African Grey Legend.

[Cheshire Cat]

I'm not sure if this is already here on the site, but I thought I'd share it as I thought it was very beautiful!

 

According to a legend from my ancestral culture the Yoruba people of South Western Nigeria, the Republic of Benin, the Republic of Togo and Ghana, the African grey parrot which is known as Odide was not always grey, nor did it always have red tail feathers.

 

God decided to have a contest to see which bird had the most beautiful feathers so all the birds in the world began preparing themselves. They sought to improve their beauty by adding things to themselves or trying to enhance their colors. At that time the Odide, which was white in color, made no preparations at all. This caused the other birds to wonder, why were they working so hard and why Odide was doing nothing at all. All of the other birds began to worry. They were afraid that if Odide entered the contest they would all lose. So, all the other birds got together and decided to spoil Odide's natural beauty. They first tried to spoil Odide's beauty by dumping ashes on it as it flew through the trees. This did not seem to have any effect. Next the other birds went to the Sorcerer to get an evil charm which would turn the Odide's tail feathers red. The other birds were quite sure that the Odide would not enter the contest now, since they had spoiled its natural beauty.

 

On the day of the beauty contest the Odide entered any way in spite of all that had been done to it. Much to the surprise of the other birds, God awarded the prize to the Odide because it came to the contest even though so much harm had been done to it. God said that the Odide was indeed the most beautiful bird, because true beauty is on the inside.

 

In many west and west central African cultures the African grey parrot is considered sacred and its tail feathers are a symbol of or an emblem of royalty. When Kings and Queens are crowned and members of the priesthood ordained at least one tail feather from the African grey must either be in the crown or some where on the person being crowned or ordained. This is done to remind them that true beauty comes from within.

[Luvparrots]

What a very lovely folklore Cheshire Cat. Thank you for sharing it with us, it is beautiful!

[Barbara2]

That is a wonderful story! (Benin was actually one of the names that I considered for Neo.)

[Cheshire Cat]

Reading this legend reminded me so much of when I had Tui. I said to my mom that African Greys may not be the most outstanding parrots to look at, but I think they have a natural beauty all of their own. They are so intelligent and every bird has his/her own personality.

[danmcq]

It is a cute folklore story and I never tire of reading it once again. Thanks for bringing this back to mind. :-)

[Greywings]

It is an Elegant serene silver beauty. Thank you for the story of the Odide, very nice.

[judygram]

A wonderful story that bears repeating, loved it and thanks for sharing it with us.

[kittykittykitty]

Thank you for sharing this beautiful story.

[pearllyn]

What a lovely story. I have never heard it before - thanks for sharing.