Case file · Folklore / legend
Leo Africanus on the spirit-women of Fez
In his 'Description of Africa' (completed 1526), Leo Africanus described women diviners in Fez who claimed to be possessed by red, white or black jinn and changed their voices to speak for them.
1526 CE · 34.06, -4.97 · status: account
The account
He also wrote that clients brought offerings and that the women danced to music to call the spirits. Scholars see it as an early description of North African possession cults like those of the Gnawa.