Are owls evil birds?
By Bolanle Bolawole
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Sometime this year, I was alerted to the presence of an owl perching on the PHCN line overlooking my apartment. And so what, I asked! The response I got shocked me: Don’t you know that owls are evil birds? I quickly jumped out of bed! I really never knew anything about owls. I went to my window and saw it. I began to “bind and cast.” I followed this up by picking up a stone and going after it. It flew away before I could reach it. Days later, the owl appeared again. I went after it again with prayer and action. Again, it flew away before I could reach it. Every night afterwards I checked the PHCN line before going to bed and whenever I woke up in the night. There was no sight of it. Still, I prayed.
Not long afterwards, a classmate and friend who had suffered a stroke earlier, died. He was 69. Closely afterwards, my in-law, a mentor, died at the age of 89. Then real tragedy struck in the same month with the death of his daughter and my niece, at 54. In July alone a chorister in my church lost her father who was 65. My panel beater lost a 14-year-old child; a pastor friend died at a relatively young age, and then another schoolmate and professional colleague also passed on at the age of 67. More deaths of colleagues and known faces have since followed.
Are owls evil birds? Are they the harbingers or messengers of death? This is what Google has to say about this mysterious bird: “No, owls are not evil birds; they are simply wild, nocturnal animals fulfilling a natural role in the environment.”
But owls, all the same, have a really bad reputation. Their nocturnal lifestyle is one. They hunt and move around in the dark and people historically associate darkness with fear and the unknown. Owls also fly silently: Their specialized feathers let them fly completely silently, causing them to appear suddenly out of nowhere.
They also have human-like facial features, with their forward-facing eyes giving them an intense, penetrating gaze that can feel uncanny or unsettling. Owl’s eerie sounds, strange screeches, clicks, and hoots in the dead of night have also fueled ghost stories for centuries. There are also a lot of cultural myths and superstitions pertaining to owls. Many cultures around the world historically view owls as bad omens or messengers of death.
“In general, owls are viewed as harbingers of bad luck, ill health, or death. The belief is widespread even today.” According to Wikipedia, this belief cuts across the globe. Among the Kikuyu of Kenya, it was believed that owls were harbingers of death. If one saw an owl or heard its hoot, someone was going to die.
In the Americas, the culture of the Uto-Aztec tribe, the Hopi, has “taboos surrounding owls, which are associated with sorcery and other evils. The Aztecs and Maya, along with other natives of Mesoamerica, considered the owl a symbol of death and destruction. In fact, the Aztec god of death, Mictlantecuhtli, was often depicted with owls. There is an old saying in Mexico that is still in use: ‘When the owl cries/sings, the Indian dies’.
“The Popol Vuh, a Mayan religious text, describes owls as messengers of Xibalba (the Mayan “Place of Fright”). The belief that owls are messengers and harbingers of the dark powers is also found among the Hočągara (Winnebago) of Wisconsin. When in earlier days the Hočągara committed the sin of killing enemies while they were within the sanctuary of the chief’s lodge, an owl appeared and spoke to them in the voice of a human, saying, ‘From now on the Hočągara will have no luck.’ This marked the beginning of the decline of the tribe. An owl appeared to Glory of the Morning, the only female chief of the Hočąk nation, and uttered her name. Soon afterwards she died.
“People often allude to the reputation of owls as bearers of supernatural danger when they tell misbehaving children, ‘the owls will get you.’ Also, in the Cherokee culture, as well as many other Native American cultures, owls are a very bad omen. It is said that if you are outside in broad daylight and an owl flies over your head, a family member or loved one would die within the coming week. In the Middle East, Arab mythology sees owls as bad omens.”
Some other cultures, however, see owls in a different light i.e. as a wise creature (for example, Hinduism in India.) In Japan, souvenir shops display little owl figurines that are supposed to bring good luck. The Japanese word for owl is ‘fukurou’, and the first part of the word (‘fuku’) can be written with the same character as ‘luck’ or the whole word can literally be written as ‘no suffering/troubles’.”
So, what is it really about owls? It would appear owls signify different strokes for different people – and for different reasons as well. Superstition exists everywhere. And every superstitious belief has a logic behind it. Most of the time, this is weaved around the fear of the unknown and the recoil from what Cicero, a Roman philosopher, called the ultimate evil.
Cicero, also noted for his oratorical gift, defined the Latin term “summum malum” as “the highest evil” and “summum bonum” as “the highest good” in his foundational ethical treatise titled “On the Ends of Good and Evil”. He reportedly used these concepts to compare how different ancient Greek schools such as the Stoics, Epicureans, and Peripatetics defined the ultimate goal of human life (summum bonum) vis-a-vis what they sought most to avoid (summum malum). Cicero, however, merely built on the thoughts of earlier ancient Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle.
Thomas Hobbes, another Western philosopher and famous author of the “Leviathan” (1651) rejected the idea of a universal “summum bonum” due to conflicting human desires, but agreed that a definitive “summum malum” did exist: the fear of violent death.
What is certain, and which is known to all civilizations, is that the traffic between heaven and earth is never ending; and that this is as sure as day follows night. As Orlando Owoh crooned, just as babies are born on a daily basis, so also do people die – owl or not owl. Were the universe to be rid of owls, people would still die! All the same because I am not Japanese, owls are not the kind of birds I love to see!
