CHAPTER X.
SUPERSTITIONS.
The Arabs are a very superstitious people; and none of them are more so than those of Egypt. Many of their superstitions form a part of their religion; being sanctioned by the Kur-án; and the most prominent of these is the belief in “Ginn,” or Genii—in the singular, “Ginnee.”
The Ginn are said to be of preadamite origin, and, in their general properties, an intermediate class of beings between angels and men, but inferior in dignity to both, created of fire, and capable of assuming the forms and material fabric of men, brutes, and monsters, and of becoming invisible at pleasure. They eat and drink, propagate their species (like, or in conjunction with, human beings), and are subject to death; though they generally live many centuries. Their principal abode is in the chain of mountains called “Káf,” which are believed to encompass the whole earth: as mentioned near the close of the preceding chapter. Some are believers in El-Islám: others are infidels: the latter are what are also called “Sheytáns,” or devils; of whom Iblees (that is, Satan, or the devil) is the chief: for it is the general and best-supported opinion, that he (like the other devils) is a ginnee, as he was created of fire; whereas the angels are created of light, and are impeccable. Of both the classes of genii, good and evil, the Arabs stand in great awe; and for the former they entertain a high degree of respect. It is a common custom of this people, on pouring water, etc., on the ground, to exclaim, or mutter, “Destoor;” that is, to ask the permission, or crave the pardon, of any ginnee that may chance to be there: for the ginn are supposed to pervade the solid matter of the earth, as well as the firmament, where, approaching the confines of the lowest heaven, they often listen to the conversation of the angels respecting future things, thus enabling themselves to assist diviners and magicians. They are also believed to inhabit rivers, ruined houses, wells, baths, ovens, and even the latrina: hence, persons, when they enter the latter place, and when they let down a bucket into a well, or light a fire, and on other occasions, say, “Permission!” or “Permission, ye blessed!”—which words, in the case of entering the latrina, they sometimes preface with a prayer for God’s protection against all evil spirits; but in doing this, some persons are careful not to mention the name of God after they have entered (deeming it improper in such a place), and only say, “I seek refuge with Thee from the male and female devils.” These customs present a commentary on the story in the “Thousand and One Nights,” in which a merchant is described as having killed a ginnee by throwing aside the stone of a date which he had just eaten. In the same story, and in others of the same collection, a ginnee is represented as approaching in a whirlwind of sand or dust; and it is the general belief of the Arabs of Egypt, that the “zóba’ah,” or whirlwind which raises the sand or dust in the form of a pillar of prodigious height, and which is so often seen sweeping across the fields and deserts of this country, is caused by the flight of one of these beings; or, in other words, that the ginnee “rides in the whirlwind.”[[346]] A charm is usually uttered by the Egyptians to avert the zóba’ah, when it seems to be approaching them: some of them exclaim, “Iron, thou unlucky!”—as genii are supposed to have a great dread of that metal: others endeavour to drive away the monster by exclaiming, “God is most great!” What we call a “falling star” (and which the Arabs term “shilháb”) is commonly believed to be a dart thrown by God at an evil ginnee; and the Egyptians, when they see it, exclaim, “May God transfix the enemy of the faith!” The evil ginnees are commonly termed “’Efreets;” and one of this class is mentioned in the Kur-án in these words, “An ’efreet of the ginn answered” (chap. xxvii. ver. 39): which words Sale translates, “A terrible genius answered.” They are generally believed to differ from the other ginn in being very powerful, and always malicious; but to be, in other respects, of a similar nature. An evil ginnee of the most powerful class is called a “Márid.”
Connected with the history of the ginn are many fables not acknowledged by the Kur-án, and therefore not credited by the more sober Muslims, but only by the less instructed. All agree that the ginn were created before mankind; but some distinguish another class of preadamite beings of a similar nature. It is commonly believed that the earth was inhabited, before the time of Adam, by a race of beings differing from ourselves in form, and much more powerful; and that forty (or, according to some, seventy-two) preadamite kings, each of whom bore the name of Suleymán (or Solomon), successively governed this people. The last of these Suleymáns was named Gánn Ibn-Gánn; and from him, some think, the ginn (who are also called “gánn”)[[347]] derive their name. Hence, some believe the ginn to be the same with the preadamite race here mentioned: but others assert that they (the ginn) were a distinct class of beings, and brought into subjection by the other race.
