Beauty or a beast like the KUNG-FU PANDA 2 villain? What is the historic perception? Let us take a look at two quotes below:
The pride of the peacock is the glory of god. -William Blake
OR
Remember that the most beautiful things in the world are the most useless; peacocks and lilies for instance. -John Ruskin
These are two celebrities, with exactly opposing views. One looks at it as a God's creation that is meant to beautify the world around us while the other is very pragmatic and feels that beauty without purpose is rather a useless thing.
While I personally lean towards looking at beauties and admiring them, historically this debate has always been prominent. Let us look at some pictures I took a few months ago and dive into the historic perspective.
Awesome color, crest and the eye makeup!
I look at all that and say, how can one not think of this royal bird as a beauty and enjoy it. That is just me I am rather partial to looking at beauties and admiring them (from AFAR of course. In the real world, when my wife is right next to me, I can only 'observe' beauties 😀)
Anyhow - Let us see how the bird has been perceived historically and in some of the cultures.
Perceptions in Indian Culture
Having originated in India (and also the National bird of India), it is no wonder that it can be traced in Indian mythology. As a prominent example, the peacock has been associated with Goddess Sarawati
Hindu mythological connection (Image source)
People who visited India also have been part of building the perceptions about peacocks - There are tales of Alexander the great having been so struck with the beauty of peacocks when he arrived in India that he forbade killing them.
Looking at the following picture I took, I can understand how their majesty, form and royal appearance could have affected a person who has never seen a peacock before in life...
Symbol of beauty, associated with deities & royalty
Perceptions in Roman times
Interestingly, during the Roman empire, apparently the peacock was seen as a symbol of funerals, death and resurrection. Not necessarily a bad perspective but rather interesting since it does not focus directly on the beauty of the bird. Since peacock tail feathers do not fade, even after the feather is separated from the peacock or after the peacock dies, they were associated with the concept of everlasting life and resurrection. The long and beautiful tail feathers are clearly visible in the following photo which I took -
Associated with everlasting life and resurrection
Let us move on to an example where this beauty is perceived as EVIL!
Perceptions in ancient Arab culture
In ancient Arab culture, apparently the bird was believed to exists in the Garden of Eden, along with Adam and Eve! However, it is associated with the entry of Devil in the Garden of Eden and is perceived as a bird of ill omen. Also, apparently, the Devil mixed peacock blood, along with that of an Ape, hog and lion in the wine. Speaking about this belief in his book 'Young Naturalist’s Book of Birds' written in 1838, author Percy St. John has written -
“…a wine-bibber is at first elated and struts like a peacock; then begins to dance, play, and make grimaces like an ape; he then rages like a lion; and, lastly, lays down on any dunghill like a hog.”
There are a lot many perceptions, mainly about sins of Vanity & Pride, their origins (in Greek mythology) and also about their cry.
I will address them along with some more photos of this beautiful bird in another post soon.
Lastly, Here is the photograph I used in the title image gif in original size and form:
Head on click of the Peacock at close range
Information about the bird
- Name: Indian Peafowl
- Scientific name: Pavo cristatus
- Size: Head to feet around 3-4 feet long, Tail up to 5 feet long
- Description (based on e-bird, Wikipedia and my observations): These are forest birds which roost on trees but nest on ground. They are often found wandering in fields close to the edge of jungle, for foraging. They are omnivorous and eat anything from seeds, buds to insects and reptiles. Their call is mainly for courtship and the courtship ritual also includes and impressive display with the tail feathers held up in a fan.
Information about photograph
- Aperture: F5.6
- ISO: 640
- Shutter: 1/500
- Support: Handheld shot
- Camera: Nikon D500
- Lens: Nikkor 200-500mm
- Image format: Photo clicked in RAW and edited for presentation sizing
A big thank you for support
Thanks to c/hive-106444 (Feathered friends community) for providing this wonderful opportunity to present my experience and photographs. Thanks to 
Thanks to HIVE for this wonderful platform.
Note: All images and collages in this blog are created by me, based on photos clicked by me personally and/or free vector images from Pixabay
Quotes used, if not credited, are either from unknown authors or are proverbial old sayings.