WEBVTT - Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are 0:00:03.520 --> 0:00:06.520 Welcome to the Hidden Gin, a production of I Heart 0:00:06.600 --> 0:00:30.800 Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Minky. I love 0:00:30.960 --> 0:00:33.519 to smell good, and I have been kind of obsessed 0:00:33.560 --> 0:00:35.920 with smelling nights since I was about thirteen years old, 0:00:36.320 --> 0:00:38.239 and I'm happy to say this was well before the 0:00:38.280 --> 0:00:42.160 advent of acts body spray. Now you might not be aware, 0:00:42.240 --> 0:00:45.519 but perfumes that are filled with alcohol aren't very popular 0:00:45.560 --> 0:00:48.160 in many parts of the world, including where our family 0:00:48.200 --> 0:00:52.479 hails from, Pakistan. Instead, scented oils called out there have 0:00:52.560 --> 0:00:56.360 been used widely for thousands of years by people in Africa, 0:00:56.640 --> 0:01:00.480 the Middle East, and South Asia. And our family was different. 0:01:01.800 --> 0:01:04.800 My parents had tiny, little precious vials of the rich 0:01:04.920 --> 0:01:08.080 perfumed oil tucked away here and there in a dresser 0:01:08.160 --> 0:01:10.720 drawer in the glove compartment of my dad's pickup truck. 0:01:11.360 --> 0:01:15.040 Some were clear, others had a dim golden color, and 0:01:15.160 --> 0:01:19.000 some were a deep amber, viscous and thick, sealed tightly 0:01:19.280 --> 0:01:23.080 like a treasure. And they were treasures because real, authentic 0:01:23.120 --> 0:01:27.319 other is very very expensive, costing in the thousands for 0:01:27.360 --> 0:01:30.320 a single ounce of the really good stuff. It's pure, 0:01:30.480 --> 0:01:34.520 unadulterated essence, with no alcohol, no dilution of the deeply 0:01:34.640 --> 0:01:39.240 heady scents captured inside every drop. It's so strong that 0:01:39.280 --> 0:01:42.080 you can smell the essence even when the vials are sealed. 0:01:42.600 --> 0:01:45.160 A drop on each wrist, maybe one behind an ear 0:01:45.400 --> 0:01:48.760 would last all day. I never dared to steal any 0:01:48.840 --> 0:01:52.280 drops because there would be no hiding it. The scent travels, 0:01:52.600 --> 0:01:55.600 turning you into a walking incense stick, and the minute 0:01:55.640 --> 0:01:59.040 you enter a room wearing some others will immediately know. 0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:02.880 And also, my siblings and I were strictly forbidden from 0:02:02.880 --> 0:02:06.960 wearing other and not because it was expensive. We were 0:02:07.000 --> 0:02:10.720 forbidden because See, the set doesn't just draw other people 0:02:10.800 --> 0:02:14.200 to you, It draws creatures that we can't even see 0:02:14.200 --> 0:02:19.240 to it, especially outside and especially at nighttime. So our 0:02:19.280 --> 0:02:21.680 elders told us to be wary of going out at 0:02:21.800 --> 0:02:26.160 night when the gin were most active heavily perfumed, because 0:02:26.240 --> 0:02:29.840 it could prove irresistible to them. After all, the gin 0:02:30.000 --> 0:02:33.200 lurked everywhere in the darkness, and smelling sweet and inviting, 0:02:33.240 --> 0:02:36.520 could be just the thing that captured their interest. On 0:02:36.560 --> 0:02:39.120 the other hand, you also don't want to piss them off. 0:02:39.120 --> 0:02:41.280 You don't want to anger them, which you could if 0:02:41.320 --> 0:02:45.800 you disrespected them. By doing something so heinous as urinating 0:02:45.919 --> 0:02:48.680 under a tree at night, because that's why you find 0:02:48.720 --> 0:02:50.920 a lot of them, or at least that's where they 0:02:50.919 --> 0:02:54.400 can find you under a tree at night. It said 0:02:54.560 --> 0:02:58.200 that many jin live in trees peacefully, not bothering anyone, 0:02:58.840 --> 0:03:01.880 unless they could distract did by a sweetly perfumed person 0:03:02.080 --> 0:03:05.880 passing by or a rude interloper who decided to relieve 0:03:05.919 --> 0:03:09.760 their bladder there. According to Jewish lore, demon gin are 0:03:09.880 --> 0:03:13.480 especially dangerous around palm trees, and you are bound to 0:03:13.480 --> 0:03:16.480 invite their attention by sleeping under a palm tree or 0:03:16.600 --> 0:03:19.840 squeezing between two palms, or between a palm tree and 0:03:19.880 --> 0:03:23.320 a wall. The general rule here is definitely just stay 0:03:23.360 --> 0:03:27.200 away from palm trees, also from sword trees because at 0:03:27.240 --> 0:03:30.720 least sixty demon gin live in its shade, but also 0:03:30.919 --> 0:03:34.600 avoid the caper bush because the blind demon roof lives there. 