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The Healing Wisdom of Birds – Lesley Morris

Birds are still considered shamanic characters in South American culture today, particularly owls, hummingbirds, harpy eagles, and vultures. In some South American narrative tales, the primal sun god lives in a shelter composed of yellow and red macaw feathers, and has the power to light the world with the feathers of his magnificent crown.

The remains of parrots, recovered from Pachacamac and other coastal sites in Peru, were sometimes carefully wrapped in a miniature mummy bundle, revealing their great spiritual significance to Peru's ancient peoples.

In modern-day Brazil the Bororo keep live birds in their village. When a Bororo Indian's pet macaw dies, it is wrapped in a fiber mat and buried behind the house. These birds are sacred among this tribe as the favorite dwelling place of ancestral spirits. The Bororo also believe themselves to be macaws, and say they were turned into birds by one of their culture heroes.