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

Overview

A buffalo-herder notices a she-dog visiting pools in a ravine at noon and secretly watches her remove her skin, bathe as a beautiful maiden and become a dog again. He follows her to a village house and later insists on marrying that particular dog. A bride-price and wedding are arranged, and she is brought to his home.

When he discovers that she removes the skin at night, he pretends to sleep, catches hold of her and burns it, leaving her in human form. The narrative does not say that she requests its destruction. A neighbor named Jitu imitates the marriage without having observed a transformation and chooses an ordinary dog that growls, bites and runs away; his fatal humiliation is a separate cautionary ending. The first bride’s identity is therefore not generalized to all dogs, and the onlookers’ speculation that the herder has a dog’s soul is not confirmed.

Maiden who removes a dog skin to bathe and loses it when her husband burns itSpecific Santal narrative witness
01

Origins & earliest records

Santal Parganas, eastern India; source-specific Santali storytelling

02

Records & interpretation

Complete relevant tale directly read with existing collection preface and narrator-chain record.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Folklore of the Santal Parganas

    Cecil Henry Bompas, translator; O. Bodding, collector; Sagram Murmu, principal Santali writer credited in preface · 1909

    LXXXV, The Dog Bride, pp. 254–256

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

Cecil Henry Bompas, Folklore of the Santal Parganas (1909)

Part I, Santal folktales. LXXXV, The Dog Bride, pp. 254–256

Entire relevant tale read, including ending. Ordinary comparison dog distinguished from actual skin-removing bride; snake sisters have no supplied anatomy or princely marriage; frog notice remains proportionately brief.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

References

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

  1. Historical translation of collected narrativesBompas, Folklore of the Santal Parganas (1909), LXXXV, The Dog Bride, pp. 254–256Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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

FT·1679 · RESEARCH EDITION 01Back to top ↑