0:03:34.800 --> 0:03:37.000 And while you're at it, stay away from the roots 0:03:37.000 --> 0:03:39.840 of trees because an entire other species of demon gin 0:03:39.920 --> 0:03:44.000 are found there. Trespassing into gin territory is enough to 0:03:44.000 --> 0:03:47.120 make a gin follow you all the way home, snatch 0:03:47.160 --> 0:03:50.440 you right up so you disappear forever, or even possess you, 0:03:51.920 --> 0:03:55.360 so beware of lingering under trees at night for any reason, 0:03:56.320 --> 0:03:59.080 because while it might seem like the Gin only occupy 0:03:59.280 --> 0:04:03.120 far away ends, the bad news or good news, depending 0:04:03.160 --> 0:04:05.240 on how you feel about all this, is that you'll 0:04:05.280 --> 0:04:11.160 find them both far and very very near. I'm Robbia Chadary, 0:04:11.440 --> 0:04:13.760 and I'll be your guide into the ancient world of 0:04:13.800 --> 0:04:26.360 the hidden Gin. Welcome. As we've noted before, while we 0:04:26.440 --> 0:04:29.000 may share our physical world with the Gin, it's not 0:04:29.040 --> 0:04:33.599 their only abode. As metaphysical beings, they live in multiple dimensions, 0:04:33.600 --> 0:04:37.360 occupying both their own gin worlds and the human one too. 0:04:38.120 --> 0:04:41.040 But let's start at the beginning, the original dwelling of 0:04:41.040 --> 0:04:45.880 our fiery friends, the Mountain of GoF It's not unusual 0:04:45.920 --> 0:04:49.520 that people have historically believed in mystical, powerful beings living 0:04:49.520 --> 0:04:52.760 in the highest of peaks, up among the clouds, far 0:04:53.000 --> 0:04:56.560 from common human riff raff. For example, the Himalayas have 0:04:56.600 --> 0:04:59.599 been revered for thousands of years by Hindus as the 0:04:59.600 --> 0:05:02.640 home and of the gods, a sacred place where ancient 0:05:02.720 --> 0:05:07.279 Hindu deities live and love, battle and triumph, where to 0:05:07.400 --> 0:05:11.760 this day sages and saints and those seeking salvation trek 0:05:11.960 --> 0:05:15.400 to meditate and commune with the divine, and the beautiful 0:05:15.400 --> 0:05:19.360 slopes are dotted with sacred caves and shrines. The very 0:05:19.480 --> 0:05:22.520 sins of mankind, it said, are forgiven just by laying 0:05:22.520 --> 0:05:26.160 eyes on the mystical mountain range. But while mankind can 0:05:26.200 --> 0:05:28.919 actually lay eyes on it, we aren't quite able to 0:05:28.920 --> 0:05:31.599 see the esoteric deities that are believed to live there 0:05:31.760 --> 0:05:35.479 upon its summits from time immemorial. They are there, but 0:05:35.560 --> 0:05:40.200 not for our naked eyes to witness. Similarly, the Greek gods, 0:05:40.200 --> 0:05:43.760 when sought, are said to be found atop Mount Olympus, 0:05:43.800 --> 0:05:47.120 the highest mountain in Greece, and the ancient Persian god 0:05:47.160 --> 0:05:50.640 of light Mithra rules from atop the sacred mount Hokkaraiah 0:05:51.040 --> 0:05:54.599 and other Persian gods, saints, and heroes find rest in 0:05:54.640 --> 0:05:59.240 the mount Elbows, range, mountains and mountain ranges, as you 0:05:59.279 --> 0:06:03.480 can see, figure heavily in many diverse mythologies and religions, 0:06:03.560 --> 0:06:07.000 and the Gin story is no different. If the Gin 0:06:07.080 --> 0:06:10.960 had a homeland, it was Mount Golf, sometimes referred to 0:06:11.040 --> 0:06:13.880 as a single mountain and other times as a range. 