Once the poor animal is dead, its legs must be buried at least a foot deep in the back yard. God punished the bat for helping Satan by taking away its wings (presumably its feathers), making its tail naked, and fashioning its feet like those of Satan. if ((navigator.appName == "Microsoft Internet Explorer") && (year < 2000)) Writers interested in science were almost certainly drawn to bats because of what must have seemed a remarkably ambiguous taxonomy: mammals that looked and acted like birds. Their presence is thought to help increase wealth and make livestock reproductively prolific. 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. One tale tells of a man summoned by bats in a tree when he was returning from an evening hunt. The Maya, however, revered a vampire bat god, Camazotz, the death bat, who killed dying men on their way to the center of the earth. For the traditional Navajo Indian in the deserts of the American Southwest, the bat is an intermediary to the divine, bridging the supernatural distance between men and gods. Tzinacan was a Mayan and Aztec bat god, with the power to heal any sickness and to cut the silver cord of life tying the physical body to the soul. While stories of bats in general abound in the myth and lore of many New World peoples, ironically, surprisingly little folklore exists specifically about vampire bats. But Basil seems an exception among the Church Fathers, who frequently described bats as vile and repellent creatures. Zotz was the Maya word for bat. The fearsome Norsemen who terrified, raided and eventually settled parts of England apparently gave us the Swedish bakka and Danish baake, words that the centuries turned into the English bat. But the old Scandinavian words mean bacon. Whats going on here? In several Greek legends, bulls were associated with death and destruction. The stars, moon, and constellations are shown on the body of Father Sky, the zig-zags crossing his shoulders, arms, and legs forming the Milky Way. The word vampire is almost certainly of Slavic origin, probably from the Old Slavic word o,pyr, meaning spectre. It became vampir when it moved into Western European languages, and returned to Slavic in that form. And now we must continue our efforts to replace that harmful concept with a new, more accurate and positive image of these gentle and invaluable creatures. An even earlier example of Western tradition associating bats with souls of the damned is provided by Homer when Hermes conducts squeaking, bat-like souls to Hades (The Odyssey, XXIV, 5-10). 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. Those who are punished approach the God and seek forgiveness by offering prayer and pooja, a customary ceremony (after pooja, sweet rice, coconut and banana is distributed to those in attendance). var date = new Date("December 25, " + year); 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. If a bat flies into the house and then gets away, there will be a death in the family. According to the Egyptian Secrets, attributed to Albertus Magnus in the 13th century, mixing lead shot with the heart or liver of a bat will have the same result. This is spelled out in one of the most beautiful accounts of bats in Latin literature, that of Ovids Metamorphoses, composed between the years 2 and 8 A.D. Stoker may have been influenced by the vampire bats of Latin America, since their existence was well known in Europe by that time. The use of bats to treat ailments of vision is therefore not surprising. To the Chinese and the Polish, the bat means long life and happiness, a good omen. The wool of bat in the brew of Macbeths three witches is a prominent example of the association, as is Calibans curse on Prospero in The Tempest: All the charms of Sycorax, Bldg. They are nocturnal and thus associated with the night, which is also often associated with death. Exploring the underworlds of reality (which can be scary), Renewing our thoughts and beliefs on a moment-to-moment basis, Element Encyclopedia of Secret Signs and Symbols. The 3 aspects of the Moon are associated to three Greek goddesses: The Crescent Moon, represented by Artemis (the Maiden), also known as "Diana" in Roman mythology. The name Poseidon means either "husband of the earth" or "lord of the earth." Traditionally, he was a son of Cronus (the youngest of the 12 Titans) and of Cronus's sister and . The flying fox obtained his wings when he borrowed them from the rat and refused to return them. Status: Occasionally included amongst the names of the Olympians. When the sisters declined the invitation, the god metamorphosed himself successively into a bull, a lion, and a panther, and the sisters were driven mad. One gate was made of horn, the other of ivory. To them, a group of five bats represented the five causes of happiness: wealth, health, long life, virtue and a natural death. "Alcathoe" redirects here. The bat must then hide during the day to avoid creditors. In Ohio, a woman of Scottish ancestry related that when a bat flies in a doorway, a person can avoid serious