Wāḳwāḳ

The Waq-waq tree. Illustration of a tale. Page from a

manuscript known as Kitab al-bulhan or "Book of
Wonders" held at the Bodelian Library. Shelfmark:
MS. Bodl. Or. 133
This folio from Walters manuscript W.659 depicts the
Queen of the island of Waqwaq.

Wāḳwāḳ (Wāḳ Wāḳ, Wāḳ al-Wāḳ, al-

Wāḳwāḳ; Arabic: ‫ اﻟﻮاق واق‬al-Waqwaq) is
the name of an island, or possibly more
than one island, in medieval Arabic
geographical and imaginative literature.[1]

Ibn Khordadbeh mentions Waqwaq

twice: "East of China are the lands of
Waqwaq, which are so rich in gold that
the inhabitants make the chains for their
dogs and the collars for their monkeys of
this metal. They manufacture tunics
woven with gold. Excellent ebony wood is
found there. And again: Gold and ebony
are exported from Waqwaq."[2] 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,
Sumatra or Indonesia.[2]
Al-Idrisi's world map from 1154. Wāḳwāḳ is shown in
the south at the top of the map.

Wāḳwāḳ is referred to in a number of

sources, it is generally an island far away.

The waqwaq tree

T’ung-tien by Ta Huan mentions an Arab
account of a tree growing little children.
In later Arab versions, the tree is named
waqwaq. An Andalusi versions mentions
beautiful women as the fruit of the tree.[2]
See also
Zaqqum, a tree in Jahannam that's
fruits are shaped like the heads of
devils.
Jinmenju, a strange Chinese tree in
Toriyama Sekien's Konjaku Hyakki
Shūi.
Nariphon, a tree in Buddhist mythology
which bears fruit in the shape of young
female creatures.

References
1. G. R. Tibbetts; Shawkat M. Toorawa; G.
Ferrand; G.S.P. Freeman-Grenville (22
August 2013). "Wāḳwāḳ" . In P. Bearman,
Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel,
W.P. Heinrichs. Encyclopaedia of Islam
(Second ed.). Brill Online.
2. Saudi Aramco World: The Seas of
Sindbad , Paul Lunde.

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