Beyond The Turntable

Broken Walls is the ministry founded by Jonathan Maracle, a Mohawk from Ontario, Canada. As Maracle states on the Broken Walls web site,

The message is for all people... every tribe, tongue, and nation... to come together in Christ, serving and worshipping Him in unity, accepting one another for who we are... as God created us to be."

Rise up Mighty Warrior opens with the acoustic rock song, Fly, one of three tracks that are not done in a Mohawk style. The project then moves to a traditional Mohawk influence in the praise song, Come and See. An interesting cultural blend is seen in Ah Ni:io, written by Jonathan in Israel. It combines Mohawk and Hebrew influences in lines like "Ahh... Ni:io - El Shaddai" which means "Oh God, God Almighty (all-sufficient One)."

The song that really caught my attention originally was Khenoronhkhwa, which proclaims that Jesus is good medicine; it is followed by River of Live, a song written in traditional Mohawk dance style to celebrate the life that comes from the Creator. Rise up Mighty Warrior then proclaims reconciliation in an acoustic folk style:

So rise up mighty warrior rise up / And receive what only God can give / He gives life, through the blood of Jesus Christ / He gives love, and the strength to forgive // To all who've suffered at the hands of another / Come out from the bitterness, come out from the shame / The God of Creation, He's calling out your name / Turn to those with love, who have only brought you pain

Additional highlights include Song to the Creator, a beautiful flute instrumental that leads into Rake'Ni:Ha, a song of praise to God the Father, and We Will Rest, sung by Jonathan's two young sons.

You'll enjoy Rise up Mighty Warrior if you have an interest in Native American (First People) music.

(Thanks to my brother Rick for introducing me to the music of Jonathan Maracle and Broken Walls. Also, thanks to Al Menconi for giving me the opportunity to review Christian music. Rise up Mighty Warrior concludes my first year of CD/DVD reviews and interviews. It's been a blast!)

Visit the Broken Walls web site.