Company registered in England & Wales, no. Commentdocument.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a5fde012108c6f81a46adcd8fa31b17e" );document.getElementById("ebd2ec4c6f").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Gordon is an ecologist with two degrees from Exeter University. That is why Emionog the bat is hardly ever seen out during the day anymore. WebThen there was the Olitiau, a giant demon bat that had been seen in these parts, and lived for hundreds of years. Belief in myths seemed to prevail among those surveyed. Tertullian, an early Christian author from Carthage (155220), claimed that the Devil and his angels had wings [10], and around 1314, Dante wrote that the Devils wings had no feathers, but was in form and texture like a bats [11]. 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. The Tzotzil Maya lived, and continue to live to this day, on the plateau of Chiapas in southern Mexico. Bats are often misunderstood. When Oyot went home his wife had to go out on an errand. Especially Western cultural associations of bats with evil spirits, which have been recorded in Christian tradition as early as the fourteenth century [68] along with current media sensationalizing bats and the COVID-19 pandemic, are major hindrances toward bat conservation [69], although there is no reason why public health messages cannot be consistent with bat conservation. Greeks and Romans often referred to people who were active at night as bats. Apparently many of these people had adopted nocturnal behavior to avoid those to whom they owed money. 1. In ancient Egypt it was believed bats could alleviate or cure many ailments including baldness, fever toothache and poor eyesight. Fruit-eating bats such as Jamaican fruit bat Artibeus jamaicensis loves feeding on guavas, which is also the favorite food of the Taino spirits of the dead. If a man whose wife is nearing childbirth unthinkingly does so, some harm may befall the unborn baby [34]. 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]. Therefore, let us give them the recognition they deserve because if bats were to disappear tomorrow, that would give us something to genuinely fear. Publishing on IntechOpen allows authors to earn citations and find new collaborators, meaning more people see your work not only from your own field of study, but from other related fields too. The novel, Dracula, by Bram Stoker encouraged the vampire association which was expanded and embellished later by other writers. The cave prohibits hunting and guano harvesting, while income from this ecotourism chiefly flows into local economy and enhances the sustainability and protection of the cave site (Figures 7 and 8). An idea that reflected their ability to fly around so quickly in the dark without hitting anything. 15 Interesting Myths And Legends In African Mythology 1. And because of this, many myths, superstitions, and folklore have been created about them. 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. (There was no references to bats in the Koran). Generally, the Maya revered a Vampire Bat god, Camazotz, the death bat, which killed dying men on their way to the center of the earth [51, 52]. 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. These birds went to temples and prayed to be turned into humans. It is merely a passing reference, along with moles, to represent animals that live with things that have been discarded. IntechOpen Limited [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. Samoan folklore tells of a similar origin for bats. The bat represented the opias (= spirits of the dead people) to the Taino. However, the path to protection has been a rocky one for the Flying Foxes. Subcategories. Prior to 1985, flying foxes were not protected in New South Walesin fact, they were regarded as vermin. The bat is the nights mentor and is associated with Talking God, one of the most powerful deities. Bats were associated with longevity and pleasure in both ancient Chinese and Persian traditions. Bldg. The third reference is in Isaiah 2:20. The animals then give teeth to the bat to make it more animal-like. Bats lead us to the best opportunities to protect nature anywhere in the world. In Malaysian Borneo, people consider it taboo to disturb a fruit bat. Many paintings from western Europe in the middle ages depict the devil with bat wings. Bat hunting is illegal, but hunters readily admitted to having hunted bats and even directed the research people to other hunters. See my wings. The weasel replied, Well, so you are! and let the bat go. During this time eating food between sunrise and sunset is forbidden. It is not just their physical form that makes bats a curiosity. Both these references are the same; they list the birds that the people of God are not allowed to eat the list ends with the bat. In Jamaican folklore, bats are also perceived as death images [59]. They have wings and fly like birds (actually, in many ways better than birds). Bats in the house mean a death in the house or is a sign that the occupants will soon be leaving. The Pomo Indians of California had a superstition that bats could devour volcanic rock and then spew out ready-made arrowheads. 