fireflies: novel insights into hidden, transcendent qualities of indonesian cockatoos consequent to...

8/13/2019 FIREFLIES: Novel insights into hidden, transcendent qualities of Indonesian cockatoos consequent to observation i

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FIREFLIES:Novel insights into hidden, transcendent qualities of

Indonesian cockatoos consequent to observation in the wild

Stewart A. Metz, M.D. January 10, 2014

Abbreviations used: SAM:refers to the uthor, es!ecially when adding e"!hases to

words or !hrases fro" the works of others# $FNrefers to a footnote%

& Introduction' (he (wo s!ects of the )al"on*crested

+ockatoo Cacatua moluccensis)

-oluccan cockatoos are usually seen as !ets in ca!tivity and are a"ong the "ostwondrous of !arrots& .or those who "ight agree with that state"ent, the reasons are

usually rather su!erficial ones visible to all' their beauty# their co"edic sense# their

sentience# their astonishing feats of intelligence# and their irre!ressible antics& /owever,the "aor goal of this essay is not to highlight these aweso"e, albeit well*known and

su!erficial attributes& ather, I ho!e in this article, to introduce to the reader so"e subtle

and rare qualities of these ld 3orld !arrots sti"ulated by observing the" in the wild#these are rarely recognied or discussed&

-y first e5!osure to a !ossible relationshi! between Indonesian cockatoos es!ecially the)al"on*crested +ockatoo% and fireflies ca"e on an eco*tour run by the Indonesian 6arrot

6roect, of which I a" 7irector& 7uring our eco*tours, we rose to a $slee!ing !latfor"8 in

the cano!y, a!!ro5i"ately 140 ft& high&& (herefore, we were in a !osition to observe

)al"on*crested +ockatooos through all but the slee!ing !eriod & 3hen the forest wastotally obscured by darknes, a "agical e5!erience ensued9thousands of fireflies

a!!eared and lit the forest for a brief !eriod&

t first, their a!!earance sti"ulated a rather whi"sical hy!othesis& It was that "y

e5!erience, and that of so"e authors and !oets, suggested that one could view .ireflies in

certain settings, as e"bodi"ents of, or at the least as e5!ressions of, so"e une5!ected,

and rarely recognied descri!tors which, I will suggest, characterie the )al"on*crestedcockatoo& (hese include :s!iritual;, :wondrous;, :ethereal;, :ins!irational;, :celestial;and

:"iraculous;& )uch characteriations will sur!rise "any !eo!le but they "ight well have

so"e truth in the" if they are !erceived si"ilarly by a nu"ber of diverse !eo!le9as willbe discussed below in detail& (hus, fireflies "ay bring to the observer** to those with

eyes wide o!en*** inner qualities of this cockatoo !ossibly acting as their e"bodi"ents

or at the least as a "eta!hor for the"& (hus, "y !ersonal e5!erience with )al"on*crested$-oluccan8% cockatoos in the wilds of )era" Island, Indonesia, the sole re"aining


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ho"eland of these cockatoos, first raised this rather unusual hy!othesis to "e& Note that

in discussions of this cockatoo, )al"on*crested and )era" cockatoo, as well as Cacatua

moluccensis are technically correct# however $-oluccan cockatoo8 is rather vague sincethere are several s!ecies of cockatoo in the -oluccas%&

)uch rather heretical state"ents require ustification& 3hat follows, in !art, is "eant to bea !ersonal view of how !arrots, and in !articular Indonesian cockatoos, have ins!ired "e

and thereby turned "y life u!side*down& 3ithin "y !ersonal e5!erience and views "ust

be "ore obective analyses& (his article is written with the ho!e that it will hel! to !asson "y own ins!iration by these cockatoos to others who are rece!tive to so"e rather

abstract conce!ts dealing with !arrots9cockatoos in !articular& /o!efully they will be

si"ilarly called to hel! these endangered !arrots& )o"e of "y conce!ts such as

:ins!iration; , and :enchant"ent; , as well as $celestial8 ,$ethereal8, even $near*deity8,will see" so"ewhat whi"sical to so"e readers, but this essay also receives su!!ort

fro" "any sources ears of i""ersing "yself intensively understanding these cockatoos at "any levels

changed "y life9fro" trying to hel! !atients in need as a !hysician% to hel!ing !arrotsin need& -y first e5!osure was by way of cockatoos as !ets, and even in that setting, they

de"onstrate a co"!le5ity& n the one hand, they are easily recognied for their beauty

?see !"$S #%&@, intelligence, sentience, co"edic behavior, and other easily*recognied qualities& In addition, cockatoos "ay dis!lay certain traits which "i"ic, at

least to a degree, those in hu"ans& .or e5a"!le, I have long felt that when a cockatoo

lifts its crest, it is analogous to us raising our eyebrows, as a refle5ive e5!ression of

e"otion& +ockatoos "ay walk in a "anner re"iniscent of hu"ans ie, u!right at ti"es%and while I a" no !hysiologist, when they hold their food to eat it, they a!!ear to be

a!!osing their $thu"b8 to their second ygodactyl& ll of these features and behaviors do

tend to contribute to the allure of cockatoos9but only in a su!erficial way&


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!"$ # '

