The oldest age group (5170years old) of 150 respondents were mostly aware of the bat conservation efforts. An irrational fear of batsChiroptophobiaencompasses negative perceptions of bats as disease vectors, pests, or harmful creatures associated with devils and witchcraft, which represents an important barrier to bat conservation globally [27]. Zteve enjoys researching deep into the folklore, myths and legends that run through society and are part of our everyday lives. Traditional Navajo folklore places the origin of bats in the earliest world, when all was dark: twelve insects and the bat revolved in darkness. A folktale from Kanara, India tells how bats were once unhappy birds that prayed to become human. Most students (56%) reported seeing bats in their locality. Microchiroptera Cheiromeles torquatus is eaten in Borneo and Tadarida sp. Throughout Southeast Asia, bats are associated with luck and good fortune and used as spiritual totems [6, 27]. Many mythological stories from different cultures have been passed down throughout the years about bats. - As messengers for the forces of darkness, they become evil omens. In Europe, there are also myths about bats in the house. Bats are interesting animals and have been a part of human culture for a long time. Although bats already had long had a sinister reputation their addition to European vampire folklore came after that. In fact, around a fifth of all mammals on Earth are bats! Bats use a form of echolocation to navigate in the dark and to find their prey. Decapitating bat demons appears in various myths in Amazonia and to the south in northern Argentina. Much of the folklore about bats relates to their way of life. Bats are also considered as wild exotic meat, which is widely consumed in urban areas. London, SW7 2QJ, 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]. Although vampire bats have been known to attack humans and large animals it is usually not fatal, though it has been known to transmit rabies. 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. People would sometimes even burn down whole colonies of bats because they thought that this would stop the spread of disease. People sometimes think of them as blind, bloodthirsty flying mice. This Order name means hand-wing as the bats can hold food between their forearms. 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]. 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]. It is the largest bat found in continental Africa and was believed to suck the blood of sleeping children until they die. Lately, education seems to have some effect, and more and more people have started to appreciate how useful and amazing bats truly are. The Greek philosopher Chaerephon was called the bat, because he, like the animal, did not appear by day but instead hid and philosophized. 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 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. (Above is from a variety of African mythology not just Sub-Saharan, but it's also the tiniest fraction of it) Myth or Fact: Bats are Just Mice with Wings (slide to the left for answer) Text Description for Image Slider In Greece the word drakn, from which the English word was Books > Consult our entry on the Monkey Twins for the full story. There are more than 1400 bat species worldwide, and they make up roughly 20% of the worlds extant mammals [6]. Do you know the difference between fact and fiction when it comes to bats? American Indian legends and Aesop both gave animals human characteristics, including our failings, to teach moral precepts and the consequences of inappropriate behavior. 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. In Malaysia, a face-to-face survey was conducted in Penang Island to assess knowledge and awareness level toward bat conservation efforts. One of the most enduring old wives tales from Europe is that bats will get tangled in womens hair and would have to be removed with a pair of scissors. Having multifaceted anatomy of a lion, hippopotamus, and crocodile, she waited for the opportunity to devour the hearts of In Africa, bats were credited with high intelligence. In the third book of Moses in the Old Testament, bats were identified as birds, while the world-famous Swedish taxonomist, Carl von Linn (or Linnaeus), only reclassified bats as mammals and not birds as late as 1758 in the 10th Edition of his Systema Naturae [2]. The Adze is a vampire in the legends of the Ewe people of Ghana and Togo. Why Bat Conservation International 500 N Capital of TXHwy. 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. One bat, whose habits may have fostered these tales of decapitating bats, is the false vampire Vampyrum spectrum. Also, in Nilotic Sudan, witchcraft was usually performed at night, and therefore, owls and bats were associated with it. The police arrested 200 vigilante youth suspected of involvement in gangs that attacked persons allegedly engaged in vampirism. In Indonesia, farmers in South Sulawesi believe that flying foxes roosting near their rice fields guarantee a good harvest [27]. 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. This allowed the borders to be crossed and the dead and the spirits of the underworld return to visit earth. One of these fables also exists, with slight variation, among tribes in southern Nigeria, among Australian aboriginals, and ancient Romans. 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]. Bats were also persecuted because they were believed to be carriers of disease. 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. The bat serves as mentor of the night and is identified with Talking God, one of the foremost deities. 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]. Our collection of global perceptions aims to promote a better biocultural richness for humans and bats as our long-term nocturnal companions. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this. 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. For example, a bat entering a household was a forewarning of a death in the house. Its based on principles of collaboration, unobstructed discovery, and, most importantly, scientific progression. 