Bird symbol indicates the same idea as that of ‘fish symbolism.’

Abstract

The bird symbol frequently appears in Indus seals. There are three possible explanations. The first is that the idea could be similar to the belief expressed in Sumerian civilization. The potential second idea is that of ancient Egyptian idea, which suggested the soul, the ‘ba’, could leave the dead body in the form of a bird. The third is that of later Rig Vedic ritual, where the firebird carries the dead man’s soul to heaven.

Figure 1: The above given Indus seal shows the bird logo.

The Sumerian belief says,” The dead persons “live in darkness, eat clay, and are clothed like birds with wings” (1). The Greeks and Celts thought that the dead could reappear as birds. The Sumerians of the ancient Near East believed that the dead existed as birds in the underworld. According to Islamic tradition, all dead souls remain in the form of birds until Judgment Day (2).

The Flight of the Soul numerous myths have linked birds to the journeys undertaken by human souls after death. Sometimes a bird acts as a guide in the afterlife. In Syria, figures of eagles on tombs represent the guides that lead souls to heaven.

Figure 2: Bird appears along with crocodile figure.

Picture courtesy — (3)

It looks like that the Indus civilization concept is more or less in conformity with the Sumerian civilization belief of the soul becoming a bird. It seems like that the above-given seal (middle scene) reflects such an idea, where the dead are transformed into birds and travel through the river Styx in a boat in the nether land. The third scene depicts the fish eaten by a crocodile. Fish represents the dead man’s soul eaten by the crocodile means everlasting punishment in hell. Refer to my earlier papers on ‘fish symbolism’ and ‘crocodile indicates Egyptian goddess Ammit’ for more information on this idea. (4) (5)

Fish Symbolism – By – S. H. HOOKE

The fish was shown as a divine symbol during the Hellenistic period of Egyptian civilization. The fish appears in a tomb painting from Gamboud, Egypt. The mummy is lying on a lion bed and is gazing at a fish above him. Here the sacred fish replaces the usual ‘Ba’ bird symbol, indicating the hope of immortality. (6) (7)

Figure 3: figure showing ‘Ba’ in the form of a bird.

Picture courtesy – (8)

The possible second idea is that of ancient Egyptian belief. The ancient Egyptians believed that the soul, the ‘ba’, could leave the dead body in the form of a bird, often a hawk. They built their graves and tombs with narrow shafts leading to the open air so that these birds could fly in and out, keeping watch on the body.

Figure 4: The bird symbol indicates the dead man’s soul.

Picture courtesy — (3)

The above given Indus seal shows a ceremony associated with the bird. One significant thing to be noted here is that both fish and bird are bracketed together, specifying that these symbols suggest the same meaning. The conclusion is that both these symbols could indicate the release of a dead man’s soul in the form of a bird or fish.

Figure 5: seal inscription indicates the Vedic idea of a firebird carrying the soul to heaven.

Picture courtesy (3)

Bird symbol in Rig Vedic rituals

The third possibility is that the bird symbol could be indicating the Vedic idea of ‘firebird’ carrying the dead man’s soul into heaven. See the above-given seal and its inscription. The inscription should be read from right to left (The side which the bull is facing). The ‘Great bird’ symbol indicates the Agnicayana Yajna, and the second symbol (inverted cleft) indicates the ‘karkida ritual’.

Figure 6 Picture courtesy — (9)

The entire ritual of Agnicayana takes twelve days to perform, in the course of which a big bird-shaped altar, the uttaravedi “northern altar”, is built out of 1005 bricks. The liturgical text is in chapters 20 to 25th of Krishna Yajurveda. The immediate purpose of the Agnicayana is to build up for the sacrificer an immortal body that is permanently beyond the reach of suffering and death. (9)

Hindu scriptures say that a man may become a Deva, beast, bird, vegetable, or stone according to his merit or demerit. The Upanishads also corroborate this statement. (10)

I have pointed out this similarity of bird symbol to that of Vedic Agnicayana ritual in my earlier article, “Evidence of Vedic Yajna in Indus seal Inscriptions” (11). The same idea has been expressed by Rekha Rao also in her book, “Symbolography in Indus seals” (12).

Acknowledgements:

All the Indus seals pictures are taken from the Book of Sue Sullivan.

1. Ancient-literature.com. Gilgamesh. Ancient-literature.com. [Online] March 2016. http://www.ancient-literature.com/other_gilgamesh.html.

2. mythencyclopedia.com. Birds-in-Mythology. mythencyclopedia.com. [Online] March 2016. http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Be-Ca/Birds-in-Mythology.html.

3. Sullivan, Sue. Indus Script Dictionary. s.l. : Suzanne Redalia, 2011.

4. Jeyakumar(Fish-symbolism). Fish_symbolism_in_Indus_Valley_Civilization. academia.edu. [Online] December 2015. https://www.academia.edu/19550772/Fish_symbolism_in_Indus_Valley_Civilization.

5. jeyakumar(Crocodile). Crocodile_depiction_indicates_Egyptian_goddess_Ammit. academia.edu. [Online] March 2016. https://www.academia.edu/22868949/Crocodile_depiction_indicates_Egyptian_goddess_Ammit.

6. Hooke, S.H. http://www.luxlapis.co.za/astro/fish.htm. The Egyptian idea of a soul (9) (10). [Online] December 2015. http://www.luxlapis.co.za/astro/fish.htm.

7. Folklore– Fish Symbolism. Hooke, S.H. s.l. : Taylor and Francis Ltd., 1960, Vol. 72 no.3.

8. wikipedia(Egyptian-soul). Ancient_Egyptian_concept_of_the_soul. wikipedia. [Online] 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_concept_of_the_soul#Ka_.28vital_spark.29.

9. wikipedia(Agnicayana). Agnicayana. wikipedia. [Online] March 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnicayana.

10. www.dlshq.org. afterdeath.htm. www.dlshq.org. [Online] March 2016. http://www.dlshq.org/download/afterdeath.htm.

11. jeyakumar(Agnicayana). Evidence_of_Vedic_Yajna_in_Indus_seal_Inscriptions. www.academia.edu. [Online] March 2016. https://www.academia.edu/10973385/Evidence_of_Vedic_Yajna_in_Indus_seal_Inscriptions.

12. Rekha. Symbolography in Indus seals. Symbolography in Indus seals(e-Book). s.l. : https://read.amazon.in/, 2015, p. 11736.