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

Overview

Two sons of one father are born on the same night to different mothers. After one mother dies, the other raises both without initially distinguishing them. An old woman’s test reveals her biological son, whom she marks with henna and begins feeding better. The neglected brother discovers the mark and leaves. Before parting, the brothers plant matched poplar twigs beside a fountain, agreeing that a dried twig will announce its owner’s death. A year later the remaining brother finds the other’s twig dry and follows his route with weapons, a horse and greyhounds.

At midnight on a high mountain, an ogress arrives in a woman’s shape and addresses him as her son. She requests coals because her fire has gone out, then says she fears his dogs and the horse’s kicks and asks him to tie them. He recognizes her as the creature that devoured his brother and binds the dogs’ feet with scille, the plant named by the French text. Believing the dogs secured, she approaches and attempts to spring upon him. He strikes her neck with a knife, calls the dogs to help and kills her. Cutting open her belly, he removes his brother, who is still dead, and washes him.

The ogress’s death does not itself revive her victim. While the rescuer mourns, two tarentes play and fight nearby; one kills its sister and then restores her with an herb held beneath her nose. He imitates this action and his own brother returns to life. The printed story closes at this revival. Basset’s comparative Zouaoua account includes a princess marriage and seven-headed serpent absent from the inspected Beni Menacer body; these are not earlier exploits of its unnamed brothers.

Woman-shaped visitorMidnight mountain encounterRequests coalsTries to bind protective animalsSwallowed victim inside bellyKilled with knife and dogs
01

Origins & earliest records

René Basset, Nouveaux contes berbères (1897), no. 104, L’ogresse et les deux frères, complete pp. 103–107. Preface iv identifies Mohammed Abdi as communicating this Beni Menacer text at Cherchel in June 1887. Note 192, p. 304, cites an earlier text and transcription in Textes en dialecte des Beni Menacer, p. 14 onward; that edition is a lead rather than an independently inspected text.

02

Records & interpretation

Complete French narrative inspected against original pages 142–146, printed pp. 103–107; preface iv and source note 192 checked in original images. The first brother’s earlier killing is reported retrospectively, while the second encounter is narrated. Comparative Zouaoua serpent and marriage episodes on pp. 304–305 remain separate.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Nouveaux contes berbères

    René Basset, translator and editor; text communicated by Mohammed Abdi · 1897

    No. 104, complete pp. 103–107; preface iv; note 192, p. 304. Comparative note 193, pp. 304–305, distinguishes the expanded Zouaoua account.

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.

References

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

  1. Primary collected narrative; original facsimiles inspectedOriginal edition, complete Beni Menacer ogress and animal-revival episodeResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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

FT·3484 · RESEARCH EDITION 01Back to top ↑