Genies of the World: Tunesia

Tunesia is one of the few islamic countries that knows jinn of the sea, the jnoun-el-bahar. These jinn are said to have the upper body of a human and instead of legs, they have the tail of a fish, resembling mermaids and mermen. The belief in the jnoun-el-bahar propably originates from much older, Phoenician lore. In ancient times, Phoenicians founded a colony in that region, which eventually developed into Cartharge. And of course, they brought their own lore with them. From there, the legend spread all over the mediterranean and eventually merged with european lore, creating the european myths of mermaids.

Also the behaviour of the jnoun-el-bahar is pretty similar to mermaids. In this picture a jennia-el-bahar seduces a fisherman. If he falls for her lures, she will drag him under the sea into the realm of the jnoun-el-bahar, where she will make the fisherman her lover. If he refuses, the jennia will be very sad.

The coast in the background is the island of Tabarca, Tunesia with its fortress.

Complete Genies of the World Tour:
Al-Andalus
Aztecs
Bavaria
Brazil
Canada
China
Egypt
Greece
Imperium Romanum
India
Ireland
Japan
Korea
Morocco
Pirates
Russia
Tunesia
Turkey
Ukraine
USA
Vietnam
Vikings
World War I