Theme | Category | Verbatim examples |
---|---|---|
Bringer/signifier of death/ destruction/ loss/ deprivation | Bad omen of evil spirits | “The SGH is the carrier of dead souls… and particularly those of angry, avenging or ancestral spirits.” |
Announcing calamities (death and destruction) | “An SGH perched on top of a person’s roof, or in or near a community’s village, is a sign of death…” | |
Protective influence | Protection against evil spirits | “I ground it up, burn and use the ash which I rubbed into incisions in my joints. It makes me strong to withstand the onslaughts of evil spirits.” |
Protection against lightning | “We use it to protect our property against lightning.” | |
Protection against food shortages | “When we use the bird we know that rain will follow” | |
Enables or causes altered perceptions | Remote viewing | “The bird is a predictor. It can stand here and it will know what is happening in Soweto (a nearby township where most market-goers reside).” |
Foreseeing the future | “The bird helps us to find food, like honey and small antelope” | |
Creating an illusion | “We use it to increase the weight of our harvested crops” | |
Timekeeper | Working day | “It tells us when to wake up or go to bed.” |
Change in season | “If we see that bird, it means that it is going to rain…this means we must prepare our field to plant our crops.” |