As an invisible race of fiery beings, the jinn live in societies with their own kings and rulers. These fearsome jinn sultans are described as creatures of immense power. One of the eldest of them, Maymun governs a vast hidden realm.

A thread on Maymun, the jinn king of Saturn

Found in folklore and in esoteric writings like that of Al-Buni, Maymun is described as one of the winged jinn who lives in a great obsidian and gold palace hidden among the clouds. (see image from Kitab al Bulhan)

He is depicted as a massive being of great wealth and power

A dour and grim figure, he is privy to the secrets of all things, the master of hidden treasures, the bounty of caves, and is lord of sorrows. His presence invokes a deep anxiety and sense of melancholy.

By day he tends to be quite tame, but at night he grows monstrous.

As the dread sovereign of Saturn or Al Zuhal, he is watched over by the angel of death Azrai’l and the planetary angel Kasfail.

In talismanic work, invocation of the angels is essential to mediate the power and influence of Maymun.

He is a tricky being, but to the cunning mage he grants vast wealth, esoteric and ancient knowledge, wisdom in astrology, and the power to destroy one’s enemies.

Invocations rites involve the Name of God which binds him and the science of letters.

He is said to be associated with two letters which often appear on his talismans

A charm made under the auspices of Maymun and fumigated with the hair of a black goat and hidden in a door will assign a jinn to the entry and make it unbreakable.

Another charm made with auspicious elections of Saturn in Aquarius and invoking Maymun could unlock all prisons.

An iron ring of power made through the magic of Maymun is said to grant the wearer long life and untold riches.

In the cosmic order of the jinn kings, he is the first of the planetary powers and works mostly through agents.

He is said to have a unique relationship with the jinn king of Venus.

He governs the lands of Hind, Africa, and China and watches over pilgrims and thieves alike

His chief lieutenants are the ifrits associated with Aquarius and Capricorn and the ruhaniyyat who govern the affairs of Saturn.

The Ghaya names several spirits including Tus as part of his domain

But the most dread of his servants is Kabus the Nightmare. Described a winged shadow, Kabus is responsible for night terrors.

Sleep paralysis is attributed to Kabus sitting upon one’s chest.

The jinn under Maymun are all described as winged, or riding the backs of black birds.

One of the most fascinating elements of Maymun is his gender.

Maymun’s other form is Lalla Mimuna, a jinn queen. While some say it is his sister, others say it is him as a female jinn.

Lalla Mimuna is one of the jinn saints of North Africa who in Morocco is believed to be simultaneously a historic figure and a jinn.

She is a miracle-worker, the patron of marriages and wells and the marketplaces near ports.

Those seeking to find a spouse petition her with offerings and burnt incense while those hoping to return lost sailors tie a small flag to a pole raised in her honor.

She is also called upon to perform exorcisms and control the jinn of the night.

She is said to be fiercely protective and fought alongside Moroccans against the French. She would appear as a beautiful woman luring colonists to their death in the desert.

In retaliation, the French tore down her shrine.

The transition of Maymun to Lalla Mimuna reinforce the idea of jinn as shape-shifters, but also reflect the complex understanding of gender in medieval Islamic thought. Gender was often bimodal, but on a spectrum and fundamentally shaped by a mixture of elemental humors:

The “masculine” was hot and dry while the “feminine” was cold and wet.

Any change in the humoral balance from the dietary or the environmental could result in behavioral and bodily changes.

The moisture of wells and ports takes the jinn king from Maymun to Mimuna.

Assigning jinn to planetary spheres both illustrate the astrological associations medieval thinkers were working with as well as the ordered cosmos at the center of imperial ideology: the jinn kingdoms reflect human societies

For the astrologer Maymun may reflect some of the esoteric meanings of Saturn: wealth, anxiety, and old age are given, but he also governs ancient knowledge, longevity, has a connection to marriage and protection and exorcism rites

We also see the way in which the jinn in Islamic cosmology were synthesized with Hellenic medical theories of hot, dry, wet, and cold and the way it shaped ideas around gender.

If you want to learn more about how the jinn kings were appointed to their kingdoms you can catch my podcast on the devil Iblis on patreon.

In my upcoming episodes I will cover the talismans and spirits associated with each jinn king. https://www.patreon.com/headonhistory 

I’ll cover the other jinn kings themselves in future threads.