Sidi Chamharouch — the shrine of the king of the jinn

OVERVIEW

Shamharush (Shamhurish, Sidi Chamharouch) is, in tradition, the king of the jinn associated with Thursday, Jupiter, the colour purple and tin: the oldest, wisest and most influential of the seven jinn kings, called 'the Christian' for the era before he met the Prophet and converted, after which he became the Great Qadi, expert in Islamic law. He presides over the supreme tribunal of the jinn, attended by all its kings and even Iblis.

HISTORY

Near the village of Aroumd at the foot of the High Atlas stands an ancient shrine to him: a subterranean structure beneath a massive whitewashed boulder topped with green and white flags, beside a mosque. Berbers regard Toubkal itself as a holy place of Sidi Chamharouch — cairns on the summit attest to the cult — and some call it Mount Shamharush, as legend says he lived on its summit.

REPORTED ACTIVITY

The site is held to be the supreme court for disputes between humans and jinn, its sessions heralded by thunder, lightning and the appearance of shadows. From the 16th century his standing was drastically reduced: rumours made him the father of succubi, and in one popular version the father of Aisha Qandisha, born to a noblewoman he raped. The article suggests Moroccan scholars spread this demonisation because venerating a jinn as a saint was idolatry; his cult survived mainly in isolated mountain villages. (The English article also says the shrine 'has been abandoned for decades' while describing it as the active court of the jinn.) Recorded as belief and legend.

VISITING

The shrine is on the trekking path from Imlil to Toubkal (about 35 km and nearly 5,000 m of ascent round trip from Imlil to the summit).