Religious Music Traditions of the

Jewish-Babylonian Diaspora in
Bombay
Sara Manasseh
This article considers the religious music repertoire (liturgical and paraliturgical) of the
Babylonian Jews in the port city of Bombay (now Mumbai) in western India, drawing
primarily on material recorded from informants in the mid-1980s, both in Bombay and
in the UK.
1
The primary focus is six items from the repertoire for religio-social occasions
in the annual and life cycles / prayer chants for the Holy Days, songs for Sabbaths and
festivals and a song for the birth of a male child / performed by recognized experts
within the community. Aspects of continuity and change emerge in the tradition as it
travelled from its centre in Baghdad, established itself in Bombay and subsequently
journeyed to further locales, where it continues to flourish. An account of the historical
and social background and a consideration of the surrounding soundscape during the
twentieth century precede the discussion of religious musical traditions and repertoire.
Keywords: Jewish; Babylonian; Baghdad; Iraq; Bombay; diaspora; religious music;
h

azzan (hazzan); daqqaqa (daqqaqa); festival; Sabbath; wedding; Arab melodic modes
(nagham); maqam (maqam); Baher; Dangoor; Zaki; Solomon
Historical and Social Context
In the course of the 18th century, under British rule in India, Arabic-speaking Jewish
traders settled in Surat (c. 165 miles north of Bombay), where they built a synagogue
and bought a plot for a burial ground (Fischel 1965, 14/16; Roland 1989, 15).
2
Surat
Sara Manasseh is an ethnomusicologist, researcher, lecturer and performer of music in the Jewish-Babylonian
(Iraqi) tradition. Born in Bombay into a family that migrated from Baghdad to India during the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries, she moved to London in 1966. Her doctoral dissertation (Goldsmiths, London) focused on
Iraqi Jewish women in music performance during the 20th century in Iraq (pre-1950s) and Israel.
Correspondence to: 12 Woodberry Way, London N12 0HG, UK. Email: sara@manasseh.co.uk. Website:
www.saramanasseh.com
Ethnomusicology Forum
Vol. 13, No. 1, January 2004, pp. 47/73
ISSN 1741-1912 (print)/ISSN 1741-1920 (online) # 2004 Taylor & Francis Ltd
DOI: 10.1080/17411910410001092292
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was then a thriving commercial centre and the most important port in western India
(Sassoon 1949, 205).
During the 19th and 20th centuries, a growing community of Jewish merchants
from the Middle East and Central Asia established itself in Bombay, the Gateway of
India. The community became established in two areas, approximately four miles
apart, settling first in Byculla and later in the Fort area. This diasporic group
comprised mainly Jews from Baghdad, and included settlers from Basra, Syria, Aden,
Iran (Persia), Bukhara and Afghanistan; for the majority, religious customs and
observance remained an integral part of life. The Baghdad Jewish tradition (minhagh
babl , lit. Babylonian custom) defined the religious identity of this comparatively
recent Jewish diasporic community, in relation to the existing Bene Israel and Cochin
Jews, already settled for centuries in India.
3
The newcomers became identified by
Baghdad / the place of origin and religious tradition of its largest element: the
community has been known variously as Baghdadian (or Baghdadi), Babylonian or
Iraqi Jews (the latter only after the demise of Ottoman rule in the region and the
creation of Iraq in 1917). The cities of Calcutta (now Kolkata; eastern India), Bombay
and Poona (now Pune; c. 120 miles east of Bombay) became the three main centres of
the Jewish Baghdadian communities in India.
4
Statistically, the Baghdad Jewish
community in Bombay reached its zenith during the early 1940s (c. 7/8000 persons),
in the aftermath of the anti-Jewish Rashid
c
Ali pogrom in Baghdad (1941) and the
arrival of refugees from Singapore (1943)
5
during the Second World War.
6
During
this time, the Bombay Jewish community in general was also augmented by a
temporary influx of British servicemen and European refugees; some Europeans
remained in Bombay, establishing themselves in the medical field. The late 1940s
witnessed Indian independence (1947) and the establishment of the state of Israel
(1948), signalling the start of a dramatic exodus of Indian Jewry / to Israel, Australia,
England, Canada and the USA. By the end of the 20th century, the Baghdad
community numbered some 50/60 in Mumbai and 10/12 in Pune.
7
Jewish settlers from the Middle East were established in Bombay by the end of the
18th century. Joseph S

emah

was the first Baghdad Jew to settle in Bombay, having

moved from Surat in 1730 (Roland 1989, 16; Isaacs 1994, 38; Weil 2002, 19). Other
early notable settlers, towards the end of the century, included Sl man Jacob Sl man,
8
Jacob S

emah

Nissim
9
and Ezekiel Abdul Nabee (Fischel 1972a, 134). The two former,
in particular, were benefactors of the Baghdad community, but it was with the arrival
of David Sassoon (1792/1864) in Bombay (via Iran) in 1832, fleeing from
persecution by Daud Pasha, the Ottoman Governor of Baghdad, that the Baghdad
Jewish community of Bombay became firmly established.
10
David Sassoon founded
the Sassoon Dynasty in Bombay. Moreover, as Fischel writes, the Arabian Jews,
under the auspices of the Sassoons, became a cultural factor of considerable
significance in Bombay, as well as in Calcutta and Poona (1972a, 137/8). David
Sassoons prosperous commercial enterprises provided fellow Baghdadians with
employment; he built charitable institutions for the benefit both of his co-religionists
and the people of Bombay in general; to improve the spiritual and religious life of the
48 S. Manasseh
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community, he provided educational institutions and synagogues (Sassoon 1949,
207). In 1861, he built the Maghen David Synagogue in Byculla (Bombay), where his
family first lived, and, in 1863, the Ohel David Synagogue in Poona, where he had his
resort home. In 1888, his grandson, Sir Jacob Sassoon, built the Keneseth Eliyahoo
Synagogue in the Fort area of Bombay.
11
These fine synagogues continue to be in use,
albeit with small congregations, which today include members of the Bene Israel
community, tourists and visiting businessmen from Europe, the USA, Israel and
Australia, and bear testimony to the once flourishing life of the Baghdad Jewish
community in Bombay and Poona.
A hallmark of the composition of the 20th-century Baghdad Jewish community in
Bombay (as well as in Calcutta and Poona) was the presence of families who had lived
in India for a century or more together with more recent settlers. As in other areas
along the Southern Asian diaspora route, they were attracted by business
opportunities and an absence of anti-Semitism. There was a constant stream of
immigrants and visitors from Iraq,
12
though Sassoon writes of the 20th century: The
immigration from Baghdad at present is not so strong as it was in the last century
(1949, 209). Some new settlers joined families already living in Bombay, others came
specifically to marry their compatriots, others came to visit relatives. This was a
reciprocal process, particularly with extended visits to family in Iraq, and arranged
marriages in some cases. As mentioned above, the community also comprised other
settlers from the Middle East, from Iran, Bukhara and Afghanistan.
The Soundworld of 20th-Century Baghdad Jewry in Bombay
The cultural accoutrements that accompanied this flow of travellers included
language, dress, food and music. The Baghdad community in India was thus
constantly imbued with contemporary trends from Iraq, while at the same time
sustaining older customs from that country. With regard to religious music
performance, it would appear that older practice was simpler in style, compared to
the newer style of vocal embellishment, perhaps influenced by a familiarity with Arab
musical practice: both styles could be heard in Bombay, for example, during the 1940s
to 1960s.
13
The varied ingredients of the surrounding soundscape in the cosmopo-
litan city of Bombay were experienced individually, in differing proportions,
depending on age and lifestyle. Ambient sounds ranged from Indian popular and
film song to Hindu religious chants, from Indian classical music to Western popular
and classical music. Sounds specific to Jewish life included music from Iraq,
pioneering songs of Palestine and Israel and songs in the Ashkenazi tradition. The
sources of these extra-Indian musics included 78 rpm discs of recordings from Iraq;
14
broadcasts of Radio Ceylons Binaca Hit Parade (the top ten from contemporary
Western popular hits); films from Hollywood and Britain; visiting pianists, choirs,
jazz and popular artists from Europe and the USA; piano and violin lessons leading to
examinations set by the Associated Board (Royal Schools of Music) and Trinity
School of Music (both in the UK); school music curricula (some of which included
Ethnomusicology Forum 49
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English folksongs, Christian hymns and masterpieces in the Western art music
repertoire). In addition, shl h

