A is a long, wavering, high-pitched vocal sound resembling a howl with a trill

Trill (music)

The trill is a musical ornament consisting of a rapid alternation between two adjacent notes, usually a semitone or tone apart, which can be identified with the context of the trill....

ing quality. It is produced by emitting a high pitched loud voice accompanied with a rapid movement of the tongue

Tongue

The tongue is a muscular hydrostat on the floors of the mouths of most vertebrates which manipulates food for mastication. It is the primary organ of taste , as much of the upper surface of the tongue is covered in papillae and taste buds. It is sensitive and kept moist by saliva, and is richly...

 and the uvula

Uvula

The palatine uvula, usually referred to as simply the uvula , is the conic projection from the posterior edge of the middle of the soft palate, composed of connective tissue containing a number of racemose glands, and some muscular fibers .-Function in language:The uvula plays a role in the...

. The term ululation is an onomatopoeic word derived from Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

. It is produced by moving the tongue, rapidly, from left to right repetitively in the mouth while producing a sharp sound.

Around the world

Ululation is found in some singing techniques and ritual situations. In Arab countries ululation is commonly used by women to express celebration, especially at wedding

Wedding

A wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage or a similar institution. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes...

s. An example of the incorporation of ululations in traditional wedding songs can be found in Zaghareed, a collection of Palestinian

Palestinian people

The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...

 traditional wedding songs reinterpreted and re-arranged by Mohsen Subhi

Mohsen Subhi

Mohsen Subhi was a Palestinian composer of classical Arabic music and arranger of modern Palestinian music and folk song....

 and produced in 1997 by the Palestinian National Music and Dance Troupe (El Funoun)

Ululation is commonly practiced by Jewish women of Mediterranean communities originating in North Africa, the Middle East as well as in Ethiopia, and central and south Asia at all joyous occasions such as at a hachnasat sefer Torah (the dedication of a Torah scroll, circumcisions

Brit milah

The brit milah is a Jewish religious circumcision ceremony performed on 8-day old male infants by a mohel. The brit milah is followed by a celebratory meal .-Biblical references:...

, communal celebrations, weddings

Jewish wedding

A Jewish wedding is a wedding ceremony that follows Jewish law and traditions.While wedding ceremonies vary, common features of a Jewish wedding include a ketuba signed by two witnesses, a wedding canopy , a ring owned by the groom that is given to the bride under the canopy, and the breaking of a...

, bar miswa celebrations, and most of all at henna

Henna

Henna is a flowering plant used since antiquity to dye skin, hair, fingernails, leather and wool. The name is also used for dye preparations derived from the plant, and for the art of temporary tattooing based on those dyes...

celebrations. The cultural practice has spread to other Jews, particularly where members of different Jewish ethnic communities come together, and is also to be found among American Jews as well. Recordings of various styles of ululations are commonly found in the music of artists performing Mizrahi

Mizrahi music

Mizrahi music refers to the music integration that combines elements from Europe, the West, and Middle Eastern/North African countries transported to Israel by migrating Jews. It is usually sung in Hebrew, literary Hebrew and Arabic slang...

 styles of music. In Morocco it is known as barwalá or youyou.

Ululation is also commonly used in funeral

Funeral

A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor...

s of martyrs in the Muslim world, since they are believed to be going to Jannah

Jannah

Jannah , is the Islamic conception of paradise. The Arabic word Jannah is a shortened version meaning simply "Garden". According to Islamic eschatology, after death, one will reside in the grave until the appointed resurrection on . Muslims believe that the treatment of the individual in the life...

. In the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

, zaghareet is a ululation performed to honor someone. In East Africa

East Africa

East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...

, ululation (or ililta) performed by worshipper

Laity

In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...

s is a feature of services in the Ethiopian Orthodox

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is the predominant Oriental Orthodox Christian church in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Church was administratively part of the Coptic Orthodox Church until 1959, when it was granted its own Patriarch by Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All...

 and Eritrean Orthodox Churches, and is also commonly used in secular celebrations such as parties or concerts. Ululation is incorporated into African musical styles such as Shona music

Shona music

Shona music is the music of the Shona people of Zimbabwe. There are several different types of traditional Shona music including mbira, singing, hosho and drumming. Very often, this music will be accompanied by dancing, and participation by the audience...

, where it is a form of audience participation, along with clapping

Clapping

A clap is the sound made by striking together two flat surfaces, as in the body parts of humans or animals. Humans clap with the palms of their hands, often in a constant drone to express appreciation or approval , but also in rhythm to match sounds in music and dance...

 and call-and-response.

The Basque

Basque people

The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...

 irrintzi

Irrintzi

Irrintzi is an armed Basque nationalist group or cell that acts in the French Basque Country . The word irrintzi refers originally to the traditional Basque folk high pitched scream used to express celebration or happiness....

is a signal of happiness originating from shepherds

Ululation is also widely practiced in southern and eastern parts of India. People, especially women roll their tongues and produce this sound during all Hindu temple 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.
In Tamil

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

 it is known as kulavai. In Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

, ululation is essential for all ceremonial occasions and the term used in Malayalam is kurava. Bengali

Bengali people

The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...

s and Oriyas

Oriya people

The Oriya, known classically by various names , are an ethnic group of eastern India and of eastern Indo-Aryan stock...

 call it ulu-uli. Assamese

Assamese people

The Assamese people are a well-defined subgroup of People of Assam. Though sometimes they are defined as the Assamese-speaking Indo-Aryans of the Brahmaputra valley,, this definition is not legally binding...

 call it uruli.

