Tihar, also known as Deepawali and Yamapanchak, is a five-day-long Hindu festival celebrated primarily in Nepal and some parts of India such as Darjeeling district, Kalimpong district, Sikkim, and Assam. It is the festival of lights, as diyas are lit inside and outside the houses to illuminate at night. This festival is considered to be of great importance as it shows reverence to Yama, the god of death, and animals including crow, dog, cow and ox, which maintain a close relationship with humans.

Hindus worship Laxmi, the Goddess of Wealth during this festival.

The first day is called Kaag Tihar when crows are worshipped as the messengers of death. Crows and ravens are worshipped with offerings of sweets and dishes placed on the roofs of houses. The first day of Yamapanchak, Kaag Tihar (worship of crows) is celebrated today by offering sweets and food to the birds. According to Hindu mythology, crow is considered the messenger of Yama. As the cawing of the crows symbolises sadness and grief, the devotees offer the crows food to avert grief and deaths at their homes.

People have fed and worshiped the crows from early in the morning offering different food items outside for crows to eat. According to the tradition, people believe the crow gets the messages to the house in the morning. People worship it to bring good luck themselves.

Scientists have known for years that crows have great memories, that they can recognize a human face and behavior, that they can pass that information on to their offspring.

Researchers are trying to understand more about the crow’s brain and behavior, specifically what the birds do when they see one of their own dead. They react loudly, but the reasons aren’t entirely known. Using masks with dark-haired wigs that looked creepily nonhuman, researchers showed up at Seattle parks carrying a stuffed crow and recorded the reactions. One crow signals an alarm, then dozens show up. They surround the dead crow, looking at it as they perch on trees or fly above it, a behavior called mobbing.

“Crows have evolved to have these complex social relationships, and they have a big brain,” said Kaeli Swift, a University of Washington graduate student who led the study.

How big a brain? Crows are on par with smart mammals such as dolphins and primates in brain-to-body proportion. They have been known to be problem-solvers and are among the few animals shown to use tools.

When you see its brain is using the same parts of the brain to remember things that we do, or to learn fearful situations like we do, maybe it gives you a little more sympathy to the bird, or maybe kinship with the bird.

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