Barbara C. Johnson is an anthropologist and formerly served as coordinator of Jewish Studies at Ithaca College in New York. She has conducted extensive research on the oral song traditions of Cochin Jewish women. Her forthcoming book on Kerala Jewish women’s culture in India and Israel is framed by translations, transcriptions, and analyses of their Malayalam-language songs. Her publications include Ruby of Cochin: An Indian Jewish Woman Remembers, co-authored with Ruby Daniel (1995), and Oh, Lovely Parrot!: Jewish Women’s Songs from Kerala (The Jewish Music Research Center, Jerusalem, 2004).
See the playlist Splendid Singing Birds: Jewish Women’s Songs from Kerala on our website.
