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Overview

Soamiririolona rejects the men who seek to marry her, but accepts an animal whose rich clothing pleases her. The account does not identify its species or give it a particular monstrous anatomy. After the wedding, the bride enters the house alone while her husband remains outside. He asks her to identify an opening and blocks it, then asks whether any others remain. When she says there are none, he covers her dwelling with earth and leaves. One small passage nevertheless remains, connecting her confinement with a place where travellers prepare their food.

The smell of cooking rice prompts the buried woman to call out her identity and ask for news of her mother Riambo and sister Taranaranabola. She says that one side of her body is rotting. The first travellers flee in fear. A second group discards the abandoned rice because they suspect poison, cooks another meal and also flees when she calls. An old woman and her companions repeat the cooking, but the old woman persuades them to listen instead of running away. They recognize Soamiririolona’s voice and inform her mother.

The mother joyfully discovers that her daughter is still alive and has her dug out. The rescue is nevertheless too late: despite being cared for, Soamiririolona soon dies after her long confinement underground. The animal husband does not return, and no killing or punishment of him is supplied. The full ending therefore differs from tales in which a captive bride is restored to a lasting marriage. Its threat lies in the deceptive marriage and deliberate burial, followed by the fear that delays recognition of the victim’s voice.

Attractive rich clothingSpecies unspecifiedBride buried inside her dwellingVoice heard through a surviving openingDelayed rescue followed by death
01

Origins & earliest records

Renel 1910, tale 52, pp. 275–277, with regional collection heading. The individual contributor is unnamed; introduction V–VIII explains the schoolteacher-mediated collection and translation.

02

Records & interpretation

Complete tale 52, pp. 275–277, including heading, relevant notes and final outcome read in the retained primary text.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Contes de Madagascar, première partie: Contes merveilleux

    Charles Renel, editor and translator; Malagasy collection intermediaries · 1910

    Tale 52, pp. 275–277, complete.

Family & connections

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References

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

  1. Historical collected French narrativeRenel 1910, tale 52Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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