Giant Couple in the Lost-Strength Tale

Overview

The young giant’s height is described through immense geographic comparisons: the distance from Jemaan Daroro to Kano or Bauchi. A magician gives him a protective charm conditioned on avoiding sexual relations. While he remains unmarried, no visiting giant can defeat him in boxing. A beautiful young woman is similarly described by the distance to Sokoto; despite refusing powerful royal suitors, she undertakes a two-month journey after hearing of the champion. He chooses to marry her, bringing the charm’s condition into conflict with his desire.

The next day, a tournament brings another giant into the arena. The stranger catches the champion’s hand, watches his armpit and kills him with a blow. The bride asks whether anything can remedy the death. His people tell her that entering his grave and being buried there will revive him. She agrees, and the narrative restores both partners: the giant rises, the buried woman rises with him, and the grave becomes a great palace stocked with everything they need. The ending reunites the couple rather than leaving the bride as an unreturned sacrifice. The geographic measures function within the tale’s extravagant scale and supply no usable anatomical measurement.

Origins & earliest records

Tremearne identifies Umoru Gombe, designated U.G. in the contents. His introduction states that nearly all stories were obtained at Jemaan Daroro in 1908–1909, with a few earlier Ashetu narratives collected at Amar. The general collection dates are not a fabricated exact session date for this tale.

Records & interpretation

Complete primary narrative 99, Why the Young Giant Lost His Strength, pp 452–454 read directly in the second-edition OCR. Storyteller attribution follows the contents and introduction. Colonial comparative theories and diagnoses are excluded from the profile; translation and editorial additions remain mediated evidence.

Selected bibliography

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

1. 01

   Hausa Superstitions and Customs

   A. J. N. Tremearne, collector and translator; Umoru Gombe, designated U.G. in the contents · 1913

   Second edition; tale 99, Why the Young Giant Lost His Strength, pp 452–454

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 narrative and collector introductionHausa Superstitions and Customs — tale 99, Why the Young Giant Lost His Strength, pp 452–454Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

Giant Couple in the Lost-Strength Tale:1913 documentary text page453; documentary source-page facsimile

Exact named narrative text facsimile, not a creature illustration. Printed page453; actual returned IIIF canvas504. Catalogue identifies1913 edition, author1877–1915, US NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT; historical translated text is life70 expired. Oral narrator attribution retained from profile. Actual scan directly inspected: exact named tale/episode text read, including printed page number and narrative features.