!"$ #'

!"$S # and ' )al"on*crested or $)era"8% cockatoos taken fro" the wildon )era" Island, and in our ehabilitation and elease +enter at the ti"e of this

!hotogra!h ? !hotos by the uthor )&&-& and =& Ai""er"ann@


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!"$ #&is of a ca!tive )al"on*crested cockatoo "y own !et +hina, whoins!ired "uch of "y work with Indonesian cockatoos%& t the ti"e I had her, I was

unaware of the conflicts described in this article& !"$by a !rofessional

!hotogra!her

(heir e5ternal qualities, such as their striking beauty as de"onstrated in !"$S #%&contribute to the !o!ularity of cockatoos and so"e of their unique behaviors and traits


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Bott writes (FN #&):

She (Sophia, one of her Salmon-crests) embodied all the magic and the misery

of modern parrots.. Sophia climbed off her perch, climbed up my arm, and

leaned into my face.. A Moluccan cocatoo, among the !orld"s most stunning

birds#.fanned her crest in a spectacular blush#.$ut there"s a dar side to our

passion for parrots, and Sophia end Sophia embodied that too.. %nce an elegantbird in !hite feathers,, she"s no! a tattered beauty, her feathered ragged and her

chest pluced bare#.&ith no outlet for the chronic frustration of li'ing in an

en'ironment epressly unsuited to them, these intelligent creatures often de'elop

destructi'e beha'iors lie screaming, aggression to their o!ners, and #self-

mutilation.

FN #&:.ro"Bott, =. (he -agic and -isery of -odern 6arrots9(he+olorless 3orld of =irds in +a!tivity8All Animals. -arch*!ril, 201C,and

=erg"an, +& $No*.ly Aone' 7enied their Natural /abits, -illions of 6et 6arrots

Bead =leak, Bonely Bives,ibid

)i"ilarly, ose"ary Bow has written ?FN #*@ that , too, belie'e that no parrot has suffered so much at the hand of man as the

Moluccan Cocatoo. %n countless occasions these poor birds ha'e !renched at

my heart-strings due to the inhumane treatment they !ere suffering. *hose big,

bro!n !atchful eyes seem to sho! !isdom and intelligence that is so great that

caging them ecept under eceptional conditions is an act of cruelty. *his 'ie!

!ill seem etraordinarily sentimental to those !ho ha'e not been closely

in'ol'ed !ith this cocatoo. Many of those !ho ha'e , !ill ha'e eperienced(along !ith the shries and the histrionics) tenderness perhaps unmatched by

any creature on earth, an intense need for a soul-mate and the capacity to

epress and understand emotion, all to a degree that many !ould not belie'e

possible in a non-human creature.

FN # *' & Bow, +entury of 6arrots , Insignis 6ubl& , -ansfield, Notts, DE&,200F, !& 2F2

"ong the "any activities lost to cockatoos in ca!tivity are foraging for their favorite

and often requisite foods ?!"$ #*)+ flying, and searching for clean, fresh water

(!"$ #@# chewing on natural "aterials such a wood ?FN #@# socialiing with theirflock# and !laying, ust to e5!ress oy ?!"$ #-@& (here is a !ano!ly of others too

long to list here&

(FN#) In fact, the first book devoted totally to the care of !arrots inca!tivity 6arrots in +a!tivity, by 3&(& Greene ,1HHC% includes so"e of

the earliest descri!tions of the results of re"oving these cockatoos fro"

their forest ho"es and !utting the" in cages which could not "eet theirneeds& "ong the results were so"e of the earliest descri!tions of self*

"utilation and feather !lucking in $Great 3hite cockatoos8 both C. alba

and C.moluccensis). (hus,even 140 yrs ago, beca"e a!!arent& Greenewrote in 1H1 in .avourite .oreign =irds +ages and viaries , for


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e5a"!le, that parrots should ha'e#a piece of soft !ood on !hich to

eercise their beas, the !ant of !hich often impels them to pluc out

their feathers.& It is a lesson easily overlooked, even a century and a halflater&

!"$ #*' (his bird, fro" a flock of Gang*Gang +ockatoos, was observed by the uthor inNew )outh 3ales, ustralia eating their favorite foods9/awthorn berries& !"$by )&&-


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(he ability to fly and search for water sources ?!"$ #@ is e5e"!lified by this flockof -aor -itchell +ockatoos observed in the utback of ustralia& !"$by )&&-&


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&

!"$ #- :(his -aor -itchell;s +ockatoo was observed by the uthor at sundown in the utback of

ustralia swinging :round and :round a tree li"b with no a!!arent reason e5ce!t to e5!ress his

e5uberance and oy& !"$ #-by )&&-&

/owever, the e5ternal features and behaviors of these cockatoos are not the "aor focusof this article& ather, it is certain inner qualities, which co"!rise their "agical and at

ti"es al"ost transcendent qualities, which for" the focus of this article& (hese ethereal

