16 Things You Didn't Know About GENIES
(Art by Phil Dragash)
Welcome!
This post, like the previous one, will follow three simple rules: short, sweet, and straight to the point.
I promised in my last post that my next topic will be genies, and some of the things you didn't know about them.
We all remember Aladdin, or at least a story about a genie living in a magical lamp, who will grant us three wishes after we summon him. Disney made genies look friendly, goofy, and simply fun to be around with.
(Art by Jacob Tucker)
However, what do we really know about genies? Where did the stories about them come from, and why? Do they really look like the one in "Aladdin"? Are they even friendly?
Here are some of the things you didn't know about genies (or jinni, as they are called in the Islamic world, where they originate from):
1. Their name means "concealed".
Word "genie" originated from the Arabian word "jinni" which means "invisible", or "concealed". The plural form "Jinn" refers to the "world of genies".
2. Genies are made of fire.
Genies, just like devils and demons, are made of fire. They are supernatural beings (spirits), who are below the level of angels and devils.
3. Genies are invisible to us.
They can't be seen by humans as long as they are in their original form. However, they can easily transform into something of our material world, and become visible to us in that form.
4. Genies can sometimes be seen in their original form.
They can be seen in their original form if they choose to show themselves to us, however, it takes a lot of their energy to do so, and weakens their body. It is much easier for them to just transform into something of our world, most commonly into a cat, dog, snake, or a horse.
5. Genies look a lot like humans and animals.
Their head, proportionate to their body, is slightly bigger than ours. Their eyes are vertical, not horizontal like ours, but quite large and spacious. The color of their eyes can be green, black, blue, etc. Their ears look a lot like horse's ears, although some of them have ears that resemble cat's ears. Their nose is in the middle of their face, just like ours, but the difference is in its shape. Their nose is oval and flattened. Some of them have a beard, while others don't. Female genies have a long hair because it represents their beauty. Their arms are long, just like their nails, much longer than ours. Their feet are flattened with pointy fingers. Just like humans, they have a skeleton, muscles, heart, and all the other organs, but their skeleton is quite large in regards to their body. Their bodies are soft and elastic, even beyond our imagination. They breathe and eat, just like we do, however, their feces is in the form of thick vapor.
6. Genies have horns.
We might think they are big, like the ones devil has in every single portrayal of him, but they are really not. They are actually quite small and short.
(Art by Paul Davidson)
7. Genies are shorter than us.
Their normal height is about 150 cm (4 feet and 11 inches), but they can make themselves appear 10 times bigger, for a short period of time.
8. Genies wear clothes.
Yes, they really do. They wear all kinds of different clothes. Male genies prefer woolen robes. Their favorite colors are red, blue, and black.
9. Genies only wear sandals made of cattail.
Some of them, who are considered to be the bad ones, wear only one wooden sandal, on their left foot. Others, the good genies, wear them on both feet.
10. There are far more genies on the planet than humans.
It's hard to stumble upon a place on the planet that isn't inhabited by them. They live on land, sea, and even in the air. Their states, empires, villages, cities can be found even in the depths of oceans, seas, and rivers. They inhabit deserts, mountains, rocks, and caves. They also live in our cities, and settlements. Some of them live with us, in our homes, while others prefer sewer systems and our toilets.
11. Genies have a world of their own.
They are of different types, classes, colors, groups, and nations. Their world is the same as ours. They have countries, states, kingdoms, tribes, rulers, etc. They have the same religions that we do (Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Atheism, etc.).
12. Genies also get married!
Yup, they get hitched, tie the knot, settle down, just like we do. Well, most of us... Some of us. I guess it's complicated. There's love, hatred, harmony, discord, friendship, and hostility in their world too! Their wedding customs differ between classes, families, cities, even countries/states.
13. Devils (including Satan) are genies too.
Devils, by all of their characteristics, are genies too. It is believed that devils are one distinct group of genies, out of many, who are most evil of them all. They do differ a little bit in their physical appearance (e.g. longer horns, short tail). The important thing is that every devil is a genie, while every genie is not a devil. They usually live in abandoned places, deserts, mountains, on deserted islands, or on the sea surface.
(Art by Andrew Dobell)
14. Genies can live up to several thousand years.
Most of them live up to few hundred years, however, genies can live as long as several thousand years. The most a genie can live is about 7 thousand years, but that is quite rare. The Devil is considered to be the only exception.
15. Evil genies help those who perform black magic.
Witchcraft/magic (called "sihr" in the Islamic World) is often associated with genies. People who wish to harm others, or summon dead spirits, are usually working with genies, who help them achieve their goals.
16. Genies have the ability of instantaneous travel.
They can travel in the blink of an eye between distant places (e.g. from India to Canada). It is believed that they can move faster than light itself, and that's the reason why they are invisible to us. Their atoms vibrate faster than light, so we can't perceive those vibrations.
You may believe in genies or not, either way, this is a fun and interesting topic to explore. It's most certainly fun to write about them.
If you are interested in reading more about genies, let me know.
If you have a suggestion for my next writing topic, write it down in the comment section, or message me via twitter, facebook, email, whichever you prefer.