B98C. The bat is deceived by a deity. (.11.12.)

The heavenly deity could cure the bat's mother or child, but failed to do so, and they died.

Benga, sakata, manden.

Bantu-speaking Africa. Benga [Bat's mother fell ill; Antelope said that only the Sun (Joba) could cure her; LM met the Sun seven times, but he said that when he left home in the morning, he could not return; LM's mother died; animals said birds should bury her, and birds should bury her; ants ate the corpse; the Bat decided not to meet the Sun since its mother did not cure it]: Nassau 1912, No. 21 in Jablow 196:82-84; summary in Kotlyar 2009, No. 223:143, briefly in Collén 1979:415; Sakata: Collén 1979, No. 118 [Moi (Sun, it is clear from the text that a woman) fell ill with her child Sanja (Month); The Bat gave her a nkisi fetiche, three days later Sanja recovered; now the Bat baby is ill; she asked for the nkishi back, but the Sun said that going to sunset, she could not return, she would give it back in the morning; The Bat's child died; she decided never to see the Sun again, hang upside down, fly out at night]: 281-282, 415-416, note 185 [in 1977, Sakata, who came to Sweden, recorded a text similar to benga option].

West Africa. Manden [the heavenly god Mankalla learned that his mother could only cure the oil of a particular tree; it was the end of the rainy season and these fruits were far from ripening; M. promised to reward who will bring oil from distant lands; the bat asked Domba (the ancestor of Fanne) to give him 7 pairs of iron shoes and 7 pairs of iron boots; he gave it, but warned that M., as usual, would deceive; bat the mouse trampled on the boots, brought oil, M.'s mother recovered; the bat's mother fell ill, she would recover if it rained heavily; it was a dry season; M. stole D.'s fur (to fan the wind) and coal, with coal painted the sky black, caused the wind, but it did not rain, the bat's mother died; since then, the bat has been hanging head down to see not M., but people]: Frobenius 1922b, No. 83:154-155; dagari [the mother of the bat died; the son asked God to resurrect her, for he is single and has no one to do women's work, but God refused; since then, the bat has been hanging upside down so as not to look at God and relieve yourself in his direction, not on the ground where the mother is buried; but the secretions still fall down, so the bat stinks]: Métuolé Somba 1991:171.