In 2021, a bat won New Zealands Bird of the Year competition name of which in Mori language is Te Manu Rongonui o te Tau, and the word Manu means flying creatures, including bats. From a magical standpoint, bats are associated with workings related to death and dying, communication, and the spirit world. The myth states that a mouse came into a church and stole one of the wafers of the eucharistand then decided to keep it rather than eat it. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode. New molecular biology findings indicate that there are two new Suborders, Yinpterochiroptera and Yangochiroptera, not coinciding with the earlier subordinate classification [5]. In many cultures, they are seen as symbols of good luck, while in others they are seen as omens of bad news. 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. Bats are mentioned three times in the Old Testament. Why The genus Pteropus was first described by Brisson in 1762 from specimens collected on the Reunion Islands. 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]. Kill the bat before it escapes, and everyone will be safe. They are hugely beneficial to man and play a major role in the well-being of the worlds ecosystems. Creative commonsWikimedia. These animals are nocturnal creatures that sleep during the day and come out at night to hunt for food. According to the Serer myth, the creation of the earth began from a swamp. 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]. WebTraditional Navajo folklore places the origin of bats in the earliest world, when all was dark: twelve insects and the bat revolved in darkness. 9. WebBat (goddess) Read Bat became the emblem on a sistrum, related to Hathor and which appears on the top of columns of her main temple of Denderah This painted terracotta Naqada figure of a woman is interpreted as representing Bat, c. 35003400 B.C. The Adjule is also called a Bush Dog. Belief systems of people have always been closely related to animals, which are symbolized in traditional narratives. 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]. Nearly another third reported actively killing bats or destroying bat roosts, and most respondents associated bats with the destruction of farmers fruits, especially mangoes. *Address all correspondence to: heimomikkola@yahoo.co.uk. 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. Over half of the students (57%) did not know anybody in their neighborhood who would hunt bats. 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. Another belief about bats comes from the Navajo, a Native American tribe from the southwestern United States. 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. 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 liminality gives bats a supernatural air that further heightens mystery and distrust as they cross the borders between birds and mammals, day and night. Males are called Kelb-el-khela, and females are called Tarhst. Aboriginal peoples, however, were describing them long before this. 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. This pollination syndrome is called chiropterophily. In ancient Egypt it was believed bats could alleviate or cure many ailments including baldness, fever toothache and poor eyesight. American Indian legends and the fables of Aesop were more than just stories recited around the campfire or bathhouse: they were teaching devices. He's also a teacher, a poet and the owner of 1,152 books. Interestingly, Islamic taboo. Belief in myths seemed to prevail among those surveyed. 2022 The Author(s). 7. The bat begged to be spared but the weasel insisted that he could not do that because he was an enemy of all birds. Indigenous Ainu people in Japan worshipped the crafty and wise bat god Kappa kamui, who kept away demons and diseases [44]. 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. Experience the wonder of bats. In Thailand, bat meat or blood is eaten for muscle pain, increasing virility and longevity [36]. However, after offering prayers, dead bats found on the ground can be eaten. 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.) In Africa, bats were credited with high intelligence. 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). 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.. In southwest Asia, the bat is predominantly perceived as a strange, negative, and demonic animal that should be avoided. Then he jumped into it and sat in it for a while and then climbed out. 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 feature in many myths, legends and folklore from diverse cultures around the world, and are often associated with darkness, death and the supernatural. Appearing as half bird, half mammal at the edge of day and night they are seen as liminal beings and not part of the natural order. 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. In Caribbean South America and the Antilles, bat images are associated with death rites and burials in archeological context [57], and in Cuba, a Taino ball court was bat-shaped, the ballgame being a sacrificial ritual [58]. Like all bats, the large fruit-eating bats of the family (Pteropidae) must have been known to humanity since the dawn of time. 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 cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. There are also numerous stories and legends associated with the bat. Hopefully, now that we know more about these amazing creatures, we can protect them better in the future. WebIn the Popol Vuh, Camazotz are the bat-like spirits encountered by the Maya Hero Twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque during their trials in the underworld of Xibalba. 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]. 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. In Madagascar, the exploitation of bats for bush meat regularly takes place during periods of food shortage, especially fruit bats, which are heavily hunted. We may never know how these early humans viewed their small flying co-habiters. In fact, around a fifth of all mammals on Earth are bats! They eat insects performing pest control while also pollinating species of plants and spreading seeds. Later bats received even more bad publicity when they became linked to Count Dracula and vampires. Therefore, instead of coming out and feeding in daylight he began to feed at night. The account is linked to the first trees created by roog. An artist's depiction of the Adjule or Bush Dog. 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. The Tzotzil Maya lived, and continue to live to this day, on the plateau of Chiapas in southern Mexico. Photo credit: [7] Roy Kabanlit creative commonsWikimedia https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode. 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]. 