m (emissaries) from Israel to the youth groups of

Habonim (established 1935 in Bombay, and later in Poona and Calcutta, by Albert
Manasseh and Solomon Ezra) and Bnei Akiva (established c. 1960, by shl h

m from
Israel), and young adults from the Bombay community (and from Poona and
Calcutta, too) who were sent for training to Israel, brought to India a new
soundworld, especially of patriotic Israeli songs and religious (including Ashkenazi)
melodies, which they communicated to the youth.
The community remained attached to its Arabic and Middle Eastern roots. Urban
secular music traditions in Iraq included the chalgh instrumental ensemble
15
and
women dancers. Sl man Mus

eri (originally from Egypt), emigrated from Baghdad to

Bombay in 1924; a violinist and
c
ud (Middle Eastern lute) player, his chalgh
ensemble (
c
ud and/or violin, dumbuk and daff ) included dancing women and
entertained in Bombay, touring elsewhere in India and abroad (for example, in
Singapore) during the first half of the 20th century.
16
During the 1940s/60s, a well-
known personality in the Byculla community was Abu Moshi (also known as
Mnashshi Mijboura), originally from
c
Imara, in Iraq. A blind singer, he regularly
entertained at henna evenings, weddings and other celebratory events, often
improvising texts to suit the occasion and those present.
17
Not all performers of
Arab music in Bombay were Jewish:
c
Abd al-Wahhab (not to be confused with the
renowned Egyptian composer and singer), an Iraqi Muslim, entertained on
c
ud. The
singing of popular Iraqi and Arabic songs of the early to mid-20th century in Bombay
is remembered / such traditional Iraqi songs as bal n -b balwa (He plagues me!)
and t

al
c
a min bet abuha (Stepping out of her fathers house), and, in particular, the
songs of Egypts woman singer par excellence, Umm Kulthu m.
18
The Baghdad tradition of the daqqaqa
19
/ a professional woman musician who
played the naqqara (small kettle-drums) and sang primarily at the pre-wedding
henna ceremony / was also known in Bombay. The most famous daqqaqa in
Baghdad during the 1920s was Mas
c
uda al-Bambayliyyi (Mas
c
uda the Bombayite),
the sister of Abu Moshi (see above). Their niece, Gurjiyyi daqqaqa, originally from
c
Imara, performed in Byculla during the 1940s and 1950s, on occasion with a reddada
(womens chorus); she emigrated to Israel, during the 1950s.
20
Gurjiyyi is
remembered for her beautiful voice and also for her role as
c
addada (female
mourner), whose sad singing in praise of the deceased encouraged the family and all
present to cry, providing them with an emotional release.
21
The above traditions are recollected by a number of people, but not necessarily by
all those who grew up within the community: variations in age and the
neighbourhood in which they grew up account for the differences. The abiding
experience, and one that was common to all within the community, was that of the
religious tradition. Whether observant or not, most of the Jewish community
celebrated the Jewish festivals at home and in synagogue: the Passover shetakha
(seder) at home,
22
narrating the biblical exodus from Egypt, the High Holy Day
services of reshshanah and keppur (Judaeo-Arabic: New Year and Atonement) at
50 S. Manasseh
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synagogue with communal expressions of the Baghdad liturgy / these were some
aspects of shared religious articulation within the community, and which character-
ized the religious experience of Middle Eastern Jews in the Bombay communities of
the Byculla and Fort areas, and those of Poona and Calcutta.
Religious Musical Traditions of the Baghdad Jews of Bombay
Many aspects of the Jewish-Babylonian tradition were, and continue to be, shared
with Baghdad Jews elsewhere. The stability of the tradition in relation to both
historical and geographical displacement has been remarked on in earlier studies of
Jewish-Babylonian religious song (Manasseh 1985, 1991).
23
The Jewish-Babylonian
tradition in India both valued and maintained certain earlier characteristics, while
keeping abreast of developments in Baghdad through regular migrations to India
from the Middle East, and through mutual family visits. Typically, Baghdad practice
that continued in Bombay included the maintenance of the orthodox rite, though
community members comprised both extremely observant and less observant (the
inclusion of differing degrees of observance within an orthodox framework is typical
of a number of traditions). As in all orthodox practice, women and men were
spatially separated in the synagogues, which were all built with a separate womens
gallery situated along three sides above the main prayer hall. The transmission of
religious custom (events in the annual and life cycles) continued to be directed from
practice at home and synagogue, with the reading, chanting and singing of sacred
Hebrew texts being taught at home by parents to their children (boys and girls), or by
a visiting male teacher, variously known as m
c
allim (Arabic: teacher) or akhunj .
24
The musical aspect of all religious texts / melodies of prayers, chants and hymns /
has always been orally transmitted, though the texts themselves are written and
disseminated in printed books. Though the Baghdad Bombay community did not
employ a serving rabbi, there were, nevertheless, such learned Baghdadian h

akham m
(religious authorities) as H

akham T

ah

an and H

akham
c
Ezra Hillel who lived in
Bombay during the earlier years of the 20th century and were part of the community.
Moreover, contact with the Baghdad Beth D n (religious court), and later with the
Israel Beth D n, was always maintained. Melodies and other aspects of performance
practice continued in the Baghdad tradition, not least because of the constant stream
of settlers and visitors from Baghdad to Bombay. Twentieth century h

