012 | FOLKLORE | STORYTELLING | MEMORIES
The Devil Bird — The Mystery Behind Sri Lanka’s Haunting Legend
The story of a wailing mother in Sri Lankan folklore
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I heard that sound for the first time on a particular night. I still remember it like yesterday, even though I was only ten years old at the time. My parents were at a funeral and expected to return late, so I stayed at my grandpa’s house that night.
As I sat next to my grandma after dinner, flipping through an old newspaper, I suddenly heard it — that blood-curdling screech. It’s impossible to replicate that sound. If I had to describe it, it sounded like a woman screaming while being strangled. Even now, just thinking about it gives me goosebumps.
The scream came from a distance, but it was still clear and deep. I had never been so afraid before. I held onto my grandma tightly and asked her, “What’s that sound, Kiri Amma*?”.
She was also shaking, but she tried to be brave and said, “Don’t worry kiddo. It’s just a sound from far away, nothing to worry about.”
She looked at my grandpa with concern and then asked me to go to sleep. I didn’t want to go to sleep, especially after hearing that creepy sound, but my grandma insisted and promised to stay close to me even after I fell asleep.
I woke up to the sound of my parents arriving, and I could hear my grandpa raising his voice, which he rarely did.
“You should have made this trip during the day. It’s not a good hour to travel,” he scolded. “The ‘Ulama’ was screaming tonight. The little one was trembling with fear”.
“We heard it too”. It was my father’s voice. “But we realized it was coming from a distance”.
“Yeah! It is. But still, it is a bad omen”. “Don’t try to go home now. Sleep here. The little one has already gone to bed”, said the grandpa.
As I heard my grandma enter the room, I pretended to be asleep.
The next day, I asked my grandma, “Kiri Amma, who is Ulama, and why is its sound known as a bad omen?”
She gave me a sharp look and said, “You didn’t sleep last night, did you? And you eavesdropped on the elders’ conversation?”.
“I’m sorry, Kiri Amma, but that was unintentional. I just woke up. Please tell me about the Ulama,” I said.
“You’re too young to know about it,” she replied, but I kept insisting.
“Okay, but don’t blame me if you get scared tonight,” my grandma warned. “Yesterday, we heard the sound of the Ulama, or ‘Ula-lena’. It has another name, the Yak Kurulla (The Devil Bird). Its sound is creepy and is always a sign of bad omens. Fortunately, the sound yesterday came from very far away, so we have nothing to worry about.”
“Why does it sound like a woman’s scream?” I asked my grandma, but she refused to answer, saying again that I was too young for that part. However, I kept insisting, and finally, she agreed.
“Okay, it is said that the sound is that of a mother weeping for her lost son. She has been reborn as a bird and can sense if someone is going to die. So, it comes to that house and announces the death,” she explained.
“Who is going to die, Kiri Amma?” I asked worriedly. “No one is going to die, kiddo,” she reassured me, trying to make me feel better. However, that sound stayed with me for a long time, haunting me.
Today, I am grateful that my grandmother didn’t tell me the entire story of the Devil Bird when I was a kid. It’s just too scary, and I don’t think I could have handled it as a child. I didn’t learn the whole story until I was a teenager, and even then, it made me uncomfortable.
There was this small family — a Father, a mother, and a young boy. They lived happily in a rural village close to a forest. However, the father died when the boy was very young, and the mother remarried. The stepfather then came to live with them.
As in any other story, the stepfather didn’t like the young boy because the boy was everything to his mother, which made him jealous and hate the young boy.
The stepfather was also a greedy man who insisted on having meat with every meal. On one Poya day — a full moon day**, it was impossible to find meat, so the mother had to prepare dinner without it. This made the stepfather very angry, though he didn’t say anything.
After her usual bath before dusk, the mother returned home to find a meat curry on the stove. “I found some meat, look after it for me until I come back,” said the stepfather before heading off for his own bath.
Mother didn’t think too much and continued to make firewood for the stove. After some time, she opened the lid and took out a piece of meat with the coconut shell spoon to check the taste.
The piece of meat she took out from the pot was a small finger.
That’s when the realization hit her. She called for her son, but there was no response. In a panic, she ran outside calling for him, and even entered the forest without knowing.
After wandering in the forest for hours, the mother became exhausted and collapsed to the ground. Throughout this entire time, she was still clinging to the coconut shell spoon in her hand. As she looked up, the full moon was on display in the sky. Still wailing, she repeatedly hit her head with the spoon until she was no longer, at least in her physical form.
Then, she had become a bird — the devil bird, still wailing for her lost son and able to sense death. Therefore, if someone is going to die, she comes close to that house and announces it. That’s the reason why her sound is considered a bad omen and an imminent sign of death.
There are a few other stories about the origin of the devil bird, but this one is considered the creepiest. The true identity of the devil bird is still a matter of debate. Some believe it to be the Forest Eagle Owl due to its distinct figure, while others believe it to be the Brown Wood Owl due to its sound. However, nobody can say for certain.
If you were to ask me whether I believe in this legend or not, I wouldn’t have a direct response. However, one thing is for sure — I wouldn’t go out at night if I heard the sound of the devil bird, and I’m sure you wouldn’t either.
Notes:-
- *Kiri Amma — Same as ‘Achchi’, GrandMother in Sinhala
- ** Full Moon Day — Every Full Moon Day is an auspicious day in Sri Lanka
I was inspired to write this story after reading Jack Finn’s horror and folklore stories. If you’re looking for some spooky thrills, I highly recommend checking out his work. But be warned, you may find yourself feeling a little uneasy when the lights go out at night. You can start with this one. Don’t worry, it is a milder one.