Abada (unicorn)

Illustration featured on page 60 of Girolamo Merolla's Breve, e succinta relazione del viaggio nel regno di Congo nell'Africa meridionale, fatto dal P. Girolamo Merolla da Sorrento, sacerdote Cappuccino missionario apostolico : continente variati clima, arie, animali, fiumi, frutti, vestimenti con proprie figure, diversita di costumi, e di viveri per l'uso umano.

In the Kongo language, Abada refers to a mythical animal similar to a unicorn. The Abada, however, has two crooked horns as opposed to a unicorn's single one.[1] The Abada's horns hang limp and soft when it is relaxed or sleeping, but hardens when it feels threatened.[2] The Abada's horns can act as an antidote to poison and disease.[1] It is also claimed that natives would hunt the male Abadas to use their skin as shields.[2] The Abada is also known as Nillekma or Arase.[1]

It has been described as being the size of a small donkey with the tail of a boar. In many tales, the Abada is said to appear during moments of hardship, such as when a traveler is lost or someone is gravely ill. Its arrival is viewed as a sign of good fortune and a supernatural source of hope.[1]

Outside of Conglese myth the Abada is also found in Indonesian, Malay, and Tartar mythologies in which the Abada is portrayed as a primarily female creature with a shy disposition.[3]

Etymology

it is believed the word "Bada" is of either Malay or Arabic origin. "badak" being the modern term for Rhinoceras and Hippopotamus in modern Malay, often used interchangeably for both species. The term "Abida" meaning wild animal in Arabic.[4]

"Badas" or "Abadas" is the old Portuguese word for Rhinoceras. Although it was first used to describe a unicorn-like creature in the 17th century via the Capuchin missionary Giovani Antonio Cavazzi da Montecucco, claiming it was called the "Abada" by the local Congolese.[4]

Although often compared, Father Balthazar Tellez recorded a quote from a Portuguese man who had lived in Abyssinia distinguishes the Abada from the traditional unicorn on account of its horns. "It is important that the unicorn is not to be confounded with the Abada, about which they usually dispute; This one may see by the difference of their names, as well as by the difference of their body and parts, and it would appear by the Abada which we have seen and by the unicorn which we have seen painted. The latter has a long straight horn of admirable virtue; The Abada has two crooked horns, which are not sovereign, although they will serve as antidotes against poison."[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Ken Wilson-Max (January 23, 2013). "African Mythical creatures: Abada 'The Unicorn'". The Illustrationist.
  2. 1 2 Archive, Internet Sacred Text. "Mythical Monsters: Chapter X. The Unicorn". Internet Sacred Text Archive. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
  3. ↑ Bane, Theresa (2016-05-09). Encyclopedia of Beasts and Monsters in Myth, Legend and Folklore. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-9505-4.
  4. 1 2 Ruickbie, Leo (2016-09-08). The Impossible Zoo: An encyclopedia of fabulous beasts and mythical monsters. Little, Brown Book Group. ISBN 978-1-4721-3645-9.
  5. ↑ Reade, William Winwood (1864). Savage Africa; Being the Narrative of a Tour in Equatorial, Southwestern and Northwestern Africa. Harper & brothers.

Further reading

This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.