azzan m
(cantors; sing. h

azzan) included Rev. Silas Isaac Silas, Murad Eliyahu Murad, Isaac
Barukh, Menahem David Dangoor (Kenesseth Eliyahoo) and Zaki Isaac Solomon
(Maghen David), all born in Baghdad.
The degree to which members of the community maintained melodic and
rhythmic aspects of the Baghdad tradition was variable / for example, depending on
whether they (or their teacher) had learnt the repertoire in Bombay or in Iraq. While
those who had learnt the material in Iraq instinctively sang melodic intervals
corresponding to the Arab modes (thus, including neutral thirds), there does not
seem much evidence that Arab music theory was generally known; perhaps this was
Ethnomusicology Forum 51
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because it is instrumentalists, primarily, who require this knowledge, and these were
only few in number in Bombay. Regarding the maintenance of neutral intervals in
melodies, it would appear that the further removed the firsthand experience of Arab
music, the more the melodic interval of the (approximate) three-quarter tone became
transformed into a semitone or tone to accommodate the Western (and Indian)
tonal system (for example, compare bayat and the Western natural minor; see
Figure 1).
25
Similarly, the further the generational distance from Baghdad, the
stronger the influence of the Hindustani or English language upon the pronunciation
of Hebrew (and Judaeo-Arabic).
26
Other aspects of performance practice include
vocal improvisations / aqray or peth h

ah (opening) / based on Hebrew religious

texts. These may be sung as an introduction to shbah

oth (Judaeo-Arabic: songs of

praise),
27
and depend not only on the skill of the singer but also on the extent of
direct experience of the practice; such skills were not commonly encountered in
Bombay during the 20th century.
28
Nevertheless, the essential ingredients of the
Baghdad model continued to inform the performance of the religious musical
repertoire / for Sabbaths, Holy Days, festivals, ceremonies to mark the birth of a
child (for a boy, the aqd el-yas (Judaeo-Arabic: binding of the myrtle) and m la
Figure 1 Selected Arab melodic modes.
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(Judaeo-Arabic: circumcision)), a boys age of majority (the bar mis

wah at 13
years) and marriage.
The Jewish-Babylonian Religious Repertoire: Selected Items
1. Shema
c
yisrael (Hear Oh Israel)
2. Adonay melekh (The Lord reigns)
3. Yom simh

ah (A day of rejoicing)
4. Yom yom odeh (Daily, daily will I praise you)
5. K eshmerah shabbath (Because I keep the Sabbath)
6. E

meth atah h

athanenu (Truly, you are our bridegroom)

With the exception of item 3, the selected items from the religious musical repertoire
discussed below are based on my own field recordings, of solo singers, unaccompa-
nied by musical instruments, and performing material associated with communal
expression. All the examples are of singers who are acknowledged experts. Of
necessity, these recordings were made out of context, the true context of most of
the material being at the synagogue or home, on a day of major religious significance
/ Sabbaths, High Holy Days, festivals / when (along with other restrictions) the use
of recording equipment and the playing of instruments is forbidden.
29
Thus, the
repertoire is primarily a vocal one. Figure 2 shows further details of the repertoire
discussed, including comparative sources in publications (for example, Idelsohn 1923
[1922]; Shiloah 1983). In some cases, brief excerpts are shown from these
comparative sources, to illustrate stability and variation in the performance of the
repertoire. In most cases more than one melody may be sung to a particular text
(an asterisk indicates the same melody as that presented in this chapter), allowing for
individuality in performance; all versions are based on live performance. In the
transcriptions below, comparative versions are shown on the same tonic, for ease of
reference, while the actual starting note of the singer is shown in a box preceding the
transcription. Items 1 and 2 are from the liturgical repertoire; items 3/6 are
paraliturgical, the poets name often appearing in the text as an acrostic emerging in
the initial letter of each verse. Paraliturgical items may also be sung during the
synagogue service, but are printed in books specifically devoted to song texts for a
number of occasions (for example, Mansour 1953/4).
1 Shema
c
yisrael (Hear Oh Israel)
A: shema
c
yisrael, adonay eloheynu, adonay eh

ad
Hear Oh Israel, the Lord is our God! The Lord is one
B: barukh shem kebod malkhutho, le
c
olam wa
c
ed
Blessed be the name of the glory of his kingdom for ever and ever
Ethnomusicology Forum 53
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The music transcription (Figure 3i) is based on the singing of M. David Dangoor
(S. Manasseh, fieldwork recording, Bombay, 6 January 1985), who left Baghdad for
Bombay as a young boy, c. 1939. Dangoor subsequently left Bombay in 1988 for
Israel, where he often led the prayers at his local synagogue (interview 18 March
1999).
Figure 2 Selected items from the Jewish-Babylonian religious music repertoire.
54 S. Manasseh
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The cardinal prayer in the Jewish religion, the shema
c
is recited three times a day /
in the liturgy of the morning (shah

rth), afternoon (minh

ah) and evening (

c
arb th)
services. At the services, Text A is chanted by cantor (h

azzan) and congregation

together, in an undertone. Text B is not vocalized, but enunciated silently, followed by
the reading of three portions: Deuteronomy 6:4/10, Deuteronomy 11:13/22 and
Numbers 15:37/41. Idelsohn (1923 [1922], 82) gives the notation for Text A and the
first portion. Texts A and B are also performed on other occasions, such as the
Penitential prayer services (selih

oth) during the Day of Atonement (yom kippur). On

this most solemn day in the Jewish calendar, the text is given greater prominence,
each line chanted separately as a solo and response between the cantor and the
congregation, the latter responding, generally in a simpler style compared to the
cantor who may treat certain syllables melismatically (see A and B, Figure 3i). The
significance of the occasion, which is denoted as one of the High Holy Days (yam m
nora m: Days of awe) rather than a festival, demands the exceptional practice of
intoning Text B in a raised voice.
30
On the Day of Atonement, when synagogue
attendance is at its highest, the congregation responds in unison, as one person,
unlike most communal responses, which are more individual / in terms of pitch,
duration and volume / and which often result in a heterophonic texture.
31
Idelsohns transcriptions of Text A sung during the circuits (haqqafoth) for the
festival of the Rejoicing of the Law (simh

ath torah) and the Penitential service (1923

Figure 3 Shema
c
yisra el : selih

oth (Penitential prayers): kippur (Atonement), sung by M.

