Three-thousand-year-old w a l l p a i n t i n g s i n a n c i e n t E g y p t i a n t o m b s d e p i c t
f a r m e r s s c a r i n g f l o c k s o f quail away from their wheat fields along the Nile. Native
American Indians used ‘live’ s c a r e c r o w s o r p e o p l e t o frighten away birds – adult men would sit on raised platforms and wave their arms about and howl at the sight of crows! In the North American state of Georgia, entire Creek Indian families moved into huts in their corn fields during the growing season to protect the crop from birds and other animals. They acted as human scarecrows themselves, making as much noise as possible to keep animals at bay.
The Navajo Indians of North America also used scarecrows to keep birds away from their crops and sheep, and to prevent sheep from walking off cliffs. However, Navajo scare crows had one difference from other scarecrows they had no faces, as it was considered taboo to makes care crows look human . So some times , Navajo scarecrows had a bucket or a dried shrub for a face.
Emigrant settlers who came to North America from Europe a l s o b r o u g h t w i t h t h e m different kinds of scarecrows. In Pennsylvania, Dutch and G e r m a n f a r m e r s m a d e realistic scarecrows that looked like men. This kind of scarecrow was called a ‘ b o o t z a m o n ’ o r bogeyman. The scarecrow’s body was built around a wooden cross, and its head was an old broom or a bundle of rags stuffed with straw. The bootzamon usually wore a straw hat, and a large handkerchief knotted around its neck. Sometimes, a s e c o n d s c a r e c r ow wa s b u i l t t o k e e p t h e b o o t z amo n
company. This ‘bootzafrau’ or bogeywife, was dressed in a long dress or coat, with a bonnet on its head. This female scarecrow was placed on the opposite end of the field, and perhaps these two scarecrows gave each other company as they guarded cornfields, strawberry patches, and cherry orchards. In the American Southwest, Zuni children in the late 1800’s had contests to see who could make the most unusual scarecrow.
In ancient Greece, farmers made wooden scare crows in the form of Priapus, who was the God of Gardens. Priapus was supposed to be very ugly, and the farmers painted their scarecrow images of him purple, and put a club in one of his hands so that he looked suitably menacing, and a sickle in the
other to ensure a good harvest. The Romans copied the Greek custom of making scarecrows, and when their conquering armies swept through Europe ,the farmers in places like France, Germany and England also
began to place scarecrows in their fields. In France ,scare crows are called ‘ épouvantails ’ , meaning literally ‘frighteners’!
Japanese farmers, who cultivated mainly rice, protected their fields by making scarecrows from bamboo poles. They hung old rags, meat, or fish bones from these poles, and then set them on fire. The smell was so bad that it kept bi rds away! The Japanese farmers called these scarecrows ‘kakashis’ which means something that smells bad. Eventually, Japanese farmers also made scarecrows that l o o k e d l i k e p e o p l e .
They were dressed in c o a t s ma d e o f r e e d s , and wore peaked straw hats. They somet imes
carried bows and arrows t o m a k e t h e m l o o k scarier, and shiny pieces of metal were hung from
them that clattered and s w a y e d i n t h e w i n d . These scarecrows were a l s o c a l l e d k a k a s h i s , even though they didn’t smell bad at all! Modern Japanese farmers are very creative when they
make scarecrows that are now used more for d e c o r a t i v e p u r p o s e s than for scaring away
birds. Now one can find Japanese scarecrows w e a r i n g k i m o n o s , o r l o o k i n g l i k e c a r t o o n characters, and samurai w a r r i o r s . T h e s e c r e a t i o n s t h a t a dd a touch of humour to the l a n d s c a p e , h a v e b e c o m e t o u r i s t attractions.
In Cambodia, villagers believe that scarecrows or ‘ t ing mong’ protect their animals and family members, and they often combine put t ing the scarecrow out with p r a y e r s t o t h e g o d s . I n t h e Philippines, the local people of the town of Calbiga in Samar have a s p e c i a l f e s t i v a l t o c e l e b r a t e scarecrows. The townspeople have always been dependent on their rice lands as the main means of income and food.
These crops always attracted ricebirds, locally known as maya, which arrived in waves and caused much destruction in the r ice f ields. On one o c c a s i o n , f a m i n e w a s imminent but the village folks
found help in the form of the ‘pahoys’ or scarecrows. With the help of their pahoys, the ricebirds were scared away, and the town was saved from possible starvation. From that time on, the inhabitants of
Samar show their gratitude to t h e i r s c a r e c r o w s b y celebrating the Pahoy Pahoy F a r m e r s ’ F e s t i v a l . I n t h i s festival of thanksgiving, the locals make giant scarecrows that depict the spirit of the legend. Farmers celebrate by dancing merrily in the streets t o t h e s o u n d o f m u s i c a l
i n s t r u m e n t s m a d e u p o f bamboos, cans and stones that scare away the maya or ricebirds. In Bali, Indonesia which is also a rice growing a r e a , s c a r e c r o w s , w i n d - c h ime s , and bamboo bird scarers are put up to scare away birds that relish tender r ice sapl ings. In addi t ion, f a rme r s a n d t h e i r f ami l i e s also keep watch over their fields.
