Bats Apaches tell a different tale about bats. Vampires. In Pudukkottai, roosting P. medius is seen as the guardian of the sacred groves, and in Bihar, that bat brings wealth. Africa. In Africa, bats were credited with high intelligence. Having multifaceted anatomy of a lion, hippopotamus, and crocodile, she waited for the opportunity to devour the hearts of Creative commonsWikimedia. While some cultures see bats as a harbinger of death, others believe that the creature holds the key to eternal life. Indigenous Ainu people in Japan worshipped the crafty and wise bat god Kappa kamui, who kept away demons and diseases [44]. 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]. More than 1,200 species are currently recognized, and many are enormously abundant. Sometimes, as with the myth, it leaves a trademark two-pronged bite on the victim. The bat serves as mentor of the night and is identified with Talking God, one of the foremost deities. However, in post-Christian Europe, the bats propensity of flying at night led to its association with the devil. Between 1958 and 1961, Gathorne-Hardy, Fifth Earl of Cranbrook, a renowned conservationist and a founding member and former President of the Mammal Society, decided to put this old superstition to the test [16]. Microchiroptera Cheiromeles torquatus is eaten in Borneo and Tadarida sp. 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. Tjinimin wanted to have sex with the Green Parrot-Girls (who were the consorts of the Great Rainbow-Snake) and, of course, the Great Rainbow-Snake objected to this. Although they live near humans and are common, it appears that some of the species have not been described and given scientific names [17]. 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. 5 Princes Gate Court, While others say bats resemble an unhappy bird who got lost on its way to find the sun, in Greece during the middle ages, there was a myth that bats arose from mice. Bats use a form of echolocation to navigate in the dark and to find their prey. It remains to be seen, however, if this could halt or even reverse the decline of the North American bats [64]. 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. Repeatedly, the bats feathers were stolen by small birds, and repeatedly the bat returned to Jonayaiyin to ask for more. Just over one-third of the respondents (36%) did not see any benefits of bats to humans. They belong to the Order Chiroptera. If a bat flies into a kitchen and at once hangs on to the ceiling, it is a lucky omen, but if it circles the room twice before alighting, it is a bad omen. Theyre passive components, not active agents of change. In Kenya, a bat attitude questionnaire was presented to 394 people living around the Arabuko-Sokoke forest. 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. Working together, we have the power to end bat extinctions worldwide. Prior to 1985, flying foxes were not protected in New South Walesin fact, they were regarded as vermin. Often seen in movies and even written in books, bats have always been portrayed as mysterious creatures throughout the years. 11022198. 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.. Nowadays, of course, we know that vampires are not real and neither is the ability to turn into a bat. is eaten in Laos. Also known as Hunbatz, One Monkey A Monkey, not a Bat One of the Monkey Twins, hes the son of Hun Hunahpu and Xbaquiyalo. 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. Samoan folklore tells of a similar origin for bats. Bats are interesting animals and have been a part of human culture for a long time. They are unquestionably weird beings, appearing as half birds and half rodents, as if they came from a nightmare realm. One of these fables also exists, with slight variation, among tribes in southern Nigeria, among Australian aboriginals, and ancient Romans. 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. For instance, 40,000 caves have been dynamited in Venezuela. An artist's depiction of the Adjule or Bush Dog. In southwest Asia, bat folklore has been documented between Iran, India, and Myanmar [25, 26, 27]. Home > This ability, coupled with the ability to navigate at night by using a system of acoustic orientation (echolocation), has made the bats a highly diverse and populous order. 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. These arrowheads were used to kill deer and were considered very powerful. Company registered in England & Wales, no. Especially when the bats preferred natural resources have been logged out of existence and replanted as a monoculture. 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 ambiguous nature of bats is transformed into duplicity in their character. 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. 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]. Then he jumped into it and sat in it for a while and then climbed out. Bats, at least the ones that originate from North-western Europe, look a bit like mice with wings. 