?see FN # - for definitions)qualities I will suggest, lend the"selves to the inter!retationthat .ireflies "ay be, or "ay re!resent in so"e way, a !ersonification of cockatoos9

!ossibly even the incarnation of the souls of $lost8 cockatoos. In addition, these

cockatoos, and es!ecially the )al"on*crested s!ecies, "ay re!resent icons for "any ofthe conce!ts seen in ni"is" see )ection +, below%&

(FN# -) ' 7efining $ethereal8 is as difficult as describing how this adectiveca!tures the $inner8 qualities of the white cockatoo& )ynony"s for $ethereal8

include' intangible# too !erfect for the world# othworldly# s!iritual# celestial#transcendent# and beatific& /owever, they all revolve in so"e way around theconce!ts of transcending the co""on!lace and "undane of this world while

bringing to it the values of near*deification god*like%# co"!assion # wisdo",

loyalty, !urity, and transcendence & "itted fro" this list, but begging to be

added, would be $tragic8& Binda asterbrook wrote of the .irefly that


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Mother +irefly is the ind of character "'e al!ays !anted to

play. She"s larger than life, terribly tragic, and capable of a lot of

lo'edate and source unknown# aentuation b/ S.A.M&%&

(hese words a!!ly equally well to the )al"on*crested cockatoo& s for being

tragic figures, (ho"as /ardy wrote in 11F, in $(he =linded =ird8 ( FN#0 ) :

So estfully canst thou sing

And all this indignity, &ith od"s consent, on thee/$linded #. $y the red-hot needle thou#

&ho hath charity *his bird.

&ho suffereth long and is ing. s not pro'oed, though blind

And ali'e ensepulchred?

&ho hopeth, endureth all things

&ho thinketh no evil, but sings Who is divine *his bird.

e123ases added b/ S.A.M.4

In his !oe", he hints at the tragic suffering and "istreat"ent# the i"!rison"ent ofall% birds# their co"!assion# and asks who a!!roaches divinity through song and

reection of evil& lthough not s!ecifically about cockatoos, it "ight as well be, as it

ca!tures their tragic side and their near*divinity see below% very well& In fact, as we

have stated, .ireflies "ay be acting as the surrogate e"bodi"ents of these as!ects of3hite +ockatoos, and !ossibly they "ight act thusly for a wider contingent of birds'

0Some say they don1t belie'e that angels can be seen or heard.&hat a shame, such blindness. &hat a pity, such deafness.

&hen the Song of songs abounds and 2ea'en1s flyers are all around

%nly thinly disguised as birdsK ?anon&@

!"$ 0ais of a real*life blinded !arrot9a )al"on*crested cockatoo who was

beaten so severely to his head by his ca!tors that he beca"e sightless, and died

shortly after transfer to our ehabilitation +enter& (his )al"on*crested cockatoo diedshortly after being transferred to our ehabilitation +enter& (he cause of death was

the brutal trau"a to his head inflicted on hi" by his ca!tors, until he was rescued by

govern"ent officials& (he white !atches in his eyes indicate his blindness, andindicate da"age to the cornea, vitreous, lens or other structures& /e co"!rises a

tragic figure, a death without !ur!ose& ?!"$by -andy ndrea@

Just below that !hotogra!h is another !"$ 5# 0b% of another tragic figure, whodied due to severe starvation& 7ue to wasting of su!!orting structures, the keel is

"arkedly !ro"inent& /is feathers dis!layed "arked horiontal !ig"entation of his

tail and other feathers , often called stress bars, and are usually due to severe


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starvation which, in turn, is often associated with the "uscles around the keel&

?!"$by )&&-&@


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(he endurance of such treat"ent tends to convert these cockatoos into tragic figures, with

their basically gentle, co"!assionate, and wise characters, fighting a losing battle against"istreat"ent and greed, or, it "ight be e5!ressed, the enduring, co"!assionate figure of

the cockatoo vs&% the greedy, co""ercialied tra!!erL"iddle"an who !uts the life of thecockatoos at risk for a bit of !rofit&

=& 7ance of the .ireflies

)uch a for"ulation "ight see" rather whi"sical& /ow did such a thought ariseM

3hen the Indonesian 6arrot 6roect ran eco*tours to )era" currently the only ho"e for

the )al"on*crested cockatoo%, a thrilling !art of the tri! was slee!ing on the unique

slee!ing !latfor" high in the cano!y& 3e had constructed three of these, the tallest being

about 140 ft& tall, with a !latfor" at the to! ca!able of slee!ing F !eo!le &(here were"aestic views of the "ountains and the swee! of the valley right below& I believe that9

at least at that ti"e ?200C@** these were the only such $slee!ing !latfor"s8 in the world to

view !arrots in their natural habitat &

3hen the sun set, a "agical s!ectacle took !lace& (he forest at first beca"e so totally

dark that even the trees adacent to the !latfor" were barely visible, "ostly only by asense of sha!es being there& )hortly thereafter, hundreds if not thousands of 6ire67ies