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. If you have any questions or if you want to get in touch with us, you can find our contact details on our About Us page. 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. Indigenous Ainu people in Japan worshipped the crafty and wise bat god Kappa kamui, who kept away demons and diseases [44]. 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; (There was no references to bats in the Koran). 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. This was before people knew about germs and how diseases are spread. WebThen there was the Olitiau, a giant demon bat that had been seen in these parts, and lived for hundreds of years. Bats lead us to the best opportunities to protect nature anywhere in the world. It is a canine creature supposedly living close to the Sahara Desert in North Africa. It takes the form of a firefly, but if you capture one, it will revert to human appearance. Bats in Myth and Legend 945ontwerp / Getty Images The origin of bats is prominent in the folklore of several North American Indian tribes. Finally, we discuss shortly the need of education to change attitudes toward bats. Presented here are different viewpoints from around the world, followed by a short look at the real significance of bats to humankind. By making research easy to access, and puts the academic needs of the researchers before the business interests of publishers. In Sri Lanka, it is believed that one may be reincarnated as a bat for denying another person drinking water [31]. This pollination syndrome is called chiropterophily. The official Islamic view is exempting bats from being killed because it would carry bad luck to kill a bat [32]. Should the bat stay and eat the fruit in the house, bad luck will befall the owner [27]. When you stand with us, your donation will support critical bat conservation initiatives. The tour includes a brief 20-minute conservation education lecture about bats, caves, and the history of the Montford Bat Cave Sanctuary. During this time eating food between sunrise and sunset is forbidden. Now that we have looked at some of the most popular bat myths from around the globe, lets take a look at some of the superstitions that people have about these creatures. The felling of roosting trees was mentioned as bat death reason by 29% and hunting by 18%. 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. Then he jumped into it and sat in it for a while and then climbed out. Between 1981 and 1989, approximately 13,000 fruit bat bodies were imported into Guam for human consumption every year. A legend tells that in Fiji, a giant white vampire bat acts as a messenger, and one finds bats as gods in both Tikopian and Tongan myths. The first two references are Leviticus 11:19 and Deuteronomy 14:18. These animals are nocturnal creatures that sleep during the day and come out at night to hunt for food. Both African-Americans and those of European descent from around the United States frequently maintain that Using four species of bats and three brave female volunteers he deliberately attempted to entangle the bats by thrusting them into the womans hair. Oyot boiled the water and jumped in, but the soup, being boiling, killed him. Samoans said that flying foxes were cheeky and courageous, making it a popular tattoo motif [48]. Flying foxesalong with all other native batsare now protected in Australia. 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). Bats were associated with longevity and pleasure in both ancient Chinese and Persian traditions. In Africa, bats were credited with high intelligence. Creative commonsWikimedia. We may never know how these early humans viewed their small flying co-habiters. 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. 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]. It remains to be seen, however, if this could halt or even reverse the decline of the North American bats [64]. 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. A woman noted that her husband had a round tail and dropped the vessel of water she was bringing to him. Experience the wonder of bats. There are more than 1,300 bat species! Fruit growers may view fruit bats as crop pests [71]. 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. 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. In Irian Jaya of Indonesia, former head-hunters considered flying foxes to be head-hunters too, as they took the head of the tree by consuming its fruit [37]. 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 cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. 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.). 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]. In Kenya, a bat attitude questionnaire was presented to 394 people living around the Arabuko-Sokoke forest. 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]. But now, increased access to habitats supplied by roads created by logging companies and modern equipment such as shotguns and fishing nets, has resulted in far larger numbers being killed. Often seen in movies and even written in books, bats have always been portrayed as mysterious creatures throughout the years. Bats play an important role in the ecosystem by eating large quantities of insects. Of course, in languages other than English, a bat is not called a bat. 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]. Working together, we have the power to end bat extinctions worldwide. Photo credit to creative commons https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode. Many people still believe this to be true in Mexico. Photo credit: Masteraah. There are also numerous stories and legends associated with the bat. In Jamaica, the bat and the owl were very important symbols in Taino mythology and death. The bat is the nights mentor and is associated with Talking God, one of the most powerful deities. In Malawi, negative bat superstitions caused recently quite disproportionate behavior when rural people in southern parts of the country killed nine people accusing them to be vampire bats [23]. Out of over 13,000 species, there are only three that feed on blood. Archaeological evidence suggests that before the coming of Europeans, flying foxes were not often used as food by the Australian Aborigines. Bats are also revered throughout India. 