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]. Much of the folklore about bats relates to their way of life. 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]. He always finds it a source of fascination discovering and learning how our ancestors perceived the times they lived in and how they have influenced us today. 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]. Spirits are less grand, less powerful, and less like humans than the gods, who often have weaknesses and emotions. Prior to 1985, flying foxes were not protected in New South Walesin fact, they were regarded as vermin. First he filled a large pot with warm water which he told his friend was boiling. A noctule bat Nyctalus noctula, a long-eared bat Plecotus auritus, a Natters bat Myotis nattereri and a Daubentons bat Myotis daubentonii. Consult our entry on the Monkey Twins for the full story. A woman noted that her husband had a round tail and dropped the vessel of water she was bringing to him. The basic scenario is that, in a battle between the beasts and birds, the bat repeatedly changes allegiance so as to be on the side that appears to be winning. 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.. This was before people knew about germs and how diseases are spread. 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. In Africa, bats were credited with high intelligence. It is the largest New World bat with a yard wingspan. In some places bats were seen more positively. Their prayers were answered, but only in part; they were given teeth, hair, and human faces, but otherwise remained bird-like. Repeatedly, the bats feathers were stolen by small birds, and repeatedly the bat returned to Jonayaiyin to ask for more. A close-up photo of the Geoffroys Rousette fruit bats Rousettes amplexicaudatus at the Montfort bat cave entrance. In India, bats are revered in many areas, but still large bat-harvesting festivals take place. The origin of bats is prominent in the folklore of several North American Indian tribes. Large flying fox Pteropus vampyrus suffers from its misleading scientific name as it is not blood-eating species but feeds only fruits and flowers. Bats are also used as allegories to denote romantic or parental love in the poetry of Tamil Sangam literature in India [27, 28, 29]. 2. In northern Thailand, harming bats incurs a curse because bats are sacred for Buddhists [36]. The prominent leaf nose on the snout of this bat strongly suggests an arrowhead. Just over one-third of the respondents (36%) did not see any benefits of bats to humans. 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. In two fables from Aesop (born ca. In the Far East, particularly China, the Bat represents good fortune and longevity. On all occasions, the bats were able to escape without becoming entangled. 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]. Oh - and he wrote this website. Bats are not associated with any diseases, and it was felt to be safe to eat bat meat, but both studies were conducted before the 2013 Ebola outbreak (Figure 2) [19, 20]. [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. Many paintings from western Europe in the middle ages depict the devil with bat wings. However, more recently, the habit has become much more common. Africa. My Amazon Author Page can found here for the UK and for the USA, here. That burning incense over the site of a bat buried at a crossroads would help you acquire a powerful love potion. Bats have fascinated humans for millennia, and this cultural and spiritual relevance is reflected in the presence of bat symbols in Egyptian tombs from 2000 BC . The idea that carrying a bats eye around with you will allow you to turn invisible. But where theyre used as an ingredient in a witchs brew, theyre no different to frogs or snails (also common ingredients). What are they? Female respondents in this study showed more negative attitudes and a stronger belief in myths about bats than males. Participation by local people is vital to achieving successful conservation programs [35]. But the larger animals made fun of how small the creatures were and drove them away. And because of this, many myths, superstitions, and folklore have been created about them. 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. Licensee IntechOpen. Conversely, negative symbolism could promote conservation if it prevents unsustainable hunting and consumption [27]. Emiong knew he was in trouble and flew off into the bush. Photo credit: Uwe Schmidt. The Moche people in Peru were aware of the connection between bats and plants. 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. Even worse have been the vandalism and wanton destruction of bats and their habitat in North America. The north coast of Peru is one of the South American regions where bat iconography is particularly prominent [51]. In Cameroon, the superstition of the vampire is attached to bats. Whereas in China, it was a sign of good fortune. In several other folktales, bats are banished into the night either as a result of some treachery or, as in the case of the Kanarese, because of embarrassment resulting from ill-advised behavior. These birds went to temples and prayed to be turned into humans. People would sometimes even burn down whole colonies of bats because they thought that this would stop the spread of disease. 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. Their dark reputation is further enhanced with their association with Halloween and Samhain, the time of year when the time of long, light days begins to draw to an end and the dark time of the year begins. The bat is a devil who flies only in the night because it would die if flying in the daytime [25]. With the help of the bat and the flying squirrel, the birds won the ball game, with the agile bat scoring the winning goal. 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. One clan of the Cakchiquel Maya, of the highlands of Guatemala, was named the Zotzil (=belonging to the bat), whose deity was a bat. When capturing its prey, it grabs the neck, sometimes killing the prey with a single powerful bite [51, 52]. Therefore, they would only come out at night, spending the daylight hours praying to be transformed back into birds. It is estimated that the current population of most Australian species of Pteropidae is less than 20% of what it was 100 years ago. 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? Finally, we discuss shortly the need of education to change attitudes toward bats. author. 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]. The myths grew with the 1927 stage production which further associated Dracula with bats. 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. While the English term batty denotes mad in a reasonably innocuous sense. 