Explore the world of sijjin

Over a decade ago, I came up with the idea of a fictional story that would detail the symbiotic relationships between angels, demons, humans, and jinn. This idea, over time, evolved into the vast and diverse world known as Sijjin – a fictional land heavily inspired by Sufi cultures and pre-Islamic Arab folklore. Eventually, I began writing a light novel which focused on just one continent within the world of Sijjin, detailing the story of the fire-wielding jinn species known as Ifrit. The ideas for color-based nations and their respective leaders and main characters quickly came to mind; but creating a world with consistent lore and a complex framework of interlinked characters proved a challenge.

Thus, I introduce Sounds of Sijjin, a soundscape project that serves as a sonic method of worldbuilding. Within this project are six pieces (five diegetic and one non-diegetic) meant to immerse the listener into the continent of Ard Al’Ifriti, the land in which the main storyline of the light novel takes place. Through the creation and completion of Sounds of Sijjin, I was able to explore ideas of politics between neighboring tribes and shared cultural beliefs, which aligned with the lore within the novel (i.e., tribes with similar musical motifs would prove to be similar in ideology or belief due to shared diaspora).

sufism in sound

Sufi Islam is a unique sect in the sense that sound and listening are encouraged rather than shunned. Listening is so essential to the Sufi practice that it is seen as a ritual – known as Sama – in which singing, instrument playing, dancing, and recitation all contribute to the practice of Dhikr. Through these musical rituals, the instruments and percussion come together to create a transformation of the spirit and psyche – the listeners and their souls are transported to another world, one much more divine than this one. Sufi Islam is also particularly unique in the sense that it incorporates mysticism, often considered forbidden in Sunni and Shia sects. These mystical elements are even further enforced by the fact that every practice of Sufism is a novel experience due to heavy incorporation of the pre-Islamic tales and folklore of the ethnic cultures which engage in the religion.

Growing up as a Sufi Muslim hailing from Prizren, Kosovo; I was all too familiar with the blurred line between cultural tales and holy scripture from the Qur’an. I found it fascinating in my research that many of the same folklore concepts of jinn and demons and powerful spirits came not from the verses of the Qur’an but other related cultures such as Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Bangladesh, and Iran. Furthermore, these Sufi cultures share strikingly similar musical motifs and soundscapes: the music I heard in my own village of Prizren was no different than the music I heard from the Sufis in the Middle East, South Asia, and Central Asia.

It is important to me that every culture that practices this fascinating sect is represented through the coding of characters and motifs. Seeing as these jinn are non-human in a fantasy world, they lack any explicit race or ethnicity. Despite this, there are design choices in each individual character to signal to a reader the Sufi culture they were inspired from. In this same way, you are encouraged to listen for any real-world cultural motifs within the works of Sounds of Sijjin.

the infernal tribes

The continent of Ard Al-Ifriti is home to the species of fire-wielding jinn known as Ifrit. These jinn are humanoid in nature, with similar dialects, cultural standards, and appearances. The Ifrit separated themselves into six main tribes based on their own fire color: red, gold, green, blue, purple, and white. Each tribe has a unique makeup of demographics, culture, and politics; but ultimately attempt to maintain peace with one another in otherwise dire times.

The different colors of soulfire often come with their own unique attributes, further exemplifying their cultural norms. The Ahmar, Dhahabi, and Azraq tribes belong to a group known as the Natural Fires – these colors are able to be used in everyday life due to their mild and unimpressive qualities. The Akhdar, Arjowani and Abyadh tribes belong to the group known as the Surreal Fires – in stark contrast to the Natural Fires, these colors wield powerful qualities such as unique chemical makeup that is explosive in nature, fire that performs mimicry of other elements, and fire that burns so hot it mimics the coldness of frostbite.

Scroll below to find out more about the general information about each of the six tribes, as well as listening to the local music of its population.