Hymns and the Naga Hills

I was listening to BBC Radio 4 today and happened to stumble upon this program called Soul Music: Series 10: How Great Thou Art.

'How Great Thou Art'  is one of the best hymns that I believe has the power to uplift anyone's mood any time. This beautiful hymn had its origins from Swedish folk tune and a poem written by a Swedish preacher, Carl  Boberg in 1885, the melody was later rearranged and translated to English by Stuart K. Hine, an English Missonary in Poland in the early 20th century.

Inspired by the sight and sounds of Carpathia mountains, thunder storms and forest glades, Hine penned these beautiful lyrics. The hymn was copyrighted in 1953.

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!


When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.


Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!


And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.


Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!


When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"


Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

To my delight the BBC program mentioned about Dr. J Edwin Orr who first heard this hymn sung by the Naga Choir in 1954 in the Naga hills (when the area was still under the jurisdiction of Assam district). Is that awesome or what!!

Dr. Orr then introduced this hymn in his meetings in the United States and it was later sung by George Beverly Shea in 1955 in Toronto, Canada at Billy Graham's Crusade and Elvis Presely recorded it in 1966.

(Check out http://www.mannamusicinc.com/hgta.htm)

This is short clip of the hymn sung by the Naga Choir recently in Angami Naga language. The hymn is still a great favourite among the tribespeople of Nagaland, definitely mine too. I will try and upload the full song performed by one of the Naga Choirs.

Elvis Presley 1966



Talking of hymns in the Naga Hills, here are some more melodious tunes by Naga singers:

A beautiful traditional song in Chakesang Naga's Chokri dialect by the gorgeous and talented Tetseo Sisters.


A song in Sumi Naga language by the Nagaland Chamber Choir: