Jinn Eviction as a Discourse of Power MAAROUF_Prelims_i-iv.indd i 9/19/2007 1:14:59 PM Islam in Africa Brill’s Islam in Africa is designed to present the results of scholarly research into the many aspects of the history and present-day features of Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa. The series will take up issues of religious and intellectual traditions, social signi(cid:2) cance and organization, and other aspects of the Islamic presence in Africa. It includes monographs, collaborative volumes and reference works by researchers from all relevant disciplines. Editors John Hunwick Rüdiger Seesemann Knut Vikør VOLUME 8 MAAROUF_Prelims_i-iv.indd ii 9/19/2007 1:15:00 PM Jinn Eviction as a Discourse of Power A Multidisciplinary Approach to Moroccan Magical Beliefs and Practices By Mohammed Maarouf LEIDEN • BOSTON 2007 MAAROUF_Prelims_i-iv.indd iii 9/19/2007 1:15:00 PM This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A C.I.P. record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISSN 1570-3754 ISBN 978 90 04 16099 6 Copyright 2007 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishers, IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. printed in the netherlands MAAROUF_Prelims_i-iv.indd iv 9/19/2007 1:15:01 PM To the memory of my parents, al-(cid:2)aj Mbarek and Shrifa Lalla Rqiya To my daughter, Chaimae MAAROUF_F1_v-xvi.indd v 9/24/2007 1:53:23 PM MAAROUF_F1_v-xvi.indd vi 9/24/2007 1:53:24 PM CONTENTS Note on Transliteration .............................................................. ix Transliteration of Arabic Letters ............................................... xi Acknowledgements ..................................................................... xv Foreword ..................................................................................... xiii Introduction ................................................................................ 1 Chapter One: Local Histories: Shari(cid:2) anism and Power .............. 19 A. Historical Origins .............................................................. 19 B. The Maraboutic Institution and its Means of Survival ... 23 C. The Location of the Saint ................................................ 32 D. The Saint’s Lineage .......................................................... 34 E. The Founding Legends ..................................................... 48 F. Royal Donations (in(cid:3)am) ..................................................... 71 G. Organization ..................................................................... 76 H. Shrine Income ................................................................... 81 Chapter Two: The Buf(cid:2) Representation of the World of Jinn 83 A. Jinn Attributes ................................................................... 83 B. Types of Jinn .................................................................... 94 C. Self vs. Other .................................................................... 110 1. Magic (si(cid:4)r) ................................................................... 113 2. The Evil Eye (al-(cid:3)ain) .................................................... 127 3. The Female Pursuer (tab(cid:3)a) .......................................... 134 4. Harming Jinns unknowingly (al-aghl(cid:5)(cid:6) m(cid:3)a al-jenn) ....... 138 Chapter Three: Jinn Eviction and Other Rituals as Discourses of Power ........................................................... 143 A. The Ritual of Pilgrimage (zyara) ...................................... 143 B. The Ritual of Cursing ...................................................... 153 C. The Ritual of Jinn Eviction ((cid:7)ri(cid:3)) ..................................... 159 D. Formulas for Jinn Eviction ............................................... 179 E. The Ritual of Call for Rain ............................................. 196 MAAROUF_F1_v-xvi.indd vii 9/24/2007 1:53:24 PM viii contents Chapter Four: The Paradigm of Authority: the Mythic Court of Jinn ..................................................................................... 203 A. Court Design ..................................................................... 203 B. Court Institution ............................................................... 208 C. Invisible Jinn Eviction ....................................................... 221 D. The Paradigm of Servitude (khidma) ................................ 225 Conclusion .................................................................................. 247 Appendices .................................................................................. 253 Glossary ....................................................................................... 305 Bibliography ................................................................................ 309 Figures ......................................................................................... 317 Index ........................................................................................... 331 MAAROUF_F1_v-xvi.indd viii 9/24/2007 1:53:25 PM NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION The transliteration of Arabic terms in this book generally follows the IJMES system. Place names with accepted English spellings and per- sonal names of prominent political or cultural (cid:2) gures are spelled in accordance with English norms. Technical terms, even those that occur in written, classical Arabic, are transliterated as they are pronounced in the spoken Arabic of the region in which I worked. The text would have been unnecessarily complicated had I followed separate conven- tions for the spoken and written variants. For example, the word for jinn eviction is (cid:7)ri(cid:3) in Moroccan Arabic, (cid:7)(cid:7)ar(cid:3) in classical Arabic. Specialists will easily be able to reconstitute the classical forms. Words are spelled in the singular, with plurals indicated by ‘s.’ Commonly known plurals in western languages are kept intact (e.g., (cid:3)ulama). MAAROUF_F1_v-xvi.indd ix 9/24/2007 1:53:25 PM