Walpole Congregational Church - Kumbaya

Topic: Movement Suppression
The greatest difference between ASL gestures and camp ones stem from execution. Sign language is precise, and the hands are moved quickly in sentences. The deaf no not coordinate them with the pacing of a melody like English speakers. They are trained to observe. Outsiders lack that training and their imitations are broad because they do not see details and lack the necessary muscle training to replicate what they do see.

The differences can be observed in a video of "Kumbaya" posted by the Walpole, New Hampshire, Congregational Church. A young boy who knew how to sign was standing next to an adult woman who probably learned the motions from him. On "Lord," he moved his finger diagonally across his body, while she had her fingers relaxed into a "C" like the one seen in the alphabetic signing. On "someone," she pointed her finger up and moved it back and forth from the elbow. He moved his upright finger in a circle, which William Vicars said came from the arm, not the wrist. [1]

Her gestures generally were simpler and her hands fell into reflexive positions between signs, as if the viewer could distinguish between the significant and unimportant movements. Thus, she crossed her hands before sweeping them out in "come," while he brought them together in front of his body before moving them outward. She clasped her fingers into a fist when she brought them back in.

The woman and boy were surrounded by children who were supposed to perform the gestures with them, but did not. Presumably most of the older ones were able to do them when they were alone but were inhibited from moving when they stood on the steps leading to the sanctuary in front of their parents. The oldest boys hid behind the adult woman.

The younger children were not as afraid to move, but had not reached an age when they could remember them well enough to do them without watching another person. The girl in back did a few rudimentary motions, usually just after the boy in front had completed them. One young girl was able to start the gestures then stopped after the first verse. A boy remembered the motions for "oh," "sing" and "come" but was only able to mimic their form.

A couple children obviously had been told to stop using their hands. The girl at the left end twisted her body and swung her arms instead, but followed instructions and never attempted a gesture. The girl next to the signing boy put her hands in the pockets of her dress, which she then moved around as she fidgeted. When he realized she was not singing, the boy tried to engage her. She refused to display her hands or use them.

Performers
Vocal Soloist: none

Vocal Group: some group, probably children, was singing "Kumbaya," but they were not the ones who were standing in front of the audience. Their mouths moved less than their hands.

Children doing motions: five girls and four boys. The youngest looked about kindergarten age, and the boy doing the signing looked to be about ten-years-old.

Instrumental Accompaniment: piano
Rhythm Accompaniment: none

Notes on Lyrics
Language: English

Pronunciation: when the boy introduced the song, he said koom-by-yah with a lilt and slight emphasis on the middle syllable. When the group sang, it accented the last syllable.

Verses: kumbaya, singing, crying, praying

Vocabulary:
Pronoun: someone
Term for Deity: Lord
Special Terms: none

Format: four-verse song
Verse Repetition Pattern: none
Line Length: 8 syllables
Ending: none
Unique Features: none

Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Tempo: moderate

Singing Style: unison, with one syllable to one note except for the final "Lord"

Vocal-Instrumental Dynamics: piano played the melody in parallel third chords

Notes on Performance
Occasion: since they were dressed informally and the audience applauded, it probably was a secular program rather than a religious service.

Location: stairs leading to the sanctuary of the First Congregational Church UCC, Walpole, New Hampshire. George Aldrich read the early church records and noted members then "were very strict in the observance of the Sabbath and the Sanctuary." [2] The sanctuary may still have been seen as sacred space, since the singers stayed on its perimeter.

Microphones: none

Clothing: the four girls in the front row wore dresses that either came to their calves or were supplemented with leggings; three had long sleeves. The only skin that showed was at the ankles, hands, neck, and face. The boys wore tee shirts and slacks or long shorts. The woman was dressed in black slacks and a matching top.

Notes on Movement
The children stood in two rows and looked straight ahead. At one point the woman spoke to the young child next to her, but made no other effort to get her or others involved.

Notes on Audience
The audience applauded when the boy introduced the song and when the group finished.

Notes on Performers
Walpole was founded by Puritans in 1736 as a defensive post on the Connecticut river. [3] The Congregational church was organized there by 1757, [4] and remained the only church until some left when the meeting house was relocated in 1831. They formed another Congregational group that became Unitarian. [5] The great revivals of the nineteenth century had little impact: the Methodists held some revivals in 1842, but no trace remains today. [6] Similarly, a Freewill Baptist congregation existed in 1800, but was gone before 1880. [7]

In 2016, the town of less than 4,000 people [8] had, in addition to the Congregational and Unitarian bodies, an Episcopal church from 1816, [9] a Bible Church, and an Adventist one that was not mentioned in 1880. [10] If any community could be said to be a pure descendant of the Puritans and their views of extraneous gestures it would be this one. [11]

Availability
YouTube: uploaded by Brian Shriver on 18 May 2014.

End Notes
1. William Vicars. "American Sign Language: ‘Someone’." Lifeprint website.

2. George Aldrich. Walpole as it Was and as it Is. Claremont, New Hampshire: The Claremont Manufacturing Company, 1880. 132.

3. Wikipedia. "Walpole, New Hampshire."
4. Aldrich. 131.
5. Aldrich. 134-135.
6. Aldrich. 140.
7. Aldrich. 141.
8. Wikipedia, Walpole.
9. Aldrich. 142.

10. Google search on the keywords "Walpole," "NH," and "churches" done 6 October 2017.

11. This does not mean the community or church remained static. When Aldrich read the church records, he observed members were "looking after the misdoings of each other with assiduous care and concern." [132] Their concern for one another remained, but had changed from judging sinful behavior to helping those in need. It probably was the reason the children were learning sign language.