Ibis walks like an Egyptian !!

The picture here is of Black headed Ibis, one of the Ibis specie that is found quite abundantly without being common in South and South East Asia. Ibis is a long-legged wading bird found mostly in marshy wetlands inland and on the coast, where it feeds on various fish, water creatures, as well as on insects. They have long down curved bills, white plumage with black bald head, the neck and legs. The word ibis comes from Greek, originally borrowed from Ancient Egyptian hîb and also followed from the root. For ancient Egyptians ibis was sacred Ibis and so ibis referred to as Nile bird. The Egyptians say its white plumage symbolizes the light of the sun, and its black neck the shadow of the moon, its body a heart, and its legs a triangle. It was said to drink only the purest of water, and its feathers to scare or even kill the crocodile. No wonder the most significant god of ancient Egypt was ibis headed!!

Ibis-headed Egyptian God of learning: different civilizations had their own conception of God, interestingly Egyptians found Ibis headed god: Thoth as their important deity. Thoth was considered one of the most important deities of the Egyptian pantheon. He was associated by the Egyptians with speech, literature, arts, learning. Thoth became credited by the ancient Egyptians as the inventor of writing, and alphabets (ie. hieroglyphs) themselves. Thoth was the 'One who Made Calculations Concerning the Heavens, the Stars and the Earth', the 'Reckoner of Times and of Seasons', the one who 'Measured out the Heavens and Planned the Earth'. He was 'He who Balances', the 'God of the Equilibrium' and 'Master of the Balance'. 'The Lord of the Divine Body', 'Scribe of the Company of the Gods', the 'Voice of Ra', the 'Author of Every Work on Every Branch of Knowledge, Both Human and Divine', he who understood 'all that is hidden under the heavenly vault'. Thoth was not just a scribe and friend to the gods, but central to order. He was 'He who Reckons the Heavens, the Counter of the Stars and the Measurer of the Earth'. Phew!!

An incident in Kenzeburo Oe’s life: continuing with my main blog on Kenzeburo Oe (www.depalan.blogspot.com) it need be noted that Oe’s highly regarded work is semi autobiographical “A Personal matter”. Incredibly the protagonist is named ‘Bird’. Birds have an important reference point in his life there is a poignant incident that he quotes:

Until my son was four or five years old, he didn't do anything to communicate with us. We thought that he cannot have any sense of the family. So he looked very, very isolated -- a pebble in the grass. But one day, he was interested in the voice of a bird from the radio. So I bought disks of the wild birds of Japan. I made a tape of fifty specimens of birds -- bird calls. There are the bird calls and a very flat voice, a woman announcer, says the names of the birds. "Tada-dada," then: "Nightingale." "Tada-da." "Sparrow." "This is nightingale; this is sparrow." We continued to listen to that tape for three years. During those three years, when we played the birds' songs, my son became very quiet. So it was needed to make him quiet. My wife must do her work, and I must do my work. So with the bird voices we three lived on.

In the summer when he was six years old, I went to our mountain house, and while my wife was cleaning our small house, I was in the small forest with my son on my shoulders. Nearby there is a small lake. A bird sang, [one of a pair]. Suddenly a clear, flat voice said, "It is a water rail." Then I shook. Utter silence in the forest. We were silent for five minutes and I prayed for something, there on my head. I prayed, "Please, the next voice of that bird and please next the remarks of my son, if that was not my phantom or dream." Then after five minutes, the wife of that bird sang. Then my son said "It's a water rail." Then I returned to my house with my son and talked to my wife.

For a long time, we waited for another voice, but there was not any voice during the night. We didn't sleep. But in the early morning, a small sparrow came to a small tree in front of our window. He made a small sound, and my son said, "It's a sparrow." Then everything began, and we played the sound of a bird, and my son would answer. We made many recordings of birds, even the birds of the U.S.A. and Europe. My son answered very quietly and very correctly if he listened to the name of a bird two or three times. We began to communicate by the word.

"Pooh-chan," -- my son was called Pooh-chan, from Winnie the Pooh -- "what is the bird?" [He would answer after I played the tape.] "Sparrow." "Pooh-chan, what do you want to listen to?" He thinks, [and says,] "Water rail." "Nightingale." Then I would play it.

Then, we began to communicate…”