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a!!eared, and for several "inutes, lit u! the forest again& (he thought ca"e to "e that

!erha!s these fireflies ca"e to e"body the souls of cockatoos lost to tra!!ing,

s"uggling, and other ravages of "ankind& It is this analogy which led "e to entitle thisarticle $Fire67ies.8 3hile the conce!t "ight ad"ittedly see" rather whi"sical, it does

have, at the least, have a sy"bolic value***a ste!!ing off !lace fro" which to e5a"ine the

!ossibility that the )al"on*crest cockatoo "ight !ossess inner qualities which transcendthe usual e5ternal qualities which we see when we first see a !et cockatoo&

I suggested that the a!!earance of the fireflies9of thesefireflies ** "ight be viewed asan incarnation of, or a "eta!hor for, the )al"on*crested cockatoos 3Cacatua

moluccensis@ lost to tra!!ing, "istreat"ent, and greed& /owever, this would not be the

first ti"e that writers have seen a distinct dichoto"y between so"e !eo!le who can

!erceive the s!ecial or al"ost "ystical qualities in ani"als, and those who who cannot&

In the first full article which I had ever written about cockatoos ?1# FN #8), I focusedon e5actly that9the distance between two "en with entirely different !erce!tions of

)al"on*crested cockatoons& ne, a father figure, was dee!ly invested in the "ystical

qualities of the cockatoos to the !oint that he beca"e to be able to co""unicate the" on"oral and , see"ingly, on even verbal ter"s& In contrast, his son was :blind; even to the

conce!t that these were cockatoos regularly seen outside his house in ustralia, whowere trying to co""unicate with hi"& Instead, he buried hi"self in technology which he

could easily "ani!ulate&

(FN #8@ I have !laced large and critical sections of this article ***$(he -an3ho (alked to (he +ockatoos8 **in the !!endi5, and invite you to read it in its

slightly*reduced for", or in its co"!lete version in 4et $ird 5eport, Issue4H# !!& O2*O4

(hus there are "ight be "ore subtle, "ore ethereal qualities to these cockatoos but theyrequire a long*ter" closeness and interaction to a!!reciate, and therefore, to be ins!ired

by the"& I refer to these as $the Inner 6arrot&8?see below@& It is these traits


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After sunset, !hen billo!ing puffs

of pin cloud are still seen,

She returned, to Mother sland5iding on a Moonbeam

?FN #9'@ I wrote $-oonbea"8 on the first anniversary of +hinaPs death?-ay F, 2004@ due to dilated cardio"yo!athy& +hina !rovided "uch of theins!iration for "y !ersonal !aradig" shift&(he reader can find a !hoto of her

above ?!"$ #&). E123ases added b/ S.A.M.

$.irefly8 "ight well be a only a fitting "eta!hor for these cockatoos, although I ho!e to

convince the reader that they e"body "uch "ore& )o"e !eo!le9es!ecially children ork, 2001

3hite cockatoos were also selectively described or !ainted by the fore"ost artists' (he(Pang !ainter>en Bi*!en !ainted such a cockatoo in the Oth+. nother artist, +hou .ang,

!ainted an Indonesian cockatoo in the fa"ous work $)now*Garbed -aiden8, as the !et of

the favorite consort of the "!eror& 3hite cockatoos were !ainted in the (;ang 7ynastyand later 1O21% in $(he 3hite +ockatoo8, by +h;en )hu&No "atter what one believesabout the literal truth in the history and stories concerning white cockatoos in early

+hina, it is clear that that they were held in great estee"9 with s!iritual overtonesbordering on deity, near*deity, or at the least, attendants to deities& (his would elevatethe" above all the other !arrots eg, lorinae, clectus, etc% brought to +hina, su!!orting

the conce!t that these birds did have so"e kind of s!ecial status and quality which could

be discerned with effort and caring& (hus the 3hite +ockatoo beca"e an icon, followingthe definition of an icon as a re!resentative of so"ething or so"eone revered or idolied,

and the obect of great devotion& /ow ironic and !erha!s !rescient that I na"ed "y own

)al"on*crested cockatoo $+hina8, long before I beca"e aware of the iconic role of the3hite +ockatoo in ancient +hinaR%

)uch near*deification was accorded not only in +hina# there is evidence that it was

accorded to white cockatoos albeit of a different s!ecies % in Indonesia as well& (heassociation with deity can be seen, concretely, "uch later, this ti"e in Indonesia itself in

two of the "ost fa"ous buildings of worshi! there < the te"!le at =orobudur and that at

6ra"banan& s the !hotogra!hs below show quite clearly,both te"!les contain bas*reliefs of >ellow*crested cockatoos Cacatua sulphurea%# the subs!ecies is unknown&