illness by drinking a mixture of his or her burned hair and coffee. One of them became a bat, another an owl and the third an eagle owl. If a bat flies into the kitchen and at once hangs on to the ceiling, it is lucky; but if it circles around twice before alighting, it is bad. Wash your face in bats blood, and you will be able to see in the dark; keep a bat bone in your pocket will ensure good luck; powdered bat heart will staunch bleeding or stop a bullet; bullets from a gun swabbed with a bats heart will always hit their target; bats blood into someones drink will make them more passionate; stimulate a womans desire by placing a clot of bat blood under her pillow; use a hair wash of crushed bat wings in coconut oil and it will prevent both baldness and graying of the hair. 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 the Ivory Coast, even today many think that bats are the spirits of the dead, and in Madagascar, they are assumed to be the souls of criminals, sorcerers and the unburied dead. When you stand with us, your donation will support critical bat conservation initiatives. One common folk belief is that bats are human souls that have left the body. By the time of the Middle Kingdom her identity and attributes were subsumed within the goddess Hathor. A yellow diamond on its body represents a small skin that Bat received as a reward for helping depose the Gambler (a large and powerful deity). Such lore is encountered today in the common expression like a bat out of hell (which even made it into contemporary music as a title by rock musician Meatloaf). Satan then enlisted the aid of the bat to fly to heaven and steal Gods sacred towel, which would give Satans creation a divine nature. This made the bat a powerful symbol for Native American shamans and medicine people. The Kisii people of western Kenya are said to very fearful of bats, sometimes abandoning their homes if bats enter, fearing ill health and death of their children. One colony of around 500 Indian flying foxes roosts in a huge banyan tree in the small village of Puliangulam, about 40 miles east of Madurai in southern India. With Gods permission, Jesus fashioned the winged likeness of a bat from clay and breathed life into it. Although bats have been linked to the mysterious and magical for centuries, their association with vampires is the result of an Irish writer. In Japanese, the word for bat is Koumori. There are several possible explanations as to why bats were given this name. In Ohio in 1962, a student nurse of eastern European extraction related that bats are the devil in bat form. A contemporary Mexican belief is that bats are diablos (devils) from hell. For this reason, bats were revered for their special vision, and medicine people often invoked bat energy if they wanted to see clearer into a situation. Bees and the honey they produce have many symbolic meanings and are featured in stories of the Greek and Roman gods. If the bat has appeared as your totem, this means that you are on a journey of awakening to your psychic gifts. This is because Dionysus punished the sisters for failing to worship him by turning them all into the winged mammal. In South America among an ancient Mayan cult of the Quiche, located in the jungles of what is now Guatemala, Camazotz was a minor deity associated with bats. Although they may bite various parts of the body of their prey, they normally feed from the neck and shoulder regions of large mammals, a behavior that may have fostered tales of decapitating bats. Some folklore asserts that mortal consequences can be averted, but in typical fashion, there are other myths to contradict this. For instance, the goddess of witchcraft was associated with Artemis because the latter was the Greek god of hunting. In many parts of Europe, a practice said to ensure not only wakefulness, but also to protect livestock and prevent misfortune is to nail live bats head down above doorways. A general theme in American Indian folklore is that, in the beginning, there were no essential differences between humans and animals. Seasonally, bats are tied to Halloween and this is because when the fall seasons bonfires were lit, it attracted thousands of insects which in turn attracted the bats for a feeding frenzy. Many common species also have a relatively bizarre appearance, which makes them all the more off-putting for humans. Bees were associated with the underworld and honey was a beloved food of the gods. Without delay, the three threw lots into a pot and shook it. The villain of the piece is one Count Dracula, based on the disreputable Prince Vlad of Transylvania. The physical earth and sky, or mind (spirit), functions together to produce new life. They are not gods, though, in that they do not require an offering or payment, but instead volunteer their aid. Bats in buildings have also been seen as omens of lesser evils than death. Bats were clearly getting the blame for other animal thieves; in his 1939 book, Bats, G.M. In Texas, one lovesick suitor was told to place a bat on an