‘Our Singing is a Ministry’

Addressing the paucity of information on gendered framing of faith and sociality in northern Nigeria, this paper examines the activities of the Mawakan Zumunta Mata in most non-Pentecostal congregations in northern Nigeria. Focusing on the activities of the group in the Church of Christ in Nigeria ( COCIN ) during their annual Women’s Week within Jos metropolis, much can be learned from their gendered framing of authority within a liturgical space that privileges male leadership in the church. This paper examines the organizational structure of the group, their musical performances and messages of their songs to construct more clearly their ascriptions to faith, musical creativity, social responsibility, womanhood and peaceful coexistence among others. Drawing from their demonstration of complementarity in negotiating power dynamics in the society, the paper submits that the Mawakan Zumunta Mata conceive and demonstrate faith as a productive and positive activity that supports every member of the society. This is necessary in expanding scholarly knowledge on music, faith and gender in Africa, which has not interrogated the contributions of these women groups to building the individual self as well as the society in general, different from insights projected in most Pentecostal-related literature.