Rats! How One Vermin Came to Incur Both Reverence and Contempt Across Different Cultures

With all the disruptions of the coronavirus outbreak, one important fact was almost overlooked this Chinese New Year: it's the the Year of the Rat (or mouse, depending on who you ask)! While these days the rat is the subject of much distrust and disdain, and get a bum rap as pests and vermins, our rodent friend has actually ebbed and flowed in popularity across cultures and history. While viewed by some as carriers of death and disease, other cultures respect, and even revered, our furry friend's intelligence and contributions. Here is your quick guide to rat's reputational rating around the globe. 

Ancient Greece and Rome

In Ancient Greece and Rome, a group of rats was a symbol of bounty, signifying joy and plenty. The logic was that rats were attracted to ample food, so a group would only flock to areas with nibbles to spare. The mysterious, and at times dark, Greek god Arimanius favored rats as his chosen animal. Elsewhere in Greek mythology, Apollo was associated with the rats' cuter cousin, the mouse, so much so that he was even referred to as "Apollo, the Lord of Mice" in the Illiad. 

India

In some strains of Indian mythology, rats are portrayed as helpful and working for the greater goods. In some stories, mythological rats were the gateway to a quick getaway, heroically gnawing people or other animals out of sticky situations. The Hindu god Ganesh is often portrayed as riding a rat, which serves as the deities faithful steed throughout travels across the universe. The origins of this image are unclear but may be a result of Ganesh's association as a remover of obstacles. Just as Ganesh can escape a whole variety of tricky situations, rats can nibble and wriggle their way out of anything. 

Elsewhere in India, rats are even on the menu, and feature heavily in the festival of Unying-Aran, celebrated by the Adi tribe in Northwest India. During the holiday, revelers eat a rat-based stew called bule-bulak oying, which includes rat intestines, liver, and even testes, with salt, chili, and ginger. The rat's tail and feet are particularly prized for their taste. 

Japan

In Japan, the deity Daikoku (or Daikoko-ten), is the patron of wealth and farmers. He is often depicted as surrounded by rats, in addition to riches and other symbols of bounty. Rats, as a symbol of industry, fertility, and good luck, are an appropriate companion. As rats flock to the center of all things tasty, so too do the rat companions of Daikoku. As a being associated with a god of wealth, these rats are not so reviled as their sewer-dwelling brethren elsewhere around the globe. 

Modern-day New York City

Ask any New Yorker, and they will forcefully tell you that New York rats are huge, fast, and fearless. The perceived ubiquity of these robust rodents has led to an urban legend that the rat population equaled the city's human residents. In 2014, a student from Columbia University debunked the theory with a study that estimated the rat population at closer to 2 million.  

China

As a Chinese zodiac animal, rats symbolize curiosity, imagination, and resourcefulness. According to one legend of how the zodiac animals were chosen, the Jade Emperor announced a great race for all animals, and that the first 12 animals to cross the river and complete the race would be assigned a year of the zodiac calendar in the order that they arrived. The ever-shrewd rat realized that crossing the river alone would be a tall order, and convinced the strong ox to carry him on his back. "With your strength and my navigations kills, we'll be unstoppable!" Yet as they drew close to the shore, the rat promptly jumped off the ox's back and raced to the finish line, securing first place. Ox came in second, followed by tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and finally, pig in last place. Thus the order of the zodiac was born. Was the rat sneaky, or just a strong leader optimizing available resources? That answer will largely depend on what zodiac figure you were born under.

READ: The Rat's Complicated Image Problem in Chinese Culture

Photo: streeteasy.com