A Little Bird Told ME!!

 

 

Today I have been watching the birds in my garden, darting in and out my bushes and feeding off the bird feeders. I have always loved to watch nature, birds in particular.. And I have had many insights given to me with birds flying; In September I saw 4 hawks flying high near where I live, a rare sight. And often have received feathers that float down in my path..

Did you know that bird watching was a method of Divination by priests of many ancient cultures?

I am sure all of you when having seen a Magpie you search to see another one.  With the Rhyme ‘One for Sorrow, Two for Joy, Three for a girl, Four for a Boy, Five for Silver, Six for Gold, Seven for a Secret never to be told..

The method of divination by interpreting the fight and patterns of birds is called ‘ornithomancy’ from the Greek ornis, meaning bird, and mantria, meaning divination,  Even Harry Potter came across it in his divination classes in JK Rowlings books.

Aztecs used Ornithomancy to choose the location to build Mexico City.

And Tibetans called bird divination Bya-rog-kui-skad-brtag-pa and relied on observing the crow for their predictions.

Italian diviners would charge a fee for the service their Parakeets, as the bird would choose a slip of paper from a collection of similar slips with a fortune written on it.

The practice was popular in ancient Rome, their belief was based on the fact that birds, being high in the heavens, would be aware of the intentions of the Gods that dwelt there, and act as there messengers. And the American Native Indians use birds and feathers in many of their rituals and believe in their medicine power.

The eagle is one of those associated with the culture of these wise Tribes, the eagle feathers were and are revered. Upon reading up on such subjects I was interested in finding out that how an eagle feather is worn means various things to different tribes. For instance in the Ponca tribe Upright feathers in the crown showed the number of captures made in a battle.  In Santee ( Woodland Dakota) an eagle feather worn hanging downward, this single feather indicated that the wearer had been wounded in battle.

Probably the most poignant of Native American Stories relating to eagle feathers occurred in the 1900’s. In the US it is illegal to keep eagle feathers unless one is a Native American. A good rule in theory to protect the eagles. However the practice requires not only identification from the reservation, but references from two tribal elders and verification from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, along with official verification of the tribe to prove Native status.

Nathan Jim Jr, a member of the Yakima Tribe, was arrested for illegal possession of eagle feathers. He spent 14mths in jail awaiting trial and was put on probation. His lawyer appealed under the religious freedom action. Nathan Jim lost the appeal and subsequently killed himself rather than face jail again. Belatedly the US Federal Prosecutor relented, and took some eagle feathers and drove to the reservation for the funeral, but arrived too late for the ceremony, therefore, Nathan Jim Jr never received his eagle feathers even in death.

http://www.kstrom.net/isk/stories/eagle.html

 

I was also interested to find out that both in Britain and the US both have ‘bird lore’ for Valentine’s Day, and so with Valentines’s Day fast approaching… If a girl sees a hen and a cockerel together at the same time on that day, then she will get married the following year. And the first Bird she sees on that day indicates the sort of man she will marry. A Robin means a sailor, a blackbird a clergyman, a sparrow a farmer, a goldfinch or any yellow bird a rich man, a Dove a good man, and a woodpecker means no husband at all..

I hope you found some of these stories as interesting as I did.

Happy BIRD watching.

Dreamwalker.