1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:04,920 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Hidden Gin, a production of I Heart 2 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:09,320 Speaker 1: Radio and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Minkey. Listener discretion 3 00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:32,839 Speaker 1: is advised. I have five maternal uncles, each one of 4 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:35,800 Speaker 1: them a little bit crazier than the last. One of 5 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:38,120 Speaker 1: these uncles, one of my favorites of the entire group. 6 00:00:38,159 --> 00:00:41,720 Speaker 1: In fact, had been engaged to be married half a 7 00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:44,239 Speaker 1: dozen times. He had been trying to get married for 8 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:47,800 Speaker 1: nearly fifteen years, but every single time the engagement would 9 00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:51,480 Speaker 1: get broken off for some reason or another. Year after 10 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:53,880 Speaker 1: year went by and he could never go from being 11 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:58,320 Speaker 1: engaged to actually getting married. He was in his late thirties, 12 00:00:58,360 --> 00:01:00,320 Speaker 1: a point by which he should have been well settled 13 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:02,320 Speaker 1: down with a few kids of his own. And he 14 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:04,720 Speaker 1: was a really nice guy, decent looking, He had his 15 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:07,960 Speaker 1: own plays, had a great job, travel the world. No 16 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 1: one could figure out why he just couldn't seal the deal, 17 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:15,000 Speaker 1: until finally, when he was advised to go see a 18 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:19,360 Speaker 1: local woman known for her supernatural abilities. Maybe he was 19 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:21,720 Speaker 1: told she could figure out what was wrong, and so 20 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:25,080 Speaker 1: he went to her. He dragged a friend along with 21 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:28,800 Speaker 1: him to her tiny, crumbling home on the outskirts of 22 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:31,240 Speaker 1: the city. A little bit nervous about whether what he 23 00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:34,399 Speaker 1: was doing was even kosher. He had heard that this 24 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:38,920 Speaker 1: medium healer whatever she was, dealt in black magic, and 25 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:42,160 Speaker 1: that made her dangerous. But he said his prayers and 26 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:45,560 Speaker 1: sucked up his fear because at this point he was desperate. 27 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:50,400 Speaker 1: She was younger than he had imagined, rail thin, sunken eyes, 28 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:54,720 Speaker 1: swaddled up in numerous shawls despite the blazing heat, and 29 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:57,640 Speaker 1: she sat in a small, dusty courtyard on a low 30 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:00,880 Speaker 1: woven seat and motion for my uncle to sit on 31 00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:02,840 Speaker 1: a sheet spread out on the floor in front of her. 32 00:02:03,680 --> 00:02:06,400 Speaker 1: She asked him his name, his parents names, and his 33 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:09,639 Speaker 1: date of birth. Then she closed her eyes and mumbled 34 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:13,400 Speaker 1: some prayers. After a very long five minutes or so, 35 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:16,400 Speaker 1: her eyes flew open, and she told my uncle, I 36 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:19,680 Speaker 1: know what's wrong. Someone has done black magic on you. 37 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:23,959 Speaker 1: They've conjured a jin to block your marriage. So every 38 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:26,720 Speaker 1: time you get close to getting married, this gin interferes 39 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:30,760 Speaker 1: and whispers dark things into your heart or your fiance's heart, 40 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:34,160 Speaker 1: and turns you against each other. The person who did 41 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:36,240 Speaker 1: this magic on you as a woman who wants to 42 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 1: ruin your life, and her name starts with an end. 43 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:44,320 Speaker 1: Now many of the women closest to him, including cousins 44 00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:46,359 Speaker 1: and sister in laws, and even his own mother had 45 00:02:46,440 --> 00:02:49,040 Speaker 1: names that started with the letter N. But he had 46 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:52,359 Speaker 1: a feeling he knew exactly who it was, a sister 47 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:55,200 Speaker 1: in law that he didn't trust, and he wasn't about 48 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:58,520 Speaker 1: to let her get away with it. The healer told 49 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:00,640 Speaker 1: him exactly what he needed to do to break the 50 00:03:00,639 --> 00:03:03,320 Speaker 1: curse and handed him a list of items he'd have 51 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:06,600 Speaker 1: to retrieve and return to her with along with her fee, 52 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:10,680 Speaker 1: the equivalent of about two U s. Dollars. She also 53 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:13,360 Speaker 1: handed him a small plastic container, which she told him 54 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:16,320 Speaker 1: was a vial of holy water from the spring of 55 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:19,720 Speaker 1: Zum Zum in Mecca. He was to take this vial 56 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:22,560 Speaker 1: and place it under his bed and return with it 57 00:03:22,639 --> 00:03:26,200 Speaker 1: and the other things she needed after a week. Seven 58 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:28,280 Speaker 1: days later, he returned to her with all she had 59 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:31,480 Speaker 1: asked for, hair stolen from the brush of the person 60 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:34,639 Speaker 1: he suspected to have done the black magic, a black 61 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: rubber slipper, a basket of dried red chilies, and a 62 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:42,080 Speaker 1: bundle of cash he washed as she placed the hair 63 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:44,120 Speaker 1: on the dirt floor of the courtyard and poured the 64 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:47,120 Speaker 1: holy water over it. Then she took the black rubber 65 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:50,720 Speaker 1: sandal and began slapping the now wet patch on the floor, 66 00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:53,880 Speaker 1: screaming the sister in law's name, and to hell with you, 67 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:58,080 Speaker 1: to hell with you, over and over. My uncle had 68 00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:00,880 Speaker 1: never seen anything like it. He was mortified. As she 69 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:04,000 Speaker 1: grew more frenzied, bouncing up and down, slapping the muddy 70 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:07,480 Speaker 1: strands of hair with all her might, until suddenly she 71 00:04:07,640 --> 00:04:11,920 Speaker 1: collapsed in silence. After a few minutes, she collected herself 72 00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:14,000 Speaker 1: and emptied the bag of dried chilies on top of 73 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:16,560 Speaker 1: the rubber sandal, which was still laying in the watery 74 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:20,080 Speaker 1: mess she had made. Then she set the little pile 75 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:23,520 Speaker 1: of dried chilies on fire. Now, if you have never 76 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 1: burned dried chilies, the smoke is thick and peppery and choking. 77 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:31,479 Speaker 1: And as this smoke rose, she blew it towards my uncle, 78 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:35,240 Speaker 1: who sat their eyes watering, holding back coughs. He tried 79 00:04:35,279 --> 00:04:37,120 Speaker 1: to get up, but she signaled him to sit back down, 80 00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:39,760 Speaker 1: where he suffered until the fire went out and there 81 00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:43,320 Speaker 1: was no more smoke left. The healer then gathered up 82 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:45,679 Speaker 1: some of the ashes into a cotton pouch and handed 83 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:48,560 Speaker 1: him to my uncle, telling him to bury them where 84 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:51,520 Speaker 1: no one would find them, and that once they were buried, 85 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:55,039 Speaker 1: the curse would be broken. Now, my uncle told me 86 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:57,600 Speaker 1: this story about a year after all of this had 87 00:04:57,640 --> 00:05:00,240 Speaker 1: taken place, and he laughed as he told did, and 88 00:05:00,279 --> 00:05:03,840 Speaker 1: I laughed with him, tears streaming down our faces as 89 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:06,679 Speaker 1: he re enacted how that woman had slapped the black 90 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:10,080 Speaker 1: slipper on the ground over and over, howling for his 91 00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:12,720 Speaker 1: sister in law to go to hell. The entire thing 92 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:15,800 Speaker 1: had been ridiculous, he admitted, but he had gone ahead 93 00:05:15,839 --> 00:05:18,640 Speaker 1: and buried the ashes even though he was pretty sure 94 00:05:18,839 --> 00:05:22,360 Speaker 1: that the healer was a fraud. But I wasn't so sure, though, 95 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:25,480 Speaker 1: because at the time he told me this, seventeen years ago, 96 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:29,040 Speaker 1: I was visiting Pakistan and we were sitting in our 97 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:34,760 Speaker 1: family home preparing for his wedding. I'm Robbiadrey, and I'll 98 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:38,320 Speaker 1: be your guide into the world of the hidden Gin. Welcome. 