The Vengeful Djinn: Unveiling the Hidden Agenda of Genies (19 page)

According to lore, fairies themselves do not like the word, but
prefer such labels as "the Good Neighbors," the Good People,"
the Gentry," "the People of Peace," "the Strangers," "Themselves,"
the Seelie (Blessed) Court," and similar terms. Compare them
with the djinn, often referred to by similar names, such as "God's
Other People," "Them," "One of Those," and "Those Other
People." Fairies are also called "the Little People" because of their
diminutive size: most are described as two to three feet in height.
However, in some accounts, fairies do not care for the term "Little
People" either, considering it and "fairy" to be disrespectful.

A connection between fairies and Persian lore was made by Lady
Jane Wilde (1826-1896), an Irish poet and wife of Sir William
Wilde. Lady Wilde was interested in Irish fairy stories, and wrote
extensively on them. She said the word fairy originated in ancient
Persia, and in these passages described characteristics shared by
both fairies and djinn:

The belief in a race of supernatural beings, midway between man and the Supreme God, beautiful and beneficent, a race that had never known the weight of human life, was also part of the creed of the Iranian people. They called them Peris, or Ferouers (fairies)... Every nation believes in the existence of these mysterious spirits, with mystic and powerful influence over human life and actions, but each nation represents them differently, according to national habits and national surroundings ...

The Sidhe, or Fairies, of Ireland, still preserve all the gentle attributes of their ancient Persian race, for in the soft and equable climate of Erin there were no terrible manifestations of nature to be symbolized by new images; and the genial, laughterloving elves were in themselves the best and truest expression of Irish nature that could have been invented. The Fairies loved music and dancing and frolic; and, above all things, to be let alone, and not be interfered with as regarded their peculiar fairy habits, customs, and pastimes ... but the fairies were sometimes willful and capricious as children, and took dire revenge if any one built over their fairy circles, or looked at them when combing their long yellow hair in the sunshine, or dancing in the woods, or floating on the lakes. Death was the penalty to all who approached too near, or pried too curiously into the mysteries of nature.'

Lady Wilde believed the Irish names for fairies, sidhe, orfead-rhee, is a modification of the Persian term peri. The sidhe and the peri were comparable to the Egyptian and Greek concepts of demons, she said, and all were "a race midway between angel and man, gifted with power to exercise a strange, mysterious influence over human destiny." Her descriptions certainly fit the djinn as well.

They Were Early Inhabitants of Earth
Who Lost Their Dominion

Fairies, like the djinn, preceded humanity as a sentient race that
inhabited the earth. In Irish lore, the original fairies were the Tu-
atha De Danaan ("the people of the goddess Danu"), said in some
accounts to be directly descended from the gods. The fairies took
up residency in Ireland, and possessed supernatural and magical
powers. Over time, they lost battles to invaders and used their
powers to retreat into the earth, into a parallel world where they
could remain invisible and undisturbed.

They Are Outcasts from Their Realms

The djinn were cast out because they did not bow down to Adam,
but rebelled under Iblis. Fairies have a number of origins, according to lore. In addition to being the original inhabitants of earth,
they are said to be nature spirits, the souls of the pagan dead who
cannot enter heaven, the ancestral dead, the guardians of the dead,
supernatural creatures who are part human and part monster, and
fallen angels. When Lucifer and his followers were thrown out of
heaven, some didn't become demons of hell but fell to earth and
became fairies. Although there are no equivalents of fallen angels
in Islam, the fall of the djinn, and the transformation of Iblis into
an evil parallel of Lucifer/Satan, has strong associations with the
"fallen angel" explanation of fairies.

The belief that fairies were fallen angels is particularly strong in
Irish and the Scottish Highland lore, where folklorist Alexander
Carmichael recorded an oral version of the fallen angel story in
which the fairies are cast out with the "Proud Angel," Lucifer.

In October of 1871, Carmichael and his traveling companion,
the folklorist J. F. Campbell, were forced to wait out a storm on the
island of Barra. They spent their time listening to the local folklore. One of the storytellers was a ninety-two-year-old man named Roderick MacNeill, who had never worn shoes and never been ill, and
who climbed about the sheer cliffs like an expert. MacNeill's account of the fairies follows:

The Proud Angel fomented a rebellion among the angels of
heaven, where he had been a leading light. He declared that he
would go and found a kingdom of his own. When going out at
the door of heaven the Proud Angel brought dealanaich dheilg-
nich agus beithir bheumnaich, prickly lightning and biting lightning, out of the door-step with his heels. Many angels followed
him-so many that at last the Son called out, `Father! Father!
The city is being emptied!' whereupon the Father ordered that
the gates of heaven and of hell should be closed. This was instantly done; and those who were in were in, and those who
were out were out; while the hosts who had left heaven and had
not reached hell, flew into the holes of the earth mar nafamhla-
gan, like the stormy petrels.

These are the fairy folks-ever since doomed to live under
the ground, and only permitted to emerge when and where the
King permits. They are never allowed abroad on Thursday, that
being Columba's Day, nor on Friday, that being the Son's Day,
nor on Saturday, that being Mary's Day, nor on Sunday, that being the Lord's Day.

