A little-known Jewish language

Haketia, a language spoken by Jews in Spanish enclaves of northern Morocco, is getting new billing in a new book, "Tu boca en los cielos: El haketia de Menashe y Alfonso," by Gladys Benaim Bunan (Renaissance House, Beverly Hills, CA, 96 pgs, $29,95).

The title of the book, loosely translated, means "Your Mouth in the Heavens: The Haketia of Menashe and Alfonso."

"Tu boca en los cielos" is an expression popular among Haketia-speaking Jews meaning "May your wishes come true."

"That’s what I want for the words of Menashe and Alfonso," said Benaim Bunan in an e-mail interview from Provence, France, where she lives.

Born in Tangier in 1948, Benaim Bunan will present her book at the Center for Jewish History, in Manhattan, on Monday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m.

The author’s father, one of the first Moroccan Jews to graduate from a Spanish university, left about 100 hand-written pages of expressions, sayings, and words in Haketia "neatly classified and properly sealed," remembers Benaim Bunan. Alfonso, her uncle, contributed to the compilations as well, dying in Buenos Aires in 2006 at 99. He got to see a final draft of the book.

Haketia is a blend of Spanish, Hebrew, and Arabic that migrated from Tangier to other Spanish enclaves like Larache, Tetuan, Arcila, and Alcazar, in northern Morocco. Tangier was declared an international zone in 1924 and administrated by Spanish, France, and Britain.

According to Teaneck resident Alice Hamburg, who was born in Tangier and whose parents spoke Spanish and Haketia, the "city’s atmosphere was very international and besides those languages, French and Italian were also spoken."

Haketia-speaking communities exist in Caracas, Toronto, Montreal, Paris, Buenos Aires, Madrid, Barcelona, and Israel.

A group of some 50 people, Voces de Haketia (Voices of Haketia), founded last March, meets regularly at the Center for Jewish History.

Many of the Jews expelled from Spain in 1492 settled in Morocco and created a unique culture shaped by three languages.

Morocco gained its independence in 1956, after which many Jews settled in Spain, reviving a community that had practically disappeared. Others left for Israel, France, and the Americas.

Benaim Bunan’s family moved to Buenos Aires in the mid-1960s, "looking for a Sephardic community in a Spanish-language country that seemed promising," she said.

A graduate of the National School of Ceramics in Buenos Aires and the School of Arts of Toulon, France, Benaim Bunan illustrated the book with about 30 watercolors, collages, and vignettes, some depicting Jewish customs and traditions, others illustrating the writings and recollections of her father and her uncle.

"The paintings allow me to convey a palette of vivid impressions and memories," said Benaim Bunan.

The manuscripts "reminded me of my childhood, a world full of affection, of sweet words, of songs sung by my grandmother, populated by princes that fell in love with beautiful captive women, in a Medieval Spain in which Christians, Moors, and Jews lived together," she said.

That world, she continued, was also full of blessings, such as "no vea yo mal en ti" ("may I not see evil in you") and "ˇsiempre en fiestas y alegrías te vea yo!" ("may I always see you celebrating and joyful!"), or terms of endearment, especially from parents to children, such as "mi luz" ("my light"), "mi rey" ("my king") and "mi diamante claro" ("my clear diamond").

Another characteristic of Haketia is its wit and humor, expressed in numerous plays and sayings. Several Haketia verbs were formed by adding the Spanish suffix "ar" to Arabic words.

Benaim Bunan calls her book "a work between generations" to which Alfonso and Menashe contributed with their compilations and she with her illustrations.

She said she wanted to publish a book in Spanish and Haketia, but accessible to all. "It’s a Haketia lexicon, wwith all the elements that enrich our traditions: words, ballads, poetry, holidays, and recipes, mixed with drawings."

Usually confused with Ladino, or Judeo-Spanish, Haketia shares with the former the same country of origin, Spain, the love for Hebrew and a vast amount of romanzas (ballads) and sayings. Both are endangered, as the number of speakers has dwindled considerably.

Haketia was confined initially to the Spanish enclaves of northern Morocco, Ladino is considered a product of the Turkish Ottoman Empire, a territory that composed parts what is today Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Israel, and Romania. Over time, Ladino absorbed Turkish, French, Italian, Greek, and Arabic words.

There is no institution devoted to preserving Haketia, whereas Ladino has enjoyed a relative revival thanks to the National Authority of Ladino, created by the Knesset in 1999.

A rich body of religious and secular literature has been written in Ladino, among them the "Meam Lo’ez," ballads, novels, poetry, folktales, and sayings. Works in Haketia, on the other hand, are rarely known outside the Haketia-speaking communities. Among them are the dictionaries of Alegria Bendelac and José Benoliel; plays; two works of fiction, "La vida perra de Juanita Narboni," by Angel Vasquez, and "Yahasrá," by Solly Levy. The latter was published in 1992 in Canada, where Levy lives. Works about Haketia in English are scarce.

"Haketia is essentially an oral language," Benaim Bunan said. "In Morocco we didn’t need books because we spoke it."

What separates Ladino and Haketia is the different roads they have taken after 500 years, each adapting to different countries, Benaim Bunan said.

"With the existence of Israel, Hebrew became dynamic and has taken the role that ‘nuestra lengua’ [‘the language of ours’] used to have," she added.

Benaim Bunan’s family, like many others in Tangier, spoke Haketia at home and Spanish outside because "it was more appropriate and stylish. At home, Haketia had an affectionate tonality but it was [inappropriate] on the street," she remembers.

Benaim Bunan speaks Haketia with her aunt, her brothers, her mother, and her friends, who are spread all over the world. "Haketia bring us together as we recreate our childhood, our homes," she said. "But I don’t speak it with my children, and I regret it very much."

Following Bunan’s presentation, Levy will perform a one-man show, A trilingual "Sollyloquy," described by the performer as a "tongue-in-cheek doctoral lecture on Sephardic identities." A comedian, author, producer, and performer born in Tangier, Levy is a founding member of Gerineldo, a musical ensemble based in Canada and specializing in the folk repertoire of the Jews of northern Morocco.

Benaim Bunan’s and Levy’s presentations are sponsored by the American Sephardi Federation and Voces de Haketia.