/ow and why they were !laced there re"ains unclear*** however, that shouldn;t be

sur!rising, given that there is no definite record of who originally constructed =orobudur9or whyR Nonetheless, the !ro"inent !resence of these bas*relief of white cockatoos


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!rovides further evidence of a connection "ade by the local !eo!les, between white

cockatoos and the deities worshi!!ed at these "agnificent te"!les&

!"$ #9 : 6/( of a bas* relief of a >ellow*crested cockatoo on =orobudur (e"!le

FN# -a and - b: & 3ho constructed these te"!les begun between T OQ0and THQQ*00 7%9and why9re"ain unknown but !rovide another link

between white cockatoos and deities & +learly, such a link is not confined to a

single s!ecies of Indonesian cockatoo, but is "ost !ro"inent overall with regardsto the >ellow*crested C. moluccensis& (he te"!le at =orobudur is a DN)+

3orld /eritage )ite as well as one of the )even 3onders of the 3orld& (he

(e"!le at 6ra"banan is the largest /indu te"!le in Indonesia and is a DN)+

3orld /eritage )ite& It lies 1O k"& fro" the city of >ogyacarta & =orobudur is a=uddhist te"!le& It lies about 42 kg& fro" >ogyacarta&It is unknown why both

te"!les are in fairly close !ro5i"ity to >ogyacarta


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!"$ #' bas*relief of a >ellow*crested cockatoo at 6ra"banan (e"!le&

FN # 0:(hese two !hotos were taken by our collaborators 7udi Nandika and 7wigustina fro" Eonservasi Eakatua Indonesia

FN #8:

6arenthetically, it is interesting to note that when -agellan;s fleet or !art of it%landed on )era" in T1Q12, the cartogra!her odrigues did not refer to )era"

with the usual a!!ellation $ the )!ice Islands, $ & ather, he referred to )era" as

de papagaiaos $Band of 6arrots8% , in his "a! in the )u"a riental of (o"e

6ires and the =ook of .rancisco odriques, =ook (wo, folia CO& (his see"s

to suggest that for so"e reason, the villagers on )era" attributed so"e s!ecial

value to the !arrots and cockatoos there, even though their value in trade was far

less than that of s!ice&

3hite cockatoos are so"eti"es held in great reverence bordering on godliness even

today in Indonesia& >ellow*crested cockatoos on )u"ba Island C. sulphurea

citronocristata)are 6e7t to =uide sou7s to 3eaven, and are the only birds !er"itted to

dis!erse the seeds fro" the rare sacred tree on )u"ba& +onsonant with this reverence isthe fact that these sa"e cockatoos were frequently de!icted on hand*sewn ikat !"$# % over 100 yrs&ago as o!!osed to the chea!ly*"ade ikat for sale nowadays to

tourists%& (rue ikat are used only for very s!ecial occasions weddings# dra!ing the coffinat funerals% & (he figure of the cockatoo is readily recognied when it a!!ears on ikat, and

is felt to e!ito"ie both nobilityand 7oseness to deit/& (he uthor was fortunate to

have been able to obtain a rare, true ancient ikat 5 E123ases were added b/ S.A.M4


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ven "uch later, the )al"on*crested cockatoos re"ain a subect in "odern "usic,ranging fro" classical to classical rock "usic see !!endi5 for e5a"!les%&

!"$ # )ection of ancient :true; )u"ba ikat& (he botto" row de!icts cockatoos inty!ical fashion for that ti"e, "arked by an erect crest and an enlarged, hooked beak& !"$by

=& Ai""er"ann

E. ;3oies , ;3oies, and More Di66iu7t ;3oies: !i>in= u2 t3e

?aunt7et

t first I beca"e involved in "ore and "ore cases where !et !arrots9including "any

white cockatoos9were grossly "istreated in ca!tivity& (hese cases alerted "e to the

co"!le5 needs and intelligence of these cockatoos which were often stultified by dint ofthe nature of ca!tivity' living in s"all cages usually without the ability to fly# lacking

e5!osure not only sunlight, but to DU light# lack of ability to !ut their intelligence touse, and so on& In short, the s!ecial qualities of these cockatoos were often allowed toatro!hy in ca!tivity, because it is nearly i"!ossibly to recreate their needs in a cage&

-y concerns then turned to wild cockatoos9how did they fare in the wildM 3hen I

atte"!ted to search for answers to questions such as these, I found, to "y dis"ay, thatthere were !ractically no data concerning either )al"on*crested cockatoos or their )era"

ho"eland anywhere on the then*fledgling 3orld*3ide 3eb ca& 1O%R Nor could I


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locate an investigator interested in, and knowledgeable about these issues**it see"ed that

no one wanted to $take on8 Indonesia& nd that !osed another large !roble"' 3ho would

be willing to give u! a career for a volunteer !osition in one of the re"otest area onearth re"e"bering that the -oluccas were the original $)!ice Islands8%& (he

ins!iration, however, was so strong, that the !ull could not be denied&

)o"e of these considerations are re"iniscent of a short story by /enry Ja"es 10C%&

