A bizarre sickness has terrorised the community of Haa Dhaal Makunudhoo this month. At least 20 schoolchildren have been afflicted, each one falling down, suffering seizures, and losing consciousness.
The illness is described by islanders as ?possession by jinni?, or supernatural beings. It has drawn the attention of experts from religious scholars to the American Red Cross ? and one man has been arrested, allegedly over the events.
Minivan News? Aiman Rasheed speaks to islanders, parents of the afflicted, clerics, ?white magicians? and psychosocial care specialists, in search of the true story behind the mysterious phenomenon.
Jinni
Makunudhoo, situated in the far north of Maldives, has a population of about 1,400. According to islanders, the folklore of the island has always been rich with ?supernatural stories?, passed down from generation to generation.
Of the stories, those of the ?jinni? reign supreme as the most mysterious and terrifying of tales.
With Islam explicitly acknowledging the existence of spiritual beings such as angels and jinnis ? made of light and fire respectively ? and the religion the pillar of Maldivian society, it is no surprise that Makunudhoo residents believe wholeheartedly in the stories of the jinni.
?The existence of jinni is undeniable,? religious scholar and president of the second largest opposition Adhaalath party Sheikh Hussain Rasheed Ahmed told Minivan News on Sunday.
One Makunudhoo resident, 73 year-old Saeed Moosa, agrees. ?There are one thousand jinni for every living human,? he says.
Saeed Moosa, who is also part of the three-man team tirelessly combatting the jinni catastrophe afflicting the island, emphasized that Makunudhoo had had a ?history of jinni possession.? The team use ?white magic? to combat the supernatural forces.
The Beginning
?It all began when a 20-year-old female teacher was possessed during a trip to an uninhabited island, more than a month ago,? Moosa Hameed, 41, the father of one victim, said. ?Six children were possessed by the end of the week.?
The phenomenon has magnified since then. Thahumeena, a parent of another victim, told Minivan News more than 26 people have now fallen victim to this ?catastrophe? and that ?more fall into the vice of the jinnis every day.?
Two weeks ago, the Makunudhoo residents cut down a large tree in the center of the school grounds, which they believed to be the source of the jinni activity, in an attempt to curb the mysterious illness.
But the effort was to no avail. ?Things have gotten worse since then,? Moosa Hameed said.
The islanders have hired Saeed Moosa from Makunudhoo, Raheembe from Haa Dhaal Atoll Nolhivaranfaru and Alibe from Gaaf Dhaal Atoll Gadhdhoo to ?ward off the evil hex.?
According to islanders, the trio, also known as Fandithaverin (sorcerers), have been ?working around the clock? to help the victims.
Thahumeena added that Member of Parliament for Haa Dhaal atoll Ahmed Abdullah had been ?very helpful?, as he had ?commissioned Alibe from Gaaf Dhaal Atoll to help with the crisis.?
The Accused
As the phenomenon continued, a 24-year-old youth was arrested this Wednesday ?on suspicion of hexing the Makunudhoo School?, according to locals. They believe another man, who died last year, was also involved in hexing.
Police media coordinator Sergeant Shiyam confirmed that ?one man was in custody? over the case, but refrained from revealing further details, and could not confirm whether hexing was the reason.
Three Makunudhoo residents told Minivan News the arrested man had previously been convicted of rape, and was a known paedophile.
But meanwhile a bottle believed to be the source of the hex was excavated from the school grounds, after residents dug a 15-foot-deep hole last week.
The hexed bottle was apparently located by the victims, with the help of the sorcerer trio. Islanders believe the bottle had been buried there by the arrested man.
Mass Hysteria?
The religious Adhaalath Party sent a delegation to the island to investigate and help. Leader of the delegation Sheikh Rushdhy said: ?the first child might have been possessed.? But he continued to lay the blame for the overall situation on ?mass hysteria?.
He believes the hysteria is due to ?weak religious beliefs? and ?paranoia.? However, he contends that ?jinnis do exist.?
Meanwhile a team of doctors also visited the island. A psychiatrist on the team pronounced the phenomenon to be down to mass hysteria, a view also held by American Red Cross manager Mohamed Siraj, who visited Makunudhoo last week.
The American Red Cross has previously been involved in a psychosocial program in three atolls, which has trained more than 400 volunteers to help the tsunami victims to recover from the trauma.
Yet islanders vehemently deny that mass hysteria is at fault. An anonymous source informed Minivan News the island chief had received a hostile reaction from islanders after saying ?the children were not possessed by jinni? in an interview given to a local radio station.
What Next?
Mohamed Siraj said the American Red Cross team were focusing on reducing negative effects by securing the psychosocial well-being of the school children. The organisation will also be training three teachers as crisis intervention technicians.
In the meantime, the three Fandithaverin have been using their ?white magic? to ward off the evil jinni. Yet specialists in the field have said that ?these people are the true propagators of fear.?
A psychosocial care specialist, who wished to remain anonymous, told Minivan News, ?These Fadithaverins? business depends on the people being scared.?
He added that the ?sorcerers? were ?genuinely terrorising the Makunudhoo community.?
But whether the island is possessed by jinni or afflicted by mass hysteria, more young people continue to be affected each day. It is clear that help is needed, before a bad situation balloons into a worse one.
http://www.minivannews.com/news/news.php?id=4486