David Dangoor (Bombay) 6 January 1985, recorded and transcribed by S. Manasseh #
1999.
Ethnomusicology Forum 55
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[1922], 86.12, 94.37, respectively; for the latter, see Figure 3ii) show remarkable
similarity, particularly in melodic shape and syllabic duration, with the version sung
by Dangoor. All versions indicate an absence of regular metre, the use of a limited
number of pitches (the chant centres on three tones, occasionally expanding to four
or five tones / in Idelsohn (1923 [1922], 94.37) and Dangoor, respectively). The
melodic mode indicated is that of the Arab nahawand corresponding to the Western
natural minor scale (Figure 1). The recordings are separated by geographical and
chronological distance, the latter by more than half a century, but display the tenacity
of oral transmission across the boundaries of space and time.
2 Adonay melekh (The Lord reigns)
adonay melekh, adonay malakh, adonay yimlokh le
c
olam wa
c
ed
The Lord is king, the Lord was king, the Lord will be king for ever and ever
The music transcription (Figure 4i) is based on the singing of M. David Dangoor, as
in the previous example. When sung in context, this example forms part of the
responsorial section in the Penitential prayers of the Day of Atonement. Both
Idelsohn (1923 [1922], 94.38, and Shiloah (1983, .33) show the same melody as that
sung by Dangoor. Again, the similarity between all three versions is remarkable,
Shiloahs example bringing into play the added dimension of a relatively recent Iraqi-
Israeli version.
The main difference between the three versions lies in the relationship of pitch 2 to
the tonic, pitch 1; this is seen in the opening and final two notes (marked x in
Figure 4i, ii, iii) of the musical sentences.
32
Idelsohn shows a whole tone (his melody
appearing to alternate between a minor and its relative major), while Shiloah shows a
semitone (the overall sound perhaps implying a major key). Dangoors version shows
a (theoretical) three-quarter tone between pitches 1 and 2, denoting the Arab melodic
mode of sega (see Figure 1), a favoured mode (popular in the Arab world in general),
and one that is also employed in Jewish-Babylonian biblical cantillation. Similarly, in
another performance of the same chant by the Iraqi-Israeli cantor
c
Ezra Mas

ri (Mas

ri
1990s), accompanied by a Middle Eastern instrumental ensemble, the mode is clearly
that of sega with the interval of a three-quarter tone between pitches 1 and 2.
Moreover, the final cadence makes the most sense musically within this modal
framework.
3 Yom simh

ah (Day of rejoicing!)
Refrain: yom simh

ah, yom simh

ah, yom simh

ah le-yisrael
A day of rejoicing for Israel!
Verse 1: ahub m; berukh m; gedol m; deghul m; hadur m; wath q m
(Those who are) beloved; blessed; great; eminent; glorious; veterans
56 S. Manasseh
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Coda: paisawala; taqadwala; himmatwala; gentlemen; bhai lok
33
rich; strong; courageous; gentlemen; brothers
The music transcription (Figure 5) is based on a performance by Zaki I. Solomon
(Bombay, 1937), from a recording (described below) given to me by his son, Solomon
I. Solomon.
Figure 4 Adonay melekh: selih

oth (Penitential prayers): kippur (Atonement), sung by M.

David Dangoor (Bombay) 6 January 1985, recorded and transcribed by S. Manasseh #
1999.
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The Hebrew text is composed as an alphabetical acrostic, which emerges in the
initial letter of each word in each verse (the transcription shows only the refrain and
verse 1). It is sung during the joyous festival of the Rejoicing of the Law (simh

ath
torah), which brings to an end the season of Holy Days (Jewish New Year; Day of
Atonement) and festivals (Tabernacles: sukkoth; Feast of Solemn Assembly: shem n
Figure 5 Yom simh

ah: simh

ath torah (Rejoicing of the law), sung by Zaki I. Solomon

(Bombay) 1937, transcribed by S. Manasseh # 1999.
58 S. Manasseh
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c
asereth). The song is performed in the synagogue, at the end of the evening and
additional morning services (
c
arb th and musaf, respectively), during the circuits
(haqqafoth) around the synagogue, when the scrolls of law (sifrey thorah; singular:
sefer torah) are carried in procession. The playing of instruments being forbidden
during this festival, the song is usually accompanied by clapping, by all congregants /
men, women and children. Sung to alternative tunes, the melody shown from the
transcription of this song is from a rare and historic 78rpm recording made in
Bombay (Z. Solomon 1937). It features the confident and dynamic singing of the
young, 17-year-old Zaki I. Solomon (later to become h

azzan), accompanied by his

father, Sl man Mus

eri (leader and violinist), possibly a second violin played by Silman

Kamana, drum, tambourine and mens chorus.
34
The mood of merriment and
humour which characterizes the performance of much of the simh

ath torah
repertoire is captured even more strongly on the recording, with the use of
instruments, clapping, regular ululations (halahil ), perhaps by a male member of
the chorus, calling out k l l l l / ululations normally being the prerogative of
women / and the interjection of words in Hindustani and English as a coda; this
interjection gives local colour but is very unusual in the practice of the religious
repertoire in Bombay. The melody features a strong, regular beat and much repetition
(call and response), creating an almost trance-like effect.
The melody is performed in the mode of awshar, with some aspects of Iraqi sega
(identical with the Egyptian huzam) (see Figure 1). These are identical in their
pitches 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7, which characterize this modal family of sega . On the
recording, pitch 4 is sung clearly by the soloist in awshar, while the vocal responses
on the first syllable of yisrael (and perhaps the violin, which is not heard clearly at
this point) appear to employ pitch 4 as in the Iraqi sega . The exact notation is
academic, and can only be surmised / it is likely that only the instrumentalists would
have been aware of the actual melodic mode intended. What is more important to
tradition bearers today is the buoyant character of the performance, sung with
infectious enthusiasm, and the good fortune of the existence of the recording. The
song continues to be sung today, in context, for example by Zaki I. Solomons sons,
who are active members of the
c
Od Yosef H

ai (Od Yosef Hai) synagogue (London). It

is also heard on a recent recording based on Solomons vintage 1937 performance
(Manasseh 2002, Track 13).
4 Yom yom odeh (Daily, daily do I give thanks)
Verse 1:
yom yom odeh la-el asher bah

ar banu Daily, daily do I give thanks to the Lord who

chose us
min ha
c
amm m lisghullah lo leqah

anu From all peoples; He took us unto Him as a

treasure
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c
al har s nai eth toratho hinh

lanu On Mount Sinai He gave us the Torah as an

inheritance
c
asereth dibberoth qodsho hishm
c
anu His ten sacred commandments He made known
to us
The music transcription (Figure 6i) is based on the singing of Jacob Baher (S.
Manasseh, fieldwork recording, Manchester 3 March 1985),
35
who left Baghdad for
Bombay, as a young man, in 1932. He subsequently left Bombay, with his family, in
1957, for Manchester, moving to Toronto later in life. The phenomenon of
experiencing successive diasporas is a familiar one among many Iraqi-Jewish
families.
36
Nevertheless, despite these many relocations to very different cultural
Figure 6 Yom yom odeh: shabu
c
oth (Pentecost), 6i and 6ii sung by Jacob Baher
(Manchester) 3 March 1985 and 21 July 1985, 6iii sung by M. D. Dangoor 20 December
1984, recorded and transcribed by S. Manasseh # 1999.
60 S. Manasseh
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environments, informants invariably stress that their performance of the religious
repertoire remains unchanged.
The text was composed by the poet Yis

aq Ibn Ghayyath (1038/89)

37
and the
initial letter of each of the four verses spell the poets first name (only verse 1 is
shown). This paraliturgical song is associated with the Feast of Weeks (shabu
c
oth, also
known as Pentecost). A well-known song, comparative versions may be seen in
Manasseh (1985, 1: 42/4, 2: 22/4) and Shiloah (1983, .45b).
38
It is sung both at
home, following the festive meals, and during the synagogue service, when it heralds
the portion of the torah reading concerned with Moses receiving the Ten
Commandments on Mount Sinai (see lines 3 and 4). In synagogue, the congrega-
tional singing is usually led by one or more men, who are acknowledged experts. As
on other major festivals, this song of praise (shbah