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]. Upset at his death, and possibly the ruining of the soup, she went straight to the king. Further films and novels continued associating vampires with bats and this is still perpetuated in western literature, films, television, theatre, art and most forms of media. Over five hundred species of plants rely on bats for pollination including durian, banana, mango, guava, cocoa and agave. 2022 The Author(s). Experience the wonder 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. They were then ashamed to meet the other birds and are now active only at night, returning to the temples in the daytime and praying to be turned back into birds. But it became obvious that the public attitude toward bats has still not been investigated extensively enough throughout the world, namely in contemporary Africa, America, Australia, and Europe. Interestingly, Islamic taboo. Bats are also used as allegories to denote romantic or parental love in the poetry of Tamil Sangam literature in India [27, 28, 29]. Books > In North America, education has had some effect as more people have started to understand how useful bats truly are and how few cases of bat-born rabies transmission to humans there have been in the United States and Canada. 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. 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]. BUSTED! Bats are also revered throughout India. Sunset is just the beginning. Perhaps now youd like to learn a bit about the bat skeleton. bat, (order Chiroptera), any member of the only group of mammals capable of flight. This allowed the borders to be crossed and the dead and the spirits of the underworld return to visit earth. Usually, it is regarded as a bad omen even if seen in a dream. There are more than 1,300 bat species! The north coast of Peru is one of the South American regions where bat iconography is particularly prominent [51]. Bats prefer a variety of daytime hideaways, including rock crevices, caves, old buildings, mines, bridges, and trees. In that day people will throw away to the moles and bats their idols of silver and idols of gold, People often perceive bats as anomalous or ambiguous creatures, different from more normal animals. Some of their ceramic vessels have an anthropomorphic bat that is an agent of human sacrifice, with a knife in one hand and a human head in the other. Here are some of the other names that people have given bats. Samoan people prize flying fox meat as a delicacy and as a gift to elders, but commercial hunting and export of the meat are culturally frowned. Around 62% of the Asia-Pacific people had only positive cultural values of bats, 8% had only neutral values, while 10% had only negative values [27]. 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.). The apparent liminality of bats is also reflected in a legend from the Kanarese of India in which bats were originally a type of unhappy bird. Bats are very social animals and often live in colonies of hundreds or even thousands of individuals. Consult our entry on the Monkey Twins for the full story. Our collection of global perceptions aims to promote a better biocultural richness for humans and bats as our long-term nocturnal companions. Working together, we have the power to end bat extinctions worldwide. ), the ambiguous nature of bats is transformed into duplicity in their character. In Madagascar, the exploitation of bats for bush meat regularly takes place during periods of food shortage, especially fruit bats, which are heavily hunted. 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. From Sierra Leone comes an account of the gruesome habits of the Hammer-headed Fruit Bat Hypsignathus monstrosus. 2. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode. There are more than 1400 bat species worldwide, and they make up roughly 20% of the worlds extant mammals [6]. The general attitude is that the flying fox is part of the forest, and the vast majority support the protection of Pteropus samoensis and P. tonganus [45]. Between 1985 and 1994, they were removed from the protected fauna list in Queensland. The Adze is a vampire in the legends of the Ewe people of Ghana and Togo. When soup was placed before Oyot it was as good and tasty as ever but it was from a different batch the bat had prepared early. Sometimes bats are husbands as in a Mataco lore from Argentina. The account is linked to the first trees created by roog. It is the largest bat found in continental Africa and was believed to suck the blood of sleeping children until they die. Should the bat stay and eat the fruit in the house, bad luck will befall the owner [27]. During the early days of the world, a bat and twelve insects revolved in the darkness. This apparent ambiguity in the nature of bats is seen in many folktales about how they came to be in the first place and how they acquired their various features. Nowadays, of course, we know that vampires are not real and neither is the ability to turn into a bat. In the West, bats are often perceived as evil spirits, Vampires, and harbingers of death, while some cultures across the Asia-Pacific region associate bats with good fortune. In Makira, Solomon Islands, local people value traditional currency for transactions, such as bride price, and use the canine teeth of flying foxes as a traditional currency [47]. They believed bats to be able to cross into and out of the unseen realms at will, making them spiritual guides. His name