bats in african mythology
On the other hand, the body fat of Indian Flying Fox is used to make massage oil to cure rheumatic pains, while drinking water from a bats wing is said to sharpen ones memory [30]. The bat was central to Maya religion and social structure. WebSpirits African mythology is filled with spirits, invisible beings with powers for good or evil. While Aesops fables involving bats may have envisioned them as duplicitous and dishonest, other folklore has ascribed a lot worse to bats, as we have seen in this series of articles. Bats, at least the ones that originate from North-western Europe, look a bit like mice with wings. In Isaiah 2:19-21, bats are connected with wilderness and heathenism: People will flee to caves in the rocks and to holes in the ground from the fearful presence of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth. Bats are mentioned three times in the Old Testament. Brief introduction to this section that descibes Open Access especially from an IntechOpen perspective, Want to get in touch? Over half of the students (57%) did not know anybody in their neighborhood who would hunt bats. Bats play an important role in the ecosystem by eating large quantities of insects. This is because people thought that bats were associated with witches and black magic. Bat Conservation International is a 501(c)(3) organization. The bat represented the opias (= spirits of the dead people) to the Taino. They then appealed to the eagle, the captain of the bird team. The Greek philosopher Chaerephon was called the bat, because he, like the animal, did not appear by day but instead hid and philosophized. In its entire history, the state of New York has recorded only one case of bat-transmitted rabies [64]. For American Indians they provided information on the natural world and the behavior and habits of animals. In the Punjab, northern India, magicians use bat bones to prepare their concoctions, and with the bat blood, they write amulets for malevolent and antisocial magic. The bat serves as mentor of the night and is identified with Talking God, one of the foremost deities. Do you know the difference between fact and fiction when it comes to bats? Much of the folklore about bats relates to their way of life. The artificial bat became a shorthand for horror in 1931, jiggled on a fishing line behind a Hungarian-American actor Bla Ferenc Dezs Blask, known professionally as Bela Lugosi in the genre-defining movie Dracula. Until we provoked the animals hostility because of our aggressiveness and disregard for their rights, humans and all creatures lived together in harmony, mutual respect, and helpfulness. GET INVOLVED! 1, Suite 175 Austin, TX 78746, USA 512.327.9721 1.800.538.BATS. The duality of bats is mentioned in one of Aesops Fables, which tells how a bat fell to the ground and was Betwixt and Between. In 1332, a French noblewoman, Lady Jacaume of Bayonne [12], was publicly burned to death as a witch because crowds of bats were seen about her house and garden., William Shakespeare (15641616) also equated bats with witches, spells, and curses. WebTrunko. When you stand with us, your donation will support critical bat conservation initiatives. Just over one-third of the respondents (36%) did not see any benefits of bats to humans. 620 B.C. At the end of the story, Tjinimin hangs upside-down in a tree to admire the stars and decides never to try having sex with anyone againwhereupon his nose falls off. In Malaysian Borneo, people consider it taboo to disturb a fruit bat. One clan of the Cakchiquel Maya, of the highlands of Guatemala, was named the Zotzil (=belonging to the bat), whose deity was a bat. Recommended for you. The Moche people in Peru were aware of the connection between bats and plants. But where theyre used as an ingredient in a witchs brew, theyre no different to frogs or snails (also common ingredients). It is at this time when the veil between this world and the otherworld was believed to thin and a state of liminality existed. Vampires had been part of Slavic folklore in Eastern Europe since the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but it was not until the nineteenth century that popular fictional literature, predominantly through Bram Stokers Dracula in 1897, would forever tie bats and vampires together, with the protagonist, Count Dracula, being able to transform himself into a huge bat [13]. Bats use a form of echolocation to navigate in the dark and to find their prey. However, the association of bats with evil still persists in some parts of the world. Experience the wonder of bats. We love to hear from our readers. BUSTED! In Nagaland between 7000 and 25,000 cave-dwelling bats (Cave Nectar Bat Eonycteris spelaea, Great Roundleaf Bat Hipposideros armiger, and Leschenaults Rousette Rousettus leschenaultii) have been annually harvested until recently [73]. Large-bodied old-world fruit bats, like this Egyptian fruit bat Rousettus aegyptiacus, are disproportionally targeted to be hunted for bushmeat. Megabatslarger bats that include fruit batssearch for food using sight and smell. Vampires. Bat meat is widely consumed because it is considered more delicious than other types of meat. Thanks Sir for this website. Because of the resemblance in dentition and such external phenomena as the thoracic position of the