Mogwai
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- For the Scottish post-rock band, see Mogwai (band). For the Swiss progressive producer Moogwai, see Chab.
The word mogwai is the transliteration of the Cantonese word 魔怪 (mo1 gwai2) (Mandarin Chinese: 魔鬼; pinyin：móguǐ) meaning "ghost", "evil spirit", "devil" or "demon".
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[edit] Mogwai/Mogui in Chinese culture
According to Chinese tradition, mogui are a breed of fairie folk that possess superpowers, which they often use to inflict harm on humans. They are said to reproduce sexually during mating seasons triggered by the coming of rain. Supposedly, they take care to breed at these times because rain signifies rich and full times ahead.[1]
The term "mo" derives from the Sanskrit "Mara," meaning 'evil beings', which shares a cognate with the Persian "Magi" from which the English word "magic" derives.[2] In Hinduism and Buddhism mythology, Mara determines fates of death and desire that tether people to an unending cycle of reincarnation and suffering. He is the source of evil and purposely leads people to sin, misdeeds and self-destruction.[3] Meanwhile, "gui" does not necessarily mean 'evil' or demonic spirits. Classically, it simply means deceased spirits or souls of the dead. Nevertheless, in modern Chinese, it has evolved to refer usually to the dead spirits or ghosts of non-family members that may take vengeance on living humans who caused them pain when they were still living. It is common for the living to redress their sins by sacrificing money to gui by burning (usually fake) paper banknotes so that gui can have funds to use in their afterlife.[4]
Notably, the modern popular use of mogui as 'demonic' and gui as 'devils' is somewhat a consequence of Western influences as Chinese-language biblical texts translate the satan figure in the Book of Job and the Greek term 'diabolos' as mogui--even though a more adequate and literal translation would be 说谗言者 (pinyin: shuochanyanzhe).[5]
[edit] Mogwai in the Gremlins series
As depicted in the 1984 Joe Dante film Gremlins and its 1990 sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch, the word mogwai is used by some Chinese characters to describe a rare sentient animal. It is a furry, cute creature that if exposed to the right stimuli will transform into, and/or create (given the circumstance) gremlins. If exposed to water, it immediately reproduces more of its kind asexually; if it eats food after midnight, it becomes a gremlin (a more reptilian and evil creature). Sunlight will kill a mogwai and other lights will annoy or hurt it. Most of the mogwai creatures are mean-spirited and mischievous, with Gizmo, the most famous mogwai, being the exception.
Little else is revealed about the mogwai's biology. In Gremlins 2 Gizmo is taken to a laboratory, where the scientists speculate mogwai are rodents. However, when confronted with gremlins, they believe them to be either reptiles or viruses. The scientists also note they are uncertain as to whether Gizmo's cuteness is genetic. They also explain Gizmo's hatred of bright lights by calling it an allergy.
In the novel Gremlins, by George Gipe, published by Avon Books in June 1984, it is stated mogwai were created as gentle, contemplative creatures by a scientist on an alien world.
Also, in the novel, it is stated that for some reason, mogwai are now almost always born mischievous or just plain evil, with a very rare gentle one (such as Gizmo) viewed as an anomaly and hated by other mogwai.
[edit] Other appearances
The Scottish post-rock band Mogwai is named after the creatures who make an appearance in the film Gremlins, although the guitarist of the band, Stuart Braithwaite, comments that "it has no significant meaning and we always intended on getting a better one, but like a lot of other things we never got 'round to it." [1].
In the online role-playing game AdventureQuest, there are small, peaceful, home-loving creatures called moglins (which are obviously "cousins" of the Mogwai) which turn into Moglinsters (tall, ugly, evil moglins) when exposed to darkness (they sleep with the lights on), vampire-werewolf curing solution, or trick-or-treaters with no masks.
Not necessarily mogwai, gremlins featured in NetHack have similar traits. They reproduce when exposed to water in addition to becoming more malevolent at midnight stealing a player's intrinsics.
ADOM also has similar Gremlins. They reproduce if exposed to water, if a 'fluffball' is exposed to water, it becomes a Gremlin, and bright lights will kill them instantly.
In a recent episode of the Fox TV show "Family Guy", in a parody of the Gremlins films, Peter feeds his Mogwai after midnight, which turns into Fran Drescher, who Peter kills by shoving her head into the microwave.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ Qiguang Zhao, "Chinese Mythology in the Context of Hydraulic Society," Asian Folklore Studies, Vol. 48, No. 2 (1989), pp. 231-246.
- ^ Jacques Gernet, China and the Christian Impact: A Conflict of Cultures; originally published as Chine et christianisme: action et réaction (1982). 25.
- ^ http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/bodhidharma/mara.html
- ^ http://www.pantheon.org/articles/g/gui.html
- ^ http://www.shengjing.org/chinese_bible_words.htm
- ^ "The Tan Aquatic with Steve Zissou," episode of Family Guy, aired February 18, 2007.
