7. Merienda de Hanuka: Aquí Mos Vinimos

In the Sephardic community of Jerusalem, it was customary to celebrate Hannukah with a special snack, a custom that has been kept alive until recent times. This is the song that children sang on Hannukah, when they went to ask for gifts from house to house. From the gifts they received (flour, oil, onions, eggs) the rubisa (the wife of the hakham, that is, the rabbi) prepared their Hannukah snack. In the field survey, the singers recalled this children’s celebration from their childhood days in Jerusalem.

Text

Aqui mos vinimos
un hijico mos trujimos
meldador y escribano
con la péndola ‘n la mano.
                      
Damos aceite,
el Dio que vos de un presente,
damos harina,
el Dio que vos de las vidas,
damos azúcar…
Damos, damos, 
que mos queremos ir.
¡Viva el hakham 
con sus talmidim!                                 

Hizo merenda la rubisa,
la harina con la azúcar,
y les dio a los hijicos
y dijeron berakhá:
¡Cada año mijorado!
¡Hannukah sameah!