Was That Dove An Omen?

 

 

The Oxford Reference Dictionary  of English Folklore defines omens as "Occurrences outside human control, interpreted by communal tradition as foretelling future events".  They go on to give several examples of omens such as the hooting of an owl and seeing magpies.  Dictionary.com defines omen as "anything perceived or happening that is believed to portend a good or evil event or circumstance in the future; portent.  Synonyms for omen include "foreboding, foretoken, prophecy, and premonition".  Now, let's move on to frequent symbolic ideas which are attached to doves before I get to the point of writing this blog post about one dove in particular.  Doves are sometimes seen as symbols of peace, love, and good luck but they are also used as the symbol of the fleeting soul of a dying person and are often seen on flower arrangements at funerals.  

Appalachian Culture commonly holds numerous symbolic representations of an equally numerous set of animals, weather phenomena, sayings, and even slips of the lip.  But this type of belief in portents or omens is not limited to Appalachia and Appalachians.  It is common among nearly every culture in which the members live in close proximity to the earth.  Since the great majority of Central and Southern Appalachia is rural with prevalent industries and lifestyles such as farming, logging, mining, fishing, hunting, and other earth based practices, it is not unusual for Appalachians to believe strongly in symbolic omens, portents, warnings, and handwriting on walls whether those walls are literal or metaphorical.  

In fact, one of my favorite books in all of Appalachian Literature is Mildred Haun's "The Hawk's Done Gone" which is filled with folklore, omens, portents, and premonitions from cover to cover.  Mildred Haun's masters thesis at Vanderbilt University is considered to be a masterpiece in the study of folklore, omens, portents, and premonitions.  Under the title "Cocke County Ballads And Songs”1937, the thesis is available only from the special collections of the Vanderbilt University Library.  But I do not remember specific mentions of doves as portents in my reading of Mildred Haun. 

Two nights ago, on February 4, 2021, as I was preparing for bed at about 10:30pm, I looked out the window in my back door to check visible signs of precipitation as I often do in winter.  To my surprise, about ten or fifteen feet from the door on the blacktop driveway sat an adult dove, absolutely motionless, but not dead since it was in a sitting position.  I decided to go outside to check it out further in order to determine if it might be injured and in need of rescue.  The dove sat absolutely still until I was about step or two away and nearly ready to bend down to see if I could pick it up.  As I started to bend toward the bird, it suddenly burst into flight as only a dove can do and flew away, calling repeatedly as it flew, into a tree behind my house on a hill.

I have a neighbor and good friend who lives about a mile away who is nearly 95 and lives alone after the death of his wife about 16 months ago.  In the world of Covid, I no longer visit him regularly but I generally call him every day, never letting it go more than two days.  When I got up on the morning after my experience with the dove, I called his number and he did not answer.  That is not a total surprise since he still does his own laundry in his basement and also still drives his brand new car which he bought after the death of his wife.  But about an hour after my attempt to call him, I received a call from the wife of his nephew who acts as his next of kin since my friend has no children.  She informed me that my friend had a fall, without injury, at home the night before sometime after he and I had spoken at 7pm.  He had called his nephew that morning after the fall and asked to be taken to the hospital in Morehead, Kentucky, to be checked out since he had fallen due to suddenly becoming light headed.  It has transpired since that the doctors decided his heartbeat was slowed sufficiently to require him to be admitted.  After some observation and testing, they have decided to install a cardiac pacemaker to assist him in maintaining a normal heartbeat.  Otherwise, he is reported to be fine for a man who will be 95 in 3 months.  Hopefully, he will be fine and back home when the procedure is completed on Monday, February 8, 2021, which is, coincidentally, the birthday of my long dead father.  So far as we know, my friend is as good a candidate for the implantation procedure as can be found at his age.  We are all assuming that he will survive the procedure without problems, will be able to escape Covid 19 infection while hospitalized, and will return home to live out the remainder of his long, healthy, productive life.  

But, as a native Appalachian deeply immersed in my culture, and having seen the adult dove sitting on the ground in the dead of night less than 12 hours before I learned of my friend's apparent health issue, I am forced to ask, "Was that dove an omen?"  What do you think?