0:06:14.200 --> 0:06:16.520 Golf is a place so mystical that it is both 0:06:16.680 --> 0:06:21.599 everywhere and nowhere at least nowhere human experience can find 0:06:21.600 --> 0:06:24.599 and place it. The mountain stands at the most distant 0:06:24.600 --> 0:06:26.800 point on the Earth, on the very edge of it, 0:06:27.320 --> 0:06:29.960 and those who say it's a range say that it 0:06:30.000 --> 0:06:33.599 surrounds the entire planet while remaining invisible to the eye. 0:06:34.440 --> 0:06:38.239 Every visible mountain range on Earth, however, springs from Golf, 0:06:38.800 --> 0:06:42.359 connected deep underground to the original mother mountain where the 0:06:42.440 --> 0:06:47.320 natural and the supernatural meat. Golf itself is created out 0:06:47.360 --> 0:06:51.159 of green gems, some say emeralds, others say para dot, 0:06:51.680 --> 0:06:55.479 and among its gleaming peaks and valleys you find jinnis 0:06:55.520 --> 0:07:00.040 Than the land of the Jinns. Jennis Than is the 0:07:00.200 --> 0:07:03.840 entire region spanning Golf, and in the regions are kingdoms 0:07:03.839 --> 0:07:08.479 and tribes, cities and villages spanning thousands of metaphysical miles. 0:07:09.440 --> 0:07:13.760 According to the legends, two such cities are Jibulka and Jibulsa, 0:07:14.040 --> 0:07:16.880 both made out of pure emerald, one to the east 0:07:17.000 --> 0:07:19.920 and one to the west of Golf. It is said 0:07:19.920 --> 0:07:22.800 that Alexander the Great set out to find these cities, 0:07:23.040 --> 0:07:25.720 which can only be reached by trekking four months in 0:07:25.840 --> 0:07:29.960 utter darkness, but he gave up the riches of Jibulka 0:07:30.080 --> 0:07:33.400 and Jabulsa were not to be his, and how could 0:07:33.400 --> 0:07:36.640 they be. He was seeking what he could never find, 0:07:37.120 --> 0:07:39.720 attempting to cross into a realm that remains out of 0:07:39.800 --> 0:07:43.560 human reach and human sense, far on the other side 0:07:43.600 --> 0:07:47.240 of a cosmic divide. While you will likely never make 0:07:47.240 --> 0:07:49.080 a took off if you're seeking to find the gin, 0:07:49.600 --> 0:07:52.640 no worries because on this side of the mystical mountain, 0:07:53.080 --> 0:07:55.760 right here in the earthly realm, there is no dearth 0:07:55.920 --> 0:07:59.360 of where they can be found. The most beastly ones, 0:07:59.400 --> 0:08:03.920 as we've meant and before, hot places of desolation, deserts 0:08:03.960 --> 0:08:08.560 and caves, abandoned ruins, graveyards. But then there are jin 0:08:08.680 --> 0:08:11.440 who prefer not to learn so far from humanity, and 0:08:11.480 --> 0:08:14.120 they make it their business to stay close to the sacred. 0:08:15.000 --> 0:08:18.720 If you want to find a gin, go visit a shrine. 0:08:22.120 --> 0:08:25.120 In two thousand and six, an unnamed correspondent from the 0:08:25.200 --> 0:08:28.880 Economist did just that, going in search for them in 0:08:28.920 --> 0:08:33.000 Somalia and Abrahanistan. The correspondent noted that it was often 0:08:33.120 --> 0:08:35.920 village women of little or no education that visited the 0:08:35.920 --> 0:08:40.079 shrines with their pleas and prayers. The shrines, it was reported, 0:08:40.120 --> 0:08:42.480 are often little more than a carved niche in a 0:08:42.600 --> 0:08:47.000 rock with colorful prayer flags tied to nearby trees, and 0:08:47.040 --> 0:08:49.480 according to the author quote Genner is that to be 0:08:49.520 --> 0:08:52.920 attracted to the ancient geography of shrines, many of which 0:08:53.040 --> 0:08:56.600 pre date Islam, and as some have it, the shrines 0:08:56.720 --> 0:08:59.719 were attracted to the Gin, which takes us to one 0:08:59.720 --> 0:09:03.079 of them. Most famous such shrine located in the Land 0:09:03.120 --> 0:09:07.320 of one hundred thousand Saints, Morocco. That's where you'll find 0:09:07.360 --> 0:09:10.800 the shrine of the saint ben Yeffu, also known as 0:09:10.800 --> 0:09:14.160 the Sultan of the Gin. Saints in this part of 0:09:14.200 --> 0:09:16.360 the world, like saints in most part of the world, 0:09:16.679 --> 0:09:19.680 are replete with their miraculous powers to heal the sick, 0:09:20.160 --> 0:09:24.000 fight drought and famine, and plagues men's rifts, and fight 0:09:24.040 --> 0:09:27.839 oppressive rulers. Everyday, people pray to them, beseech them for 0:09:27.880 --> 0:09:31.240 their assistance in big and small matters, and often hang 0:09:31.280 --> 0:09:33.680 all their hopes for help on these human vessels of 0:09:33.720 --> 0:09:38.080 divine power. Ben