science

Kujata

Kujata is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Kujata rather than just read about it. In short: Kuyūthāʾ (Arabic: كيوثاء), more rarely Kiyūbān (کیوبان) or Kibūthān (کبوثان), is the cosmic bull in medieval Muslim cosmography. It is said to carry on its back the angel who shoulders the world, and the rock platform upon which this angel stands.

Key takeaways

Kujata belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Kujata to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Kujata from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Kuyūthāʾ (Arabic: كيوثاء), more rarely Kiyūbān (کیوبان) or Kibūthān (کبوثان), is the cosmic bull in medieval Muslim cosmography. It is said to carry on its back the angel who shoulders the world, and the rock platform upon which this angel stands. The Kuyūthāʾ is said to stand on the back of Bahamut, a giant fish or whale. The bull is variously described as having 40,000 horns and legs, or 40,000 eyes, ears, mouths, and tongues, in the oldest sources. The number of appendages can vary in later versions. Its breathing controls the tides. The Kiyūbān or Kibūthān appear in printed editions of Zakariya al-Qazwini's cosmography. These have been claimed to be corruptions of the term Leviathan (Arabic: لوياتان). Alternate names include al-Rayann. Edward William Lane transcribed the name as Kuyootà or Kuyoothán, and in various editions of Jorge Luis Borges' Book of Imaginary Beings, it is given as Kuyata (Spanish), Kujata (first English translation, 1969), and Quyata (revised English translation).

Orthography

"Kuyootà" was Edward Lane's transcription of the beast's name according to an Arabic source not clearly specified. This became "Kuyata" in Jorge Luis Borges's El libro de los seres imaginarios (originally published as Manual de zoología fantástica, 1957). Then in its first English translation Book of Imaginary Beings (1969) it was further changed to "Kujata", and then to "Quyata" (in the 2005 translation). Kuyūta is yet another spelling in print, re-transcribed from Lane. Kujūta was given by Thomas Patrick Hughes's Dictionary of Islam. "Kuyūthā" appears in a copy of al-Qazwini's cosmography and as "Kīyūbān (Arabic: کیوبان) or Kibūthān" (Arabic: کبوثان) in Wüstenfeld's 1859 printed edition of al-Qazwini. These names are said to be corrupted text, and emended to read close to "Leviat[h]an" (Arabic: لوياتان), by German translator Hermann Ethé. "Kuyoothán" is an alternate spelling from the source Lane identifies as Ibn-Esh-Shiḥneh, which was some manuscript Lane had in his possession. Rakaboûnâ is one variant name for the bull, as read from some manuscript of Al-Damiri (d. 1405) by French Dr. Nicolas Perron, though the original text has al-thawr Kuyūtha (Arabic: الثور كيوثا, 'the bull Kuyūtha'. Cairo ed. of 1819) Al-Rayann is the name of the bull as it appears in Muḥammad al-Kisāʾī (ca. 1100)'s version of the Qiṣaṣ al-Anbiyā’ ("Tales of the Prophets"). A reshaping of its nature must have occurred in Arab storytelling, some time in the pre-Islamic period. One proposed scenario is that a pair of beasts from the bible were confused with each other; the behemoth mis-assigned to the fish, and the aquatic leviathan to the bull. Shia sources like the 17th-century hadith collection Biḥār al-anwār have the variant Lahūtā. Some scholars have shown how the variations of this name may come down to subtle changes in the script and missreadings over the centuries, especially when moving from manuscript to print. In terms of palaeography, the ductus similarities of the consonants involved would explain the shifs between luyā-, luhā- and kujā-.

Derivation Lūyātān (Arabic: لوياتان) was the bull's reconstructed correct name in Arabic according Hermann Ethé's notes. Accordingly, he translates the bull's name as Leviathan in his German translation of Qazwini. Other commentators such as Maximillan Streck have also stated that the bull derived from the biblical Leviathan, much as the name of the Islamic cosmic fish Bahamut derived from the biblical Behemoth.

Lane's summary

Borges relied on Islamic traditional cosmography as summarized by Edward Lane in Arabian Society in the Middle Ages (1883). Lane's summary of Arabic source explains that "Kuyootà" was the name of the bull created by God to hold up a rock of "ruby", on which stood an earth-propping angel. God created the angel, rock, then the bull in that order according to this source, then a giant fish called Bahamut to sustain the bull underneath. Before this, the earth was oscillating in wayward directions, and all these layers of support were needed to achieve stability. The bull had 4,000 eyes, ears, noses, mouths, tougues, feet, according to Lane's summary, but the number is 40,000 eyes, limbs, etc. in several (older) Islamic sources, as discussed below.

Arabic sources

Kuyūthā is the name of the bull in the text of al-Qazwini (d. 1283)'s popular cosmography, The Wonders of Creation. This approximates Lane's spelling "Kuyootà". There exist a multitude of "editions" and manuscripts of al-Qazwini, which vary widely. Al-Damiri (d. 1405) on authority of Wahb ibn Munabbih, is one source he specifically named as being used by Lane, in his summary. This so-called al-Damiri's account is considered to be a mere later redaction of al-Qazwini's cosmography printed on the margins, and it may be noted that in Qazwini's account, Wahb ibn Munabbih acts as narrator. A translation of Al-Damiri into French was undertaken by Nicolas Perron. The bull's name was however "Rakaboûnâ" (Rakabūnā) in al-Damiri, according to Perron's translation. The name of the bull is wanting in Yaqut al-Hamawi (d. 1229)'s geography, Mu'jam al-Buldan. Yaqut is thought to have borrowed from al-Tha'labi (d. 1038)’s Qiṣaṣ al-anbīyāʾ ("Lives of the Prophets"), one of the two earliest sources containing the cosmology. Ibn al-Wardi (d. 1457) (Kharīdat al-ʿAjā'ib, "The Pearl of Wonders"), considered to be a derivative rearrangement of Yaqut, is an alternate source used by Lane who noted variant readings from it.

Number of appendages The bull has 4,000 legs in al-Damiri (d. 1405). But in Qazwini (d. 1283), the bull has 40,000 eyes, etc., with "teeth" (German: zähnen) replacing "tongues" in Lane's list. The hyperbolically large numbers recur in older texts: "40,000 horns and 40,000 limbs" according to Yaqut (d. 1229)'s geography, 70,000 horns and 40,000 legs according to al-Tha'labi (d. 1038)’s Lives and 40,000 eyes, ears, mouths and tongues according to Muḥammad al-Kisāʾī's Lives of the Prophets. The bull has 40 humps, 40 horns, and four feet according to Ibn al-Wardi (d. 1457) in another passage, (although in the corresponding passage he merely repeats Yaqut's 40,000 horns and feet). Its horns extended from the earth to God's Throne (Arabic: عرش, ʿarš), entangling it or lying like a "prickly hedge" underneath.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Kujata

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Kujata claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Kujata before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Kujata ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Kujata

In research: Kujata appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Kujata in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Kujata is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Arabian legendary creatures, Arabian mythology, Mythological bovines, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Kujata outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Kujata in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Kujata means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Kujata out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kujata in simple terms?

Why does Kujata matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Kujata?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Kujata.