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

Overview

A wealthy young man is challenged to visit Death's dwelling and return with remains of her food, although no visitor is expected to come back. He refuses his father's suggestion to bring people whose deaths might cover an escape and rides alone. On the road he receives a stool, hammer and bundle of firewood from helpers. At the destination Death's children are farming. They welcome him, and their mother orders a meal before going to the stream to find her husband.

The guest eats, takes the remains and rides away. Death returns, discovers the departure and pursues him until she is almost at his horse's tail. He drops the stool, which becomes a great tree closing the road, then the hammer and wood as further obstacles. She fetches tools and laboriously clears each blockage rather than simply passing through. He reaches his city, and she declares him fortunate, saying that he will not die until God kills him. The family welcome, field work, household meal and physically delayed chase give Death domestic relationships and limitations within this particular encounter.

Female personified deathFarming childrenHusband mentionedPursuit delayed by objectsVisitor returns alive
01

Origins & earliest records

Tale 96 is credited Ba Gu(d)du in Tremearne's narrator key. Selected witness: second edition 1913; exact narration date unspecified.

02

Records & interpretation

Complete main tale 96, printed pp. 441-446, directly read; comparative versions distinguished from main action.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Hausa Superstitions and Customs

    Ba Gu(d)du, storyteller; A. J. N. Tremearne, collector and translator · 1913

    Second edition; tale 96, pp. 441-446.

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. Collected primary narrativeHausa Superstitions and Customs - tale 96Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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

FT·2929 · RESEARCH EDITION 01Back to top ↑