What is "kinnot"

Kinnot (; also kinnos, kinoth, qinot, qinoth; singular kinah or qinah) are dirges (sad poems) or elegies traditionally recited by Jews on Tisha B'Av to mourn the destruction of both the First and Second Temple in Jerusalem and other tragedies in Jewish history, including the Crusades and the Holocaust. The Kinnot are recited on the night of Tisha B'Av after reciting the Book of Lamentations, which was also called "Kinnot" in the Talmudic era (see, e.g., Bava Batra 14b) before it assumed its more familiar name of "Eichah." The term is also used for a dirge or lament especially as sung by Jewish professional mourning women.