By Corey Donoghue
My research on the Metaphor ‘CAT’ and how it corresponds with it’s definition in the ‘Reverse Speech Dictionary’
Let me begin with the definition of the metaphor ‘Cat’ as explained in the metaphor dictionary, created by David Oates.
CAT – a protective part of the psyche; hunter; very much to himself; deceptive, elusive, devious; a lone protector.
With David’s knowledge and quest for more discovery, we know that the ‘Cat’ metaphor is a ‘structural metaphor’. Structural metaphors are reversals which describe the causes of our behaviour. These types of reversals tend to use spiritual references and tap into our unconscious sources of wisdom and knowledge, which inadvertently affect and influence our life’s behaviours and habits.
At the time of writing this (February 2016), throughout the world, there remains between 43 and 77 different breeds of cats, depending on which international cat association you talk to and that does not even include the ‘big cats’ such as Cheetahs, Panthers, Tigers, Cougars and Lions to name a few.
For the purpose of this assigned essay, I will focus on the metaphor of the ‘small cat’, typically referred to as the domestic cat (felis catus or felis silvestris catus), though through history, this was not always the case. Although it has been commonly accepted that cats were first domesticated in Egypt 4000 years ago, their history among human beings goes back much further. Wild cats are now known to have lived among the people of Mesopotamia over 100,000 years ago and to have been domesticated there approximately 12,000 BCE.
The Egyptians are responsible for coining the name `cat’ in that it derives from the North African word for the animal, “quattah”, and, as the cat was so closely associated with Egypt, almost every other European nation employs variations on this word: French, chat; Swedish, katt; German, katze; Italian, gatto; Spanish, gato and so forth (Morris, 175). The colloquial word for a cat – `puss’ or `pussy’ – is also associated with Egypt in that it derives from the word `Pasht’, another name for Bastet.
The research I stumbled across about the ‘cat’ took me far and wide. If I attempted to relay all of the information here in this essay, I would surely drift off topic and run out of battery life on my computer. So in order for this piece of work to stay on point with ‘how my research corresponds with the definition of the cat metaphor, as described in the reverse speech dictionary, I will relay my research in relation to each segment of the definition and expand and broaden in accordance to where history, legend, folklore, literature, Mythology, Word birth, biblical references, and religious references take us.
A protective part of the psyche
The term ‘Protective’ (in this sense) means having or showing a strong wish to protect someone or something. ‘Psyche’ is the human soul, mind or spirit.
Despite being domesticated around 12,000 BCE, cats only began forming unique and special relationships with humans just over 4,000 years ago (according to records). How they can be sure of that is unclear. Nether the less, this is possibly when there protective nature for that other than themselves began.
According to Japanese mythology, when cats live to an old age, they develop supernatural powers and transform into what is referred to as ‘Yokai’ (a supernatural creature). The yokai in this context is commonly referred to as ‘Bakeneko’ (not to be confused with the ‘nekomata’), which simply translates to ‘changed cat’ and is a type of Japanese yokai. The bakeneko has the ability to protect part of the psyche.
The goddess Bastet, commonly depicted as a cat or as a woman with a cat’s head, was among the most popular deities of the Egyptian pantheon. She was the keeper of the home, protector of women’s secrets, guardian against evil spirits and disease, protector of the psyche and the goddess of cats.
Throughout the ages, ‘Psyche’ has always been associated with mystery and magic, which is why ‘black cats’ (amongst many cultures and civilisations) were believed to possess magical powers as they were associated with witches. Many people today still believe it is good luck if you meet a black cat and stroke it three times, also if one runs across your path it will bring you good fortune.
Hunter
Over the last thirteen to fourteen years, archaeological excavations have provided evidence that the Near Eastern Wildcat is the closest relative of the modern-day domestic cat and was bred by Mesopotamian farmers, most probably as a means of controlling pests, such as mice, which were attracted by their supplies of grain.
Confirming it to be a good hunter; during the day a cat’s pupils are fairly narrow slits. After dark those slits open wide in order to let in as much light as possible. This creates a form of night vision, which results in the cat’s vision it being six times more sensitive than a human’s.
