In this article, I introduce issues related to the
embodiment of gendered sound in contemporary Tanzanian Christian choral
communities (East Africa). By pulling back the layers of meaning that
frequently veil congregational singing, I suggest that a focus on the routinely
reiterated sounds produced by kwayas
(KiSwahili for “choir”), that participate within that greater congregational
space leads to a normalization of the performance of a localized gendering
process—the sounding of sopranos, for example—that I label “sonic gendering.”
This proposal confirms Judith Butler’s admonition that it is through
rearticulation and repetition, such as when a kwaya continually affirms sonic gendering daily, that constitutive
gender norms are reworked within a given cultural context (2011[1993], ix). I
suggest that everyday singing in a kwaya
facilitates the re-performing, re-consumption, and continuous re-embodiment of
a process of gendering.
