Native American Monsters: ~Shadow Camazotz—or Death Bat—originates in traditional Mexican culture and dates as far back as some Mayan myths. Legend has it that a small group of Maya worshiped the death bat, an anthropomorphic figure with a human body and the head and wings of a bat. Many Native American cultures venerated bats, which were almost always associated with darkness and death. Legends of a similar fearsome bat-man creature have circulated widely throughout Latin America. Legend has it that pregnant native women in Mexico would offer sacrifices to the bat gods to ensure a healthy baby; its traditional dwelling place, a dark cave, had marked similarities to a woman’s womb. Pregnant women would venture to a specific cave in Veracruz, Mexico to offer sacrifices which they believed would ensure a healthy delivery. Some early American legends from pre-Hispanic Mexico portray the death bat as an otherworldly creature with links to both Earth and the underworld. He operates on a bridge between the heavens and the underworld and wields deadly powers. South American Arawaks believed that Camazotz would carry off villagers who ventured outside at night.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Nov 2014 03:30:00 +0000
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