Cats are similar in anatomy to the other felids (any animal belonging to the cat family), with a strong, flexible body, quick reflexes, sharp retractable claws, and teeth adapted to killing small prey. Cat senses fit an acrepuscular (animals that are active primarily during twilight – the period before dawn and that after dusk) and predatory ecological niche. Cats can hear sounds too faint or too high in frequency for human ears, such as those made by mice and other small animals.
As was the case almost everywhere, cats in India were found to be particularly useful in controlling the populations of less desirable creatures like mice, rats, and snakes.
According to Greek legend, the cat protected the baby Jesus from rodents and snakes.
Very much to himself
They are known to be extremely independent and have to be ‘won over’ before that special bond is formed.
The Romans saw the cat as a symbol of liberty and freedom.
Deceptive, elusive, devious
Cats are thought to be primarily, though not solely, responsible for the extinction of 33 species of birds thus far recorded.
In the Edo period (1603-1867), there was a folk belief that cats with long tails like snakes could bewitch people. Cats with long tails were disliked and there was a custom of cutting their tails. It is speculated that this is the reason that there are so many cats in Japan with short tails nowadays.
In Jinhua, Zhejiang, in China, it is said that a cat, after having been raised for three years by humans, would then start bewitching them. Because it is said that cats with white tails are especially good at this, there arose the custom of refraining from raising white cats. Since it is said that their ability to bewitch humans comes from taking in the spiritual energy of the moon, it is said that when a cat looks up at the moon, whether its tail has been cut or not, it should be killed on the spot.
If legend is to be believed, these treatments of cats aided in causing cats to become distrustful, deceptive and devious, especially of humans.
In Japanese folklore, the ‘Bakeneko’ possess great shape-shifting abilities and frequently used to disguise themselves as smaller cats or humans. While in disguise, they would dress up as humans with a towel wrapped around their heads. Many also learnt to speak human languages, which gave them the ability to deceive other humans.
In the Ramayana (a Sanskrit epic poem from Indian literature, ascribed to the Hindu sage and Sanskrit poet Valmiki), the god Indra disguises himself as a cat after seducing the beautiful maid Ahalya as a means to escape from her husband.
According to Greek mythology, the god Zeus seduced Alcmene and she became pregnant with Hercules. Zeus’ wife, Hera, was thwarted in her attempt to kill Alcmene and Hercules through the cleverness of Galinthius. Enraged, Hera transformed Galinthius into a cat and sent her to the underworld to ever after serve Hecate. This myth, then, associated cats with darkness, deceptiveness, the underworld, and witchcraft.
Black cats are now considered lucky and magical, but according to some cultural folklores they used to be associated with deception and witchcraft and were thought to be a gift from the devil, due to the fact that witches were often said to be seen with black cats.
The Cat is a lone protector
It has been written that the cat is the only ‘tame’ creature which can look a human straight in the eye without flinching an inch.
There is an old English proverb which reads “In the eyes of a cat, all things belong to cats.” They believed that cats came and went as they pleased, without a ‘care in the world’. If they are neglected they would move on to someone more worthy of their affection. But when they truly felt a person’s love, they would show loyalty and protect and follow their owner to the end of the world.
In conclusion, the existence of the ‘Cat’ is showered in myth, mystery and legend from one part of the world to the other and from one civilisation to the next. Whether it is all smoke and mirrors, pretense and superstitions or not, what cannot be denied is that the ‘Cat’ is still in parts a magical, nocturnal creature. So it may well be that our unconscious minds are what now solidify it’s metaphorical power within the metaphorical world, which is in effect the world which ultimately influences the physical world which we take part in. This is why it is so fittingly a ‘Structural reversal’.
References:
Reverse Speech Metaphor Dictionary, created by David Oates, last updated April 9th 2012.
Google web dictionary, 1st February 2016.
Wikepedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat)
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/felid
http://yokai.com/bakeneko/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakeneko
Cats in the ancient world, by Joshua J. Mark, 17th November 2012
Encyclopedia of animals in nature, myth and spirit, by Fran Pickering, 1999
Signs and symbols, by Miranda Bruce-Mitford and Philip Wilkinson, 2008