RAJSHAHI, Bangladesh - A diocese has come up with a CD of hymns in the Santal language in an attempt to standardize liturgical music and help Catholics merge their tribal culture with their faith.
Rajshahi diocese acted amid concern that a haphazard approach to Church music was harming the overall effort to inculturate the Catholic faith among the Santal.
The northern diocese's Liturgy Commission launched its first audio CD in the Santal language on Nov. 26. The CD and an audio cassette version each contain 12 hymns.
According to the 2007 Catholic Directory of Bangladesh, Santal Catholics account for 30,000 of the 55,000 Catholics in Rajshahi diocese. Others belong to the country's Bengali majority and to the Paharia, Munda, Oraon and Mahali tribal groups.