mammae, etc., the great Linnaeus himself ended to place the bat along with man in the order Primates [3]. And because of this, many myths, superstitions, and folklore have been created about them. Bats also have wings. In the Bible, the bat is seen to be unclean [8], while its nocturnal activities ally it to malevolent spirits that roam the land when darkness has fallen. Stay up to date with the latest news and information about BCI and bats. In India, a total of 3059 high school students from 36 schools were questioned on their bat perceptions. In his book Bats (1939), G. M. Allen speculates that this association of bats with arrowheads refers to the California leaf-nosed bat (Macrotus californicus). It is a canine creature supposedly living close to the Sahara Desert in North Africa. By using a million dollars annually to educate the public about the dangers of bat-caused rabies in humans simply exacerbates the already unreasonable fears, which many people have of bats. Then he jumped into it and sat in it for a while and then climbed out. We will be exploring how different cultures view these creatures and what stories have been told about them throughout the years. According to the Serer myth, the creation of the earth began from a swamp. By making research easy to access, and puts the academic needs of the researchers before the business interests of publishers. WebFar Eastern Bat Symbolic Meanings. It remains to be seen, however, how effectively the further education efforts could halt or even reverse the decline of the bats around the world. From a magical standpoint, bats are associated with workings related to death and dying, communication, and the spirit world. - In northern Argentina, a Toba story tells of the leader of the very first peoplea hero bat or batman who was teaching people all they needed to know as human beings. bat, (order Chiroptera), any member of the only group of mammals capable of flight. Zteve believes that people have far more in common with each other than is often shown on the surface and this can often be seen in the folktales from other parts of the world. Most students wanted to participate in bat conservation activities, including some students who disliked bats. In the sandstone caves of Northern Australia, the Northern Territory, and Queensland, there are numerous depictions of flying foxes, some dating back tens of thousands of years. Han Chinese people attach positive esthetic values to bats but may still hunt bats at unsustainable levels [72]. Prior to 1985, flying foxes were not protected in New South Walesin fact, they were regarded as vermin. 2022 The Author(s). London, SW7 2QJ, Spirits are less grand, less powerful, and less like humans than the gods, who often have weaknesses and emotions. Similarly, fishermen in the Philippines consider mangrove roosting flying foxes to be guardians of their fishing grounds and to increase fish and shellfish catch [27]. One reason not to kill bats is that female bats have breasts and are mothers like human females [25]. Bat Conservation International 500 N Capital of TXHwy. In Africa, house bats occur in distinct colors and sizes, but they are usually hard to identify. In southwest Asia, the bat is predominantly perceived as a strange, negative, and demonic animal that should be avoided. Nevertheless, it is still a strongly sinister characteristic linking them closely to vampirism. This Order name means hand-wing as the bats can hold food between their forearms. Emiong knew he was in trouble and flew off into the bush. Not only do they prey upon insects that are harmful to agriculture, but they also prey upon mosquitoes and other virus-carrying insects and play a major role in pollinating and spreading the seeds of many of the fruits we enjoy. The bat husband then cut off her head and those of other Indians and put all heads in the tree hole where he was living [55]. In 1959, this superstition was still so believed that the Earl of Cranbrook took it upon himself to test the superstitions veracity. Pre-Islamic magical belief in Hunza said that if the lady would once offer the cooked meat of bat to her guests, hiding it behind her back while serving her family would never be without meat for their whole life [25]. WebBat facts! The animals then give teeth to the bat to make it more animal-like. WebThen there was the Olitiau, a giant demon bat that had been seen in these parts, and lived for hundreds of years. Photo credit to creative commons https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode. In the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, spirits, devils, and witches had their general name Bitaboh, wood-goblins being specially called Ronga. All the bats were comprehended under the same name, especially the Yellow-winged Bat Lavia frons, formerly Megaderma frons, which flutters about from tree to tree in broad daylight [18]. Bats in a church during a wedding ceremony is a bad omen. [bio]Gary F. McCracken is a professor in the Department of Zoology and the Graduate Programs in Ecology and Ethology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. A noctule bat Nyctalus noctula, a long-eared bat Plecotus auritus, a Natters bat Myotis nattereri and a Daubentons bat Myotis daubentonii. Courtesy of creative commonsWikimedia. In Malaysia, a face-to-face survey was