Editing Owl (section)

== Symbolism and mythology ==
Among the [[Kikuyu people|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 general, owls are viewed as harbingers of bad luck, ill health, or death. The belief is widespread even today.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.owlpages.com/articles.php?section=Owl+Mythology&title=Owls+Lore+Culture&page=8 |title=Owls in Lore and Culture – The Owl Pages |publisher=Owlpages.com}}</ref>

[[File:Lakshmi 02349.JPG|thumb|upright|The [[Devi|Hindu goddess]] [[Lakshmi]] with the owl]]
In [[Hinduism]], an owl is the ''[[vahana]]'' (mount) of the goddess [[Lakshmi]], especially in the eastern region of India.<ref name="Chopra2017">{{cite book|last=Chopra|first=Capt. Praveen |title=Vishnu's Mount: Birds In Indian Mythology And Folklore|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hoBDDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT109|year=2017|publisher=Notion Press|isbn=978-1-948352-69-7|page=109}}</ref> Owls are considered a symbol of wealth, prosperity, wisdom, good luck, and fortune. This is the reason why Owls are seen with Lakshmi, who is also the goddess of fortune, wealth, and prosperity. At the same time, owls are also associated with evil times in Hinduism. At times, [[Chamunda]] (fearsome form of [[Chandi]]) is depicted seated on an owl, her [[vahana]] (mount or vehicle). Hindus believe that owls are messengers of death.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Owl in Hinduism|url=https://tamilandvedas.com/tag/owl-in-hinduism/|access-date=2021-06-08|website=Tamil and Vedas|language=en}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=February 2023|reason=Not only is this a blog, but the link is to a tag not to a specific post.}} In [[China]], owls were traditionally considered to be omens of evil or misfortune.  In [[Japan]], owls are regarded as lucky,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ph.D |first=Hiren B. Soni |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QNp0EAAAQBAJ&pg=PT29 |title=Owl 'The Mysterious Bird' |date=2022-06-13 |publisher=Pencil |isbn=978-93-5610-605-5 |language=en}}</ref> although in ancient times they were associated with death.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Soni |first=Dr Hiren B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p0V0EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA31 |title=Owl: The Mysterious Bird |language=en}}</ref>

In Sumerian, Akkadian, and Babylonian culture, the owl was associated with [[Lilith]].<ref>''Sex and gender in the ancient Near East: proceedings of the 47th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale'', Helsinki, July 2–6, 2001, Part 2 p. 481.</ref>

The [[Western culture|modern West]] generally associates owls with [[wisdom]] and [[Alertness|vigilance]]. This link goes back at least as far as [[Ancient Greece]], where [[Athens]], noted for art and scholarship, and [[Athena]], Athens' patron goddess and the goddess of wisdom, had [[Owl of Athena|the owl]] as a symbol.<ref name="Deacy, Susan 2001">Deacy, Susan, and Villing, Alexandra (2001). Athena in the Classical World. Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands, {{ISBN|90-04-12142-0}}.</ref> [[Marija Gimbutas]] traces veneration of the owl as a goddess, among other birds, to the culture of [[Old European culture|Old Europe]], long pre-dating [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Indo-European]] cultures.<ref>Gimbutas, Marija (2001) ''The living goddesses'', University of California Press, [https://books.google.com/books?id=7DfI39EDbMcC&pg=PA158 p. 158]. {{ISBN|0-520-92709-5}}.</ref>

In medieval Europe, the owl was often used with more negative symbolism. The bird was associated with darkness, uncleanliness, and mourning. The bird was linked to the [[bubonic plague]]. Owls were even used as anti-Semetic caricatures of Jews.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=March 17, 2016 |title=Owls: Always a Hoot? |url=https://sites.nd.edu/manuscript-studies/tag/owl/ |website=University of Notre Dame |publisher=University of Notre Dame's Medieval Institute |access-date=February 11, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Chevalier |first=Lorris |date=August 2024 |title=Birds of Night: The Role of the Owl in Medieval European Anti-Judaism
 |url=https://www.medievalists.net/2024/08/birds-of-night-the-role-of-the-owl-in-medieval-european-anti-judaism/ |website=Medievalists.net |access-date=February 11, 2025}}</ref>

