Djinn, Djinni, and Genies in a Bottle

This post is dedicated to you, Joe.

Toward the end of Majda's stay with us I asked her about Djinn. The funny thing was that she called them 'genies' which brought to mind this:

But of course, that isn't what she meant. You see, she is afraid of them - and Robin William's genie just doesn't strike fear into the heart of many (unless you have phobias in regards to blue people or cabaret).

Majda described them as beings who were evil, who sought to hurt you, break up marriages, possess your body, and commit a wide variety of nefarious acts. "But," I said, still thinking of Disney's genie, "there are good ones right?"

She said there were good ones, but she dismissed them. She said that at times they frighten her, and that she reads the qu'ran to feel better, but she can still feel them over her shoulder. Yikes. She spoke of them as if they were very real beings of fire. Probably more like this image:

Now, this is quite a bit more frightening. According to Majda, there are many magicians in Oman who specialize in being able to control djinni, and people come from all over the Persian Gulf and from Africa to use their services. Ms. Cleo has missed her calling!

I guess we all have our fears. Mine involve spiders and giant poodles. In my defense, though, I am more likely to encounter a spider than a genie ... or am I?