bats in african mythology
Bat Myths and Folktales from Around the World In shamanism, the bat as well as being a symbol of death and rebirth is able to guide people through the dark times of their lives. Bat Bat Myths Camazotz 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]. It remains to be seen, however, if this could halt or even reverse the decline of the North American bats [64]. Conversely, negative symbolism could promote conservation if it prevents unsustainable hunting and consumption [27]. Oh - and he wrote this website. Hun Batz Facts and Figures Name: Hun Batz Pronunciation: The third reference is in Isaiah 2:20. They have wings and fly like birds (actually, in many ways better than birds). The Tongan kings Samoan wife was rescued by flying foxes, and she honored her rescuers later by naming her son Tonumaipea (= rescued by flying foxes) [45]. Between 1985 and 1994, they were removed from the protected fauna list in Queensland. The animals then give teeth to the bat to make it more animal-like. 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. 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 bat was central to Maya religion and social structure. In 1796, John Stedman wrote of being bitten by a vampire in Guiana, describing it as a bat of monstrous size, that sucks the blood from men and cattle when they are fast asleep, even sometimes till they die. [14]. The native-American tribes, like the Thuni Indians, believed that a bat predicted rain. Monstrous beyond imagining, all-consuming, blacker than blackest night, the hideous Satan in the Night on Bald Mountain section of Walt Disneys animated film Fantasia (1940) spreads gigantic bat wings as it turns fiery eyes toward the lost souls about to be engulfed in wrath and flames [64]. Han Chinese people attach positive esthetic values to bats but may still hunt bats at unsustainable levels [72]. [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. These gods and goddesses are some of the more well-known in Africa yet some of the lesser known by people of the the rest of the world. One of these fables also exists, with slight variation, among tribes in southern Nigeria, among Australian aboriginals, and ancient Romans.