If our s"all grou! in the Indonesian 6arrot 6roect was to take on this for"idable task,

there would be a large chance of a resounding failure& /owever, doing nothing see"ed tobe a worse choice& It re"inded "e of the life choices of the !rotagonist John rcher in

Ja"es; novella =east in the Jungle ?10C@& rcher s!ent his life thinking that so"ething

very s!ecial would ha!!en to hi", only to find out that he is the one !erson to who"

not3in=of significance was to befall hi"& (hat realiation was the =east in the title &3hen the realiation* *the =east **lea!s out at hi", it is too late for hi"& /owever, it is

not too late for us & =ut we need to act swiftly,if we want to take the ste!s to hel! these

"agical, beleaguered !arrots, and before the =east lea!s out at us& (hat is the ho!e

behind this article&

Guillau"e !ollinaire wrote a !oe" also about the fear of taking new ste!s9seeking a!ersonal :!aradig" shift;9a change of life;s direction9which is always both e5citing

and a bit unnerving& In !ollinaire;s !oe", it is the !eo!le who convince the birds to

"ake the frightening u"!' (he essence, the core of !ollinaire;s $ +o"e to the thedge8 , can be distilled into a short verse, conveying the fear engendered by the risk of

failure'

$+o"e to the dge8 ?11C@

@Come to the edge", he said

*hey said," &e are afraid."@Come to the edge," he said

*hey came,

2e pushed2e pushed them

And they fle!

fro" A7oo7s, a collection of !oe"s by Guillau"e !ollinaire#

!ublished in 11C# $lcools8 translates essentially as $s!irits8 &

!ollinaire was an Italian !oet, !laywright and art critic of great estee"&%

7rawing in !art on his work, I wrote a "ore e5tended !oe" dealing with "y inner

tur"oil at "aking an unconventional9and a very an5iety !rovoking** career change,which certainly fell into the definitionof a !aradig" shift ?see FN#@

$(he dge8 ?abstracted@


23/36

*he birds beconed. Come to the 6dge, their eyes said. 2is

heart throbbed at a furious pace lie that of the inured sparro! he

had once rescued as a child, but no! it !as he himself !ho !ascupped in the hands of a!areness, longing to be healed.

*he birds beconed again. Come to the 6dge, they said.

am afraid, he said. *hey beconed again. 9o! he !as

standing near the brin of a 'ast precipice, diying, frighteningyet ehilarating#

*hey beconed again. Come to the 6dge.

2e placed one foot o'er the 6dge, and !as no longer afraid.

2is spirit felt light as a feather.

*hey pushed him, and he fle!.

(written b/S.A.Mon $3an>s=ivin= Da/, 9994

(he decision had beco"e easier because it was the birds who beckoned and ins!ired***lifting "y heart $light as a feather&8 -y "ission, then, is to res!ond to the gauntlet

thrown before "e ? FN # 9@ figuratively s!eaking, by the cockatoos and other !arrots&

FN # 9 gauntlet is a !iece of "edieval ar"or designed to !rotect the hand&(o $!ick u! the gauntlet8 thrown by others% or to $run the gauntlet8 "eans to

acce!t a challenge to fight or co"!ete, or to take on a series of !roble"s &

(he choices e!ito"ied in both versions of $(he dge8 see"ed to be "irrored in a well*

known, albeit anony"ous, !oe" about treat"ent of all ca!tive ani"als'

looed at all the caged animals in the shelter#

*he cast offs of human society

sa! in their eyes lo'e and hope, fear and dread,

Sadness and betrayal

And !as angry

od, said. *his is terrible. &hy don"t you do something

od !as silent for a moment, and then spoe softly.

ha'e done something, !as the reply. created you.non%

nce one recognies9or ad"its to the !ossibility of** the s!ecial qualities of the 3hite

6arrots of Indonesia, and is willing to at least consider that these "ight be e"bodied in

the .ireflies, then the "istreat"ent of the cockatoos beco"es even "ore i""oral,whereas the need to act beco"es "ore !ressing& (hus the )al"on*crested cockatoo, and


24/36

!erha!s other white cockatoos of Indonesia,"ay be icons for several attributes

throughout their history, so"e of which have been identified asco"!assion, near*

deification# intelligence# co"!assion# wisdo", loyalty, !urity, and transcendence &(heir inner attributes, along with their e5ternal behaviors and a!!earances, "ay hel! to

e5!lain why they have been favored equally by co""on "an and e"!erors, fro" ancient

ti"es to the !resent&(hese traits have beene!ito"ied in figures such as the iconic 3hite6arrots of +hina# the bas*reliefs on the te"!les near >ogyacarta, and "ost recently, the

dance of the )era" .ireflies &

Indeed, the $celestial8 and the "ore "undane features of the )al"on*crested cockatoo

see FN# -4define the" in several ways, s!anning the s!ectru" fro" ethereal to tragic

