In the Romanian mythological fauna, the so-called Pasarea Maiastra (the Magic Bird) is considered to be the queen of all the birds. It is the fairies’ messenger. Like any respectable supernatural being endowed with magical powers, it shows itself quite rarely to the mortals. It is therefore a "rara avis" of unique beauty and spreading celestial light to enchant only the vision of the happy few. As for its song, which can only be heard in solitude, it is said to give back the youthfulness to any listener.
The Magic Bird is a justice maker bird, with inexhaustible magic powers that belongs to the Other Side, which leads an isolated life and which very rarely exposes its superb colorful plumage. It is a magic bird with a way of singing that out-passes all the earthly music and which has the gift of guessing the future and to read into people’s hearts.
Such a bird with exceptional characteristics can be found in all cultures around the world. For instance, the Phoenix bird and her unique beauty which is famous from Europe to the Far East and to America, is in fact an equivalent of the Magic Bird. But what makes the Phoenix bird different, apart from the fact that it is born out of a gold egg which used to float above the waters of the Primordial Ocean, is its capacity to go down in flames and to be born again out of its own ashes. Thus it is a symbol of the creative fire which can also destroy the world. For Christians, the Phoenix bird is a symbol of the Archangel Michael.
Also, the Fire Bird is the equivalent of the Magic Bird in the Slavic mythology. In Russian fairy tales, it appears as a miraculous bird, with shiny golden and silvery plumage and crystal-clear eyes. It is said that even one feather of the Fire Bird can light up an entire room. Her beauty and immortality is due to the gold apples that it feeds on. When it sings, pearls come out of its beak and her music has the power to give sight to the blind.
In the old Chinese tradition a Red Bird is mentioned, called Feng Huang, protector of the immortal love. It can be viewed as the embodiment of the Yin-Yang symbol. Feng means the male bird, whereas Huang means the female bird.
The Magic Bird from the Romanian legends is similar also to the Simorgh bird, mentioned in the Persian culture is the symbol of divine wisdom and human perfection. Perhaps the most picturesque description of the Magic Bird is given by the story-teller of Romania, named Petre Ispirescu in his homonymous fairy tale: "Everyone was astonished by the beauty of that bird, with thousands of colors, its feathers shining like a mirror in the sun; and the steeple of the church was no longer falling down; the bird lay its crib into that steeple. But one thing was to be noticed; the bird seemed to be mute, because it made no sound, and everybody who saw it was sorry for such a beautiful bird was unable to sing a single tune, because the emperor also, with all his joy for the church and its steeple, was sad because the bird could not sing."
The ineffable beauty and flight of the Magic Bird have been immortalized by the sculptor Constantin Brancusi in his sculpture chosen in 2000 as the sculpture of the 20th century: "The Magic Bird is a symbol of the flight which frees the man of the limits of inert matter. Here I had to solve two different problems. I had to show in a plastic form the sense of the spirit, which is linked to the matter. At the same time, I had to fuse all shapes in perfect unity. Even contradictory shapes had to unify in a new, final communion and in my philosophy of life separating matter from spirit is an illusion. The soul and the clay form a unity. By this oval of the Magic Bird’s body I separated and combined two necessary movements-one above the oval and the other underneath. I asked myself: how could I balance the shapes to give the Bird a sense of flying-without effort? As you may notice, I somehow managed to make the Magic Bird float." - Constantin Brincusi (Oana-Ilinca Moldoveanu)
The Magic Bird is a justice maker bird, with inexhaustible magic powers that belongs to the Other Side, which leads an isolated life and which very rarely exposes its superb colorful plumage. It is a magic bird with a way of singing that out-passes all the earthly music and which has the gift of guessing the future and to read into people’s hearts.
Such a bird with exceptional characteristics can be found in all cultures around the world. For instance, the Phoenix bird and her unique beauty which is famous from Europe to the Far East and to America, is in fact an equivalent of the Magic Bird. But what makes the Phoenix bird different, apart from the fact that it is born out of a gold egg which used to float above the waters of the Primordial Ocean, is its capacity to go down in flames and to be born again out of its own ashes. Thus it is a symbol of the creative fire which can also destroy the world. For Christians, the Phoenix bird is a symbol of the Archangel Michael.
Also, the Fire Bird is the equivalent of the Magic Bird in the Slavic mythology. In Russian fairy tales, it appears as a miraculous bird, with shiny golden and silvery plumage and crystal-clear eyes. It is said that even one feather of the Fire Bird can light up an entire room. Her beauty and immortality is due to the gold apples that it feeds on. When it sings, pearls come out of its beak and her music has the power to give sight to the blind.
In the old Chinese tradition a Red Bird is mentioned, called Feng Huang, protector of the immortal love. It can be viewed as the embodiment of the Yin-Yang symbol. Feng means the male bird, whereas Huang means the female bird.
The Magic Bird from the Romanian legends is similar also to the Simorgh bird, mentioned in the Persian culture is the symbol of divine wisdom and human perfection. Perhaps the most picturesque description of the Magic Bird is given by the story-teller of Romania, named Petre Ispirescu in his homonymous fairy tale: "Everyone was astonished by the beauty of that bird, with thousands of colors, its feathers shining like a mirror in the sun; and the steeple of the church was no longer falling down; the bird lay its crib into that steeple. But one thing was to be noticed; the bird seemed to be mute, because it made no sound, and everybody who saw it was sorry for such a beautiful bird was unable to sing a single tune, because the emperor also, with all his joy for the church and its steeple, was sad because the bird could not sing."
The ineffable beauty and flight of the Magic Bird have been immortalized by the sculptor Constantin Brancusi in his sculpture chosen in 2000 as the sculpture of the 20th century: "The Magic Bird is a symbol of the flight which frees the man of the limits of inert matter. Here I had to solve two different problems. I had to show in a plastic form the sense of the spirit, which is linked to the matter. At the same time, I had to fuse all shapes in perfect unity. Even contradictory shapes had to unify in a new, final communion and in my philosophy of life separating matter from spirit is an illusion. The soul and the clay form a unity. By this oval of the Magic Bird’s body I separated and combined two necessary movements-one above the oval and the other underneath. I asked myself: how could I balance the shapes to give the Bird a sense of flying-without effort? As you may notice, I somehow managed to make the Magic Bird float." - Constantin Brincusi (Oana-Ilinca Moldoveanu)
No comments:
Post a Comment