Harmony in Community: Building and Strengthening Community Through Song

Last night, at the Golden Drum, Zezinho Yube of the Huni Kuin nation came to share a bit about his culture and how they go about teaching their children chants and songs that they use for their sacred ceremonies.

The Huni Kuin are a small nation based in Acre, Brazil, which borders Peru. The name means "true people" or "people with traditions." Once as small as 400 people that became even smaller due to the measles epidemic from contact with outsiders, they have now grown to a population of over 16,000 people. They have bounced back in a big way. Now, there are over 16,000 Huni Kuin, keeping their traditions alive and even sharing them with the world.

Over a period of a week, the children gather and enter into a disciplined practice to learn one song or chant. One by one, an Elder passes the song or chant to each child. There are no recordings. There is nothing written. The Elder passes it directly to the child by having each child imitate the sounds, melodies, and vocables that the Elder shares. The child then goes to practices on his or her own, and then the next child comes to receive the same song or chant.

After several days of practice, the training is completed with the entire village. There is a celebration of song and dance, and the children come to dance with the adults while also singing or chanting what they have just learned.

Amongst all the gems that Zezinho Yube shared, one of the most beautiful things I received from sitting and listening to his story was the way the entire village gathered at the end. Coming together to celebrate the accomplishment of their youth and also have them participate together in unity, to sing and chant the same song, is such a powerful way to foster and strengthen community.

If you've never heard a Huni Kuin song, it is worth a listen. Their music is prayer, and it is used to heal, protect, and help guide their people. Perhaps, more importantly, it unites them. Zenzinho Yube shared with us that when a big group sings the same song together, the force of the music, the prayer, is much stronger. It's like listening to a choir.

And in a similar fashion, a group of 40+ people at the Golden Drum learned one of their sacred chants. And at the end, we all stood up and chanted it together. And just as Zenzinho Yube described, it was powerful.

Traditional music, or maybe more commonly known as folk music, has always been a way to tell stories, to share where a people have come from, the challenges they've overcome, the joys they've experienced, and as a way to brighten up the path moving forward.

As they say, you don't know where you're going unless you know where you're coming from, and traditional music like this helps orient people in that way.

When we think about building a community in this modern age, it can easily fall into the standard template as we commonly see: gathering around a particular action or initiative, organizing in the same or similar industrial way, hosting events, building an online presence etc., etc.

It works.

But I'd hazard to say that if we want to build a stronger sense of community, we also need to find other ways to foster a community that isn't just work-oriented. Even a retreat maintains a tone: "This is about work."

We also need space to gather, to share, and to celebrate. We also need space to reflect and contemplate, both on our personal circumstances and as a community. The tradition of folk music and gathering to share that music is such a way.

That's what I received from Zenzinho Yube and Huni Kuin, as well as from other Indigenous peoples. It's an integral aspect of building and strengthening the community.

The tradition of folk music and gathering to share that music is more than just entertainment—it's a powerful tool for unity. In some contexts, it isn't entertainment at all. It's prayer. It's like going to church.

From the Huni Kuin to communities worldwide, these practices remind us of our shared humanity and the strength we find in togetherness. As we build our modern communities, let's not forget the timeless power of raising our voices as one. In song and in silence, in celebration and contemplation, through song, we can forge the bonds that truly define a community.

Hello!

I’m John Gonzales, and I’m like you—just doing my part.

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