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

Overview

This mother begins the account as the youngest of four daughters, refusing to remain unmarried in a country said to have no men. She leaves despite her father’s pleas and gift of money, accepting a pot, rice and knife for the journey. Living in a solitary forest hut, she becomes pregnant after subsisting on honey and plants and bears Zanakaminanina. The grown daughter warns a visitor that her mother will kill and eat him. Returning at night, the mother detects a human smell and searches the house, but fails to find the rubber collector hidden in a ditch. No cow body, horns or other animal anatomy is described for her.

When the pair later leaves, household objects withhold information as the daughter requested. An overlooked needle nevertheless tells the mother what happened. She follows quickly and catches sight of the pair crossing a river. Her call makes Zanakaminanina look back, and the daughter loses her sight because the mother takes her eyes. The mother keeps them in a little box where they do not decay. When the daughter cries at being asked to make a hat while blind, the stored eyes produce tears that fill the box. This alerts the mother, who comes to help, temporarily replaces the eyes and makes the hat herself.

After eating with her daughter, she takes the eyes away again. Further tears over the impending village visit bring her back. She makes mats and a bed, supplies beautiful clothing and returns the eyes before leaving. The subsequent scene gives Zanakaminanina extraordinary powers of her own, but does not narrate the mother’s death, punishment or change into the hornless cow. Renel compares the story with that cow’s tale, yet the mother’s humanlike beginning, eye-box injury and eventual sight restoration remain distinct from the cow’s facial skin and posthumous bone tree.

Humanlike beginningHuman flesh detected by smellDaughter’s eyes taken at a glanceUnspoiled eyes kept in a boxStored eyes shed daughter’s tearsCraftwork and final sight restoration
01

Origins & earliest records

Renel 1910, second volume, tale 135, pp. 251–257, local collection heading. Individual contributor unnamed; editor identifies comparison with first-volume tale 6.

02

Records & interpretation

Complete tale 135, pp. 251–257, heading and relevant annotation read. Comparison with the hornless cow preserves different bodies, powers and outcomes.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Contes de Madagascar, deuxième partie: Fables et fabliaux

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

    Tale 135, pp. 251–257, complete.

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. Historical collected French narrativeRenel 1910, second volume, tale 135Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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

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