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]. 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. Bats are symbolic of bad luck, especially when they call while flying early in the evening. A folktale from Southern Nigeria gives a novel explanation of why the bat flies at night while highlighting its supposedly untrustworthy nature. 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. 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. Here are some of them: Flying foxes eat fruit, and this has inevitably brought them into conflict with humans, who grow fruit. Although bats already had long had a sinister reputation their addition to European vampire folklore came after that. Thanks Sir for this website. The recent introduction of a fungal disease (WNS=White-nose Syndrome) from Eurasia to North America has killed millions of bats in North America in the past decade. Belief systems of people have always been closely related to animals, which are symbolized in traditional narratives. It is a carnivore, eating birds and other vertebrates, occasionally taking even other species of bats. Dragon We may never know how these early humans viewed their small flying co-habiters. The Adze is a vampire in the legends of the Ewe people of Ghana and Togo. 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. Most often, they are seen only at night. Bat Bats have fascinated humans for millennia, and this cultural and spiritual relevance is reflected in the presence of bat symbols in Egyptian tombs from 2000BC [7]. Out of over 13,000 species, there are only three that feed on blood. Hopefully, now that we know more about these amazing creatures, we can protect them better in the future. The study concluded that conservation-related education should be included in the school curriculum to ensure that students would appreciate not only the importance of bats but of all wildlife [26]. Their well-known agility in flight would make a bat formidable in a ball game against a bear and turtle. IntechOpen Limited The bat said, Well look at me. Christianity and the origin of bats are also intertwined in the Mohammedan legend that Christ created a bat while keeping the fast of Ramadan. African final exam review mythology Bats prefer a variety of daytime hideaways, including rock crevices, caves, old buildings, mines, bridges, and trees. Many people still believe this to be true in Mexico. If a bat flies into a house and then escapes, there will be a death in the family. The novel, Dracula, by Bram Stoker encouraged the vampire association which was expanded and embellished later by other writers. Sunset is just the beginning. Using two willing female teenagers, one with relatively short curly hair and one with longer wavy hair was done up behind in a bun, Cranbrook took turns in placing four different species of bat on their heads. Bats - Disease-Prone but Beneficial, Reviewed: December 23rd, 2021 Published: January 18th, 2022, Total Chapter Downloads on intechopen.com. MEMBER OPPORTUNITIES FOR 1994, Bats 101: High School Students and Field Research, Tips on Establishing Research Partnerships Between Schools and Wildlife Agencies, Motorola Supports Bat House Research Project, BCI Helps Protect Pennsylvania Mine for Bats, BCI-Sponsored Education Campaign in Mexico Leads to Cave Protection, Look for Masters of the Night: The True Story of Bats. WebAfrican bats fall into two major categories: large fruit bats and smaller, insect-eating bats, neither of which attacks people. That makes them the second most common group of mammals, after rodents. Bats for eating in the Laos marketplace. People would sometimes even burn down whole colonies of bats because they thought that this would stop the spread of disease. The king ordered that Emiong be arrested and thrown into prison. Other than the polar regions, extreme deserts, and a few isolated islands, bats live in every habitat on Earth. These names can be misleading as often, megabats can be smaller while microbats can be bigger. Bats feature in many myths, legends and folklore from diverse cultures around the world, and are often associated with darkness, death and the supernatural. Bat (goddess The police arrested 200 vigilante youth suspected of involvement in gangs that attacked persons allegedly engaged in vampirism. Licensee IntechOpen. Our habit of sharing their ancestral living quarters would inevitably have brought bats to our attention from before the dawn of history. (There was no references to bats in the Koran). 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. and Folkrealm Studies. There is a Japanese word for bat, komori, which is said to mean mosquito slaughterer. In Japanese mythology, very old bats can transform into nobusuma, spirit animals resembling flying squirrels that land on their victims faces at night to feed off blood [43]. 