Yeffo, a saint from centuries ago, was 0:09:38.160 --> 0:09:41.439 no different. It's hard to be exactly sure when Ben 0:09:41.480 --> 0:09:44.920 yeff Who lived, but historic documents place him sometime between 0:09:44.960 --> 0:09:49.040 the eighth and fourteen centuries, a rather considerable span of 0:09:49.120 --> 0:09:52.520 time because written local histories were not nearly as common 0:09:52.559 --> 0:09:55.120 as oral ones, and from many of the saints of 0:09:55.120 --> 0:09:57.920 this region. All that remained behind as proof of their 0:09:57.920 --> 0:10:01.520 existence are the folk stories about out them and the shrines. 0:10:05.520 --> 0:10:08.160 The legend goes that ben Yeffi's family had moved from 0:10:08.160 --> 0:10:12.040 the Sahara Desert to Marrakesh, Morocco, where in one part 0:10:12.080 --> 0:10:15.560 of the city a powerful jin called an Afrit haunted 0:10:15.640 --> 0:10:18.640 a spring of water, and this gin would harm anyone 0:10:18.679 --> 0:10:21.760 who tried to access the spring. Thanks to the terror 0:10:21.800 --> 0:10:24.480 of the jin, the locals were always struggling for water 0:10:24.559 --> 0:10:27.600 and food, not even being able to supply sufficient water 0:10:27.679 --> 0:10:30.880 for their herds or their fields. They tried everything they 0:10:30.880 --> 0:10:33.679 could to appease the gin during feasts and his honor, 0:10:33.880 --> 0:10:36.280 and even sacrificing a virgin here and there to make 0:10:36.280 --> 0:10:39.560 peace with the beast, but nothing worked, and year after 0:10:39.600 --> 0:10:43.520 a year they suffered. Finally, the tribesmen begged the great 0:10:43.559 --> 0:10:45.360 saints of the area to rid them of the gin, 0:10:45.960 --> 0:10:49.480 and they were told that only ben Yeffu could help them, 0:10:49.520 --> 0:10:52.520 So they summoned ben Yefu, who addressed an assembly of 0:10:52.559 --> 0:10:57.280 all the local saints, who is the supreme spiritual leader 0:10:57.360 --> 0:11:00.439 in our times? Ben Yeff, who asked them you are? 0:11:00.520 --> 0:11:04.800 They replied, who is the supreme helper? Benieff Wu then demanded, 0:11:05.400 --> 0:11:08.720 you are, said the gathering of saints, Then you give 0:11:08.760 --> 0:11:11.800 me permission to master Jin's by treading upon them with 0:11:11.920 --> 0:11:14.240 my foot and whipping them with the sword of Jin's. 0:11:15.000 --> 0:11:18.200 The saints responded, you have our permission, and promised that 0:11:18.280 --> 0:11:21.040 neither we nor our descendants would advance in front of 0:11:21.080 --> 0:11:25.640 you or your progeny to face Jin's till Allah inherits 0:11:25.679 --> 0:11:30.080 the earth and all its inhabitants. Upon hearing that, ben 0:11:30.160 --> 0:11:33.319 Yeff who approached the spring and summoned the Jin, who 0:11:33.400 --> 0:11:35.080 jumped out at him in the shape of a lion. 0:11:35.760 --> 0:11:38.160 But before the line could touch him, ben Yeff, who 0:11:38.200 --> 0:11:41.199 blew on it, turning the animal into a roaring flame 0:11:41.280 --> 0:11:45.640 that reached the sky but then quickly burned out. Ben Yeff, 0:11:45.640 --> 0:11:48.480 who having been endowed all the Jin controlling power by 0:11:48.520 --> 0:11:51.440 the other saints, moved from place to place during his 0:11:51.520 --> 0:11:55.640 life and eventually settled in Dahkula with his followers, where 0:11:55.640 --> 0:12:05.839 they built a shrine which exists to this day in 0:12:05.840 --> 0:12:08.880 his decades of saintly miracle's. Benyeffu became known for a 0:12:08.920 --> 0:12:12.559 particular miracle, the ability to draw water out of dry 0:12:12.600 --> 0:12:16.199 barren land, which was certainly useful in those parts. But 0:12:16.280 --> 0:12:19.120 it wasn't his power of divination that resulted in a 0:12:19.200 --> 0:12:22.640 legacy that has lasted centuries, if not a millennia. It 0:12:22.760 --> 0:12:26.400 was instead his legendary defeat of a mysterious figure known 0:12:26.480 --> 0:12:29.800 as a Black Sultan. Now, in stories from this region, 0:12:29.880 --> 0:12:33.120 the Black Sultan wasn't only destroyed once by ben Yeffu, 0:12:33.559 --> 0:12:38.040 he was destroyed at numerous times by different saints. Anthropologists 