Felling a Song with a New Ax: Writing and the Reshaping of Ritual Song Performance in Upland Sulawesi

Recent studies on the interplay of written texts and oral performance have shifted away from "intrinsic" models of literacy and orality in favor of approaches that emphasize the ideological, social, and historical character of oral and literate practices. In keeping with this trend, I discuss how and why a minority religious community in Sulawesi (Indonesia) has incorporated writing and related textual practices into its tradition of ritual song performance.