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. Ancient Celtic Cauldrons: The Magical, the Mythical, the Real, Top 5 Trees in Celtic Mythology, Legend and Folklore, Celtic Warrior Women: Queen Boudica of the Iceni, Animism and the Living World of the Ancient Celts, Mixing Animals, Birds, Humans and Gods in Celtic Mythology, Unicorn Lore: Interpreting the Lady and the Unicorn Tapestries, The Legendary Puss in Boots and the Marquis of Carabas, Top Five Mythical Birds in Legend and Folklore, Aesops Fables; a new translation by Aesop, BATS Magazine Article: Folklore and the Origin of Bats, Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa by Elphinstone Dayrell. In Western Europe, there existed an unfounded superstition that if a bat fell on a woman (who mostly had long hair back then), the bat would become so entangled in her hair that the hair would have to be cut off just to pull it out. Bats are shot for sport or to eradicate them from fruit plantations. The bat must then hide during the day to avoid creditors. 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.. - Participation by local people is vital to achieving successful conservation programs [35]. 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. Nandi Bear. WebTrunko. Bat dung placed over a door opening prevented disease carrying demons from entering. Folklore and the Origin of Bats However, the path to protection has been a rocky one for the Flying Foxes. But the larger animals made fun of how small the creatures were and drove them away. Emiong knew he was in trouble and flew off into the bush. It is greedy for fragile human living creatures and sings a resonating tune to itself as it feasts. The number of Bats seen also has meaning. The Tzotzil Maya lived, and continue to live to this day, on the plateau of Chiapas in southern Mexico. The Navajo people thought that bats were able to fly between different worlds and act as a bridge between the supernatural and the natural. There are more than 1000 different species of bats in the world, making them the second-largest order of mammals. Although the bats roost in the sacred forest in Ghana, they are not regarded as sacred animals. Bat Myths Between 1985 and 1994, they were removed from the protected fauna list in Queensland. Aesops Fables: The Bat and the Weasel. American Indian legends and the fables of Aesop were more than just stories recited around the campfire or bathhouse: they were teaching devices. When you stand with us, your donation will support critical bat conservation initiatives. Myth or Fact: Bats are Just Mice with Wings (slide to the left for answer) Text Description for Image Slider In shamanism, the bat as well as being a symbol of death and rebirth is able Oyot boiled the water and jumped in, but the soup, being boiling, killed him. In some countries such as the UK bats are seen as an indicator species and the stability of their population is monitored to look for changes in biodiversity. In Malaysia, a face-to-face survey was conducted in Penang Island to assess knowledge and awareness level toward bat conservation efforts. Warner Shedd (2000) felt strongly that the level of fear about rabid bats sometimes rises almost paranoid concern in the United States, citing the State of New York as an example [63]. The bat begged to be spared but the weasel insisted that he could not do that because he was an enemy of all birds. Like all bats, the large fruit-eating bats of the family (Pteropidae) must have been known to humanity since the dawn of time. In the Far East, particularly China, the Bat represents good fortune and longevity. Large, often man-eating, bats are found in Hawaiian traditions, and there is even a legend of an eight-eyed bat in Hawaii. Although the exact source of the fungal pathogen, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, and its mode of introduction into North America remain unknown, the introduction was most likely mediated by humans, either through direct or indirect transfer of infectious propagules [66]. GET INVOLVED! In the old days, people used to think that bats were evil, and they would often try to kill them. 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. He has studied bats for many years and is author of the entry on bats in The Encyclopedia of American Folklore and Superstition. Han Chinese people attach positive esthetic values to bats but may still hunt bats at unsustainable levels [72]. Emiong always cooked a really tasty soup that Oyot loved and one day, after enjoying a bowl of Emiongs soup, Oyot asked how he managed to make it so tasty. The birds took pity on the creatures and fashioned wings for one of them out of the head of a drum made from a groundhog skin, thus creating the first bat.
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bats in african mythology