0:12:38.040 --> 0:12:41.480 believed the Black Sultan figure stood for any number of tyrannical, 0:12:41.559 --> 0:12:45.880 oppressive rulers that the population felt helpless against, and so 0:12:46.120 --> 0:12:49.160 it was the spiritual sultans the saints that rose up 0:12:49.160 --> 0:12:52.679 against the material ones, the conquerors and rulers who made 0:12:52.760 --> 0:12:56.600 life miserable for their subjects. But there is also another 0:12:56.640 --> 0:13:00.320 tradition about the Black Sultan, an even darker one. It 0:13:00.440 --> 0:13:04.000 is said that he in fact the son of shem Haresh, 0:13:04.120 --> 0:13:06.559 the demon jinn who stands guard at one of the 0:13:06.720 --> 0:13:10.920 entrances to the Palace of Satan. Whether the Black Sultan 0:13:11.080 --> 0:13:13.640 was descended from a demon jin or was an actual 0:13:13.679 --> 0:13:17.240 oppressive ruler. The legend goes that when ben Yefu moved 0:13:17.240 --> 0:13:21.120 into the Decula region, he inadvertently encroached into the Black 0:13:21.120 --> 0:13:25.040 Sultan's territory. The Sultan heard about this powerful saint who 0:13:25.080 --> 0:13:28.000 had just arrived, and realized this could mean a serious 0:13:28.080 --> 0:13:31.040 challenge to his own power, so he assembled an army 0:13:31.080 --> 0:13:34.280 and rode out to meet Benyefu with thousands of soldiers 0:13:34.280 --> 0:13:37.640 flanking him. The Sultan demanded that ben yeff Wu leave 0:13:37.720 --> 0:13:41.359 the region and never return, but the saint was unperturbed. 0:13:41.880 --> 0:13:46.360 He calmly refused. The Sultan, outraged over the saint's arrogance 0:13:46.400 --> 0:13:50.400 and disdain, commanded his army to attack. But what the 0:13:50.440 --> 0:13:53.680 Sultan didn't know was that the saint wasn't alone. He 0:13:53.800 --> 0:13:57.040 had his own army, an army of Jin under his control. 0:13:58.240 --> 0:14:01.199 With barely a movement, Beniyeffu's signaled for his battalions of 0:14:01.280 --> 0:14:05.280 Gin soldiers to counter attack. The Sultan's army went flying 0:14:05.360 --> 0:14:07.679 men and horses in the air as a Gin mounted 0:14:07.720 --> 0:14:11.679 an all out assault. Some stories say the sultan himself 0:14:11.720 --> 0:14:14.120 was lifted off his steed and high into the air. 0:14:14.280 --> 0:14:16.720 By a gin with seven heads, where he was suspended 0:14:16.920 --> 0:14:22.400 terrified until he conceded, humiliated, and defeated. The Black Sultan 0:14:22.480 --> 0:14:25.880 asked ben Yeffu for a truce. The saint agreed, but 0:14:25.960 --> 0:14:29.640 only on one condition that the Sultan sign a decree 0:14:30.000 --> 0:14:33.360 declaring ben Yeffu to be a true saint. The Black 0:14:33.400 --> 0:14:37.800 Sultan did so and handed Benyeffu the declaration, stating, so 0:14:37.880 --> 0:14:41.320 all could hear, I am a Sultan and you are 0:14:41.360 --> 0:14:46.640 a Sultan. That episode definitively established benyef whose position as 0:14:46.640 --> 0:14:49.640 a bona fide saint and entitled him to the eternal 0:14:49.640 --> 0:14:53.480 honorific the Sultan of the Gin. Benyef who was also 0:14:53.520 --> 0:14:56.480 known by another name, the Green Sultan, as a contrast 0:14:56.480 --> 0:14:59.520 to the Black Sultan. This name he received when a 0:14:59.560 --> 0:15:01.960 man pus that by Jin came to him to be cured. 0:15:02.480 --> 0:15:04.960 The afflicted patients saw the saint as a vision of 0:15:05.000 --> 0:15:07.720 a knight on a white horse. When ben yeff Who 0:15:07.840 --> 0:15:11.120 lifted his arms in prayer, the sick man's eyes opened 0:15:11.160 --> 0:15:14.680 wide as he saw entire tribes of Jin living under 0:15:14.720 --> 0:15:18.040 the folds of Benieffu's gown, all bowed to the Green 0:15:18.080 --> 0:15:22.440 Sultan in allegiance, and since then, ben jeff Wu's sovereignty 0:15:22.480 --> 0:15:30.240 over the Jin has never been challenged. Today, the Shrine 0:15:30.240 --> 0:15:33.200 of ben yeff Who bustles day and night with spiritual healers. 0:15:33.680 --> 0:15:36.800 These healers continue the spiritual tradition of their saint battling 0:15:36.840 --> 0:15:40.120 evil gin causing harm to human beings, and the shrine 0:15:40.200 --> 0:15:42.880 also draws Jin to it who come to aid the 0:15:42.920 --> 0:15:46.080 healers or commune with them, or they're just unable to 0:15:46.120 --> 0:15:48.800 resist the draw of the power of ben Yeffu himself. 