means literally One Monkey, which is more than fitting as he turned into one. Their prayers were answered, but only in part; they were given teeth, hair, and human faces, but otherwise remained bird-like. Rompo is a legendary monster with the head of a rabbit, arms like a badger, legs like a bear, a skeletal middle and human ears. Recommended for you. In Cameroon, the superstition of the vampire is attached to bats. This pollination syndrome is called chiropterophily. This article has covered some of the main points about bat mythology, superstition, folklore, and persecution. Most students wanted to participate in bat conservation activities, including some students who disliked bats. Montfort bat cave entrance in the Philippines with the numerous Geoffroys Rousette fruit bats Rousettes amplexicaudatus. Because not enough leather remained to fashion another bat, the birds then stretched the skin between the fore and hind limbs of the other creature, making the first flying squirrel. 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]. As PhD students, we found it difficult to access the research we needed, so we decided to create a new Open Access publisher that levels the playing field for scientists across the world. Bats feature in many myths, legends and folklore from diverse cultures around the world, and are often associated with darkness, death and the supernatural. Interestingly, blood sucking has been attributed to bats both in Cameroon and Sierra Leone despite the countries being widely separated and when no such type of bat is found in Africa [19]. In Vietnam, many mounted bat species are sold in souvenir shops, and in Laos, bats are traded in several markets (Figure 3) [41, 42]. Kill the bat before it escapes, and everyone will be safe. Bats are mentioned three times in the Old Testament. As you can see, bats have been both persecuted and protected through the ages. In southwest Asia, bat folklore has been documented between Iran, India, and Myanmar [25, 26, 27]. The origin of bats is prominent in the folklore of several North American Indian tribes. In pre-Columbian Central and South America, the bat played an important role in the religions and social structures of the various cultures, most notably with the Moche people of Peru and the Maya of Guatemala. Despite its scientific name, it feeds exclusively on fruits, nectar, and flowers and not blood (Figure 6) [70]. Folklore from Fiji, in the South Pacific, tells us that flying foxes originated when a rat stole the wings of a heron, while another Fijian tale relates that it was the rat that first had wings while flying foxes walked on four legs. 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. 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.. Interestingly, giant bat stories have persisted in these flying-fox-less societies, which evolved from western Polynesians cultures where flying foxes have been prevalent [45]. In southwest Asia, the bat is predominantly perceived as a strange, negative, and demonic animal that should be avoided. Its based on principles of collaboration, unobstructed discovery, and, most importantly, scientific progression. 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]. Liminality aside, many of these myths have obvious roots in the real features of bats. Bat Conservation International 2023. We love to hear from our readers. In Malaysia, a face-to-face survey was conducted in Penang Island to assess knowledge and awareness level toward bat conservation efforts. Bats are truly remarkable creatures, and fossil records indicate that they first appeared in the Eocene, some 5055 million years ago [1]. On the other hand, the Tupinamba people believed that the planet would be eaten by a bat at the end of time. 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]. These names can be misleading as often, megabats can be smaller while microbats can be bigger. While some cultures see bats as a harbinger of death, others believe that the creature holds the key to eternal life. The official Islamic view is exempting bats from being killed because it would carry bad luck to kill a bat [32]. This category has the following 7 subcategories, out of 7 total. With Gods permission, He fashioned the winged likeness of a bat from clay and breathed life into it. We will be exploring how different cultures view these creatures and what stories have been told about them throughout the years. 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. If a bat flies into a house and then escapes, there will be a death in the family. There exists a widespread belief in Southeast Asia that eating bat meat cures asthma [27]. Bats use a form of echolocation to navigate in the dark and to find their prey. WebFar Eastern Bat Symbolic Meanings. Sometimes a Mochica bat carries a warclub and a small human captive. The weasel replied, No, I never let mice go! The bat said, Well, look closely at me. There is also, of course, the European connection with bats to vampirism. The bat must then hide during the day to avoid creditors. Between the years 1950 and 2007, only 56 cases of bat-borne rabies transmission to humans occurred in the United States and Canada, which translates to 3.9 cases per billion person-years [65]. 