![NLM MS P 2-fol187b-anqa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/NLM_MS_P_2-fol187b-anqa.jpg)
Anqa ( ar, عَنْقَاء, ʿanqāʾ),
also spelled '' 'Anqa' '', or ''Anka'', or ''Anqa Mughrib'' or ''Anqa al-Mughrib'' ( ar, العَنْقَاء المُغْرِب)) is the person who throw people down toward west or during sunset is a large mysterious or fabulous female bird in
Arabian mythology
Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia included indigenous Arabian polytheism, ancient Semitic religions, Christianity, Judaism, Mandaeism, and Iranian religions such as Zoroastrianism, and Manichaeism, and rarely Buddhism.
Arabian polytheism, the d ...
. She is said to fly far away and only appear once in ages. However, it is also said that she can be found at "the place of the setting of the sun".
Etymology and notes
The word ''ʿanqāʾ'' is the feminine form of ''ʾaʿnaq'' () meaning "long-necked" and also "long and thick in the neck". This probably implies that the bird resembles a
heron
The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...
or
crane (or other long-necked birds) or simply has a large strong neck like an
eagle
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...
or
falcon
Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene.
Adult falcons ...
(or other
raptors) with which she was identified by some.
The word ''muḡrib'' has a number of meanings signifying "strange, foreign", "distant, remote", "west, sunset", "desolated, unknown" and "white, dawn" and expresses the enigma as well as unreality associated with the creature.
''ʿAnqāʾ'', however, is also related to ''ʿanāq'' ( "misfortune, hard affair") and was, along with ''ʿanqāʾ muḡrib'' used to mean a calamity.
It was so because the bird was said to be originally created with all perfections but became a plague or scourge and was killed.
Characteristics
The anqa was described as "very beautiful and colorful with a long neck, human face, four pairs of wings, and some resemblance with every living being" and a "whiteness" in its neck.
Zakariya al-Qazwini
Zakariyya' al-Qazwini ( , ar, أبو يحيى زكرياء بن محمد بن محمود القزويني), also known as Qazvini ( fa, قزوینی), born in Qazvin (Iran) and died 1283, was a Persian cosmographer and geographer of Arab ances ...
in this cosmological book ''
The Wonders of Creation'' comments about the anqa as "the kin of birds that lived alone on
Mount Qaf
Mount Qaf, or Qaf-Kuh, also spelled Cafcuh and Kafkuh ( fa, قافکوه), or Jabal Qaf, also spelled Djebel Qaf ( ar, جبل قاف), or ''Koh-i-Qaf'', also spelled ''Koh-Qaf'' and ''Kuh-i-Qaf'' or ''Kuh-e Qaf'' ( fa, کوہ قاف) is a legen ...
" and "a wise bird with experience gained throughout many ages and gives admonitions and moral advice".
Qazwini also says that the bird lives for 1700 years, mating at 500 years of age and that the chick, after the egg breaks, stays inside and only comes out after 125 years.
It is said that Anqa eats nothing except elephants and large fish.
Identification
The anqa is frequently identified (to the point of becoming synonymous) with the
simurgh
Simurgh (; fa, سیمرغ, also spelled ''simorgh, simorg'', ''simurg'', ''simoorg, simorq'' or ''simourv'') is a benevolent, mythical bird in Persian mythology and literature. It is sometimes equated with other mythological birds such as the ...
of
Persian mythology
Persian mythology or Iranian mythology (Persian:اساطیرشناسی ایرانی) is the body of the myths originally told by ancient Persians and other Iranian peoples, and a genre of Ancient Persian folklore. These stories concern the origi ...
along with the
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
and
Byzantine eagles and the
Turkic Konrul
In Turkic mythology, Konrul, also Kongrul and Konqrul (Azeri: , , ) is a long-lived bird that is cyclically regenerated or reborn, similar to a phoenix.
Description
Konrul is depicted as a winged creature in the shape of a bird, gigantic enough t ...
