Born in the Kerala Jewish community of Chendamangalam, Galia Hacco was a teenager when she emigrated to Israel in the mid-1950s along with most of the other Kerala Jews. In addition to carrying fond memories of the traditional Jewish women’s songs that had been sung at home, she brought along new Malayalam Zionist songs that were created and sung for community celebrations before aliyah. Her strong and clear voice is heard in many recordings on the Splendid Singing Birds playlist.
After completing her university education in Israel, Galia had a long career as a social worker. Following retirement, she studied at the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, devoting her energies and talents to research and celebration of her own Kerala Jewish culture. She organized an oral history interview project, housed in the Ben-Zvi Institute at the Hebrew University and Yad Itzhak Ben-Zvi, and she co-authored a scholarly article on the traditional governing system for the eight Kerala synagogue communities.[1]
Galia’s truly unique accomplishment began when she brought together a group of Kochini women (including Venus Lane) from her own generation – born in different Jewish communities in Kerala and now living in different parts of Israel – to share memories and their knowledge of the traditional Malayalam songs. Their enthusiasm for the songs led to the creation of a performance ensemble called the Nirit Group Singers. Dressed in colorful Kerala style, they sang for Kochini events and also for the wider public, at the Hebrew University and the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem, at the Rishon Le Zion Auditorium and at the Indian Embassy in Tel Aviv.
Performance at Van Leer Institute
Performance at Rishon Le-Tzion
In 2006 several members of the Nirit Group traveled to India to participate in a conference focused on the songs, and they also sang at an event celebrating the renovation of the old Chendamangalam Synagogue. Two years later Galia and Venus were invited to Washington, D.C. (along with Scaria Zacharia and Barbara Johnson) to participate in a series of presentations on Kerala Jewish songs, sponsored by the Indian Embassy.
During 2008 Galia also produced a CD of 32 Malayalam Jewish songs recorded by the Nirit Group. Its colorfully inscribed disc, portraying a Kerala scene, includes the names of all sixteen singers. The accompanying booklet in Hebrew contains a descriptive commentary for each song, along with the song’s Malayalam lyrics transliterated into Hebrew by Venus Lane.
Members of the Nirit Group Singers are well represented in recordings on the Splendid Sing Birds playlist.
Back of the Nirit Singers CD booklet
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[1] Barbara C. Johnson and Galia Hacco. 2010. Jutapalli Yogam in Kerala Jewish Communal Organization: Some Hebrew Sources Translated. Tapasam: A Quarterly Journal for Kerala Studies, VI (1): 111-139.