Robbing Peter to pay Paul: A lose-lose situation
Can these figures be correct? Since I came across them on the internet, I have not seen a rebuttal from any quarters. So, since silence is said to mean consent, I want to assume that the figures are factual – until the contrary is proven.
The disturbing information goes thus: “Six geo-political zones’ contribution to the VAT pool and (what each of them) received (in return) in half-year January -June 2026): 1. South-west contributed N2.16trn but received N691.56bn (31.99%). 2. South-south contributed N880.58bn but received N429.99bn (48.83%). 3. North-central contributed N302.81bn but received N350.17bn (115.64%).
- North-west contributed N205.52bn but received N384.56bn (187.11%). 5. North-east contributed N152.82bn but received N285.70bn (186.95%). 6. The South-east contributed N79.27bn but received N230.89bn (291.28%).”
Are you not surprised that the South-east zone contributed the least but received the highest, percentage-wise? This means that a region always screaming “marginalization” is the one actually marginalizing others!
All the three zones in the North received more than they contributed; meaning that, like the South-east, they benefit from the sweat of others – in other words, they reap on a monthly basis from where they did not sow! The two burden-bearer zones are the South-south and South-west, with the latter being the greater losers.
Those riding on the back of others will never disembark unless they are forced to. Unfortunately, free lunch offers no incentives for anyone to work harder. And those being held down as beasts of burden will never achieve their true potential for as long as they carry the can for others. What a lose-lose situation in real or absolute terms!
FEEDBACK
RE: If state police are not to suffer a stillbirth…
Thank you so much for this piece! Brig-Gen. Jibola Togun once drew my attention to the lack of support by our governors for Amotekun after the exit of Rotimi Akeredolu from earthly life. I have written no fewer than five times on the imperatives of the establishment of state police, drawing attention to how formal policing began at Abeokuta in 1903, but took off in 1905, followed by Ibadan in 1906 and Oyo, 1907 and from there to other divisions of Yorubaland. If our forebears could see the imperatives of divisional and regional policing, the attitude of our governors after Akeredolu has been shocking and disappointing. The first responsibility of any government is security. It is, in fact, the origin of government. We can see now that the establishment of state police has received a national stamp. Well done! – Lade Bonuola
Has Tinubu lost his grip on the Nigerian media?
The shortcomings you highlighted and the solutions proffered are top-notch. I am one of those who believe until tomorrow that (Dele) Alake should have been Tinubu’s spokesman (but) rumours have it that Gbaja and Alake can not co-habit at the villa! Reno Omokri is doing far better than all the government paid spokesmen, including Onanuga. Ask yourself why Dele Momodu and Femi Ojudu distanced themselves from Tinubu. Self-interest, I presume! I have read the “Adventure of Guerrilla Journalist” by Ojudu and I have heard Momodu narrate how Tinubu gave him 500 pounds while they were in exile. I have equally heard how Remi asked: “Uncle Dee, so you are not going to work for my husband?” That question is loaded. Nobody runs Tinubu down as does the duo! I don’t think the Nigerian Press is as dangerous as the TV anchor personalities. Many no longer read newspapers but depend on TV stations. Arise News, for instance, sees all government actions from negative perspectives. They know who to invite: hardly will you see their guests not towing their preferred line of thought. More often than not, they carefully select the APC men they can easily bully. Rufyy is a pessimist par excellence, only he is honest and capable! To him, all Nigerians are corrupt and unpatriotic – except himself! Abati was my hall mate at Awo Postgraduate Hall, UI… He always loves to play smart (but) I think an average Nigerian knows that he is biased. He is a PDP card-carrying member. Seun Okinbaloye is worse, despite the fact that the Finance Minister has said it times without number that the right question to ask is ‘where would Nigeria have been if the (Tinubu) reforms were not introduced’ and NOT ‘is your life better now than it was in 2023?’ Okinbaloye is aware of the 33 trillion paper-money printed, the huge amount owed foreign airlines, and the less than four billion dollars in the foreign reserves account. Yet, Seun will have none of that! He is in the habit of parading statistics just to discredit the government. The ones that favour the government are downplayed! Hardly will you see Seun ask the right follow-up questions from the opposition. Tinubu needs to strengthen his information machinery in all its ramifications. – Rev. Canon Dr. Kayode Abegunde.
Can anyone or organization in this country have the media in their pocket? I ask this question as someone who has spent almost 50 years in the media and who has done only media job all his life. But I look at media relations in this country and ask myself: how can these guys be so dumb? All the attacks on opponents and critics will be useless after the President leaves office. Where is Buhari’s press value today? It is all gone! Where is Femi Adesina? And where is Garba Sheu? Government media minders are lazy; they are not deep enough; they focus on fighting political opponents and critics and once the government they serve disappears, they, too, will disappear with it! They do not bother to convince anyone; they just shout at us and think that is press relations! They should understudy Ogbuefi Nwokedi and Tunji Oseni! – Olowo Adebola.
- Former Editor of PUNCH newspapers, Chairman of its Editorial Board and Deputy Editor-in-Chief, BOLAWOLE was also the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of THE WESTERNER newsmagazine. He writes the ON THE LORD’S DAY column in the SUNDAY TRIBUNE and TREASURES column in the NEW TELEGRAPH newspaper on Wednesdays. He is also a public affairs analyst on radio and television.