Other

Relationship with Humans

Folklore, Mythology, and Religion

Some birds cause people to gasp in wonderment. The Eurasian Hoopoe is such a bird. Not only is it pleasingly patterned and colored, it wears a crown like a rising sun upon its head. It is improbably exotic, at least for a bird in the Palearctic. So, it is no surprise that the Eurasian Hoopoe has played a long-standing and prominent role in humanity's appreciation of the world. Its supernatural status dates back to the Paleolithic Age (218 Tariyel, S. A. (2022). Bird Goddess in the Culture of Azerbaijan. In Science and Practice, Actual Problems, Innovations. Proceedings of the XXVIII International Scientific and Practical Conference. Close ). The bird-sun found in pre-Neolithic artwork from Azerbaijan north into southern Russia is a Eurasian Hoopoe, and the bird-sun is strongly intertwined with the origin of Umay, the bird-like mother goddess of Turkic mythology and Tengrism (218 Tariyel, S. A. (2022). Bird Goddess in the Culture of Azerbaijan. In Science and Practice, Actual Problems, Innovations. Proceedings of the XXVIII International Scientific and Practical Conference. Close ). In these traditions the Eurasian Hoopoe is a venerated bird, as Umay is the patron of the hearth and the guardian spirit of babies and is associated with the spring sun and a good harvest (219 Nikolaeva, D. A. (2010). Female deity in the traditional culture of the Buryats in Prebaikalia. News of Russian State Pedagogical University 123:245–255. Close , 218 Tariyel, S. A. (2022). Bird Goddess in the Culture of Azerbaijan. In Science and Practice, Actual Problems, Innovations. Proceedings of the XXVIII International Scientific and Practical Conference. Close ). This association between Umay and the Eurasian Hoopoe likely accounts for Eurasian Hoopoe totems made by Oghuz Turks in Azerbaijan circa 1000s AD (220 Agadjanov, S. G. (1971). Oguz tribes of the central Asia in the IX–XIII centuries. In Countries and Peoples of the East (D. Olderogge, Editor), Nauka, Moscow, Russia. pp. 181. Close ).

In ancient Egypt, Minoan Crete, the Hebrew bible, and the Quran, the Eurasian Hoopoe is a magical figure. During the Old Kingdom of Egypt, from ca. 2575–2400 BC, the Eurasian Hoopoe was used as a symbolic code to indicate that a child was the heir and successor of his father (221 Marshall, A. (2015). The child & the hoopoe in ancient art. Kmt 72:59–63. Close ). It was used in a similar fashion, at around the same time, in Minoan Crete (222 Fry, H. (2003). Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds. Firefly Books. Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. Close ). About 500 years later, it reappeared in Egyptian tomb scenes (e.g., in the 12th Dynasty tomb of Khnumhotep II) in a manner that indicated that the Eurasian Hoopoe was seen as caring for and protecting those tomb owners on their journey to rebirth (223 Cromwell, J. (2017). Warm hoopoe’s blood and cardamom: a Coptic medical text. Egyptian Archaeology 51:10–13. Close ).