conducted in Penang Island to assess knowledge and awareness level toward bat conservation efforts. Adjule. A woman noted that her husband had a round tail and dropped the vessel of water she was bringing to him. However, the path to protection has been a rocky one for the Flying Foxes. BATS IN FOLKLOREpart six, the conclusion to a series on bats in North American and European folklore. Hundreds of thousands of bats were needlessly exterminated during the last two decades of the 20th century. The Serer Creation Myth Like in every creation myth in Africa, the Serer of Senegal, Mauritania and the Gambia have theirs. Zteve has two websites dedicated to myths, legends and folklore from around the world. The enormous size of the bat and the small human head or body indicate supernatural status for the bat [51]. People would sometimes even burn down whole colonies of bats because they thought that this would stop the spread of disease. The fictional DC Comic Super-hero, Batman relied on the sinister aspect of bats to strike fear into criminals, yet despite the scary myths, bats are an important part of the ecosystems and economies of many parts of the world. From Sierra Leone comes an account of the gruesome habits of the Hammer-headed Fruit Bat Hypsignathus monstrosus. Only older and somewhat educated people reported more positive attitudes toward bats than others [21]. One Yupa man in northern Colombia started night after night to drink and flirt with a female bat when he was returning from an evening hunt. During the early days of the world, a bat and twelve insects revolved in the darkness. Pomo Indians of California have a myth that a bat could chew and swallow a large piece of obsidian and then vomit large numbers of excellent arrowheads. Their well-known agility in flight would make a bat formidable in a ball game against a bear and turtle. These are Under the influence! Why Cultural traditions and beliefs influence the future of the bats, which is threatened by human exploitation, both directly on bats and indirectly on the environment. Bats are truly remarkable creatures, and fossil records indicate that they first appeared in the Eocene, some 5055 million years ago [1]. Thus, more famine relief food aid is desperately needed to reduce the bush meat use during the food crises, which are nearly annual in the region [22]. Bats in Myth and Legend 945ontwerp / Getty Images 5 Princes Gate Court, Our habit of sharing their ancestral living quarters would inevitably have brought bats to our attention from before the dawn of history. ), the ambiguous nature of bats is transformed into duplicity in their character. There are more than 1,300 bat species! Conversely, negative symbolism could promote conservation if it prevents unsustainable hunting and consumption [27]. In many parts of Indonesia, people specifically consume bats livers and hearts as medicine [39]. The first two references are Leviticus 11:19 and Deuteronomy 14:18. We may never know how these early humans viewed their small flying co-habiters. Surprisingly little folklore exists specifically about Vampire bats, and Pre-Columbian erotic scenes do not involve bats although some folklore portrays female bats as alluring to men. Despite all the sinister associations bats perform an essential role in the environment, adding greatly to the wellbeing of humanity. The rat now tries to retaliate by climbing tees and eating the flying foxes young, and this is why flying foxes carry their pups with them. A bat flying into a building means that is going to rain. Do they really deserve this sinister reputation, or do they play a more important role in the world than feeding the dark human fascination for the spooky and the supernatural? Indigenous Ainu people in Japan worshipped the crafty and wise bat god Kappa kamui, who kept away demons and diseases [44]. In England, they also say that when someone is a little insane, they have bats in the belfry. In fact, around a fifth of all mammals on Earth are bats! In fact they are mammals of the scientific order Chiroptera, meaning hand wing in ancient Greek, because their forelimbs have become adapted to be wings. 15 Interesting Myths And Legends In African Mythology 1. It is a carnivore, eating birds and other vertebrates, occasionally taking even other species of bats. This liminality gives bats a supernatural air that further heightens mystery and distrust as they cross the borders between birds and mammals, day and night. Bats, being seen as liminal creatures, were believed to be able to cross this barrier. Bats tend to get off on the wrong wing with us humans. Here are some of them: Flying foxes eat fruit, and this has inevitably brought them into conflict with humans, who grow fruit. Bats eyes are small and sometimes poorly developed, but they work just fine. These small creatures wished to participate in a ball game in which the animals challenged the birds. The underworld is often associated with the dead but it is perhaps the association with vampires that is the most sinister aspect of bats. Here, using documented narratives, surveys, popular literature, and cinema, we will explore the various myths, legends, and attitudes to bats from around the world. Throughout Southeast Asia, bats are associated with luck and good fortune and used as spiritual totems [6, 27]. Our