Jinnicky the Red Jinn

Infobox character
colour = crimson
name = Jinnicky


caption = Illustration by John R. Neill from "The Silver Princess in Oz"
first = "Jack Pumpkinhead of Oz" (1929)
last = "Yankee in Oz" (1972)
cause =
nickname =
alias =
species = djinn
gender = male
age = unknown
born = unknown
death = probably immortal
occupation = Wizard of Ev
title = Red Jinn
family = unknown
spouse = none
children = none
relatives = unknown
nationality=Ev
residence = Castle of the Red Jinn, northeastern [Thompson placed it in northwestern Ev, but she was using a reversed map. Baum was also self-contradictory on which side of Oz Ev was on.] Ev
creator = Ruth Plumly Thompson

The Red Jinn, later known as Jinnicky, is one of Ruth Plumly Thompson's most frequently occurring characters in her Oz books. He was first introduced in "Jack Pumpkinhead of Oz" as a mysterious figure who educates Jack Pumpkinhead on the use of the Pirate Sack. He was reintroduced and identified as Jinnicky in "The Purple Prince of Oz" as well as appearing in the follow-up, "The Silver Princess in Oz". He is also the principal pre-existing character in Thompson's penultimate Oz book, "Yankee in Oz". The Red Jinn appeared only in a color plate in "Jack Pumpkinhead of Oz" and in subsequent books John R. Neill toned down his appearance a great deal to make him a more appealing character. Jack Snow apparently thought the Red Jinn was a separate character, for he considered "The Purple Prince of Oz" Jinncky's first appearance in "Who's Who in Oz", though he did not include a separate Red Jinn entry.

Jinnicky's body is housed inside a large red ginger jar, complete with lid. He speaks in a deep voice. Neill's art originally depicted him with massive piercings, but these were later omitted and are not referred to in the text. His disposition is generally jolly and friendly, and in spite of what modern readers my consider serious character faults, he is popular and well-liked and treated very sympathetically by his author. His preferred mode of transportation is a flying jinrikisha pulled only by magic. He lives in a red glass palace in the Land of Ev, attended by his Advizier, Alibabble, and Addie the Adding Adder.

In addition to these, Jinnicky has a large number of slaves. This was apparently intended to be a joke on Thompson's part. Thompson was wont to derive material from the Arabian Nights, in which jinns are usually slaves, such as in Aladdin's lamp, so she played a simple turnaround and made the Jinn the slaveholder. All of the slaves that are described are explicitly black people. The best known of the slaves is Ginger, whose service to a magic dinner bell is an important literary device. Jinnicky's slaveholding tends to cause the most frustration for contemporary fans in "The Silver Princess in Oz", because Princess Ozma helps him to quell a slave revolt, leaving two of his slaves transformed to stone. At the end of that book, Jinnicky's successful attempt to heal Planetty, the title character, causes her to become human, losing the silver luster to her skin. Taken together, many see Jinnicky, and by extent, his author, as racist.

He also makes smaller appearances in "Ojo in Oz", "The Wishing Horse of Oz", "Captain Salt in Oz", and "Yankee in Oz". Because all of his appearances except "The Silver Princess in Oz" are protected under U.S. copyright, he does not figure in books by post-Thompson authors, with the notable exception of Lin Carter, whose estate was able to pay to use the character in his novel, "The Tired Tailor of Oz" (published posthumously in 2001).

David L. Greene and Dick Martin refer to Jinnicky as "The Wizard of Ev," in "The Oz Scrapbook", though this turn of phrase is first used by Thompson as the final words in "Yankee in Oz", in which Jinnicky is instrumental in freeing Ozma and the other residents of the Emerald City palace from the giant Badmannah.

References