In both Judaism and Islam, the Eurasian Hoopoe is strongly associated with King Solomon. In the Hebrew bible, the Eurasian Hoopoe flies to King Solomon telling him of a rich and flourishing country ruled by a woman referred to as the Queen of Sheba; thereafter, the Eurasian Hoopoe served as Solomon's messenger, convincing the queen to visit Solomon’s palace in Jerusalem (224 Shemesh, A. O. (2018). "And God gave Solomon wisdom": Proficiency in ornithomancy. HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 74(1):a4904. Close ). Similarly, in the Quran, a Eurasian Hoopoe reports to King Solomon that a powerful and wealthy Queen rules Sheba, where the sun is worshiped rather than God; Solomon sends the bird back to the Queen with a letter inviting her and her people to worship the one true God and ultimately leading Queen Sheba's renunciation of idolatry (224 Shemesh, A. O. (2018). "And God gave Solomon wisdom": Proficiency in ornithomancy. HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 74(1):a4904. Close ). In Mantiq al-Tayr (The Conference of Birds), the medieval Persian Sufi poet Farid al-Din 'Attar expands on the Eurasian Hoopoe's interactions with Solomon (225 ud-Din Attar, F. (1177). The Conference of Birds. Close ): "Welcome oh hoopoe, you who have become the guide! Truly, you have become the Messenger of each valley. Your excursion to Sheba was fortuitous; Your bird-language with Solomon was a pleasure. You have become the master of Solomon's secrets And thus have attained your crown. Confine the div in fetters and in prison, So that you may become Solomon's confidant. Once you have put the div in prison, You may attempt (to join) Solomon on his prayer-carpet." The Div is a Satanic figure, and for 'Attar the Eurasian Hoopoe represents the Sufi sheikh, or spiritual master, who guides disciples along the path to God (226 Schum, T. (2018). From Egypt to Mount Qaf: The Symbolism of the Hoopoe in Muslim Literature and Folklore. Journal of Muslim Literature and Folklore 3:37–57. Close ). In later Jewish folklore, King Solomon was in danger of perishing from sun exposure, and a flock of Eurasian Hoopoe, seeing this, formed a canopy over his head, thus providing him shade; in thanks, they were given a golden crown, which later was transformed into the crest they currently bear (227 Frankel, E. (1993). The Classic Tales: 4,000 Years of Jewish Lore. Jason Aronson, Northvale, New Jersey, USA. Close ). The role of the Eurasian Hoopoe as Solomon's messenger can be seen in many modern colloquial names for the bird in Islamic countries: qaced ul-Sulaiman — Solomon's messenger — in Arabic, morgh-e-namebar — letter-bearing bird — in Iranian Persian, and çavaş kuşu — courier bird — in Turkish (228 Dupree, N. H. (1974). An interpretation of the role of in Afghan folklore and magic. Folklore 85:173–193. Close ). Consistent with this positive image of the Eurasian Hoopoe in Islam, a portrait of Fath Ali Shah, Shah of Iran in the Qajar Dynasty, 1797–1834, shows a scepter crowned with figure of a hoopoe (218 Tariyel, S. A. (2022). Bird Goddess in the Culture of Azerbaijan. In Science and Practice, Actual Problems, Innovations. Proceedings of the XXVIII International Scientific and Practical Conference. Close ).

In both Islam and Judaism the eating of Eurasian Hoopoe is forbidden. The Islamic text Sunan Abī Dāwūd (800s AD) states that The Prophet forbade the killing of four animals: the ant, the bee, the hoopoe, and the shrike; the hoopoe was not to be eaten, "as its foul diet causes its flesh to smell bad" (226 Schum, T. (2018). From Egypt to Mount Qaf: The Symbolism of the Hoopoe in Muslim Literature and Folklore. Journal of Muslim Literature and Folklore 3:37–57. Close ). In the Hebrew bible (Leviticus 11:13-19), the Eurasian Hoopoe is among a list of animals considered detestable and abhorrent, and therefore, not kosher.

Elsewhere in Asia, Genghis Khan (ca. 1162–1227 AD), when giving symbols of power to a companion, invoked the Eurasian Hoopoe as an ongon, or spirit protector, for his companion (218 Tariyel, S. A. (2022). Bird Goddess in the Culture of Azerbaijan. In Science and Practice, Actual Problems, Innovations. Proceedings of the XXVIII International Scientific and Practical Conference. Close ), and the 5th century BC Athenian poet, Aristophanes, claimed to have heard an Indian fable in which "The all-seeing sun, in admiration of his surpassing act of piety, transformed the boy into a bird [a hoopoe] which is most beautiful to behold, and which lives to a very advanced age" (229 Stoneman, R. (2016). How the hoopoe got his crest: reflections on Megasthenes’ stories of India. In Ancient Historiography on War and Empire (T. Howe, S. Müller, and R. Stoneman, Editors), Oxbow Books, Oxford, United Kingdom. pp. 188–225. Close ).

