A famous verse that comes from ancient times says: “The impossible is defined in three: Al-Ghool, Al-Aanqa’a and the loyal friend”. Of course, the only known creature in this verse is the loyal friend. But what about the other two? Al-Ghool in many Arab countries is another name for the snake (just like Ras Al-Ghool organisation in Batman movie that Bane and Bruce Wayne were part which means: Head of the snake).
But in ancient Arabia Al-Ghool (singular) or Al-Gheelan (plural) were believed to be jinn (spirits) that were shape-shifters with one defect: whatever shape they took, their legs would remain that of a donkey and that’s how people recognised them.
Many ancient Arab poets took pride in fighting and killing them, most famously the poet Ta’abbata Shar’ran (a nickname that means he who carried evil under his arm). Legend has it that the poet found a ram in the desert and carried it all the way to his place to discover that it wasn’t a ram after all but a Ghool and that’s how he got the nickname.
In another version he was carrying a bag of truffles for his mother to find out at home that they’d turned into slithering snakes. Another famous knight poet Aa’ntara ibn Shadad claimed that a Ghool that appeared to him had black face, blue eyes and sickle-like claws. Some believed that it could be killed by a sword if stabbed once, but if stabbed twice it could live more than a thousand years.
Other beliefs include that it could lure travellers by fake camp fires in the middle of the desert and kill them by revealing their frightful looks. As for Al-Aanqa’a, it was a big colourful bird with a white ring around its neck. It lived on top of a mountain and one day when its chicks got hungry, it flew down into a nearby village and snatched a human child. On another occasion, the prey was a slave girl. That’s when it got its nickname: Aanqa’a mughrib as it flew towards the sunset.
The villagers were displeased and went complaining to their prophet who prayed for them and Al-Aanqa’a got burned down by an instant thunderbolt. Old Arabs used the proverb: “something was flown away by Aanqa’a mughrib” to indicate hopelessness.
Another mythical creature was bird called Al-Ham (plural) or Al-Hama (singular). It was believed to be a human soul that hung around its owner’s grave giving frightful cries.
Al-Ham were also found in abandoned places and war zones. It grew to the size of an owl and was the dead person’s eyes in the living world, reporting back everything that happens to his relatives after his departure.
A famous Hama was that of Hatim Al-Ta’I, the most generous man of ancient Arabia. It’s said that a group of travellers passed his grave and asked him to be fed before camping nearby and sleeping hungry. In the middle of the night, one of them woke up to find Hatim with a sword, slaughtering his own camel. The travellers feasted before continuing their journey. On their way, they met a man with a camel in hand asking for the owner of the slaughtered camel by name.
He handed him the camel and identified himself as Uday ibn Hatim Al-Ta’i. His dad had appeared to him reproaching for not carrying out his nobleness legacy and ordered him to compensate the man with a new camel instead of the slaughtered one. Another mythical bird is Al-Rukh that Ancient Arabs believed to be huge enough to carry elephants and was mentioned by Marco Polo.
Rasha al Raisi is a certified skills trainer and the author of: The World According to Bahja. rashabooks@yahoo.com
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