What Somali mourners and Ethiopian mourners share

The mourner provides the service just cry and don’t stop crying.

Garoowe (Comment PP) — In Ethiopia, there are people hired to mourn for families who have lost a loved one. It is quite surprising how their crying can affect more than that of the family members and relatives of the deceased.

Many Somalis are astonished at how the mourners charge money for the mourning they perform. Mourning can last for many hours, especially when someone comes to the grieving family.

In Ethiopia, mourning is a profession that is inherited. There are companies that advertise services for family mourning. The money given to the mourners (only women provide this service) depends on the hours the mourning lasts. The family members who come to the mourning never doubt that the mourning is not genuine, let alone that people remember the saying the mourning is greater than the wolf's howl .

In Somalia, there is a service similar to what the mourners do. It is the service of the criers. The criers have a presence on social media. Any politician seeking to undermine another politician or a Somali clan or a government that is criticized or insulted pays the crier to perform that task.

The crier does not enter into an agreement limiting their service to one group. The crier can provide that same service to a clan, administration, or politician they are targeting.

The criers benefit from the cries being viewed and the money paid by the people they serve. The crier typically states: “ No one has paid me .” The number of supporters a crier has varies. Their strategies include hosting the people they are targeting to provide a crying service. The crier has emerged from the Social Media Insects (CBB).

The crier is not a muscle man. They are a disgraceful person. Recently, Somali administrations have issued decisions against criers who spread conflict, insult people, and deliberately spread lies. This is a commendable step. We should not encourage the disgraceful behavior of Somali criers wherever they are.

© Puntland Post, 2026