The Ancient Greeks, on the other hand, had a rather dim view of the Eurasian Hoopoe. In Greek mythology, the murderous and rapacious king Tereus was turned into a Eurasian Hoopoe by the Olympian Gods, and perhaps because of this, Ancient Greeks saw the Eurasian Hoopoe as having a demonic disposition (230 Waegeman, M. (1984). The gecko, the hoopoe and ... lice. L'Antiquité Classique 53:218–225. Close ). Later, in Ancient Rome, the Eurasian Hoopoe had the dubious distinction of being the patron saint of "manuring" (228 Dupree, N. H. (1974). An interpretation of the role of in Afghan folklore and magic. Folklore 85:173–193. Close ), probably due its malodorous nests. In the rest of Europe, the reputation of the Eurasian Hoopoe was also distinctly negative. It has been associated with thieves across much of Europe and with war in Scandinavia (228 Dupree, N. H. (1974). An interpretation of the role of in Afghan folklore and magic. Folklore 85:173–193. Close ). In Estonia, as recently as the 1900s, it was associated with death and the underworld, and their song was thought to presage death, war, and famine (231 Hiiemäe, M. (2024). Forty Birds in Estonian Folk Religion, IV. Accessed 27 March 2024. Close ). In Germany, the Eurasian Hoopoe was simply associated with evil in general (232 Kieckhefer, R. (1998). Forbidden Rites: A Necromancer's Manual of the Fifteenth Century. Penn State University Press, Univeristy Park, PA, USA. Close ), while in Romania, it was portrayed using negative female stereotypes: greedy, deceitful, conniving, and nagging (233 Gaster M. (1887). Greco-Slavonic Ilchester Lectures on Greco-Slavonic Literature and Its Relation to Folklore during the Middle Ages. Trubner and Company, London, United Kingdom. Close ).

Magic and Medicine

The use of Eurasian Hoopoe in magico-medical treatments appears to have been widespread in Ancient Greece. Despite (or perhaps because of) their demonic reputation, it was considered to have a gift for prophecy, and so it was the main ingredient in a potion used to give one the power of divination; the recipe called for the heart of a hoopoe, still beating, to be mixed with the milk of a black cow and a little honey (230 Waegeman, M. (1984). The gecko, the hoopoe and ... lice. L'Antiquité Classique 53:218–225. Close ). In Pliny the Elder's Natural History (1st Century AD), the hoopoe’s heart is noted to be efficacious for treating pains in the side and the loins (223 Cromwell, J. (2017). Warm hoopoe’s blood and cardamom: a Coptic medical text. Egyptian Archaeology 51:10–13. Close ). In the Greek Demotic Magical Papyri (200–400 AD), there are 8 remedies that require Eurasian Hoopoe blood and/or hearts (223 Cromwell, J. (2017). Warm hoopoe’s blood and cardamom: a Coptic medical text. Egyptian Archaeology 51:10–13. Close , 234 Salayová, A. (2017). Animals as magical ingredients in Greek magical Papyri : preliminary statistical analysis of animal species. Graeco-Latina Brunensia 22:191–206. Close ). In one such potion, Eurasian Hoopoe blood is mixed with herbs to treat eyes that begin to exude salt water (235 Dawson, W. E. (1925). II.- The Lore of the Hoopoe (Upupa epops L.). Ibis 67:31–39. Close ).

In Egyptian Coptic Christian texts from the 900–1100 AD, the blood of a Eurasian Hoopoe and the hair of a pig are mixed and thrown into a person’s house, in what seems to be a measure against somebody’s hatred (223 Cromwell, J. (2017). Warm hoopoe’s blood and cardamom: a Coptic medical text. Egyptian Archaeology 51:10–13. Close ). In Afghani lore, sorcerers used a Eurasian Hoopoe quill to write, in Eurasian Hoopoe blood, a potent amulet that assured romantic conquest and protected a loved one from the covetous eyes of potential rivals; somewhat similarly, a hoopoe's bone, after being buried for 40 d, could be stroked against a love-interest who would then be compelled to follow (228 Dupree, N. H. (1974). An interpretation of the role of in Afghan folklore and magic. Folklore 85:173–193. Close ). In Persia, the Eurasian Hoopoe was though to have a wide range of medicinal uses. Portions of a Eurasian Hoopoe were used in tranquilizers, to treat abdominal pain and urinary tract disorders, to prevent leprosy, and to eliminate visitation by fairies and nightmares; more specifically, its meat was thought to prevent frequent urination, its feathers were used to kill ants and fleas, and its nails to cure speaking disorders (236 Kamran, P. F., R. Mahmoodivand, and P. A. Bakhtiari (2014). Hoopoe in Persian literature and myths. International Archive of Applied Science and Technology 5:41–44. Close ).

