Poetry, science fiction, fantasy, horror, and culture from a Lao American perspective.
Monday, November 24, 2014
Contemplating Gop Nyai: The Frog Who Eats the Moon
Gop Nyai: ກົບໃຫຍ່, The Lao refer to a lunar eclipse as "The Frog Devouring the Moon" and often shoot at the moon and make noise to scare the frog away.
Gop Nyai is the giant 'frog' who returns time and time again to eat the moon. What would it eat next, if it succeeds? Some accounts suggest it is not a giant frog at all, but skeptics should consider: If it were not a serious threat to the moon, why would elders and ancestors bother making so much clamor to chase it away?
It's entirely possible that the term "frog" is NOT really accurate, but a placeholder term. "Frog" may be closest thing to describe such an entity. It might be oozy, repulsive and horrifying, titanic and capable of devouring the moon for its own ends, possibly turning its attention to the fabled Mount Meru at the center of the Multiverse next.
Just something to consider.
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