Seeking Folklore about Thrushes (1 Viewer)

[BlackOwl]

:eat:
Several thrushes have appeared in our backyard lately, and I have been looking for any and all folklore associated with them. A pair of wood thrushes have been feeding around our trees, and there have been hermit thrushes hanging around for about a month. Does anyone know of any thrush folklore or mythology? Has anyone's grandmother said anything in particular about them? Thanks for your help!

 

[Screech]

How about looking at "Aesup's Fables",
"The Thrush and the Fowler". Only one I can think of.

 

[AnnieW]

Somewhere (probably in one of the cardboard boxes in the spare room that are filled with books that won’t fit on shelves) … I have an illustrated book called the “Sacred Song of the Hermit Thrush”. This is a traditional Native American legend that tells the story of how the elusive bird got its song and why it only sings to a few lucky people. Unfortunately (for you) I can’t remember the punch line … but a quick look on Amazon shows that you can buy the same book for $5.95. Someone out there on BF may have heard of it and be able to fill the gaps !!

Slightly off topic : I also have a charming children’s book called "Flute's Journey: The Life of a Wood Thrush". It follows a year in the life of the migratory thrush as he flies at the start of winter from Maryland to the rain forest of Costa Rica and then back again. This particular year he gets back to Maryland to discover that his native summer habitat has been cut down and turned into a housing development. Not folklore, but a great story.

The only other one I can think of has already been mentioned by Bob, Aesop’s The Thrush and The Fowler :

http://www.pacificnet.net/~johnr/cgi/aesop1.cgi?4&TheThrushandtheFowler

 

[BlackOwl]

Thank you for all your great ideas & info. Bob, I checked out "The Thrush and the Fowler. I went ahead & bought "Sacred Song of the Hermit Thrush." Brian, your book by Ms. Greenoak is definitely of interest. I'm looking for it on Amazon, too. Annie, it's interesting that that the Mohawks say hermit thrushes only sing for certain people. Just two days ago one of them sang to me & my cat, Wilhelmina, who was goggling out the window at him. Can't wait to read the story.

 

[AnnieW]

Thank you for all your great ideas & info. Bob, I checked out "The Thrush and the Fowler. I went ahead & bought "Sacred Song of the Hermit Thrush." Brian, your book by Ms. Greenoak is definitely of interest. I'm looking for it on Amazon, too. Annie, it's interesting that that the Mohawks say hermit thrushes only sing for certain people. Just two days ago one of them sang to me & my cat, Wilhelmina, who was goggling out the window at him. Can't wait to read the story.

Well I hope you enjoy the story as much as I did. I still can't find my copy, but I have remembered some of the detail - but I won't spoil it for you. Let me know what you think !!

I wonder if the thrush would have carried on singing to you if Wilhemina was on the other side of the glass :eek!:

 

[AnnieW]

I've just been dipping in and out of "Frazer's Golden Bough"** and I came across this reference to the thrush as part of an example of ancient homoeopathic magic. Not North American, but I thought you might be interested.

Apparently the ancient Hindus used to perform an elaborate ceremony for the cure of jaundice. The aim was to banish the yellow colour to yellow creatures, leaving a healthy coloured (i.e. red) patient. The priests used to recite this spell : “Up to the sun shall go thy heart-ache and thy jaundice: in the colour of the red bull do we envelop thee! We envelop thee in red tints, unto long life. May this person go unscathed and be free of yellow colour! The cows whose divinity is Rohini, they who, moreover, are themselves red (rohinih)—in their every form and every strength we do envelop thee. Into the parrots, into the thrush, do we put thy jaundice, and, furthermore, into the yellow wagtail do we put thy jaundice” This was recited whilst the patient sipped water containing the hair of a red bull and whilst sitting on a skin of the same. Said patient was also covered in a yellow porridge made of turmeric and had 3 yellow birds (a parrot, a thrush and a yellow wagtail) tied to the foot of the bed by yellow string. Water was then poured over the patient to wash off the porridge and with it the jaundice out of him and into the birds. Finally, some hairs from the red bull were wrapped in gold leaf and glued to the patient’s skin.

I think it would cure me !!!

** A classic study in comparative folklore, magic and religion showing the parallels between the rites and beliefs, superstitions and taboos of early cultures and those of Christianity. I'm suffering from sciatica at the moment and am finding it difficult to sleep; I thought it might help !!