0:15:50.080 --> 0:15:52.000 And there is another reason the Jin gather at ben 0:15:52.080 --> 0:15:55.400 yeff Wu, because that's where an assembly of Jin, led 0:15:55.440 --> 0:15:58.680 by the spirit of the Saint himself, preside over a 0:15:58.760 --> 0:16:03.240 mythic gin core. That's right, a court with judges and 0:16:03.320 --> 0:16:07.480 trials and defendants. The shrine at ben Yaffoo is simply designed. 0:16:08.040 --> 0:16:11.240 It's a common dome shaped structure encircled by a series 0:16:11.240 --> 0:16:14.760 of small cells that hold seekers waiting for relief. They're 0:16:14.800 --> 0:16:18.560 called patients, but they come bearing a most serious spiritual disease, 0:16:19.000 --> 0:16:22.440 jin possession, and so as they are exercised by the 0:16:22.440 --> 0:16:26.840 spiritual inheritors of the Saint, the healers, the Jins themselves 0:16:26.920 --> 0:16:31.360 are put on trial for having transgressed against humankind. The 0:16:31.440 --> 0:16:35.640 proceedings in this court, called Jin evictions, involved judges, which 0:16:35.640 --> 0:16:39.200 are usually the healers and sometimes lawyers and witnesses of 0:16:39.240 --> 0:16:42.560 both the human and gin variety, and the Jin defendants 0:16:42.600 --> 0:16:45.360 are brought before the court through the physical body they 0:16:45.360 --> 0:16:48.320 have possessed. The Gin are dragged to this court from 0:16:48.360 --> 0:16:51.000 all over the world, because the court at ben Yaffoo 0:16:51.240 --> 0:16:54.160 is what you might call the Supreme Court of Jin misbehavior, 0:16:54.720 --> 0:16:58.320 the highest ruling body in the world exercising jurisdiction over 0:16:58.360 --> 0:17:01.920 the gin. In one reported instance, a young boy who 0:17:01.960 --> 0:17:04.639 was unable to walk was brought to Beniafu by his father, 0:17:05.080 --> 0:17:07.639 who carried him into the shrine and placed him before 0:17:07.680 --> 0:17:10.840 one of the healers. The father accused the defendant a 0:17:10.920 --> 0:17:15.159 gin for his son's affliction. The healer focused his gaze 0:17:15.200 --> 0:17:18.479 on the boy, whose body began twisting and writhing in 0:17:18.520 --> 0:17:22.760 pain as prayers began being chanted. The boy suddenly opened 0:17:22.760 --> 0:17:26.320 his mouth and started reciting verses in Arabic, but the 0:17:26.320 --> 0:17:29.639 healer silenced him, demanding to know who was speaking, the 0:17:29.720 --> 0:17:33.520 boy or the gin. The voice that responded said it 0:17:33.600 --> 0:17:36.280 was a gin named Knock and that he was a 0:17:36.320 --> 0:17:39.840 god fearing jin, not an evil one. Well, why, then, 0:17:39.960 --> 0:17:42.760 asked the healer, did he possess the boy because of 0:17:42.840 --> 0:17:44.840 the gin? The boy had entered a cave with the 0:17:44.920 --> 0:17:48.359 jin lived and well, he took a leak. What the 0:17:48.400 --> 0:17:50.800 boy didn't know was that he had urinated right on 0:17:50.840 --> 0:17:54.920 the gin itself. This act of disrespect so enraged the 0:17:55.000 --> 0:17:58.280 Gin that he possessed the young man ever since. The 0:17:58.359 --> 0:18:01.640 healer reprimanded the gin. Is this any way to treat 0:18:01.680 --> 0:18:06.159 a fellow, god fearing person? Forgive him, he demanded. The 0:18:06.280 --> 0:18:09.639 Gin agreed and forgave the boy, releasing him from his bondage. 0:18:10.160 --> 0:18:13.520 And immediately the boy rose and stood able to walk again. 0:18:14.600 --> 0:18:17.960 The trial of the Gin was over and his eviction secured. 