22Also called bág-to.
The seventh and eighth directions are like the second direction; that is, bad.
Between the above directions are others that receive an intermediate interpretation. There may also be combinations of calls from different directions. The omen bird heard in the fifth or in the sixth direction augurs success and safety, respectively, as we saw above, but if heard simultaneously from those two positions it is considered a most fatal omen; the trip or enterprise must be abandoned at once. Again if the bird calls from the fifth position and then after a short interval from the eighth position, success is assured but upon arriving at the destination one must hurry home without delay.
Should, however, the cry proceed from the sixth direction and then be immediately followed by one from the seventh, great vigilance must be exerted, for the cry is an intimation that one will have to use his shield and spear in defense.
I have found the interpretation of the omen bird's call so varied and so difficult that I refrain from entering any further into the matter. Suffice it to say that at the beginning of every journey the bird is consulted and its call interpreted to the best of the traveler's ability. Should it be decided that the call augurs ill he invariably abandons the trip until the following day when he makes another attempt to secure favorable omens. It thus happens that his journey may be delayed for several days. On one occasion I was delayed three days because the cry of this mysterious bird was unfavorable.
BIRDS OF EVIL OMEN
Besides the turtledove there is no other bird that is the harbinger of good luck. There are, however, several that by their cry, forebode evil. Thus the cry of all birds that ordinarily do not cry by night is of evil omen. The various species of hornbills, crows, and chickens are examples. The cawing of crows and the shrieking of owls in the night have a particularly evil significance, for these birds are then considered to be the embodiment of demons that hover around with evil intent.
An unusual cackling of a hen at night without any apparent reason is also of ill import. On one occasion it was thought to be so threatening that the following morning the owner went through the fowl-waving ceremony and killed the hen for breakfast. He told me that he had to kill it or to sell it because bad luck might come if he kept it around the house.
Again, the alighting of a large bird, such as a hornbill, on the house forebodes great evil. Ceremonial means must be taken without delay to avert the evil presaged by such an occurrence. On one occasion I observed the fowl-waving ceremony, the sacrifice of a chicken, and the blood lustration performed with a view to neutralizing the evil portent.