Lullabies; the hidden depth of an ancient art - Ashton & Parsons (2024)

FAQs

What is the oldest known lullaby? ›

The oldest known lullaby is a Babylonian lullaby found inscribed on a clay tablet about 4000 years old. Lullabies are used to sooth babies to sleep.

In ancient Babylon, lullabies were used as magical charms, meant to protect sleeping babies. But darkness pervaded across cultures and centuries, with lullabies expressing fears directly or metaphorically about absent fathers, injured, sick or lost children, domestic abuse and unhappy lives.

The earliest transcribed lullabies were found etched on a piece of Babylonian clay and dated as far back as 2000 BC. These songs, written in Hebrew in what is now present-day Iraq, narrated by a caretaker, describes a scene in which God is angry and threatening towards a baby who has woken up the world by crying.

It helps the baby connect, communicate, move, relax, coordinate, and feel pleasure. Lullabies calm down babies and put them to sleep. It is a soothing song with the perfect balance of rocking music that lures the baby into sleep. Nursery rhymes have been a time-tested bedtime routine by parents over the years.

The “Hurrian Hymn” is the earliest known song to be recorded in writing, dating to around the 13th century BCE. The text of this hymn is concerned with the promotion of fertility. It refers to the making of offerings and libations to the moon goddess, Nikkal.

A folk etymology derives lullaby from "Lilith-Abi" (Hebrew for "Lilith, begone"). In the Jewish tradition, Lilith was a demon who was believed to steal children's souls in the night.

“Ring Around the Rosie” – This nursery rhyme originated as a song about the bubonic plague, with the “ring around the rosie” representing the rash that appeared on the skin of those infected and the “ashes, ashes” indicating the funeral pyres that burned the bodies of the dead.

However, there is a darker side to the song. In the final lines, they are so desperate to keep the baby asleep, it suggests the mother would see the baby's death as a blessing as they would become the 'sweetest little baby in town'.

Explanation- In this stanza, the poet is listing the features of the “l*ttle star”. She says that when the sun has set and nothing else is shining in the sky, then the star “twinkles” its light all night. It implies that despite being small, the poet is comparing the star to something important.

What is the science behind lullabies? ›

“Your body vibrates as you sing, which is soothing for the baby, just like a vibrating swing,” says Dr. Wu. Recent research from Harvard has also found there's something inherently soothing about lullabies, even if a baby has never heard a particular song before.

"There's a theory that the word 'lullaby' is derived from the Hebrew 'Lilith-abi', which literally translates as 'Lilith be gone'. So, a lullaby is a song sang to protect children from this demon.

Soothing the mind from anxiety and stress is key to not just improving the quality but also the quantity of sleep. Lullabies not only help distract the mind from stressors, but it also creates a positive association with going to bed.

They're usually slow, repetitive, and soothing. According to the University of Oxford's Center for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain (FMRIB), lullabies can help comfort babies by lowering their heart rate and breathing patterns.

While they can help relax your baby into a state of deep sleep, it's not recommended to keep these sounds playing throughout the night. After about 30 to 45 minutes, or once your baby has fallen asleep, it's best to turn off the noise.

One of the oldest known lullabies is a 5,000-year-old Babylonian song. Its lyrics seem to come to us from around the corner.

The word lullaby is known in various terms such as uyayi or oyayi, hulu na, hele na, halo na, and hili na, which means “Close your eyes now” (Bañas 1975). It is also known as tumaila in Kapampangan and langan bata' bata' in Tausug.

là le loup!" (Hush! There's the wolf!) that it was written by an English Mayflower colonist who observed the way Native American women rocked their babies in birch-bark cradles, suspended from the branches of trees. that it lampoons the British royal line in the time of James II.