ClaytonFogg at 14:25, 10 April 2025

2025-04-10T14:25:13Z

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{{Short description|Mythical creature of Assamese folklore}}
'''Baak''', '''Bak''' or '''Ghorabak''' ([[Assamese language|Assamese]]: বাঁক, ঘোঁৰাবাঁক; IPA: ['bak]) is a shapeshifting creature that frequently appears in folktales in [[Assam]]. The ''baak'' is believed to live near water bodies and is usually malevolent in nature, troubling fishermen among others. The ''baak'' is fond of fish. Unlike many other creatures which are limited to parts of the state, the ''baak'' finds space in folklore across Assam.<ref name="SGL">{{Cite web|last=Sandal|first=Veenu|date=11 June 2016|title=Malevolent spirits need death to survive|url=https://www.sundayguardianlive.com/opinion/5216-malevolent-spirits-need-death-survive|access-date=24 October 2021|website=[[The Sunday Guardian|Sunday Guardian Live]]|archive-date=23 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023194049/https://www.sundayguardianlive.com/opinion/5216-malevolent-spirits-need-death-survive|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Kashyap|first=Samudra Gupta|date=18 March 2008|title=All that haunts Assam now in a thesaurus|url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/all-that-haunts-assam-now-in-a-thesaurus/285944/|access-date=24 October 2021|website=[[The Indian Express]]|archive-date=23 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023194047/http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/all-that-haunts-assam-now-in-a-thesaurus/285944/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Appearance==
Baaks are usually tall and thin, with long legs and arms. In villages, very tall and skinny people are often compared to Baaks. They usually have little to no hair.<ref>{{cite web|title=Into the Deep Waters: Baak, the Water Demon of Assam|website=Enroute Indian History|date=2023-11-01|url=https://enrouteindianhistory.com/into-the-deep-waters-baak-the-water-demon-of-assam/|access-date=2024-12-05}}</ref>

== Powers and habits ==
The ''baak'' is usually believed to be malevolent in nature. It lives near water bodies and enjoys raw fish.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bhuyan|first=Avantika|date=30 March 2018|title=The little fish in big rivers|url=https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/TB9AouNDcXASwUdc7ObL3H/The-little-fish-in-big-rivers.html|access-date=24 October 2021|website=[[Live Mint]]|archive-date=23 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023215320/https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/TB9AouNDcXASwUdc7ObL3H/The-little-fish-in-big-rivers.html|url-status=live}}</ref> They can cast nets to catch fish on their own. While fishermen are busy fishing in lakes, ponds, or along the banks, they quietly eat the fish and deplete the stock. It is sometimes believed that if the fisherman is killed or rendered unconscious, they take on the fisherman's form and visit the host's house.

''Baak'' can be murderous, drowning its victim to death. It often assumes the form of its victim after death or possesses the victim.<ref name="SGL" /><ref name="SW">{{Cite web|last=Bhattacharya|first=Rohit|date=|title=The Terrifying Baak, A Demon That Drowns You, Hides Your Body, & Takes Your Place|url=https://www.scoopwhoop.com/culture/baak-a-demon-that-drowns-you-and-takes-your-place/|access-date=24 October 2021|website=[[ScoopWhoop]]|archive-date=23 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023194048/https://www.scoopwhoop.com/culture/baak-a-demon-that-drowns-you-and-takes-your-place/|url-status=live}}</ref> It then goes on to live with the victim's family, attempting to kill them too. The Baak can fool people by copying the voices of their loved ones to make them step outside. Therefore, people believe that no one should get up when unknown people call in the middle of the night.

