When a hen crows, they also consider it a terrible omen and try to avert it as follows. The family father, or whoever is head of the household, stands on the doorstep after seizing the hen. Then, whispering something, he cuts off the hen’s head with a double ax, or a sword put aside for this purpose. They claim that if the neck is sliced through with a single blow it wards off an imminent danger. However, if one blow is not enough to do the job and the neck remains partly attached, disaster is not averted, but is expected to be even worse. So much power they ascribe to the neck of a singing hen.
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