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Vultures in the Cultures of the World

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  • INDIAN BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION SOCIETY

Abstract and Figures

Throughout the ages, vultures have been revered as symbols of power and insight. The cultures of various communities not only in India but from all over the world have mentioned about vultures such as Egyptians, American Indians, Pueblo Indians, Greeks, Persians and Romans. The vulture was an important being in the everyday lives of ancient people. For many vultures may be an ugly bird with a myth that they attack livestock or even human beings but the fact is vultures are an important link in the ecosystem, feeding on the dead rotten carcasses. Our ancestors valued them and utilized their scavenging nature to dispose off the dead (humans as well as animals) and keep the surroundings healthy. Various Government departments, Scientists and Conservationists are coming together to work for vulture conservation. Conservation includes both ex-situ and in-situ measures. Since we are losing them every day, International Vulture Awareness Day (First Saturday of every September) is being celebrated all over the world to make the future generation sentient about the plight of vultures. Key words: Ancient history, Vulture, World
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Asian Journal of Agriculture & Life Sciences Vol. 1(2), April 2016: 34-40
Website: www.crsdindia.com/aajals.html e-ISSN: 2455-6149
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Vultures in the Cultures of the World
Sonika Kushwaha
Indian Biodiversity Conservation Society, Jhansi Uttar Pradesh, India
Email: sonika2107@gmail.com
Received: 18th Jan. 2016, Revised: 26th Jan. 2016, Accepted: 17th March 2016
INTRODUCTION
India lost millions of them….. the loss irreversible. Vultures, one of the most commonly sighted
birds started disappearing from the Indian skies in mid 1990s. Today we are left with few
thousands of them. Besides their economic importance and ecological role in keeping the
environment disease free, vultures find important place in mythology too. Throughout the ages,
vultures have been revered as symbols of power and insight. Throughout history and across many
cultures, people have regarded Vultures with enthrallment and admiration. Vultures have been
feared and respected, unloved and well-liked, considered dirty and clean, and associated with black
magic and medicine, birth and death. Assumption about Vultures began in primitive legends, ages
ago but passed over to the future generations through tales and fables. In early different myths,
Vultures represent bravery and goodwill, and have powers of foresight. The cultures of various
communities not only in India but from all over the world have mentioned about vultures such as
Egyptians, American Indians, Pueblo Indians, Greeks, Persians and Romans.
The aim of this paper is to reflect the magnitude of the most efficient scavengers throughout the
ancient times not only in India but across the world. There have been detailed studies regarding
the role of vultures in Nature, this paper reflects their role in various cultures.
METHODOLOGY
To know the importance of the Mother Nature’s Cleaners in various cultures around the World, all
existing scientific and grey literature was located and reviewed on the mythological, cultural,
occurrence and rituals associated with vultures within India and the World. Data was also collected
during visits to various places like Orchha in Tikamgarh.
VULTURES IN INDIAN CULTURE
In the epic Ramayana, Jatayu, a vulture king or Giddhraj (Fig 1) is believed to have informed Lord
Rama the direction in which his wife, Sita had been abducted by Ravana, a demon (Griffith, 1870).
Besides this, Sampati (Jatayu’s elder brother) helped in searching Mother Sita by telling Hanumanji,
Angada and Jambuvana who were leading the group of monkeys in search of Sampati had superios
vision and 100 yojans was not a big distance for him. The bird is attributed with a keen eyesight
ABSTRACT
Throughout the ages, vultures have been revered as symbols of power and insight. The cultures of various
communities not only in India but from all over the world have mentione
d about vultures such as Egyptians,
American Indians, Pueblo Indians, Greeks, Persians and Romans. The vulture was an important being in the
everyday lives of ancient people. For many vultures may be an ugly bird with a myth that they attack livestock
or e
ven human beings but the fact is vultures are an important link in the ecosystem, feeding on the dead rotten
carcasses. Our ancestors valued them and utilized their scavenging nature to dispose off the dead (humans as
well as animals) and keep the surround
ings healthy. Various Government departments, Scientists and
Conservationists are coming together to work for vulture conservation. Conservation includes both ex-
in-situ measures. Since we are losing them every day, International Vulture Awareness
Day (First Saturday of
every September) is being celebrated all over the world to make the future generation sentient about the plight
of vultures.
Key words: Ancient history, Vulture, World
Kushwaha
Asian Journal of Agriculture & Life Sciences ~ 35 ~ Vol. 1(2): April 2016
with long and high flights in the epic Ramayana. Griddhraj Parvat, which means the “hills of
vultures” is a hill of religious, archeological and ecological importance situated in Devrajnagar
village of Madhya Pradesh, India. Griddhraj Parvat is of great religious importance in Hindu
mythology. It is believed to be the birth place of Sampati, the brother of Giddhraj “Jatayu” (Diwan,
1907).
Another place known as 'Griddhakuta' or “The Hill of Vultures” is located at Rajgir, Bihar. Lord
Buddha used to dive into meditation and preaching on 'Griddhakuta' or 'The Hill of Vultures'. This
was the site where he returned just after the attainment of enlightenment. Lord Buddha professed
his law of motion or Dharma Pravartana Chakra on its peak (www.ajanta-ellora.com/rajgir.html).
