Faculty of Design

Illustration

Gillian Goulet

Crows

For Indian Hindus, crows represent the souls of deceased family members and friends. Every year on the anniversary of a loved one's death, the family will put out rice balls on banana leaves for the crows. If the crows come and eat the rice, it means that the loved ones have found peace in the afterlife. In this illustration, the crows are depicted coming down from the stars to eat the rice on the banana leaves, as this practice is closely linked to Hindu astrology. In the sky also are the seven planets involved in Hindu astrology - the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.