Jatinga, is an Indian village on
a ridge, is located in Dima Hasao District, Assam State, approximately 330 kilometers
south of Guwahati. Jatinga is well-known for the phenomenon of birds
"committing suicide". Even though the birds do not commit suicide and
are in fact killed, the myth of the suicides has spread far and wide among
common people. The village is inhabited by more than 2,500 Khasi-pnar tribal
people and some Dimasa people. The Jatinga village is lush green and picturesque,
beautifully surrounded by serene mountains. Nonetheless that’s not what it’s
famous for. In fact, Jatinga is well-known for a completely different reason it’s
Bird Mystery that occurs at Jatinga between September and November each year.
Although in the late monsoon
months, a huge number of migratory & local birds commit mass suicide at the
village. Just after sunset, between 7 to 10 pm. The Bird Mystery is a unique
phenomenon starts when myriads of birds descend from the sky, plummeting to their
deaths by crashing into buildings and trees. Meanwhile birds aren’t recognized
to be suicidal; the wonder has mystified villagers, tourists and scientists
alike. For many years, locals have strongly believed that evil spirits living
in the skies were in control for bringing down the birds. Yes, the phenomenon
isn’t true, because a number of scientific studies and experiments have been
concluded that the birds are usually disoriented by the monsoon fog. Hence,
they’re heavily attracted by the village lights and fly towards them, occasionally
hitting building walls and trees during the descent. Therefore, some of the
birds die, while the others are grievously injured, becoming easy prey for the
villagers to capture. These birds are often dazed and disheveled, and do not
put up any struggle when villagers attack them with catapults or bamboo sticks.
Moreover, another research also
reveals that the birds come in only from the North and land only on a
well-defined strip in the village which is about 1.5 km long and 200 meters
wide. Lights placed along the southern side of the village have failed to
attract any birds. Furthermore, the victim of birds isn’t long-distance
migrators. Almost 44 species have been recognized as “suicidal” and most of
them come from adjacent valleys and hill slopes. These include Kingfishers,
Black Bitterns, Tiger Bitterns and Pond Herons, among others. Furthermore, few
more interesting stories were identified by experts and bird watchers. They
say, most of the suicidal birds lose their natural habitats due to flooding
during the monsoon season. So they appear to be migrating to other places, and
Jatinga is in their migratory path. But it isn’t clear why the birds fly at
night, or why they get voluntarily trapped at the same place every year. It is
not suicide, to be precise but the fact remains that birds are attracted by
light and fly towards any object with a light source. This phenomenon still
puzzles bird specialists, and the problem deserves a deeper scientific study
from various angles,
The local calls this phenomenon “avian
hara-kiri” which was first observed by the Zeme Nagas, the inhabitant tribe of
the region in the early 1900s. It scared them so badly that they sold their
land to Jaintias and left the place in 1905. The new inhabitants also observed
the phenomenon, but interpreted it as a gift from God. Hence The Jaintias isn’t
entirely wrong, because the phenomenon has captured the interest of wildlife
circles and sightseers, making the village of Jatinga world famous. The birds
alone are responsible for a boost in tourism during the monsoon months. And
they’re quite delicious; locals relish these exotic delicacies. The villagers purposely
switch on lights and lanterns to attract the birds and capture them every year.
Therefore, the mystery is the main event to promote tourism; district
authorities have created a festival around the bird suicide, called the “Jatinga
Festival”, held in 2010. If you’re interested in viewing the rare phenomenon in
person, the nearest airport at the city of Guwahati is 350km away from the
village. You will have to wait until next year, though! Source: Charismatic Planet