Birds are held in high regard in Afrikan religion because of their ability to cross the barriers among humans, spirits, space and time. As with many Afrikan religious systems, this belief is based on observable phenomena. Birds thrive on land, in water and in the sky. The chicken or the bird may be the most sacrificed animal in Afrikan religious practices. Practically speaking, this is due to chickens being domesticated, abundant and easy to acquire.

Mythically, chickens are present at creation or accompany the first humans. For example among the Yoruba, a five toed chicken accompanies Obatala from heaven to what will be Earth. Her scratching of the loose earth brought with Obatala creates the Earth. The Mende creator god “Ngewo” gives two chickens as a gift to the first human couple. These stories illustrate how chickens have the ability to mediate between humans and the divine, hence their frequent use in sacrifice.

The Mende again of Sierra Leone endow birds with the gift of prophecy because from their high vantage points, birds are able to witness events unfolding from a broader view than the ground bound human. Being able to interpret the language of birds allows the foretelling of future events. This ability is generally held by senior initiated Mende women.

Birds also carry messages from ancestors, a person traveling and hearing the persistent voice of a single bird could be hearing a message from a spirit being relayed by the bird. The chicken is also held in high regard because it keeps village time with its morning crows and returns to the coop in the evening. It is ever watchful and squawks at the first stranger. The Mende women also use the leaves a brooding chicken selects as prenatal medicine.

Other examples of birds being used to distinguish truth exist in stories among the Xhosa of South Afrika, where a bird identifies a murder and in ancient Kemet where a feather is the ultimate judge of an indvidual’s activities during life as well as their connection to the human soul in regards to the “ba” bird.

Pictured below is a Ugandan boy holding two royal eagles.