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. BATS IN FOLKLOREpart six, the conclusion to a series on bats in North American and European folklore. Half of the students knew that bats are mammals, but 26% believed them to be birds, some thought of them being amphibians (12%) or reptiles (11%); 37% disliked the bats, and 27% liked them remaining seeing them as indifferent. This is bound to threaten the continued existence of local bat populations. Our CFC number is 12064. 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]. 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. A variety of methods have been used to harass and kill these harmless and beneficial creatures, and some people have even gone so far as to dynamite caves and abandoned mines where bats roost or hibernate [64]. Photo credit: Masteraah. Thereafter, humans and animals may have lived different lives; but like people, the animals still had tribes, councils, and ethics, and they played ball games. To date, ethnobiological information regarding bats in Africa has mainly focused on utilitarian aspects of bats as food and medicine, whereas knowledge concerning symbolism and beliefs surrounding bats in that continent has not been assembled, apart from ancient Africa [18], Ghana [19, 20], Kenya [21], and Madagascar [22]. In many cultures, they are seen as symbols of good luck, while in others they are seen as omens of bad news. My Amazon Author Page can found here for the UK and for the USA, here. Zteve has two websites dedicated to myths, legends and folklore from around the world. Apaches tell a different tale about bats. It tells how a bushrat named Oyot was friends with Emiong the bat and they would often eat together, taking it in turns to cook. An old engraving of vampire bats described by early explorers such as John Stedman. In India, a total of 3059 high school students from 36 schools were questioned on their bat perceptions. One of these fables also exists, with slight variation, among tribes in southern Nigeria, among Australian aboriginals, and ancient Romans. Adjule. The Serer Creation Myth Like in every creation myth in Africa, the Serer of Senegal, Mauritania and the Gambia have theirs. Archaeological evidence suggests that before the coming of Europeans, flying foxes were not often used as food by the Australian Aborigines. A long time ago, on the opposite side of the earth, the Aztec term for a bat was apparently quimichpapalotl, which means butterfly mouse. In Kenya, a bat attitude questionnaire was presented to 394 people living around the Arabuko-Sokoke forest. 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. Because mountains obscured the western sky, Jesus could not tell when the sun set. Bats have been present in folklore and myth for quite some time. In Jamaica, the bat and the owl were very important symbols in Taino mythology and death. 11022198. Thanks Sir for this website. They were believed to destroy trees and damage fruits in gardens. This North American bat-like depiction should come as no surprise; it is merely another manifestation of the fear, horror, and superstition with which bats have been regarded down through ages [64]. Bats belong to the order Chiroptera, not Rodentia; they're actually more closely related to primates than they are to rodents. He then pretended to demonstrate exactly how he did this. These gods and goddesses are some of the more well-known in Africa yet some of the lesser known by people of the the rest of the world. Halloween. There are several instances where bats were killed in large numbers. 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. Therefore, they would only come out at night, spending the daylight hours praying to be transformed back into birds. For example, a bat entering a household was a forewarning of a death in the house. The number of Bats seen also has meaning. Open Access is an initiative that aims to make scientific research freely available to all. Finally, we discuss shortly the need of education to change attitudes toward bats. Among the Ibibio people of southern Nigeria, bats are associated with witchcraft, and for any bat to fly into a house and touch a person is a sure sign that this person is thereafter bewitched and will soon perish because his or her heart is eaten at night while he or she sleeps. The five-chambered cave hosts the worlds largest known colony of the Geoffroys Rousette Fruit Bat, Rousettus amplexicaudatus, with an estimated 1.82 million individuals [76]. The king ordered that Emiong be arrested and thrown into prison. Bats in a church during a wedding ceremony is a bad omen. The twins had to spend the night in the House of Bats, where they squeezed themselves into their own blowguns in order to defend themselves from the circling bats. Bat Mythology There is a strong association between bats and death. In Europe, there are also myths about bats in the house. In Africa, bats were credited with high intelligence. Among the rambling stories and folklore that make up the tales of the Australian Aboriginal Dream-time, there is one of a confrontation between Tjinimin the Bat God and the Great Rainbow-Snake. Lately, education seems to have some effect, and more and more people have started to appreciate how useful and amazing bats truly are. From a magical standpoint, bats are associated with workings related to death and dying, communication, and the spirit world. Although the bats roost in the