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In many locations, announcing the death was usually done by a relative of the deceased or, where applicable, by one or more close neighbours. However, there is the widespread custom that that task would be carried out by the so-called first or nearest neighbour, by specific young men in the village or by certain women.

Tolling the bell was a very effective way of announcing the death in rural settlements with a limited number of inhabitants.

The person usually tasked with ringing the bells was the sexton (Apodaca, Mendiola-A; Gorozika, Muskiz-B; Arnezketa-G; Allo, Izal, Monreal-N) and where there was one, the bell-ringer (Valdegovía-A).

Traditionally, the death knell not only announced the death of a person, but also provided information about their age, that is, if a child or adult had died, their sex, and also indicated if the deceased was a priest or belonged to a brotherhood.