wail

"I wanted to come here desperately, I wanted to see my husband," wailed one woman, who gave her name as Naruemol, as her friend comforted her.

To the side, women wailed, beating their chests or throwing fistfuls of rice and rose petals.

The conservative sentiment toward Harris was summed up by Lori Smith, 66, a dental hygienist in Gold River, who responded to the mention of her name with a combination wail and snort.

Her great-uncle had issued a mandate from his village that they would not mourn his sister’s death in typical Zambian fashion: No one would sleep over at the house; no one would wail in sorrow.

I wailed through the phone to my mother.