sacred forest in Ghana, they are not regarded as sacred animals. Bats are symbolic of bad luck, especially when they call while flying early in the evening. In shamanism, the bat as well as being a symbol of death and rebirth is able They eat insects performing pest control while also pollinating species of plants and spreading seeds. The bat begged to be spared but the weasel insisted that he could not do that because he was an enemy of all birds. The duality of bats is mentioned in one of Aesops Fables, which tells how a bat fell to the ground and was pounced on by a weasel. A witch shape is believed to be capable to suck out the life of a sleeping man or woman [18]. Vampires. Medics said there is no truth or clinical evidence that blood suckers or vampires exist in Malawi, and the United Nations mission withdrew its personnel from the riots-affected areas [24]. In Africa, bats were credited with high intelligence. Bats are associated, in many cultures, with death and dying, which makes them a perfect representative of Samhain, the time when the veil is thin. An artist's depiction of the Adjule or Bush Dog. People would sometimes even burn down whole colonies of bats because they thought that this would stop the spread of disease. In Thailand, bat meat or blood is eaten for muscle pain, increasing virility and longevity [36]. author. Peasant farmers in Mexico used to call bats ratones viejos, which translates to old mice. They thought that when mice grew older, they would develop wings and transform into bats. 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. Home > Vampire bats were not discovered until the 16th century in Central and South America. These intensely emotional visuals have most likely led to the sinister image of bats that many people still hold, even though we now know they are valuable members of the environment! The bat serves as mentor of the night and is identified with Talking God, one of the foremost deities. Ammit (from Egyptian Mythology) Ominously translating to devourer or soul eater, the Ammit (also known as Ammut) was an underworld-dwelling ancient Egyptian goddess/demon who personified divine retribution. Since the fourteenth century, Chinese culture has associated bats with good luck and blessings [33]. In Hunza, Pakistan, a witch appears in the shape of a bat, and it plays a role in magical practice in southwest Asia. 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. The Rompo is a common South African mythical creatures believed to exist. It is a canine creature supposedly living close to the Sahara Desert in North Africa. This association between giant bats and vampires continues to the present day through popular fiction and cinema (Figure 1). Also, a Tacana woman in Bolivia was killing a bat while not realizing that it was her husband [34]. 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. It is a carnivore, eating birds and other vertebrates, occasionally taking even other species of bats. In New Zealand, Mori people associate bats, pekapeka, with the mythical nocturnal bird hokioi that foretells death [49]. Here are some of them: Flying foxes eat fruit, and this has inevitably brought them into conflict with humans, who grow fruit. Orchard owners in Myanmar believe that allowing bats to roost and feed in the garden ensures prosperity and well-being. Besides hunting, the primary threats to bat species include habitat loss and degradation through logging. Most respondents were less likely to value the importance of bats in the ecosystem, so creating a conservation education to connect people with nature is not easy. Bats eyes are small and sometimes poorly developed, but they work just fine. WebBats typically live in deep underground caves, which symbolically is the belly of the Mother (Earth), and from these womb-like caves they emerge each evening at dusk - reborn. In the Far East, particularly China, the Bat represents good fortune and longevity. (Above is from a variety of African mythology not just Sub-Saharan, but it's also the tiniest fraction of it) From this duality and strangeness evolved a reputation of duplicity and threat, appearing as neither one thing nor the other. All rights reserved. The enormous size of the bat and the small human head or body indicate supernatural status for the bat [51]. For example, a number of these countries are investing in the burgeoning industry of ecotourism by promoting organized visits to bat caves and bat watching [74, 75]. Despite this primate-like gesture, it took quite some time for people to understand that bats are mammals and not birds. Only older and somewhat educated people reported more positive attitudes toward bats than others [21]. Nandi Bear. Bending over the soup to stir, but unlike the old joke where a diner saw a hair in their soup, she saw the dead body of her husband. In Malaysia, ethnic Han Chinese, non-Muslim indigenous groups, and ethnic Malays hunt flying foxes and trade them to the Chinese [27]. Another piece of bat folklore from the Americas includes the Maya believing that the House of the Bat was one of the areas that the soul had to pass through on its way to the land of Death. These arrowheads were used to kill deer and were considered very powerful. 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.
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