A Bao A Qu is a legendary Malay creature described in Jorge Luis Borges's 1967 Book of Imaginary Beings. Borges claimed to have found it either in an introduction to the Arabian Nights by Richard Francis Burton, or in the book On Malay Witchcraft (1937) by C.C. Iturvuru.[1] The Burton reference was given in the original Spanish, but it was changed to the Iturvuru reference in the English text, possibly to make it sound more exotic, or as a reference to Borges' friend C. C. Iturburu.[2] The writer Antares conjectures that Borges's tale might be inspired by Orang Asli myth, and that "A Bao A Qu" is a slurring of abang aku meaning "my elder brother".[3]
In Borges's story, the A Bao A Qu lives on the steps of the Tower of Victory in Chitor, from the top of which one can see "the loveliest landscape in the world". The A Bao A Qu waits on the first step for a man brave enough to try to climb up. Until that point, it lies sleeping, shapeless and translucent, until someone passes. Then, when a man starts climbing, the creature wakes, and follows close behind. As it progresses further and further up, it begins to become clearer and more colorful. It gives off a blue light which increases as it ascends. But it only reaches perfection when the climber reaches the top, and achieves Nirvana, so his acts don't cast any shadows. But almost all the time, the climber cannot reach the top, for they are not perfect. When the A Bao A Qu realizes this, it hangs back, losing color and visibility, and tumbles back down the staircase until it reaches the bottom, once more dormant and shapeless. In doing so, it gives a small cry, so soft that it sounds similar to the rustling of silk. When touched, it feels like the fuzz on the skin of a peach. Only once in its everlasting life has the A Bao A Qu reached its destination at the top of the tower.
Referencesedit
^Borges, J.L. (2005) [1967]. The Book of Imaginary Beings [El libro de los seres imaginarios]. Translated by Hurley, Andrew. Viking Penguin.
^Leeper, Mark R.; Leeper, Evelyn C. (2006-08-25). "Mt. Holz Science Fiction Society". The MT Void. Retrieved 6 May 2015 – via Fanac.
^"The A Bao A Qu Mystery". Magick River. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
April 17, 2024
redirects, here, other, uses, disambiguation, legendary, malay, creature, described, jorge, luis, borges, 1967, book, imaginary, beings, borges, claimed, have, found, either, introduction, arabian, nights, richard, francis, burton, book, malay, witchcraft, 193. A Bao A Qu redirects here For other uses see A Bao A Qu disambiguation A Bao A Qu is a legendary Malay creature described in Jorge Luis Borges s 1967 Book of Imaginary Beings Borges claimed to have found it either in an introduction to the Arabian Nights by Richard Francis Burton or in the book On Malay Witchcraft 1937 by C C Iturvuru 1 The Burton reference was given in the original Spanish but it was changed to the Iturvuru reference in the English text possibly to make it sound more exotic or as a reference to Borges friend C C Iturburu 2 The writer Antares conjectures that Borges s tale might be inspired by Orang Asli myth and that A Bao A Qu is a slurring of abang aku meaning my elder brother 3 In Borges s story the A Bao A Qu lives on the steps of the Tower of Victory in Chitor from the top of which one can see the loveliest landscape in the world The A Bao A Qu waits on the first step for a man brave enough to try to climb up Until that point it lies sleeping shapeless and translucent until someone passes Then when a man starts climbing the creature wakes and follows close behind As it progresses further and further up it begins to become clearer and more colorful It gives off a blue light which increases as it ascends But it only reaches perfection when the climber reaches the top and achieves Nirvana so his acts don t cast any shadows But almost all the time the climber cannot reach the top for they are not perfect When the A Bao A Qu realizes this it hangs back losing color and visibility and tumbles back down the staircase until it reaches the bottom once more dormant and shapeless In doing so it gives a small cry so soft that it sounds similar to the rustling of silk When touched it feels like the fuzz on the skin of a peach Only once in its everlasting life has the A Bao A Qu reached its destination at the top of the tower References edit Borges J L 2005 1967 The Book of Imaginary Beings El libro de los seres imaginarios Translated by Hurley Andrew Viking Penguin Leeper Mark R Leeper Evelyn C 2006 08 25 Mt Holz Science Fiction Society The MT Void Retrieved 6 May 2015 via Fanac The A Bao A Qu Mystery Magick River Retrieved 6 May 2015 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title A Bao A Qu amp oldid 1208728016, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
