Mani the parakeet (hatched 1997), also called Mani the parrot, is a

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

n-born

rose-ringed parakeet The rose-ringed parakeet (''Psittacula krameri''), also known as the ring-necked parakeet (more commonly known as the Indian ringneck parrot), is a medium-sized parrot in the genus Psittacula, of the family Psittacidae. It has disjunct native ran ...

who resides in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. He has been an astrologer "assistant" to M. Muniyappan since 2005, working from his

Little India Little India or India Town (less commonly known as Indian Street or India Bazaar) is an Indian or Desi (South Asian) sociocultural environment outside India or the subcontinent. It especially refers to an area with Indian residences and a dive ...

fortune-telling shop along

Serangoon Road ''Serangoon Road'' is an Australian-Singaporean television drama series which premiered on 22 September 2013 on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and HBO Asia. It is a detective noir drama set in the 1960s, revolving around Serang ...

. M. Muniyappan is locally known to make his predictions using a simplified form of

cartomancy Cartomancy is fortune-telling or divination using a deck of cards. Forms of cartomancy appeared soon after playing cards were first introduced into Europe in the 14th century. Huson, Paul (2004). ''Mystical Origins of the Tarot: From Ancien ...

. Mani became a celebrity in Singapore, and later internationally, when he picked the correct winners for all of the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

quarter-final ties, as well as the Spain-Germany semi-final. However, Mani failed to predict the

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

–

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

final by choosing Netherlands as the winner of the 2010 World Cup. At one point on July 5, 2010, a day before the Uruguay-Netherlands semi-final match, Mani topped Google's "Hot Searches" in Singapore. Prior to his World Cup stint, Mani and his owner M. Muniyappan, used to see an average of 10 customers a day. Following his World Cup success, this increased to around 10 customers an hour.

Predictions

While Mani typically assisted his owner Muniyappan in fortune-telling in day-to-day work, it was his predictions over the matches of the

that saw him gain widespread recognition. According to Singapore's ''

The New Paper ''The New Paper'' is a Singaporean newspaper in tabloid form. It was originally published as a "noon paper", but since 2016 has been published daily as a freesheet in the morning from 7 a.m. onwards. History First launched on 26 July 1988, ...

'', Mani's most contentious pick for the World Cup thus far was underdog Netherlands to beat Brazil. His prediction later proved to be correct. The quarter-finals saw Mani guessing the four winners of the matches correctly – Spain, Germany, Uruguay and Netherlands. In the semi-finals, he predicted that Uruguay would beat Netherlands and Spain would defeat Germany, thereby leading to a Uruguay vs. Spain final. Mani went on further to predict that Spain would be champions. The Uruguay vs. Netherlands prediction turned out to be wrong, with Netherlands progressing on to the final. As a result, Mani made a new prediction for the World Cup Final between Netherlands and Spain. It tipped a Dutch win over Spain. On the other hand, fellow oracle star

Paul the Octopus Paul the Octopus (26 January 2008 – 26 October 2010) was a common octopus used to predict the results of international association football matches. Accurate predictions in the 2010 World Cup brought him worldwide attention as an animal ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

went for a Spanish victory, resulted in some media outlets describing the game as an octopus-versus-parakeet showdown. However, Spain defeated the Netherlands 1-0.

Results

International reportage

Following his successful stint in predicting the semi-finalists of the World Cup, Mani rose to international stardom. ''

'' of Singapore was the first to feature his story and predictions, and newspapers from across the globe soon followed suit – partially as a result of ''The New Paper'' frequent broadcast on the bird. News agencies including the AFP and

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

ran reports on Mani, alongside newspapers such as ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', and American magazine ''Vanity Fair''. Mani's story is closely aligned with that of

, who had 100% accuracy in his predictions for the tournament. The two animals chose opposing sides for the final, which caused some media outlets to term it as an octopus vs. parakeet showdown. Mani chose the Netherlands, who lost to Paul's choice of Spain.

References

External links

YouTube: Singapore Psychic Bird Predicts Holland to win World Cup 2010
(video of Mani in action) {{DEFAULTSORT:Mani The Parakeet Oracular animals Parakeets Individual parrots 1997 animal births 2010 FIFA World Cup Individual animals in Singapore

Predictions

Results

International reportage

See also

References

External links