In medieval Britain, young boys around ten years wereused as live bird scarers or bird shooers! These children guarded wheat fields carrying b a g s o f s t o n e s . I f b i r d s landed on the crops in the
fields they would chase them off by waving their arms and t h r o w i n g t h e s t o n e s . B u t
s a d l y, wh e n t h o u s a n d s o f chi ldren died in the Great P l a g u e i n B r i t a i n i n 1 3 4 8 , t h e r e we r e n ’ t e n o u g h b i r d scarers lef t for farmers to hire. So, they stuffed sacks
with straw, carved faces from t u r n i p s o r p u m p k i n s , a n d made scarecrows propped up
o n s t i c k s . T h e f ew l u c k y c h i l d r e n wh o s u r v i v e d t h e d r e a d f u l p l a g u e a n d s t i l l worked as bird scarers had to pat rol upto three acres by themselves. So, instead of
stones, these children carried clappers made of wood that they banged together. The noise made by the clappers scared of f whole f locks of birds. Bird scarers continued to patrol British fields until the
e a r l y 1 8 0 0 ’ s w h e n t h e Industrial Revolution arrived, a n d c h i l d r e n g o t b e t t e r - paying jobs in factories. In B r i t a i n s c a r e c r o w s w e r e known by different names like
‘ m o m m e t ’ i n S o m e r s e t , ‘ h o d m e h o d ’ i n B e r k s h i r e , ‘murmet’ in Devon and ‘bwbach’ in the Welsh speaking parts of Wales. In Scotland, a scarecrow was called a ‘tattie bogle’ which
comes from the Scottish Gaelic word for ‘ the old man of the rocks’.
During the Great Depression o f t h e 1 9 3 0 ’ s , s c a r e c r o w s became very popular, and could be found all across North America. After World War II, when farming became big business, the effects of
m o d e r n i z a t i o n a n d industrialization became w i d e s p r e a d . F a r m e r s decided that scarecrows were not useful, so they sprayed their crops with poisonous chemicals like D D T. I n t h e 1 9 6 0 ’s , scientists discovered that t h e s e c h e m i c a l s w e r e injurious to human health, s o t h e y w e r e d i s c o n t i n u e d . F a rme r s t h e n m a d e o t h e r contraptions to frighten off
birds. A British company i n v e n t e d a m e c h a n i c a l crop protector which was a m e t a l b o x w i t h t h r e e arms, placed on top of a pole. The box contained caps that exploded every 45 minutes and made the three metal arms flap up and down. Unfortunately, the din and the clashing metal arms caused such a d i s t u r b a n c e t h a t f a r m l a b o u r e r s w e r e a l s o scared away along with t h e b i r d s ! A n o t h e r mechanical scarecrow is a ‘klopotec, ’ which is a wooden mechanical device mounted on a high wooden pole, resembling a windmill. It is used as a scarecrow in the wine growing landscapes of Slovenia, Austria and Croatia. Locals believe that the klopotec drives snakes away from the
vineyard and softens the g r a p e s . A c o m pa n y i n C a l i f o r n i a , U S A , h a s recently developed a new solar powered scarecrow that is environmentally friendly, noiseless, and claims to prevent
birds from landing on crops.
Scarecrows are widely used in agricultural communities in India. In some places, they are used not only to frighten away birds and other animals but also to protect a growing crop from the ‘evil eye’ that passersby may cast upon it! The Bhils, a tribal farming community in Rajasthan make their scarecrows hold a bow, and
they also tie brightly coloured flags to them. This is effective in shooing away fruit eating birds from orchards. Tribal farmers in K e r a l a c a l l t h e i r s c a r e c r o w s ‘nokkukuthi’, and they often use a t e r r a c o t t a p o t t o m a k e s c a r e c r ow h e a d s . I n Ma d h y a Pradesh, scarecrows come in
many styles. Some are merely an upturned pot placed on a pole, but others may wear a colorful turban. Farmers say that birds soon get used to seeing a scarecrow and lose their fear of it. So, they change its attire
regularly, using bright colours that are visible from a distance. I n Gu j a r a t , s c a r e c r ows a r e u s u a l l y ma d e f r om s t r aw. Scarecrows are also made and put up outside building sites all over India – this is meant to protect the new structure from evil spirits and the evil eye!
S c a r e c r o w s h a v e b e e n s u c h a n integral part of farming communities that they have, inevitably, found their way into art and literature. One of the most famous scarecrows from the world
of make-believe is the scarecrow from the ‘Wizard of Oz’. In this book, which chronicles the adventures of a girl called Dorothy in the Land of Oz, the scarecrow who becomes Dorothy’s companion, wants to get a brain after the local crows tell him that his brain i s f i l l e d wi t h s t r aw! T h e c omi c b o o k
‘Batman’ also has a character called the scarecrow.
Though traditional scarecrows seem to have lost their scare, and are not as widely used as bird scarers as they were in the decades gone by, these simple, homemade harvest helpers are now enjoying a revival as an art form. There are many scarecrow festivals in autumn in farming communities in the USA and in Britain. These are a great way for people to show their creativity, and have become very popular tourist attractions too. In Britain, the main scarecrow f e s t i v a l s e a s o n r u n s f r o m February to August. One of the biggest scarecrow festivals is the W r a y S c a r e c r o w F e s t i v a l i n Lancashire. In the USA, the main scarecrow festival season runs from September to October, in association with harvest festivals and the festival of Halloween. Important US scarecrow f e s t i v a l s i n c l u d e t h e M a r s h a l l
Scarecrow Festival in Michigan, the Farmer City Scarecrow ‘n’ Pumpkin Festival in Illinois, and the Atlanta
B o t a n i c a l G a r d e n S c a r e c r o w Festival in Georgia. Scarecrow f e s t i v a l s a r e a l s o p o p u l a r i n Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
The town of Hoschton, in the state of Georgia in the USA holds the Guinness World Record for the
“Most Scarecrows in One Location.” I n 2 0 0 8 , t h e t own s p e o p l e b u i l t 4,000 scarecrows and surpassed the former record created in the s t a t e o f O h i o i n 2 0 0 3 o f 3 3 11 scarecrows in one location!
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