Ginnees are believed often to assume, or perpetually to wear, the shapes of cats, dogs, and other brute animals. The sheykh Khaleel El-Medábighee, one of the most celebrated of the ′ulama of Egypt, and author of several works on various sciences, who died, at a very advanced age, during the period of my former visit to this country, used to relate the following anecdote.—He had, he said, a favourite black cat, which always slept at the foot of his musquito-curtain. Once, at midnight, he heard a knocking at the door of his house; and his cat went, and opened the hanging shutter of his window, and called, “Who is there?” A voice replied, “I am such a one” (mentioning a strange name) “the ginnee: open the door.” “The lock,” said the sheykh′s cat, “has had the name [of God] pronounced upon it.”[[348]] “Then throw me down,” said the other, “two cakes of bread.” “The bread-basket,” answered the cat at the window, “has had the name pronounced upon it” “Well,” said the stranger, “at least give me a draught of water.” But he was answered that the water-jar had been secured in the same manner; and asked what he was to do, seeing that he was likely to die of hunger and thirst: the sheykh′s cat told him to go to the door of the next house; and went there also himself, and opened the door, and soon after returned. Next morning the sheykh deviated from a habit which he had constantly observed: he gave, to the cat, half of the fateereh upon which he breakfasted, instead of a little morsel, which he was wont to give; and afterwards said, “O my cat, thou knowest that I am a poor man: bring me, then, a little gold:” upon which words, the cat immediately disappeared, and he saw it no more.—Ridiculous as stories of this kind really are, it is impossible, without relating one or more, to convey a just notion of the opinions of the people whom I am attempting to describe.
It is commonly affirmed, that malicious or disturbed genii very often station themselves on the roofs, or at the windows, of houses in Cairo, and other towns of Egypt, and throw bricks and stones down into the streets and courts. A few days ago, I was told of a case of this kind, which had alarmed the people in the main street of the metropolis for a whole week; many bricks having been thrown down from some of the houses every day during this period, but nobody killed or wounded. I went to the scene of these pretended pranks of the genii, to witness them, and to make inquiries on the subject; but on my arrival there, I was told that the “regm” (that is, the throwing) had ceased. I found no one who denied the throwing down of the bricks, or doubted that it was the work of genii; and the general remark, on mentioning the subject, was, “God preserve us from their evil doings!”
One of my friends observed to me, on this occasion, that he had met with some Englishmen who disbelieved in the existence of genii; but he concluded that they had never witnessed a public performance, though common in their country, of which he had since heard, called “kumedyeh” (or comedy); by which term he meant to include all theatrical performances. Addressing one of his countrymen, and appealing to me for the confirmation of his words, he then said—“An Algerine, a short time ago, gave me an account of a spectacle of this kind which he had seen in London.”—Here his countryman interrupted him, by asking, “Is not England in London? or is London a town in England?”—My friend, with diffidence, and looking to me, answered that London was the metropolis of England; and then resumed the subject of the theatre.—“The house,” said he, “in which the spectacle was exhibited cannot be described: it was of a round form, with many benches on the floor, and closets all round, in rows, one above another, in which people of the higher classes sat; and there was a large square aperture, closed with a curtain. When the house was full of people, who paid large sums of money to be admitted, it suddenly became very dark: it was night; and the house had been lighted up with a great many lamps; but these became almost entirely extinguished, all at the same time, without being touched by anybody. Then the great curtain was drawn up: they heard the roaring of the sea and wind; and indistinctly perceived, through the gloom, the waves rising and foaming, and lashing the shore. Presently a tremendous peal of thunder was heard,[heard,] after a flash of lightning had clearly shown to the spectators the agitated sea: and then there fell a heavy shower of real rain. Soon after, the day broke; the sea became more plainly visible; and two ships were seen in the distance: they approached, and fought each other, firing their cannons; and a variety of other extraordinary scenes were afterwards exhibited. Now it is evident,” added my friend, “that such wonders must have been the works of genii, or at least performed by their assistance.”—He could not be convinced of his error by my explanations of these phenomena.
During the month of Ramadán, the genii, it is said, are confined in prison; and hence, on the eve of the festival which follows that month, some of the women of Egypt, with the view of preventing these objects of dread from entering their houses, sprinkle salt upon the floors of the apartments; saying, as they do it, “In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.”
A curious relic of ancient Egyptian superstition must here be mentioned. It is believed that each quarter in Cairo has its peculiar guardian-genius, or Agathodæmon, which has the form of a serpent.
The ancient tombs of Egypt, and the dark recesses of the temples, are commonly believed, by the people of this country, to be inhabited by ′efreets. I found it impossible to persuade one of my servants to enter the Great Pyramid with me, from his having this idea. Many of the Arabs ascribe the erection of the Pyramids, and all the most stupendous remains of antiquity in Egypt, to Gánn Ibn-Gánn, and his servants, the ginn; conceiving it impossible that they could have been raised by human hands.