Homa (mythology)

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This figure of the Huma bird, made c. 1787-1791, was originally part of Tippu Sultan's throne at Mysore. The figure was seized following the capture of Mysore in 1799, and subsequently presented to George III by Richard Mornington.[1] The stand was added later.

The Huma bird (pronunciation varies) is a creature of Sufi fable that is said to never come to rest, living its entire life flying invisibly high above the earth, and never alighting on the ground (in some legends it is said to have no legs).[2] The Sufi teacher Inayat Khan supposed that "[i]n the word Huma, hu represents spirit, and the word mah in Arabic means water."[3] The creature is a common motif in Persian-, Ottoman Turkish-, and Urdu- poetry traditions.

In some variations, the Huma bird is said to be phoenix-like, consuming itself in fire every few hundred years, only to rise anew from the ashes. The creature is often referred to as a "bird of paradise".[4] The Huma bird is said to have both the male and female natures in one body, each nature having one wing and one leg.

The Huma bird is considered to be a compassionate bird, and its shadow (or touch) is said to be auspicious.[5] In Sufi tradition, catching the Huma is even beyond the wildest imagination, but catching a glimpse of it or even a shadow of it is sure to make one happy for the rest of his/her life.

The shadow (or the alighting) of the Huma bird on a person's head or shoulder were said to bestow (or foretell) kingship. Accordingly, the feathers decorating the turbans of kings were said to be plumage of the Huma bird.[6] This legend appears in the allegorical Conference of the Birds, in which the Huma bird (in this tale portrayed as a pupil) refuses to undertake a journey because such an undertaking would compromise the privilege of bestowing kingship on those whom it flew over. In Iranian literature, this function of the Huma bird is identified with pre-Islamic monarchs, and stands vis-a-vis ravens, which is a metaphor for Arabs.[7] The legend appears in non-Sufi art as well.[8] Sufi teacher Inayat Khan gives the bestowed-kingship legend a spiritual dimension: "Its true meaning is that when a person's thoughts so evolve that they break all limitation, then he becomes as a king. It is the limitation of language that it can only describe the Most High as something like a king."[3]

The Huma bird is said to avoid killing for food, preferring instead to feed on carrion. In the Memalik ul Mirat, Ottoman admiral Sisi Ali Reis describes having seen hurruz or huma birds on his return trip from India to Istanbul in 1557.[9] From his description of the birds eating carrion, these would seem to have been vultures or other scavenger birds.

Some references to the creature also appear in Sindhi literature, where – as in the divan tradition also – the creature is portrayed as bringing great fortune. In the Zafarnama of the Sikh Guru Gobind Singh, a letter addressed to the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb refers to the Huma bird as an Osprey.

A British Museum catalog captions a photograph of the griffin-like capitals at Persepolis with "Column capital in the form of griffins (locally known as 'homa birds')..."[10] The Persian language acronym for "Iran National Airline" is HOMA and the airline's emblem is the stylized rendering of a Persepolis capital.

References

  1. ^ Royal Collection department of the Royal Household (2004), Bird of paradise (huma) from Tipu Sultan’s throne, royalcollection.org.uk, http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/eGallery/object.asp?object=48482&row=1&detail=about .
  2. ^ Nile, Green (2006), "Ostrich Eggs and Peacock Feathers: Sacred Objects as Cultural Exchange between Christianity and Islam", Al Masaq: Islam and the Medieval Mediterranean 18 (1): 27-78 .
  3. ^ a b Khan, Inayat (1923), "Abstract Sound", The Mysticism of Music, Sound and Word, wahiduddin.net .
  4. ^ cf. Andrews, Walter; Kalpakli, Mehmet (2005), The Age of Beloveds, Duke University Press, p. 341-342 .
  5. ^ Meher Baba; Anzar, Naosherwan (trans., ed.) (1981), The Master Sings, Meher Baba's Ghazals, San Francisco: Zeno .
  6. ^ Schimmel, Annemarie; Attwood, Corinne; Waghmar, Burzine (2004), The Empire of the Great Mughals: History, Art and Culture, Reaktion, p. 30 .
  7. ^ Pourshariati, Parvaneh (2000), "Local Historiography in Early Medieval Iran and the Tārīkh-i Bayhaq", Iranian Studies 33 (1/2): 133-164 , p. 151.
  8. ^ cf. Goswamy, B. N. (1997), "Nainsukh of Guler: A Great Indian Painter from a Small Hill-State", Artibus Asiae, Supplementum 41: 5-304 , p. 118.
  9. ^ Khan, Inayat (1988), Music of Life, New York: Omega Publications .
  10. ^ Curtis, John; Tallis, Nigel, eds. (2005), Forgotten Empire, the World of Ancient Persia, London: British Museum Press, ISBN 0-7141-1157-5 .
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