On certain nights when their bruthain, bowers, are open and
their lamps are lit, and the song and the dance are moving merrily, the fairies may be heard singing light-heartedly-

Variations of the fallen angel story are told in Western fairy lore. In some, the angels who become fairies were the unwitting dupes of the Proud Angel, and they fall into a netherworld where they are too wicked for heaven and too virtuous for hell; over time, they become increasingly dark and demonic in nature.

In these stories, we find strong parallels between the djinn and fairies: the fairies were angels in heaven who rebelled and vowed to form their own kingdom and they fell into holes on earth. The djinn rebelled and were banished and formed their own kingdoms, preferring to live in holes in the ground and caves. Deprived of their place and status, both djinn and fairies developed deep and long-standing grudges and the desire for revenge.

Some fairies and djinn removed themselves deeper into their own realm, content in the knowledge that foolish humans would at some point bring about their own demise, and they would be able to reclaim their places in the world. Others find opportunities to strike out against humans.

They Are Linked to the Demonic

As we see in the sections above, both djinn and fairies have become associated with the demonic and devils. As punishment for disobeying God's order to bow before Adam, Iblis was thrown out of paradise and became Shaitan, or Satan, and his djinn followers came to be regarded as demonic in nature. In fairy lore, fairies are sometimes described as servants of the devil and witches, helpers
in the carrying out of hexes, curses, and harmful magical spells.

Both djinn and fairies are also agents of possession.

They Are Hidden

The djinn are called the Hidden Ones because they are obscured from human sight. The Qur'an states, "He [the devil] and his tribe see you, while you do not see them."3

A story given in Celtic lore says that fairies are the offspring of Adam and Eve,'
and earned their nickname "the hidden people" because of Eve's sin. After the fall, Adam and Eve have a great many children. One day, God was walking through the world, and he called on Eve and asked her to present her children. Ashamed at the great number of them, Eve sent half of them to hide, and presented the ones she thought were the best. God was not fooled, and said, "Let those who were hidden from me be hidden people."5
So the fairies became invisible and hidden from sight-just like the djinn.

They Believe They Are Superior to Humans

Iblis proclaimed to God that the djinn, made of smokeless fire, were superior to humans, made of mere clay. Iblis went to Adam and made his attitude clear: " [Adam] if you are given mastery over me, I will surely disobey you. And if I am given mastery over you, I will destroy you."6
After Iblis was cast out of Paradise, he sized
up Adam and found him to be hollow and without self-control; in other words, an easy target. He vowed revenge on Adam's descendants and told God: "Now, because You have sent me astray, verily I shall lurk in ambush for them on Your right path. Then I shall come upon them from before them and from behind them, and from their right and from their left, and you will not find most of them beholden [to You]." 7

Fairies consider themselves to be superior to humans and know they have the ability to destroy them. Y.W. Evans-Wentz, an American anthropologist who collected fairy lore in the British Isles, Ireland, and Europe, heard many such descriptions. In the area around Ben Bulben Mountain in County Sligo, Ireland, a man gave him this description of fairies, who called themselves the Gentry:

The folk are the grandest I have ever seen. They are far superior to us and that is why they call themselves the Gentry. They are not a working-class, but a military-aristocratic class, tall and noble-bearing. They are a distinct race between our race and that of spirits, as they have told me. Their qualifications are tremendous: "We could cut off half the human race, but would not," they said, "for we are expecting salvation." And I knew a man three or four years ago who they struck down with paralysis. Their sight is so penetrating I think they could see through the earth.8

They Have Long Life Spans, But Not Immortality

Time is something that fairies and djinn have in plenty. Both have much longer life spans than humans, though no one knows to what extent. As we noted in chapter 2, djinn live for thousands of years. In fairy lore, fairy life spans are much longer because of the different passage of time in their world than on earth. Time passes
much more slowly for fairies, and a day to them can be a year to
humans.

There is no immortality for either djinn or fairies, however, and at some point, both must die. Their fate in the afterlife is uncertain, since, according to lore, both are damned in the eyes of God. Djinn and fairies await their fate at the Last Judgment.

According to Lady Wilde, when that day arrives, the fairies "are fated to pass into annihilation, to perish utterly and be seen no more."9
Some of them nervously await salvation. Irish and Scottish stories tells of fairies asking a sympathetic human to inquire on their behalf about their fate. The human consults a sympathetic saint or priest, who always gives an unhappy answer: the fairies are doomed and have no hope of ever reentering heaven. Upon hearing this, the fairies always break out in great cries and lamentations.

When Iblis and the djinn were cast out of paradise, Iblis asked for reprieve until the Last Judgment Day when the dead are raised. However, he openly acknowledged that he would spend his time subverting and corrupting humans: "Do you see this [creation] that you have honored above me? If you give me grace until the Day of Resurrection, I will verily seize his seed, save but a few
"10 Even so, God granted his request."

As for the fate of the djinn, the Qur'an states that djinn who become believers, that is, convert to Islam, will be taken to paradise while evil-doers will be sent into the hell fires along with evildoing humans.

They Are Organized Into Societies and Families

Djinn marry and have families that are organized in clans, and
who are ruled by kings. Fairies also marry and have families, work
at jobs, and are ruled by kings and queens. Both djinn and fairies
keep pets, most notably dogs and cats.