Cats have lived side by side with humans for thousands of years, but their main secrets have not yet been solved. Since ancient times, many peoples have associated them with the other world and witchcraft, it was believed that they could rid the home of any negative energy and dark forces, and also protect all inhabitants of the house from evil spirits. We do not know where their amazing abilities came from, but we are more and more convinced that all the legends and omens with cats are well founded.
Ancient Egypt
The cat was one of the many animals worshiped in ancient Egypt. Presumably, the domestication of the cat in Egypt took place during the III millennium BC and before becoming a pet, this graceful and carefree animal, first of all, became a protective animal.
While hunting small rodents, cats guarded the barns where the Egyptians kept their provisions (primarily wheat), vital for this agricultural people. By hunting rats, cats eliminated the source of serious diseases such as plague. Finally, by hunting snakes (usually horned vipers), they made the surrounding area safer.
Each temple, which had its own cats, was assigned its own "guardian of cats" - an important post, inherited. Cats, like other sacred animals, had a special status in Egyptian society.
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It was forbidden to kill or even cause the slightest harm to cats, and the violators faced terrible punishment, up to the death penalty (the punishment, of course, was comparable to the significance of a cat).
The Greek historian Diodorus of Siculus described a scene he saw in 60 BC, when a Roman cart accidentally ran over an Egyptian cat and an Egyptian soldier killed the carter.
Ra in the form of a cat that kills the serpent Apophis / ru.wikipedia.org
A large number of deities were associated with felines in Egyptian mythology. Sekhmet, Tefnut, Mafdet and Nubian Shesemet were identified with lionesses. In the 17th chapter of the "Book of the Dead" one of the most important gods of the Egyptian pantheon, the sun god Ra, appears in the form of a red cat, daily plunge down the serpent Apophis. Bast, the cat-headed goddess, was originally considered a protective, warlike lioness. Her image has undergone changes over time and she began to be identified with tamed cats, loyal, but wild.
Temple of the goddess Bast. Cats and Priestesses - Vera, Lucia, Emerim
From the very time when cats began to be identified with Bast, they began to be mummified. The honors they received posthumously reflected what they incarnated during each day of their lives. The Greek historian Herodotus described how the Egyptians threw themselves into flaming houses to make sure there were no cats inside. Herodotus also wrote that after the death of the cat, the family was in mourning and shaved off their eyebrows as a sign of grief. Mourning lasted seventy days - the time of the entire mummification of both man and cat.
Mummy of a cat. Louvre / Photo: Greudin
Sometimes the cat accompanied its owner into the afterlife under the guise of a figurine or a carved drawing on coffins. Cat images can also be found on numerous vases, jewelry and utensils, as well as in drawings (under the woman's place as a protective symbol).
In 1888, an Egyptian fellah came across a large tomb containing a huge number (about 80,000) of mummified cats. It belonged to the Beni-Hasan necropolis, a city built during the 12th and 13th dynasties of the Middle Kingdom.
Japan
A special, revered position is occupied by cats in Japan, where they appeared along with Buddhist teachings in the 6th century AD and served as the highest reward that the emperor could give to his entourage.
But already 200 years later, cats were declared demons. An old Japanese legend tells that the tail of a cat began to be considered akin to a snake. And in this regard, all cats have their tails chopped off. Cats that did not have their tails chopped off and cats over 10 years old were considered the most dangerous devils. In the delightful Japanese drawings of the time, almost all cats are depicted with short tails. Only in 1602 the cats were completely rehabilitated by the imperial decree.
The first cats brought from China and Korea were white, some black and very few tricolors. Subsequent crossbreeding gave the Japanese "tricolor" cat mike, which is respected even in our time. Tricolor cats are especially revered by fishermen who believe that they have the ability to anticipate the approach of a storm. Cats are taken for fishing to ensure safety and a good catch. It is also believed that black cats bring happiness and cure various diseases. White cats, which are more common, are loved for their beauty.
In the city of Kagoshima, there is a Cat Temple, built not in honor of a sacred cat, but in memory of very specific cats. The story goes that back in 1600, a certain military leader took 7 cats with him to the war, which served the soldiers for hours: the Japanese determined the time by the dilated or narrowed cat's pupils.
