The Power of Silent Voices: Women in the Syrian Jewish Musical Tradition

Abstract

In much of the Jewish and Islamic Middle East, women have been constrained by religious precept from participating publicly in musical performance. This chapter explores one such case study in detail – the Syrian Jewish paraliturgical hymn tradition known as the pizmonim (sing. pizmon) – and seeks to amplify women’s otherwise ‘silent voices’ in order to achieve a fuller understanding of power relations within that tradition.1 While the pizmonim, and the broader world of Syrian Jewish musical and ritual life which these songs anchor, are generally perceived as exclusively male domains, I will argue that women occupy roles vital to the processes of transmission and maintenance of tradition.