ABSTRACT
Vultures are untouchable birds in the Igbo area because they are not edible. Generally and especially in modern times, they are perceived with negative connotations: dirty, evil, eaters of the dead, and scavengers. The other side, the positive aspects of the vultures, is rarely acknowledged. Philosophically, vultures are sacred birds and should not be killed. They were also seen as symbols of peace and power. The vultures were expected to appear after animal sacrifices were offered to the ancestors, gods, goddesses, the Earth Goddess and the Supreme Being. Such appearance symbolically confirmed acceptance of the sacrifices. Thus, the Igbo saying: Achụọ aja ma afụghị udele, ihe mere be ndị-mụọ (literally translated: the nonappearance of the vultures after a sacrifice shows that something terrible has happened in the spirit world). The vultures were therefore seen as messengers of the gods.
