Dried cat

Dried cats and rats from the Stag Inn, All Saints Street, Hastings.

It is the custom in some European cultures to place the dried or desiccated body of a cat inside the walls of a newly built home to ward off evil spirits or as a good luck charm. It was believed that the cats had a sixth sense and would have psychic abilities in the afterlife to find the spirits. Putting the cat in the wall was seen as a blood sacrifice to ward off the evil spirits.[1] Although some accounts claim the cats were walled in alive, examination of recovered specimens indicates post-mortem concealment in most cases.

Origins

In the British Isles,[2][3] as well as in northern Europe and North America,[4] the dried or mummified bodies of cats are frequently found concealed within structures and are believed to have been placed there to bring good luck or to protect the building and its occupants from harm. In some cases, the animals are found deliberately posed as if in the midst of attack.[5] In other cases, they are accompanied by dried rats, mice, or birds.

Mummification of Cats in Ancient Egypt

Cats in ancient Egypt were valued very highly and were seen to be very close to the gods. They believed the cats were an embodiment of the goddess Bastet.[6] Harming a cat in ancient Egypt was an offense punishable by death. When a cat died the Egyptians would mummify and bury their cats as an offering to the gods.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Dried Cats". Apotropaios. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
  2. ↑ Merrifield, Ralph (1987), The Archaeology of Ritual and Magic, Batsford, ISBN 978-0-7134-4870-2
  3. ↑ Hoggard, Brian (2004), "The archaeology of counter-witchcraft and popular magic", in Davies, Owen; De Blécourt, William, Beyond the Witchtrials: Witchcraft and Magic in Enlightenment Europe, Manchester University Press, ISBN 978-0-7190-6660-3
  4. ↑ Manning, M. Chris (2012), Homemade Magic: Concealed Deposits in Architectural Contexts in the Eastern United States
  5. ↑ Howard, Margaret M. (1951), "252. Dried Cats", Man, Wiley, Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 51, doi:10.2307/2794702
  6. ↑ "Ancient Egypt Online: Cats in Ancient Egypt". www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
  7. ↑ "In Ancient Egypt, cats were mummified and buried with jewelry, and harming a cat was an offense that could be punished with death". The Vintage News. 2017-11-26. Retrieved 2018-05-10.

Bibliography

  • Hoggard, Brian (2004), "The archaeology of counter-witchcraft and popular magic", in Davies, Owen; De Blécourt, William, Beyond the Witchtrials: Witchcraft and Magic in Enlightenment Europe, Manchester University Press, ISBN 978-0-7190-6660-3
  • Manning, M. Chris (2012), Homemade Magic: Concealed Deposits in Architectural Contexts in the Eastern United States Master's thesis, Anthropology Program, Ball State University, Muncie, IN.
  • Merrifield, Ralph (1987), The Archaeology of Ritual and Magic, Batsford, ISBN 978-0-7134-4870-2
  • Howard, Margaret M. (1951), "252. Dried Cats", Man, Wiley, Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 51, doi:10.2307/2794702

Further reading

  • Hoggard, Brian (2015). "Concealed Animals", in Hutton, Ronald (ed.). Physical Evidence for Ritual Acts, Sorcery and Witchcraft in Christian Britain. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1137444813.


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