Baku - Blog Posts

Let’s “love” each other!

protocol #3874  |  Welcoming ceremony f/ Jahandar.

Violin - Tural Ahmedsoy.

Dodge - Museyyib Mehdiyev.

Love story of a Muslim Azerbaijani boy and Christian Georgian girl in Baku from 1918 to 1920. 

Ali and Nino (2016)

“Most of our childhood is stored not in photos, but in certain biscuits, lights of day, smells, textures of carpet.”

Intriguing...

Have any nightmares lately?

This figurine represents the Baku (獏 or 貘). The baku’s story originated in Chinese mythology as the mo (貘), believed to resemble a giant panda. It later evolved into a nightmare-warding figure in Japan.

Early depictions illustrate the baku as a chimera with the trunk and tusks of an elephant, the ears of a rhinoceros, the tail of a cow, the body of a bear, and the paws of a tiger. While this version was said to ward off pestilence and evil, its dream-devouring ability emerged later in Japanese culture. By the late 18th century, the baku as known as the guardian of sleep. One legend describes how a child waking from a bad dream could call out, “Baku-san, come eat my dream,” repeating it three times to summon the baku.

Folklore warns that calling the baku too often could have consequences—if left unsatisfied, it might consume not just bad dreams but also the person’s hopes and desires.

Image: Baku, Mythical Animal. 18th century. White porcelain (Hirado ware), H. 7/8 in. (2.2 cm); L. 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

I can't help myself...