Dr. Barbara C. Johnson, Emerita Professor of Anthropology, is retired from Ithaca College, Ithaca, New York, where she served as coordinator of Jewish Studies. She has conducted extensive research on the “Cochin” Jewish history and culture of Kerala, South India and Israel, including the women’s oral song traditions. Her forthcoming book Splendid Singing Birds is framed by translations, transcriptions, and analyses of their Malayalam-language women’s songs. Her earlier publications include Ruby of Cochin: An Indian Jewish Woman Remembers, co-authored with Ruby Daniel (The Jewish Publication Society, 1995); Oh, Lovely Parrot!: Jewish Women’s Songs from Kerala (The Jewish Music Research Center, Jerusalem, 2005); and many published articles.
See the playlist Splendid Singing Birds: Jewish Women’s Songs from Kerala on our website.
