Thursday, February 01, 2007

Mamaqilla







This is needlefelted! Isn't he amazing? Click on the title of this entry to go to the website to view more sculptures. I do like crows but I know some people find them annoying or even bad! I love that the photo shows the crow on newspaper so that if he shits, he won't make a mess!



If you see a crow flapping its wings, beware: A big accident is about to happen.
Nor do you want to see a crow facing your door, because that signals danger. And if a crow is sitting on top of a house with a red thread in its beak, call the fire department posthaste, because the flames aren't far behind.
These superstitions come from Asia, and they're just a few of the scores of myths that surround the unfortunate crow and its slightly larger cousin, the raven.


Many American Indian tribes saw the crow as a wise adviser and the spirit of wisdom and the law.
The Norse god Odin used two crows -- Hugin and Munin, representing thought and memory -- as his daily observers of the world.
And members of the American Society of Crows and Ravens, founded in 1982, like to quote American writer and abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher, who said:
"If men had wings and bore black feathers, few of them would be clever enough to be crows."


In Irish mythology, the Badb (/baðβ/ "crow" in Old Irish; modern Irish Badhbh /beiv/ means "vulture" or "carrion-crow") was a goddess of war who took the form of a crow, and was thus sometimes known as Badb Catha (battle crow).


She often caused confusion among soldiers to move the tide of battle to her favored side. Battlefields were called the land of the Badb, and were often said to include the Badb taking part as a crow or as a wolf. The Badb is associated with the beansidhe, and is said to have been crucial in the battle against the Fomorians.
In the mythological account of the second battle of Mag Tuired, wherein the Tuatha De Danann defeated the Fomorians in battle, Badb is said to have recited the following prophecy of the end of the world:

"Summer without flowers,


kine without milk,


women without modesty,


men without valour;


captives without a king,


woods without mast,


sea without produce." (Ó Cuív 37)
With her sisters Macha and the Morrígan, daughters of Ernmas, she was part of a trio of war goddesses.



Charles de Lint writes what are called urban fairy tales and some characters that re-occur in his stories are the Crow Girls. Mythological characters who have some of the Trickster in them. They like to mix things up and see what fun they can cause. They also like to observe what we humans get up to-something I have seen crows do in real life. Very curious animals. Some choose to live very close to us as well. The Crow Girls are fond of shiny things too. If you haven't ever read de Lint, I do recommend him. He is even romantic in a very modern, sort of damaged way!


And did you know that A group, or flock of crows is called a Murder?






Crows were also used for telling people's fortunes. An old poem goes:
One crow for sorrow,
Two crows for joy,
Three crows for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five crows for silver,
Six crows for gold,
Seven crows for a secret never to be told.


Well enough for now. Needless to say, I like crows!
Lynda

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I like crows, too. We see ravens more often than crows when we are at our cabin. They are remarkably larger and have a different call. I also have a very cool paper-mache crow made by hairdresser! (Dave hates it)

Unknown said...

I meant MY HAIRDRESSER