Carrying a torn fishing net can help avoid ''baak''s, as they are said to be afraid of it. There is a cycle of stories where the ''baak'' assumes the form of a man to live with his wife.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Muthukumaraswamy|first=M. D.|title=Folklore as Discourse|publisher=National Folklore Support Centre, India|year=2006|location=Chennai|pages=113|language=English}}</ref> Kishore Bhattacharjee notes that this may be associated with unconscious fears of extra-marital love from the male point of view.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}

''Baak''s are not always described to be murderous however. Many a times, benign ''baak''s simply possess victims or play tricks with them,<ref name="AD" /> particularly with children.<ref name="SGL" />

Sometimes, ''baak'' is described as carrying a pouch that contains its powers. The ''baak''<nowiki/>'s life depends on it and taking possession of it can make one its master.<ref name="SW" /><ref name=":0" /> However, Benudhar Rajkhowa in his classic "[[Assamese Demonology (book)|Assamese demonology]]" assigns these attributes to the ''[[Daitya|doit]]'' and not the ''baak''.<ref name="AD">{{Cite book|last=Rajkhowa|first=Benudhar|title=Assamese Demonology|publisher=Patrika Press|year=1905|isbn=|location=[[Kolkata]]|pages=1–4|language=}}</ref>

== Classification ==
Rajkhowa in his "Assamese Demonology" classifies Assamese spirits into "sub-terrananian", "[[Terrestrial animal|terrestrial]]", "aerial" and "celestial". He places the ''baak'' among the terrestrial. The terrestrial spirits are further classified into aqueous, sylvan and household. Rajkhowa classifies the ''baak'' as an aqueous spirit, listing it as the first in his list of five major aqueous spirits.<ref name="AD" /> Rajkhowa describes the following folk idiom to connect ''baak'' to waters:<blockquote>'''Assamese''': ''Hanhor uporot xiyal roja'', ''Pota pukhurit bak roja''
<br>'''Translation''': A jackal is the lord of poultry, A ''bak'' is supreme in a deserted tank.</blockquote> Kishore Bhattacharjee notes in his contribution to "Folklore as Discourse" that everyday Assamese legends usually generate expectations of black magic; spirits of rivers, lakes and trees; names of places; buried treasure; origin of temples; healers and wise folks; and history seen by people including saint legends, partly based on the work of Christensen and Kvideland.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Muthukumaraswamy|first=M. D.|title=Folklore as Discourse|publisher=National Folklore Support Centre, India|year=2006|location=Chennai|pages=106|language=English}}</ref> The stories of the ''baak'' apparently come under the second category. However, stories of ghosts and spirits internationally known as legends are not culturally identified as legend here, according to Bhattacharjee.

== In popular culture ==
''[[:w:as:বাঁকৰ পুতেক|Bakor Putek]]'' (The ''Bak'''s son) is an Assamese movie released in 2012 that focuses on the social and personal consequences of superstition in rural Assam.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-03-03 |title=Bakor Putek Film Review: How Norms Can Ruin Lives |url=https://inbreakthrough.org/bakor-putek-film-review/ |access-date=2024-05-07 |website=inbreakthrough.org |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230924000042/https://inbreakthrough.org/bakor-putek-film-review/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The belief in stories of the ''Bak'' assuming the form of the husband and living with his wife after killing him brings trouble to the lives of a married couple. The 2024 Tamil film ''[[Aranmanai 4]]'' also features the story of Bak.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-04-29 |title=Decoding Sundar C's Aranmanai 4: Everything About Baak, The Evil Spirit In His Upcoming Horror Film |url=https://www.timesnownews.com/entertainment-news/tamil/decoding-sundar-cs-aranmanai-4-everything-about-baak-the-evil-spirit-in-his-upcoming-horror-film-article-109690465 |access-date=2024-05-07 |website=Times Now |language=en |archive-date=2024-04-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240429120521/https://www.timesnownews.com/entertainment-news/tamil/decoding-sundar-cs-aranmanai-4-everything-about-baak-the-evil-spirit-in-his-upcoming-horror-film-article-109690465 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== References ==
<references />

{{improve categories|date=February 2024}}

[[Category:Culture of Assam]]

Baak (Assamese folklore) - Revision history

ClaytonFogg at 14:25, 10 April 2025