[LalaMimi]

Men go to Fkih to gain power at workplaces

My colleague and I performed the character of simple Moroccan women, who are curious to know about their future.

At the waiting room, we were surprised to see men who came to see Fkih. We previously thought that this world was only reserved for women. However, it proved to be untrue. We learned that several upper and middle class men resort to Fkih to gain power at workplaces.

Some put Talismans in the corners of their offices; others splash coloured water, usually yellow, on the ground of the office. These things influence the people who get in and out from the office.

The Fkih was young in his late twenties. The majority of his clients were young men and women who resort to him for their psycho-pathological problems. Consulting a psychiatric or psychologist is not part of the Moroccan culture; only few people do.

The Fkih started telling me that I will inherit a big amount of money and that I will meet the man of my life within a period of three months, but I have to get rid of my curse first and blabla blabla.

The young Fkih was looking at me in a strange way while giving me Talismans. He told me to do Boukhour for 3 consecutive days, and then put a talisman into water and wash my body, but advised me not to throw this water in the toilet. Instead I should throw it on the grass.

As we left the Fkih's house, my head was turning upside and down. “What are we going to do with all these Talismans,” I told my colleague.

“Let's burn them,” she replied. “No, we have to read them first and then see what will we do next,” I stressed.

I knew it was a mysterious and enigmatic world and certainly very dangerous. However, my colleague and I decided to continue the adventure.

The writing on the Talismans was strange, accompanied by tables and some drawings. It seemed that it was written in the language of Jinns (evil demons having supernatural powers).

A friend of mine told me there is a woman called Najma who could help us decode the Talismans. The woman in her twenties was also a Shawafa. My friend told me she was possessed by the Jinns who were guarding a treasure buried in a place near Marrakech.

Najma was kidnapped when she was 8 years-old to help the Fakha to decode the place of the treasure and open it. Fakha usually use people who are “Zohriyine” (people who have horizontal straight line in their hands, and whose eyes get crossed from time to time) to open treasures hidden in some lands hundreds or thousands years ago.



Moroccans spend lots of money on witchcraft

While waiting to see the Shawafa, we heard two women talking about their neighbour who was possessed by Lalla Aicha.

“Lalla Aicha” represents a strong and well-wishing spirit fashioned after a local heroine who battled Spanish colonizers.

Several people in Morocco believe in various omens and superstitions. They also believe that Jinns rule their lives.

The two ladies continued talking, but this time about their husbands. I understood that it was the objective of their visit to the Shawafa.

In Morocco, several women do not go to psychologists or marriage counselors (rarely or ever existed), they go instead to see clairvoyants.

One of them said: “I suspected my husband betraying me with another woman. But don't worry; the Shawafa will take charge of that.”

According to popular belief, a woman who wants to bring back her husband must collect some of his sperm and then give it to a witchdoctor.

It was our turn to see the third Shawafa for that day. Najma, the Shawafa, started laughing when she read the Talismans given to us by the Fkih. She told me that they are meant to attract me to the Fkih as he liked me.

“If you use these Talismans, you will be obsessed by the Fkih and unable to restraint yourself from seeing him very often,” she said.

I looked with my colleague and said to myself: “Oh God, that's not funny anymore; it started getting dangerous.”

“Can you help us get rid off these Talismans,” I told Najma.

She accepted on condition that we give her MAD 300 (about 27 Euros). I gave her the money as I only wanted to run out of the place and go back home. Suddenly a woman started screaming.

I thought it was the same scenario as it happened in the house of the other Shawafa. But I was wrong. This time, it was more serious than before. The lady was in a complete hysteria. The lady started talking a different language with a man's voice.

We were asked not to talk, not to laugh and not to move. There was a face to face dialogue between the Shawafa and the woman, or the spirit who possessed her as they say.

As soon as the Shawafa took the lady in another room, we run away from the house, leaving all the Talismans and everything behind. It was truly a mishap, but interesting to discover a hidden world.

We concluded that the Fakha and Shawafat therapies are varied. People use these methods according to their money. Some use the candles to attract the people they love (it costs no more than MAD 50); others use Kouboul (attraction) and it costs around MAD 300 to MAD 500. People also prefer to use Ldoune (sort of metal used to undo bad hex). Those who have a lot of money use Kouboul made up of the hyena's brain, and other herbs (the hyena's brain could cost up to MAD 20,000).


Islam bans the practice of sorcery, science rejects superstitions

Islam bans the practice of sorcery. The religion states that the bewitched person could be cured by using Koranic verses. Muslim leaders preach against it in mosques and denounce sorcery as a pagan satanic rite.

Psychiatry also states that hallucination, abnormal visions, strange voices, unbearable pain, and depressive ideas are symptoms of a person who has psychological problems.

Yet, several Moroccans still can't help but associating this kind of symptoms with metaphysical beliefs and chose to waste their money and gamble with their lives to see a Fkih or a Shawafa