collection of global perceptions aims to promote a better biocultural richness for humans and bats as our long-term nocturnal companions. He has studied bats for many years and is author of the entry on bats in The Encyclopedia of American Folklore and Superstition. Subcategories. Bats are also seen as useful in Iran, India, and Pakistan because people are collecting bat guano as a natural fertilizer. Participation by local people is vital to achieving successful conservation programs [35]. Most often, they are seen only at night. That nailing a dead bat to your door will protect you from demons, That putting a drop of bats blood under a womans pillow will help her be fruitful. In southwest Asia, bat folklore has been documented between Iran, India, and Myanmar [25, 26, 27]. If a man whose wife is nearing childbirth unthinkingly does so, some harm may befall the unborn baby [34]. Both African-Americans and those of European descent from around the United States frequently maintain that Frustrated, Jonayaiyin eventually told the bat You cannot take care of your feathers, so you shall never have any. Very well, said the bat, I deserve to lose them, for I could never take care of those feathers.. In India, bats are revered in many areas, but still large bat-harvesting festivals take place. Both African-Americans and those of European descent from around the United States frequently maintain that Vampire bats were not discovered until the 16th century in Central and South America. The way they live their lives and their behaviour places them somewhere betwixt and between, appearing as neither one thing, nor the other. The widespread sacrificial association derives largely from the habits of the Common Vampire Bat that feeds exclusively on the blood of vertebrates (Figure 5). It is imperative to obtain more current ethnobiological data to further our understanding of contemporary attitudes and relationships with batsand to document other cultural traditions not covered in this review. Nearly another third reported actively killing bats or destroying bat roosts, and most respondents associated bats with the destruction of farmers fruits, especially mangoes. In Irian Jaya of Indonesia, former head-hunters considered flying foxes to be head-hunters too, as they took the head of the tree by consuming its fruit [37]. The Tzotzil Maya lived, and continue to live to this day, on the plateau of Chiapas in southern Mexico. In Malaysia, ethnic Han Chinese, non-Muslim indigenous groups, and ethnic Malays hunt flying foxes and trade them to the Chinese [27]. It is estimated that the current population of most Australian species of Pteropidae is less than 20% of what it was 100 years ago. As such, they would place a bat on the ground, point its head towards the sky, and wait for raindrops to fall on its back. It is the largest bat found in continental Africa and was believed to suck the blood of sleeping children until they die. WebWhen seen as human souls, bats are often imagined as souls of the dead, particularly souls of the damned, or those that are not yet at peace. Creative commonsWikimedia. Bats are often misunderstood. Female respondents in this study showed more negative attitudes and a stronger belief in myths about bats than males. Photo credit: Uwe Schmidt. Myth 2: MicroBats are Small, and Megabats are big Bats are broadly divided into two categories, Megachiropetra which are Old World fruit bats, and Michrochiropetra that are echolocating bats. Its based on principles of collaboration, unobstructed discovery, and, most importantly, scientific progression. The Adze is a vampire in the legends of the Ewe people of Ghana and Togo. We are a community of more than 103,000 authors and editors from 3,291 institutions spanning 160 countries, including Nobel Prize winners and some of the worlds most-cited researchers. On all occasions, the bats were able to escape without becoming entangled. In the old days, people used to think that bats were evil, and they would often try to kill them. Should a bat or an owl come near the house, or a bush-cat defecate in the compound, the owner must go at once to diviner to discover what remedies must be taken to ward off the evil. It is the largest New World bat with a yard wingspan. A detailed list of all the African gods and goddesses wuld be endless, but these twelve from the Orisha Pantheon are a good placde to start. In some parts of the world, they are a valuable food source, and their body parts are used in traditional medicine, while their guano is collected and used as agricultural fertilizer [7]. This undoubtedly reflects the loss of other preferred game animals from the habitat. In shamanism, the bat as well as being a symbol of death and rebirth is able to guide people through the dark times of their lives. From this duality and strangeness evolved a reputation of duplicity and threat, appearing as neither one thing nor the other. In Jamaican folklore, bats are also perceived as death images [59]. It is also noted that bat tourism has a potential to conserve bat populations while providing social and economic benefits to local people in host communities. The decision to include the New Zealand long-tailed bat Chalinolobus tuberculatus also known as pekapeka-tou-roa (Mori) in the 2021 Bird of the Year competition did cause a