Fern Flower
Published on November 9, 2018

Ajina

  • Ajinna

Regions of expansion

Kazakhstan 1 Uzbekistan 1 Tajikistan 1 Kyrgyzstan 1 Turkmenistan 1
Tajikistan
Uzbekistan
Kyrgyzstan
Turkmenistan
Kazakhstan

Description

In the mythologies of Tajiks, Uzbeks, Karakalpaks, Kirghiz, Turkmens, and partly Kazakhs, Ajina or Ajinna (Uzbek Ajina / Ajina; Turkm. Ajina; taj. Aҷinna / aججنه) - an evil spirit.

Appearance varies from place to place. For some, she looks like a scary humanoid creature, for others like a scary virgin, a scary baby, a long-haired old woman, a kid with horns and red eyes, etc. Most often appears in the image of a woman suddenly increasing in size and turning into a giantess, or in the form of various animals, for example, a goat (in the guise of a goat, he frightens by suddenly uttering obscenity in a human voice). 

It usually lives in piles of ash thrown out of the hearth, but it also occurs in abandoned and sparsely populated places, in destroyed and abandoned residential buildings, in dense and dark forests, in uninhabited meadows and steppes, in basements and attics of residential buildings. They even appear in the rooms of residential buildings at night, scaring people.

Among Turkmens, Turks and other Turkic—speaking peoples, the jinn usually has the functions of ajina (the Turks also have the demon mekir).​​‌​‌​ ​‌​​​‌ ​​‌​‌‌ ​​‌‌‌‌ ​‌​​‌‌ ​‌​‌​‌​ ​‌‌​‌‌​ ​‌‌‌​‌‌ ​​‌‌‌‌

Ajina in popular culture