Baka (word)

Baka (馬鹿, ばか, or バカ) means "fool; idiot", or (as an adjectival noun) "foolish" and is the most frequently used pejorative term in the Japanese language. This word baka has a long history, an uncertain etymology (possibly from Sanskrit or Classical Chinese), and linguistic complexities.

Word

The modern Japanese writing system transcribes the insult baka as バカ in katakana, ばか in hiragana, or 馬鹿 (lit. "horse deer") in ateji phonetic kanji transcription; earlier ateji renderings included 莫迦, 母嫁, 馬嫁, or 破家.

History

The first written usages of baka were during the Nanboku-chō period (1336–1392), when the "Northern and Southern Courts" battled.

In the earliest example, the Taiheiki historical epic records bakamono 馬鹿者 being used as an insult in 1342. The Ashikaga commander Toki Yoritō 土岐頼遠 refuses to pay obeisance to retired Emperor Kōgon (r. 1313-1364), "Yoritō, probably inebriated, loudly demands to know what kind of fool (bakamono) has the temerity to order him to dismount." According to Carr, "Shinmura found that the original editions (fourteenth century) of the Taiheiki had baka written バカ; [while] later movable-type editions (c. 1600) had the characters 馬鹿."

Fool

Fool, The Fool, or Fools may refer to:

Fool, The Fool, or Fools may also refer to:

Theatre

Games and Tarot

Literature

Food

Film

Music

The Fool (Tarot card)

The Fool or The Jester is one of the 78 cards in a Tarot deck; one of the 22 Trump cards that make up the Major Arcana. The Fool is unnumbered; sometimes represented as 0 (the first) or XXII (the last) Major Arcana in decks. It is used in divination as well as in game playing.

Iconography

The Fool is titled Le Mat in the Tarot of Marseilles, and Il Matto in most Italian language tarot decks. These archaic words mean "the madman" or "the beggar", and may be related to the word for 'checkmate' in relation to the original use of tarot cards for gaming purposes.

In the earliest Tarot decks, the Fool is usually depicted as a beggar or a vagabond. In the Visconti-Sforza tarot deck, the Fool wears ragged clothes and stockings without shoes, and carries a stick on his back. He has what appear to be feathers in his hair. His unruly beard and feathers may relate to the tradition of the woodwose or wild man. Another early Italian image that relates to the tradition is the first (and lowest) of the series of the so-called "Tarocchi of Mantegna". This series of prints containing images of social roles, allegorical figures, and classical deities begins with "Misero", a depiction of a beggar leaning on a staff. A similar image is contained in the German Hofamterspiel; there the fool (German: Narr) is depicted as a barefoot man in robes, apparently with bells on his hood, playing a bagpipe.

Jester

A jester, court jester or fool was historically an entertainer during the medieval and Renaissance eras who was a member of the household of a nobleman employed to entertain him and his guests. A jester was also an itinerant performer who entertained common folk at fairs and markets. Jesters are also modern day entertainers who resemble their historical counterparts. Jesters in medieval times are often thought to have worn brightly coloured clothes and eccentric hats in a motley pattern and their modern counterparts usually mimic this costume. In medieval times jesters entertained with a wide variety of skills: principal ones included songs, music, and storytelling; additional ones included acrobatics, juggling, telling jokes, and magic. Much of the entertainment was performed in a comic style and many jesters made contemporary jokes in word or song about people or events well known to their audiences.

Etymology

The modern use of the English word jester did not come into use until the mid-16th century during Tudor times. This modern term derives from the older form gestour, or jestour, originally from Anglo-Norman (French) meaning story-teller or minstrel. Other earlier terms included fol, disour, and bourder. These terms described entertainers who differed in their skills and performances but who all shared many similarities in their role as comedic performers for their audiences.

Baka (prince)

Baka is the name of an ancient Egyptian prince. He is known for his destroyed statuette. He is also subject of a theory that claims he was pharaoh of Egypt for a very short time. Thus, he might be identical to a scarcely known king named Bikheris.

Identity

Baka was a son and prince of pharaoh Djedefre. He lived and worked during the 4th dynasty. His private live is unknown, the names of his own family members are lost. Since the names of three other sons of Djedefre, namely Setka, Harnit and Nykau-Djedefre, are archaeologically detected, these should be Baka's brothers or halfbrothers. The daughters of Djedefre, Hetepheres III and Neferhetepes, would be Baka's sisters or half-sisters. His mother is unknown, too. It could be one of Djedefre's wives, Khentetka or Hetepheres II, but this is highly uncertain.

Possible reign as pharaoh

According to Rainer Stadelmann and George Reisner, it is possible, that Baka was pharaoh in Egypt for a very short time (maybe one or two years). Their assumption is based on the so-called Unfinished Northern Pyramid of Zawyet el'Aryan, which is located at Zawyet el'Aryan. This unfinished pyramid shaft was abandoned shortly after beginning and only a dozen of black ink workmen's inscriptions were found. These provide a royal cartouche name, which remains partially illegible. The first sign can be identified as a Ka-sign, but the first (and former) sign was copied by the pyramid excavator so fuzzy, that it remains undecipherable. According to Stadelmann and Reisner, the first sign shows a walking ram, as it does in the birth name of the prince. Baka simply put his citizen name into a royal cartouche due his lifetime, but then the name was changed after his death into Bakarê ("soul and Ka of Râ"). In ancient Greek chronics Baka's name was hellenized into Bikheris. For this reason, the unfinished tomb shaft at Zawyet el'Aryan is also called "Pyramid of Bikheris".

Baka people (Cameroon and Gabon)

The Baka people, known in the Congo as Bayaka (Bebayaka, Bebayaga, Bibaya), are an ethnic group inhabiting the southeastern rain forests of Cameroon, northern Republic of Congo, northern Gabon, and southwestern Central African Republic. They are sometimes called a subgroup of the Twa, but the two peoples are not closely related. Likewise, the name "Baka" is sometimes mistakenly applied to other peoples of the area who, like the Baka and Twa, have been historically called pygmies, a term that is no longer considered respectful.

Identity

The Baka people are hunter-gatherers, formerly called Pygmies, located in the Central African rain forest. Having heights of 1.52 meters (5 feet) in average as well as a semi-nomadic lifestyles, the Baka are often discriminated against and marginalized from society.

They reside in south-eastern Cameroon, northern Gabon and in the northern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In Congo, the Baka people are otherwise known as the Bayaka. Some Baka are also found in the Southwestern African Republic. Although, the Baka people are located throughout the Central African rain forest, they are mainly concentrated in Cameroon as the Baka community of Cameroon represents roughly 30 000 individuals.