This workshop, primarily aimed for adults (adult women), is a result of a nearly 10 year-long research of the complex contextualization and meaning of traditional lullabies and soothing techniques, combined with music and vocal performative practices. It is inherently connected to the concept of “re-traditionalization of the society”, as its findings (as well as the workshop itself) questions and polemicizes with the stereotype of lullabies as gentle songs for putting babies to sleep.

The content of traditional lullabies from all over the world reveals that a vast corpus of the material deals with the complexities of love and emotional bondage not only between a caregiver/mother and the baby, but also vividly articulates the strained relationships between a woman and a man and as a woman in society in which her role was devaluated and diminished.

What is more, traditional lullabies do not shy away from the hardship, oppression, adversity and atrocities of the everyday life of a woman living in patriarchal society. These issues have become tabooed and off limits in modern lullabies (and societies), so one of the most important role of singing lullabies – to serve as a vent for a woman to express woman’s deepest fears, anger and anxieties – has been lost. Finding a voice that can articulate women’s subdued emotions is of crucial importance for one’s self-empowerment, and for this workshop.