Hiring Howling people

[Dyer, Sonia]

Daniel van E wrote:
>Could the hiring of howling people be a reference to real life? For 
>example, the time of the Bible's Old Testimony, where people were 
>hired to cry when someone died? 
>
>In my dictioniary I only see a female reference ("klaagvrouw"). 
>It's translated as "hired mourner, mute".

This was a common practice, even as far back as ancient Egypt, where the
larger and more grief-stricken the crowd following a person to be
buried, meant how much more important and respected they were, and how
much they would be missed.  In practice, there were often "professional
mourners", usually women, who walked behind the real family members, and
would be keening.  Keening is an old English word that means loud
wailing and crying and carrying on due to profound grief.  I guess there
weren't a lot of job options for women in the old days.