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Ululation

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Ululation(/ˌjuːljʊˈleɪʃən,ˌʌl-/ⓘ,[1][2]fromLatinululo),trillingorlele,is a long, wavering, high-pitched vocal sound resembling ahowlwith atrillingquality. It is produced by emitting a high pitched loud voice accompanied with a rapid back and forth movement of thetongueand theuvula.[3]

Around the world

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An Egyptian woman ululates after having cast her vote in the2014 Egyptian presidential elections.

Ululation is practiced either alone or as part of certain styles of singing, on various occasions of communal ritual events (like weddings) used to express strong emotion.

Ululation is practised in all parts ofAfrica,theMiddle East,Americasand as far east asCentralandSouth Asia.It is also practiced in a few places in Europe among the diaspora community originating from these areas.

Middle East

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Ululation is commonly used in Middle Eastern weddings. In theArab world,zaghārīt(Arabic: زغاريت) is a ululation performed to honor someone. For example, zagharits are widely performed and documented in Egyptian movies featuring traditional Egyptian weddings, where women are known for their very long and very loud performed ululations. Another example of the incorporation of ululations into traditional wedding songs can be found inZaghareed(also spelledzaghareet), a collection of traditional Palestinian wedding songs reinterpreted and rearranged byMohsen Subhiand produced in 1997 by the Palestinian National Music and Dance TroupeEl-Funoun.[4] Ululations are a part ofKurdishculture. They are commonly heard during henna nights, weddings andNewrozas it's a display of celebration. Ululation also occurs amongMizrahi Jewsduringsimcha(festive occasions) such as at theinauguration of a Torah scroll(hachnasat sefer Torah),brit milah(circumcision),[5]communal celebrations,weddings,[6][7]bar mitzvah[8]celebrations, and most of all athennacelebrations.[9]TheModern Hebrewword for ululation is "tsahalulim" (Hebrew: צהלולים). Recordings of various styles of ululations are commonly found in the music of artists performingMizrahistyles of music.

Africa and Asia

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In Ethiopia and Eritrea, ululation (calledililta) is part of a Christian religious ritual performed by worshipers as a feature of Sunday or other services in theEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church,[10]Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church,and someEthiopian Evangelical Churches.InSomali,ululation is known asAlalaas,and is widely used in music. InHausait is known asguda,inZululilizelain Tsongankulungwaniand in Northern SiNdebeleukubulula.Ululation is incorporated intoAfrican musicalstyles such as Tshangani music, where it is a form of audience participation, along with clapping andcall-and-response.

In Tanzania ululation is a celebratory cheer sound when good news has been shared or during weddings, welcoming of a newborn home, graduations and other festivals even in church when sermons are going on. InSwahiliit is known asvigelegeleand inLuo dialectit is known asudhalili.Generally women exuberantly yelllilililiin a high-pitched voices. Female children are usually proud of being able to ululate like their mothers and aunts.

Ululation is also widely practiced in the eastern parts ofIndia,where it is also known asUluludhvani.People, especially women roll their tongues and produce this sound during allHindutemple rituals, festivals and celebrations. This is also an integral part of most weddings in these parts where, depending upon the local usages, women ululate to welcome the groom or bride or both.Bengaliscall itulu-dhwaniorJokaraand they use this during weddings and other festivals.Odiascall itHulahuliorHuluhuli.[11] [12]InOdisha,ululation is used to cheer during weddings, cultural gatherings and celebrations.[citation needed]Assamesecall ituruli.InTamil,it is known askulavai(Tamil:குளவை). InKerala,ululation is essential for all ceremonial occasions and the term used inMalayalamiskurava.For the native people ofKashmir;it is commonly practised and calledZagruta.It is mostly practised during weddings, a wedding lead up, or other occasion such as birthdays or upon hearing good news.

A curling metal tube.
Sculpture "Irrintzi in the air" byMikel Varas.

Ululation is rooted in the culture of North Africa, Northern parts ofWest AfricaandEastern Africaas well asSouthern Africaand is widely practiced inTanzania,Kenya,Angola,Democratic Republic of the Congo,Botswana,Lesotho,Malawi,Mozambique,Namibia,South Africa,Eswatini,Ethiopia-Eritrea,Somalia,Uganda,Zambia,andZimbabwe.It is used by women to give praises at weddings and all other celebrations. It is a general sound of good cheer and celebration, when good news has been delivered in a place of gathering, even in church. It is also an integral part of most African weddings where women gather around the bride and groom, dancing and ululating exuberantly. During graduation ceremonies ululation shows pride and joy in scholastic achievement. The women ululating usually stand and make their way to the front to dance and ululate around the graduate.

Europe

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Ululation is used to some extent by south European women[3]TheBasqueirrintziis a signal of happiness originating from shepherds.[13][14] It has been proposed as a technique for vocal rehabilitation.[15] TheGalicianaturuxois performed with accompanied vocalization from the throat.

Americas

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It is also practiced by someNative Americantribes. In theLakota tribe,women yell "lililili" in a high-pitched voice to praise warriors for acts of valor.[16]TheApachesalso practice ululation, as do theCherokee,as war cries.

