49. Redeemed from Egypt

49a. Simcha Yosef, Hannah Yitzhak. Recorded at NSA studio, August 19, 2001. CD Track 21; III-93

49b. Chana Eliyahu, Zipporah Nehemiah. Recorded by Edith Gerson-Kiwi and Shirley Isenberg, Moshav Mesilat Zion,  July 1977; III-93

Misṟīnnu mīņḍatupolě (x2)
Mīteņaṃ ñaṅṅaḷě ippa  (x2)

1. Just as from Egypt You saved us   (x2) 
So now, we pray you, redeem us.   (x2)

2. Just as sinless Moshe led us,   (x2) 
As in procession he led us, (x2)

3. As we were all led together   (x2)
With pillars of fire before us,   (x2)

4. Pharaoh  took up his sword   (x2)
And tied his sword to his waist.   (x2)

5. Then he was drowned by the Wise God,   (x2)
 Drowned in the depths of the sea.   (x2)

6. As they were going together,   (x2)
They met up with fanatic Pharaoh.   (x2)

7. Seeing, they stared so intently,   (x2)
Seeing, they cried out in terror,   (x2)

8. Seeing, they were so frightened,   (x2)
They cried out loudly to Moshe:   (x2)

9. “How can I deal with this sorrow?   (x2)
 What? Shall I never have joy?”   (x2)

10. There in God’s Holy Presence,   (x2)
 Moshe beheld their sorrow.   (x2)

11. He led this dejected People;   (x2)
He led them over the sea.   (x2)

12. The other People were drowned,   (x2)
 Drowned in the depth of the sea.   (x2)

13. Great God, you are the One!   (x2)
In our time redeem us, we pray.   (x2)

Reviewing in simple dramatic detail how the Jews were saved at the Red Sea while Pharaoh and his army were drowned, this song prays to God for a comparable redemption in the present time. It is found in fifteen notebooks from five communities, with textual variations and ambiguities. The version translated here was sung in 2001 by two women from Kadavumbhagam Kochi, whereas a slightly different variant was performed in 1977 by women from Tekkumbhagam Kochi—illustrating again the independence of different community traditions in the same Kerala neighborhood.