Djerba Lullaby
▶ More lullabies on YouTube
Djerba Lullaby Lyrics. An original lullaby inspired by the Amazigh (Berber) community of Djerba, Tunisia’s island of whitewashed domed houses and the pottery village of Guellala. Djerba is also home to El Ghriba, one of the oldest synagogues in Africa and a longtime pilgrimage site for a Jewish community with roots on the island stretching back many centuries, and in Guellala, potters traditionally worked underground, using the earth’s natural coolness to keep both workshop and clay at a steady temperature. Here you will find the lyrics, meaning, and chords.
Lyrics & chords
An original arrangement, with guitar & piano chords above each line.
Verse
What the words mean
Chords — guitar & piano
What “Djerba Lullaby” Means
“Yemma” means “my mother” in the Berber language still spoken on the island of Djerba, home to the pottery village of Guellala and its whitewashed, dome-roofed houses. This original lullaby draws on those island and craft-village images of Djerba’s Amazigh community, with “yemma” used as a warm, familiar word rather than a literal translation.
More songs to sing & play
Back to all our nursery rhymes and lullabies — each one with a different friend.
← All nursery rhymes