Tash (Narnia) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tash |
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| Narnia character | |
Tash the inexorable, the irresistible, as illustrated by Pauline Baynes in The Last Battle
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| Information | |
| Race | Deity |
| Family | the Tisrocs and Tarkaans and Tarkheenas (claim descendants) |
| Children | The first Tisroc (Claimed) |
| Nationality | Calormen |
Tash is a powerful, fictional deity and a scary, demon-like god from C. S. Lewis's famous Chronicles of Narnia book series. He is a main bad guy, or antagonist, in two of the books: The Horse and His Boy and The Last Battle.
Tash is the special god of the ruling class in a land called Calormen. The capital city of Calormen is even named Tashbaan. The important families there, like the Tisrocs, Tarkaans, and Tarkheenas, all say they are related to Tash. His worship is the only formal religion shown in the world of Narnia, except for the people of Narnia who remember and honor Aslan, a great lion who came back to life long ago. People in Calormen often use phrases like "Tash the inexorable, the irresistible" or "Tash preserve us." At the end of the series, Tash is shown to be the complete opposite of Aslan, who represents good. Tash appears as a terrifying demon with a skeleton-like body, a head like a vulture, and four arms with sharp claws. The name Tash means "stone" in Turkish.
Contents
Tash's Appearances in Narnia Books
Tash in The Horse and His Boy
In The Horse and His Boy, which tells us a lot about Calormene society, Tash's name is often used in promises and shouts. Two other Calormene gods, Azaroth and Zardeenah, are mentioned briefly, but Tash is the most important. Tash himself isn't described much in this book, and his worship isn't a big part of the story.
Near the end of the book, the main bad guy, Rabadash, gets very angry after being defeated. He tries to call on Tash to get revenge on the Narnians and Aslan. He asks for things like "lightning in the shape of scorpions." But nothing happens, and his captors just make fun of him. Aslan, after warning Rabadash many times to stop being so angry, turns Rabadash into a donkey. Aslan tells Rabadash that he will turn back into a human if he visits Tash's temple in Tashbaan during a big festival. This means thousands of people will see him change back. After that, Rabadash must never go more than ten miles from the temple, or he will turn into a donkey again forever.
Tash in The Last Battle
The worship of Tash continues in The Last Battle, which is the last book in the Narnia series. In this story, Tash is shown to be a very real and evil being who is the exact opposite of Aslan. The Narnians describe him as a god or a demon in a disgusted way. Tash looks much bigger than a human, with four arms and a vulture's head. When he is near, it feels cold and smells like death. While some terrible acts were done in Tash's name, many people in Calormen didn't actually believe in him. Pictures by Pauline Baynes make him look even more frightening.
"It was roughly the shape of a man but it had the head of a bird; some bird of prey with a cruel, curved beak. It had four arms which it held high above its head, stretching them out Northward as if it wanted to snatch all Narnia in its grip; and its fingers - all twenty of them - were curved like its beak and had long, pointed bird-like claws instead of nails."
During the story, a Calormene leader named Rishda works with Shift the ape and Ginger the cat. They trick people by saying that Aslan and Tash are the same being, called Tashlan. Many Narnians know this is silly because Aslan and Tash are so different. King Tirian of Narnia, along with two friends from England, Eustace Scrubb and Jill Pole, try to protect Aslan and Narnia. But they are captured by the Calormene soldiers. The tricksters send people who disagree with them "to meet Tashlan" in the stable of Puzzle the donkey. Inside, Calormene soldiers secretly kill them.
Because of these evil actions, the tricksters accidentally bring Tash himself into Narnia. Ginger the cat meets Tash and barely escapes, but he loses his ability to speak. A loyal Calormene soldier named Emeth bravely enters the stable, wanting to meet his god. He disappears into Aslan's Country, where he meets Aslan. There, Emeth realizes who he truly served. Aslan tells him that "all the service thou hast done to Tash, I accept as service done to me." He explains that "no service which is vile can be done to me, and none which is not vile can be done to him." This means Emeth's good and honest actions, even if he thought they were for Tash, were actually for Aslan.
Tirian manages to throw Shift the ape into the stable, and Tash eats him. Rishda gets scared and quickly tries to please Tash by offering the remaining Narnians as sacrifices. But Tirian pulls Rishda into the stable, where Tash grabs him. In the name of Aslan and the Emperor beyond the sea, High King Peter sends Tash back to his own world. Tash disappears, taking Rishda with him.
Images for kids
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Tash the inexorable, the irresistible, as illustrated by Pauline Baynes in The Last Battle
See also
In Spanish: Tash para niños