1, Suite 175 Austin, TX 78746, USA 512.327.9721 1.800.538.BATS. For example, a bat entering a household was a forewarning of a death in the house. In Vietnam, many mounted bat species are sold in souvenir shops, and in Laos, bats are traded in several markets (Figure 3) [41, 42]. So, using positive symbolism alone to promote bat conservation might be insufficient without accounting for day-to-day relationships of local communities with bats. 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. 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. WebLegendary creatures from African mythology. Bats are very social animals and often live in colonies of hundreds or even thousands of individuals. One of these fables also exists, with slight variation, among tribes in southern Nigeria, among Australian aboriginals, and ancient Romans. However, the association of bats with evil still persists in some parts of the world. Bats for eating in the Laos marketplace. Zteve enjoys researching deep into the folklore, myths and legends that run through society and are part of our everyday lives. Christianity and the origin of bats are also intertwined in the Mohammedan legend that Christ created a bat while keeping the fast of Ramadan. From Sierra Leone comes an account of the gruesome habits of the Hammer-headed Fruit Bat Hypsignathus monstrosus. While some cultures see bats as a harbinger of death, others believe that the creature holds the key to eternal life. In Western culture, bats are also associated with vampires causing hysteria and wrong nomenclature of non-sanguivorous bat species such as Large Flying Fox Pteropus vampyrus. In Indonesia, farmers in South Sulawesi believe that flying foxes roosting near their rice fields guarantee a good harvest [27]. Working together, we have the power to end bat extinctions worldwide. Men hunt and consume bats more often than women who have fears that consuming bat meat would give them strange or deformed children. In Africa, house bats occur in distinct colors and sizes, but they are usually hard to identify. As messengers for the forces of darkness, they become evil omens. The tour includes a brief 20-minute conservation education lecture about bats, caves, and the history of the Montford Bat Cave Sanctuary. 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]. A folktale from Kanara, India tells how bats were once unhappy birds that prayed to become human. Photo credit: Public domain creative commonsWikimedia. Our collection of global perceptions aims to promote a better biocultural richness for humans and bats as our long-term nocturnal companions. Megabatslarger bats that include fruit batssearch for food using sight and smell. WebAfrican mythology has common threads that run through the various tribe's cultures and stories because rapid migration of people allowed for the spread of language as well as beliefs. In medieval Europe, dragons were usually depicted with wings and a barbed tail and as breathing fire. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. (There was no references to bats in the Koran). These arrowheads were used to kill deer and were considered very powerful. The bat told him that whenever he made soup he always boiled himself in the water because his flesh was so sweet. Subcategories. Commentdocument.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a5fde012108c6f81a46adcd8fa31b17e" );document.getElementById("ebd2ec4c6f").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Gordon is an ecologist with two degrees from Exeter University. Despite this primate-like gesture, it took quite some time for people to understand that bats are mammals and not birds. Our tax ID number is 74-2553144. However, the path to protection has been a rocky one for the Flying Foxes. 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. Because they were four-footed, the mouse-like creatures first asked if they could play with the animals, which included a bear, a deer, and a terrapin. Their prayers were partially granted and they were given grotesquely humanoid faces, hair and teeth but still had their wings and could fly. As with that other iconic nocturnal creature, the owl, the bat has a myriad of very strange old wives tales and superstitions surrounding it [15]. People sometimes think of them as blind, bloodthirsty flying mice. Despite positive associations toward bats, they are widely consumed as food and medicine throughout Asia, except in Brunei and Singapore. Common vampire bat Desmodus rotundus is the one reason for global Chiroptophobia although it is very small weighing about 55 grams and only occurring in central and South America. 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]. We explore the role that bats play in traditional narratives and the likely reasons for their salience, including their connections with the extraordinary and supernatural. When Oyot went home his wife had to go out on an errand. Besides hunting, the primary threats to bat species include habitat loss and degradation through logging. I am a mouse, not a bird! The weasel looked at the bat and agreed it was a mouse and released it. Thanks Sir for this website. Between Iran and Rajasthan, north-western India, there is the widespread public belief that if a bat lives somewhere in the house or hangs on the roof, this would mean bad luck for the owner [25]. Sociocultural definitions of animals as good or evil have persisted throughout the history of human beings. Bats are found almost everywhere on Earth! 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. Creative commonsWikimedia. However, consumption was influenced by religious beliefs, food taboos, and some myths about bats. bat, (order Chiroptera), any member of the only group of mammals capable of flight. 3. No content from this site may be used elsewhere without the permission of either #FolkloreThursday or the article Public domain. Sometimes bats are husbands as in a Mataco lore from Argentina. It was from these traditions that the vampire bats were named rather than them giving their name to the supernatural, blood-sucking creature. Bat hunting is illegal, but hunters readily admitted to having hunted bats and even directed the research people to other hunters. There are several instances where bats were killed in large numbers. and Folkrealm Studies. Here are some of them: Flying foxes eat fruit, and this has inevitably brought them into conflict with humans, who grow fruit. In a Cherokee fable, an eagle, a hawk, and other birds fashioned the first bat and the first flying squirrel from two mouse-like creatures. Our habit of sharing their ancestral living quarters would inevitably have brought bats to our attention from before the dawn of history. 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.
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