Embodying Evil and Bad Luck: Stray Notes on the Folklore of Bats in Southwest Asia

Abstract

Like other animals of the magical sphere, the bat is perceived as strange and frightening. Local bat names as well as sayings comparing human and bat behavior reflect the peculiar anatomy and characteristics of this nocturnal flying mammal. Oral traditions in southwest Asia predominantly show the animal as an embodiment of evil and carrier of bad luck. Therefore, body parts and liquids of the bat are used in practices of black magic. Nevertheless, due to its hybrid nature as a mammal with bird-like wings, the bat is exempted from being killed.