Fairy Tales, Their Origin and Meaning; With Some Account of Dwellers in FairylandBunce, John Thackray
History
Fairy Tales, Their Origin and Meaning; With Some Account of Dwellers in Fairyland
Bunce, John Thackray
Fairy tales -- History and criticism
But now we must leave the Peris and the Divs, and look at the jinns,
of the Arabian stories. These also dwell in the mysterious country of
Jinnestan, and in the wonderful mountains of Kaf; but they likewise
spread themselves all through the earth, and they specially liked to
live in ruined houses, or in tombs; on the sea shore, by the banks of
rivers, and at the meeting of cross-roads. Sometimes, too, they were
found in deep forests, and many travellers are supposed to find them in
desolate mountain places. Even to this day they are firmly believed in
by Arabs, and also by people in different parts of Persia and India. In
outward form, in their natural shape, they resembled the Peris and the
Divs of the ancient Persians, and they were divided into good and bad:
the good ones very beautiful and shining; the bad ones deformed, black,
and ugly, and sometimes as big as giants. They did not, however, always
appear in their own forms, for they could take the shape of any animal,
especially of serpents, and cats and dogs. They were governed by chief
spirits or kings; and over all, good and bad alike, there were set a
succession of powerful monarchs, named Suleiman, or Solomon, seventy-two
in number--the last of whom, and the greatest, Jan-ibn-Jan, is said by
Arabian story-tellers to have built the pyramids of Egypt. There is an
old tradition that the shield of Jan-ibn-Jan, which was a talisman of
magic power, was brought from Egypt to King Solomon the Wise, the son of
King David, and that it gave him power over all the tribes of the Jinns,
and this is why, in the common stories about them, the Jinns are made to
call upon the name of Solomon.
The Jinns, according to Arabian tradition, lived upon the earth
thousands of years before man was created. They were made, the Koran
says, of "the smokeless fire," that is, the hot breath of the desert
wind, Simoon. But they became disobedient, and prophets were sent to
warn them. They would not obey the prophets, and angels were then sent
to punish them. The angels drove them out of Jinnestan into the islands
of the seas, killed some, and shut some of them up in prison. Among the
prisoners was a young Jinns, named Iblees, whose name means Despair; and
when Adam was created, God commanded the angels and the Jinns to do him
reverence, and they all obeyed but Iblees, who was then turned into a
Shaitan, or devil, and became the father of all the Shaitan tribe, the
mortal enemies of mankind. Since their dispersion the Jinns are not
immortal; they are to live longer than man, but they must die before the
general resurrection. Some of them are killed by other Jinns, some can
be slain by man, and some are destroyed by shooting stars sent from
heaven. When they receive a mortal wound, the fire which burns in their
veins breaks forth and burns them into ashes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account