Common Origins of Man: A Universal Practice
 

by Theresa Mitsopoulou

The feathers have been used in ritual dances during the youth initiation process  and in rewarding winners.  Feather decoration has also been used by the Ancient Egyptians, the kalash of Pakistan, the Indians of North America, the Chinese, i.e. the Dong minority, for leaders of tribes in Africa and for the Australian aborigines.  Man has created imaginary human beings with feathers, like “demons”, Nikes, Angels, Gods with birds’ faces and winged animals, lions, horses and snakes.  The feathers symbolized freedom. According to legend, fortune tellers are able to understand the language of the bird and also train eagles to bring food, such as birds and fish.  Certain species of birds in Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas have beautiful shiny colors and their king is a peacock - the sacred bird of Hera.

It is believed that Alexander the Great brought the parrot to Greece and the Argonauts brought the pheasant from Colchis to Greece.  Today, a certain species of pheasants, known as  “jewel of nature” exists around Mt. Olympus, in Greece,  and it is known for its tender meat.  The male pheasant has many different colors such as turquoise, green, purple, orange, and yellow. The feathers of their tails are often two meters long and were worn by the sovereigns, priests, and shamans to decorate their heads.  Warriors also decorated  their weapons, spheres, shields, helmets and their coat of arms with feathers. 

Ritual dancers, winners of games, and adolescents during initiation, usually engaged in these activities with feathers on their heads. Besides the famous quetzal of Central America, the peacock of India, the pheasant of China, the ostrich of Africa, the exotic birds of Australia, New Guinea and the Carribean, feathers of geese, ducks and eagles, were used for decoration as well.   In Greek art, there is rare usage of feather decoration, (with the exception of Crete), because such beautiful birds did not  exist in Greece.  The big industry for finishing, dying and discoloring bird feathers started during the Middle Ages in England and France. Later, the fashion of wearing bird feathers flourished in Europe and America in the beginning of the nineteenth century.  Ultimately, this fashion brought serious threat to birds of rare species.   The J.J Audubon Society was founded in California for their protection. 

Head Gear for Emperors and Priests made with tail feathers of one hundred quetzals birds “quetzal” is the Aztec name for “winged snake”.  The arrangement of the colored feathers had astronomic and calendar meaning. From Mexico City Museum of Anthropology (to create such a head gear, one hundred male birds were needed).

Large antefix (diameter of  2.4 meters, about 600 b.c.) from Terra Cotta housed in the museum of Olympia, in Peloponessos, Greece (imitation of exotic feathers).

Bronze etruscan fan from a grave (600 b.c. housed in the archaeological museum of Florence, Italy.)

It looks like a fan made of feathers.         

The Aztecs believed that man at the beginning had the shape of a snake that came out of the Earth and that little by little, as he became “humanized” feathers grew on his body which, at one point, would lead him to the skies.  Apparently, the feathers symbolized the passion of man to fly and meet immortality.

Winged Gods (Hermes, Nike, Eros, Isis etc.) Animals (Sphinx, Horse, Lion, Bull, etc.)

Stone-Winged Horse near Xi’an, engraved for the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Gaozhong and his wife, Empress Wu Zetian

Was the Greek winged Nike-Victory known in China? Tang Dynasty Tile-End “with winged figure” with her hands clasped against her chest similar to the Greek statues--Qinghai County Museum

Reconstruction of the Nike–Victory of Paionios (321 B.C.)  The original marble statue (2.15 meters height) is in the Archaeological Museum of Olympia--Peloponessos, Greece.

The peacock (the bird of Hera), “smiles when it looks at its feathers” and “cries when it looks at its ugly legs”.  It opens its feathers like a fan which are full of “eyes” like the beads for the protection against the “evil eye”.  The peacock feather forms inside an “eye” like the “spectacle” of the Cobra, which offers protection in addition to the color blue.  My idea is well supported by the fact that the “eyes” of the peacock feathers resemble the eye of the Cobra and moreover, the Chinese name of this species of snake means exactly Yanjingshe which means: “spectacle” snake.

The famous “blue bird” of the wall painting in Knossos is most probably a peacock.

Peacock made of yak butter the main product of Tibet.

157 Korean girls with feather fans.

Traditional Chinese puppet show figures.

“The Prince of  Lilies” with pheasant feathers. Wall painting of about 1500 B.C. from Knossos

Detail of a scroll of a tenth century Chinese painter; Cleveland Museum of Art

Chinese opera figure (Taipei review July 2002). The feathers symbolize the snake.

Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) Mandarin in the Palace Museum of Taiwan with peacock feather (the eye of the peacock on the back of his head.)

Chinese Emperor with feather on his head.  From the Ming Dynasty Scroll “the Emperor’s Procession” in the palace museum of Taipei.  The Emperor’s horse has two long feathers next to the ears and a red one next to the muzzle.  In the Olympic games, the athletes were decorated with red ribbons (on the forehead and the left arm and thigh) after their victory and so were the horses of the chariots that won the race.

Sultan with feathers in his head.  Photo from the book “Silks for the Sultans from the Topkapi Palace”.  Published by Ertug and Kocabiyik.” Istanbul, 1997. “Collectors Series” worth $550.

Detail of a clay painted vase with a Maya Prince.

Clay mask. Teotihuacan. 1^st c. B.C.-900 A.D. M.N.A.H.

A youth of the Paiwan tribe of Taiwan with pheasant feather because he took part in a foot-race. His brother, who came first, won 3 feathers, the first prize.

Young boys of the Gogo tribe of Tasmania. Circumcision and initiation with feathers.

War dance of the Ami tribe of Taiwan. Under the right knee most probably the Order of the Garter, known in Greece since Mycenean times.

The Touchi of Rwanda dance; ritual dances with feathers.

Australian Aboriginal during a ritual dance.

Australia, cape York. Ancient dance with cockatoo feathers.

American Indian with eagle. Absaroke (crow).

“The Medicine Man”. Louisiana, 1904.

Indian leader from Mazatzal, Arizona.

Late 19^th c. Lakota headdress (red cloth, glass beads, porcupine quills, eagle feathers). “Such bonnets were the regalia of Plain leaders, whose exploits were numbered in eagle feathers.”

Absaroke (Crow) shield from the Northern Plains.
Buffalo hide with feathers. New York Museum of the American Indian.

Northern Plains shield. New York Museum of the American Indian.

From the movie of Kevin Kostner. “Dances with Wolves”.

 
“Sitting Bull”. Dakota Indian (1885 A.D.).

The number of feathers and the position (in the middle of the head or on the side, vertical or oblique, was not accidental.

Fool Bull (1849-1911). Dakota Indian with shield of feathers. Many will have feathers through the nose and ear.

For the Indians of North America,  when there was no more space for feathers on the head they used to hang them on their back and breast and shoulder.