Memory within the body

Mariella Pandolfi

pp. 59-65

in: Beatrix Pfleiderer, Gilles Bibeau (eds), Anthropologies of medicine, Wiesbaden, Vieweg+Teubner, 1991

Abstract

Borges' manual of imaginary zoology describes the difficult existence of the A Bao A Qu. An animal without precise shape or color, the A Bao A Qu lives at the foot of the Tower of Victory and waits. It waits for visitors to come and give it color and form. But only if the new arrival is spiritually superior will the A Bao A Qu begin to take on shape and splendor and begin to climb the stairs of the tower. The A Bao A Qu's pursuit of perfection is totally dependent on others. Borges tells us nothing about the 'splendid prince" or, rather, the extraordinary visitor, or whether he really is charismatic. That is not the question. The A Bao A Qu vegetates in lethargy until someone offers him a form that will define him. But as soon as the meeting occurs, the moment the A Bao A Qu achieves form and color and reaches the head of the stairs, he tumbles to the bottom and begins awaiting the next visitor. Identity here is defined in two different ways: one, everyday life consists in waiting; two, identity is delineated through a human relationship perceived as an extraordinary event.