0:18:19.200 --> 0:18:21.720 These are the kinds of stories that people witness regularly 0:18:21.720 --> 0:18:25.199 at Beniefu, and it's not uncommon for the offending gin 0:18:25.359 --> 0:18:28.240 to cite some kind of wrongdoing against them as a 0:18:28.240 --> 0:18:31.560 reason for their taking a sole hostage, which, if we 0:18:31.640 --> 0:18:33.440 remember from the top of the show, is one good 0:18:33.440 --> 0:18:35.800 reason not to take a leak under a tree, just 0:18:35.960 --> 0:18:38.560 like our elders warned us not to, because you never 0:18:38.600 --> 0:18:41.720 know who or what you might be leaking on. An 0:18:41.720 --> 0:18:44.320 interesting note about the Gin evictions at the Shrine of 0:18:44.359 --> 0:18:48.040 Benieffu is this, while the defendants may except the verdicts 0:18:48.080 --> 0:18:51.040 issue to them and release their victims, it doesn't mean 0:18:51.040 --> 0:18:54.400 they just go away. Often they will linger at the shrine, 0:18:55.000 --> 0:18:58.400 and sometimes they leave one victim only to occupy another. 0:18:59.440 --> 0:19:02.320 And every night, they say, the jinns gather to dance 0:19:02.359 --> 0:19:05.680 in a trance at the shrine, moving in circle upon 0:19:05.760 --> 0:19:10.560 circle of spiritual ecstasy, honoring their master ben Yeffu and 0:19:10.680 --> 0:19:14.480 his power over them. So if you're looking for Gin, 0:19:14.920 --> 0:19:21.800 the shrine of ben Yeffu will surely not disappoint. Of course, 0:19:21.840 --> 0:19:24.200 ben Yeffu isn't the only shrine you can find gin, 0:19:24.440 --> 0:19:28.679 though most shrines certainly don't hold Gin trials. But across 0:19:28.680 --> 0:19:31.280 the world, at shrines both big and small, jinner said 0:19:31.320 --> 0:19:34.200 to guard the sacred spaces, often in the form of 0:19:34.280 --> 0:19:37.800 human beings that appear and disappear, protectors who live there, 0:19:37.840 --> 0:19:41.120 to safeguard pilgrims, and honor whatever saint is buried there. 0:19:41.840 --> 0:19:44.399 In some shrines and places of worship, you'll find legions 0:19:44.400 --> 0:19:47.320 of pigeons and other birds that line the rooftops and 0:19:47.400 --> 0:19:50.800 wander in the courtyards. These birds, they say, are actually 0:19:50.880 --> 0:19:53.920 Jin who come to share the quiet, contemplative peace of 0:19:53.960 --> 0:19:57.480 these spaces, who listen to the prayerful chance, and who 0:19:57.560 --> 0:20:01.400 harbor no ill will towards human beings. And just as 0:20:01.440 --> 0:20:04.760 some Jin guards shrines and worshippers, there are others who 0:20:04.800 --> 0:20:10.520 stand guard over an entirely different kind of charge, worldly treasures. Now, 0:20:10.560 --> 0:20:13.680 we've mentioned before that Jin often dwell in desolate places, 0:20:13.720 --> 0:20:17.719 among crumbling, abandoned sites. That way, they're far removed from 0:20:17.800 --> 0:20:21.240 humanity and can live there in peace. But sometimes the 0:20:21.280 --> 0:20:23.840 reason they're living among the ruins is because somewhere in 0:20:23.920 --> 0:20:27.720 those ruins, in that far off, lonely place, there is 0:20:27.760 --> 0:20:31.919 a hidden treasure that needs guarding. There is an ancient 0:20:32.000 --> 0:20:35.520 legend about an awesome treasure concealed in the Nebataean ruins 0:20:35.800 --> 0:20:39.879 in the Hijaz region of present day Saudi Arabia. The 0:20:39.960 --> 0:20:43.720 Nebataeans were an Arabian tribe whose earliest inscriptions date hundreds 0:20:43.760 --> 0:20:46.800 of years before the birth of Jesus. Some say they 0:20:46.800 --> 0:20:49.600 were nomads and traveled throughout the desert with their herds, 0:20:49.720 --> 0:20:53.640 following the seasons and food and water supplies. Other sources 0:20:53.680 --> 0:20:56.920 say they were a tribe of warriors, numbering in the thousands, 0:20:56.960 --> 0:20:59.960 and they were also master tradesmen, with their trades dry 0:21:00.280 --> 0:21:02.600 all the way from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea. 0:21:04.000 --> 0:21:07.600 The Nabatians faded from history, but left behind grand monuments 0:21:07.600 --> 0:21:10.960 to their existence across the region, from modern day Jordans 0:21:10.960 --> 0:21:16.400 to Israel to the Sinai and in northwest Saudi Arabia. Now, 0:21:16.440 --> 0:21:19.200 many of you may have heard of Petra, the ruins 0:21:19.240 --> 0:21:22.480 of an ancient Nebatian city in Jordan that attracts thousands 0:21:22.520 --> 0:21:25.800 of tourists from across the world, but you likely haven't 0:21:25.840 --> 0:21:30.600 heard of Madayan Saleh, the second largest nebatinin archaeological site 0:21:30.720 --> 0:21:35.000 after Petra, dating back to the first century, and