The Sunday Mail
Stranger than Fiction
Tendai Chara
AS we drove from Coronation Avenue towards the Athlone Shopping Centre in Greendale, Harare, our attention was quickly drawn to a heavily wooded residential property.
Nestled on a grey granite outcrop is a partly obscured house that is as grey as the granite outcrop on which it was built.
The large trees prohibited our wandering eyes from probing further into the property.
Our eyes could, however, not miss an owl painting on the property’s main gate.
The unusual choice of having an owl painting on the gate has left those that pass through the area with unanswered questions.
Of all the birds and creatures on this earth, the owner of the property chose to paint an intimidating owl on his or her gate.
Passersby often ask whether the painting is for decorative purposes or if it was meant to scare away potential burglars.
An owl is a nocturnal bird which features prominently in the myths and legends of many cultures.
In some cultures, owls are seen as symbols of goodness and wisdom whilst in others, they represent evil. Throughout human history, owl folklore and mythology have been part of many cultures.
In Greek and Roman mythology, owls represent wisdom and knowledge whilst in most African cultures, they are associated with witchcraft and sorcery.
Some on-line sources indicate that since owls can see extremely well at night, and can therefore see what other creatures cannot see, the bird represents satan in the devil’s worship.
Efforts to get a comment from the owner of the house drew blanks as no one responded to our inquiries.
Locals say the choice of painting is “unusual”. Some of the residents even revealed that they are afraid of passing by the gate at night. “In my culture, owls are associated with witchcraft and having the image of an owl attracts more questions than answers. The owner of the house is an elderly white woman and I suppose the image of the owl means something different in her culture,” said a local resident.
According to locals, an elderly white man who lives three streets away is often seen feeding a parliament of owls that has since turned a large tree on his property into their home.
But the Greendale house is not the only house in Harare that has a strange bird or animal scribbled on its gates and walls.
Until about five years ago, a then dilapidated house — situated along Edmonds Avenue in Belvedere – had its perimeter walls covered in strange animal and bird graffiti.
Images of owls, snakes and strange creatures were painted on the walls, drawing the attention of bemused passersby.
The house has since been turned into a business premisses following the death of its previous owner, with the walls now repainted. Sadly, the property’s late owner took the secrets behind the odd drawings to his grave.
