![\"Padamonnai:](\"https:\/\/livekerala.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/paadamonnai2.jpg\")
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By: <\/strong> Santhosh George Joseph<\/strong><\/p>\n Songs are an integral part of any culture. The diversity and richness of songs indicate a great deal about any dynamic culture. Songs express the worldview and spirituality of any culture more than any other art form. For example, Bhajans from the Bhakthi movement in India, Baul songs from the Soofi sect, Hymns from the Protestant movement are good examples of songs that represent the world view and spirituality.<\/p>\n We also have numerous examples to show that songs have liberative potentials. ‘We shall overcome’, ‘ O freedom’ are songs which fostered the civil rights movement in the United States of America. ‘Ruke na Jo’, ‘Isliya aaj sangharsh ki’ are Hindi songs which stimulated the factory worker’s movement in India.<\/p>\n Liberative songs are songs that are associated with a movement for social transformation. Liberative songs are mostly secular. But there are Liberative songs that are based on faith and theology which emphasize the mission to establish peace and justice. ‘Let my people go’ is an Afro American liberative song which is rooted in Biblical faith and theology bringing out the parallel between the liberative movement of Israelites against Pharaoh and the Civil Rights Movement in USA to free Afro- Americans from slavery.<\/p>\n According to Afro-American musician Measha Brueggergosman, the spirituals emerged from the African people who were stolen from their land and sold into slavery in the United States of America since 1619. The spirituals were born out of a time, when Afro-American people were oppressed and needed to find a way not only to communicate with each other, but also to express themselves. They created a powerful snapshot of their lives that still resonates with people today.<\/p>\n According to Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, both escaped slaves and leaders of the movement, it was widely known to slaves that north of the American border was a refuge from slavery. Spirituals had a dual meaning for slaves as both a guide to the Underground Railroad and to life. For instance, in the spiritual \u201cI\u2019m on My Way to Canaan Land,\u201d the word \u201cCanaan\u201d not only meant Heaven, it also meant north and specifically it referred to the British colonies that became Canada. Most spirituals refer to death or crossing over into an afterlife where slavery doesn\u2019t exist; the secret meaning behind this told slaves, \u201cIf you use the Underground Railroad, you don\u2019t have to die to remove yourself from slavery.\u201d That is true for \u201cSwing Low, Sweet Chariot.\u201d The secret code in this song is the word \u201clow,\u201d which referred to the Deep South. In other words, the song was saying, \u201cLift me out of the South and out of slavery and carry me to freedom in the North.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGo Down Moses\u201d was a forbidden song for the slaves, as their masters knew it was a song about escaping slavery. The slaves connected with the Biblical story of Moses leading his people to freedom. The song enlivened and inspired enslaved people and made it harder for their masters to control them. Harriet Tubman, who became known as the Moses of her people, would often defy her masters and sing that song at the top of her lungs.<\/p>\n The spiritual \u201cWade in the Water\u201d is filled with specific instructions for escaping slaves. For an example right from the title, the song was providing a tip, telling escaping slaves that if they could wade in water, the hound dogs that slave masters sent out to find them wouldn\u2019t be able to pick up their scent. The spiritual \u201cDeep River\u201d has a similar theme. In it, the Jordan River is code for the Ohio River; if you could get across the Ohio River you could live in freedom.<\/p>\n Thus the slaves created this magnificent music in the midst of their own despair while in bondage. Their music was their voice. It was a vision of hope and courage beyond measurement that accelerated their movement towards freedom and dignity.<\/p>\n Liberation songs as a secular genre is very vibrant in Kerala. In association with the communist movement several songs came into being in the 1950s. These songs gave impetus to worker\u2019s movement to fight against the exploitation of landlords. The songs penned by ONV Kurup such as \u2018Ponnarval ambiliyil kanneriyunnore\u2019 and by Vayalar Rama Varama such as \u2018Balikudeerangale\u2019 have influenced the psyche of Kerala people to build the left movement which contributed to the betterment of Kerala.<\/p>\n In the sixties and seventies Dynamic Action, Thiruvalla had taken a lead to create Liberation songs to challenge the discriminations that was prevalent in Church and society. They brought out a book titled Janakeeya Ganangal in 1983, a collection of liberations songs that they created in the nineties. There were faith-based liberation songs and secular liberation songs in the collection. The faith-based liberation songs took a bold step to reread the scriptures from the perspectives of the poor and marginalized and affirmed justice and freedom for the vulnerable. Towards eighties and nineties their songs focused on caste discrimination and upholding Dalit spirituality to counter it. <\/p>\n Another set of Liberative songs which are based on Christian faith and theology and rooted in the involvement in people\u2019s struggles in the context of Kerala emerged in the late eighties and nineties. At that period, the members of Student Christian movement of India Kerala got involved in the social movements that sprung up from the institutional churches namely, Janakeeya Vimochana Viswasa Prasathanam formed inside CSI Church, Naveekarana Vedi formed in the Marthoma Church and Kerala Swathanthra Malsya Thozhilali Federation formed by the Catholic nuns and priests. This exposure inspired them to compose songs that call people to become part of struggles for justice and peace. They brought about a collection of songs titled ‘Paadamonnai’ in 1993, inspired from the Biblical faith to proclaim liberation to the people and solidarity to the struggles for transformation. These songs are different from Janakeeya Ganangal as they are rooted in Christian faith and came into being as a faith response to certain social realities.<\/p>\n Each song in the Padamonnai collection has emerged from a specific context. They tried to address certain experiences of marginalization, injustice, exploitation, and also experiences of protest, resilience, struggles and celebrations. Though certain individuals penned them, the inspiration came from the movements and communities in which they were part of. There is a greater role of communities and fellowships like SCM, CSI Youth Movement, Janakeeya Vimochana Visvasa Prasthanam and AWAZ (Raipur) in shaping these songs.<\/p>\n <\/strong>The Padamonnai songs are different from the traditional Christian devotional songs in many respects. These songs uphold a faith which closely addresses the realities of life, rather than escaping or evading them. In fact, it provides the courage to face life and its challenges. Some of the recurring themes of these songs are as follows.<\/p>\n Padamonnai Padamonai1. Introduction<\/strong><\/h4>\n
2. Liberative songs of the Afro-American People<\/strong><\/h4>\n
3. Liberative songs from Kerala context<\/strong><\/h4>\n
4. Theological basis of Padamonnai songs<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\nTharalithamoru navaganam
\nAthinte garimayilalinjuchernang-
\nOzhukamonnainaam<\/p>\n