The 1950s–1960s Tunisian jinn and saint-shrine traditions

Record summary

Ethnographic and folkloric writing from mid-century Tunisia records beliefs concerning jinn, marabouts, saintly baraka and encounters at shrines, caves and springs. These traditions are useful for comparing Islamic spirit concepts with local healing, possession and pilgrimage practices across North Africa. The lead should be pursued through named field studies rather than treated as a single incident, because practices varied by region, language and religious setting. Accounts may also reflect colonial or postcolonial outsider categories that flatten distinctions between popular Islam, ritual healing and “superstition.”