The country of Waq Waq. The land of women and gold in the Arab heritage - fact or myth?
The country of Waq Waq in Arab heritage
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- The land of Waq Waq is prominent in Arab heritage and historical literature, being described by scholars like Ibn Khaldun, Al-Razi, and Al-Idrisi, as well as in legendary tales like One Thousand and One Nights.
- Waq Waq is depicted as a distant, unreachable land full of youth, beauty, and wealth, where reaching it supposedly required years of sea travel.
- Uniquely, Waq Waq was believed to be inhabited solely by beautiful women, including a female ruling class led by a queen.
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- Legends claim the people of Waq Waq are not traditional human beings but beings born from the Waq Waq tree, emerging from it in a supernatural manner.
- The name "Waq Waq" is said to originate from either the sound made by the tree or possibly derived from the Chinese word "wakuku" for Japan or from the cry of native birds.
- There are competing theories about its real-world location, with some historians linking Waq Waq to Japan, Madagascar, or Southeast Asia.
- Stories about Waq Waq describe it as an incredibly wealthy country where gold is so abundant that clothing and tools are made entirely from it.
The land of Waq Waq, or Bilad Waq Waq, appears in many historical accounts and in the writings of ancient scholars such as Ibn Khaldun, Al-Razi, and Al-Idrisi. It is also mentioned in collections of tales and legends, including One Thousand and One Nights.
The land of women, beauty, youth, and abundant gold
Arab sources describe Waq Waq as extremely remote—an example of great distance and difficulty of access. It was said the only way to reach it was by sea, and at one time its distance was claimed to require eight years of continuous sailing; this may be an exaggeration or it may be true.
Despite its remoteness, accounts describe such marvels that it seems easier to believe Waq Waq is a legend than a real place. Those accounts claim that all its inhabitants were women—very beautiful, including in their hair—and that the rulers were women as well; the country was governed by a queen.
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This raises the question: did men have a place in Waq Waq?
It was also said that Waq Waq overflowed with gold: its inhabitants wore clothes sewn from gold and used tools made of the metal, implying it was the richest country in the world.
The people of Waq Waq are not born
Accounts say the nature of life in Waq Waq differed from the rest of the world. It was said the people were not human but a creation similar to humans; they reproduced by bearing fruit on a giant tree called the Waq Waq tree. According to the reports, this is the secret of their eternal youth: they emerge from the tree from the bottom upward, hanging by their heads, specifically by their hair.
The origin of the name "Waq Waq"
Historians and travelers disagreed about the name's origin. One view links the name to the tree: when the tie between a person's hair and the tree's branches was severed, the person would fall and cry "Waq Waq," and the land took its name from that repeated cry.
Ibn Battuta suggested it may derive from the Chinese word "wakuku," which was used for the islands of Japan. A third opinion says the name came from a species of long-legged, long-necked birds that were abundant on those islands and had a loud cry; those birds were called Waq Waq, and the country was named for them.
Where is Waq Waq located?
Scholars disagree about whether Waq Waq was a real place. Some older authorities identify it with the islands of Japan, because the Chinese once called Japan "wakuku," which Ibn Battuta Arabized as "Waq Waq."
Another view, based on al-Idrisi's description and the map he drew, places Al-Waq Waq east of Africa from southern Yemen, suggesting the reference may be to the island of Madagascar.
Other opinions identify the Waq Waq islands with parts of Indonesia or Malaysia, but these views are less supported than the two mentioned above.