A member of an Islamic religious brotherhood or spiritual order, particularly associated with North Africa, known for ecstatic practices and ascetic traditions.
From Arabic, named after Sidi Muhammad Bin Aissa, a 15th-century Moroccan Islamic saint and spiritual leader. The term refers to followers of his Sufi order.
The Aissaoua are famous for performing seemingly impossible feats during religious ceremonies—swallowing live snakes, walking on fire, piercing their bodies—which anthropologists debate as either genuine spiritual transcendence or carefully controlled showmanship.
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