99 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:52,480 Speaker 1: While most gin, you could argue, are busy in their 100 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:55,240 Speaker 1: own lives, going about their gin business, we do know 101 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:58,320 Speaker 1: that business isn't always confined to their own realm. There 102 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:00,400 Speaker 1: are places here on earth with a gin are known 103 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:04,800 Speaker 1: to live and linger ruins and graveyards. But then sometimes 104 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:07,919 Speaker 1: the GIN will decide to take up residence in your residence. 105 00:06:08,680 --> 00:06:12,479 Speaker 1: Hollywood has produced dozens of films unhaunted houses, and ghost 106 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:15,960 Speaker 1: hunters on TV have long entertained us with shaky visuals 107 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:19,000 Speaker 1: of darkened locations, so we are all familiar with what 108 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:22,080 Speaker 1: a potential haunting looks like. The most benign of them 109 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:25,159 Speaker 1: are just the entity making its presence known, like moving 110 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:28,640 Speaker 1: things around, playing little tricks on the residence, or staking 111 00:06:28,640 --> 00:06:31,040 Speaker 1: acclaim in a corner of the house as their own. 112 00:06:31,760 --> 00:06:34,159 Speaker 1: Believe it or not, I've had such experiences, and while 113 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:37,080 Speaker 1: I do admit being freaked out, it was mostly just 114 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:41,320 Speaker 1: a nuisance. But there are much more extreme circumstances, of course, 115 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:44,520 Speaker 1: where the Gin are committed to driving out people from 116 00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:47,320 Speaker 1: their homes, and they do so by terrifying them in 117 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:50,800 Speaker 1: all sorts of ways. Over the years, I've heard dozens 118 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:54,880 Speaker 1: and dozens of stories about household objects being smashed, doors 119 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:57,960 Speaker 1: being slammed at all hours of the night, chairs with 120 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:01,440 Speaker 1: people seated in them, being dragged across the room, toilets 121 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:04,440 Speaker 1: and tubs overflowing on their own, and so on and 122 00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:08,480 Speaker 1: so forth. And you can witness similar things yourself online. 123 00:07:08,520 --> 00:07:12,120 Speaker 1: That is, there are endless YouTube videos of purported house 124 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:16,400 Speaker 1: hauntings and human gin possessions. Entire accounts dedicated to just 125 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:19,800 Speaker 1: these sorts of things, though I am rather skeptical of 126 00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:22,200 Speaker 1: the gin hunters who seem to find them in every 127 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:26,520 Speaker 1: dark house they go into. Forget finding jin, though, it's 128 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:29,200 Speaker 1: getting rid of them. That's a much tougher task, whether 129 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:33,080 Speaker 1: you're exercising them from a place or from a human body. 130 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:36,040 Speaker 1: It's not for the faint of heart, and certainly not 131 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:39,240 Speaker 1: for the lay person, because when the possession is serious, 132 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:41,680 Speaker 1: most of us are hardly equipped to get into a 133 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:46,560 Speaker 1: fist fight with a gin. Enter the world of gin exorcism, 134 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:50,520 Speaker 1: a realm full of quacks and frauds, but also powerful 135 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:54,400 Speaker 1: spiritual healers that risk their lives to drive out dark 136 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:58,120 Speaker 1: gin from human bodies and abodes. But before they can 137 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:02,360 Speaker 1: exercise a gin, a gin has to first take possession. 138 00:08:09,320 --> 00:08:11,480 Speaker 1: It's believed that there are certain parts of a house 139 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:14,160 Speaker 1: or dwelling that you're most likely to find the gin in, 140 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:19,080 Speaker 1: usually the darkest, dirtiest, or most abandoned parts of a residence, 141 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:23,280 Speaker 1: which is understandable, like the bathroom or a dank basement, 142 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:27,440 Speaker 1: maybe a dusty attic, but the gin are also drawn 143 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:31,680 Speaker 1: to in between places. That's why they're most active in 144 00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:34,880 Speaker 1: this sliver of time between day and night, between dusk 145 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:39,040 Speaker 1: and dawn, and it's also why they lurk under thresholds, 146 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:42,520 Speaker 1: neither inside or out, but just on the boundary, but 147 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:46,240 Speaker 1: also right at the opening openings to a home or 148 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:50,439 Speaker 1: to a room. And similarly, the gin also need openings 149 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:54,120 Speaker 1: into human beings, a crack or vulnerability that will let 150 00:08:54,120 --> 00:08:57,000 Speaker 1: them in, and they have a number of tricks up 151 00:08:57,000 --> 00:08:59,640 Speaker 1: their sleeves to get on the inside, as it were. 152 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:03,320 Speaker 1: According to Moroccan lore, a jin can be invited to 153 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:06,240 Speaker 1: possess someone if the victim can be tricked into eating 154 00:09:06,280 --> 00:09:10,200 Speaker 1: something called the ahm. In the early part of the 155 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:13,800 Speaker 1: twentieth century, the French artist Aleen R. De Lenz, one 156 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:15,800 Speaker 1: of the first women ever to be admitted to the 157 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:19,160 Speaker 1: Art School of Paris, moved to Morocco with her husband, 158 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:23,280 Speaker 1: which was at the time colonized by France. Once settled 159 00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:26,400 Speaker 1: in her new country, Aleen dedicated herself to the revival 160 00:09:26,480 --> 00:09:30,280 Speaker 1: of what she deemed native arts, and herself went on 161 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:33,079 Speaker 1: to create over a hundred paintings and write dozens of 162 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:36,160 Speaker 1: short stories and numerous volumes about the lives of the 163 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:40,200 Speaker 1: people that she lived among. She was particularly fascinated with 164 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:44,000 Speaker 1: the lives of Moroccan women and their cultural norms and practices, 165 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:47,440 Speaker 1: which are central to many of her writings. De Lenz 166 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:50,360 Speaker 1: died young at the age of forty four in nineteen 167 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:53,680 Speaker 1: twenty five, and shortly after her death, her final book 168 00:09:53,760 --> 00:10:00,760 Speaker 1: was published, Practices of Moroccan Harems, Witchcraft, Medicine, Beauty. The 169 00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:04,199 Speaker 1: book was a collection of magical rituals and recipes used 170 00:10:04,200 --> 00:10:07,120 Speaker 1: by Moroccan women and healers for almost every issue you 171 00:10:07,160 --> 00:10:11,320 Speaker 1: could imagine, including recipes to and I quote, give a 172 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:16,239 Speaker 1: deflowered bride the appearance of virginity, ashore a husband's fidelity, 173 00:10:16,520 --> 00:10:20,880 Speaker 1: bring misfortune upon a co wife, augment the size of breasts, 174 00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:24,800 Speaker 1: and for irritated mothers in law, detaching a newly married 175 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:28,480 Speaker 1: son from the two beloved new wife. If a wife 176 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:31,120 Speaker 1: wanted to dominate a marriage, according to this book, all 177 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:34,040 Speaker 1: she had to do was, after being intimate with her husband, 178 00:10:34,559 --> 00:10:37,719 Speaker 1: urinate into her cupped hand and then pour the contents 179 00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:43,680 Speaker 1: into her unsuspecting husband's tea while reciting this chant, I 180 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:46,000 Speaker 1: made you drink my water so that you do not 181 00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:48,520 Speaker 1: see but by my eyes you do not hear, but 182 00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:51,800 Speaker 1: by my ears you do not speak, but by my words. 