The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures: The Ultimate A–Z of Fantastic Beings from Myth and Magic. John Matthews
BAT
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.
BATTLESWINE
The ferocious boar who battle the heroes Hildisvini and Sachrimnir in Scandinavian myth.
BAYARD
Bayard was the legendary horse given by the four sons of Aymon to Charlemagne in early medieval France. Originally, all four sons could ride the horse which elongated to accommodate all the brothers. Bayard was immortal and could gallop faster than any other horse.
BEAN NIGHE
The Bean Nighe or washing woman of the Scottish Highlands is a fairy who is seen washing the bloodstained linen of those doomed to die. If the linen is that of the one who observes the Bean Nighe at her bloody laundry, then he will not have long to live. She was particularly busy during the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745 when she was observed by many. It is said that those who approach the Bean Nighe carefully may ask of her three requests, but she will only grant these if the questioner first answers three questions to her satisfaction. The more daring adventurer might seize on one of her breasts by approaching her from behind. If any is successful in sucking from her breast, then he or she becomes the Bean Nighe’s foster child and, as such, is qualified to receive second sight. Some believe the Bean Nighe to be the ghost of a woman who has died in childbirth. When such a death was likely, the family would help wash all the woman’s clothes to prevent her having to wash them in the next life forever. (See Washer at the Ford.)
BEAR
The bear is an important guardian animal in many regions of the northern hemisphere where it is one of the largest land mammals. There are only a few species in the southern hemisphere. The connections between bears and humans have long been noted, for bears are omnivores who can stand upright, their paws having five digits and with an intelligence that seems almost human. This likeness is part of the Korean legend, that tells of how two animals desired to become human, the tiger and the bear. They prayed daily to Hwanung, the son of heaven, Hwanin, and he told both animals to retire to a cave for a hundred days, eating only mugwort and garlic. The tiger was impatient and could not keep to this regime, but the bear continued, eventually becoming a beautiful woman who married Hwanung; their offspring founded the first Korean dynasty of kings.
The behaviour of the bear has given rise to a widespread belief in which the bear is seen as the one who helps renew the world every spring, for in the species which hibernate, the bear seems to die every winter and is reborn in the springtime. In Switzerland and central Europe, the bear is a seasonal herald of the coming of spring. The month of February, when the bear reappears from hibernation is colloquially called ‘the Bear’s Fart’, when bears pass wind after their long sleep. The most northerly bears give birth while in a state of semi-hibernation, which informed the classical belief that bear cubs were born without form and had to be licked into shape by their mothers.
Throughout the world, bears are commonly seen as symbols of creation. In Hindu star lore, the constellation of Ursa Major (the Great Bear) was regarded as the source of all universal energy and the beginner of the seasons. They called the constellation the Seven Bears or Rishis (Wise Men.) The symbol for the Great Bear is the clockwise swastika, symbol of good luck and of the four revolving seasons. The Great Bear revolves around the Pole Star so that people can always ‘find their bearings’. In Greek myth, Callisto, the bear goddess, is chased by her own son, Arcas, who failed to recognize her; to prevent matricide, Zeus elevated mother and son respectively as the Great and Little Bear constellations.
Among the Ostyaks of western Siberia, the myth is told that bears originated in heaven. One day when Father Bear went out to hunt, Little Bear broke the lock of their house and entered the courtyard of heaven. His paw sank through the floor and through the hole he observed people. When his father returned, he begged to be allowed to visit the world below. He was lowered on a golden cradle with silver chains into the honey-blossom that grew below, and was instructed to leave good people alone but to oppress the evildoers. At the time of the bear ceremony, when he is sent home again, Little Bear filled his knapsack with silver as a present for his father who then raised him up again.
A ceremony based on this story is widely performed over the circumpolar regions of Asia. The most famous example of this was found among the hunter-gatherer Ainu people of Hokkaido and Sakhalin of Japan, where the bear is central to one of their most important rites. They regarded the bear as a divine animal. Up until 1930, they practiced the Iyomande or ‘sending home’ ceremony. Bear cubs were raised for several winters as adopted god-children who would speak for the people to the mountain bear spirit. They were lovingly fed and tended until their ritual sacrifice when they were slain or ‘sent home’, a ritual where they were feasted and sent back with gifts to the divine bear parents.
For the Inuit, the bear is both ancestor and way-shower in the hunt. They imitate the polar bear’s posture when they stalk the seal, going against the wind, crouching below the horizon and moving only when the prey move away. For the ancient Chinese, the bear was one of the creatures who could cast out evil. Fian-Sian-Che was the bear who was represented the leader of the ‘Dance of the Twelve Animals’ in the New Year celebration called the Ta-No. Boy dancers attired as different animals whirled about Fian-Sian-Che after hurling menacing gestures at the forces of evil. Then all twelve, led by the bear-spirit, ran through the countryside to take their healing powers to cast out evil.
For the native peoples of North America, the bear is a central teacher.
Respect for the bear at the point of death is shown across the world. The Koyukon of Alaska never pull a bear out of its den by ropes or chains and they keep dogs