Bats

Bats occupy an uneasy place in Lekh’s folklore: feared as agents of evil, they are also made into instruments for influencing human desire. The bat’s transformation from imagined threat to carefully processed remains reveals how fear and practical magic coexist in his account of the natural world.

Place in Lekh’s Folklore

Lekh regards Bats with disgust, classifying them as halfway between birds and mice. He calls them emissaries of Evil spirits, searching for new victims. In his account, a bat can attach itself to a person’s scalp and pour sinful desires into the brain. The threat is both physical and moral: the creature crosses the boundary between animal and human while supposedly altering a person from within.

Capture and Use

Despite his aversion, Lekh once captures a bat in the attic with a net and places it on an anthill outside the house. By the next day, only white bones remain. He gathers the skeleton with care, removes the wishbone, and wears it on his chest. He grinds the other bones into dust, mixes the powder into a glass of vodka, and gives it to the woman he loves, claiming the mixture will increase her desire for him.

Fear and Instrumental Power

The episode reverses the bat’s role without dispelling its menace. First imagined as a messenger of supernatural corruption, it becomes material for Lekh’s own attempt to influence another person’s feelings. The wishbone is kept as a personal charm, while the rest of the skeleton is consumed in a potion; both uses make the creature’s remains serve human purposes. In Lekh’s account, the feared power of Bats is not simply avoided but appropriated and redirected toward desire.