In Iranian literature, this kingship-bestowing function of the Huma bird is identified with pre-Islamic monarchs, and stands vis-a-vis ravens, which is a metaphor for Arabs. The legend appears in non-Sufi art as well.<ref>''cf''. <!-- "Balwant Singh on A Terrace Overlooking a River"-->{{citation|last=Goswamy|first=B. N.|title=Nainsukh of Guler: A Great Indian Painter from a Small Hill-State|journal=Artibus Asiae|series=Supplementum|volume=41|year=1997|pages=5–304}}, p. 118.</ref>
The kingship-bestowing function of the Huma bird reappear in Indian stories of the [[Mughal empire|Mughal era]], in which the shadow (or the alighting) of the Huma bird on a person's head or shoulder were said to bestow (or foretell) kingship. Accordingly, the feathers decorating the turbans of kings were said to be plumage of the Huma bird.<ref name="schimmel">{{citation|last=Schimmel|first=Annemarie|last2=Attwood|first2=Corinne|