Watoto Church Christmas Cantata goes African

Do you remember the story of the three wise men in the Bible; the ones that came to see Jesus after he was born? Of course you do. But you do not remember where exactly they went after running away from the blood thirsty Herod, now do you?

Well, the three wise men came here to Africa. Seriously, they fled the Middle East with its Jesus hunting king and came to spread the good news down here. And after they arrived in Africa, they lost their way and were each arrested and detained by different African chiefs who, just like Herod, thought their story about a new king born to save mankind was simply obnoxious.

But when one of the African chiefs hosted a feast later on, he invited all other chiefs who came along with their entertainers, in this case including the wise men with their tales of a new king. Upon hearing each of the wise men retell the exact story of a new born king, the chiefs finally concluded that the story could as well be true. That is how the good news was spread to Africa.

That is not exactly what happened, and neither is it the exact Bible story, but it forms the plot and theme of this year’s Christmas musical drama, the Christmas Cantata, which Watoto Church will be screening starting today.

Choir Director, Moses Mwase, says this year’s cantata, title A Tale of Three Kings is special because it’s the first that will be placed in an African context. The dances, Christmas Carols and the performers’ costumes are all designed to archive a rich African feel with a combination of the fierce African war dances, locally written music and African fabric clothing. The show is free and will be screening until Christmas Eve on Friday at Watoto Church central.