bit of controversy, some people saying the country had gone batty. However, the long-tailed bat got more than 7000 votes, bringing a clear victory to this critically endangered animal, despite not being a bird [50]. Despite positive associations toward bats, they are widely consumed as food and medicine throughout Asia, except in Brunei and Singapore. In Africa, house bats occur in distinct colors and sizes, but they are usually hard to In some places bats were seen more positively. In Greece the word drakn, from which the English word was 11022198. In Madurai, worshippers of the Muni god regard Indian Flying Fox Pteropus medius, formerly Pteropus giganteus, as sacred and protect colonies for fear of heavy punishment. A modern variation of the myth that bats arose from rodents comes from an Ohio woman of Polish ancestry who attested that the bat was from a mouse that had eaten blessed Easter food. (In Polish tradition, a representative food from the Easter dinner is taken to church to be blessed.) An artist's depiction of the Adjule or Bush Dog. Upset at his death, and possibly the ruining of the soup, she went straight to the king. In this story, Jonayaiyin, a hero who battled the enemies of mankind, killed several eagles and gave their feathers to a bat who had helped him escape from the eagles nest. The bat populations in Malaysia are decreasing in 26% of species and only 15% are still stable. This ethnic group in Africa is known for its The bat flew to a nearby cave, but each evening it emerged at sunset, telling Jesus that it was time to take food [see Bats and the Netherworld, BATS, Summer 1993; also, see this same article for the converse notion that the devil created bats.). dragon, in the mythologies, legends, and folktales of various cultures, a large lizard- or serpent-like creature, conceived in some traditions as evil and in others as beneficent. Also, a Tacana woman in Bolivia was killing a bat while not realizing that it was her husband [34]. Bat guano provides one reason for the fertility associations [56]. Hun Batz Facts and Figures Name: Hun Batz Pronunciation: Obviously, these bats were not the only animalsor even the only batsto use these now destroyed habitats. One of the most enduring old wives tales from Europe is that bats will get tangled in womens hair and would have to be removed with a pair of scissors. Which is why bats have such short faces, apparently. When capturing its prey, it grabs the neck, sometimes killing the prey with a single powerful bite [51, 52]. Monstrous beyond imagining, all-consuming, blacker than blackest night, the hideous Satan in the Night on Bald Mountain section of Walt Disneys animated film Fantasia (1940) spreads gigantic bat wings as it turns fiery eyes toward the lost souls about to be engulfed in wrath and flames [64]. In many places, blood sacrifice was believed to benefit agriculture, and therefore, bats had agricultural, as well as death, connections for Pre-Columbian peoples and in Oaxaca, Mexico, a bat deity was associated with maize [51]. It is greedy for fragile human living creatures and sings a resonating tune to itself as it feasts. On the other hand, the Tupinamba people believed that the planet would be eaten by a bat at the end of time. A bat was once known as a flittermouse or fluttermouse, which translates to flying mouse. This phrase is derived from the German word for a bat, Fledermaus. The English term bat is taken from the Old English word bakke, which means to flutter.. They believed bats to be able to cross into and out of the unseen realms at will, making them spiritual guides. On Mochica pottery, a bat is depicted with the Sweetsop Annona squamosa, a common fruit also known as Sugar Apple or Pinha, the seeds of which are dispersed by bats [51, 52]. My Amazon Author Page can found here for the UK and for the USA, here. Fruitbats are not the only bats to be eaten in the Indo-Pacific region. In the third book of Moses in the Old Testament, bats were identified as birds, while the world-famous Swedish taxonomist, Carl von Linn (or Linnaeus), only reclassified bats as mammals and not birds as late as 1758 in the 10th Edition of his Systema Naturae [2]. These animals are nocturnal creatures that sleep during the day and come out at night to hunt for food. In some folklore, bats often have sexual connotations, which may relate to fertility and agriculture as bats are important seed dispersers and pollinators of many fruit trees. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this. In Pakistan, one belief is that if a bat enters ones ear, it can never be removed and contact with bat urine is thought to cause eczema. Although the bats roost in the sacred forest in Ghana, they are not regarded as sacred animals. Like all bats, the large fruit-eating bats of the family (Pteropidae) must have been known to humanity since the dawn of time. In 2005, the privately owned Montfort Bat Cave Sanctuary on Mindanao Island, south of the Philippines, opened for tourism. Below, we will be taking a look at some of the most popular bat myths from around the globe. Other strange beliefs in European folklore include: In Shakespeares Macbeth (written 800 years ago), the witches brew a potion with: Eye of newt and toe of frog,Wool of bat and tongue of dog..
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