In Europe, the Eurasian Hoopoe was predominantly known for its powerful magic. The Bishop of Seville, ca. 630 AD, wrote that if one is anointed with its blood, one will dream of being suffocated by demons (237 Lindsay, W. M. (1911). Isidori Hispalensis Episcopi Etymologiarum Sive Originum. Libri XX, vol. 2. Clarendon Press, Oxford, United Kingdom. Close ). Albert Magnus, a 13th Century Dominican Friar from Cologne, wrote that the Hoopoe (Quirita) Stone is sometimes found in the nest of an Eurasian Hoopoe, a bird devoted to illusions and augury, and that this stone reveals secrets and produces hallucinations when placed on the breast of a sleeping person (238 Wyckoff, D. (1967). Albertus Magnus Book of Minerals. Clarendon Press, Oxford, United Kingdom. Close ). Similarly, in 1411, the Tyrolean knight Hans Vintler stated that a Eurasian Hoopoe's heart placed on a sleeping person's chest will cause him to reveal hidden things (239 Zingerle, I. (1874). Älterer tirolischer Dicter, vol. 1. Wagner'schen Universitäts-Buchhandlung, Innsbruck, Germany. Close ). In the Munich Manual of Demonic Magic (1400s AD), the sacrifice of a Eurasian Hoopoe is frequently required for performing magic, especially the summoning of demons (232 Kieckhefer, R. (1998). Forbidden Rites: A Necromancer's Manual of the Fifteenth Century. Penn State University Press, Univeristy Park, PA, USA. Close ).

1950 and Beyond

Happily, the Eurasian Hoopoe seems to have shed much if its negative stigma. In May 2008, the Eurasian Hoopoe was voted in as the national bird of Israel (240 Erlichman, E. (2008). Hoopoe Israel's new national bird. YNet news.com Close ), and a Eurasian Hoopoe graces the coat of arms of Armstedt, Germany. In Switzerland, a nestbox program has proved popular among local farmers, not because of the Eurasian Hoopoe's gustatory love of agricultural pests, but instead, because they simply enjoy having these beautiful birds nearby (217 Arlettaz, R., M. Schaub, J. Fournier, T. S. Reichlin, A. Sierro, J. E. M. Watson, and V. Braunisch (2010). From publications to public actions: when conservation biologists bridge the gap between research and implementation. Bioscience 60:835–842. Close ). In Afghanistan "the hoopoe is generally a symbol for romance, happiness, wealth and good-fortune, the hoopoe also stands as a champion of justice and defender of such social and moral values as hospitality and righteous behavior. By its actions it defines and perpetuates such idealized character traits as independence, bravery, wit and wisdom. Above all, the hoopoe emerges as an individualist, probably its most uniquely 'Afghan' trait" (228 Dupree, N. H. (1974). An interpretation of the role of in Afghan folklore and magic. Folklore 85:173–193. Close ). In some polygamous Uzbek households, a Eurasian Hoopoe's head is kept to maintain happier relations among the wives, and in northern Afghanistan, Eurasian Hoopoe amulets are thought to increase a woman's artfulness in love (228 Dupree, N. H. (1974). An interpretation of the role of in Afghan folklore and magic. Folklore 85:173–193. Close ). As recently as the 1970s, some Iranian Bakhtiari tribesman wrote letters of import and agreements using the blood of a freshly killed Eurasian Hoopoe (241 Goodell, G. (1979). Bird Lore in Southwestern Iran. Asian Folklore Studies 38:131–53. Close ). Among the Buryat-Mongolian peoples of southeastern Siberia, a Eurasian Hoopoe landing near human habitation is still considered a terrible omen presaging disaster or death (242 Humphrey, C. (2018). The fateful landing of the hoopoe: Omens from the world. Terrain: Anthropologie & Sciences Humaines 2018. Close ).

In portions of northern modern India, the belief that Eurasian Hoopoe feathers combined with leaves of Cissus adnata cures kidney stones persists, and rather astonishingly, that belief that was tested (albeit imperfectly) via modern scientific techniques: over four hours, Cissus adnata alone began to dissolve an in vitro calcium renal stone, an affect that was enhanced by the addition of Eurasian Hoopoe feathers, while Eurasian Hoopoe feathers alone had no affect (236 Kamran, P. F., R. Mahmoodivand, and P. A. Bakhtiari (2014). Hoopoe in Persian literature and myths. International Archive of Applied Science and Technology 5:41–44. Close ). This study, however, has questionable significance as the renal stones' diminishment was minimal, at < 0.1% of total mass.