bats in african mythology

People often perceive bats as anomalous or ambiguous creatures, different from more normal animals. WebLegendary creatures from African mythology. African Cryptids: 9 Mysterious Monsters of Africa It is estimated that the current population of most Australian species of Pteropidae is less than 20% of what it was 100 years ago. In Kenya, a bat attitude questionnaire was presented to 394 people living around the Arabuko-Sokoke forest. This pollination syndrome is called chiropterophily. I am a bird. If a bat flies into a house and then escapes, there will be a death in the family. I am a mouse, not a bird! The weasel looked at the bat and agreed it was a mouse and released it. Although they live near humans and are common, it appears that some of the species have not been described and given scientific names [17]. Large flying fox Pteropus vampyrus suffers from its misleading scientific name as it is not blood-eating species but feeds only fruits and flowers. Nearly another third reported actively killing bats or destroying bat roosts, and most respondents associated bats with the destruction of farmers fruits, especially mangoes. It is at this time when the veil between this world and the otherworld was believed to thin and a state of liminality existed. In Africa, bats were credited with high intelligence. 15 Strangest 'Hybrid' Mythical Creatures From Around It is merely a passing reference, along with moles, to represent animals that live with things that have been discarded. Stay up to date with the latest news and information about BCI and bats. 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]. We will be exploring how different cultures view these creatures and what stories have been told about them throughout the years. 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]. Also, in Nilotic Sudan, witchcraft was usually performed at night, and therefore, owls and bats were associated with it. 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. Bats are found almost everywhere on Earth! Bat dung placed over a door opening prevented disease carrying demons from entering. 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. Most students (56%) reported seeing bats in their locality. 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. The Tzotzil Maya lived, and continue to live to this day, on the plateau of Chiapas in southern Mexico. 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. Bats are very social animals and often live in colonies of hundreds or even thousands of individuals. 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. In Myths of the Cherokee (1900), James Mooney points out that a general theme in American Indian folklore is that, in the beginning, there were no essential differences between humans and animals. How? Bats are also revered throughout India. [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. 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]. 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. 2. While the three species of true vampire bats (common vampire bat Desmodus rotundus, hairy-legged vampire bat Diphylla ecaudata, and white-winged vampire bat Diaemus youngi) are microbats, measuring just a few centimeters in length, it was the exaggerated reports from early explorers and adventurers that gave the public the image of these huge bloodsucking creatures. The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. Whereas in China, it was a sign of good fortune. 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]. Open Access is an initiative that aims to make scientific research freely available to all. African Contact our London head office or media team here. Iban people in Sarawak, Borneo, believe that a bat flying into the house indicates a shaman bringing good vibes, conferring protection against any harm, while in Thailand, if a bat enters a house but immediately flies away, it is believed to change bad luck to good. Bats are symbolic of bad luck, especially when they call while flying early in the evening. Bat 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. Because of the mouses pious respect for the holy wafer, God gave it wings so that it would be able to find plenty of food in the future. From this duality and strangeness evolved a reputation of duplicity and threat, appearing as neither one thing nor the other. Although the bats roost in the sacred forest in Ghana, they are not regarded as sacred animals. African final exam review mythology We may never know how these early humans viewed their small flying co-habiters. In many parts of Indonesia, people specifically consume bats livers and hearts as medicine [39]. They often live and breed in dark and unusual places such as caves, tunnels and lofts, leaving these at twilight the time between light and darkness in search of food. author. The higher level of education was not always reflected in the positive attitudes toward environment and wildlife issues. Many mythological stories from different cultures have been passed down throughout the years about bats. 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. 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. The bat serves as mentor of the night and is identified with Talking God, one of the foremost deities. Even cultures that value bats positively may have values conflicting with bat conservation. Working together, we have the power to end bat extinctions worldwide. In 1959, this superstition was still so believed that the Earl of Cranbrook took it upon himself to test the superstitions veracity. (There was no references to bats in the Koran). 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. 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. Home > Bats belong to the order Chiroptera, not Rodentia; they're actually more closely related to primates than they are to rodents. 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. Photo credit: [7] Roy Kabanlit creative commonsWikimedia https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode. 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. On all occasions, the bats were able to escape without becoming entangled. An idea that reflected their ability to fly around so quickly in the dark without hitting anything. Bastet/Sekhmet, Bastet and Sekhmet were described as two parts of a similar Goddess, with Sekhmet representing the ground-breaking fighter and defender figure and Bastet, who was often portrayed as a feline, speaking to a gentler viewpoint. The bat populations in Malaysia are decreasing in 26% of species and only 15% are still stable. 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 use a form of echolocation to navigate in the dark and to find their prey. To date our community has made over 100 million downloads. For American Indians they provided information on the natural world and the behavior and habits of animals. While the English term batty denotes mad in a reasonably innocuous sense. To summarize shortly the various findings: In the West, bats have been seen as animals of ill omen, alongside other nocturnal hunters such as owls and black cats. Bats are mentioned three times in the Old Testament. Nowadays, of course, we know that vampires are not real and neither is the ability to turn into a bat. Samoans said that flying foxes were cheeky and courageous, making it a popular tattoo motif [48]. Aesops Fables: The Bat and the Weasel. Bat 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. Two Bats are greater luck, and five represents the five blessings An artist's depiction of the Adjule or Bush Dog. Both African-Americans and those of European descent from around the United States frequently maintain that The enormous size of the bat and the small human head or body indicate supernatural status for the bat [51]. Nevertheless, it is still a strongly sinister characteristic linking them closely to vampirism. As such, the Earl of Cranbrook was able to dispel this silly superstition. Why is it then that while in some parts of the world this beneficial creature is seen as a symbol of good luck and good fortune, in many societies it is viewed with fear and loathing? In England, they also say that when someone is a little insane, they have bats in the belfry. 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. Bat hunting is illegal, but hunters readily admitted to having hunted bats and even directed the research people to other hunters. Bats for eating in the Laos marketplace. Bats - Disease-Prone but Beneficial, Reviewed: December 23rd, 2021 Published: January 18th, 2022, Total Chapter Downloads on intechopen.com. This is bound to threaten the continued existence of local bat populations. Licensee IntechOpen. Over half of the students (57%) did not know anybody in their neighborhood who would hunt bats. 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]. HUN BATZ Both African-Americans and those of European descent from around the United States frequently maintain that 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]. When Oyot went home his wife had to go out on an errand. Below, we will be taking a look at some of the most popular bat myths from around the globe. In the past, people have believed that: If a bat got into your house it was a sign someone was about to die; A bat arriving on Halloween meant your house was haunted; A bat tangled in a persons hair will lead to eternal damnation; Most often, they are seen only at night. Hun Batz Facts and Figures Name: Hun Batz Pronunciation: Belief systems of people have always been closely related to animals, which are symbolized in traditional narratives. There are also numerous stories and legends associated with the bat. 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. The animals then give teeth to the bat to make it more animal-like. African

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