“Waloyo Yamoni” and the Danger of Emotional Worship
I had another argument with AI the other day. It all started with a video that keeps popping up on the algorithmic feed that Instagram keeps feeding me. It is an inspiring and beautiful choral piece called “Waloyo Yamoni.” The caption usually says something like, “I have found the anthem for humanity.” It IS an inspiring and emotional piece of music, but it is in some obscure language so it is difficult to endorse such a song without knowing what it is.
When you look into the song more, you discover it is in Lango, a Ugandan tribal language. It means, “We Overcome the Wind.” It appears to be a traditional prayer for rain. This is where the argument began.
I asked the Ai, “Isn't ‘Waloyo Yamoni’ an African religion prayer to the rain gods?”
The Ai responded, “‘Waloyo Yamoni’ is not an African religious prayer per se, but rather the title of a movement in John Adams' choral symphony Harmonium (1981). It is based on traditional African texts. Specifically, Waloyo Yamoni translates to “We Overcome the Wind” and draws on texts related to rainmaking rituals. The piece reflects the ritualistic invocation of rain… might serve a similar function as prayers to rain gods…” and went on from there at some length.
I asked further, “By invocation, don't you mean a prayer... not to God, but to the rain itself, or to an animistic idea of rain?”
It answered, “Yes, by ‘invocation’ in this context, I do mean a form of prayer or ritualistic appeal, though not necessarily to a singular deity like in monotheistic traditions. Instead, it can be directed toward natural elements or forces like rain, wind, or other environmental phenomena, which in some animistic or indigenous traditions are believed to have spirits or powers.”
So, in short, it is an animistic religious song. Not something I would nominate for humanity’s anthem. I even have second thoughts about enjoying it.
The issue is, there are plenty of questionable “Christian” songs out there that are emotionally engaging, but equally troubling in their message. Wrong, that is. I think it matter what we listen to and think about.
In the same way AI assumed that a non-monotheistic song is not religious, plenty of people think that any song about Jesus is Christian. However, when the message of the song contradicts Biblical ideas, it cannot correctly be deemed Christian.
Bottom line, consider the text of the songs you enjoy. It is a good idea to enjoy songs you can agree with, not just enjoy emotionally.
When you look into the song more, you discover it is in Lango, a Ugandan tribal language. It means, “We Overcome the Wind.” It appears to be a traditional prayer for rain. This is where the argument began.
I asked the Ai, “Isn't ‘Waloyo Yamoni’ an African religion prayer to the rain gods?”
The Ai responded, “‘Waloyo Yamoni’ is not an African religious prayer per se, but rather the title of a movement in John Adams' choral symphony Harmonium (1981). It is based on traditional African texts. Specifically, Waloyo Yamoni translates to “We Overcome the Wind” and draws on texts related to rainmaking rituals. The piece reflects the ritualistic invocation of rain… might serve a similar function as prayers to rain gods…” and went on from there at some length.
I asked further, “By invocation, don't you mean a prayer... not to God, but to the rain itself, or to an animistic idea of rain?”
It answered, “Yes, by ‘invocation’ in this context, I do mean a form of prayer or ritualistic appeal, though not necessarily to a singular deity like in monotheistic traditions. Instead, it can be directed toward natural elements or forces like rain, wind, or other environmental phenomena, which in some animistic or indigenous traditions are believed to have spirits or powers.”
So, in short, it is an animistic religious song. Not something I would nominate for humanity’s anthem. I even have second thoughts about enjoying it.
The issue is, there are plenty of questionable “Christian” songs out there that are emotionally engaging, but equally troubling in their message. Wrong, that is. I think it matter what we listen to and think about.
In the same way AI assumed that a non-monotheistic song is not religious, plenty of people think that any song about Jesus is Christian. However, when the message of the song contradicts Biblical ideas, it cannot correctly be deemed Christian.
Bottom line, consider the text of the songs you enjoy. It is a good idea to enjoy songs you can agree with, not just enjoy emotionally.
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