Читать книгу The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures: The Ultimate A–Z of Fantastic Beings from Myth and Magic - John Matthews - Страница 205

The nocturnal appearance of bats after twilight, combined with their many-folded faces, long ears, uncanny upside-down sleeping and seemingly erratic flying have made them associated with evil spirits and beings who haunt the darkness. The bat has its own place in medieval bestiaries because it was believed to be a creature symbolizing affection; this was based on the observation of bats hanging together in closely bunched groups. The bat was demonized in biblical tradition, where it was called ‘the devil’s bird’, even becoming one of the shapes of the devil himself with bat wings. German peasants would nail bats to doors to ward off the devil. In South America, bats were thought of as the ‘devourers of the sun’ who flocked around the Aztec lord of the underworld, Mictlantecuhtli, carrying human heads in their claws. European naturalists furthered the evil reputation of the bat by calling the Central and South American Desmodus family, vampire bats, thus making an association between bats and vampiric activity.

In Africa, bats are believed to be the spirits of the dead. They hover around the body of the deceased until doomsday. The Rom (gypsy) women of Egypt use bat’s blood to anoint the private parts of newborn girl babies in the hope that no hair will grow around her pudenda, thus making her attractive to her husband when she grows up. Such girls are called muwatwata or ‘visited by bats’. Bats in Egypt are considered to be the guardians of pure water, since the sultan of the bats lives in a deep well-shaft. In South Africa, people tell stories of bats originally being little people with human faces, but elsewhere it is said that bats can help young men discover treasure, but only after they have offered blood to drink.

In Greece and parts of Africa, the bat was a symbol of vigilance. In the pre-Colombian and later Kogi mythology, the bat was considered to be one of the first animals ever created – the offspring of the sun’s love for his son. The bat subsequently acquired an association with sorcery. In China, fu, the word for ‘bat’, sounds the same as the word for ‘happiness’ and so it stands for good luck. Gifts are accompanied by a card with a pair of bats on it, to convey health, wealth, longevity and an easy death. Among the Ainu of northern Japan, the bat is said to be the one animal that did not come from heaven but was made by the creator in this world. They see the bat as wise and courageous, and able to combat the demons who bring disease.