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Qandisa (also known as Aisha Qadisha, Ghediseh, Aisha Kandicha Aicha Kandisa, Aisha Kandisha, and Aisha Qandisha) is a Moroccan jinniya (female demon/spirit) that has either mule, camel, cow, or goat legs and targets men for her victims of possession.

Appearance
Qandisa can be seen as a beautiful woman with long hair, and ugly hag with wild hair and protruding teeth, or a child. She can also appear as an ogress as well as a stunning goddess. Her legs are that of an animal.

Origin
Qandisa is a popular and fearsome jinniya in Moroccan folklore  also known as the Opener. Her husband’s name is said to be Hammu Kaiu also known as Hammu Qaiyu.

Characteristics
She lives in the river, the sea, and near wells and is seen only at night. Aisha is characterized in stories as being a woman who seduces men until they see her animal legs. She is a hunter and a healer and likes music with cackling and squawks in it.

Purpose
She is called the Opener because she attacks men by opening them up to more evil spirits so that the men can be overrun with demons making them powerless to her. The man cannot destroy her but can drive her away and she is able to cause illnesses. Aisha can also call out any man’s name or sing a song to try to get them to turn around to her so that she can attack them. If the man does turn around or respond in any way, she can either seduce him and possess him or she can kill and eat him. When he gets close to Qandisa, he can experience physical symptoms such as deafness, blindness, speechlessness, and paralysis. If he is possessed, then he can go unconscious, have tremors, speak in tongues, or act like a different person. Men who are possessed by her lose any romantic interest in human women. Men targeted by Aisha can be those who have not fulfilled their expected roles as husband or family provider.

Repelling Qandisa
Men can simply run away from the jinniya in order to avoid her possession. If a man is possessed by Qandisa, they can do certain tasks to make them feel more comfortable because she will become happy and not make them as miserable. These include participating in rituals, feeding her, and listening to music that she likes. Someone who feels like they are possessed by her can cut themselves, which can calm her down and cure any illnesses that she has caused them to have. Qandisa is repelled by iron and steel and will leave the man alone if he has any of those metals on him.

The Hamadsha is a group in Morocco that deals with the possession of people by Qandisa and knows how to help the symptoms using musical performances and sacrificial rituals. One way that a man can avoid Qandisa’s wrath is to plunge an iron knife into the ground when she is around. One must do this before they become possessed in order to prevent possession. If a man is possessed by her before he can put the knife into the ground, he needs to perform a ritual in which he sees Qandisa’s animal legs. Once he sees her legs, he can then stab the knife in the ground to rid himself of her.