Keening (Irish:caoineadh,pronounced[ˈkiːnʲə]) is a traditional form of vocallament for the dead in theGaelicCeltic tradition, known to have taken place inIreland andScotland. Keening, which can be seen as a form ofsean-nós singing, is performed in the Irish andScottish Gaelic languages (the Scottish equivalent of keening is known as acoronach).
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 fromtraditional singers.
"Keen" as a noun or verb comes from theIrish andScottish Gaelic termcaoineadh ("to cry, to weep"),[2] and references to it from the 7th, 8th, and 12th centuries are extensive. Probably at the origin of "couiner" in French.[3][4]
The tune and lyrics rely on the repetition of a couple of basicmotifs which can be variably extended or shortened. It seems that there was never an established keening ‘text’; the singer is expected to improvise as feeling dictates.[5] Despite the keen varying between performances, keeners worked within the same body of motifs and diction.[6] Keening was rhythmically free, without ametre.[6]
The words are thought to have been constituted of stock poetic elements (the listing of the genealogy of the deceased, praise for the deceased, emphasis on the woeful condition of those left behind, etc.) set to vocal lament.[7] Words of lament were interspersed with non-lexicalvocables, that is sounds that are without meaning.[2]
The keen can be formed of three motifs: The salutation (introduction), thedirge (verse), and the gol (cry).[6]
In the 12th century,Giraldus Cambrensis (Gerald of Wales) described vocal laments taking place in which the mourners were divided in two, each alternately singing their part and sometimes joining in full chorus.[8] Written sources that describe the singing style appear from the sixteenth century on.[9][10]
In ancient times, a chief's ownbard (assisted by the chief's household) would perform the funeral song. More recently, keeners would be hired female mourners.[11] The mourners accompanied the keening woman (bean chaointe), with physical movements involving rocking and kneeling.[7][12][11] The Irish tradition of keening over the body during the funeral procession and at the burial site is distinct from thewake, the practice of watching over the corpse, which takes place the night before the burial, and may last for more than one night.[13][14]
The practice of keening was "generally adhered to" throughout Ireland irrespective of social class until around the middle of the 18th century.[11]
Around 1791, theantiquarian William Beauford (1735–1819)[16] described in detail the practice of keening at a traditional Irish funeral ceremony and transcribed the keening melodies that were sung. He provided the following information:
Samuel Carter Hall described Irish funeral traditions and keening songs in his 1841 bookIreland: Its Scenery, Character and History. He wrote that mourners would often rock back and forth and clasp their hands together during the keening song.[1]
Wailing and singing inlamentation, is as old as funerals, going back toHomeric,Etruscan, andbiblical times.[17][18] Keening has strong parallels in the Middle East and elsewhere.[18]Sir Walter Scott compared Gaelic keening to theululatus of theRomans.[11]
According toIrish mythology, keening laments are sung bybanshees. A banshee could sing when a family member died or was about to die, even if the person had died far away and news of their death had not yet come. In those cases, her wailing would be the first warning the household had of the death.[19][20]
Keening women have been described as "the (human) structural adjunct of the banshee".[6]
Keening inCounty Kerry was said to be closest to the wailing of abanshee.[1]
Authentic keening was effectively extinct by the early twentieth century.[5] One of the attendees at the 1905Requiem Mass of FatherAllan MacDonald, an iconic figure inScottish Gaelic literature, atSt Michael's Roman Catholic Church onEriskay, later recalled that it was the last funeral in which the tradition of Keening, orCoronach, was used in theHebrides.[21]
In the early 1950s, Cití Ní Ghallchóir (Kitty Gallagher) ofGaoth Dobhair inCounty Donegal, Ireland sang a keening song she had learnt from an old woman toAlan Lomax, which can be heard online.[22] A recording of Gallagher's keening song was featured on the albumTraditional Songs of Ireland (1995).[23] Below is Gallagher's version with a translation.
S'airiú, (Word for lamenting – no literal translation)
Agus a leanbh (My child)
Cad a Dhéanfaidh mé? (What will I do?)
Tá tú ar shiúl uaim (You are gone from me)
Agus airiú
Agus anuiridh, níl duin ar bith agam (I've been left alone after a year)
'S airiú
Agus mé liom fein (I am alone)
Dá mbeithea go moch agam (If I were early)
Agus och, och, airiú, gan thú, gan thú (Alas, alas, without you, without you)[24]
Seosamh Ó hÉanaí (Joe Heaney) of Carna,Connemara sang a traditional keening song which he learnt from his grandmother Béib (Bairbre) Uí Mhaoilchiaráin, who had lived during the nineteenth century. The recording is available on the official Joe Heaney website.[5] Heaney was also recorded discussing his childhood memories of keening women inConnemara and the ways funeral traditions have changed since.[25]
The albumSongs of Aran (1957) has two recordings of keening songs collected from the oral tradition on theAran Islands, both entitled Caoineadh na Marbh ('The Keening of the Dead’).[5] Both of the recordings, which were made bySidney Robertson Cowell, are reminiscent of thecronán, described byEugene O’Curry as a ‘purring,’ beginning ‘in the 'chest or throat on a low key and rising gradually to the highest treble’.[6]
TheTobar an Dualchais Scottish music archive has two recordings related to keening which are available to the public; the first is a keening song sung by Calum Johnston (1891–1972) ofBarra,[26] and the second is a verse performed by Donald MacIntyre (1899–1964) ofSouth Uist said to have been used by paid keening women.[27]
Phyllida Anam-Áire, author ofThe Celtic Book of Dying, heard keening in its traditional environment in theDonegalGaeltacht in the 1940s, and described and sang a rendition of what she heard.[28]
The lack of authentic recordings of keening songs may be due to the reluctance of singers to share something so private.[5]
John Millington Synge's one-act playRiders to the Sea (1904) features a chorus of women from theAran Islands mourning the death of their loved ones at sea.[29]
In 1986,Robin Williams andCarol Burnett performed a comical version of a keening song for a sketch called "The Funeral" as part ofCarol, Carl, Whoopi and Robin.[30]
Irish musician Róis explores keening on her 2024 album Mo Léan with samples of 20th century singers and her own interpretations of keening songs.[31]
Preview
[Its occurrence] is most strongly associated with the old family or ancestral home and land, even when a family member dies abroad. The cry, linked predominantly to impending death, is said to be experienced by family members, and especially by the local community, rather than the dying person. Death is considered inevitable once the cry is acknowledged.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Most manifestations of the banshee are said to occur in Ireland, usually near the home of the dying person. But some accounts refer to the announcement in Ireland of the deaths of Irish people overseas... It is those concerned with a death, at family and community levels, who usually hear the banshee, rather than the dying person.