.& +N+BD)IN)9or really, ust the =GINNING M

I have stated that, in the dead of night, in !erfect darkness, on the sole island which

re"ains a ho"eland for the )al"on*crested cockatoo, the al"ost*"agical a!!earance offireflies lit the night9literally, and to others, illu"inated or at least o!ened to question,

ideas usually buried beneath the !hysical attractiveness of these !arrots& & (hise5traordinary dis!lay "ight suggest to the believer9the ones o!en to the !ossibility that

they are icons of "ore than "erely beautiful birds in !eril* that these cockatoos "ight be

the e"bodi"ent of cockatoos fro" ti"es !ast& ven to the non*believers, "any recogniethat white cockatoos are wondrous creatures who "erit our best efforts to be conserved&

6erha!s they were created on one of the "ost re"ote !laces on earth, to signify the

conce!t that they should re"ain isolated, in the wild, and safe fro" the !redation of "an&

I have !ointed out the si"ilarity to ani"is"& (herefore, "y sense that the s!irit of

cockatoos "ight beco"e e"bodied in .ireflies dancing in the .orest, and bringingenlighten"ent albeit unconsciously, to the locals and to us%, would be consonant with anani"istic !erce!tion that the white cockatoos of Indonesia and es!ecially the )al"on*

crested cockatoo% !ossess s!irits, andwith souls, a duality between the !hysical world

as birds% and a celestialworld as s!irits%& I had several conversations with the cockatootra!!ers of )era" who at first, and throughout their history, could not believe that !arrots

had souls& (herefore, one of require"ents in achieving a !aradig" shift in the way that

they :see; and treat cockatoos will likely involve o!ening the" to the !ossibilities that!arrots and other ani"als have intelligence and thoughts# sentience# are able to feel !ain #

and yes, "ay likely have souls& =ut let us not try to look away fro" the other side of the

equation' while such a change in life;s choices requires a !aradig" shift9and while such

a change will be required by the villagers on )era", it will also be required of ourselves &

thers have recognied the "agic of the connection between the soul and fireflies ,

even !lacing the" together in an ancient setting si"ilar to that wherein we first saw thefireflies lighting u! the forest' on -cVuaid wrote in 200 FN#9% '

Fire67/ Ma=i


25/36

Satellites drift as stars glisten in the festi'e hea'en,

colored smoe-blue hue by dark light sky of night

+lattered by silhouettes of majestic ancient trees

with trunks standing tall and limbs spreading wide%

Against airy space among shado!ed leafy branches,fiery fireflies flash and sparkleas lightning spars

incessantly flittering freely in silent fetterless oy

and sometimes !hile holding their light seem to floatas large neon green beams beside distant tiny satellites

#

Ah,firefly magicon these cool summer midnights of Bune

brims !ith life meaningand revels in delight with the soul%

FN#9' htt!'LLvoices&yahoo&co"L!oetry*firefly*"agic*

CQQ1H21&ht"lMcatS10#

1E123ases b/ SAM.4

(he si"ilarity to the a!!earance of fireflies after the darkness had swallowed all light inthe forest of )era", as described above, is ho!efully a!!arent to the reader&

ne bit of evidence that a !aradig" shift could be achieved lies in the way that the )era"villagers viewed their cockatoos& =efore the Indonesian 6arrot 6roect ca"e to )era",

essentially all of the tra!!ers and villagers saw the cockatoos in ter"s of inco"e, not

believing that they could have intelligence and could co""unicate, no less have souls&

=ut with ti"e there ca"e the slow but definite recognition that9as so"e of the tra!!ersnow ad"it9their cockatoos "ust indeed have souls, feel !ain, and are intelligent& 3hen

we ter"inated our work on )era" after "ore than H years, the tra!!ing of )al"on*crested

cockatoos had ceased where our !rogra" was focused North )era", near )awai and-asihulan villages%, but the work at our ehabilitation and elease +enter continues,

using !rinci!les and !rogra" which we had established& )o"e of the tra!!ers have a

new*found sense that saving these cockatoos9and their souls9is worthwhile& In fact,"y colleagues and I had decided to introduce the tra!!ers and villagers living near our

ehabilitation and elease +enter on North )era", to this conce!t, es!ecially since the

census of !arrots at the +enter was overwhel"ingly co"!rised of )al"on*crested

cockatoos& (his was a risky choice9another lea! fro" $the dge8, not only becausethese ideas would likely astound our friends there, but also because of the difficulty in

converting such abstract conce!ts into concrete thoughts& In 200C, using a "i5 of bahasa

Indonesia and bahasa Inggris Indonesian and nglish languages%, I introduced the" tothe conce!ts thus'

&e belie'e that the Cocatoo is not just a bird.All cocatoos are !ise and peaceful, affectionate and

brimming o'er !ith affection.$adly cockatoos can feel pain,

such as !hen they are trapped or !hen their chics are ripped

from their mother"s breast.
http://voices.yahoo.com/poetry-firefly-magic-3551821.html?cat=10http://voices.yahoo.com/poetry-firefly-magic-3551821.html?cat=10http://voices.yahoo.com/poetry-firefly-magic-3551821.html?cat=10http://voices.yahoo.com/poetry-firefly-magic-3551821.html?cat=10


26/36

&e belie'e that the 2ockatoo also possesses a $oul,

and that she also protects us from e'il spirits.

