An investigation into the phenomena and practices of spiritual ...

approaches to health, but over how their culture, and their own identity within and beyondthat culture, are formed. Beckford (2006) illuminates the subject in the context oftheology, music and social change in British society as a result of the aftermath of the slavetrade and the import of labour from the Commonwealth countries. The distinctiveness ofBlack theology and Black culture according to Beckford (2006) derives from Blackpeople‟s origins in cultivation and farming the land in a position of social subjection, andthe system of communication that results from a subordinate position. This draws on theseminal work of Raymond Williams (1958) and Stuart Hall (1992) who postulate thatwriters within a culture are always responding to the balance of power affecting theparticular cultural group of their affiliation or preference. The cultural interacts with thematerial. Culture is fluid allowing for flexibility, reflexivity, agency, and action; thusAlexander (1996) in her study on the „Art of being Blac ‟ chose to focus on culture aboverace. It may reflect the distribution of power, but it can also help rearrange it.When we look at other areas of culture, such as music, we find it can also re-shape theenvironment and even the individual that produces it. Paris (1985), Beckford (2006), andJagessar et al. (2007) suggest the politicisation of the audible articulation of “sound”, byBlack people has been used as a weapon in the struggle against injustice and towardsfreedom. The articulation of sound covers a range of music from dance hall sound togospel and Pentecostal church singing with and without music. We can tie this up with theassertion of the sociologist of health, Hilary Graham (1999) that „Sound has some effectson us even though we may not recognise what it is, and this is the basis of traditional use ofsound in healing‟.41