European countries
In medieval Europe, the attitude towards cats was different. Among the Vikings, a cat was a sacred animal, the personification of the goddess of love and fertility Freya, who traveled in a chariot drawn by two cats.
In the Catholic countries of Europe, the cat was considered a companion of witches and the personification of evil spirits. Because of this, cats, especially black ones, were burned alive at bonfires or thrown from bell towers. The destruction of cats in the Middle Ages indirectly became the cause of plague epidemics, since there was almost no one to exterminate rats and other rodent carriers.
In the Orthodox countries of Europe, the attitude towards cats was the opposite. A cat is the only animal that can visit an Orthodox church, except for the altar part. In Russia, a domestic cat was expensive and could serve as a valuable gift, since it guaranteed protection of the crop from rodents. She was also a symbol of peace and well-being in the home, protecting the home from evil spirits. It was also believed that cats could enter the other world and communicate with spirits.
In Russian folklore, an extensive layer is made up of folk tales, proverbs and beliefs associated with cats and cats. Vladimir Gilyarovsky says that until the 20th century, there was a tradition among merchants to compete, whose cat is thicker and more fattened.
Russian monarchs also appreciated cats; cats have always lived in the royal palace. The father of Peter I, Alexei Mikhailovich, had a beloved cat, whose portrait is depicted in the engraving. And already Peter the Great issued a decree, according to which in every household it was necessary "to have cats in the barns, for the protection of such and mice and rats of intimidation."
Peter himself was also often depicted satirically in the form of a cat, as evidenced by the numerous popular prints with the inscriptions that have survived to this day: "The cat of Kazan, the mind of the Astrakhan, the mind of the Siberian."
Customs and beliefs
People have always believed in the magical abilities of cats. There are many customs and beliefs associated with them, which seem ridiculous and ridiculous to us today, but perhaps somewhere in these beliefs there is a grain of common sense. For example, in Britain and Australia, black cats are believed to bring happiness. In many European countries and the USA, on the contrary, a black cat portends misfortune, and in Russia it protects the house from thieves. In England tortoiseshell cats bring happiness to their owners, and in Russia - blue.
In the old days, sailors had a belief that a black cat that settled on a ship was a very lucky sign. Kicking out the cat was tantamount to kicking out happiness. Especially fortunate were the ships on which lived a completely black cat, without white marks. At the same time, the word “cat” was avoided in the sea - it could cause trouble! A cat falling overboard meant the immediate approach of a storm. The sailors could not even think of leaving the cat on the sinking ship, trying to the last opportunity to save her from a shipwreck. In Yorkshire, it was believed that if a black cat lives on the shore of a wife, then nothing threatens her husband at sea. This sometimes even led to the theft of cats.
Everyone knows the old Russian omen, according to which a cat was the first to enter a new house in order to establish contact with the brownie and thereby help its owners. They say that if a cat sneezed near the bride on her wedding day, then the marriage will be happy. In some countries, it is believed that a cat that gets scared of the oncoming person and runs away or simply turns in the opposite direction from its original direction portends this person a failure.
Cat hair and bones were often included in amulets, and were also designed to enhance the effect of many spells. Stroking the tail of a black cat, for example, was used to treat barley, and the tail of a tortoiseshell cat was used to treat warts.
Each cat was given two names: one real, the other to confuse the devil. Then, in general, it was believed that knowing the real name helps the dark forces gain power over a person (or a cat). Giving the cat two names, one well-known, and the second - real, never pronounced in front of strangers, people tried to protect the cat that went out into the street from the intrigues of evil forces.
Medieval writings have survived, which claim that witches could make ointment from the eyes of cats, with which they could get the ability to see demons. Until now, many believe that cats can not only see ghosts (in the Russian tradition - brownies), but can even be friends with them and play with them.
Cats' ability to anticipate danger has long been a surprise. In towns and villages on the slopes of Vesuvius on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Naples, there is no family where cats do not live. Over the centuries, life has taught people whose houses are built on the slopes of an active volcano to rely on the flair of furry pets more than on the predictions of scientists.
Simon the medalist
During the Second World War, cats often rescued their owners. This ability of cats turned out to be so valuable that in Europe a special medal was established with the words engraved on it: "We also serve the motherland." The medal was awarded to the cats that saved the most human lives.