Ya Taleen, performed by Dina Salah
An old song from the Galilee, it’s believed that Palestinian women used to sing it as they visited their loved ones in prison. Through the seemingly confusing lyrics, the women would convey subversive messages, perhaps informing their loved ones that they would soon be liberated by freedom fighters.
This type of singing is called Imlolaah, an onomatopoeic word from the syllable ‘L’, followed by a vowel which is repeated in order to mask the original word. In so doing, a secret language is formed through singing in code using tongue trills and repetitive fillers. The coded message was unintelligible to non-Arabic speakers, and thus a way of communicating to the prisoners that their comrades were coming to liberate them.
The beginning of the song was popularized by acclaimed Palestinian singer Rim Binna who drew on this repertoire of Palestinian folklore. Here, Dina Salah has also contributed an English section to the original song. I’ve shared my visuals on the ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians.
To those of you who are climbing the mountain,
to those of you who are setting the fire
yaman yaman
I wish you safety,
I do not want any dresses from you nor gifts
yaman yaman
I wish you safety
to those gazelles (meaning the men) who are jailed inside
yaman yaman
I wish you safety
to those gazelles who are jailed inside,
I want to tell you that this situation will not last
yaman yaman
I wish you safety
Last night I had a dream
In the land of olive trees
From the river to the sea
Our people tasted freedom
Soon those hellish skies
Turned to blue and starry nights
As their voices start to rise, we’re
Ending an apartheid
Hold on
Just a little longer
we’re going home
Just a little longer hold on
Glory’s around the corner
we’re going
Home
with our waving flag
Ear to the Ground 