) is sung unaccompanied on
instruments.
The melodic mode of Bahers performance conforms to the Arab bayat (Figure 1):
though unaccompanied, pitch 2 is consistently sung to produce an interval of a three-
quarter tone with each of its adjacent notes. Unusually, the song cadences on pitch
4 (the final cadence, at the end of lines 2 and 4 of the text); pitch 1 is sounded
significantly only as an approach to this cadential note (for example, see the melodic
treatment of the last two syllables of leqah

anu and hishm

c
anu : Figure 6i, marked
x).
The relaxed pace of the performance allows for ornamentation / individual notes
and motives / and variation of phrases. The melody for lines 1 and 2 of the verse is
repeated for lines 3 and 4. In Bahers performance, the opening phrase is often varied
in subsequent appearances in the song. As a comparison, Figure 6ii shows the
opening of verse 2 (S. Manasseh, fieldwork recording, 21 July 1985), which is
remarkable both for the higher pitches at the start of the phrase and for the
augmentation of the phrase, resulting from ornamentation of the text at marom
(heavenly). Other performances by Baher (not shown) also exhibit similar
variation of this phrase in verse 2, probably inspired by the imagery of the text.
Figure 6iii shows a performance of the opening of line 3 (verse 1) as sung by Dangoor
(S. Manasseh, fieldwork recording, 20 December 1984); here too the text is
highlighted, in this case, on the words har s na-y (Mount Sinai). According to
Dangoor, his version is based on the variation as sung by his late father-in-law, Abu
Moshi. Dangoor consciously preserved this pattern whenever he sang this shbah

(interview 20 December 1984). The two versions show the individuality of each of the
performers, but display some similarities, for example in the higher register selected
for the opening. These are intentional variations on the part of the performers, who
value the continuity of the tradition. Variation and ornamentation illustrate Arab art
music convention and are recognized by informants as processes for adorning a
melody. A related concept is that of selecting an appropriate speed. As Dangoor
commented about the repertoire in general: Take it fast and the charm of it is gone
(interview 18 March 1999).
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5 K eshmerah shabbath (Because I keep the Sabbath)
Refrain:
k eshmerah shabbath el yishmeren Because I keep the Sabbath, God will watch over me
oth h le
c
olmey
c
ad beyno wubeyn It is an eternal sign between Him and me
The music transcription (Figure 7) is based on the singing of Solomon I. Solomon (S.
Manasseh, fieldwork recording, London, 17 February 1985), who left Bombay for
London in 1962. In Bombay, Solomon attended the Maghen David synagogue, where
his father, Zaki I. Solomon, was h

azzan. As a teenager, during the 1950s, Solomon

was the leader of the (male) synagogue choir, as his father had been before him. In
London, Solomons singing continues to be appreciated; he regularly officiates during
services at the Yeshivah
c
Od Yosef H

ai (in north-west London) and sings at numerous

life-cycle celebrations.
The text is a poem by Abraham Ibn Ezra (c.1089/1164).
39
In addition to the
melody shown in Figure 7, the text is associated with a number of other melodies in
the Jewish-Babylonian tradition (see, for example, Idelsohn 1923 [1922], 140.191;
Shiloah 1983, .16/17; Manasseh 1985, 2: 41/50 shows four melodies). Regarding
the stability of the tradition, it is significant that the melody shown in Idelsohn (ibid.)
is the same (apart from individual variation) as that shown in Manasseh (ibid., 41/
4). More than three-quarters of a century separates the two examples.
40
The text, known in a number of Jewish traditions, is sung primarily during or
after Sabbath meals at home. In the Babylonian tradition, some of the melodies
sung to this text are derived from Iraqi (Arabic) folk or popular song. The version
shown in Figure 7, as sung by Solomon I. Solomon (S. Manasseh, fieldwork
recording, 17 February 1985) is based on the folk song bal n -b balwa, shown
in Figure 8, as sung by Jacob Baher (S. Manasseh, fieldwork recording, 21 July
1985):
Figure 7 K eshmerah shabba th: (Sabbath), sung by Solomon I. Solomon (London) 17
February 1985, recorded and transcribed by S. Manasseh # 1999.
62 S. Manasseh
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Refrain:
bal n -b balwa ya
c
en , bal n -b balwa He plagues me with a plague, my beloved!
41
He
plagues me!
walla mar du,
42
bal n -b balwa By God! I dont want him! He plagues me!
The two examples are clearly based on the same melody, in the mode of h

ijaz (Figure
1) with its characteristic prominence of pitch 4, the interval of augmented second
between pitch 3 and pitch 2, and the cadential semitone between pitches 2 and 1. The
performances display individual differences, including that of tempo (Baher sings at
an appreciably slower speed) but are recognizably the same melody. Bahers
performance (recorded on video) is also noteworthy for his use of worry beads
(Arabic: sibh

a) while singing / a practice, past and present, common to many while

performing and listening to Arab music. This displays the maintenance of custom,
and its survival through successive diasporas (in this case, Baghdad / Bombay /
Manchester / Toronto).
Both the religious song (in Hebrew) and the Iraqi folk song (in Arabic) were sung
by many Baghdad Jews who grew up in Bombay, even after the mid-20th century. For
more recent Iraqi emigres (for example, to Israel in the early 1950s), bal n -b balwa
has become eclipsed by the apparently newer (but also folkloric) fog en-nakhl
(Above the date palms, not shown: see H

ilm 1984, 86/7 for the melody and Arabic

text). Both melodies are in the h

ijaz mode, and share similarities in the text and

melody of the last line of the refrain. However, there are also clear textual and
melodic differences between the two folksongs. Nevertheless, some consider these to
be two versions of the same song (pers. com. Yeheskel Kojaman 30 November 1999;
Sa
c
di Al-H

adithi 1 May 1997). Perhaps this is one example which indicates that the
diasporic community in Bombay retained older practices while their compatriots in
Figure 8 Bal n -b balwa: Arabic folk song (Iraq), sung by Jacob Baher (Manchester) 21
July 1985, recorded and transcribed by S. Manasseh # 1999.
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Iraq adopted newer trends, discarding or forgetting earlier custom.
43
As previously
indicated, the Baghdad Jewish community in Bombay was constantly host to
newcomers from Baghdad, from elsewhere in the Middle East and from central Asia.
These new settlers were accepted as active participants within the two congregations
in Bombay. However, because the Bombay community was gradually established by
Baghdadian settlers from the end of the eighteenth century, it appears to have
maintained older traditions, and was not as strongly affected by later influences in
Baghdad.
44
While conservatism may characterize certain diasporic music traditions,
this factor does not seem to be entirely analogous to the situation described in the
present article.
45
6 E

meth atah h

athanenu (Truly, you are our bridegroom)

