A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

Alla Zingi captures seven sisters abandoned by their parents. Planning to eat them after they sleep, he cuts off his own foot and salts the wound to keep himself awake. The eldest, Tamti, repeatedly answers his inquiries and requests horses, jewels and supplies, delaying the attack while preparing their escape.

The sisters flee, scattering salt, needles and awls behind them. The div drinks syrup, mistaking it for Tamti’s blood, and continues the pursuit. At a crossing she tells him to step on a white stone that is actually foam. He sinks and is swept away; the narrator describes his destination as Hell. This is the named div of the Bakhtiari tale, without added horns, giant stature or other anatomy absent from the passage.

In the separate Fatima tale, XXXIX, Alla Zingi receives the heroine politely after her dead mother has advised her to praise his possessions. He rests his head on her knee, tells her to wake him when a white cloud follows a black one, and rewards her obedience by placing a moon on her chin and a sun on her forehead and giving jeweled slippers. When Four Eyes and Four Stumps answer rudely instead, he attaches a donkey ear to each forehead and a bull’s tail to each chin. This is a contrasting role attached to the same printed name, not a sequel reconciling his earlier death or evidence that he has one uniform disposition.

Man-eating div defeated by seven sistersNamed textual version
01

Origins & earliest records

Bakhtiari storytelling, Iran

02

Records & interpretation

Complete tale and all continuation pages directly read; original edition contents checked for regional division and locators.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Persian Tales

    D. L. R. Lorimer and E. O. Lorimer, collectors/translators · 1919

    Bakhtiari tales; LI, pp. 317–320

  2. 02

    Persian Tales

    D. L. R. Lorimer and E. O. Lorimer, collectors/translators · 1919

    Bakhtiari tales; XXXIX, How Fatima Killed Her Mother and What Came of It, pp. 256–268

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Primary records and illustrations

Direct primary record

D. L. R. Lorimer and E. O. Lorimer, Persian Tales (London: Macmillan, 1919)

Bakhtiari tales. LI pp.317–320; XXXIX pp.256–268

Complete narrative, including every continuation page, read; historical scan OCR contents confirms regional ordering. Individual narrator not supplied. Modern site presentation is not treated as a new authored tale. Full XXXIX and footnotes additionally read: named div’s benefactor/cursing role preserved as separate witness, not sequel. Older facts retained; no reviewed-corrections match.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Historical translated folktaleD. L. R. and E. O. Lorimer, Persian Tales (1919), tale LI, pp. 317–320Research access: 2026-10-05
  2. Historical editionOriginal 1919 scan: Internet Archive persiantales00loriialaResearch access: 2026-10-05
  3. Historical translated folktaleLorimer, Persian Tales (1919), Bakhtiari tales; XXXIX, How Fatima Killed Her Mother and What Came of It, pp. 256–268Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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