Cats of different cultures

8/17/2019 Cats of different cultures

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History of CatsBERCARU ELENA-LAVINIA

BOSNEA MARIA ELISABETA

DAN ALINA

LUPU OCTAV


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Cats in European istory In the Middle Ages, catswere persecuted after beingsentenced by more than one

Pope. They were associatedwith witches, who were alsopersecuted for theirconnection with them. Afterthe seventeenth century, the

history of cats changed onceagain. Breeding and havingdomestic cats turned into afashion at the end of thenineteenth century!


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Pope Gregory I declared that cats were !diabolicalcreatures" in the early thirteenth century, and it issaid that this resulted in a massacre of cats in thewhole of #urope. $uring the %panish In&uisition, one

century later, Pope Innocent 'II sentenced cats as arepresentation of evil, and thousands of cats wereburned.


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(ats turned into sub)ects of superstition and they wereassociated with evil. It was believed that cats had blac*

magic powers, were companions of witches and possiblythe reincarnation of the devil.People, especially singlewomen who had cats, were suspected of witchcraft andsome were sentenced to death together with their cats.

(ats themselves were also hunted, tortured and sacri+ced.


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$uring religious festivities, asit is recorded, a large numberof cats were burned alive as

part of some celebrations.%ome cats were even immured

alive in houses or otherbuildings when these were

built, believing that this would

bring them good luc*, and evennowadays their remnants canbe seen in the walls of some

old houses.


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%ome of the superstitions ofthose days regarding cats have

survived until today, such asthat a blac* cat crossing in frontof you brings bad luc*. The

results of this persecution weredetrimental both for cats and

also for people. ith a decrease

in the cat population, the ratpopulation who carried illnesses

increased, a factor thatcontributed to the spread of

subse&uent plagues and other

epidemics throughout #urope.


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As the Modern Age approached, around the seventeenthcentury, cats had already begun to recover their old placeas companions and respected controllers of rodents.The

popularity of cats has continued to increase during the lastcentury. The number of cat owners has increased more than

that of dog owners, a fact that may show the relative easeof having a cat as a pet in our modern lifestyle.


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(ats in Ancient #gypt In this area, the cat doesnot end up being )ustappreciated for huntingrodents , but even dei+ed.(ats were mummi+ed afterdeath and buried in sacredpits , often with supplies of

mummi+ed mice . %uch a massgrave may contain themummies of - cats.

In the #gyptian theocratic

conception , an ordinary mancould not hold a divine bein ,


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As mourning thedeath of the cat , thewhole family shavedtheir eyebrows , theman beat his chestwith his hands , thewoman cried , so a

ritual practiced fully.In #gyptian mythologythe cat is consideredto have a direct

in/uence on marriage


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(at goddess Bastet

Bastet was the namewhich ancient egyptiangave it to the goddesswith head of a cat.It

seems, however , that in amore distant past and thiswas also represented by awoman with a lion0s heador a lioness . At +rst

feline symboli1eprotection and fertility.

Bastet was worshipedon the occasion of 2ew

3ear0s, people wishing toobtain her welfare and


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A little storie of cats inancient #gypt

In lifetime cats they weregroomed receiving &uality

food , bathed, oiled andwere even dressed . If youwere in a unfortunatecircumstance through

guilty of the death of suchsacred animal , you ris* ahorri+c death . That0s whythe one who met a deadvenerated animal, is


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$omestication of cats•

It is unclear when and how was the catdomesticated, but most sources spea* of#gyptians who tamed the cat .

• (ats were loved and respected not onlybecause they were sympathetic, but becausethey were e5tremely intelligent and clever .

• Among others , the ancient #gyptiansbelieved that if the cat comes in their dream,they will have rich harvest . They also thought

cats were magical creatures , able to bringgood luc* to those who shelter them .