5e123asesaddedb/ SAM 4

)o"e of the local !eo!les inevitably were going to res!ond to these words, sooner or

later& ne of the "ost striking of these conversions was observed with )o!i, a "astertra!!er of cockatoos but a very gentle "an& I wrote his very touching story in 200H, n

another occasion, he whis!ered to "e that what he and others had done all these years

tra!!ing cockatoos% was wrong, now that he understood that they had feelings, souls,and could feel !ain& f course, I re*assured hi" that what he did was not $wrong8 since

he didn;t know these things at the ti"e and had to "ake a living in the only way he knew

how%& Nonetheless, he sto!!ed tra!!ing fro" that day on& (ragically, )o!i develo!ed

wides!read cancer& s he lay in the clinic dying, we were about to carry out our firstrelease back to the wild of cockatoos rehabilitated after their confiscation fro"

s"ugglers& >et all that )o!i ke!t asking fro" his deathbed was $/ave they released the

cockatoos yetM8 over and over& (o our a"ae"ent and sadness, )o!i died at virtually the

very sa"e "o"ent that the cage door was o!ened to let the cockatoos have their freedo"&)urely, this is a dra"atic, indeed a tragic, e5a"!le of the !aradig" shift that can be

achieved when the realiation of the $other, inner8 nature of the )al"on*crested andother% cockatoos of Indonesia, is gras!ed and fully acce!ted, acco"!anied by the

realiation that they do, indeed, have souls&

Just above, I briefly described the a!!arent !aradig" shift of )o!i & nce a leading

cockatoo tra!!er, he had o!ened his eyes under our tutelage to the !ossibility that the

cockatoos on his island have souls, leading hi" to give u! tra!!ing& ven "ore of an

astonishing if not "iraculous event was the co*incidence of the first release ofrehabilitated cockatoos and the e5act "o"ents of his death& .or "e, it was one of the

"ost dra"atic, fulfilling, yet sad, "o"ents of "y ti"e a"ong cockatoos& It reinforced for

"e not only the truth that both -ankind and at least certain% ni"als have souls, butalso that those )ouls a!!ear to be ine5tricably linked to Nature and its land, water and

habitats& In both cases the re"oval of access to Nature and fro" the funda"ental

necessities derived fro" nature, renders less distinct their basic Nature i.e., their :!arrotness;@ and li"its their freedo"s& (his basic for" of enslave"ent ?i.e., ca!tivity@ of

cockatoos would over ti"e, I !ostulate, da"age the soul, and contribute to the degenerate

behaviors such as self*"utilation& 3e know that because, as cited above, feather

destructive behavior in wild cockatoos only a!!ears when critical factors ability to flyand adequate s!ace, to na"e two of the "ost i"!ortant% a!!ear following ca!ture& =ased

on the totality of what I;ve written above, it see"s reasonable to suggest that such

tortured cockatoos also "ay a!!ear within "y analogy as fireflies on )era", and notsolely through their death&

Is intervention !ossibleM

Eate /ayes and other authors have noted that fireflies are es!ecially "agical to young

children, but that sa"e feeling could be evoked in adults willing to take the lea! off

$ (he dge8 and undergo the search for a :!aradig" shift; in their lives&


27/36

FN#': FIREFLIES

lo'e to !atch

the face of a child

enamored !ith the fireflies*hey dance, by chance a glance#and then , entranced

2e is delighted and ecited=

2as been inspired and !ill go far #as !ould , had the spirit, of a dauntless child

Eate +lausen% /ayes, 1H

= All rights reser'ed

(hefor"at, as constructed by the uthor, is retained herein

3ords fro" Bee nn 3o"ack;s song Forever Ever/da/ bring together si"ilarinter!retations** that drea"s


28/36

/ayes% 2e has been inspired and !ill go far

As !ould , had the spirit of a dauntless child

3o"ack%*hey say !hen you"re old you"re a child again

$ut do !e ha'e to !ait @till then

(he fact is, we don;t have to wait& 3e are at :the dge;, and can take the !lunge off the

!reci!ice right now if we choose& s unnerving as that "ight see", to be $near the brinof a 'ast precipice 3is both; diying, frightening yet ehilarating. 2o!e'er,once that

ste! is taken, your s!irit will feel $light as a feather8 and you will be $no longer afraid&8

I know that we can "ake that lea!, if we have the will& 3e have been chided bythe likes

of )t& .rancis of ssisi '

$9ot to hurt our humble brethren is our first duty to them,

but to stop there is not enough. &e ha'e a higher mission

fireflies: novel insights into hidden, transcendent qualities of indonesian cockatoos consequent to...

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