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Listen: The World ProgramHymn liner Troy Demps, left, and his apprentice Brian Wright singing - Orlando, Florida.
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Series S 1640 RG 158, Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program Fieldnotes, Susie Billie, Seminole Herbal Medicine: 1994-1995 to Mike Wilder, Saddlemaking: 1994-1995, Troy Demps, African American Hymn Lining ; Box 19, FF2
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General Note
Hymn lining is a style of singing that was established in the colonies in the 1640s. Since slaves (and many whites) could not read and the number of hymnals was limited, they "lined out" or "raised a hymn." A church elder or minister (sometimes called an "exhorter") who could read would recite a line, then sing it with the congregation. The process was repeated until the hymn was completed.
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