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. In Pudukkottai, roosting P. medius is seen as the guardian of the sacred groves, and in Bihar, that bat brings wealth. A world without bats would look very different than the one you know and not for the better. The number of Bats seen also has meaning. 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. [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. Bats are shot for sport or to eradicate them from fruit plantations. 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. The bat populations in Malaysia are decreasing in 26% of species and only 15% are still stable. Over five hundred species of plants rely on bats for pollination including durian, banana, mango, guava, cocoa and agave. American Indian legends and the fables of Aesop were more than just stories recited around the campfire or bathhouse: they were teaching devices. Hopefully, now that we know more about these amazing creatures, we can protect them better in the future. People can further move the fungus on their clothing and caving gear and spread the disease into an area that does not currently. In 2005, the privately owned Montfort Bat Cave Sanctuary on Mindanao Island, south of the Philippines, opened for tourism. The Navajo people thought that bats were able to fly between different worlds and act as a bridge between the supernatural and the natural. WebAfrican bats fall into two major categories: large fruit bats and smaller, insect-eating bats, neither of which attacks people. Their well-known agility in flight would make a bat formidable in a ball game against a bear and turtle. Licensee IntechOpen. However, the path to protection has been a rocky one for the Flying Foxes. There are more than 1000 different species of bats in the world, making them the second-largest order of mammals. The positive side is that by 600 BC., and probably before, humans were learning important things from bats. The bat must then hide during the day to avoid creditors. Courtesy of creative commonsWikimedia. Therefore, they would only come out at night, spending the daylight hours praying to be transformed back into birds. Nowadays, of course, we know that vampires are not real and neither is the ability to turn into a bat. 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. In Macbeth (1605), there is the incantation of the three witches: Eye of newt, and toe of frog, wool of bat, and tongue of dog, while there is Calibans curse on Prospero in The Tempest (16101611): All the charms of Sycorax, toads, beetles and bats, light on you.. 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]. Also known as Hunbatz, One Monkey A Monkey, not a Bat One of the Monkey Twins, hes the son of Hun Hunahpu and Xbaquiyalo. Stay up to date with the latest news and information about BCI and bats. Hun Batz Facts and Figures Name: Hun Batz Pronunciation: Males are called Kelb-el-khela, and females are called Tarhst. 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. Most students wanted to participate in bat conservation activities, including some students who disliked bats. A close-up photo of the Geoffroys Rousette fruit bats Rousettes amplexicaudatus at the Montfort bat cave entrance. However, more recently, the habit has become much more common. Bats tend to get off on the wrong wing with us humans. Commentdocument.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a5fde012108c6f81a46adcd8fa31b17e" );document.getElementById("ebd2ec4c6f").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Gordon is an ecologist with two degrees from Exeter University. Bats are truly remarkable creatures, and fossil records indicate that they first appeared in the Eocene, some 5055 million years ago [1]. Bat in the Cultures of the World | Gotham in . WebTraditional Navajo folklore places the origin of bats in the earliest world, when all was dark: twelve insects and the bat revolved in darkness. In northern Guiana, Bat Mountain is the home of killer bats, and there is also a killer bat in folklore from Venezuela. 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. These names can be misleading as often, megabats can be smaller while microbats can be bigger. 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. Bat Conservation International is a 501(c)(3) organization. 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. 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. 2. 620 B.C. In India, bats are revered in many areas, but still large bat-harvesting festivals take place. Contact our London head office or media team here. However, modern science, and hence western Europe, really only learned about them as we traveled out to the tropical world. The Adjule is also called a Bush Dog. He's also a teacher, a poet and the owner of 1,152 books. Sometimes, as with the myth, it leaves a trademark two-pronged bite on the victim. Upset at his death, and possibly the ruining of the soup, she went straight to the king. 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. 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. They eat insects performing pest control while also pollinating species of plants and spreading seeds. Home > To a shaman the appearance of a bat does not signify actual or physical death, but more the death of old fears or the old ways of doing things that no longer serve you. As such, the Earl of Cranbrook was able to dispel this silly superstition. 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. Apaches tell a different tale about bats. 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]. 9. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode. Although the bats roost in the sacred forest in Ghana, they are not regarded as sacred animals. 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.

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