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

Overview

A magician foretells Baki’s birth to an exiled queen, identifying him as the incarnation of a holy lama. He walks and speaks from birth and rapidly develops into a capable young man. While hunting, he follows a white doe that becomes a woman at the entrance of an ogre’s cave. Her instruction enables him to kill the parrot on which the ogre’s life depends and free her.

Learning that his absent host has tried to force his mother into marriage, Baki uses spells taught by the rescued woman to become a large cowrie shell. The shell speaks a warning in the king’s court. When a servant smashes it, each fragment becomes an armed figure and Baki reappears among them. The narration identifies the warriors as demons temporarily under his command; at his direction they kill the king and vanish through the roof.

Baki becomes king and marries the rescued woman. His mother returns to his father, Bacha of Room. The text supplies no identity for the earlier lama, and Baki’s learned transformations are distinguished from a claim that all recognized reincarnate lamas possess these powers. The violent succession is an event in the tale, not an approved model of religious authority.

Miraculous lama-incarnation who becomes a speaking shellSpecific translated narrative
01

Origins & earliest records

Tibet; collected historical narrative

02

Records & interpretation

Full relevant tale and collection preface directly read.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Folk Tales from Tibet

    W. F. O’Connor, collector and translator · 1906

    XXI, The Story of Room Bacha and Baki, pp. 147–157

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

W. F. O’Connor, Folk Tales from Tibet (1906)

XXI, The Story of Room Bacha and Baki. pp. 147–157

Entire tale and collection preface read. Anonymous girl explicitly identifies herself as human; named Baki is foretold lama-incarnation; parrot/ogre death correspondence explicit. Original paraphrase; colonial collection mediation retained in profile.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

References

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

  1. Historical tale collectionO’Connor, Folk Tales from Tibet, XXI, The Story of Room Bacha and Baki, pp. 147–157Research 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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