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→Early History of the Lullaby
Lullabies, undoubtedly, have been around since prehistoric periods. Some scientists suggest lullabies evolved as humans had to multitask and try to get their babies to sleep while also moving in the landscape and needing their hands to be free for other activities. Whatever the reason, we know getting babies to sleep is an ancient problem. The earliest lullabies recorded are from Babylonia, in modern day southern Iraq, where the lullabies are not only songs to help babies sleep but they have characteristics we may find somewhat menacing (Figure 1). There are a number of lullabies from Babylonian and some one of the works mentions that the baby has cried and is waking up and disturbing the house god who becomes angry with the baby. Other lullabies from Babylonia were even darker, with threats that the baby would be eaten. While this may sound harsh to us, we should keep in mind of course many lullabies, including our own, have dark undertones such as death or pain caused to the child. Lullabies, with their melancholy rhythm, often have dark undertones in many cultures and that has stayed relatively consistent from their origin. Lullabies were also used as a basis to create magic spells used by Babylonians to help ward evil. So it may have been that saying bad or harmful things was intended to do the opposite, which was to protect the baby from evil spirits. Even in some modern cultures today, curses that ward bad spirits are said using often dark or menacing themes. In Egypt, in a mid-second millennium BCE lullaby, called <i>Magical Lullaby</i>, the lyrics talk about protecting a child from evil spirits. Spells in Egypt involved some spell recitation, ritual, and a magician to be involved; however, lullabies seem to be one type of spell or magic that even normal people could practice. Thus, lullabies may have been seen as a type of spell one attempts to not only put baby to sleep but also protect baby from evil in the night. It was also important to cast the spell properly so lullabies were important for their words of protection as well as the tunes or rhythm they carried. In fact, it may have been the evil spirits that were responsible in making a baby cry so the soothing voice helped protect with that protection putting a baby to sleep.<ref>For more on some of the earliest lullabies, such as from Egypt and Mesopotamia, see: Marek, D., 2007. <i>Singing: the first art</i>. Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Md.</ref>
In fact, in the Greco-Roman world, similarly lullabies often had negative connotation and were equated or incorporated with magic or spells that the singer would seemingly try to induce to help protect babies. Night would have been seen as potentially a very vulnerable period for a baby and songs would help sooth a baby but also the lyrics were intended to act as spells to help protect a baby from the darkness, which was equated with harmful things that may inflict a young baby. Scholars have, in fact, suggested that lullabies were effectively spells against evil spirits and the soothing sounds were seen as evidence that such spells may have helped babies sleep and avoid the harm that night may cause on a child.<ref>For more on Greco-Roman lullabies, see: Frankfurter, D., 2015. The Great, the Little, and the Authoritative Tradition in Magic of the Ancient World. <i>Archiv für Religionsgeschichte</i> 16. https://doi.org/10.1515/arege-2014-0004</ref>
[[File:Lullaby.jpg|thumb|Figure 1. This tablet advises parent on how to put their babies to sleep, which included singing a lullaby. However, early lullabies from Mesopotamia were often frightening and displayed fear of darkness. ]]
