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Green Peafowl

Pavo muticus

Status: Endangered. Habitat in tropical southeast Asia is fragmented and destroyed. Wild population is declining and limited to small areas of Thailand and Indonesia.

In the Buddhist pantheon, one of the five protective goddesses is Mahamayuri. "Mayura" mean peacock in Sanskrit. Because peacocks kill and eat venomous snakes, she is called upon for protection from snake bites. She is often seen in art and iconography with a peacock feather in hand, or mounted on peacocks, or attended by celestial peafowl.

The Dai people of southeast Asia combine many shamanic beliefs and practices into Buddhism. These beliefs remain from the time before Buddhism became the dominant religion, when the Dai were animists. Peacocks were revered as being messengers and embodiments of compassion, beauty, and peace.

The ancient monarchs of Burma used the green peafowl as their royal emblem, and it remains a symbol of anti-colonial movements, and in Cambodia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and other countries of southeast Asia there is the peafowl folk dance. It is a traditional performance where the dancers are dressed as peacocks and their movements are inspired by the elegant peacock fan of feathers and beauty.

 

References:
Bhattacharyya, D., & Bhattacharyya, D. (1965). THE GODDESS MAHAMAYURI AND THE PEACOCK. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 27, 45-46. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44140579

Nair, P. T. (1974). The Peacock Cult in Asia. Asian Folklore Studies, 33(2), 93-170. https://doi.org/10.2307/1177550