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Arabian mythology, Paganism
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Arabian mythologyFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Part of the myth series on
Fertile Crescent
*Mesopotamian mythology
Ancient Arabian mythology
Ancient Levantine mythology
Pre-Judaic Arabian gods
Abgal
Aglibol
Allah
Al-Qaum
al-Lāt, al-'Ilāhat
Astarte
Atargatis (Syrian)
Atarsamain
Beelshamen
Bēl, Baʕl, Bēl-Šamīn
Bes (Egypto-Arabic)
Dhu'l-Halasa
Dusares, Dhu Sharā'
Ēl, Ilāh (NW Semitic)
Hubal
Ištar, Athtar
Malakbel
Manāt
Manaf
Nabū, Nebo
Nasr
Nergal
Nuha
Orotalt
Ruda
Shams, Samas
Sīn, Nanna-Suen
Suwa'
Theandrios
ʕUzzā
Wadd
Ya'uq
Yaghūth
Yarhibol/Malakbel
Yatha
demons
V
T
E
Arabian mythology is the ancient, pre-Islamic beliefs of the Arab people. Prior
to Islam the Kaaba of Mecca was covered in symbols representing the myriad demons, djinn, demigods, or
simply tribal gods and other assorted deities which represented the polytheistic culture of pre-Islamic Arabia. It
has been inferred from this plurality an exceptionally broad context in which mythology could flourish.[1] Many of
the physical descriptions of the pre-Islamic gods are traced to idols, especially near the Kaaba, which is
asserted to have contained up to 360.[1]
Contents
[hide]
1 Gods
2 Supernatural beings
o 2.1 Spirits
o 2.2 Monsters
3 See also
4 Notes
5 References
6 Sources
Gods[edit]
The main god in the Arabian peninsula was Hubal (Arabic: هبل), who is regarded as the most notable and chief
of the gods. An idol of Hubal said to have been near the Kaaba is described as shaped like a human with the
right hand severed and replaced with a golden hand.[2]
The three daughters of Hubal, and chief goddesses of Meccan Arabian mythology, were Al-lāt, Al-‘Uzzá,
and Manāt. Each is associated with certain domains and had shrines with idols located near Taif [3] which have
been destroyed.[4] Allāt (Arabic: الالت) or Al-lāt is the goddess associated with the underworld.[5] Al-‘Uzzá
(Arabic: العزى) "The Mightiest One" or "The Strong" was an Arabian fertility goddess. She was called upon for
protection and victory before war.[6] Manāt (Arabic: مناة) was the goddess of fate, the Book of Idols describes
her as the most ancient of all these idols. An idol of Manāt was erected on the seashore in the vicinity of al-
Mushallal in Qudayd, between Medina and Mecca. The Aws and theKhazraj, as well as the inhabitants of
Medina and Mecca and their vicinities, venerated Manāt and performed sacrifices before her idol, including
offering their children. Pilgrimages of some Arabs, including the Aws, Khazraj, Yathrib and others, were not
considered completed until they visited Manāt and shaved their heads.[7]
Dushara, National Museum of Damascus
Other notable gods
1. Manaf (Arabic: مناف) was a god related to women and menstruation.[3]
2. Wadd (Arabic: ود) was a god of love and friendship. Snakes were believed to be sacred to Wadd.[3]
3. Amm (Arabic: أم) was a moon god worshipped in ancient Qataban. He was revered as in association
with the weather, especially lightning.
4. Ta'lab (Arabic: طالب) was a god worshipped in southern Arabia, particularly in Sheba and also a moon
god. His oracle was consulted for advice.
5. Dhu'l-Halasa (Arabic: الحالس was an oracular god of south Arabia. He was venerated in the form of (ذو
a white stone.
6. Al-Qaum (Arabic: القوم) was the Nabataean god of war and the night, and also guardian of caravans.
7. Dushara (Arabic: الشرى "was a Nabataean god, his name meaning "Lord of the Mountain (ذو
Supernatural beings[edit]
Spirits[edit]
Jinn (also called djinn or genies, Arabic: جن jinn) are supernatural creatures which possess free will, and
can be either good or evil. In some cases, evil genies are said to lead humans astray.[8]
Marids (Arabic: مارد mārid) are often described as the most powerful type of jinn, having especially great
powers. They are the most arrogant and proud as well. Like every jinn, they have free will yet could be
compelled to perform chores. They also have the ability to grant wishes to mortals, but that usually
requires battle, and according to some sources imprisonment, rituals, or just a great deal of flattery.
