Keening

For other uses, see Keen (disambiguation).

A woman keening at a wake in County Kerry in the early nineteenth century, depicted from the memories of Samuel Carter Hall. She had "black, uncombed locks" and a blue cloak, and held her hands above the body then dramatically waved them in the air "as if by sudden inspiration".[1]

Keening (Irish: caoineadh, pronounced [ˈkiːnʲə]) is a traditional form of vocal lament for the dead in the Gaelic Celtic tradition, known to have taken place in Ireland and Scotland. Keening, which can be seen as a form of sean-nós singing, is performed in the Irish and Scottish Gaelic languages (the Scottish equivalent of keening is known as a coronach).

Keening was once an integral part of the formal Irish funeral ritual, but declined from the 18th century and became almost completely extinct by the middle of the 20th century. Only a handful of authentic keening songs were recorded from traditional singers.

  1. ^ Hall, Samuel (1841). Ireland, Its Scenery and Character (PDF). London: Howe and Parsons. pp. 221–236.