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A '''nasnas''' is a monstrous creature in |
A '''nasnas''' is a monstrous creature in [[Arabian]] and [[Arab]] folklore. According to [[Edward William Lane|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 [[Jinn|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 (cosmetics)|kohl]] to one of his eyes. The nasnas is mentioned in [[Gustave Flaubert]]'s ''[[The Temptation of Saint Anthony (Flaubert)|The Temptation of Saint Anthony]]''. |
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==Sources== |
==Sources== |
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Revision as of 23:45, 17 August 2013
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
- Robert Irwin The Arabian Nights: a Companion (Penguin, 1994)
- Jorge Luis Borges The Book of Imaginary Beasts (Penguin, 1974)