Creatures of Elemental Fire

August 1, 2019 9:13 AM

In Middle Eastern and Islamic cosmology, the djinn/jinn are a class of spirits that inhabit a hidden world, al ghayb. Belief in them predates Islam and they feature in folklore and religion both in a variety of shapes and forms - A twitter thread (Threadreader version) by Ali A. Olomi, historian of the Middle East and Islam, and host of the Head on History podcast.

(happy Ghost Month!)

posted by cendawanita (13 comments total)

I actually wanted to do a post on the Ghost Month, which just started today, but I did do a specific post about it before, but this is still in the spirit (of my culture anyway).
posted by cendawanita at 9:15 AM on August 1, 2019 [1 favorite]

Thanks for posting this! I'm still reading/listening and will hopefully have something more substantive to say later, but just wanted to say now that I appreciate you drawing attention to Olomi's writing/podcast AND to Ghost Month (my favorite).
posted by rue72 at 10:14 AM on August 1, 2019 [1 favorite]

Great thread, thank you! I’m currently reading A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djèlí Clark, and the thread explains a couple of terms I’ve been wondering about. I’ve also subscribed to the podcast. :)
posted by daisyk at 11:11 AM on August 1, 2019 [2 favorites]

I hope to finish my American Jinn film (Trailer), shot in Saudi Arabia, this year.
posted by PHINC at 11:57 AM on August 1, 2019

They are also great Scrabble/Words With Friends words.
posted by TedW at 12:02 PM on August 1, 2019

Going from the same writer's note that a djinn can take the form of a black cat, Twitter treasure @AliceAvizandum helpfully had people post pictures of their cats and she told them if their cat was a djinn or not.
posted by Space Coyote at 12:15 PM on August 1, 2019 [5 favorites]

and she told them:
Djinn or Not?
posted by I-Write-Essays at 12:52 PM on August 1, 2019

will never pass up an opportunity to link the jinn problems? hotline billboard in michigan
posted by karayel at 1:13 PM on August 1, 2019 [1 favorite]

Happy Ghost Month!

There’s an excellent Iranian horror film about djinn: Under the Shadow.
posted by edithkeeler at 5:49 PM on August 1, 2019 [1 favorite]

I love reading about djinn! I'm most familiar with the ones from D&D though, in the Al-Qadim setting.

You need to do a post on hantu next.
posted by destrius at 8:49 AM on August 2, 2019

Maybe when ghost month is over....
posted by cendawanita at 11:15 AM on August 2, 2019 [1 favorite]

This sounds a lot like fairies. (The serious kind that you don't want to mess with.)
posted by heatherlogan at 3:16 PM on August 2, 2019

Interesting! Thank you for posting and happy ghost month!
posted by ellieBOA at 2:06 AM on August 6, 2019