above image: an artist rendition of an Efrit.

Obscure Mythology Chapter 10: Jinnee

     Welcome to Chapter 10 of Obscure mythology. We are almost half way through the alphabet and it has been an absolute pleasure sharing these posts with you. Today’s post brings back some old memories for me. Back in the mid 1980s when I was just a young kid I was introduced to Dungeon’s and Dragon’s, it changed my life. I loved how the game combined history with fantasy, it was the perfect game for my very over-active imagination. I dove head first into the game, spending years developing characters, kingdoms and even entire worlds. I became a Dungeon Master (the guy or gal who runs the campaign, more or less the God of whatever world you are playing in) and never looked back. At one time I was running a campaign for over twenty people that lasted over three years! It was a great escape and a fantastic way to channel my creativity. The reason I bring all this up is because of two books in particular from the D&D world that instantly drew me to the game and to my love of mythology and history that I have today. The first was the staple of all manuals for a Dungeon Master, the Monster’s Manual, it was a book full of mythical creatures that displayed their statistics and more importantly their history and how they should be used. It was this manual that I became familiar with all sorts of mythical beasts including the jinnee, known also as djinni or the more popular westernized version, genie.  One of the first entries that I flipped to was the Jinnee and after I read the information I realized there was so much more to mythical creatures and legends. I had always thought of genies as a person trapped in a bottle or lamp  who had to grant three wishes to whoever rubbed it. I had no idea there was so much more to them until I read about them in the Monster’s Manual. It is just one of those things I’ll never forget and the reason Jinnee reminds me of my first experiences playing Dungeon’s And Dragons. The second book was Deities & Demi-Gods, it was a book full of the world’s mythology broken down into area and it gave a brief introduction to all of the main stars of ancient mythology and many unknown gods and goddesses. The world of Dungeon’s and Dragons changed my life and gave me many of the interests I have today and I shudder to think of the reality I am in where I never got into it. Anyhow, without further rambling I will share with you what the Dictionary of Mythology has to say about the Jinnee.

Jinnee: Arab: (D)jinni, female=jinniyah, plural= (d)jinn, ginn, gann. A powerful spirit made of fire which assumes all kinds of shapes.

The five order of jinn, in descending order of power are, marid, efrit, shaitan, jinn, jann.

They were created some 5,000 years ago and lived on Mount Qaf but were dispersed when they became disobedient. The survivors reassembled on an island in the Indian Ocean where they now operate.

They are said to have magic powers over humans and interbreed with them.

In some accounts they are described as half hyaena, half wolf, with the power to take any form of any animal, serpent or giant invisible to humans. It is said that they ride abroad at night on such mounts as foxes or ostriches. (Dictionary of Mythology, an A-Z of myth, themes and legends, J.A. Coleman).

The first thing I found interesting was the fact that the type of jinnee that we in the west are accustomed to picturing, a pretty blond girl who winks and nods or a big blue guy who lives in a lamp and likes to sing, aren’t even referenced in this description. The lamp living, wish giving types of jinnee, at least according to Dungeons and Dragons, fall into the category of the efrit, when it comes to the jinnee hierarchy. The second tid bit that caught my attention was the fact that jinnee are inherently evil or at least malevolent and always have been described like that in Arabian folk lore, very few jinnee actually helped humans for noble purposes most were either tricked into granting wishes or manipulating their human companions for their own nefarious ends. Of course, being associated with evil makes them able to transform into snakes. Here we have the snake again a major part of this myth, the snake symbolizing the evil or trickery that is associated with these evil spirts. The last thing that really struck me was how they were originally created as benevolent beings but became disobedient. This part of the myth ties into the Igigi myth from my last post fairly well. I can’t help but think tis may have a connection to the Mesopotamian myth, it certainly wouldn’t surprise me at all.

It was the information that those books gave me that inspired my thirst for knowledge and why I still give my role playing heydays the credit for giving me the insatiable hunger for knowledge and for giving me an outlet for my extremely over active imagination.  I really hope you enjoyed this latest installment and can’t wait to share the next chapter with you tomorrow. Well that’s all for now, I apologize for the almost week long delay on getting this out but I took a little time off last week to recharge and regenerate and I am fully ready to continue. Until then have a great day and as always: PEACE!!!!!!!