stone, and stands beside a lake called ‘Kolam Yamani’; into this lake the whole of the waters
from the neighbouring country drain, and the overflow runs down to the sea. In this lake the
good genii bathe, and if any wicked or childless mortals bathe in it they carry them off and
detain them in the mosque until they (the mortals) have shown proof of their reformed
character by continuing for a long while without committing a wrong action, when they are
sent back in safety to their native land. I should add that the Jin Islam exact tribute from the
unfaithful—e.g. Chinamen—and if they do not receive their due, they will steal it and give it to
a son of Islam. [They may be bought from the “Sheikh Jin” at Mecca for prices varying from
$90 to $100 each.]
“The Jin Kafir, or bad genii, are invariably deformed, their heads being always out of their
proper position; in short, they are Othello’s
Men whose heads
Do grow beneath their shoulders.Their commonest name, ‘Jin isi-isi didalam Dunia’ (the Genii who Fill the World), is owing to
the fact that their enormous numbers fill the whole atmosphere from earth to sky. Like the
good Genii, they cannot die before the great day of judgment, but (unlike them) they are dumb.
“Great as their numbers are they are continually increasing, as they are suffered by God to get
children after their kind. They are imps of mischief, and their whole time is spent in works of
malice. Sometimes when there has been a long drought and a heavy shower of rain is poured
down upon the earth by the angels at the bidding of God to cool the parched verdure, they will
assemble their legions, bringing with them invisible cocoa-nut shells, one for each drop of rain.
In these they catch each rain-drop as it falls, and herbs and trees alike wither for lack of
moisture. Then the angels being wroth, cast thunderbolts upon them out of heaven, and these
malicious elves take shelter in tall trees, which the thunderbolts blast in their fall. At another
time they will climb one upon the other’s shoulders until they reach the sky, when the topmost
elf kicks a neighbouring angel, and then they all fall together with a crash like thunder.” ↑
22
It is probable that the Arabic spirits here mentioned have, as in other cases, taken the place of
native (Malay) spirits to whom similar functions were assigned, but whose names are now
lost. ↑
23
There are, besides, one or two partly Arabic expressions which are occasionally used, e.g.
Sidang (or Sĕdang) Saleh, Sidang (or Sĕdang) Mumin. It is probable that “Sidang” in these
cases is a Malay word implying respectability (v. v. d. W. s.v.), so that Sidang Saleh may be
translated “Sir Devout,” and Sidang Mumin, “Sir Faithful.” ↑