183 00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:55,840 Speaker 1: If a woman wanted her husband to desire her more, 184 00:10:56,280 --> 00:11:00,200 Speaker 1: she had to preserve a fresh, plump date inside her 185 00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:04,000 Speaker 1: well private regions and then mix it into her husband's food. 186 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:07,280 Speaker 1: To stop an abusive husband from beating his wife, he 187 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:10,920 Speaker 1: had to be fed soup made with hyena's brains, and 188 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:14,600 Speaker 1: so on and so forth. Among these recipes was the 189 00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:17,959 Speaker 1: preparation of the arm, the food that, if eaten, would 190 00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:20,800 Speaker 1: cause a person to be controlled in a variety of ways. 191 00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:24,640 Speaker 1: The magicians and healers who prepared that the arm claimed 192 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:27,480 Speaker 1: that it was in fact prepared at the guidance and 193 00:11:27,520 --> 00:11:31,800 Speaker 1: direction of the Jinn themselves. The preparation was described in 194 00:11:31,840 --> 00:11:36,240 Speaker 1: de Lenz's book like this, The coast coast is rolled 195 00:11:36,280 --> 00:11:39,040 Speaker 1: by the hand of the dead, mixed with the crushed 196 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:42,600 Speaker 1: bones of the dead as a fatida, fallen hair reduced 197 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:47,760 Speaker 1: to cinders, powder of dry toronto would have figged finally pulverized. 198 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:51,599 Speaker 1: This is at the base of all magic drugs administered. 199 00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:55,440 Speaker 1: Unknown to the victim. That hand of the dead thing, 200 00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:59,480 Speaker 1: by the way, wasn't taken lightly. Local doctors once reported 201 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:01,760 Speaker 1: to de Lend that two women were caught digging up 202 00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:04,200 Speaker 1: a grave so that they could steal the hands from 203 00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:07,040 Speaker 1: a cadaver and use them to prepare food for one 204 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:10,000 Speaker 1: of their husbands. They weren't trying to get him possessed, 205 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:12,840 Speaker 1: though the ritual was supposed to have the effect of 206 00:12:12,880 --> 00:12:16,319 Speaker 1: a love potion and filled the spouse with endless desire 207 00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:20,720 Speaker 1: for his wife. Instead, once the women were caught, the 208 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:24,520 Speaker 1: husband actually divorced the wife. Now, if you want to 209 00:12:24,559 --> 00:12:28,040 Speaker 1: cause an actual gin possession, more foul things have to 210 00:12:28,080 --> 00:12:30,199 Speaker 1: be added to the base of this concoction. To take 211 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:34,200 Speaker 1: things further, dung and feces, choice foods of the gin 212 00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:37,320 Speaker 1: are added to that the um, resulting in a filthy 213 00:12:37,400 --> 00:12:40,800 Speaker 1: mix that no person in their right mind would voluntarily eat, 214 00:12:41,800 --> 00:12:44,040 Speaker 1: which is why the victim has to be tricked into 215 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:48,720 Speaker 1: eating it, And that trick involves the person's own personal jin, 216 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:52,480 Speaker 1: the kareen. You'll remember earlier in the season, we talked 217 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:54,960 Speaker 1: about this jin, the one that every person is born 218 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:57,600 Speaker 1: with and dies with the front of me for life, 219 00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:01,200 Speaker 1: that you just can't shake. According to de Lenz's book, 220 00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:03,839 Speaker 1: the way to get the evil gin on the inside, 221 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:06,440 Speaker 1: as it were, was for it to team up with 222 00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:10,760 Speaker 1: the victims screen and influence it to make their person 223 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:13,719 Speaker 1: eat the filthy the arm which the evil gin was 224 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:17,000 Speaker 1: attached to. And once that the arm is inside your 225 00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:20,679 Speaker 1: belly and running through your bloodstream, so is the possessing 226 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:35,360 Speaker 1: gin itself. You might be relieved thinking that you're safe 227 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:38,319 Speaker 1: from gin possession because while no one you know would 228 00:13:38,360 --> 00:13:40,800 Speaker 1: or could go to such lengths to saddle you with one, 229 00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:44,560 Speaker 1: I mean, no one dislikes you that much, right, But 230 00:13:44,679 --> 00:13:48,040 Speaker 1: not all gin possessions are orchestrated by a human enemy. 231 00:13:48,200 --> 00:13:51,480 Speaker 1: Sometimes the gin go about possessing people completely of their 232 00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:54,839 Speaker 1: own volition. They might do it for revenge if a 233 00:13:54,960 --> 00:13:58,120 Speaker 1: human hurt them or another gin, usually without knowing it, 234 00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:01,640 Speaker 1: but they can also be driven by lust, desire, jealousy 235 00:14:01,679 --> 00:14:05,840 Speaker 1: of a person, wanting that person to themselves, not unlike 236 00:14:05,960 --> 00:14:09,760 Speaker 1: a real life stalker. In such cases, these gin can't 237 00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:12,360 Speaker 1: rely on their victim eating the arm to enter the body, 238 00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:15,960 Speaker 1: so they have to find other openings, and according to tradition, 239 00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:19,280 Speaker 1: every opening in the physical body is fair game for 240 00:14:19,320 --> 00:14:22,840 Speaker 1: the gin, and not just the obvious ones like the nose, mouth, 241 00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:26,840 Speaker 1: and ears, even the fused fontanels in the skull like 242 00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:29,880 Speaker 1: that soft spot on the top of the head. The temples, 243 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:33,280 Speaker 1: the eye sockets are considered gateways into the inner space 244 00:14:33,360 --> 00:14:36,400 Speaker 1: of a human being. Then, of course, there are the 245 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:39,480 Speaker 1: openings of the nether regions, which according to tradition, are 246 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:43,040 Speaker 1: just as vulnerable to invasion as any other opening in 247 00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:47,600 Speaker 1: the body and should be guarded accordingly. But these openings 248 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:51,840 Speaker 1: also don't have to be physical. Overwhelming emotions such as 249 00:14:51,880 --> 00:14:55,520 Speaker 1: fear or despair are exactly those cracks that render a 250 00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:59,480 Speaker 1: person less able to fend off a gin attack. Fright 251 00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:02,400 Speaker 1: is in a specially powerful break in a person's psychic 252 00:15:02,480 --> 00:15:05,520 Speaker 1: defense mechanism, which is one reason evil gin will do 253 00:15:05,560 --> 00:15:08,280 Speaker 1: all they can to scare the heavy jeebs out of you. 254 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:12,400 Speaker 1: It's not just for kicks, it's to create breaks in 255 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:15,960 Speaker 1: your armor that lets them right on into your body. 256 00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:19,160 Speaker 1: The idea that demons or even Satan could take possession 257 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:21,560 Speaker 1: of a person is as old as the belief in 258 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:25,040 Speaker 1: these beings themselves, and ancient scrolls were found in the 259 00:15:25,080 --> 00:15:27,680 Speaker 1: caves of Gormran on the shores of the West Bank 260 00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:31,320 Speaker 1: and Palestine that attest to that belief. You may have 261 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:34,160 Speaker 1: heard of them. The Dead Sea Scrolls, which were discovered 262 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:38,160 Speaker 1: in ninety, but date back a few centuries before the 263 00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:42,120 Speaker 1: birth of Jesus of Nazareth. A prayer found in the 264 00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:46,040 Speaker 1: scroll reads, do not let Satan or an unclean spirit 265 00:15:46,160 --> 00:15:48,800 Speaker 1: rule over me. Do not let pain or an evil 266 00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:53,840 Speaker 1: inclination take possession of my bones, demonstrating that the Jews 267 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:58,520 Speaker 1: of this period acknowledge that this was a real possibility. Now, 268 00:15:58,560 --> 00:16:00,600 Speaker 1: given that we've all seen the x or sist, you 269 00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:02,880 Speaker 1: might believe that we all know the signs of demonic 270 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:05,280 Speaker 1: possession when we see it. I mean, what else could 271 00:16:05,280 --> 00:16:08,720 Speaker 1: explain speaking in tongues while your head spins three sixty degrees. 