[[T. F. Thiselton-Dyer]], in his 1883 ''Folk-lore of Shakespeare'', says that <blockquote>from the earliest period it has been considered a bird of ill-omen," and [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] tells us how, on one occasion, even [[Rome]] itself underwent a [[lustratio]]n, because one of them strayed into the Capitol. He represents it also as a funereal bird, a monster of the night, the very abomination of humankind. [[Virgil]] describes its death howl from the top of the temple by night, a circumstance introduced as a precursor of [[Dido]]'s death. [[Ovid]], too, constantly speaks of this bird's presence as an evil omen; and indeed the same notions respecting it may be found among the writings of most of the ancient poets.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Thiselton-Dyer |first1=T. F. |date=1883 |url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/sks/flos/flos08.htm |work=Folk-lore of Shakespeare |publisher=Internet Sacred Text Archive |title=Chapter VI. Birds. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907193320/https://sacred-texts.com/sks/flos/flos08.htm |archive-date= Sep 7, 2023 }}</ref></blockquote>
=== Native American cultures ===
People often allude to the reputation of owls as bearers of supernatural danger when they tell misbehaving children, "the owls will get you",<ref>{{cite journal|author=Lenders, E. W. |title=The Myth of the 'Wah-ru-hap-ah-rah,' or the Sacred Warclub Bundle|journal=Zeitschrift für Ethnologie|volume= 46 |year=1914|pages= 404–420 (409)}}</ref> and in most Native American folklore, owls are a symbol of death.

According to the [[Apache]] and [[Seminole]] tribes, hearing owls hooting is considered the subject of numerous "[[bogeyman]]" stories told to warn children to remain indoors at night or not to cry too much, otherwise the owl may carry them away.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.native-languages.org/morelegends/stikini.htm |title=Stikini, an owl monster of Seminole folklore|website= Native-languages.org|access-date=2015-10-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.native-languages.org/big-owl.htm |title=Big Owl (Owl-Man), a malevolent Apache monster|website= Native-languages.org|access-date=2015-10-25}}</ref> In some tribal legends, owls are associated with [[Ghost|spirits of the dead]], and the bony circles around an owl's eyes are said to comprise the fingernails of apparitional humans. Sometimes owls are said to carry messages from beyond the grave or deliver supernatural warnings to people who have broken tribal taboos.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.native-languages.org/legends-owl.htm |title=Native American Indian Owl Legends, Meaning and Symbolism from the Myths of Many Tribes|website= Native-languages.org |date= 25 July 2008|access-date=2015-10-25}}</ref>

The [[Aztec]]s and the [[Maya civilization|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.<ref>{{cite web|website=[[World History Encyclopedia]]|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Mictlantecuhtli/|title=Mictlantecuhtli}}</ref> There is an old saying in [[Mexico]] that is still in use:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cronica.com.mx/especial.php?id_tema=1010&id_nota=375192 |title=Cuando el tecolote canta, el indio muere |work=La Cronica |date=27 July 2008 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100903110238/http://cronica.com.mx/especial.php?id_tema=1010&id_nota=375192 |archive-date= 3 September 2010 }}</ref> ''Cuando el tecolote canta, el indio muere'' ("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").<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.meta-religion.com/World_Religions/Ancient_religions/Central_america/popol_vuh.htm|title=The Popol Vuh|access-date=2008-07-23|publisher=meta-religion.com}}</ref>

The belief that owls are messengers and harbingers of the dark powers is also found among the [[Ho-Chunk|Hočągara]] (Winnebago) of Wisconsin.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://hotcakencyclopedia.com/ho.Owls.html |title=Owls|encyclopedia=Hočąk Encyclopedia}}</ref> 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 their tribe.<ref>Radin, Paul (1990 [1923]) ''The Winnebago Tribe'', Lincoln: [[University of Nebraska Press]], pp. 7–9 {{ISBN|0-8032-5710-4}}.</ref> An owl appeared to [[Glory of the Morning]], the only female chief of the Hočąk nation, and uttered her name. Soon after, she died.<ref>Smith, David Lee (1997) ''Folklore of the Winnebago Tribe'', Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, p. 160</ref><ref>[http://hotcakencyclopedia.com/ho.GloryOfMorning.html "Glory of the Morning"], ''Hočąk Encyclopedia''.</ref>

According to the culture of the [[Hopi]], a [[Uto-Aztecan languages|Uto-Aztec]] tribe, taboos surround owls, which are associated with sorcery and other evils.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}

The [[Ojibwe]] tribes, as well as their [[Aboriginal peoples in Canada|Aboriginal Canadian]] counterparts, used an owl as a symbol for both evil and death. In addition, they used owls as a symbol of very high status of spiritual leaders of their spirituality.<ref name="Owls in Lore and Culture">{{cite web|url=http://www.owlpages.com/articles.php?section=owl+mythology&title=owls+lore+culture&page=3 |title=Owls in Lore and Culture |page =3|website= The Owl Pages |date= 31 October 2012|access-date=2015-10-25}}</ref>

The [[Pawnee people|Pawnee]] tribes viewed owls as the symbol of protection from any danger within their realms.<ref name="Owls in Lore and Culture"/>

The [[Puebloan peoples]] associated owls with Skeleton Man, the god of death and the spirit of fertility.<ref name="Owls in Lore and Culture"/>

The [[Yakama]] tribes use an owl as a totem, to guide where and how forests and natural resources are useful with management.<ref name="Owls in Lore and Culture"/>