In Chinese culture, bats are seen as good luck. Part of the Chinese the word for bat, bianfu–”Fu”–sounds the same as a word that means “Good luck”.

The natives of the Fijian island of Matangi believe that a bat hero called Toba Fu showed them how to make fire and knowledge vital for their survival.

In a legend of the Toba people in northern Argentina, their very first leader was a bat who taught them everything they needed to know.

Are the recurrences of “Toba” and “Fu” sounds in reference to bats, or people who revere bats, an amazing coincidence or what? There have been some theories of Fijians of ancient times landing on the shores of South America in boats.

According to what seems to be modern myth generally rejected by scholars, Chinese Explorer Zheng He explored the shores of the world, including Fiji and the Americas, in “junks” — huge Chinese ships — before the ominous and sinister arrival of bloody and murderous thief Christopher Columbus to the Americas.

The Native American Hopi people see bats as protectors. In one legend, the bat is a hero who rescues a girl is being attacked by a violent man.

In Mexio, Tzotzil Maya people in the province of Chiapas hold a high esteem for bats. Zotzil means “bat people”. Zinacantan, their traditional capital city, means “place of the bat”. They recognize bats as protectors of Earth’s creatures and plants.