272 00:16:09,640 --> 00:16:13,800 Speaker 1: But the signs aren't always so obvious. An online blog 273 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:17,920 Speaker 1: aptly named gin Exorcist tells the story of an average 274 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:22,000 Speaker 1: housewife who suddenly began acting really strange. The blog has 275 00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:24,720 Speaker 1: only two entries, both written by the son of the 276 00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:29,040 Speaker 1: suspected victim of possession. His mother was generally a sweet woman, 277 00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:33,120 Speaker 1: sensitive and kind hearted, and when family problems arose, she 278 00:16:33,240 --> 00:16:36,920 Speaker 1: took them to heart pretty deeply. One day, having been 279 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:39,760 Speaker 1: unable to sleep the night before because of family issues, 280 00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:43,320 Speaker 1: his mother fell with a thud in the kitchen. When 281 00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:45,720 Speaker 1: they found her, she was on the floor having passed out, 282 00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:49,400 Speaker 1: maybe from exhaustion, but she seemed okay afterwards and fell 283 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:51,480 Speaker 1: into a deep sleep for the rest of the evening. 284 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:54,400 Speaker 1: But around one am, the family woke suddenly to the 285 00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:58,160 Speaker 1: sound of crashing glass. They found the mother standing in 286 00:16:58,200 --> 00:17:00,680 Speaker 1: front of her dress or mirror, which she had smashed 287 00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:04,560 Speaker 1: with a perfume bottle as she screamed repeatedly, you're a 288 00:17:04,640 --> 00:17:08,320 Speaker 1: bad mother. I'm going to kill you. She then turned 289 00:17:08,320 --> 00:17:10,720 Speaker 1: to her husband and demanded to know who he was, 290 00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:13,679 Speaker 1: and then she passed out again, and when she came to, 291 00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:17,360 Speaker 1: she didn't recognize anyone in the family, not even her children. 292 00:17:18,280 --> 00:17:20,640 Speaker 1: At this point, of course, the family started freaking out 293 00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:22,720 Speaker 1: and called nine one one, thinking she was having a 294 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:26,240 Speaker 1: psychiatric break, But when she was taken to the hospital, 295 00:17:26,320 --> 00:17:29,040 Speaker 1: all the tests checked out just fine. They weren't able 296 00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:31,679 Speaker 1: to find any medical reason for the fainting and memory loss, 297 00:17:32,119 --> 00:17:35,640 Speaker 1: and so she was released to go home. The next day, 298 00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:38,280 Speaker 1: she seemed fine, but the family had started wondering whether 299 00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:41,720 Speaker 1: they were dealing with something supernatural, so the Sun reached 300 00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:43,840 Speaker 1: out to a cleric to ask how they would know 301 00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:47,439 Speaker 1: if this was Gin related. The cleric told him to 302 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:51,080 Speaker 1: look out for some common but relatively unrecognized symptoms of 303 00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:56,320 Speaker 1: gin possession joint pains, abnormal headaches, extreme temperature changes in 304 00:17:56,359 --> 00:18:01,280 Speaker 1: the body, excess of yawning, laziness, and nightmare. He also 305 00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:03,840 Speaker 1: advised that they recite a number of prayers and blow 306 00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:06,240 Speaker 1: into a glass of water to give the mother to drink. 307 00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:11,040 Speaker 1: If she complained that the water tasted weird or like ash, 308 00:18:11,240 --> 00:18:14,720 Speaker 1: that meant a gin had taken over her. They never 309 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:16,680 Speaker 1: did get a chance to do the water test because 310 00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:19,600 Speaker 1: it turned out they didn't need it. That same night, 311 00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:23,560 Speaker 1: the mother began speaking in someone else's voice, the voice 312 00:18:23,600 --> 00:18:26,760 Speaker 1: of the gin that was possessing her. He spoke through 313 00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:29,200 Speaker 1: the mother in a deep voice as she either stared 314 00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:33,800 Speaker 1: ahead unblinking or closed her eyes with a smirk. His name, 315 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:36,840 Speaker 1: he said, was a mus Rooney. He was a gin 316 00:18:36,920 --> 00:18:39,800 Speaker 1: from India, he told the family, and he liked living 317 00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:42,840 Speaker 1: with them and liked living in her body, where he 318 00:18:42,880 --> 00:18:52,000 Speaker 1: had dwelled for the past twelve years. We are never 319 00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:55,200 Speaker 1: told whether the family was able to exercise Musrooney the 320 00:18:55,280 --> 00:18:58,520 Speaker 1: gin from the mother, because the blog stopped short of 321 00:18:58,560 --> 00:19:01,399 Speaker 1: the next entry. But they were on the right path, 322 00:19:01,560 --> 00:19:04,800 Speaker 1: because according to the customs, the first thing you need 323 00:19:04,840 --> 00:19:07,679 Speaker 1: to try to do when exercising a gin is to 324 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:11,440 Speaker 1: determine the jin's name, if that is the general give it. 325 00:19:12,240 --> 00:19:15,879 Speaker 1: The gin will ordinarily resist giving too much information about themselves, 326 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:18,600 Speaker 1: because the more they give up, the less power they have. 327 00:19:19,359 --> 00:19:22,040 Speaker 1: Knowing the name of a gin, where it's from, what 328 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:25,439 Speaker 1: it's lineages, gives you leverage over it, and kind of 329 00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:28,240 Speaker 1: a similar way to knowing all that information about someone 330 00:19:28,280 --> 00:19:33,000 Speaker 1: you're interrogating. It can take repeated intense questioning, coupled with 331 00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:35,840 Speaker 1: irritating the gin, for example by tugging on their victims 332 00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:39,480 Speaker 1: ears or pulling their hair. Establishing the name of the 333 00:19:39,560 --> 00:19:43,120 Speaker 1: gin is most important in cultures where exercising a possessed 334 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:47,000 Speaker 1: person is less about driving out in evil gin and 335 00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:50,600 Speaker 1: more about establishing what you could call a working relationship 336 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:55,840 Speaker 1: with it. The book The hammad Sha, a study in 337 00:19:55,920 --> 00:20:00,440 Speaker 1: Moroccan ethnopsychiatry, details how the latter approach is much more 338 00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:03,720 Speaker 1: likely to be taken on in that region. That's because 339 00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:07,080 Speaker 1: in Morocco, certain powerful jin's like La la Aisha, the 340 00:20:07,119 --> 00:20:11,440 Speaker 1: camel footed she demon or her consort Sidney Hammu are 341 00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:15,200 Speaker 1: not just believed to exist, they're also venerated and feared 342 00:20:15,840 --> 00:20:19,280 Speaker 1: If these gin are responsible for a possession, the victim's 343 00:20:19,320 --> 00:20:21,840 Speaker 1: best bet is to just join the very Sufi order 344 00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:25,119 Speaker 1: connected to the gin in order to appease it. In 345 00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:27,720 Speaker 1: one particular case, a man who was a member of 346 00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:31,800 Speaker 1: the Sufi order called the Miliana dreamt on three consecutive 347 00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:34,919 Speaker 1: nights that the Jin La la Aisha had grabbed him 348 00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:37,919 Speaker 1: by the neck and slammed him onto the ground. She 349 00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:40,520 Speaker 1: said to him in the dream, either you work for 350 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:43,919 Speaker 1: me or I'll have your neck. Over the course of 351 00:20:43,920 --> 00:20:45,960 Speaker 1: those days, the man grew so sick and weak he 352 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:49,560 Speaker 1: could no longer walk. Finally, his wife bought him a 353 00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:52,879 Speaker 1: black tunic and red turban the colors beloved to La 354 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:56,200 Speaker 1: la Aisha, and after performing a ritual to join the 355 00:20:56,280 --> 00:21:01,200 Speaker 1: Jin's order, he recovered. He told the author quote, Aisha 356 00:21:01,280 --> 00:21:03,240 Speaker 1: asked me to perform her rituals for the rest of 357 00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:06,600 Speaker 1: my life. I will always work for La la Aisha. 