The Book of Curiosities
Of interest to Forteans and students of antiquity, the Bodleian Library has an online exhibit and translation of The Book of Curiosities, a Medieval Arabic “Book of Marvels.” Of especial interest to my readers will likely be the chapter on (no, really!) “Deformed quasi-human creatures,” which features excellent stuff like this:
In the land the Zanj 8 there are creatures that look human, but have tails, talk in whistles, and jump from tree to tree. In the city of Khanshūn [?] 9 in China there are creatures that speak the language of the apes. In the islands of India there are people who have faces on their chests and big ears. Each of them has both female and male genitalia. Their language is unintelligible. ي
Fol. 46b, lines 10-12
Near China, in a place called the Sea of Ṣankhai, there are black boys that emerge from the sea. Each of them is four feet (shibr) tall. They cling to the ships and pound them, but cause no harm and then return to the sea. When this happens, the people on board ship learn that the sea is about to storm, and so prepare for it.ي
Fol. 46b, lines 12-14
In the land of Wabār 13 there are many people who have suffered the wrath of God. He has changed their form into the nisnās,14 so men and women have only one half of their head and face, with one eye, one arm and one leg. They roam about, grazing in this forest all the way to the sea shore. ي
Fol. 46b, lines 14-15
Their land has been taken over by ants, each ant as big as a large ewe, capable of knocking a horseman off his horse. Others say that their land has been overtaken by jinn,15 and those ants are the jinn’s beasts of burden. ي
Yow!
