Aisha Qandisha, Aicha Kandida, or Qandisa (Qandiša) is the name of a malicious cannibal water jinni in the folklore of Morocco. When luring her human victims she is described as a beautiful young woman, but this enchantment conceals her gigantic size and hideous nature. A predatory being, she lurks on the banks of the River Sebu, around the Aquedal at Marrakech, and sometimes in the Sultan's Palace grounds, awaiting any lone man foolish enough to be taken in by her. Once he has approached her there is no escape, for soon she will reveal her true shape and consume him under the water. She hates humans and if her quarry cannot reach another human or inhabited dwelling in time, he is doomed. Sometimes she may be magnanimous and release back into his world a man who gratifies her willingly, laden with rich gifts.
On the summer solstice, sacrifices are made to her. Qandisa is a possible version of an older goddess such as Astarte.
Some hold her to be the daughter of Sidi Shamharush, the king of the jinn; and on at least one occasion it is said her mother was human and her father Ighud, the shepherd of the wind, who carried her mother off to the forest. This is said to explain why she has both human name, 'Aisha, and a devil's name, Qandisha.