• (ats were worshiped for their mysterious&ualities . There is a myth that tells how the

#gyptians won a battle because of cats .%tru lin with a forei n arm in time of the


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(ats of 8apan

• In 8apanese fol*lore, cats have protective

powers and symboli1e good fortune.• Today, business owners put 9mane*i ne*o9

:bec*oning cat; statues in front of theirshops, in hope that the moving paw willbring in customers.

• At 8apanese cat cafes, cat lovers can spendtime petting and playing with theirfavourite animals, all while en)oying a cupof co7ee.


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• The cats you see at bothshrines

are called mane*i ne*o, or

9bec*oningcats,9 and they0veoccupied a huge place of cultural

importance in 8apan.

•

Mane*i ne*o are found all overthe world, and you probably can

recogni1e them.


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•

There are a couple of popular legends aboutthe origins of the


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• Another common legend is a really peculiarone.

A geisha had a pet cat that she adored. >neday, it was tugging at her *imono and the

owner of the brothel thought the cat waspossessed, so he sliced o7 its head with asword.The /ying cat head landed on a sna*eabout to stri*e and the fangs *illed the sna*e

and saved the woman. The geisha was sodistraught by the loss of her cat that one of hercustomers made a statue of the cat to cheer herup.• It is no wonder that cats have been culturally

signi+cant for many nations. Their


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• 8apan?s history indicates that cats have played an important role in 8apanese culture and society, hence the number of shrines andtemples dedicated to cats in the country. =ere are some of them.

•Nambujinja 4 located in 2agao*a,

is a mythical cat@li*e creature *nown in 8apanese fol*tales is revered at this

temple.


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•Konoshimajinja 4 in yotango (ity,

yoto, a statue of a cat with its paw

protectively on its *itten?s head greets

people who enter the city. yoto, 8apan?s

former capital, originally was the center

of high culture and aristocracy. The city

was home to prominent sil* producers

who believed that cats *ept the number

of rats to a minimum and enabled them to

wor* continuously to produce the +nest

sil* possible.


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• Nekojinja 4 means (at %hrine. ishermenare said to be able to predict how big acatch they would get from observing thebehavior of the many cats on the island.


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(ats of (hina

In some parts of (hina, especially in the southern part,cats are said to have the ability to see stu7 that peoplecan0t see @ ghosts or spirits. People sometimes *eep catsto *eep these 9dirtyDbad stu79 out of their home.

>n the other hand, the idea of9Ehao (ai Mao9 :meaning catsthat bring fortune, originallyfrom 8apanF the Mane*i 2e*o;

became popular in (hina inthe last few decades. %toreowner *eeps a cat, orsometimes )ust a catsculpture at the front des*

hoping to get more


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In (hinese culture, thecat was viewed as theanimal that nevermade it to the 1odiac.

It is said the day beforethe race, the cat wentto ta*e a nap andas*ed the rat to wa*e

him up before the race.Thin*ing the cat wouldbeat him for sure, therat never wo*e hisfriend the cat and leftfor the race. The cat (hinese


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e feed the leftovers of our mealsto the cat, but not too many, as thecat is e5pected to hunt rats in thehouse if it is hungry.

Guo eiF

or many times

I0ve seen thecat gave birth

to *ittensunder my

grandparents0

bed. Manyyears later itdied a natural

cause, andsince then we

no longer *eep


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@ In south@eastern (hina, someespecially olderpeopleconsider cat /esh a good warming food during wintermonths. =owever, in northern (hina eating cat isconsidered unacceptable. It is estimated that around Jmillion cats are eaten in (hina each year, and that thenumber is rising. =owever, overseas visitors are unli*ely tocome across downtown restaurants serving cat, which isonly common out of town and in the city outs*irts.@ The cat0s stomachand intestines maybe eaten, as well asmeat from thethighs, which are

turned into meatballsserved with soup,with the head andthe rest of the animalthen thrown away. InGuangdong, cat meat

is a main ingredientin the traditional dish

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Cats of different cultures