that's 0:21:35.000 --> 0:21:43.960 where we find our next story. Madaine sale translates to 0:21:44.000 --> 0:21:47.360 the cities of Saleh, named after an ancient prophet from 0:21:47.400 --> 0:21:50.399 before the time of Abraham, whose story is found in 0:21:50.520 --> 0:21:54.600 both High and Islamic scriptures. According to the stories, the 0:21:54.640 --> 0:21:57.199 prophet Saleh was sent to the Nebatian people of this 0:21:57.280 --> 0:21:59.920 region to call them to the true religion, but they 0:22:00.040 --> 0:22:03.280 rejected him, and while things didn't go so well for them, 0:22:03.320 --> 0:22:06.280 then they were wiped out by God for their impiety 0:22:06.400 --> 0:22:10.439 and arrogance, and since then only their ruins remain. And 0:22:10.520 --> 0:22:13.600 it seems, according to the archaeologists, the people of this 0:22:13.640 --> 0:22:17.320 region did disappear sometime between four hundred and six d 0:22:18.520 --> 0:22:22.200 left behind with the vestiges of a once sprawling, dynamic 0:22:22.240 --> 0:22:27.480 metropolis with residential communities, places of worship, a hundred thirty wells, 0:22:27.480 --> 0:22:31.280 and four separate necropolis areas to bury and honor the dead. 0:22:32.640 --> 0:22:36.000 There are over two thousand burial sites deep within the earth, 0:22:36.240 --> 0:22:40.359 and above ground there are monumental tombs. While the land 0:22:40.440 --> 0:22:45.120 is arid and flat, massive rose colored sandstone formations rise 0:22:45.240 --> 0:22:48.880 up thousands of feet high from the desert, and centuries ago, 0:22:49.160 --> 0:22:53.000 the Nebataeans carved a hundred and thirty one monumental tombs 0:22:53.040 --> 0:22:58.480 into these rocky outcrops, which still stand today. The legend 0:22:58.520 --> 0:23:00.800 goes the people of the region did just leave behind 0:23:00.840 --> 0:23:05.080 these monuments, They also left behind a grand treasure sealed 0:23:05.119 --> 0:23:08.600 in one of the thousands of rocky chambers underground, a 0:23:08.600 --> 0:23:11.199 treasure so great that, if found, the kings of the 0:23:11.240 --> 0:23:14.320 world would battle over it. Tribes would destroy one another, 0:23:14.720 --> 0:23:18.679 friend would turn against friend, and brother against brother, and 0:23:18.800 --> 0:23:23.240 such a grand treasure, of course, cannot stand unguarded, protecting 0:23:23.240 --> 0:23:26.199 it since the time the inhabitants were wiped out. Is 0:23:26.240 --> 0:23:29.600 a gin, and not just any gin, but an ancient, 0:23:29.680 --> 0:23:34.280 if freat Now the Freath are known to be powerful, wicked, 0:23:34.320 --> 0:23:37.720 and cunning. They're winged and massive, and are usually found 0:23:37.760 --> 0:23:40.840 in places like Made and Sale, deep among the ruins, 0:23:41.040 --> 0:23:44.280 where they rise to from the underworld. Some say they're 0:23:44.280 --> 0:23:47.640 demons and they are nearly impossible to control or defeat. 0:23:48.240 --> 0:23:50.960 Your best bet is to steer clear of them, which 0:23:51.000 --> 0:23:53.280 is what the Arabs of the region did for centuries. 0:23:54.200 --> 0:23:57.000 The ruins and Madie and Sale were left unattended for 0:23:57.080 --> 0:24:00.679 hundreds of years, avoided precisely because of low goals, feared 0:24:00.680 --> 0:24:04.200 the jin that haunted them, and yet still they stayed 0:24:04.240 --> 0:24:07.960 incredibly well preserved. Some say thanks to the arid climate, 0:24:08.400 --> 0:24:10.880 and others say thanks to the jin that dwell there. 0:24:12.119 --> 0:24:14.200 In two thousand and eight, the site was declared a 0:24:14.320 --> 0:24:18.200 UNESCO Heritage Site, and while today the Saudi government highly 0:24:18.320 --> 0:24:22.680 encourages tourism there, many locals still refused to visit. They 0:24:22.720 --> 0:24:26.199 know seeking treasure there could end up being fatal for them, 0:24:26.240 --> 0:24:29.000 because despite the lure of a buried treasure. At the 0:24:29.080 --> 0:24:31.399 end of the day, no one wants to battle a 0:24:31.440 --> 0:24:42.360 demon for it. Now, another legendary treasure, guarded by Jin 0:24:42.560 --> 0:24:44.200 is said to be buried in the ruins of the 0:24:44.320 --> 0:24:48.000