Verse 1:
emeth atah h

athanenu Truly, you are our bridegroom

kemo sahar bethokhenu As a moon in our midst
kemelekh at lefanenu As a king in our presence
yebarekhekha eloheynu May our Lord bless you
The music transcription (Figure 9) is based on a recording by Solomon I. Solomon
(S. Manasseh, fieldwork recording, London, 2 February 1985).
46
The poets name is shown as Ebiathar in the acrostic of the text (verse 1 only is
shown), which is a favourite among the many bridegroom songs. This paraliturgical
song may be performed at a number of occasions associated with marriage: at
synagogue, to honour the groom when he is called up to read from the torah on the
Sabbath preceding the wedding (the families of the bride and groom are usually
present, and the custom is for the women, while the men sing, to punctuate the
performance by ululating and showering sweets on the groom), at the wedding
ceremony itself and at the festive meals on the seven days following the wedding,
when the seven blessings (sheba
c
berakhoth) are recited.
Comparative versions of the melody shown below may be found in Idelsohn (1923
[1922], 127.162, reprinted in 1967 [1929], 118.7) and Shiloah (1983, .52). The
similarity is striking. While the example shown in Idelsohn is the closest to that sung
by Solomon, any differences in the version presented by Shiloah may be deemed
idiosyncratic rather than evidence of significant change. In this context it is pertinent
to note that Shiloahs informant was the famous composer and violinist, S

a leh

al-
Kuwaity (Shiloah 1983, 32). The transcription (Figure 9) is shown in the mode of
nahawand, its pitches being the equivalent of the Western natural minor scale. Three
of the four phrases cadence strongly on a repeated pitch 1, approached from pitch 2.
Solomons version is also instructive as a practical demonstration in the art of
ornamentation and motivic variation, as shown, for example in the sections marked
64 S. Manasseh
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a, b, c and d. Like other singers, Solomon consciously uses these devices to
embellish and beautify the melody.
Conclusion
This article has focused on communal prayer chant and song, from a cherished
repertoire in the Jewish-Babylonian tradition. The musical examples, mostly from
fieldwork recordings of some twenty years ago, are of recognized specialists within the
tradition, of singers who had strong links both with Baghdad and Bombay. The
chants and songs discussed in this article complement and extend the range of
material considered in earlier work (Manasseh 1985, 1991). As noted then, the
perspectives of change and continuity work in tandem, and are important aspects in
the performance of this repertoire (1991, 240).
The overall stability of the repertoire in its movement across space and time is
striking. Melodies in the Jewish-Babylonian tradition, collected by Idelsohn (1923
[1922]) from informants in the early 20th century, are still valued a century later, and
sung by communities in their newer, adopted homes / including India, Israel,
Australia, the UK, the USA and Canada. These melodies continue to be performed for
religio-social occasions in the annual and life cycles, at synagogue services and among
family and friends at home during festive meals, sung with a sense of enjoyment and
an awareness of maintaining tradition.
47
Maintaining ritual and repertoire serves to
Figure 9 E

meth atah h

athanenu: life cycle: song for a bridegroom, sung by Solomon I.

Solomon (London) 2 February 1985, recorded and transcribed by S. Manasseh # 1999.
Ethnomusicology Forum 65
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define and reinforce individual and group identity. Though the strong link between
identity and the continuity of religious and cultural practice has also characterized
much Jewish-Babylonian life in the home country, the question of identity may
assume greater significance in diasporic communities, with a stronger need to feel
attached to the source. Furthermore, an important aspect of the cultures own value
system is the emphasis on learning, participation in and continuity of religious
practice. Taught to children from a young age, often by their parents, continuity of
the tradition thus represents a positive value, worthy of perpetuating and, especially
in later life, one that is associated with the memory of ones forebears.
While knowledge and performance of some items from the larger repertoire of
religious song (Mansour 1953/4) is variable, the core of tradition / prayer chants,
biblical cantillation, the family Passover seder service and some of the more popular
religious songs / remains in the performance repertoire. Publications and recordings,
including re-issues of material recorded in Baghdad in the 1920s, result in a greater
awareness of the tradition, both for the insider and outsider. However, while such
permanent and unchanging cultural models may facilitate continuity of the tradition,
and are invaluable as a reference point, they may also result in less individual
creativity.
An important aspect seen in the musical examples has been that of individuality in
the use of motives, variation and ornamentation of the melodic line. It has been seen
that the speed chosen to perform a song affects the amount and type of
ornamentation possible. While the growing trend has been to perform the material
more quickly than in the past (item 5, Figures 7 and 8; Manasseh 1985, 55), it may be
that in some cases, published models will encourage the use of slower speeds once
again. Similarly, while the repertoire continues to be performed a capella in its
original context, audio- and video-recordings of Iraqi-Jewish musicians playing
instrumental accompaniments, at occasions outside the true context of the repertoire
/ whether for entertainment or preservation of the tradition / provide additional
possibilities in the performance practice of the repertoire. The use of neutral tones, in
accordance with Arab melodic modes, is present in Figures 4, 5 and 6, all performed
by singers with a strong affinity with Baghdad. For these singers / Baher, Dangoor
and Z. Solomon / the ambient Indian and Western sound systems of Bombay do not
appear to have affected their earliest appreciation and performance of neutral tones in
music in the Judaeo-Arab tradition.
48
The strength of contemporary Indian Jewry lies in the amalgamation of existing
communities. In Mumbai this applies to the few remaining members of Baghdad
descent, with those Cochin Jews who live in Mumbai and the comparatively large
indigenous Bene Israel community. The liturgy and prayer melodies at Baghdad
synagogues in Fort and Byculla (Mumbai) and in Pune continue according to the
Babylonian custom, though these synagogues depend on paid Bene Israel worship-
pers to complete the minyan (quorum of ten men necessary as a basis for organized
prayer); the present h

azzan at the Fort synagogue is Bene Israel, but the general form
of the prayer continues in the Jewish-Babylonian tradition.
66 S. Manasseh
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Musically, the adherence to the Baghdad roots has been seen to be tenacious:
melodies collected in the early and late 20th century, from such widely spread
diasporic communities as India, Israel and the UK, remain strikingly similar. Surface
differences occur in the extent of continuation of Arab music performance practice.
The surrounding Indian and western soundscape may have altered vocal production
style and type of melodic embellishment, the degree of maintenance of neutral
intervals and the practice of singing improvisatory preludes to, or insertion of
melismatic phrases in, paraliturgical song. However, the deeper attachment to the
religious repertoire remains, and, though this is not explored in the present
discussion, it is possible that the Bombay tradition has sustained aspects of older,
19th-century, Baghdad practice regarding melodic features in biblical cantillation.
Even in its subsequent diasporas, much of Baghdad-Bombay Jewry continues to value
its heritage, especially establishing centres for study and prayer in the Jewish-
Babylonian tradition. The Midrash Ben Ish H