In ancient times

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InAncient Egypt,reference to ululation appears on the inscription of thepyramid textsofUnas,on the West Wall of the Corridor (section XIII),[17]and ofPepi I,in the Spells for Entering theAkhet.[18]In ancient Greece ululation or (Greek:ὀλολυγή,romanized:ololuge) was normally used as a joyful expression[19]to celebrate good news[20]or when an animal's throat is cut during sacrifice.[21]However, inAeschylus'Agamemnon,along with being an expression of joy, it is also used for fury,[20]and inSophocles'Electrait is employed as an expression of grief.[19]As in many cultures, use depended on context, as ululated exclamations could appear in different circumstances as a cry of lament or as a battle-cry.[22]

Homer mentions ololuge (ululation) in his works,[23][24]as doesHerodotus,citing ululation in North Africa – where it is still practiced – saying:

I think for my part that the loud cries uttered in our sacred rites came also from thence; for the Libyan women are greatly given to such cries and utter them very sweetly.[25]

Or in another translation:

I also think that theololugeor cry of praise emitted during the worship of Athena started in Libya, because it is often employed by Libyan women, who do it extremely well.[26][27]

The Hebrew wordHallelujah,translated as a call to "praise the Lord", contains therootH-L-L, with meanings related to "praise". This root may have originally been an onomatopoeic imitation of ululation performed inIsraeliterituals.[28]

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At the2020 Super Bowl LIV halftime show,ColombiansingerShakira,whose father isLebanese,ululated at the camera during her performance.[29]

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Ululation".Merriam-Webster Dictionary.Merriam-Webster.Retrieved2016-01-22.
  2. ^"Ululation".LexicoUK English Dictionary.Oxford University Press.Archived fromthe originalon 2020-03-22.
  3. ^abPendle, Karin (2001).Women & music: a history.Bloomington: Indiana University Press.ISBN0-253-21422-X.
  4. ^"Zaghareed".El Funoun website.1997. Archived fromthe originalon 2009-01-05.Retrieved2009-01-05.
  5. ^Heber, Levi Y.Additional Sephardic Circumcision Customs: The customs of Sephardim and Oriental Jews at a Brit Milah.Brit Milah.{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help)
  6. ^Stillman, Yedida Kalfon; Zucker, George K. (January 1993).New horizons in Sephardic Studies.SUNY Press. p. 298.ISBN9780791414019.
  7. ^SeeSephardic Musicsection on History
  8. ^Everson, Eva Marie; Vamosh, Mirian Feinberg (2008-08-31).Reflections of God's Holy Land: A Personal Journey Through Israel.Thomas Nelson. p. 242.ISBN9781418577612.
  9. ^Samin, Lisa (1996-06-14)."Moroccan nuptials combine ancient rituals, festivities".JWeekly.World Zionist Press Service.
  10. ^"Review: Ethiopian Christian Liturgical Chant".Journal of Religion in Africa.
  11. ^"Lost customs return to Bhubaneswar".The Telegraph- Calcutta (Kolkata) | Orissa.2012. Archived fromthe originalon July 7, 2015.Retrieved2012-06-16.hulahuli — the typical sound made in chorus by women during religious ceremonies
  12. ^"FAIRS & FESTIVALS:: RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS".Orissa-Tourism.2006. Archived fromthe originalon 2010-12-20.Retrieved2012-06-16.Hulahuli' (a shrill sound made by wagging the tongue inside the mouth)
  13. ^Trask, Larry Trask."Some Important Basque Words (And a Bit of Culture)".
  14. ^"Irrintzi".Auñamendi Encyclopedia(in Spanish).
  15. ^Martínez-Arellano, Ana (8 July 2021).Bases fisiológicas y caracterización acústica del Irrintzi(in Spanish). Pamplona: Universidad de Navarra.Retrieved3 October2021.Esta técnica se puede utilizar para trabajar el volumen alto en pacientes con disfonía y para mejorar el rendimiento vocal y la eficiencia de la voz en personas que utilizan la a volumen alto o en frecuencias elevadas.
  16. ^Bullerman, Mathias."SAIVUS - Lakota Language Tutorial - Lesson One - Wóuŋspe Tȟokáhe".sioux.saivus.org.SAIVUS.Retrieved2017-02-09.
  17. ^van den Dungen, Wim."The Pyramid Texts of UNAS".
  18. ^Allen, James P.; Manuelian, Peter Der.The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts.
  19. ^abMcClure, Laura (1999).Spoken like a woman: speech and gender in Athenian drama.Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.ISBN0-691-01730-1.
  20. ^abAllan, William; Altena, Hermann; Michael, Jr Perna; Gregory, Justina (2005-09-16).A Companion to Greek Tragedy (Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World).Blackwell Publishing Limited.ISBN1-4051-0770-7.
  21. ^Goff, Barbara E. (2004).Citizen Bacchae: women's ritual practice in ancient Greece.Berkeley: University of California Press.ISBN0-520-23998-9.
  22. ^Wiktionary:ἐλελεῦ
  23. ^Stein, Charles (2008).The Odyssey.North Atlantic Books.ISBN978-1-55643-728-1.
  24. ^Camps, W. A.(1980).An introduction to Homer.Oxford: Clarendon Press.ISBN0-19-872101-3.
  25. ^On Libya, from The Histories, c. 430 BCE.Vol. IV. pp. 42–43.
  26. ^Waterfield, Robin; Dewald, Carolyn (1998).The histories.Oxford [England]:Oxford University Press.ISBN0-19-282425-2.
  27. ^For the ancient Greeks,Libyadenoted a much larger expanse than present-dayLibya.
  28. ^Zevit, Ziony (2007).The First Halleluyah.Eisenbrauns.p. 164.ISBN9781575061276.{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help)
  29. ^"That tongue-trilling sound that Shakira made at the Super Bowl? That was a zaghrouta, the traditional Middle Eastern expression of joy".Chicago Tribune.3 February 2020.
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