Fig.1: Wounded Jatayu with Lord Rama
In the history of Central Indian Art, the wall paintings of Orchha occupy a unique position (Fig.2).
The artists adopted long-lasting techniques in the creation of murals, based on Vedas, the Epics and
the Puranasher.
Fig 2: The wall paintings of Orchha occupy a unique position
Kushwaha
Asian Journal of Agriculture & Life Sciences ~ 36 ~ Vol. 1(2): April 2016
The vultures are still seen in the antique pieces in Orchha (fig. 3). Orchha still abodes a promising
population of vultures.
Fig. 3: Antiques with vultures
The Egyptian Vulture was also considered to be a good bird in India. There is a story about two
birds that visited the temple of Thirukkalukundram (hill of sacred vultures) daily for centuries:
they would appear at 11 o'clock in the morning, and were ceremonially fed sweet rice and other
delicacies by the priests (fig 4). According to a myth, the two birds used to be sages cursed by Shiva
to live as vultures, and were visiting the temple in penance. Egyptian Vultures used to be rather
common in India; what makes this case so special, however, is that it was always a pair of vultures
that would visit the temple - never more. Although it is true that two birds were indeed regular
visitors to the temple and photos exist of them, we can easily suppose that they were multiple
generations of vultures and not incredibly long-lived individuals (The Neophron Vultures of
Thirukkalukundram).
Fig. 4: Egyptian vultures being ceremonially fed sweet rice and other delicacies by the priests
VULTURES IN OTHER CULTURES OF THE WORLD
In ancient Egypt, Queen Cleopatra is often depicted carrying a staff adorned with a vulture’s head-a
symbol of wisdom. For the Egyptians, vultures were deities, emblems of motherhood, giving life
Kushwaha
Asian Journal of Agriculture & Life Sciences ~ 37 ~ Vol. 1(2): April 2016
and then later taking it back. Persians accorded them royal status because of their size and the
elegance with which they glide, and the Romans used them to represent military strength.
Among the San and other cultures in Africa, these huge, high-flying birds with their well-developed
powers of observation have been explicitly accorded with Clairvoyance and mystical or magical
properties. The Pueblo Indians saw the vulture as a sign of purification and the Greeks considered
it to be a symbol of transformation, as old decayed flesh was removed new life emerged.
As its name suggests, the Egyptian Vulture was the sacred animal of the ancient Pharaohs; its
appearance is immortalized in the Egyptian hieroglyphic alphabet as the letter A. Since the ancient
Egyptians thought that all vultures were female and were spontaneously born from eggs without
the intervention of a male, they linked these animals to purity and motherhood. In actuality, both
genders happen to have the same appearance, the only difference being the larger size of the
female. Nonetheless, they were held sacred to the mother goddess Isis; they were also elevated to
the rank of deity in their own right as Nekhbet, patron of Upper Egypt and nurse of the Pharaoh
(Fig 5). The priestesses of Nekhbet wore garments of white vulture feathers, and the goddess
herself was often portrayed as a vulture-headed woman, her wings spread to provide protection, a
circlet in her claws - the shen, symbol of infinity. Her cult was in fact linked to the eternal cycle of
death and rebirth because of the vulture's role in the food chain as a scavenger and its supposed
parthenogenesis; Nekhbet was venerated as the mother of mothers, who existed from the
beginning (Nekhbet, the white vulture Goddess).
Fig. 5: Nekhbet
Egyptian vultures in general were held in high regard by ancient Etruscan and Roman culture,
where they were considered messengers of the gods. Their attempts to detect the tides of good and
bad luck involved a particular form of divination, called augury, based on reading the flight of birds.
One such instance of augury appears in the foundation myth of Rome, when Romulus and Remus
were arguing over which hill the new city would be built on and who was to be king; they decided
to settle their argument by observing the flight of vultures. The high regard in which the Egyptian
Vulture was held seeps through time to its modern Italian name, "capovaccaio", which means
"master of cows" - a name given because of the bird's tendency to fly together with cattle
(Crystalinks: Etruscans).
The vulture was an important being in the everyday lives of ancient people. In Pre-Columbian
times, vultures were appreciated as extraordinary beings and had high iconographic status (Fig 6).
Kushwaha
Asian Journal of Agriculture & Life Sciences ~ 38 ~ Vol. 1(2): April 2016
Fig. 6: The Aztec vulture vessel is one of the pots in the new Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican Pottery
Gallery
According to the Kogi today, “No one hates this animal, because it does not do anything bad”
(Reichel-Dolmatoff 1985, II:132). Its presence in art and origin myth reflects its positive and
transforming character. Both the vulture’s natural history and its mythic roles indicate its
importance and its connotations for Classic Maya and other Precolumbian peoples (Fig.7). One of
the first most notable characteristics of Gold Pendant of a Shaman, a dynamic figure is the long,
gently curving beak. This might be interpreted as an eagle or a King Vulture. It is a soaring,
shamanic bird, associated with highness and brightness. It is a transformer of death and sacrificial
offerings. It is related to agriculture, for which the rulers were responsible. Vulture is a civilized
being of many talents (Elizabth P.Benson, 1993).