, also called ''semrük'', probably due to the sphere of influence of the
Persian Empire
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, wikt:𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...
.
It is also almost always glossed as a
phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
. In
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
, the other name for the Konrul as well as a phoenix is "the emerald anqa". In modern arabic Anqa is identified as a phoenix or griffin.
See also
*
Simurgh
Simurgh (; fa, سیمرغ, also spelled ''simorgh, simorg'', ''simurg'', ''simoorg, simorq'' or ''simourv'') is a benevolent, mythical bird in Persian mythology and literature. It is sometimes equated with other mythological birds such as the ...
*
Phoenix
*
Chalkydri
Chalkydri ( grc, χαλκύδραι ''khalkýdrai'', compound of ''khalkós'' "brass, copper" + ''hýdra'' " hydra", "water-serpent" — lit. "brazen hydras", "copper serpents") are mythical creatures mentioned in the apocryphal Second Book of E ...
, bird hybrid creatures that live near the Sun alongside phoenixes from the
Second book of Enoch
The Second Book of Enoch (abbreviated as 2 Enoch and also known as Slavonic Enoch, Slavic Enoch or Secrets of Enoch) is a pseudepigraphic text in the apocalyptic genre. It describes the ascent of the patriarch Enoch, ancestor of Noah, through ten ...
*
Roc, another enormous legendary bird of Middle Eastern origin popularized in Arab folklore
*
Anzû
Anzû, also known as dZû and Imdugud ( Sumerian: ''AN.IM.DUGUD MUŠEN''), is a lesser divinity or monster in several Mesopotamian religions. He was conceived by the pure waters of the Apsu and the wide Earth, or as son of Siris. Anzû was depi ...
, a massive bird divinity or monster in Mesopotamian religion
*
Konrul
In Turkic mythology, Konrul, also Kongrul and Konqrul (Azeri: , , ) is a long-lived bird that is cyclically regenerated or reborn, similar to a phoenix.
Description
Konrul is depicted as a winged creature in the shape of a bird, gigantic enough t ...
, also known as Zumrud Anka
Bibliography
* ''Wafayat al-aʼyan'' by
Ibn Khallikan
Aḥmad bin Muḥammad bin Ibrāhīm bin Abū Bakr ibn Khallikān) ( ar, أحمد بن محمد بن إبراهيم بن أبي بكر ابن خلكان; 1211 – 1282), better known as Ibn Khallikān, was a 13th century Shafi'i Islamic scholar w ...
biography number 349
* ''Lisān al-ʿArab'' by
Ibn Manzur
Muhammad ibn Mukarram ibn Alī ibn Ahmad ibn Manzūr al-Ansārī al-Ifrīqī al-Misrī al-Khazrajī () also known as Ibn Manẓūr () (June–July 1233 – December 1311/January 1312) was an Arab lexicographer of the Arabic language and author of ...
part 10 page 276
* ''The Wonder of Creation'' by
Zakariya al-Qazwini
Zakariyya' al-Qazwini ( , ar, أبو يحيى زكرياء بن محمد بن محمود القزويني), also known as Qazvini ( fa, قزوینی), born in Qazvin (Iran) and died 1283, was a Persian cosmographer and geographer of Arab ances ...
*
Kitab al-'Ayn
''Kitab al-'Ayn'' ( ar, كتاب العين) is the first Arabic language dictionary and one of the earliest known dictionaries of any language. It was compiled in the eighth century by Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi. The letter '' ayn'' () of t ...
by
Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi
Abu ‘Abd ar-Raḥmān al-Khalīl ibn Aḥmad ibn ‘Amr ibn Tammām al-Farāhīdī al-Azdī al-Yaḥmadī ( ar, أبو عبدالرحمن الخليل بن أحمد الفراهيدي; 718 – 786 CE), known as Al-Farāhīdī, or Al-Khalīl, ...
Notes
References
{{reflist
Arabian legendary creatures
Demons
Female legendary creatures
Griffins
Legendary birds
Phoenix birds