anthill until all its flesh was removed, wear its wishbone around his neck, pulverize the remaining bones, mix them with vodka, and give the drink to his beloved. In this state of madness, they were eager to honor the god, and Leucippe, who was chosen by lot to offer a sacrifice to Dionysus, gave up her own son Hippasus, whom the sisters tore to pieces. Some also believe that tying a silk string around a bats heart will bring money. But even within the same country and region, views can contrast sharply. Some ancient allegories about the bat even made it to the Bible. Much of this bat sacrificial symbolism likely derives from the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus), a very small creature that feeds entirely on the blood of vertebrates. Kill the bat before it escapes, however, and everyone will be alright. Native Indian tribes in Brazil say that a bat swallowing the Sun will herald the end of the world, and the Mayans believed that the bat was a harbinger of death. Bats: bats are intriguing nocturnal animals that are also associated with Nyx. With Zeus, she had Persephone and with Poseidon, she had Despoina and Arion (a horse). The bad guys of Murnaus movie are not bats but rats. var year = today.getYear(); The Hopi (at least I think it was them) had Grandmother Spider, though spiders aren't actually insects. Regardless, it is certain that people back in the day did not have a poor image of bats. Here are some common beliefs: Folklore from Nova Scotia relates that if the bat alights in the house, a man in the family will die, whereas if it flies around, a womans death is foretold. The transformation of bats into wicked creatures was completed in the Middle Ages, which began in the fifth century, as demonstrated in religious writings and artwork of the time and in the diabolical sculpted bats of Gothic cathedrals. The seeds were planted for much of the intense fear people today have toward all bats and have been exploited ever since. Symbols: The Pomegranate, wreath of flowers worn in hair, torch, bat. This is why the Native American symbolism of the bat deals with initiation; because this creature takes us to outlandish extremes. Greek mythology, and its ancient stories of gods, goddesses, heroes and monsters, is one of the oldest and most influential groups of legends in human civilization. One explanation is that it originated from the word Kawamori, which means protecting rivers. With a wingspan of almost a yard, the false vampire is the largest New World bat. Flying bats might also mean good weather. Join. Bats symbolize rebirth to many different cultures. American Indian legends and the fables of Aesop were more than just stories recited around the campfire or bathhouse: they were teaching devices. 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. In the first century A.D., the naturalist Pliny the Elder wrote, Among the winged animals, the only one that is viviparous is the bat; it is the only one, too, that has wings formed of a membrane. In a Creek Indian variation of this tale, the bat first asks to play with the birds but is rejected by them and accepted by the animals team. The prescription is to wrap a bats heart in a silk handkerchief or red ribbon and keep it in a wallet or pocket, or tie it to the hand used for dealing cards. Allen describes experiments conducted in Germany in the early nineteenth century in which captive bats were offered a diet of bacon but refused it and starved to death. The poem explains the origin of bats as punishment meted out to the daughters of Greek King Minyas for neglecting Dionysius rites: Now the day was past, and the time had come when you could not say that it was light or darkness, but a borderland of light and uncertain night. But be warned, the bat asks a lot of us, like: All of these tasks can be harrowing experiences. Bats have a special way of seeing, and they dont use their regular eyes to see, but rather they use a built in sensor, a type of radar called echolocation, that guides them during flight at night time. Bats are commonly said to indicate that the house they frequent is haunted, and an old German myth relates that if a bat flies into your house, the devil is after you. In two fables from Aesop (born ca. However, bats are highly social creatures; they love to congregate with their family in huge numbers inside caves. A bat flying into a building means its going to rain. And the pointed ears of bats, their sharp teeth, leaf noses, wart-like protuberances on their chins, and their leathery wings supported by the same bones that are in the arms and hands of humans, have long led the superstitious to imagine that bats are merely a grotesque parody of the human form. In Europe, vampires inspired great fear and, sometimes, mass hysteria. It also seems probable that birds, which people often purposely attract by hanging suet, may have been among the real culprits. Stories of the Olympians, Jonayaiyin eventually told the bat means long life and happiness a. 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