940-2005) radically reformed Protestant music in Tamilnadu, India. He intended to create a liberation theology through Tamil folk music that would easily transmit to villagers, and engage them in a discourse of caste, gender, and class consciousness. In 2002, I conducted a reception study among Dalit Christian villagers and found that the most positive effects made through Appavoo’s songs occurred in places where his former seminary students taught the songs by engaging villagers in a dialogue about issues of oppression, and used the songs in social activism where they had direct referential meaning. However, where the villagers were not clear about the significance of the music, I often attempted to explain Appavoo’s ideas such as unity, shared eating, and folk music as a worthy and powerful medium for Christian liturgy. I argue it is essential to reflexively distinguish between the responses of my informants based on my multiple roles as observer/interviewer and advocate. However, I maintain that multiple and shifting roles may be necessary for the researcher in a highly politicized ethnographic context where a significant expectation of the work is to contribute to positive change through a dialogical process. I believe my use of this method is rooted in my experiences as an undergraduate at Oberlin College in which classroom learning was fused with my development as an activist, and in my initial experience in India as an Oberlin Shansi Fellow, which involved developing close relationships with and a commitment to minority communities

Appavoo's famous words of Lords Prayer which was commented by Sherinian in her article in Popular Christianity :

Lord’s Prayer

(Composed by Reverend James Theophilus Appavoo)

Vanathila Vazhugira Pethavere samy

Um per velangavenum samy Viduthala vara venum

Needhiyatra atchi venam Pethavere samy

Um nemayulla atchivenum Uthamare samy

Vanathila unathusitham kodi Parappadhu pola

Indha olagathilum nadakka Venum Pethavere samy

Othumaya oru oulyil Sendhu thinnum soru

Nittam nittham kedaikkanuame Pethavere samy

Kutthangala nee mannicha Pethavare samy

Appdy mattavanga ktthangala Mannichittom samy

Sethukula madinjazhiyum Natthu pola nanga

Pei sothanayil veezhhndhidama Katthiduvai samy

Atchudan adhikaramum Pethavare samy

Keerthiyellam ungalukke Thandhidurom samy

Aam amen aam amen Pethavare samy

Anadhiyaga amen amen uthamare samy