Ifrits (Arabic: عفريت ‘ifrīt) are infernal jinn, spirits below the level of angels and devils, noted for their
strength and cunning. An ifrit is an enormous winged creature of fire, either male or female, who lives
underground and frequents ruins. Ifrits live in a society structured along ancient Arab tribal lines, complete
with kings, tribes, and clans. They generally marry one another, but they can also marry humans. While
ordinary weapons and forces have no power over them, they are susceptible to magic, which humans can
use to kill them or to capture and enslave them. As with the jinn, an ifrit may be either a believer or an
unbeliever, good or evil, but he is most often depicted as a wicked and ruthless being.
Monsters[edit]
A Nasnas (Arabic: نسناس nasnās) is "half a human being; having half a head, half a body, one arm, one
leg, with which it hops with much agility". It was believed to be the offspring of a demon called a Shiqq and
a human being.[9]
Ghouls (Arabic: غول ghūl) are desert-dwelling, shapeshifting demons that can assume the guise of animal,
especially hyenas. They lure unwary travellers into the desert wastes to slay and devour them. These
creatures also prey on young children, rob graves, drink blood, and eat the dead, taking on the form of the
one they previously ate. Because of the latter habit, the word ghoul is sometimes used to refer to an
ordinary human such as a grave robber, or to anyone who delights in the macabre.[10]
Bahamut (Arabic: بهموت Bahamūt) is a vast fish that supports the earth. It is sometimes described as
having a head resembling a hippopotamus or elephant.[11]
NasnasFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A nasnas is a monstrous creature in Arabian and Arab folklore. According to Edward Lane, the 19th century
translator of The Thousand and One Nights, a nasnas is "half a human being; having half a head, half a body,
one arm, one leg, with which it hops with much agility". It was believed to be the offspring of a demon called
a Shiqq and a human being. A character in "The Story of the Sage and the Scholar", a tale from the collection,
is turned into a nasnas after a magician applies kohl to one of his eyes. The nasnas is mentioned in Gustave
Flaubert's The Temptation of Saint Anthony.
Sources[edit]
Robert Irwin The Arabian Nights: a Companion (Penguin, 1994)
Jorge Luis Borges The Book of Imaginary Beasts (Penguin, 1974)
Categories:
Cryptids in fiction
Arabian legendary creatures
GhoulFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses of the term "ghoul", see Ghoul (disambiguation).
"Amine Discovered with the Goule", from the story of Sidi Nouman, of the Arabian Nights.
A ghoul is a folkloric monster or spirit associated with graveyards and consuming human flesh, often classified
as undead. The oldest surviving literature that mention ghouls is likely One Thousand and One Nights.[1] The
term was first used in English literature in 1786, in William Beckford'sOrientalist novel Vathek,[2] which
describes the ghūl of Arabian folklore.
By extension, the word ghoul is also used in a derogatory sense to refer to a person who delights in
the macabre, or whose profession is linked directly to death, such as a gravedigger.
Contents
[hide]
1 Early etymology
2 In Arabian folklore
3 Other influences
4 See also
5 References
Early etymology[edit]
Ghoul is from the Arabic الغول ghul, from ghala "to seize".[3] The term is etymologically related to Gallu, a
Mesopotamian demon.[4][5]
In Arabian folklore[edit]
In ancient Arabian folklore, the ghūl (Arabic: literally demon)[6] dwells in burial grounds and other uninhabited
places. The ghul is a fiendish type of jinnbelieved to be sired by Iblis.[7]
A ghul is also a desert-dwelling, shapeshifting, evil demon that can assume the guise of an animal, especially
a hyena. It lures unwary people into the desert wastes or abandoned places to slay and devour them. The
creature also preys on young children, drinks blood, steals coins, and eats the dead,[6] then taking the form of
the person most recently eaten.
In the Arabic language, the female form is given as ghouleh[8] and the plural is ghilan. In colloquial Arabic, the
term is sometimes used to describe a greedy or gluttonous individual.
Other influences[edit]
The star Algol takes its name from the definite Arabic term Rās al-ghūl , or The Demon's Head.[9]
See also
GhoulFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses of the term "ghoul", see Ghoul (disambiguation).
"Amine Discovered with the Goule", from the story of Sidi Nouman, of the Arabian Nights.
A ghoul is a folkloric monster or spirit associated with graveyards and consuming human flesh, often classified
as undead. The oldest surviving literature that mention ghouls is likely One Thousand and One Nights.[1] The
term was first used in English literature in 1786, in William Beckford'sOrientalist novel Vathek,[2] which
describes the ghūl of Arabian folklore.
By extension, the word ghoul is also used in a derogatory sense to refer to a person who delights in
the macabre, or whose profession is linked directly to death, such as a gravedigger.