358 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:14,480 Speaker 1: Now women hold a special place among these orders when 359 00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:17,080 Speaker 1: it comes to dealing with gin, acting as what are 360 00:21:17,119 --> 00:21:21,800 Speaker 1: called the law or exorcism sears. They're brought in especially 361 00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:24,520 Speaker 1: when a gin can't be identified, and they use their 362 00:21:24,520 --> 00:21:28,960 Speaker 1: powers of divination to cast and read Cali shells. That's right, 363 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:31,760 Speaker 1: those pretty speckled shells that are often made into jewelry 364 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:34,240 Speaker 1: in our part of the world are in fact central 365 00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:37,560 Speaker 1: to one of the oldest divination rituals in the world, 366 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:42,160 Speaker 1: used to connect with ancestors, spirits, and yes jin, most 367 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:47,280 Speaker 1: commonly in West Africa. Once the gin is identified, elaborate 368 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:51,119 Speaker 1: communal rituals are often undertaken to appease the gin, and 369 00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:53,520 Speaker 1: one of the most well known such rituals in North 370 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:58,760 Speaker 1: Africa is the Czar exorcism ceremony. The Czar exorcism is 371 00:21:58,800 --> 00:22:03,240 Speaker 1: meant to appease no other than the Tsar itself, malevolent 372 00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:07,760 Speaker 1: demons that most frequently attached themselves to women. It's believed 373 00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:11,800 Speaker 1: that there are eight demon jins called sar Roach who 374 00:22:11,840 --> 00:22:16,000 Speaker 1: all serve at the pleasure of the Jinn, King Warobal Mama, 375 00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:20,560 Speaker 1: and any of these could be behind a possession. The 376 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:23,200 Speaker 1: czar ritual itself is not only done mostly by women, 377 00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:26,359 Speaker 1: it's also often led by women. In the two thousand 378 00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:30,040 Speaker 1: and three book Women and Demons Culled Healing in Islamic Egypt, 379 00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:33,600 Speaker 1: the author witnessed a ritual for herself and Cairo when 380 00:22:33,640 --> 00:22:38,159 Speaker 1: she accompanied a well known exorcist named Sika Zahara to 381 00:22:38,280 --> 00:22:41,720 Speaker 1: a ceremony meant to cleanse the gin from a victim 382 00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:45,879 Speaker 1: known as the Czar Bride. The ceremony took place in 383 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:47,600 Speaker 1: the dead of the night at the home of a 384 00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:50,359 Speaker 1: woman who lived in a house made out of a 385 00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:54,720 Speaker 1: grave right in the center of the Cairo Necropolis. The 386 00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:58,320 Speaker 1: Necropolis is a massive one thousand year old cemetery called 387 00:22:58,320 --> 00:23:01,040 Speaker 1: the City of the Dead, but it houses not only 388 00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:04,840 Speaker 1: the dead, but also thousands of living Egyptians who make 389 00:23:04,880 --> 00:23:08,879 Speaker 1: their homes right next to the deceased. A group of 390 00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:12,119 Speaker 1: women were already gathered in this grave house, and the author, 391 00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:15,879 Speaker 1: also a woman, was immediately doused with incense and seated 392 00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:19,879 Speaker 1: on the floor so the ceremony could begin. The Czar Bride, 393 00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:22,720 Speaker 1: a woman in her fifties, was dressed in white with 394 00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:24,919 Speaker 1: a head dress and ornaments, and the rest of the 395 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:29,120 Speaker 1: women formed a circle around her. Amid drums enchanting by 396 00:23:29,119 --> 00:23:32,960 Speaker 1: shaik A Zara, the women let out a high pitched euilation, 397 00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:39,200 Speaker 1: a joyous sound signifying celebration. Suddenly, the drumming and chanting stopped, 398 00:23:39,359 --> 00:23:41,960 Speaker 1: and the bride was led into the center of the room, 399 00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:45,440 Speaker 1: where two turkeys were brought to her. Sik A Zara 400 00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:49,160 Speaker 1: apologized to the birds and then slaughtered them and smeared 401 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:52,240 Speaker 1: some of the blood on the bride's forehead, cheeks, and hands. 402 00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:57,320 Speaker 1: And then something truly unusual happened. A bottle of whiskey 403 00:23:57,400 --> 00:24:01,080 Speaker 1: was broken out and poured for everyone in the room. Now, 404 00:24:01,119 --> 00:24:04,200 Speaker 1: everyone in that room was Muslim and would ordinarily shun 405 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:08,520 Speaker 1: alcohol as completely forbidden in the faith, But as was 406 00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:10,760 Speaker 1: explained by the author, they were dealing with some very 407 00:24:10,800 --> 00:24:14,679 Speaker 1: special circumstances. The gin who had possessed the czar bride 408 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:17,919 Speaker 1: was a Christian gin, and he had ordered that everyone 409 00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:21,359 Speaker 1: must drink the whiskey to appease him, and of course 410 00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:25,119 Speaker 1: they couldn't say no. The women lit up cigarettes, drank 411 00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:30,960 Speaker 1: the whiskey, and began intense, dramatic, exhausting dancing, shaking and shuddering, 412 00:24:31,440 --> 00:24:35,960 Speaker 1: swiveling hips, and swirling scarves and sticks for hours, each 413 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:40,920 Speaker 1: one channeling a different Gin through their particular movements. At 414 00:24:40,920 --> 00:24:43,879 Speaker 1: the end of the exorcism, the gin hadn't exactly been 415 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:47,560 Speaker 1: driven anywhere. Rather, the gin had become the master of 416 00:24:47,560 --> 00:24:50,679 Speaker 1: the possessed, and the ceremony itself was a means for 417 00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:54,159 Speaker 1: the possessed to submit to the Gin, a submission that 418 00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:56,399 Speaker 1: they will be bound to for the rest of their lives. 419 00:24:57,119 --> 00:24:59,960 Speaker 1: They will live as their master's servant, dancing the day, 420 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:04,520 Speaker 1: answers the master enjoys, wearing the colors he or she prefers, 421 00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:09,680 Speaker 1: and participating in the rituals the master expects. These are exorcism, 422 00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:12,359 Speaker 1: it seems then, it's not at all about exercising the 423 00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:16,280 Speaker 1: gin from a person. It's more about exercising a person's 424 00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:20,119 Speaker 1: resistance to the gin. It seems like a heavy price 425 00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:22,399 Speaker 1: to pay, but for most it's worth it to no 426 00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:26,360 Speaker 1: longer be tormented by gin whose power can never be matched. 427 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:30,040 Speaker 1: It's also, i suppose, worth the large sums of money 428 00:25:30,119 --> 00:25:32,040 Speaker 1: that have to be paid to the woman in charge, 429 00:25:32,359 --> 00:25:44,480 Speaker 1: sheik Zara for the Czar ritual itself. Of course, not 430 00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:46,879 Speaker 1: everyone is on board with pretty much just giving in 431 00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:49,879 Speaker 1: and submitting to a gin, and frankly, not all gin's 432 00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:52,840 Speaker 1: are on that same train either, which brings us to 433 00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:55,439 Speaker 1: the kind of exorcism that we think about When we 434 00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:58,840 Speaker 1: think about exorcism, you know what I mean, the priestly 435 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:03,800 Speaker 1: figure chanting, script, shaking holy water, sweating, hollering, exhausted by 436 00:26:03,800 --> 00:26:06,160 Speaker 1: the effort to drive out a demon from its victims. 