Hill Jinn of Illa-Illa

Overview

The narrative places many jinn at a well in the middle of Illa-Illa hill and says that they kill people who climb it. A man promises others that he will ascend and asks them to wait below until he comes down. His undertaking makes the dangerous reputation of the place the focus of a single attempted visit.

When he climbs, the jinn seize him. He is strangled while crying that there are such beings there. Basset reproduces the Berber words illa, illa and connects their sound with the hill’s name. The ending is fatal, with no later rescue or reconciliation; the inhabitants remain a collective company rather than individually named beings.

Origins & earliest records

René Basset, Contes populaires berbères (1887), no. 38, complete printed pp. 78. Preface xiii places no. 38 in Basset’s 1883 Frenda series from the son of the former qaid of Bou Semghoun. The original source note under no. 38 on printed p. 184 identifies Ould Tedjini at Frenda in 1883 and cites the third series of Notes de lexicographie berbère, pp. 74 and 77. Note 80 locates Illa-Illa near the qsar of Bou Semghoun.

Records & interpretation

Complete French narrative inspected against original DjVu pages 116, printed pp. 78, including the entire ending. Preface context inspected separately. The tale-specific original contributor note has also been inspected in facsimile.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   Contes populaires berbères

   René Basset, translator and editor; source contributor context stated separately · 1887

   No. 38, complete pp. 78; preface xiii–xiv. Preface xiii places no. 38 in Basset’s 1883 Frenda series from the son of the former qaid of Bou Semghoun. The original source note under no. 38 on printed p. 184 identifies Ould Tedjini at Frenda in 1883 and cites the third series of Notes de lexicographie berbère, pp. 74 and 77. Note 80 locates Illa-Illa near the qsar of Bou Semghoun.

Family & connections

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References

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1. Primary collected narrative; original facsimile inspectedOriginal edition, complete narrative 38Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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