Al-Wakwak ( '), also spelled al-Waq Waq, Wak al-Wak or just Wak Wak, is the name of an island, or possibly more than one island, in medieval Arabic geographical and imaginative literature.

Identification with civilisations

Wakwak is referred to in a number of sources; it is generally an island far away. In Arab versions, the famous island of Waq-Waq is located in the China Sea. A queen rules the island and the population is entirely female: it is usually illustrated in al-Qazvini manuscripts of the '' Wonders of Creation'' showing the queen surrounded by her female attendants.

Ibn Khordadbeh Abu'l-Qasim Ubaydallah ibn Abdallah ibn Khordadbeh (; 820/825–913), commonly known as Ibn Khordadbeh (also spelled Ibn Khurradadhbih; ), was a high-ranking bureaucrat and geographer of Persian descent in the Abbasid Caliphate. He is the aut ...

mentions Waqwaq twice:Saudi Aramco World: The Seas of Sindbad
Paul Lunde. The ''Suma Oriental'' of Tomé Pires mentioned that the people of

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

has "many fine hounds with collars and rings of gold and silver", matching ibn Khordadbeh description of Waqwaq. Michael Jan de Goeje offered an etymology that interpreted it as a rendering of a Cantonese name for Japan. Gabriel Ferrand identified it with

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. Tom Hoogervorst argued that the Malagasy word , meaning "people, clan, tribe", is derived from the Malay word ''awak''-''awak'', "people, crew". Ann Kumar agrees with Hoogervorst, and identifies Wakwak as Indonesia, and argued the possibility of ancient Indonesian attack on Africa's east coast.Kumar, Ann (2012). 'Dominion Over Palm and Pine: Early Indonesia’s Maritime Reach', in Geoff Wade (ed.), ''Anthony Reid and the Study of the Southeast Asian Past'' (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies), 101–122. The tenth-century Arab account ''Ajayib al-Hind'' "Marvels of India" by al-Ramhormuzi gives an account of invasion in Africa by people called Wakwak or Waqwaq, probably the Malay people of

Srivijaya Srivijaya (), also spelled Sri Vijaya, was a Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia) that influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important ...

Javanese people The Javanese ( , ; ) are an Austronesian peoples, Austronesian ethnic group native to the central and eastern part of the Indonesian island of Java. With more than 100 million people, Javanese people are the largest ethnic group in both Indo ...

of Mataram kingdom,Lombard, Denys (2005)''
Nusa Jawa: Silang Budaya, Bagian 2: Jaringan Asia
'. Jakarta: Gramedia Pustaka Utama. An Indonesian translation of Lombard, Denys (1990). ''Le carrefour javanais. Essai d'histoire globale (The Javanese Crossroads: Towards a Global History) vol. 2''. Paris: Éditions de l'École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales. in 945–946 AD. They arrived in the coast of Tanganyika and

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

with 1000 boats and attempted to take the citadel of Qanbaloh, though eventually failed. The reason of the attack is because that place had goods suitable for their country and for China, such as

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and Tooth, teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mamm ...

, tortoise shells, panther skins, and ambergris, and also because they wanted slaves from the Bantu peoples (called ''Zeng'' or '' Zenj'' by Arabs, ''Jenggi'' by Javanese). The existence of black Africans was recorded until the 15th century in

Old Javanese Old Javanese or Kawi is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language and the oldest attested phase of the Javanese language. It was natively spoken in the central and eastern part of Java Island, what is now Central Java, Special Region o ...

inscriptions and the Javanese were still recorded as exporting black slaves during the Ming dynasty era. According to Waharu IV inscription (931 AD) and Garaman inscription (1053 AD), the Mataram kingdom and Airlangga's era Kahuripan kingdom (1000–1049 AD) of Java experienced a long prosperity so that it needed a lot of manpower, especially to bring crops, packings, and send them to ports. Labor was imported from Jenggi (

Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...

), and possibly Pujut (Australia), and Bondan ( Papua). According to Naerssen, they arrived in Java by trading (bought by merchants) or being taken prisoner during a war and then made slaves. The full transcription of the Wakwak account in ''Ajayeb al-Hind'' is as follows:

"Ja'far bin Rasid, known under the name of Ibn Lakis, a noted pilot for the gold countries, has related to me some extraordinary matters concerning the Wakwak of which he was himself witness. In the year 334 A.H. (A.D. 945) the Wakwak set out with a thousand ships to launch a determined attack upon the town of Kanbaloh. But they were unable to capture it, for the town was strongly fortified and was surrounded by an arm of the sea, in the midst of which Kanbaloh rose like a fortress. People of the country, with whom the intruders held parley, demanded why they had come to Kanbaloh rather than to any other place; they replied that it was because the country possessed merchandise of value in the Wakwak country and in China, such as ivory, tortoise shell, panther skins and ambergris, and also because they wanted to obtain some of the Zenj people, who, being strong men, are able to stand heavy labour. Their voyage, said they, had lasted a year. They had pillaged several islands at six days' sail from Kanbaloh, and afterwards many towns and villages of the Zenjs in the Sofala country, without reckoning we know not what. If the story told by these people be true in speaking of a voyage of a year's duration, this proves," says the writer, "that Ibn Lakis is right when he maintains that the Wakwak Islands are situated opposite to China."
— Buzurg Ibn Shahriyar of Ramhormuz, ''Ajaib al-Hind''

The writer says that the inhabitants of Waqwaq are numerous in number, with some of them resemble the Turks in appearance. They are the most industrious of all

Allah Allah ( ; , ) is an Arabic term for God, specifically the God in Abrahamic religions, God of Abraham. Outside of the Middle East, it is principally associated with God in Islam, Islam (in which it is also considered the proper name), althoug ...

’s creatures but are said to be treacherous, cunning and lying.

The waqwaq tree

In the '' Book of Wonders'', the painting titled the "Tree of Waq Waq" is rather extraordinary because it illustrates how the all-female population reproduces and self-perpetuates. Female figures grow from the tree as if they mature like fruit until they are ripened and they drop to the ground emitting a cry that sounds like 'Waq Waq!' An Andalusi version mentions beautiful women as the fruit of the tree. Mauny thinks this may be the

pandanus ''Pandanus'' is a genus of monocots with about 578 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. Common names include pandan, screw palm and screw pine. The genus is classified ...

, called ''Bakkuwan'' by the

Batak Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely related Austronesian peoples, Austronesian ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used to include the Karo people ( ...

peoples of

and grown in Madagascar, where it is called ''Vakwa''. The ''

Tongdian The ''Tongdian'' () is a Chinese institutional history and encyclopedia text. It covers a panoply of topics from high antiquity through the year 756, whereas a quarter of the book focuses on the Tang dynasty. The book was written by Du You from ...

'', an 8th century Chinese encyclopedia by Du Huan, mentions an Arab account of a tree growing little children.

Identification with civilisations

The waqwaq tree

See also

References

Further reading