437 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:09,359 Speaker 1: And yes, those kinds of exorcisms happen all around the 438 00:26:09,359 --> 00:26:12,199 Speaker 1: world with experts claiming to be able to expel the 439 00:26:12,280 --> 00:26:17,000 Speaker 1: Gin from human hosts. Enter Abu Yusuf, intrepid Jin hunter 440 00:26:17,119 --> 00:26:19,960 Speaker 1: and healer from Detroit, Michigan, who was profiled on the 441 00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:23,639 Speaker 1: Religion News blog fifteen years ago. Abu use Of claims 442 00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:26,399 Speaker 1: clients all across the globe and was tracked down for 443 00:26:26,560 --> 00:26:29,639 Speaker 1: his profile in Beirut on his way to the Gulf 444 00:26:29,800 --> 00:26:33,720 Speaker 1: to perform some exorcisms. Yusef wasn't born with any special 445 00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:36,680 Speaker 1: powers in the field, but he spent hours studying scripture, 446 00:26:37,200 --> 00:26:40,200 Speaker 1: and one day, two decades later, as he was deep 447 00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:45,040 Speaker 1: in study, he suddenly felt something what he wouldn't say. 448 00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:48,520 Speaker 1: It was a secret, and that secret opened up the 449 00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:51,359 Speaker 1: secret world of Gin to him, a world he was 450 00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:56,280 Speaker 1: able to see clearly. Ever, since not every Gin exorcist 451 00:26:56,359 --> 00:26:59,240 Speaker 1: has the power to see Jin. Ordinarily, making use of 452 00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:01,800 Speaker 1: special in a I see dead people kind of way, 453 00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:05,159 Speaker 1: he could vouch, for example, that six of the dwellings 454 00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:07,920 Speaker 1: in the UK were haunted by Gin, and could also 455 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:10,160 Speaker 1: tell what a person is possessed by a Jin even 456 00:27:10,280 --> 00:27:12,720 Speaker 1: if that person is showing no apparent signs of it 457 00:27:13,960 --> 00:27:16,080 Speaker 1: during the interview itself. Use have told one of the 458 00:27:16,119 --> 00:27:19,080 Speaker 1: two journalists that she was possessed by a gin, but 459 00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:23,119 Speaker 1: her male colleague nope, which tracks with the use of 460 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:27,200 Speaker 1: theory that most gin possessions happened to women by jin who, 461 00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:32,919 Speaker 1: out of lustful obsession, sexually violate their victim. Those such cases, 462 00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:36,720 Speaker 1: he said he saw frequently. The reporter, who was hoping 463 00:27:36,760 --> 00:27:39,080 Speaker 1: to witness an exorcism, decided she may as well just 464 00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:43,720 Speaker 1: get exercised herself, and so she revisited Yusuf, who began 465 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:47,320 Speaker 1: by seating her in a chair, feet firmly planted, hands 466 00:27:47,359 --> 00:27:50,240 Speaker 1: on her thighs relaxed as use have bent close to 467 00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:54,959 Speaker 1: her ear chanting prayers. At first, she tried to focus 468 00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:58,159 Speaker 1: on the words, but then they all started to blur together. 469 00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:03,280 Speaker 1: Then she rights the shadows and lights reflected on the 470 00:28:03,359 --> 00:28:07,359 Speaker 1: stone floor start to dance. My vision blurs, My hands 471 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:10,240 Speaker 1: start to sweat. I can feel my hands start to 472 00:28:10,359 --> 00:28:13,399 Speaker 1: lift up just a little bit, but strongly enough to 473 00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:15,720 Speaker 1: make it hard to keep them down when I try. 474 00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:18,639 Speaker 1: I have no idea how long this is all taken. 475 00:28:19,359 --> 00:28:22,119 Speaker 1: It has been some twenty minutes until my hands and 476 00:28:22,280 --> 00:28:27,560 Speaker 1: legs started shaking slowly. My hands are still up, and 477 00:28:27,680 --> 00:28:30,040 Speaker 1: that was it. She was then given a drink of 478 00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:32,440 Speaker 1: water and told that the gin would never bother her again, 479 00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:35,439 Speaker 1: that it had left her body through her hands and feet. 480 00:28:36,440 --> 00:28:38,760 Speaker 1: The journalist was rather shocked that the entire thing was 481 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:42,400 Speaker 1: so painless. That, explained Yusef, was because he knew what 482 00:28:42,440 --> 00:28:44,760 Speaker 1: he was doing, which is why he said there were 483 00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:47,120 Speaker 1: people around the world willing to pay him thousands of 484 00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:50,880 Speaker 1: dollars to help free them of the demons that conventional 485 00:28:51,040 --> 00:28:54,680 Speaker 1: medicine failed at Now, if that seems like a stretch, 486 00:28:54,800 --> 00:28:58,400 Speaker 1: it isn't at all. A two thousand and nineteen piece 487 00:28:58,520 --> 00:29:01,480 Speaker 1: on the Metador Network travel blog, written by Middle East 488 00:29:01,560 --> 00:29:05,040 Speaker 1: culture writer Baxter Jackson, tells the story of a woman 489 00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:07,520 Speaker 1: who traveled all the way from the US to the 490 00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:10,880 Speaker 1: country of Oman in order to take care of her 491 00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:15,200 Speaker 1: gin problem. Jackson had years earlier written about a famous 492 00:29:15,280 --> 00:29:18,880 Speaker 1: gin exorcist named mall Lam Salim, who was from and 493 00:29:19,080 --> 00:29:23,600 Speaker 1: lived in Bahla, an oasis town in Oman. But Bahla 494 00:29:23,720 --> 00:29:26,520 Speaker 1: isn't just any old town, though it's made it into 495 00:29:26,560 --> 00:29:30,240 Speaker 1: the National Geographics list of the top ten most haunted 496 00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:33,120 Speaker 1: places in the world, and was also featured in an 497 00:29:33,240 --> 00:29:37,320 Speaker 1: NPR segment for the unusual and unexplainable supernatural things that 498 00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:41,960 Speaker 1: took place there. It's called for good reason, Medina the Alser, 499 00:29:42,400 --> 00:29:46,680 Speaker 1: the city of magic, black magic. That is, the stories 500 00:29:46,720 --> 00:29:49,640 Speaker 1: out of Bahla are endless pillars of fire that erupt 501 00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:53,920 Speaker 1: out of the desert sands spontaneously, crumbling walls that refused 502 00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:57,800 Speaker 1: to be rebuilt, Mosques that fly, which is that take 503 00:29:57,840 --> 00:30:00,280 Speaker 1: off with little girls, and accounts of peop will who 504 00:30:00,320 --> 00:30:03,120 Speaker 1: look out of a window only to see their own 505 00:30:03,200 --> 00:30:07,480 Speaker 1: self looking back in and encountering gin that have taken 506 00:30:07,560 --> 00:30:10,760 Speaker 1: on the appearance of a dead loved one. It's not 507 00:30:10,880 --> 00:30:13,360 Speaker 1: a surprise to find men like maure Lum Salim in 508 00:30:13,440 --> 00:30:16,280 Speaker 1: a place run amok with gin. And so when a 509 00:30:16,360 --> 00:30:20,360 Speaker 1: young woman from Boston read Baxter Jackson's piece, she reached 510 00:30:20,400 --> 00:30:23,680 Speaker 1: out to him, saying, I'm an American, I live in Boston, 511 00:30:23,880 --> 00:30:26,760 Speaker 1: and I have a gin problem, and I'm not crazy. 512 00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:30,560 Speaker 1: She wanted to see if more Lump Salim could help her, 513 00:30:30,680 --> 00:30:33,680 Speaker 1: and she was willing to fly halfway across the world 514 00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:37,800 Speaker 1: to see him, and so Jackson found himself picking her 515 00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:40,960 Speaker 1: up at the airport and escorting her along with another friend, 516 00:30:41,360 --> 00:30:44,800 Speaker 1: to the exorcist's home in Bahala, driving through a dust 517 00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:48,080 Speaker 1: storm and then right into a fearsome thunderstorm as they 518 00:30:48,160 --> 00:30:52,520 Speaker 1: reached the town, more Lump Salim was a large, imposing figure, 519 00:30:52,640 --> 00:30:56,040 Speaker 1: but welcoming. They settled in with cups of cardamum coffee 520 00:30:56,080 --> 00:30:59,360 Speaker 1: in the middle of a room scattered with amulets. The 521 00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:04,240 Speaker 1: exerci carefully opened a massive book filled with rice paper pages, 522 00:31:04,680 --> 00:31:09,320 Speaker 1: each one covered in Arabic scribbles, symbols, and diagrams. Now 523 00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:11,960 Speaker 1: the room was brightly lit with neon tube lights, but 524 00:31:12,120 --> 00:31:16,680 Speaker 1: suddenly a shadow, dark and defined, raced across the walls 525 00:31:16,720 --> 00:31:22,720 Speaker 1: of the room, and incomprehensible whispers filled the air. Everyone gasped. 