ai (New York),
49
the Yeshiva
c
Od Yosef
H

ai (also known as the Levy Kelaty Synagogue, London) and the Kelly Iny Synagogue
(near Haifa, Israel): these are some of the centres founded worldwide, in which the
Jewish-Babylonian repertoire (ex-Bombay) continues to be performed enthusiasti-
cally.
Acknowledgements
I wish to thank the anonymous readers, the Ethnomusicology Forum editors and the editors of this
special issue for their many helpful comments and observations. I thank Professor Amnon Shiloah
for permission to quote an extract of music (Figure 4iii, above) from his publication (1983). I also
acknowledge the willing co-operation and assistance of the performers and informants who have
shared with me their expertise and knowledge, and have made this article possible.
Notes
[1] By the mid-1980s most of the community had already left Bombay.
[2] The earliest Jewish immigrants in Surat were Portuguese-Dutch from Amsterdam, arriving
from 1686; they were followed by Ashkenazi Jews from London, Amsterdam and Hamburg,
arriving from 1741 (Fischel 1965, 2; 1996 [1972b], 1356).
[3] A discussion of these two Indian Jewish communities is beyond the scope of this article. For
historical and social aspects of the Bene Israel and Cochin Jews of India, see Weil (2002),
Roland (1989) and Timberg (1986). For the musical perspective, see Johnson (2001) and
Manasseh (2001). For a general discussion of Jews in India, see Roth and Wigoder (1996
[1972], 1350/60); also the website: http://www.amyisrael.co.il/asia/india/index.htm.
[4] The father of the community in Calcutta is generally considered to be Syrian-born Shalom
Cohen who arrived in that city in 1798. See Abraham (1969), Musleah (1975), Ezra (1986),
Hyman (1995) and Solomon (1998) for accounts of the Calcutta community; Fischel (1965,
17/20) highlights Anglo-Ashkenazi and Anglo-Sephardi forerunners. The Poona community
was established shortly after that in Bombay. Sassoon (1949, 203/17) gives an overview of
Baghdad Jews in India and the Far East, while Timberg (1986), Manasseh and Manasseh
(1994a, 1994b) and Isaacs (1994) review Baghdad Jewry in Bombay and Calcutta.
Ethnomusicology Forum 67
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[5] Pers. com. Mrs Helen Ezra (nee Manasseh) (1 December 1999), herself a refugee from
Singapore to Bombay at that time.
[6] In comparison, a census taken by the Jewish community of Calcutta in 1945 estimates a Jewish
population of 3,344 in that city (Ezra 1986, 433).
[7] I am grateful to Solomon F. Sopher for the above information (pers. com. 25 November
1999). The 1991 Census Religion Tables (published 1995) report a total of 5,271 Jews in India,
the majority living in the State of Maharashtra (Bhende and Jhirad 1997, 3). Mumbai and
Pune are situated in Maharashtra.
[8] In earlier texts, Sl man Jacob Sl man was considered to be the rst Baghdad Jew to settle in
Bombay (David dBeth Hillel 1832, 116, quoted in Sassoon 1949, 205/6). Ezra (1986, 84)
gives Judah Jacob Sl man as one of the earliest settlers in Bombay.
[9] In a list of merchants returning from India to Baghdad in 1818, Stillman (1979, 374) shows
Yacoob Sima as having resided in India for 30 years and been recommended by the
Government of Bombay.
[10] Regarding the achievements of the Sassoon family in Bombay, see Fischel (1972a, 136/8),
Gourgey (1949), Jackson (1968), Kelly (1985, 41/9), Manasseh and Manasseh (1994a),
Musleah (1975), Roth (1941) and Sassoon (1949, 206/9); also, a documentary lm by Jhirad
(1996).
[11] Rachel Manasseh (1997) gives an account of the Baghdad synagogues of Bombay and Poona.
[12] Roland (1989, 16) also mentions Persian Jewish refugees to Bombay, eeing forced conversion
in Meshhed, 1839.
[13] In a recorded talk, Rabbi Solomon D. Sassoon, formerly of Letchworth (England), and a great-
grandson of David Sassoon, commented that he learned biblical cantillation in the Baghdad-
Bombay tradition, which differed from most contemporary Baghdad performance. He cited
Syrian teachers, who had been brought into religious schools in Baghdad during the late 19th
century, as being responsible for introducing a new style of performance (H

ibbah 1980s,
Cassette 2, Side B). Moreover, in the singing of the Penitential prayers at the Fort synagogue,
Bombay, the highly embellished singing of Mr Nessim Ezair (from Baghdad) was always
viewed with interest, precisely because it was so different from the general style; it was
considered more Arabic (pers. com. Mrs Rachel Manasseh, June 2002, regarding
observations by her mother, Mrs Georgette Ani).
[14] For example, of the Jewish singer, H

aggu li Shummel Darzi accompanied by a typical Baghdad

instrumental ensemble (chalgh ). A number of these re-mastered 78s may be heard on Twaina
and Avishur (1999) and Futter and Manasseh (2003).
[15] In general any instrumental ensemble may be termed chalgh (from the Turkish instrumental
players). The classic chalgh baghdad consisted of two stringed instruments (sant

ur: struck
dulcimer; kamana joza: spike ddle) and two percussion (dumbuk: goblet-shaped drum; daff:
tambourine).
[16] Solomon I. Solomon (interview 5 October 1999; pers. com. 30 July 2002), Sl man Mus

eris
grandson.
[17] M. David Dangoor (interview 18 March 1999), singer of Items 1 and 2, below (see The
Jewish-Babylonian religious repertoire: selected items); pers. com. Rachel Manasseh (October
1999); Simon Menashy (interview 13 October 2002), Abu Moshis son.
[18] M. David Dangoor (ibid.).
[19] For further information and a fuller description of this tradition, see Manasseh (1990; 1999,
137/8, 167/8, 192/4, 205/7, 219/23, 347/55), Avishur (1987, xiii /xv, 107/62; 1990, 98/
100), Shiloah (1983, 20), Hassan (1980, 121) and Zubaida (2002).
[20] M. David Dangoor (interview 18 March 1999); Simon Menashy (interview 13 October 2002).
[21] Solomon I. Solomon (interview 5 October 1999).
[22] Shetakha: Judaeo-Arabic term for the Passover seder service (from the phrase / hash-shata
hakha: this year we are here / in the opening Aramaic verse recited at the service).
68 S. Manasseh
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[23] Examples show the stability between material collected in the Baghdad-Bombay tradition
(1984/5) in comparison with Jewish-Babylonian melodies published in Idelsohn (1923
[1922]) and in Shiloah (1983). Jewish-Babylonian religious melodies in the Calcutta tradition
are also recognizably the same (see Ezra 1986, 665/7; Musleah, E. 1983; Musleah, R. 1991;
each with accompanying cassette).
[24] Rachel Manasseh (pers. com. October 1999) and Solomon I. Solomon (interview 5 October
1999), respectively.
[25] The aural effect of the difference in pitching the neutral or minor intervals may be heard on
recordings; cf., for example, the shbah

, k eshmerah shabbath in Midrash Ben Ish H

ai (Midrash
Ben Ish Hai) (2002) (track 6: bayat ) and Manasseh (2002) (track 1: natural minor/
nahawand); Futter and Manasseh (2003) for the same melody in the s

aba mode (track 13:

sukkah welulab); Figure 1 shows s

aba.
[26] Hindustani and Hindi often denote the same language. However, where the distinction is
made, Hindustani signies a language inuenced by Urdu, while Hindi is more strongly
inuenced by Sanskrit. The Baghdad Jews of Bombay spoke Hindustani in addition to the
Judaeo-Arabic of Baghdad and English.
[27] This practice is the Judaeo-Arab equivalent of the Arab instrumental taqs m or vocal layal .
Historical and contextual aspects of shbah

oth are discussed in Manasseh (1985, 1991).

