Huma (mythology)
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![Huma Bird[citation needed] (Bird of paradise), from Tipu's Throne in Mysore](../../../../images/local/f/fa/Huma_bird_of_paradise.jpg)
- Not to be confused[citation needed] with other Persian mythological birds and creatures Roc, Simurgh
The Huma (Persian: ہما), also known as the "bird of paradise," is a Persian mythological bird, similar to the Egyptian phoenix, which consumes itself in fire every few hundred years, only to rise anew from the ashes. It is considered to be a compassionate bird. The touch of the huma bird is said to bring great fortune.
The huma joins both the male and female natures together in one body, each sharing a wing and a leg. It avoids killing for food, rather preferring to feed on carrion. The Persians teach that great blessings come to that person on whom the huma's shadow falls. [1]
According to Sufi master Inayat Khan, "The word huma in the Persian language stands for a fabulous bird. There is a belief that if the huma bird sits for a moment on someone's head it is a sign that he will become a king. 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."
[edit] Possible connections with real birds
While being partially mythic (the image shown is exactly like Chinese and Japanese gilded bronze phoenix statuettes) there are references to the bird as both hurruz or huma bird in the Memalik ul Mirat by Ottoman admiral Sisi Ali Reis on his return trip from India to Istanbul in 1557.[2] His account suggests that the hurruz he observed was a vulture: These birds, like all other birds also, are revered in Zoroastrianism because they play an important role in the disposal of the dead (see also Towers of Silence).
In the Zafarnama of the Sikh Guru Gobind Singh, a letter which he composed to the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb the bird is referred to as an Osprey.
[edit] External links
- The Mysticism of Sound, Hazrat Inayat Khan (includes discussion of Huma myth by Sufi writer Inayat Khan)
