18. Song of Sarah-Umma (Mother Sarah)

A "play song" performed at Hanukkah parties with a complex pattern of clapping, dance steps and melody. This song recounts several stories from Bible and Midrash about Mother Sarah - her pregnancy, the birth of Isaac, and Sarah's death by falling from a window when Satan told her that Isaac had been slaughtered. Umma is a Malayalam word for “mother”, and the Hebrew title Abinu (our father) is commonly given to the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The divisions marked here represent the three tunes used in this particular performance, but various other melodies have also been used for the song.

Text

I. Tampirān Muyimpu... Abṟāmābinotu

May the Lord be our first help.
When he was favored by the Lord,
Abraham-Abinu received a divine order:
"Oh Abraham, remove your bitterness.
"What bitterness have I?”
"Look carefully over your body.
He looked all over his body.
“You must do the commandment in mitzvah.
He performed the commandment himself.

Then Sarah-Umma received an order
Two of them came down to the earth
And went to the house of Abraham-Abinu.
Entering, they had a feast.
After the feast Angel Gabriel said,
"Sarah-Umma! You will become pregnant."
Then Sara-Umma laughed and said:
"My man is one hundred years of age"

II. Puruşanṯě ěstěṟkku

And my man's woman has ninety years.
What can there be between us?
"Can I still become pregnant?"
When Sarah-Umma closed the doors,
The post of the closed door sprouted and bloomed.
She rejoiced greatly and went.
She went and bathed according to the law.
Everything was done in the proper way,
And thereby she became pregnant.
So she completed ten months.

III. Sāṟa Ummātě kālattu

In Sarah-Umma's time, there were birth pains and screaming.
In Sarah-Umma's time, there were midwives then.
Sara-Umma gave birth in pain with wild screaming,
And a son was born to her.
On the eighth day the commandment should be done.
According to mitzvah, the commandment was done,
And he was given the name Isaac-Abinu.

After some time it happened again that
Abraham-Abinu received a divine order:
"Abraham, you are commanded to give your first-born son."
"This blessing came from You, so then you may take it back."
They went up and stood in a high place,
To do the appropriate holy things.
"Father, I will sin if I kick you with my leg.
Father, there's a chance I might strike you with my hand."
So the four limbs were tied together.
And then the knife was sharpened.

***

Then the greatest enemy informed Umma:
"Oh Sarah-Umma! Your son is being slaughtered!
The son born to you at the age of one hundred,
The one who has the sharp intelligence."
So Sarah-Umma fell down from the upper room
And she died from the injury.

"Did you see anything with your eyes?"
"Something like lightning, like a violin,
Like rams descending from the sky."
When one ram was caught, it spoke saying:
"So this is how it must be! Now I will die."
"You need not be afraid of that.
Once every year your voice will be heard."
So by slaughtering the ram
The pūja was done, the offering given.

Blessed, blessed, be blessed always.
Oh Lord, the only One, who reigns forever.