Bat and Sun
I think the issue of 'identity' is the key to understanding the exploitation of those that are not 'us'. This delineation of 'difference' between 'us' and 'them' has been used to justify the murder and exploitation of both humans and animals. I like the adage told to me by my storytelling friend Gill Di Stefano, 'when you know someone's story you are less likely to kill them'. Empathy lies at the heart of storytelling, it is the simplest expression of our humanity.
One of my favourite stories to tell anyone and everyone is an Aboriginal Creation Story called Why the Platypus is Special, and it can be found in my book, Tell me: Storytelling as a Global Language. I tell it whenever I can because it celebrates both Unity and Uniqueness. There is also a more widely known story about how the platypus was created. A story that I haven't told to children and would only do so in a particular healing context. (Briefly, a duck is kidnapped by a rat, raped and imprisoned by him and when she finally escapes back to her duck family, gives birth to creatures that are different to all the other ducklings. The ducks shun her and her children and they are forced to find another place in the river to live. Hence the platypus is born).
However the following tale, Bat and Sun, is one that I am happy to tell in any context. It too explores the consequences of rejection and has provenance in many countries throughout the world. Because I live near a bat colony, I have come to understand and appreciate both their beauty and important role in maintaining our ecosystems; nectar and fruit-feeding bats are vital to forest regeneration as pollinators and dispersers of rainforest seeds.
My telling draws more on the African versions by Gersie and Makuchi. (see story sources). However it is also a story about Death and Attachment.
Bat and Sun
For many days and nights now Bat tended his dying mother. Although he gave her all the comfort and nourishment her old body needed, he could not heal her. Bat was desperate. He went to the birds and asked, 'Is there a healer among you who could make my mother well?' After a discussion they turned to Bat and replied, 'The Sun is the greatest healer of all. You must go to him if you want your mother to be well again.'
The sun lived so far away and Bat was reluctant to go on such a long journey and leave his mother. He went to the animals and asked them if there was a healer among them who could restore his mother's health. After a long discussion they returned to Bat and said that he should visit the Sun, for he was the greatest healer and if anyone had medicine then it would be him.
Sadly Bat returned to his mother's side and told her what the birds and the animals had told him. Bat's mother smiled at him and whispered, 'I am old and my time has come, so stay with me. The Sun is a long way off.'
But Bat was determined.
'I will save you Mother,' he said and flew off to the East to greet the rising sun. All day he flew on and on. The Sun had risen and set many days before Bat arrived at his palace. Exhausted, he bowed down before the Sun and pleaded for medicine to heal his mother. The Sun beamed on him and said that with his all seeing eye, he had watched Bat's mother die. Bat was angry.
'Why didn't you save her? Everyone says that you are the greatest healer.'
The Sun continued his radiant smile.
'I can heal many things, but there is no cure for old age. Return to your home and bury your mother Bat.'
Bat flew off in a rage and was home in a few days, crying over the body of his mother. He knew that is was time to lay her in the Earth and so called on the birds to come and help him bury her. The birds came and gathered around Bat, but when they went to take up her body they hesitated and turned to each other.
'We cannot bury her,' they announced, 'she is not one of us.'
'What do you mean?' asked Bat. "When she was alive she inhabited the skies like you. See her beautiful wings.'
'But look at her teeth!' they said in horror. 'She is a beast and they are our sworn enemies. We will not touch her.'
And with that they flew off.
Bat then went to the animals and asked them to come and help bury his mother.
The beasts all gathered around and commented on the softness of her fur, the largeness of her ears and the delicacy of her teeth. However when they went to take up her body they hesitated and turned to each other.
'We cannot bury her,' they announced, 'she is not one of us.'
What do you mean?' asked Bat. 'You just remarked on her beauty.'
'But look at her wings!' they said in horror. 'She is a bird and they are our sworn enemies. We will not touch her.'
And with that the animals walked away, leaving bat to bury his mother by himself.
For many days Bat mourned the death of his mother, the Sun's inability to save her and the cruelty of the birds and the animals in refusing to help bury her. He sat by himself on the branch of a tree and because he was so tired from the long flight to the Sun and grieving, he fell asleep and moved from being perched upright to roosting upside down. His strong claws clung on to the branch and when he awoke it was night time. He was pleased to not look upon the face of the Sun and he decided that from now on he would sleep during the hours of daylight. This also meant he no longer saw most of the birds and the animals. To this day this is how Bat lives.
Bat Facts:
They are the only mammals that can fly, and it is this unique ability that has dictated every feature of their bodies: their small size, light- weight construction, winged fingers and reduced pelvis. They hang upside-down to make launching into flight easier, and turn upright to defecate and urinate. They give birth while clinging to the roost with their thumbs and feet, and use their wings and tail to catch the newborn. Bats are agile.
There are more than 1,100 species of bats worldwide, in two main groups: megabats (flying foxes or fruit bats) which eat fruit, blossom and nectar and roost in trees in large groups called camps; and microbats, which are mostly insect-eaters. Insect-eating bats play an important role in the natural control of insect populations.
There are more than 1,100 species of bats worldwide, in two main groups: megabats (flying foxes or fruit bats) which eat fruit, blossom and nectar and roost in trees in large groups called camps; and microbats, which are mostly insect-eaters. Insect-eating bats play an important role in the natural control of insect populations.
Story Sources:
The story of Bat and Sun from The sacred door and other stories: Cameroon folktales of the Beba
By Makuchi, Isidore Okpewho Ohio University Press, United States 2008Earthtales: Storytelling in times of change by Alida Gersie, Greenprint imprin Merlin Press London 1992
Why Bat Hangs Upside Down A Laotian Folktale
