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Overview
A man of the Oulad Draâ removes his beloved wife to a remote salt-sea shore, fearing her beauty will lead to abduction. Sailors searching for a woman for a distant sultan nevertheless seize her after inviting her aboard their ship. Her husband seeks help from his friend, the son of Keij, identified by the translation as a Christian. A voyage of three or four months brings the rescuers near a high mountain city. An old woman supplies news of the captive and warns that two birds devour people; beside them stand two lions of the same dangerous character, followed by two human guards. All watch over the woman.
The rescuer buys and slaughters a sheep. He throws part to the birds and passes while they dispute it, then uses the same diversion with the lions. The human guards are asleep. He reaches the captive in disguise, alerts her by scratching her foot and takes her away. Their flight continues through a marine monster’s swallowing of the ship and a deserted-city encounter before the husband finally returns home with his wife. The birds and lions are bypassed rather than killed; the account supplies no species name, size or later pursuit by either animal pair.
Origins & earliest records
René Basset, Nouveaux contes berbères (1897), no. 106, La femme enlevée, complete pp. 111–114, headed Zénaga. Preface iv identifies Ahmed Saloum as a Trarza contributor who dictated the tale at Saint-Louis, Senegal, in 1888; note 195, p. 326, confirms the named contributor and says the underlying text was unpublished.
Records & interpretation
Complete French narrative inspected in original DjVu pages 150–153, printed pp. 111–114, including the escape voyage and final return. Preface iv and source note 195, p. 326, independently checked in original pixels. Creature morphology is restricted to the tale’s actual birds, lions and unnamed marine monster.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Nouveaux contes berbères
No. 106, complete pp. 111–114; preface iv; note 195, p. 326.
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.
- Primary dictated narrative in collected translation; original facsimiles inspectedOriginal edition, complete Zenaga rescue voyage and source noteResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
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