[28] Though Jacob Baher (b. Baghdad, later moving to Bombay, Manchester, Toronto) precedes
the singing of yeh shalom beh

elenu (May there be peace in our ramparts), a shbah

for the
birth of a boy, with such an improvisation (pers. com. 21 November 1999 and eld recording
Manchester, July 1985).
[29] This prohibition is especially true of items in the annual cycle repertoire. The life-cycle
repertoire is generally performed on regular (non-festival) weekdays / for example, the song
emeth atah h

athanenu (Truly, you are our bridegroom), is sung on a weekday, at a wedding

celebration. Since the destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE), the playing of musical
instruments is forbidden on Sabbaths and most festivals, in Orthodox Jewish practice.
[30] Text B is also proclaimed aloud by h

azzan and congregation together, but in a speech-like

manner, with drawn-out syllables, for the reading of the shema
c
in the opening evening
(
c
arb th) service of the Day of Atonement. It is signicant / perhaps because of the constraint
in reciting Text B audibly on most occasions / that Idelsohn (1923 [1922]) does not show Text
B (either melody or text). Similarly, in a contemporary Israeli recording of the Penitential
prayers by the h

azzan
c
Ezra Mas

ri (originally from Iraq), Text B is omitted (Mas

ri 1990s).
[31] My observations, as a participant. As recording is forbidden on days of major religious
signicance, a re-enactment would probably not reproduce the strongly focused meditative
quality of the communal response in its true context.
[32] Though, of course, it is not known to what extent these differences are the result of each
transcribers perspective, rather than actual differences of melodic intervals by the individual
performers.
[33] Coda text shown in italics is in Hindustani (the language spoken by many in Bombay, though
the ofcial regional language is Marat

hi). This is an individual addition by the singer,

reecting the surrounding circumstances, and does not appear in the printed book of song
texts.
[34] Pers. com. Solomon I. Solomon (30 July 2002). See above for fuller details of Sl man Mus

eris
chalgh group. Three generations of Mus

eris family are presented in this article: Mus

eri, his
son (Zaki I. Solomon), and grandson (Solomon I. Solomon).
[35] For comparative sound recordings, see H

ibbah (1980s, Cassette 1, Side A); Twaina and

Avishur (1999, Cassette 1, Side A); Midrash Ben Ish H

ai (2002, Track 13); Futter and

Manasseh (2003, Track 1.)
[36] Successive diasporas refers to the model of individuals or families settling in a satellite
community, an established diasporic community, for a signicant period of time, before
Ethnomusicology Forum 69
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moving on to settle in one or more further satellite communities, all branches of the same
root. Though not identical to this pattern, Shelemay discusses related concepts in the Syrian
Jewish model of multiple and transnational diasporas (1998, 68ff.).
[37] Rabbi Ezekiel Musleah (1983, 207) notes that the poet, who often used the acrostic Yis

aq
Haqqat

an (Isaac, the modest), was head of the Yeshiva (institute of religious learning) of
Lucena, Spain. Some 400 of his poems / among the best of Judaeo-Spanish poetry / have
been preserved.
[38] Idelsohn (1967, 117.5) gives the same melody with a different text. Idelsohn describes the
melody as being in the Arabic rhythmic metre of hazaj ( ), one of the most popular
in Hebrew poetry (ibid., 114/16).
[39] Born in Tudela, Spain. Known as a roving poet and scholar, Ibn Ezra travelled in North
Africa, Italy, France and England, and was a distinguished biblical commentator, mystic,
grammarian and mathematician (Musleah 1983, 206).
[40] The melody shown in Manasseh (1985) was sung in 1985 by Jacob Baher (Manchester, ex-
Bombay and Baghdad). Idelsohns example was recorded in London, in the early 20th century
from the singing of my paternal aunt, Flora Sassoon, from Bombay; Mrs Sassoon was a great-
granddaughter of Baghdad-born David Sassoon, who had lived in Bombay since 1832, and
also his daughter-in-law.
[41]
c
en : lit. My eye!, the eye being considered ones most precious possession.
[42] Mar du (Judaeo-Baghdadian); the original text is mar da (Iraqi Muslim).
[43] My late father, Albert Manasseh, remarked on this phenomenon, particularly with regard
to some changes in performance practice in the religious repertoire (pers. com. August
1985).
[44] For example, by Syrian-Jewish inuence in Baghdad at the end of the nineteenth century (see
note 13, above). Also see Mansour (1991, 25) for a similar point regarding the Jewish Baghdad
dialect in Iraq, which appear[s] to have preserved the ancient local Arabic vernacular while
the Muslims adopted, or were inuenced by, other dialects. Mansour (ibid.) cites Blanc
(1964, 168), who suggests a Bedouinization of the Muslim dialect, introduced, among
others, by Bedouin tribes from the Arabian peninsula.
[45] Conservatism does not appear to have been valued for its own sake in the Baghdad Jewish
community of Bombay, whereas Shelemay (1998, 83) shows conservatism to be a primary
concern among the H

alabi (Syrian Jews from Aleppo) community in Brooklyn. While there

are a number of shared aspects between the diasporic communities of Syrian and Iraqi Jews,
the practice of conservatism seems to be less alike (see also Manasseh 2000).
[46] For comparative sound recordings, see H

ibbah (1980s, Cassette 3, Side A), Midrash Ben Ish

H

ai (2002, Track 10) and Manasseh (2002, Track 9).

[47] Shelemay (1998, 90) also notes the performance of religious song as an important agent for
continuity in ritual and life cycle events, among the Syrian Jewish diasporic community at the
end of the twentieth century.
[48] Though the melodic modes of Figures 7 and 9 (h

ijaz and nahawand, respectively), sung by

Solomon I. Solomon, do not contain neutral tones. Manasseh (1985, 46/8) shows examples
of this singer performing neutral tones in other material.
[49] See Manasseh (1998) for an account of the work of the Midrash.
Transliteration guide
All transliterations follow the present system, including quotations from published
sources.
1 Vowels:
a) A circumflex above a vowel indicates a long vowel
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b) Additionally:
i) e: as in French, Ble
ii) e: as in French, Je
2 A dot below a consonant indicates a velarized sound.
3 Additional comments:
a)
c
: voiced pharyngeal fricative
b) j: as in jam
c) q: voiceless uvular stop
d) ch: ch in chat
e) gh: voiced velar fricative
f) kh: ch as in Scottish loch
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