RAVEN

Raven is the common name given to several larger bodied members of the genus Corvus. They have black plumage and large beaks. Smaller-bodied species in the genus Corvus include the crows etc.

In some cases the diet of the raven is similar. Most ravens eat some sort of fruit, such as dates, or berries. Most are omnivorous.

The ravens look similar to another, common at birth, the crow being related.

There are many references to ravens in legends and literature. Most of these refer to the widespread common raven. Because of its black plumage, croaking call, and diet of carrion, the raven has long been considered a bird of ill omen and of interest to creators of myths and legends. As a carrion birth, ravens became associated with the dead and with lost souls. The Raven obtained mythic status because it was a mediator animal between life and death.

One ancient story told on the Queen Charlotte Islands tells about how Raven helped to bring the Sun, Moon, Stars, Fresh Water, and Fire to the world. The Queen Charlotte Islands is an archipelago on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada.

“Long ago, near the beginning of the world, Gray Eagle was the guardian of the Sun, Moon and Stars, of fresh water, and of fire. Gray Eagle hated people so much that he kept these things hidden. People lived in darkness, without fire and without fresh water.

Gray Eagle had a beautiful daughter and Raven fell in love with her. In the beginning, Raven was a snow-white bird, and as such, he pleased Gray Eagle's daughter. She invited him to her father's longhouse.

When Raven saw the Sun, Moon and Stars, and Fresh water hanging on the sides of Eagle's lodge, he knew what he should do. He watched for his chance to seize them when no one was looking. He stole all of them and a brand of Fire also, and flew out of the longhouse through the smoke hole. As soon as Raven got outside he hung the Sun up in the sky. It made so much light that he was able to fly far out to an island in the middle of the ocean. When the Sun set, he fastened the Moon up in the sky and hung the stars around in different places. By this new light he kept on flying, carrying with him the fresh water and the brand of fire he had stolen.

He flew back over the land. When he had reached the right place, he dropped all the water he had stolen. It fell to the ground and there became the source of all the fresh-water streams and lakes in the world. Then Raven flew on, holding the brand of fire in his bill. The smoke from the fire blew back over his white feathers and made them black. When his bill began to burn, he had to drop the firebrand. It struck rocks and hid itself within them. That is why, if you strike two stones together, sparks of fire will drop out.

Raven's feathers never became white again after they were blackened by the smoke from the firebrand. That is why Raven is now a black bird.”

Crows are also considered ancestors in Hinduism and during Sraddha the practice of offering food or pinda to crows is still in vogue.

The Hindu deity Shani is often represented as being mounted on a giant black raven or crow. The crow (sometimes a raven or vulture) is Shani's Vahana. As protector of property, Shani is able to repress the thieving tendencies of these birds.

In the Crow language the word apisaa refers to “a bird that lived long ago” (in other words a mythical bird). Apaa means nose or beak, isaa means large and daaka, laaka or looka means the offspring of animals or birds. Taken together, the term for the crow language is Apsáalooka.

There is a peculiar way to understand what raven’s have to say which I acquainted from my paternal grandfather. He says “if they say, it’s for a reason.”

If you watch them say, try this! The following is the way to go for and discover what they have to say;

एक लकड़ी को अंदाज से आठ अंगुली तोले, फिर उसे नापे। आठ या नौ या दस जो आता है, उसे दो से गुणा(MULTIPLY) करे। फिर उसे सात से भाग(DIVIDE) करे। जो शेष(REMAINDER) रहे उसका मतलब निकाले।

शेष का मतलब(MEANING OF REMAINDER);

एक रहे तो मंगलकारी।

दूजी लंबी जा सवारी।

तीजे मृत्यु यात्रा पावे।

चौथा कल्ला आग लगावे।

पाँच और शुन्य अपनी भाषा बोले।