Shiqq, the split being of the wilderness
By Ralf Ittermann · last reviewed on
The Shiqq is a demon of Arabian tradition.
One eye, one arm, one leg: the lengthwise-split desert demon. Solitary demons of this kind are said to haunt the wilderness once darkness falls.
The Shiqq is a half-shaped demon of pre-Islamic Arabian tradition: a lengthwise-split being with one eye, one arm and one leg. As a desert demon it threatens solitary travellers and is related to the Ghul, the Si’lat and the Nasnas.
Its name comes from the root sh-q-q, to split or halve, and means the half, the split one. This demonic being must be distinguished from the legendary pre-Islamic soothsayer Shiqq al-Kahin, who is himself described as half-shaped; both belong to the pre-Islamic period.
Type: Half-shaped desert demon, lower demonic form of the Djinn
Origin: Pre-Islamic Arabia
Texts: Classical cosmography, legendary tradition around the soothsayer Shiqq
Period: pre-Islamic
Appearance: lengthwise-halved body, one eye, one arm, one leg
Region of origin and sources
Period of the Texts
The Shiqq belongs to the pre-Islamic period; the classical attestations come from cosmographic literature, along with the legendary tradition around the soothsayer of the same name.
Area of Diffusion
Arabia: The deserts of the peninsula, where solitary travellers are said to encounter the Shiqq.
Sources
Medium source density: the Shiqq is attested in classical cosmography, whereas elaborate attack scenarios are a popular addition.
Name and variants
Arabic: shiqq, from the root sh-q-q, to split or halve: the half, the split one. The name thus denotes exactly what defines the demon, the lengthways divided body.
Nature and effect
Appearance
The demon being Shiqq has a lengthways split half-body: half a human with one eye, one arm and one leg.
Effect
The Shiqq is a lower demonic djinn form related to the Ghul, Si’lat and Nasnas, and a danger to lone travellers in the desert, a basic motif it shares with the Ghul. The Nasnas is regarded as the offspring of a Shiqq and a human.
Profile: Shiqq
The key aspects of the half demon at a glance.
Pre-Islamic motif circle of the halved desert demons, continued in classical cosmography.
Lone travellers in the desert: whoever travels alone is considered at risk, the same basic motif as with the Ghul.
A human halved lengthways: one eye, one arm, one leg, a body missing its second half.
Threat to lone wanderers; genealogically, the Nasnas is regarded as the offspring of a Shiqq and a human.
The general djinn defence through Quran recitation and remembrance of God; no specific formula against the Shiqq is attested.
Demon and seer: one name, two figures
The name Shiqq comes from the root sh-q-q, to split or halve, and means the half, the split one. It is important to distinguish two things that are popularly conflated: the demon being Shiqq and the legendary pre-Islamic seer Shiqq al-Kahin, who is himself described as half-formed. Both belong to the pre-Islamic period but are different figures.
The seer Shiqq famously interpreted the dream of the Yemeni king Rabi’a ibn Nasr; in the legendary tradition he stands alongside his counterpart Satih. The demon being, on the other hand, lives on in cosmographical literature, as a lower demonic djinn form related to the Ghul, Si’lat and Nasnas.
Afterlife in cosmography and legend
The Shiqq lives on chiefly in cosmographical literature and in the legendary tradition surrounding the seer Shiqq and his counterpart Satih.
From a religious studies perspective, the Shiqq belongs to the motif circle of the halved desert demons. Important clarifications: the demon being and the seer share only the name and the half-form motif and are to be distinguished; the claim that the Shiqq fathered the Nasnas with a Ghul is not seriously supported, what is attested is Shiqq and human; and elaborate attack scenarios are popular additions.
Defence following the general djinn pattern
Against the demon being Shiqq, the general djinn defence applies: Quran recitation and remembrance of God. No specific transmitted formula is attested, the half demon has received no exorcism formula of its own. This distinguishes it from more prominent figures of desert tradition and shows its rank: feared enough to be told of, but not significant enough for its own ritual.
Halved beings: the monopod motif circle
The Shiqq belongs to the motif circle of the halved monopod demons of the desert, alongside the Nasnas, the Ghul and the Si’lat. A special Shia strand links the Nasnas to the exegesis of Sura 2:30. Within this circle, the Shiqq is the basic form of the split: the being whose name itself means nothing other than the half.
Frequently asked questions about the Shiqq
What is a Shiqq?
A half-formed desert demon with one eye, one arm and one leg.
Is the Shiqq the same as the seer Shiqq?
No, the demon being and the seer share only the name and the half-form; they are to be distinguished.
How does the Nasnas come into being?
As the offspring of a Shiqq and a human, not of a Shiqq and a Ghul.
Further links
Literature (selection)
Further standard works in the bibliography.
As a half-formed demon, the Shiqq embodies the principle of incompleteness: a desert demon that literally exists only as a half, and unsettles lone travellers precisely for that reason.