526 00:31:23,520 --> 00:31:25,400 Speaker 1: No one had moved, there was nothing that could have 527 00:31:25,480 --> 00:31:28,800 Speaker 1: created that shadow that clearly flew across the room, and 528 00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:33,240 Speaker 1: certainly the whispers had erupted out of nowhere. Suddenly, more 529 00:31:33,320 --> 00:31:36,960 Speaker 1: Lem Salim declared Al Malak as the black Prince of 530 00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:40,360 Speaker 1: the Gin, that was the gin that the young woman 531 00:31:40,520 --> 00:31:44,720 Speaker 1: was afflicted with. The exorcist lit some frankincense, had the 532 00:31:44,760 --> 00:31:47,040 Speaker 1: woman lay in the center of the floor and began 533 00:31:47,160 --> 00:31:51,400 Speaker 1: reciting scripture and chanting prayers over her, his hand resting 534 00:31:51,480 --> 00:31:55,280 Speaker 1: on her forehead. The woman exhaled a deep sigh and 535 00:31:55,320 --> 00:31:57,880 Speaker 1: a rush of cold air filled the room, and as 536 00:31:57,960 --> 00:32:01,320 Speaker 1: more Lem Salim continued to pray, she suddenly sat upright 537 00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:07,080 Speaker 1: and screamed ferociously as the thunder outside roared. She had 538 00:32:07,120 --> 00:32:09,240 Speaker 1: to be wrestled back unto laying down again by the 539 00:32:09,320 --> 00:32:12,600 Speaker 1: two men witnessing the exorcism, and Muam Salim shook a 540 00:32:12,720 --> 00:32:16,360 Speaker 1: vial of holy water over her body. She groaned, twisting 541 00:32:16,400 --> 00:32:18,800 Speaker 1: and turning trying to get free from the men, and 542 00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:23,280 Speaker 1: her fingers and toes curled tightly. Another shadow flew across 543 00:32:23,320 --> 00:32:27,840 Speaker 1: the wall as Muallem Salim thundered, he who returns over 544 00:32:27,920 --> 00:32:30,680 Speaker 1: and over again, he who whispers evil into the hearts 545 00:32:30,720 --> 00:32:33,120 Speaker 1: of men, whether he be from among the Gin or 546 00:32:33,200 --> 00:32:37,800 Speaker 1: men be gone. The storm outside seemed to parallel the 547 00:32:37,880 --> 00:32:42,400 Speaker 1: climax of the exorcism. Suddenly dying down and Baxter Jackson 548 00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:45,200 Speaker 1: watched as the young woman's body relaxed and her eyes, 549 00:32:45,280 --> 00:32:48,320 Speaker 1: which had been rolled back in their sockets, returned to normal. 550 00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:52,360 Speaker 1: They helped her up a bit weak, said their goodbyes 551 00:32:52,440 --> 00:32:55,800 Speaker 1: to the exorcist, and returned to their car. There, the 552 00:32:55,840 --> 00:32:58,800 Speaker 1: woman said she felt better, lighter, like a weight had 553 00:32:58,840 --> 00:33:01,640 Speaker 1: been lifted from her, but that didn't mean she thought 554 00:33:01,720 --> 00:33:04,800 Speaker 1: she was cured, because before coming to Amman to meet 555 00:33:04,880 --> 00:33:07,440 Speaker 1: maua lump Slim, she had gone to the Uae and 556 00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:11,080 Speaker 1: had an exorcism there with another shake. But according to her, 557 00:33:11,240 --> 00:33:13,960 Speaker 1: after the ritual, the Jin had returned with a vengeance, 558 00:33:14,880 --> 00:33:18,480 Speaker 1: and unfortunately her story didn't end there. The respite she 559 00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:21,640 Speaker 1: got from the Black Prince of the Jin was only temporary, 560 00:33:22,200 --> 00:33:25,760 Speaker 1: and eventually she decided to travel to Indonesia to give 561 00:33:25,880 --> 00:33:36,440 Speaker 1: yet one more exorcist a try. While the young woman 562 00:33:36,520 --> 00:33:39,240 Speaker 1: in this story unfortunately wasn't able to rid herself of 563 00:33:39,280 --> 00:33:42,520 Speaker 1: the Jin that haunted her, she's lucky that the exorcist 564 00:33:42,600 --> 00:33:46,000 Speaker 1: she saw didn't resort to more extreme measures, because in 565 00:33:46,040 --> 00:33:49,360 Speaker 1: the world of gin, exorcism is perfectly acceptable to beat 566 00:33:49,560 --> 00:33:53,040 Speaker 1: a gin out of you. According to the thirteenth century 567 00:33:53,080 --> 00:33:57,520 Speaker 1: theologian Ibnthemia, it's permissible to strike a possessed person as 568 00:33:57,600 --> 00:34:00,320 Speaker 1: many strikes as it took to get rid of the gin, 569 00:34:00,920 --> 00:34:02,800 Speaker 1: because it was the gin who felt the pain of 570 00:34:02,840 --> 00:34:06,560 Speaker 1: the strikes, not the human, who, even Theamia said wouldn't 571 00:34:06,560 --> 00:34:09,839 Speaker 1: feel a thing, and the screams coming from the person 572 00:34:09,960 --> 00:34:12,680 Speaker 1: being beaten, well, no need to be concerned about those either, 573 00:34:13,160 --> 00:34:17,080 Speaker 1: because that was the jin screaming, not the human, which 574 00:34:17,160 --> 00:34:20,000 Speaker 1: means something must have gone very wrong. In the case 575 00:34:20,200 --> 00:34:23,560 Speaker 1: of Abdul Khalam, a forty eight year old Bangladeshi man 576 00:34:23,960 --> 00:34:29,440 Speaker 1: who died in February after an exorcism, abduk Alam had 577 00:34:29,480 --> 00:34:32,160 Speaker 1: been acting kind of strange lately, so the family thought 578 00:34:32,360 --> 00:34:35,439 Speaker 1: he might be suffering from a gin possession. They took 579 00:34:35,520 --> 00:34:38,799 Speaker 1: him to a local exorcist, who, along with his assistance, 580 00:34:39,200 --> 00:34:42,640 Speaker 1: held abdu ke Alam underwater until he nearly drowned, and 581 00:34:42,719 --> 00:34:45,759 Speaker 1: then beat him badly to drive the gin out. The 582 00:34:45,920 --> 00:34:49,920 Speaker 1: next day, Galam was found dead, having succumbed to his injuries. 583 00:34:50,760 --> 00:34:53,400 Speaker 1: The exorcist may have driven the gin out, but also 584 00:34:53,560 --> 00:34:58,480 Speaker 1: took Glam's life in the process. Charges were filed against 585 00:34:58,560 --> 00:35:01,480 Speaker 1: the exorcist, but he's not loan and having used possession 586 00:35:01,520 --> 00:35:04,879 Speaker 1: as an excuse to physically abuse a person. In fact, 587 00:35:04,960 --> 00:35:07,600 Speaker 1: a social worker in one British community told a reporter 588 00:35:07,719 --> 00:35:11,840 Speaker 1: that she had seen numerous times women who, when seeking 589 00:35:11,920 --> 00:35:15,359 Speaker 1: help to get out of abusive situations, be silenced by 590 00:35:15,400 --> 00:35:19,040 Speaker 1: others as being possessed, and she had also seen cases 591 00:35:19,080 --> 00:35:22,000 Speaker 1: in which family members or a spouse claiming a woman 592 00:35:22,120 --> 00:35:27,120 Speaker 1: was possessed by a gin beat her mercilessly. In other words, 593 00:35:27,280 --> 00:35:30,840 Speaker 1: gin possession was used both as an excuse to dismiss 594 00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:35,080 Speaker 1: allegations of abuse, but also as an excuse to actually 595 00:35:35,120 --> 00:35:39,600 Speaker 1: abuse these victims. Unfortunately, the world of gin possession and 596 00:35:39,719 --> 00:35:42,560 Speaker 1: exorcism is ripe for abuse, and a field like this 597 00:35:42,800 --> 00:35:45,719 Speaker 1: is also an open invitation to some who take advantage 598 00:35:46,040 --> 00:35:49,759 Speaker 1: of the desperate, especially because it can pay pretty well. 599 00:35:50,760 --> 00:35:56,040 Speaker 1: Like most things in life, jin exorcism is commodified. In 600 00:35:56,080 --> 00:35:58,719 Speaker 1: two thousand and twelve, the BBC reported a profile of 601 00:35:58,800 --> 00:36:02,799 Speaker 1: an East London exorcist named Abu Mohammed, with a video 602 00:36:02,960 --> 00:36:06,800 Speaker 1: showing him performing an actual exorcism. His waiting list is 603 00:36:06,880 --> 00:36:10,080 Speaker 1: many months long, and he charged back then around a 604 00:36:10,160 --> 00:36:13,520 Speaker 1: hundred dollars for a one hour session. Not too steep, 605 00:36:13,600 --> 00:36:15,640 Speaker 1: but not a bad source of income if you're booked 606 00:36:15,719 --> 00:36:18,520 Speaker 1: back to back for months. It's fair to say, though, 607 00:36:18,560 --> 00:36:20,360 Speaker 1: that his prices are on the low end of the 608 00:36:20,400 --> 00:36:25,680 Speaker 1: spectrum when you consider that Mohammad Yowafi, a famed Jordanian exorcist, 609 00:36:26,160 --> 00:36:31,200 Speaker 1: charges an average of three thousand dollars for an exorcism. Once, however, 610 00:36:31,440 --> 00:36:35,440 Speaker 1: he charged an Arab millionaire thirty thousand dollars to cleanse 611 00:36:35,600 --> 00:36:38,920 Speaker 1: his palatial residence of a Jin king and the king's 612 00:36:39,160 --> 00:36:42,680 Speaker 1: entire Jin army, which had apparently taken up residence there. 613 00:36:43,400 --> 00:36:45,480 Speaker 1: The millionaire was so happy with the results that he 614 00:36:45,600 --> 00:36:50,719 Speaker 1: gifted Yowaffe an expensive watch as an extra bonus. You'll 615 00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:54,920 Speaker 1: find Jin removers and exorcists all over the internet selling 616 00:36:54,960 --> 00:36:58,640 Speaker 1: their services, though traditionally the good ones don't need to advertise. 617 00:36:59,120 --> 00:37:01,799 Speaker 1: They're known by word of mouth, and if anything, they 618 00:37:01,880 --> 00:37:05,640 Speaker 1: prefer to work as privately as possible. And while some 619 00:37:05,840 --> 00:37:08,879 Speaker 1: may take advantage of people seeking answers, there are plenty 620 00:37:08,920 --> 00:37:11,640 Speaker 1: of them who are actually pretty committed and sincere in 621 00:37:11,760 --> 00:37:14,480 Speaker 1: wanting to help. They really believe that there are dark 622 00:37:14,560 --> 00:37:17,400 Speaker 1: forces that attack people, and they believe they can make 623 00:37:17,440 --> 00:37:20,920 Speaker 1: a difference, and sometimes they're able to serve an even 624 00:37:21,040 --> 00:37:26,160 Speaker 1: greater purpose in bringing people together in unexpected ways. Coptic 625 00:37:26,280 --> 00:37:29,400 Speaker 1: Christians and Muslims have lived side by side for centuries 626 00:37:29,440 --> 00:37:33,040 Speaker 1: in Egypt, and while at times political circumstances have led 627 00:37:33,160 --> 00:37:37,120 Speaker 1: to not just tension between the communities, but even unfortunately 628 00:37:37,280 --> 00:37:40,800 Speaker 1: actual violence. There is one certain space that has managed 629 00:37:40,840 --> 00:37:44,640 Speaker 1: to evade such crises, and that is the Church of 630 00:37:44,760 --> 00:37:48,800 Speaker 1: Father Samaan Ibraheim, one of the very few priests in 631 00:37:48,920 --> 00:37:52,600 Speaker 1: all of Egypt who is allowed to perform exorcisms, and 632 00:37:52,760 --> 00:37:56,560 Speaker 1: every week he performs mass exorcisms that draw people from 633 00:37:56,640 --> 00:38:01,040 Speaker 1: every walk of life and every faith to him. The 634 00:38:01,120 --> 00:38:03,560 Speaker 1: story of how Father Ibrahim came to this work is 635 00:38:03,600 --> 00:38:07,040 Speaker 1: a legend unto itself. Decades ago, he saw a vision 636 00:38:07,120 --> 00:38:09,160 Speaker 1: that inspired him to build a church for the people 637 00:38:09,560 --> 00:38:13,600 Speaker 1: who lived by the Kutham Mountain, a place itself connected 638 00:38:13,640 --> 00:38:17,640 Speaker 1: with miracles. That congregation in the nineteen seventies and today 639 00:38:18,160 --> 00:38:21,839 Speaker 1: consists of the poorest Christian community in the city, called 640 00:38:21,840 --> 00:38:27,160 Speaker 1: the Zabalein, which literally means garbage people. The Zabalein, nearly 