Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Animals are unique living creatures and consist of several types. Nowadays, quite a few people like animals because some are considered adorable, have unique physical features, and can be used as friends.

However, it turns out that there are a number of animals that are considered symbols of human death in several countries. Anything? The following is a summary, summarized from Live Science.

1. Hornbill
In Indonesia, hornbills are embedded in the philosophy of life of the Dayak people. Because hornbills have a deep meaning for the tribe that inhabits the island of Kalimantan.

Reporting from the official website of the Central Kalimantan Province Information, Coding and Statistics Communication Service, the hornbill symbolizes the greatness, glory, peace and unity of the Dayak tribe.

The thick wings of the hornbill symbolize a leader who always protects the community. Meanwhile, the long tail of the hornbill is considered a sign of prosperity for the Dayak people.

In Indonesia, hornbills are included in the list of endangered animals and are protected by the state.

However, according to a study published in the Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, this bird, which has a beak in the form of a cow’s horn without a ring, is seen as a bringer of death and destruction in nine southern and eastern African countries.

In general, people consider the presence of hornbills to be a bad sign. In fact, the people of Zimbabwe and Malawi believe that a person will experience bad luck if his house is infested with hornbills.

Not only that, hornbills gathering in odd numbers are also believed to be a sign of someone’s death. In Tanzania, this bird with the scientific name Bucerotidae is thought to bring dead souls and angry spirits.

2. Dragonfly
In Japan, adult red dragonflies emerge from low grasslands and migrate to high mountains in search of food. Generally, the number of red dragonflies increases in early autumn, when they descend from the mountains to the lowlands to breed.

The timing of the descent of the red dragonfly from the mountains to the lowlands coincides with the Obon summer festival. This festival celebrates the return of spirits to visit their loved ones.

According to an ethnographic study in 1959, Japanese people believed that large red dragonflies were messengers of the spirits of the dead.

3. Vultures
Vultures or vultures are bald-headed animals, only have soft feathers on their heads, and have dense feathers on their bodies. Generally, this bird can be found on all continents, except Antarctica and Oceania.

Vultures are synonymous with death because they use their keen sense of smell to detect carcasses at a distance of more than 1 mile or 1.6 kilometers. Apart from that, vultures like to fly around carcasses and take meat from them.

However, vultures were considered a symbol of cleanliness in the circle of life and death in Ancient Egyptian history. According to the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, the vulture became a symbol of god, death, or ‘the mother of all creatures’. In fact, vultures were used as headdresses by the wives of pharaohs and female pharaohs for protection.

In some cultures, vultures are seen as a sacred way to “dispose” of the dead. Parsis in India and Vajrayana Buddhists in Tibet even rely on vultures to eat corpses. This is known as “sky burial”.

4. Bats
Several cultures in the world consider bats to be a symbol of death. For the Maori people in New Zealand, bats are closely associated with the Hokioi or mythical nocturnal birds that predict death.

In fact, according to The Raupo Book of Maori Proverbs, there is a saying that “Bats fly at dusk, Hokioi fly at night.” They believe that the Hokioi is an extinct bird known as Haast’s eagle.

5. Owl
This animal, which is active at night, is closely related to the symbol of death. According to the book Owl by Desmond Morris in 2009, a number of cultures considered owls to be symbols of death and messengers sent by the gods from the underworld.

According to the book, Roman mythology believed that the sound of an owl was a sign of imminent death. In fact, owls were believed to predict the death of several Roman Emperors because many Roman Emperors died after owls hooted.

Apart from Romans, around 76 percent of farmers in central Kenya believe that the cry of an owl is a sign of someone’s death.

6. Crow
The crow is the animal most synonymous with someone’s death. Carrion crows are very intelligent birds and eat everything, from berries to rotten animal flesh.

According to a 19th century article published in the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Irish folklore states that Badb was one of a trio of war goddesses who took the form of ravens.

In the story, Badb is a sign of bloodshed that makes soldiers afraid on the battlefield.

[Gambas:Video CNBC]

(miq/miq)