Ummid Assistant

Samsung sets up fund for poor kids' education

US varsity offers doctorate for education professionals

Welcome Guest! You are here: Home » Life & Style

Where Jesus' language Aramaic lives on in Syrian village

Sunday April 22, 2012 03:25:35 PM, Manish Chand, IANS

Malula (Syria): Far from the sounds of gunfire and civil conflict that embroil Syria lurks an oasis of faith and miracles in this tiny village perched on the rugged mountains. It's one of the last places on earth where the Aramaic language Jesus Christ spoke still lives on the tongue of its inhabitants.

Barely a 45-minute drive (around 50 km) from Syrian capital Damascus, that is in the crosshairs of frenetic global diplomacy, Malula, which in Aramaic means "entrance," transports you to a self-enclosed world of belief, miracles and divine mysteries.

"Welcome to the place where the language in which Jesus Christ spoke is still alive," Sister Georgette, clad in black robes, told this visiting IANS correspondent, ushering us into the Convent of St. Serge, a 4,000-year-old monastery that sits atop a rock cliff 5,000 feet above sea level.

Inside the elegantly restored Byzantine interiors are icons of Christ, his face ennobled by suffering and redemptive suffering for mankind, and the Virgin Mary. In front of the altar, she recites "The Lord's Prayer" in Aramaic.

Malula is among three neighbouring villages where Aramaic is still spoken by around 18,000 inhabitants. The other two places which boast of a living linguistic connection with Christ are Bakhaa and Jabadeen.

Malula is a microcosm of this multi-religious mosaic of a country embroiled in international headlines for being the new epicenter of Arab Spring-like protests against the long-standing regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Walking around amid proud believers and the keeper of an ancient legacy amid exhilarating mountain air, one would not know that barely a few kilometres away in Homs, the government forces are battling out protesters in a fierce battle for power.

The holy hush that inhabits this picturesque place, made famous by Mel Gibson's film "The Passion of the Christ", is, therefore, all the more striking.

Aramaic, the Jesus dialect, is imbibed as a mother tongue and children go on to learn Arabic, the language spoken in most of Syria, only in schools. Sadly, the oral tradition predominates as none of them can write in Aramaic, the language of sacred revelations.

"It passes from generation to generation, but we don't know how to write," Mikhal, a 50-something resident, told IANS.

Elsewhere in Syria, where Christians comprise nearly 10 percent of the population, even the ancient churches conduct services in Arabic. But finding the alphabets and script of Aramaic are not a lost cause, efforts are on at both individual and state level to resurrect the language in which Jesus probably spoke to Lazarus to wake up and walk with him.

The government has funded an institute to revive the written Aramaic and to teach the younger generation this sacred tongue.

George Rizkallah, a 65-year-old retired local schoolteacher, has started a school to teach local children the ancient language. He is finding new ways to resuscitate the language and has been composing Aramaic songs. The language will survive, but we need to find ways to preserve this ancient tongue, he said.

According to Yona Sabar, a professor of Semitic languages at the University of California, Los Angeles, the three villages represent "the last Mohicans" of Western Aramaic, spoken by Jesus in Palestine two millennia ago.

People of Malula are hoping that when Jesus returns, he will speak to them in their native tongue.



(Manish Chand can be contacted at manish.c@ians.in)





 


 




 

 

 

Home | Top of the Page

Comments

Note: By posting your comments here you agree to the terms and conditions of www.ummid.com

Comments powered by DISQUS

i

i

 

 

 

Top Stories

No witch hunt, PM assures civil servants

Asking civil servants to take bold decisions, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday said the government would not indulge in "witch hunting" against them in the name of fighting corruption.  »

Policy paralysis? Govt, Opp fight over economic advisor's remarks

Comment on reforms not linked to 2014 election: Kaushik Basu

 

  Most Read

A day after abduction, Chhattisgarh collector still untraceable

Chhattisgarh police on Sunday failed to find a clue about Sukma district collector Alex Paul Menon, a day after he was abducted from a forested area at gun-point by Maoists while he was interacting  »

Indian Muslims cautioned to remain vigilant to safeguard Islamic Sharia

The above views were expressed by Maulana Syed Mohammad Rabey Hasani Nadvi, president of All India Muslim Personal Board, (AIMPLB), while delivering his presidential speech in the three-day 22nd convention of AIMPLB here at Hajj House on Saturday. Over 400 delegates from  »

 

  News Pick

Mamata gives Centre 15-day ultimatum on tax moratorium

Reiterating her demand for an interest moratorium for the cash-strapped West Bengal government, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Saturday gave the central government a 15-day ultimatum and warned that its "indifferent attitude" could become a "big issue". "We have not enough income  »

Sudan against holding talks with Juba over oil

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has vowed neither to hold any talks with South Sudan over the oil issue nor allow the latter to transport oil through Sudanese territory, media reported Saturday. "We will no longer allow South Sudan's  »

Montek to push for declaring tea as India's national drink

Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia Saturday assured the tea planters in Assam that he will take up the issue of  »

 

Picture of the Day

India successfully flight-tested the Long Range Ballistic Missile (LRBM) Agni-V (A-5) from wheeler’s island, in Odisha on April 19, 2012. With the launch, India stormed into an exclusive club of nations, including US, Russia and China.

(Photo: DPR (MOD))

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

RSS  |  Contact us

 

| Quick links

News

 

Subscribe to

Ummid Assistant

 

National

Science & Technology

RSS

Scholarships

About us

International

Health

Twitter

Government Schemes

Feedback

Regional

History

Facebook

Education

Register

Politics

Opinion

Newsletter

Contact us

Business

Career

Education

     

 

 

Ummid.com: Disclaimer | Terms of Use | Advertise with us | Link Exchange

Ummid.com is part of the Awaz Multimedia & Publications providing World News, News Analysis and Feature Articles on Education, Health. Politics, Technology, Sports, Entertainment, Industry etc. The articles or the views displayed on this website are for public information and in no way describe the editorial views. The users are entitled to use this site subject to the terms and conditions mentioned.

© 2010 Awaz Multimedia & Publications. All rights reserved.