Ululation is, also, used to some extent by south European women In South Africa, ululating is used by women to give praises at weddings, celebrations and when good news have been delivered in a place of gathering even in church.

In ancient times

In Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...

, reference to ululation appears on the inscription of the pyramid texts

Pyramid Texts

The Pyramid Texts are a collection of ancient Egyptian religious texts from the time of the Old Kingdom. The pyramid texts are possibly the oldest known religious texts in the world. Written in Old Egyptian, the pyramid texts were carved on the walls and sarcophagi of the pyramids at Saqqara during...

 of Unas

Unas

Unas was a Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, and the last ruler of the Fifth dynasty from the Old Kingdom. His reign has been dated as falling between 2375 BC and 2345 BC...

, on the West Wall of the Corridor (section XIII), and of Pepi I, in the Spells for Entering the Akhet

Akhet (hieroglyph and season)

The Egyptian language word Akhet is both a hieroglyph and an Ancient Egyptian season.The two uses for akhet:* In ancient Egyptian, the place where the sun rises and sets; often translated as "horizon" or "mountain of light". It is included in names like "Akhet Khufu" and Akhetaten...

. In ancient Greece ululation or ololuge was normally used as a joyful expression to celebrate good news or when an animal's throat is cut during sacrifice. However, in Aeschylus

Aeschylus

Aeschylus was the first of the three ancient Greek tragedians whose work has survived, the others being Sophocles and Euripides, and is often described as the father of tragedy. His name derives from the Greek word aiskhos , meaning "shame"...

' Agamemnon, along with being an expression of joy, it is also used for fury, and in Sophocles

Sophocles

Sophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus, and earlier than or contemporary with those of Euripides...

' Electra

Electra

In Greek mythology, Electra was an Argive princess and daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra. She and her brother Orestes plotted revenge against their mother Clytemnestra and stepfather Aegisthus for the murder of their father Agamemnon...

it is employed as an expression of grief.

Homer mentions ololuge (ululation) in his works, as does Herodotus

Herodotus

Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...

, 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.

Or in another translation:

I also think that the ololuge or 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.

In popular culture

Ululation appears in many films set in the Middle East, such as Lawrence of Arabia

Lawrence of Arabia (film)

Lawrence of Arabia is a 1962 British film based on the life of T. E. Lawrence. It was directed by David Lean and produced by Sam Spiegel through his British company, Horizon Pictures, with the screenplay by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson. The film stars Peter O'Toole in the title role. It is widely...

and The Battle of Algiers

The Battle of Algiers (film)

The Battle of Algiers is a 1966 war film based on occurrences during the Algerian War against French colonial occupation in North Africa, the most prominent being the titular Battle of Algiers. It was directed by Gillo Pontecorvo...

and Lion of the Desert

Lion of the Desert

Lion of the Desert is a 1981 Libyan historical action film starring Anthony Quinn as Libyan tribal leader Omar Mukhtar, a Bedouin leader fighting the Italian army in the years leading up to World War II and Oliver Reed as Italian General Rodolfo Graziani, who attempted to defeat Mukhtar. It was...

. Sometimes it is depicted as a battle cry, for example in Xena: Warrior Princess

Xena: Warrior Princess

Xena: Warrior Princess is an American–New Zealand supernatural fantasy adventure series that aired in syndication from September 4, 1995 until June 18, 2001....

. Even the animated feature G.I. Joe: The Movie

G.I. Joe: The Movie

G.I. Joe: The Movie is a 1987 animated film spun off from the animated series G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, based on the original Hasbro toyline. It was produced by Sunbow Productions and Marvel Productions and was animated in Japan by Toei Animation.Created at the height of the G.I. Joe craze in...

featured the ululation "Cobra-la-la-la-la-la

Cobra-La

Cobra-La is a fictional civilization created by Hasbro for the military-themed toyline and TV series G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. Introduced to the public in G.I. Joe: The Movie and the 1987 series of action figures, Cobra-La was created as a reference to James Hilton's Lost Horizon, and the...

". It appears as comic relief in The Simpsons episodes "The Last Temptation of Homer

The Last Temptation of Homer

"The Last Temptation of Homer" is the ninth episode of The Simpsons fifth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 9, 1993. In the episode, a female employee named Mindy is hired at the nuclear power plant...

" and "Midnight Rx

Midnight Rx

"Midnight Rx" is the sixth episode of The Simpsons sixteenth season. It was the first new episode of 2005.-Plot:Mr. Burns reserves the Springfield Air and Space Museum for a plant company party. While there, Burns acts strangely kind to all of his employees. At the end of the party, Burns announces...

"; as well as on Family Guy

Family Guy

Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...

in the episode "E. Peterbus Unum" where Stewie is curious about the sound Achmed "makes when you're about to assassinate an infidel". Finally, the word appears in the book Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies is a novel by Nobel Prize-winning author William Golding about a group of British boys stuck on a deserted island who try to govern themselves, with disastrous results...

as a way in which Sam and Eric could warn the other members of Jack's tribe of the coming beast or other intruders.