In ancient Egypt, Queen Cleopatra is often depicted carrying a staff adorned with a vulture’s head-a
symbol of wisdom. For the Egyptians, vultures were deities (Fig. 8) emblems of motherhood; giving
life and then later taking it back (www.cosforums.com/cosarchieve/printthread.php Egyptian
Mythology).
Fig. 7: Gold Pendant of a Shaman Wearing an Avian Costume collected during Pre-Columbian (700
AD to 1200 AD)
Kushwaha
Asian Journal of Agriculture & Life Sciences ~ 39 ~ Vol. 1(2): April 2016
Fig. 8: Africa Architecture temple wings: Ancient Egypt middle east vultures Egyptian mythology
carvings hieroglyphics
CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE OF VULTURES AT PRESENT
Disposing the dead by exposing them for excarnation is a funerary practice of the Zoroastrian
community in India, the Parsees. Like the Parsis in India, Tibetans too practice “Sky burial” where
human corpses are offered to the vultures or Dakinis (Sky Dancer), the equivalent of angels. They
believe that vultures were created to devour corpses and that this form of disposal, limits the
defiling of the earth; air; and water; that are sacred to the Parsees (Pain et al., 2003). Parsees
practice a form of sky-burial in which the dead are carried by the corpse-bearers and placed on top
of a sacred structure called a “Tower of Silence” (Modi, 1922), (Fig 9).
Fig. 9: A corpse being carried by the corpse-bearers inside the Tower of Silence in Bombay
The corpse is completely stripped of its flesh by about 100 - 120 vultures (Satheesan et al., 1990)
within an hour or two, and the bones of the denuded skeleton, when perfectly dried up are placed
in the well, where they are reduced to dust. This form of burial reflects their basic belief that
neither the living nor the earth should be contaminated by the dead but remain pure (Joel, 2005).
There are Parsees in Iran, Iraq, and India, still holding on to this ancient belief, and to the
Kushwaha
Asian Journal of Agriculture & Life Sciences ~ 40 ~ Vol. 1(2): April 2016
westerner, their burial ceremonies are quite extraordinary (Mistry, 1991). A similar death ritual is
practiced by Tibetans who believe that sky-burial transports the spirit of the dead safely to heaven
(Niema, 1980). Excarnation sites or charnel grounds are usually located near monasteries. Drigung
Monastery is located on a steep hill in the Meldor Gungkar county of Central Tibet (Logan, 1997).
After death, the corpse is cleaned and wrapped in white cloth. A ‘body-cutter’ dressed in long white
aprons unwraps the corpse and within a few minutes the dead man's organs are removed and set
aside for later, separate disposal. The cutters give a signal calling the vultures and the flock rushes
in, covering the body completely, their heads disappearing as they bend down to tear away flesh
(Logan, 1997). The vultures are enormous birds with virtually featherless head, so as not to impede
the bird when reaching into a body to feed. Men pull out what remains of the corpse which is
usually only a blood stained skeleton and pound the bones reducing them to splinters. This is
mixed with barley flour and then thrown to the waiting crows and hawks. Remaining vultures grab
slabs of softened gristle and greedily devour them. Within half an hour, the body has almost
completely disappeared and what remains of the skeleton is abandoned at the burial site (Logan,
1997). In some parts of the country vultures are now so scarce that cremation is being used as an
alternative to this traditional celestial burial.
CONCLUSION
For many vultures may be an ugly bird with a myth that they attack livestock or even human beings
but the fact is vultures are an important link in the ecosystem, feeding on the dead rotten carcasses.
Our ancestors valued them and utilized their scavenging nature to dispose off the dead (humans as
well as animals) and keep the surroundings healthy. Various departments (Forest Department,
Agriculture Department, tourist Department, Education Department, archaeological Department),
Scientists and Conservationists are coming together to work for vulture conservation.
Conservation includes both ex-situ and in-situ measures. Since we are losing them everyday,
International Vulture Awareness Day (First Saturday of every September) is being celebrated all
over the world by various Government and Non-Government organizations to make the future
generation sentient about the plight of vultures.
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The Vulture: The Sky and the Earth
  • Benson Elizabeth
Benson Elizabeth P. (1993): The Vulture: The Sky and the Earth. In Eighth Palenque Round Table. Pp. 309-320. San Franciso: Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute.
Witness to a Tibetan Sky-Burial: A Field Report
  • P Logan
Logan P. (1977): Witness to a Tibetan Sky-Burial: A Field Report [Online]. Exploration and Research Society Drigung.
Flight of the Wind Horse: A Journey Into Tibet
  • A Niema
Niema A. (1980): Flight of the Wind Horse: A Journey Into Tibet. London: Rider.
Scavengers on the wing
  • S M Satheesan
  • M Satheesan
Satheesan S.M. and Satheesan M. (1990): Scavengers on the wing. Sanctuary Asia, 10(4): 26-37. 12. www.ajanta-ellora.com/rajgir.html.