Contents
[hide]
1 Early etymology
2 In Arabian folklore
3 Other influences
4 See also
5 References
Early etymology[edit]
Ghoul is from the Arabic الغول ghul, from ghala "to seize".[3] The term is etymologically related to Gallu, a
Mesopotamian demon.[4][5]
In Arabian folklore[edit]
In ancient Arabian folklore, the ghūl (Arabic: literally demon)[6] dwells in burial grounds and other uninhabited
places. The ghul is a fiendish type of jinnbelieved to be sired by Iblis.[7]
A ghul is also a desert-dwelling, shapeshifting, evil demon that can assume the guise of an animal, especially
a hyena. It lures unwary people into the desert wastes or abandoned places to slay and devour them. The
creature also preys on young children, drinks blood, steals coins, and eats the dead,[6] then taking the form of
the person most recently eaten.
In the Arabic language, the female form is given as ghouleh[8] and the plural is ghilan. In colloquial Arabic, the
term is sometimes used to describe a greedy or gluttonous individual.
Other influences[edit]
The star Algol takes its name from the definite Arabic term Rās al-ghūl , or The Demon's Head.[9]
See also
BahamutFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the giant fish from Arabian mythology. For other uses, see Bahamut (disambiguation) .
Bahamut or Bahamoot (/ b ə ̍ h ɑː m uː t / bə-HAH-moot; Arabic: بهموت Bahamūt) is a vast fish that supports the
earth in Arabian mythology.[1][2] In some sources, Bahamut is described as having a head resembling a
hippopotamus or elephant.[3]
Overview[edit]
In Arabic myth, Bahamut is a giant fish acting as one of the layers that supports the earth.[1] In Jorge Luis
Borges' Book of Imaginary Beings, Bahamut is "altered and magnified"[2] fromBehemoth, and described as so
immense that a human cannot bear its sight; "[all] the seas of the world, placed in one of the fish's nostrils,
would be like a mustard seed laid in the desert."[2]
Edward William Lane cites two cosmological accounts from Ibn al-Wardi (d. 1348 CE) that feature Bahamut.
One account describes Bahamut as a fish floating in water, supported by darkness. On the fish is a bull
called Kujata,[1][4][5] on the bull, a ruby mountain; on the mountain, an angel; the angel holds and supports the
seven earths.[1] In another account, Bahamut supports a bed of sand, on which stands a bull, on whose back
rests a rock which holds the waters in which the earth is located. Beneath the fish are layers of suffocating
wind, a veil of darkness, and mist.[1]Other sources describe Behemoth as a layer in similar conceptions of
Arabic cosmography.[3][2]
According to Borges, Bahamut is the giant fish that Jesus beholds in the 496th night of the One Thousand and
One Nights. Bahamut in this telling is a giant fish swimming in a vast ocean. It carries a bull on its head; the bull
bears a rock, and above the rock is an angel who carries the seven stages of the earths. Beneath Bahamut is
an abyss of air, then fire, and beneath that a giant serpent called Falak.[6]
Upon seeing Bahamut, Jesus (Isa) passes into unconsciousness:
At this sight Isa fell down aswoon, and when he came to himself, Allah spake to him by inspiration, saying, 'O
Isa, hast thou seen the fish and comprehended its length and its breadth?' He replied, 'By Thy honour and
glory, O Lord, I saw no fish; but there passed me by a great bull, whose length was three days' journey, and I
know not what manner of thing this bull is.' Quoth Allah, 'O Isa, this that thou sawest and which was three days
in passing by thee, was but the head of the fish; and know that every day I create forty fishes like unto this.' [6]
Borges cites the idea of Bahamut as part of a layered cosmology as an illustration of the cosmological proof of
the existence of God, which infers a first cause from the impossibility of infinite prior causes.[2] He also draws
parallels between Bahamut and the mythical Japanese fish Jinshin-Uwo.[7]
References[edit]
1. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e Lane, Edward William (1883). Arabian society in the middle ages: studies from the Thousand and
one nights. London: Chatto & Windus. pp. 106–107.
2. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e Borges, Jorge Luis; Margarita Guerrero, Norman Thomas di Giovanni (trans.) (2002). Book of
Imaginary Beings. London: Vintage. pp. 25–26. ISBN 0-09-944263-9.
3. ^ Jump up to:a b Rose, Carol (2001). Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth.
New York: W. W. Norton & Company. p. 37. ISBN 0-393-32211-4.
4. Jump up^ Borges, 89.
5. Jump up^ Sykes, Egerton; Alan Kendall (1993). Who's Who in Non-Classical Mythology. London: J. M. Dent.
p. 28. ISBN 0-460-86136-0.
6. ^ Jump up to:a b Burton, Richard F.. "The Book of a Thousand Nights and One, Volume 5: The Adventures of Bulukiya".
Wollamshram World. Archived from the original on 5 November 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
7. Jump up^ Borges, 87.