Chanting

Chanting (from English to chant = (to) sing, to call rhythmically, English chant = (solemn) song, hymn) in the narrower sense describes the singing of religious songs or mantras as a religious practice. In a broader sense, chanting is the singing of simple melodies or the melodic speaking of texts - often in connection with body movement, drumming or dance - for example as part of therapies or wellness exercises.

In contrast to singing z. B. in a church chant, performance-free chanting is not about musical perfection or art, but about developing social, health- promoting and transcendent effects through prolonged repetition and concentration on the chant and the group . If the health-promoting effects are in the foreground (e.g. reducing stress , lowering blood pressure ), chanting is often referred to as "healing singing". Some hospitals and psychosomatic clinics offer chanting as a form of therapy.

Different forms of chanting can be found in many spiritual traditions, for example in Hinduism , Buddhism , Christianity , Judaism , Sufism , Wicca and among indigenous peoples . It is known as a religious practice among others among the followers of the Hare Krishna movement. Christian chanting can be found in the Taizé area, for example .

literature

• Graham Dwyer, Richard J. Cole (Eds.): The Hare Krishna movement. Forty years of chant and change. Tauris, London 2007, ISBN 978-1-8451-1407-7 .
• Marianne Scherer: The healing power of music. Sing yourself healthy. in: BIO Magazin, No. 1/2010, pp. 98-101, ISSN  0949-4642 .
• Dominique Starck : Chanting: connecting heaven and earth. Archaic vowel sounds and their effect. Xanten: Chalice, 2019, ISBN 978-3-942914-36-9 .