641 00:38:27,239 --> 00:38:30,680 Speaker 1: all Christian, have for nearly a hundred years now, been 642 00:38:30,680 --> 00:38:35,479 Speaker 1: the city's primary garbage collectors and sorters, entire families making 643 00:38:35,520 --> 00:38:39,600 Speaker 1: their living by hauling away, sorting, and recycling mountains of trash, 644 00:38:40,160 --> 00:38:43,879 Speaker 1: and their largest community, around thirty thousand of them, live 645 00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:47,360 Speaker 1: in what is nicknamed Garbage City at the foot of 646 00:38:47,440 --> 00:38:52,359 Speaker 1: the Mautham Mountain, where Father Ibraheim established his church. It's 647 00:38:52,440 --> 00:38:56,640 Speaker 1: no ordinary church, though. The discovery nine of an incredible 648 00:38:56,719 --> 00:38:59,879 Speaker 1: cave under the mountain, a cave with pillars already made 649 00:39:00,040 --> 00:39:03,800 Speaker 1: to rock, was an answer to the priest's prayers. He 650 00:39:03,920 --> 00:39:06,799 Speaker 1: had been looking for an expansive area for worshippers to gather, 651 00:39:07,400 --> 00:39:09,880 Speaker 1: but finding no such space in the city crowded with 652 00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:13,440 Speaker 1: people in garbage. This cave was assigned from God to 653 00:39:13,640 --> 00:39:17,760 Speaker 1: gather under the earth itself, and so in that cave 654 00:39:17,920 --> 00:39:20,719 Speaker 1: was built what is now known as the Cave Cathedral, 655 00:39:21,520 --> 00:39:26,040 Speaker 1: and every Thursday night, live streaming online, thousands gather in 656 00:39:26,080 --> 00:39:29,520 Speaker 1: the Cave Cathedral, many of whom are Muslim, to get 657 00:39:29,560 --> 00:39:34,600 Speaker 1: Father Ibrahim's help in exercising their demons. Numerous news stories 658 00:39:34,640 --> 00:39:37,240 Speaker 1: have been written about these exorcisms, and in two thousand 659 00:39:37,320 --> 00:39:40,120 Speaker 1: and fourteen, a vice journalists decided to go witness one 660 00:39:40,160 --> 00:39:44,040 Speaker 1: for himself. He sat through a two hour rather ordinary 661 00:39:44,160 --> 00:39:48,320 Speaker 1: church service, after which spurts of howling rose from different 662 00:39:48,360 --> 00:39:52,080 Speaker 1: parts of the cathedral. Men and women apparently afflicted with 663 00:39:52,239 --> 00:39:55,800 Speaker 1: gin began clawing at the priest, begging for his attention 664 00:39:55,920 --> 00:39:58,120 Speaker 1: and for a few drops of the holy water that 665 00:39:58,280 --> 00:40:01,880 Speaker 1: he was throwing around. Muslim women with their heads covered 666 00:40:01,920 --> 00:40:04,279 Speaker 1: in hijab, lined up with bottles of water for the 667 00:40:04,320 --> 00:40:07,920 Speaker 1: priest to bless them with his own saliva. Others grunted 668 00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:11,160 Speaker 1: and groaned in the pews, thrashing around until the priest 669 00:40:11,360 --> 00:40:15,280 Speaker 1: laid his hands on them. The entire affair lasted about 670 00:40:15,280 --> 00:40:18,200 Speaker 1: twenty minutes, and the journalists who witnessed it didn't seem 671 00:40:18,280 --> 00:40:21,440 Speaker 1: all much impressed. But he asked one woman how she 672 00:40:21,600 --> 00:40:24,360 Speaker 1: felt after it seemed her demon had been banished. She 673 00:40:24,560 --> 00:40:28,880 Speaker 1: told him I feel great, thanks to God. The conclusion 674 00:40:28,960 --> 00:40:32,279 Speaker 1: reached by the journalist was this that we just view 675 00:40:32,360 --> 00:40:35,480 Speaker 1: the problems in our heads differently. Some see them as 676 00:40:35,560 --> 00:40:39,800 Speaker 1: mental or emotional health issues, and others as external forces 677 00:40:39,840 --> 00:40:43,319 Speaker 1: of good or evil. And so a gin exorcism, whether 678 00:40:43,440 --> 00:40:46,600 Speaker 1: or not an actual jin is a problem, or whether 679 00:40:46,719 --> 00:40:50,239 Speaker 1: or not the exorcism itself is real, is just one 680 00:40:50,280 --> 00:40:53,960 Speaker 1: way to bring some comfort to those who seek spiritual catharsis. 681 00:40:55,000 --> 00:40:59,000 Speaker 1: And as for the phenomena of possession itself, well, some 682 00:40:59,200 --> 00:41:03,239 Speaker 1: theorize it's a form of resistance to helplessness, cultural and 683 00:41:03,400 --> 00:41:07,320 Speaker 1: social restrictions, and bad personal situations. It can be a 684 00:41:07,360 --> 00:41:10,240 Speaker 1: pathway of empowerment to women who find spaces to dance 685 00:41:10,320 --> 00:41:13,640 Speaker 1: and smoke and drink and wield spiritual power during exorcism 686 00:41:13,760 --> 00:41:16,279 Speaker 1: rituals when they aren't able to do so anywhere else. 687 00:41:17,160 --> 00:41:19,680 Speaker 1: Or it could be an expression of powerless men unable 688 00:41:19,719 --> 00:41:24,080 Speaker 1: to overcome social expectations. Maybe for some, possession is an 689 00:41:24,080 --> 00:41:28,080 Speaker 1: instrument of expressing despair and anguish, of heartache and pain. 690 00:41:29,280 --> 00:41:31,560 Speaker 1: Remember the mother who was possessed for twelve years by 691 00:41:31,600 --> 00:41:34,800 Speaker 1: the Indian gin named mus Rooney. When the gin was 692 00:41:34,960 --> 00:41:37,959 Speaker 1: questioned about why, having lived inside of her for twelve years, 693 00:41:38,320 --> 00:41:42,239 Speaker 1: did he finally decide to manifest now, the gin told 694 00:41:42,239 --> 00:41:45,520 Speaker 1: the family it wasn't to torment the mother. Far from it. 695 00:41:46,239 --> 00:41:49,640 Speaker 1: He emerged as a lesson to them because they didn't 696 00:41:49,680 --> 00:41:54,239 Speaker 1: treat their mother right. A pretty convenient possession for the mom, 697 00:41:54,440 --> 00:41:57,839 Speaker 1: you could say. But if you're like me, it's still 698 00:41:57,960 --> 00:42:01,400 Speaker 1: hard to dismiss gin possession outright. And that's because you 699 00:42:01,440 --> 00:42:03,279 Speaker 1: can't really pick and choose how far you want to 700 00:42:03,320 --> 00:42:06,319 Speaker 1: go in your supernatural beliefs. Like I've said before, it's 701 00:42:06,400 --> 00:42:08,640 Speaker 1: kind of like being a little pregnant. Once you're in, 702 00:42:08,719 --> 00:42:11,919 Speaker 1: you're in. Once you believe there's something out there, something 703 00:42:12,040 --> 00:42:15,000 Speaker 1: we can't understand or ever fully know. Where do you 704 00:42:15,080 --> 00:42:18,680 Speaker 1: draw the line. If you believe ghosts, for example, are possible, 705 00:42:18,719 --> 00:42:21,400 Speaker 1: then why aren't fairies and UFOs and angels and demons 706 00:42:21,480 --> 00:42:26,279 Speaker 1: and God and Satan and yes Jin possible? And if 707 00:42:26,320 --> 00:42:28,200 Speaker 1: they're possible, how do you know what they can and 708 00:42:28,320 --> 00:42:32,160 Speaker 1: can't do, what they will and won't do? You don't, 709 00:42:32,640 --> 00:42:35,879 Speaker 1: and neither do I, because no matter how hard we try, 710 00:42:35,960 --> 00:42:39,279 Speaker 1: and believe me, people have been trying for thousands of years, 711 00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:43,000 Speaker 1: will never fully know the world of the Hidden Gin. 712 00:42:53,520 --> 00:42:56,080 Speaker 1: If you loved today's episode, I'm gonna ask you a 713 00:42:56,120 --> 00:42:58,880 Speaker 1: big favor. Please stop my iTunes and leave me a 714 00:42:59,040 --> 00:43:02,320 Speaker 1: rating and a review, even if it's just one short sentence. 715 00:43:02,880 --> 00:43:05,600 Speaker 1: Not only is that how other listeners discover the podcast, 716 00:43:05,800 --> 00:43:08,920 Speaker 1: but it's also what keeps the podcast going. And for 717 00:43:09,120 --> 00:43:12,680 Speaker 1: every thousand reviews that I get on iTunes, I'll release 718 00:43:12,719 --> 00:43:17,000 Speaker 1: another Patreon episode absolutely free. That's right, We're on Patreon, 719 00:43:17,120 --> 00:43:19,960 Speaker 1: So if you're a GIN enthusiast, check out the Companion 720 00:43:20,080 --> 00:43:24,840 Speaker 1: Patreon series at patreon dot com slash Hidden Jin again, 721 00:43:25,000 --> 00:43:27,960 Speaker 1: that's patreon dot com slash Hidden Gin, and remember Jin 722 00:43:28,080 --> 00:43:30,960 Speaker 1: is spelled d J I n N. That's where you're 723 00:43:30,960 --> 00:43:36,600 Speaker 1: gonna find an amazing series of interviews between me, scholars, experts, artist, historians, 724 00:43:36,640 --> 00:43:40,920 Speaker 1: and every day lay people who have had extraordinary experiences 725 00:43:41,200 --> 00:43:44,000 Speaker 1: with Jin and everybody can check out the first episode 726 00:43:44,040 --> 00:43:47,120 Speaker 1: absolutely free. It's me and my husband sharing our gen 727 00:43:47,239 --> 00:43:49,799 Speaker 1: stories and it was a lot of fun. And if 728 00:43:49,880 --> 00:43:52,080 Speaker 1: you have any Gin stories, well, I'd love to hear 729 00:43:52,120 --> 00:43:55,480 Speaker 1: from you. Email me at the Hidden Gin at gmail 730 00:43:55,520 --> 00:43:58,920 Speaker 1: dot com. Once again, it's The Hidden Gin Gin with 731 00:43:59,000 --> 00:44:01,600 Speaker 1: a D at g mail dot com and you might 732 00:44:01,680 --> 00:44:04,160 Speaker 1: just hear back from me, or you might hear your 733 00:44:04,200 --> 00:44:07,160 Speaker 1: story on this show. And finally, don't forget to follow 734 00:44:07,239 --> 00:44:10,520 Speaker 1: us on social media. We're on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram 735 00:44:10,760 --> 00:44:13,920 Speaker 1: with the handle the Hidden Gin. There you can tweet, 736 00:44:14,360 --> 00:44:17,759 Speaker 1: post insta, dm me. I'd love to hear from all 737 00:44:17,840 --> 00:44:20,480 Speaker 1: of you, and believe me, I read every single message. 738 00:44:24,080 --> 00:44:26,720 Speaker 1: The Hidden Gin is a production of I Heart Radio 739 00:44:27,000 --> 00:44:30,440 Speaker 1: and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Mankey. The podcast is 740 00:44:30,480 --> 00:44:34,000 Speaker 1: written and hosted by Robbia Chaudry and produced by Miranda 741 00:44:34,080 --> 00:44:39,280 Speaker 1: Hawkins and Trevor Young, with executive producers Aaron Mankey, Alex Williams, 742 00:44:39,600 --> 00:44:43,440 Speaker 1: and Matt Frederick. Music for the show was provided by 743 00:44:43,480 --> 00:44:48,680 Speaker 1: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. Our theme song was created by Patrick Cortez. 744 00:44:49,520 --> 00:44:52,400 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the I 745 00:44:52,520 --> 00:44:56,920 Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.