The Songs Of Faith: How Drums And Dance Can Bridge Heaven And Earth
When people say they “lose themselves in music,” it can describe the spiritual-like experience of entering a trance or altered state evoked by rhythm or melody. In various cultures and faith traditions, music acts as a bridge to spirituality. Interpretive choreography, beating on drums, humming and chanting — all create an atmosphere that draws people into connection with something greater.
This notion — that music can bridge the physical and the spiritual — appears in cultural and religious practices popularized by films such as “K-Pop Demon Hunters” and “Sinners.” Both showcase music as a tool to summon the supernatural and fight evil.
Music’s role in spirituality is never just about sound. Its rhythms and rituals are often influenced by cultural, political, religious and social contexts that give them meaning. Michael Birenbaum Quintero, associate professor of musicology and ethnomusicology at Boston University, defines traditional music and some popular music as a form of “liberation technology,” empowering communities to express opinions and create unity.
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In Native American culture, music and dance embody the core of indigenous beliefs: a united people standing on ancestral lands, said Absolem Yetzirah, council member of the Karankawa Tribe. This tribe is native to Texas’ Gulf Coast, but were forcefully removed in the 1850s. Members are now working to return and revitalize Karankawa traditions.
Each tribe has their own unique songs tied to inherited land, Yetzirah said. For the Karankawa, some are so sacred they can only be sung among tribe members.
One practice, the Ghost Dance, uses rhythm accompanied by chanting and a circular dance to recall pre-colonial life and traditional ways. At the center is a drum, the heartbeat of the dance, Yetzirah explained.
“When our feet touch the ground on one of our inherited places, it is a physical connection to the earth,” he said. “For us Karankawa people, it represents our beating hearts, our flowing blood. It is the power of each individual connecting to that specific land where the ancestors lived.”
The central role of drums, chanting and dance is not unique to Native traditions. In Korean shamanism, rhythms guide rituals that invite deities to “descend” and temporarily inhabit shamans (mudang), said Jaymin Kim, Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao, assistant professor of transnational Asian studies at Rice University.
Shamans perform to deliver messages, heal illnesses, bless communities or ward off misfortune, often accompanied by drumming, colorful costumes and offerings.
“In 2024, a Korean movie called Exhuma does a really good job showing what the rituals might have looked like,” Kim said. “A shaman’s assistant is always present playing the Korean drum as like a beat, which plays a big role in seance and aids with chanting.”
Some shamans inherit this role through family, while others are chosen by gods through illness or a vision. These dynamics surface in “K-Pop Demon Hunters,” where young performers inherit shaman-like powers to protect humans from demons.
“With an understanding of Korean mythology, it makes sense to create the idea that a K-Pop band who performs music is also like a group of Shamans,” Kim said. “Music is the common ground.”
African diasporic traditions offer parallels. In Vodou, drumming and chanting invite Lwa – spirits or deities – to mount practitioners in sacred possession.
This is not seen as a loss of control but as communion, where the Lwa can dance, speak and guide through the body.
Rituals often include call-and-response singing, offerings and circular dances that draw the community into the spiritual encounter, similar to Native American rituals, said Yetzirah, who is also a voodoo practitioner and owns Houston’s only voodoo shop.
“One of the first things I learned in Vodou was that connecting to the spirit can only be done through music and drumming,” Yetzirah said, noting parallels to his Native American upbringing.
Historically, enslaved Africans in New Orleans gathered at Congo Square to freely practice their traditions, including Vodou. Music and dance expressed faith and created spiritual transmission, Yetzirah said.
The movie “Sinners” highlights voodoo practices and music as a weapon, reflecting the age-old belief that rhythm can summon, protect and transform.
One scene shows a group in a juke joint stomping and singing until spirits appear, some being evil.
“That scene shows a song coming from a unified people who were singing, dancing and stomping on the ground,” Yetzirah said. “They could have defeated the demons outside, but the demons did the same thing. They sang and danced unified and channeled a great power that was ultimately strong enough for them to win.”
Christian traditions also draw on music as a pathway to the divine, though in different forms than Vodou or Korean shamanism.
Portrayed differently across denominations, music is at the center of worship where hymns, gospel and spontaneous “praise breaks” bring believers closer to God. For example, Pentecostal worship, often including clapping, dancing and call-and-response patterns similar to African American Gospel music, is designed to "invite the presence of the Holy Spirit,” said Tanya Riches, senior lecturer in theology at Hillsong College in Sydney.
From tribal circles to movie screens, music continues to act as a conduit between the human and the divine. Yetsirah emphasized why many faiths rely on song and dance: “it is the true power that can defeat evil.”
Myrian Orea is a Religion Unplugged contributor based in Texas.