Kujata

For the island, see Kiatak.

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).

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