Hawa’i the Elephant and Abada the Rhinoceros

Abstract

Chapter 1 provides a biogeography of Hawa’i the elephant and Abada the rhinoceros, beginning with their births in India. When Philip II came into the possession of both animals, he took advantage of the financial and structural relationship between hospitals and theaters and placed each animal in a hospital in Madrid, where the public was charged a fee to see them. The spectacle of Abada and Hawa’i functioned like a proto-zoo, reflecting the emerging public sphere and Philip II’s desire to enhance the image of the capital city. Chapter 1 also examines a silver-gilt ewer (1583) designed by Juan de Arfe that uses an image of Abada and Hawa’i to show off Philip II’s planetary power.